Lu Shuangyi shook her head: "No need, there's no need to make such a fuss, it'll just draw too much attention."
As soon as he said that, Shang Shaoyan was willing to bet that Lu Shuangyi must have met with Xie Huayin's people in the past few days, or even Xie Huayin herself.
Although the entire city was under Shang Shaoyan's surveillance, she was still just a person, not a god, and it was impossible for her to be all-encompassing. There were bound to be some oversights.
Xie Huayin seemed to be very good at exploiting these oversights—Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips when he thought of this.
She likes intelligent people.
Seeing her smile, Lu Shuangyi breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked, "So... what are your plans? How can you make it so that I don't have to go through with the marriage alliance?"
She asked in a somewhat urgent manner. If Shang Shaoyan hadn't asked about this information beforehand, he might not have thought there was anything wrong with Lu Shuangyi's eagerness. But now that he knew she might have been in contact with Xie Huayin, Shang Shaoyan naturally couldn't tell her the truth.
Therefore, Shang Shaoyan simply smiled, and then said with a slightly firm tone, "You don't need to know what I'm going to do—if you don't even believe me on this point, then please leave."
Lu Shuangyi was stunned for a moment, feeling somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. She immediately wanted to lose her temper, but for some reason, she held back and only nodded reluctantly: "Okay, I won't ask any more questions."
Shang Shaoyan nodded, and then personally escorted her out of the tent.
If Lu Shuangyi and Xie Huayin have made contact, then it will be impossible to place one's own people around Lu Shuangyi.
Just by the fact that Xie Huayin is the Palace Master of Xuehua Palace, one can tell that she is meticulous, highly skilled in martial arts, and not to be underestimated. She chose Lu Shuangyi, such a brainless fool. If Shang Shaoyan hadn't been naturally suspicious and asked a few more questions, he might have actually planted his own people by Lu Shuangyi's side.
Thinking about this, Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but feel that Xie Huayin had been waiting for him to slip up.
Teacher Xie is as interesting as ever.
...
Southern Chen Dynasty, Shengjing.
Unlike the harsh winds and desolate wilderness of the Northwest, Shengjing was in full bloom, with peach blossoms and willows in the city, and petals and catkins falling on the green tiles and flying eaves.
Standing under the eaves, Shang Yunlan smiled and said to Granny Li beside her, "Willows and peach blossoms sway in the breeze, spreading spring colors to every household... When An'an and I return to Shengjing, I wonder which spring it will be."
Granny Li smiled, then shook her head helplessly: "My lord, why bring up such sad things on such a joyous occasion?"
Today is Yan Xuening's wedding day, a very important part of their plans.
Yan Xuening was sitting in her boudoir at the moment, while Madam Cheng watched as the matchmaker dressed up her daughter.
Yan Xuening wore a gorgeous light green wedding dress, a hairpin-adorned ceremonial robe, a long skirt with wide sleeves, and a shawl. The layers were numerous, and a wide-sleeved top was placed over it. It was a rather heavy outfit for early spring. She was always delicate, but now she was so hot that she was frowning and almost thought about not getting married.
The matchmaker was stroking her face when Yan Xuening looked in the mirror, enduring the pain, and unexpectedly met Cheng Shi's tearful eyes.
Yan Xuening also felt sad.
It was already dusk. According to the custom of Nanchen, men and women get married at dusk. As Yan Xuening let the matchmaker do her makeup, she wondered in her heart when Li Langxuan would arrive.
As she was lost in thought, she heard a commotion outside; it turned out that the groom was coming to urge her to get ready.
The matchmaker finished the final step of the makeup, placed a beautiful gold-embroidered round fan into Yan Xuening's hand, and said with a smile, "Are you nervous, young lady?"
Yan Xuening shook her head honestly: "I'm not that nervous. After all, we just met yesterday."
Xi Niang: "..."
Outside, Prefect Yan, Shang Yunlan, and several young men from the Yan family were stopping Li Langxuan, asking him to compose a poem to urge him to get ready for his wedding.
Li Langxuan was prepared and was about to read aloud the poem he had revised several times the night before, when he heard Shang Yunlan say with a smile, "Write two poems, with the meaning of being a couple, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Li Langxuan: "..."
He really wanted to beat Shang Yunlan to death.
Li Langxuan forced a smile, pondered for a moment, and said: "A green skirt hangs gracefully, a jade hairpin hangs horizontally, dark eyebrows are newly painted, and the sound of a zither plays. Spring is just right under the willows and along the peach path, I gaze intently and inquire about her jade-like makeup."
Then he read aloud the poem he had painstakingly crafted the day before. Shang Yunlan still wouldn't let him go, insisting that he reveal Yan Xuening's three preferences.
Li Langxuan: "..."
He was getting anxious; they hadn't mentioned this before!
Seeing that he was really anxious, Shang Yunlan suppressed a laugh and finally let him go.
Soon, Yan Xuening covered her face with a fan and walked out gracefully. Li Langxuan was a little nervous and almost forgot that he had to pretend to be blind.
Shang Yunlan keenly noticed that Li Langxuan seemed to have forgotten that he was blind, so she quickly pinched his waist and then urged everyone to head to the Yongle Marquis's residence.
...
The Yongle Marquis's Residence.
Just as the wedding banquet was about to begin, someone announced that Consort Zhao would be attending the ceremony in person.
Consort Zhao walked to the head of the table amidst the kneeling homage of the crowd. Today, she wore a half-silver mask to cover the long, grotesque scar. She was not wearing any formal attire, but rather the clothes that a typical noblewoman would wear, which did not seem as extravagant and wasteful as rumored.
The bride's parents were both alive, but the groom's parents were both deceased. He only had one older sister who was a concubine, and the three of them barely served as his "parents".
After the ceremony, Yan Xuening was escorted to the bridal chamber, while Li Langxuan stayed outside to entertain the guests. When it was time to toast Shang Yunlan, Shang Yunlan subtly moved her fingers.
Li Langxuan understood, glanced at Consort Zhao sitting at the head of the table, and nodded almost imperceptibly to her. The next moment, Consort Zhao fainted in front of everyone.
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