Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 777 Wedding (Part )

At dawn, carriages and horses were as numerous as dragons.

The Prince of Yan's residence was located in the eastern eighth ward of Shenjing. It was a bestowed residence for the Prince of Yan after ten years of imperial favor, but it remained uninhabited for many years afterward, with only servants managing it, until two years ago when his only son, Yongji, came to the capital and stayed there.

Many people know that the Prince of Yan in the North has a crown prince, but few have seen the crown prince's true face.

As the only son of the man who fought alongside him for the throne, his extraordinary status is unimaginable. The so-called high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital come and go, but only this figure in the Northern Border is as steadfast as a piece of iron.

The emperor on the dragon throne has reigned for twenty-seven years, and the Yong banner in the northern border has also flown for twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years is not a short period of time. Zhu Gaoyang, the senior brother of the sword lineage of the Dragon Lord Dongting, is only twenty-seven years old this year. From his birth to the present, the Prince of Yan, Yongbei, has always stood in the north, transcending the Tang Kingdom.

The passage of time is enough for something to be perceived as eternal in people's minds.

The Prince of Yan has not entered the capital for a long time, so although he is powerful, he is also distant, gradually becoming like a piece of the sky of the Tang Dynasty. You can see it many times. It is the background of countless things, but it seems to never move.

Now it's moving.

The sky to the north was directed towards the capital, and many people were suddenly disillusioned – it turned out that it wasn't a statue facing north, but a living person.

The northern border's marriage alliance with the royal family, with the bride being a descendant of the Lin bloodline, was a signal that could spread throughout the Tang Dynasty.

Traditionally, when an adopted son marries, he can only be chosen from among the five surnames. If a princess of the Tang Dynasty were to marry a prince consort, it must be in the capital city. The adopted son born to her would also be a member of the Li clan and would live and grow up in the capital city for the rest of his life, never to leave the city walls.

Yong was certainly not one of the five surnames, and the heir would certainly not stay in the capital. Therefore, the heir of the Lin bloodline would naturally go north with him.

The Prince of Yan's position was already unshakeable, and after this marriage, his power naturally soared.

The five clans may have tried their best to stop it, but they clearly failed. Could the will of the Zichen Palace not be behind this?

Therefore, when the black silk invitations were widely distributed in the capital, everyone who could come did.

Because there was little prior warning, the people of Shenjing were both excited and astonished, watching the massive procession before the imperial city and the gold and red paper covering the streets of Shengqianfang. Thousands of riders galloped through every alley in Shenjing, setting off firecrackers and scattering candies and money for good luck.

For countless years, the capital city had not seen such a grand bridal procession. Some said it was the prime minister's son, others said it was the emperor's daughter, but even if the identity remained unknown, the extraordinary scale of the event was undeniable.

All the martial arts sects in Shenjing were also invited.

Of course, no one dared to offend the Prince of Yan. On the contrary, many sects felt honored to receive the invitation and were given a spacious garden for martial artists to sit in comfort.

"Brother Zhu, I'm telling you it must be a misunderstanding." Shang Lang frowned and continued to explain after entering the room, "Think about it, I'm not from Xianrentai, and I rarely see Zhang Zhongcheng, so why would I go out of my way to report you?"

“Although it wasn’t your direct statement, the source must have been you.” Amidst the lively chatter, Zhu Gaoyang persisted as he walked further in, “Otherwise, few people would know that I used his name, so how did it get to his ears?”

Shang Lang frowned in distress: "I don't know either."

"Those who know about this are only you, me, Xing Zhi, and Pei Ye. Xing Zhi wouldn't be so idle as to gossip, and I haven't provoked her recently; Pei Ye only met Zhang Siche before going to Bashui, and at that time he was concerned about the safety of Prince Jinyang, so why would he say such a thing—besides, he was quite bewildered after the incident and even tried to exonerate you." Zhu Gaoyang looked at him, "You haven't told anyone?"

"...No, I didn't, Brother Zhu."

"You speak without thinking, and you don't even realize when you've let something slip."

Shang Lang thought about it and became somewhat convinced: "Then...that's possible too."

Anyway, he did say quite a few things about Brother Zhu, so he couldn't help feeling a little guilty at this point.

"Didn't Pei Ye say he was coming too? I haven't seen him."

"I sent a letter the day before yesterday to ask, and he said he would come and we would meet then. Who would have thought there would be so many people today?" Shang Lang looked around. "I wonder if they have already arrived."

After entering through the main gate, a wide road, wide enough for horses to gallop, leads directly to the main residence. At this time, the palace ceremonial guards are all ready, and the crown prince has already gone outside the imperial city to wait. They are just waiting for the auspicious time to come so that they can go back to fetch the bride.

At this moment, the different guests all went in different directions; officials went with officials, and people from all walks of life went with people from all walks of life, so naturally they did not see the young man's figure.

As the two headed towards the eastern garden and crossed the archway, they saw the sword-wielding youth standing by the gate.

After a few days apart, the young man seemed much calmer. The martial arts world was bustling with people, including many disciples of major sects, but he didn't speak to anyone. He had a bamboo hat on his head, and Shang Lang almost missed him if he hadn't looked him over carefully.

"Young Master Pei's new look is quite aloof," Zhu Gaoyang laughed. "What, you've been standing here for half an hour, has any girl come up to talk to you?"

Pei Ye raised his hand and touched his straw hat: "I saw it was going to rain this afternoon, so I prepared rain gear to save myself the trouble of going back to get it."

He glanced at the two of them: "Why did you get up so late?"

"How early did you get up?" Zhu Gaoyang asked curiously. "So what if it rains this afternoon? Where are you going?"

“I get up at half past 3 AM every day, and I’ve already practiced my sword for an hour and a half before coming here,” Pei Ye said. “I’m going out of the city this afternoon to find mushrooms in the mountains.”

Shang Lang's eyes lit up: "I like to eat it."

"We're just going to look for them, not to pick them and cook them," Pei Ye said. "We're looking for those buried in the ground to feed our sword intent."

Zhu Gaoyang's eyes lit up: "That's interesting, I'll go with you."

Shang Lang sighed: "I can't understand the behavior of you sword practitioners."

Pei Ye said, "I'm not going with you. We've already made arrangements."

"Add me too, who else?"

"Never mind that." Pei Ye took off his bamboo hat and said seriously, "Brother Zhu, you're about to fall off the Crane Ranking, and you're still wandering around here and there every day. You should practice your sword more."

"..." Zhu Gaoyang felt that this cute boy was getting more and more annoying. "Let's go inside—it's been eight or nine days since I last saw you, and you haven't sent a single word."

“I told you I’ve been practicing swordsmanship.” Pei Ye tapped his bamboo hat against the kitten in his arms. “I just came out for some fresh air today.”

The boy did look a bit like someone who had been living in seclusion for a long time; he wasn't very lively and spoke rather quietly. He stretched and looked around at the lively crowd.

"Most of the Thirty-Three Swordsmen have also arrived."

“Since invitations have been sent, everyone wants to see the Prince of Yan’s attitude,” Zhu Gaoyang said. “Especially the southern sects, who have only heard of this Northern Prince by name.” Shang Lang exclaimed, “So many seats!”

The three walked along a long road and entered the garden. Indeed, there were ponds, rocks, flowers and trees scattered about, and hundreds of tables and chairs set up in various places. This garden alone was more than twice the size of the Tianshan Sword Banquet.

Naturally, it was also a more mixed bag. Pei Ye looked on in amazement, probably only then realizing that after the Tianshan Sword Banquet, there were still so many sects in Shenjing that he didn't recognize.

Shang Lang leaned forward and said, "Brother Zhu, where do the people from Dongting sit? We'll sit with you."

"No, no." Zhu Gaoyang turned his shoulder around. "The three of us can find a place to sit. We're all friends in the martial arts world, it doesn't matter where we sit."

Shang Lang looked bewildered: "Why not go to Dongting Lake? I still want to meet the true master of Luwei."

Pei Ye turned his head: "It's possible that Sister Xing Zhi is here too, and he's afraid of being controlled."

Shang Lang suddenly realized.

Zhu Gaoyang didn't pay attention to what the two young men were saying. As soon as he stood there with his handsome face and relaxed posture, people who recognized him came forward to greet him. The man sometimes pursed his lips and looked at them, and sometimes laughed loudly. In the end, he was dragged into the stone next to the five tables. Before leaving, he remembered to turn back and call out to the two men.

Pei Ye and Shang Lang followed him and took their seats.

This group was not made up of unknown people; they were all young talents who had gathered together in one place. They were mainly from the southern martial arts world, and their clothes and skirts were all in the southern style, with some northerners mixed in as well.

Pei Ye followed behind the man and immediately spotted Ning Shuhong and Wang Shousi, as well as Bian Weiji's face. Zhu Shishi sat next to Ning Shuhong, leaning on her hand and staring at the table with only wine and fruit.

As soon as Zhu Gaoyang walked in, everyone stood up. The man's reputation among his peers in the south was astonishing. Some recognized his appearance, while others did not, but it was already a well-known story. For a moment, there was laughter and exclamations of surprise.

Shang Lang was clearly already used to it, and he took Pei Ye's hand and followed behind to sit down.

"Don't worry, as long as Brother Zhu is here, we can be invisible." He tilted his head and said, "No one will notice us for a while."

However, he was wrong this time. Before he could finish speaking, a woman's voice rang out from the side.

"What has Pei been doing all this time? Didn't he say he would stay at the Sword Cultivation Academy for a month?" Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere, Ning Shuhong also came over and said with a smile, "Even if we asked Young Master Jiang, he didn't know where Pei had gone."

"Practicing swordsmanship, practicing swordsmanship." Pei Ye was a little embarrassed. "Practicing swordsmanship elsewhere—how are Ning and Wang making progress these days?"

“Thanks to fellow cultivator Pei for solving my problem of destiny that day,” Ning Shuhong said. “I have made great progress in my cultivation these past few days, and Wang Shousi is no match for me now.”

"Who cares if I can beat you?" Wang Shousi turned around from behind, tugged at Pei Ye's sleeve, and leaned down to whisper, "Brother Pei."

Pei Ye was startled: "What are you doing?"

Wang Shousi kept his voice low: "There are some rumors circulating in the capital that the Master of the Glazed Sword has actually entered the capital, but has not yet shown his face..."

Pei Ye paused for a moment, then nodded.

Wang Shousi was filled with respect and rubbed his hands together: "Brother Pei, you promised to give my regards."

Ning Shuhong, who had been listening nearby, also chimed in, "Me too."

Pei Ye laughed: "No problem, no problem, you should all go back now and stop circling around me."

After some pleasantries, everyone finally sat down. Their conversation inevitably revolved around the differences between northern customs and southern scenery. If they went deeper, they would discuss swordsmanship and the principles of swordsmanship, as well as the various events in the sword world of the capital in recent months. Pei Ye inevitably heard his own name mentioned several times during these conversations.

The flow of fruit, snacks, wine, and tea was constant, indicating that not all of the twenty or thirty people were necessarily familiar with each other, and they always had endless things to talk about.

Pei Ye chatted with Shang Lang beside him about this and that while thinking about what had happened that afternoon. It wasn't until Shang Lang asked him, with a hint of doubt, to recall when he had revealed that Brother Zhu was impersonating someone else, that Pei Ye seriously admitted that he was a little sleepy.

As the sun rose high in the sky, three chimes resounded throughout the mansion, signaling the auspicious hour. The wedding procession outside Chengtian Gate was about to pick up the princess and prepare for their return journey.

……

Li Youlong sat quietly in front of the mirror, gazing at her reflection.

This face is very young, the face of a young woman in her late teens, and it has already been carefully made up.

The woman behind her gathered her silky hair, carefully braiding it strand by strand, and then gently attaching large or small pieces of gold and jade ornaments.

“Yong Ji is a handsome and talented man, and also a prince. He is a rare good young man in the Tang Dynasty. If he doesn’t fight and kill, he is actually quite interesting. He is usually lazy like a lion that hasn’t woken up yet. He doesn’t get angry and is willing to joke with you.” The woman said softly as she worked. “It’s just that he died young.”

Li Youlong obediently let the woman dress her up, and after a moment of silence, she asked, "Elder sister, what do I need to do?"

"In a few hours, you'll be the Crown Princess, so don't talk to me anymore." Li Xizhou looked at his accomplishment with satisfaction, then leaned down and hugged her from behind.

She said softly, "I know you're feeling stifled here. My only hope in marrying you off to the north is that you'll be happier there. Galloping horses, heavy snow, raging winds, an endless expanse... how exhilarating!"

Li Youlong raised his hand and grasped her wrist, bit his lower lip, and suddenly burst into tears.

“Everyone else has Li Huang to take care of them, but you are the only child Li Yao took as a concubine. People say that an elder sister is like a mother, and you have taught me to truly experience what it feels like to be an ‘elder sister’.” Li Xizhou stroked her head.

Li Youlong twisted his body and leaned against the woman's waist, sobbing.

Li Xizhou smiled and said, "Alright, it's not like we're facing life and death. There are few conscious people in the palace, and you are one of them. You carry the blood of the Qilin, so wherever you go, you must shoulder this responsibility."

"……Um."

Li Xizhou helped her up, wiped away her tears, and straightened her crooked hair. At this moment, Meng'er came in, and Li Xizhou nodded to her and handed Li Youlong's hand to her.

Li Youlong walked out of the Zhujing Palace and bowed to the Empress and the concubines; when she arrived outside the Zichen Palace, she bowed again to the yellow robe that was seen in the distance; when she walked out of the Chengtian Gate, she had a calm and indifferent face again.

She lived in Qingsi Palace for many years. Before leaving, she took nothing with her. She burned all her old belongings in a fire, keeping only an old book she had memorized in her childhood wrapped in her arms.

In the stillness of the surroundings, she boarded the magnificent wedding carriage. Firecrackers crackled and bells rang. Countless white cranes and mandarin ducks were released into the sky from the imperial city. The long procession drove away from the imperial city and headed east.

The crowds lining the streets cheered and shouted excitedly, making it the most lively time in the capital in many years.

(End of this chapter)