Chapter 360: Waiting to Get Married
Wei Ying came out of the dormitory, her cousin's words just now flashing through her mind:
——The brothers' actions were simply an attempt to force my cousin to submit and become the new bride of the Zhenbei Palace. If my cousin wanted to seize the initiative, she could have started with my third brother. Although he was a playboy, he was deeply in love with my cousin. My cousin could have used the pretext of the selection to make him jealous and subdue her, forcing him to concede on the Jiangnan issue.
The night wind blew through the bamboo forests on both sides of the path.
A few strands of black hair brushed against Wei Ying's cheek, and she casually broke off a bamboo branch.
Her cousin and Xie Guanlan are both more sinister and despicable than the other. They even use feelings as bargaining chips. They are simply like family.
In other words, my cousin has no interest in power, otherwise—
With her cousin's scheming and Pei Lin's planning, it's really hard to say what the world will be like.
Wei Ying looked up at the bright moon in the sky.
"Xie Zan..."
She whispered the name.
A tall and slender figure appeared behind Wei Ying.
Xie Guanlan stood with his hands behind his back. "Ningning threatened me that if I made you unhappy, she wouldn't marry me. Wei Gaoyang, you know it's not easy for a little girl like Ningning to get to where she is today. I'm sure you already have the answer in your mind as to what to choose."
Wei Ying turned to look at him. "Ningning likes you, so I won't stand in the way of you and Ningning. But Commander Xie, I also hope you won't interfere in the affairs between me and Xie Zan."
Xie Guanlan stared at her, "What if I must intervene?"
The moonlight is quiet and the bamboo leaves are rustling.
After a long silence, Wei Ying slowly drew out his sword.
The sword blade reflected the cold light, reflecting Wei Ying's phoenix eyes.
She did not choose to use the method proposed by Wen Xingluo.
She simply met Xie Guanlan's eyes indifferently and said quietly, "Pei Lin died to show his determination and sacrificed his life for his country. Wei Gaoyang might as well do the same. If Commander Xie pushes the issue... I don't mind leaving Ningning and Xie Zan with a corpse."
The girl looked somewhat similar to Wen Xingluo, except that her features were colder and more stubborn.
It makes people believe that her words are not just nonsense.
The four looked at each other, neither of them willing to give in.
A light laugh suddenly came from the eaves.
Xie Zan sat lazily on the roof, holding a wine gourd in one hand. "Brother, you really don't need to interfere in my affairs. She's just a woman, can't I handle her? It's okay for you to help Xie Xiaosi, after all, he's a fool. But helping me like this makes me look incompetent."
Xie Guanlan was silent for a while, then left in a huff.
Wei Ying sheathed her sword and glanced coldly at Xie Zan, "I will never thank you. I will always regard you as my enemy."
Xie Zan took a sip of wine and glanced at her nonchalantly. "My name is branded on your body. You will be my slave for the rest of your life. Wei Gaoyang, whether you hate me or love me, I want you to be inseparable from me for the rest of your life."
The bamboo shadows are sparse.
In the bedroom not far away, Wen Xingluo leaned against the latticed fan and looked down at his own shadow.
Having said that, she knew very well that neither she nor Xie Guanlan could interfere in the affairs of her cousin and Xie Zan anymore.
No one can predict what the ending of these two people will be.
Three days later.
The reconstruction of Lin'an City was carried out in an orderly manner.
Xie Guanlan hosted a banquet for the kings of the Jiangnan counties in Lin'an Prefecture.
At the banquet, the King of Wu was extremely dissatisfied and said arrogantly, "Even though Commander Xie has made great military achievements, this is Jiangnan after all, not your territory! How dare you, a junior, sit on the main throne and accept our respect?!"
Xie Guanlan took a sip of wine slowly and placed the bronze wine jar on the dining table.
He raised his eyelids. "My army of 500,000 men has already been stationed north of the Yangtze River. If the King of Wu refuses to submit, I, Xie, would not mind conquering the south of the Yangtze River within three days."
The King of Wu's expression changed.
Although he felt timid, he glanced at the princes around him, still puffed out his chest and stiffened his neck and said, "So what?! We have hundreds of thousands of troops stored in Jiangnan. Don't we have the strength to fight?! Who will win is still unknown!"
Xie Guanlan glanced at everyone, "Do you all think so too?"
Everyone nodded.
They are not stupid. Xie Guanlan's strength is obvious to all. They are just rich. In terms of military strength, they are far from enough to compete with Xie Guanlan.
Someone stood up first, bowed, and said, "We are willing to swear allegiance to the commander until death!"
With him taking the lead, the others rushed to stand up and follow suit to swear allegiance.
The King of Wu was stunned. "That's not what you said when we discussed it last night! You're making me look like a fool!"
The others quickly broke off their conversation with him, saying, "We don't understand what the King of Wu means!"
"you--"
The King of Wu pointed at them, trembling, and was furious.
Xie Zan quietly appeared behind the King of Wu.
He chuckled lazily, pressing the sword in his hand against the side of King Wu's neck. "My elder brother is kind and tolerant in his rule, but if there are any blind and deliberate provocations, I will not be in a good mood."
As soon as he finished speaking, the long sword cut deeply into the King of Wu's neck.
Blood splattered everywhere and the whole place was silent.
The remaining princes were stunned for a moment, and then realized that Xie Guanlan was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. They immediately knelt on the ground and called Xie Guanlan the emperor.
At this point, all the counties south of the Yangtze River surrendered without a fight.
…
A month later.
Xie Guanlan brought Wen Xingluo back to the capital.
The coronation ceremony and the empress-conferring ceremony were scheduled for the same day. Officials from the Ministry of Rites were responsible for the former, while Xie Yanchen, Xiangjun and He Yu were responsible for the latter. After going through so many dangers and obstacles, it was a rare opportunity to prepare for a happy event, and no one wanted to rush into it. Therefore, the palace was busy with all kinds of purchases.
The Prince of Zhenbei's Palace also moved from Chengdu to the capital.
The old concubine insisted that Wen Xingluo marry out of the Zhenbei Palace, so during the period of waiting for her marriage, she lived in the palace with the old lady and Xie Jing.
It was a clear and crisp autumn day.
Chen Lezhi came to play with Wen Xingluo.
Seeing the girl sitting under the hibiscus tree writing an invitation, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who is this invitation for that you're bothering to write it yourself?"
Wen Xingluo had already finished writing, and while carefully stamping his own private seal, he replied, "It's written for my brother."
"Brother?" Chen Lezhi held up his face in confusion. "They live in the palace. Do they still need an invitation?"
Wen Xingluo blew away the ink and said with a smile, "He's my eldest brother."
Chen Lezhi paused and realized that Wen Xingluo was talking about Xie Xuchi.
She whispered, "By the way, I haven't heard from Xie Zhe since he died. Where is he now?"
Wen Xingluo glanced at the weather, stood up, and took Chen Lezhi's hand, "I'll take you to see him."
The two of them left the Zhenbei Palace in a carriage and headed straight for the Zhenguo Temple on the outskirts of the city.
The ancient temple is deep and surrounded by lush pines and cypresses.
Walking through the corridor of the Buddhist temple, I saw young monks in white robes tending to flowers and plants.
Wen Xingluo looked at his back and called softly, "Brother."
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