Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 293 The Wedding (Part 3)

The city gate slowly opened, revealing an arched archway constructed of black stones. The floor tiles below were also as black as iron, giving off a powerful sense of oppression.

The horses' hooves clattered as they trod.

Astride his horse, Lu Junhao pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and reported to Yin Wanqing, who was being escorted by a crowd, "Princess, it may be dangerous to enter the city rashly."

Before he could finish speaking, Yin Wanqing raised her hand to stop him, and said calmly, "Keep moving forward."

Regardless of her reasons for needing to enter the city, now that she's come this far, there's no way she can suddenly turn back. Lu Junhao's caution serves no purpose other than making him easy to be underestimated.

She kicked her horse's belly, passed through the long city gate, and finally entered the city of Jussai.

Looking up, one sees red ribbons tied to the eaves of the city, swaying gently in the breeze, adding a touch of softness to this grim military city filled with the atmosphere of war.

The supernatural generals under Yin Wanqing's command tried to use their supernatural abilities, but they were unable to do so at all.

At this moment, Gu Jize rushed over and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Princess Changming."

He feigned panic, as if he were terrified of having slighted Yin Wanqing. But inwardly he was calm and composed, showing little reverence.

He wasn't even worried about being caught red-handed by the princess of Yong Kingdom because he wanted to switch allegiance to Rui Kingdom.

"Marshal Gu, there's no need for such formalities," Yin Wanqing said. "My father is very concerned about Marquis Chengye's marriage and originally wanted the Crown Prince to come and offer his congratulations, but unfortunately the Crown Prince is not in the capital, so I have to do it in his place."

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless; on behalf of my younger brother and the Gu family, I express my gratitude."

"I only found out a few days ago that the wedding date had been moved up, so I rushed here. I hope I wasn't late?"

"Of course not. It is my honor that the princess has come," Gu Jize said. "My father should have come to greet her, but he was unwell and would have been impolite."

"Please take me to visit Marshal Gu."

"Please, Your Highness."

During their brief exchange, the two subtly probed each other's attitudes before heading towards the Marshal's Mansion.

Yin Wanqing brought many congratulatory gifts, and the carriages carrying mahogany boxes stretched for miles, not much less than Pei Nian's dowry.

On the way, Gu Jize hesitated before speaking, "I haven't had time to inform the princess yet, but Pei Wugou is also in the city."

"Oh?" Yin Wanqing was surprised at first, then said, "Since Pei Nian is getting married, it is understandable that Rui Kingdom sent him here."

"After Pei Nian saved my younger brother, Pei Wugou was imprisoned by Rui Ting. Strangely, when Rui sent him this time, he said it was for the peace talks between the two countries."

At this point, Gu Jize's face showed a look of doubt, and he murmured, "But if the two countries were to negotiate peace, how could Jusai City not have known about it beforehand?"

A seemingly puzzled muttering to himself is actually a questioning of the imperial court.

Yin Wanqing said, "Really? This is strange. No rush, we can investigate it further after the wedding."

After walking along the long street guarded by rows of neat and solemn elite soldiers, everyone came out to line up in front of the Marshal's Mansion to greet them.

Dressed in red, Gu Jingnian helped Gu Beiming stand at the front.

Yin Wanqing rode up on horseback and met Gu Jingnian's gaze, exchanging a brief glance.

Although weak, Gu Beiming murmured softly, "The one you should marry... is her."

This was purely out of self-interest; perhaps he was deliberately teasing Gu Jingnian, who acted as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Ahead, Yin Wanqing dismounted and walked towards them.

Although she was a woman, she was dressed in military uniform, looking heroic and moving nimbly.

Gu Beiming made a gesture to bow, but she rushed forward to support him, saying, "Master Gu, please don't do that."

"This old minister..."

Gu Beiming tried his best to raise his voice, but his voice was hoarse and could not come out, making him sound particularly pitiful. Even so, he still insisted on bowing to Yin Wanqing.

"Lord Gu has rendered great service to the nation, so there's no need for excessive formalities. Just treat me as your son or nephew."

After Yin Wanqing finished speaking, in order to accommodate Gu Beiming who could not speak loudly, she moved a little closer, seemingly listening to Gu Beiming's words, but in fact she whispered a few words to Gu Jing.

"You detained the tribute procession, and Father Emperor sent Kong Que to investigate this matter," Yin Wanqing asked. "Can you still keep your promise to me?"

Gu Jingnian had met Kong Que once and knew that he was one of the "Four Dukes of Yongjing" (a group of four powerful figures known as "Sparrow, Horse, Fish and Dragon"). Although he was not an extraordinary person, he was extremely powerful and was indeed the best choice to go to Jusai City to handle matters.

Gu Jingnian replied, "Shen Jichi hasn't arrived yet."

“Very well,” Yin Wanqing said. “You must hand over the tribute procession to me.”

This might be her purpose in coming here: to prevent Yong from making a humiliating peace with Rui, to prevent provoking border conflicts, and to take away the aliens who had been offered as tribute from Gu Jingnian.

"Don't rush." ​​Gu Jingnian didn't care how complicated her purpose was, and simply replied with two words.

For him, these things could wait until after the wedding.

"Princess, please have a drink of wedding wine."

With that, Gu Jingnian ended the conversation and led Yin Wanqing into the lobby.

As she walked, Yin Wanqing glanced around at the guests present, intending to take a look at Pei Wugou.

She had never met Pei Wugou, but she was confident that she could recognize him. Whether it was the resemblance between him and Pei Nian or his demeanor, he should not be too difficult to recognize, especially in this kind of occasion.

However, after looking around, she couldn't find Pei Wugou anywhere.

Yin Wanqing thought she hadn't recognized him, but when they arrived in the hall and the wedding was about to continue, many people became puzzled.

Where is Lord Pei?

"Yes, where did your father-in-law go?"

"They must be changing clothes. Let's wait a bit longer."

"..."

At the same time, Pei Wugou was sitting opposite Han Youxin.

Han Youxin looked somewhat helpless and said, "Lord Pei, everyone is waiting for you."

“No rush,” Pei Wugou said. “If we don’t find out the details, it’s fine to call off the marriage.”

"How could I possibly delay your daughter's marriage?" Han Youxin's eyes grew increasingly bitter.

The reason he was cornered and questioned by Pei Wugou was because he had a dagger pressed against his neck and back.

The ones holding the daggers were Han Qia and Han Jia.

Although these two were ostensibly Han Youxin's son and daughter, they were actually spies from the Kaiping Division. Pei Wugou arrived in Jusai City and quickly produced the token given to him by Li Shuangyun, along with the order to transfer these two men, directly commanding them to obey his orders.

After a thorough questioning, Pei Wugou began to have some suspicions about Han Youxin, from the timing of Gu Jingnian's two meetings with Han Youxin to Han Youxin's overly confident report to Gu Jingnian that he had captured Womin.

If he had only had a slight suspicion before, upon learning of Yin Wanqing's sudden arrival today, Pei Wugou knew that someone in Jusai City had leaked the information to Yin Wanqing, and thus began to suspect Han Youxin.

"Tell me, you've been turned by the Yong Kingdom, haven't you?" Pei Wugou asked.

"Absolutely not!"

Seeing that Han Youxin was still denying it, Pei Wugou beckoned Han Jia over and said, "Go and find Princess Yongguo and tell her that Han Youxin asked you to report that he has found the location of Womin."

"Yes."

Han Jia was about to leave.

"Enough." Han Youxin quickly stopped him, sighed, and said, "Confess to Lord Pei. My identity was indeed betrayed by Pei Nian and Gu Jingnian to the Princess of Yong."

Having confessed, he no longer concealed anything and told Pei Wugou everything that had happened.

Upon hearing this, Pei Wugou frowned and fell into deep thought once again.

After a while, he asked, "After you arrived in Jusai City, did you contact 'Starry Eyes'?"

"Yes."

"So, Xingmou's identity has also been exposed."

Pei Wugou knew that Xingmou was an important spy planted by Li Shuangyun, and many of the messages this time were passed on by Xingmou.

But now it seems that all the results may be overturned.

Thinking of this, Pei Wugou's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Finally, he suddenly turned his head to look at the wedding hall and muttered to himself, "It's fake."

"If Womin is a fake, then if Gu Jize also knows that Womin is a fake, how could he cooperate with me?"

Finally, Pei Wugou understood completely and uttered two words of certainty and anger.

"You're trying to trick me!"

He wanted to ask Han Youxin a few more questions, but someone ran over and said, "Lord Pei, hurry over! Everyone is waiting for you on this joyous day..."

"Great joy?" Pei Wugou scoffed lightly, straightened his clothes, and headed towards the wedding hall.

(End of this chapter)