At the same time in Xiaoyaoâs wangfu1, Wanyan Kang sneezed. He touched his nose after sneezing. He absolutely didnât know that Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi had already decided his future for him.
Mu Hua originally thought that Feng Cang would definitely turn the capital upside down. He didnât expect that the next day everything had returned to normal. Except for the Eagle troops at the city gates checking the passing pedestrians, everything else vanished like smoke in thin air. It was as if yesterdayâs fierce search of the city was just âa false alarmâ.
The behavior of Feng Cang was even more confusing to Mu Hua. According to Feng Cangâs past personalities, he would never give up if he hadnât catch Taji Guli. Could it be that this man had changed his temper after marriage and had become gentle?
How could Mu Hua know that outside Yan capital, the people of Fo Sheng Men and Moyu had already put out an inescapable net? The portraits of Longze Jing Tian and Taji Guli were sent to every province and every county. Those people who left Yan capital lived a life of hiding and dodging every day. Whether it was from the court or the jianghu2, there were people looking for them.
An inescapable net: a trap
Feng Cang used the âbeat the grass to scare the snakeâ method to deal with Taji Guli. Since they (FC) didnât know where they (TG) were, they (FC) simply created an anxious and desperate situation, which made these people (TG) unable to sleep calmly day and night. The soldiers of the imperial court were in the open, whereas the people of Fo Sheng Men and Moyu were undercover. There would be a day where they (TG) would reveal themselves. At that time, they (FC) needed only to catch everything in one net.
To beat the grass to scare the snake: to act rashly and alert the enemy
To catch everything in one net: to capture them all in one go
When Feng Qi Qi told Dongfang Lan to prepare the wedding of Wanyan Kang and Su Mei, this great empress dowager was very happy.
Dongfang Lan had seen Su Mei many times and liked this natural and poised girl very much. However, what made Dongfang Lan most pleased was the tall figure of Su Mei. In her words, Su Mei had an appearance of good breeding (can bear offspring).
When Dongfang Lan said this, Wanyan Kang and Su Mei were beside them. Wanyan Kang was smiling foolishly the whole time, while Su Mei was blushing.
âGirl, quickly join the household! After joining the household, you can call me grandmother!â Dongfang Lan held Su Meiâs hand. The more she saw Su Mei, the more she liked her. In the end, she simply took off a bunch of gold bracelets from her hand and put them on Su Mei.
âGreat empress dowager, this canât be done....â
Su Mei wanted to refuse but was stopped by Wanyan Kang. âIf imperial grandmother gave them to you, just accept it! This is a gift! After accepting this gift, you are the daughter-in-law of my Wanyanâs family!â
For the first time, Su Mei didnât bicker with Wanyan Kang. Instead, she blushed and showed the loveliness of a young girl.
Time passed quick and the 18th of the second month arrived quickly. Early in the morning, Su Mei was woken up. Feng Qi Qi personally did the makeup of Su Mei, while Su Yue tied up her hair. The phoenix coronet with the wedding gown and jewelry had already been prepared by Feng Qi Qi. After being tortured for a long time, Su Mei had finally become a bride.
âReally beautiful!â After Feng Qi Qi put the finishing touches to Su Meiâs eyebrow, she put down the eyebrow pencil.
âOur Su Mei is the most beautiful bride of the world today!â
âMiss....â Su Mei stood up and knelt in front of Feng Qi Qi. Feng Qi Qi was taken aback for a moment by her (SM) sudden action. She then quickly helped Su Mei up but was rejected by Su Mei. âMiss, Su Mei can exist today is inevitably because of you! Su Mei is very grateful to you!â
After saying that, Su Mei kowtowed three times to Feng Qi Qi. âSu Mei thanks Miss!â
âSu Mei, get up quickly!â
There were also some moist in Feng Qi Qiâs eyes. Last time, when Su Yue got married, Feng Qi Qi wasnât so sad. This was because Nalan Xin was a subordinate of Feng Cang, so Su Yue was still married into the wangfu. However, Su Mei was different. She was now getting married off and, in the future, she also couldnât meet her every day.
âDonât cry! The bride canât cry!â Feng Qi Qi carefully wiped the tears from the corner of Su Meiâs eyes and reapplied her makeup. âAh Kang is a good man and will certainly love you dearly! Moreover, we live so close to each other. You can still come back often and we three can still meet up frequently. Itâs not like weâll be apart and will never see each other again! Donât cry, dear!â
While the three master-servant were talking, the palanquin to escort the bride had already arrived at the regentâs palace. Wanyan Kang rode on the tall horse and was dressed up in all red. He looked full of joy and handsome.
âThe bridegroom has come to pick up the bride!â Along with the arrival of the voice, Feng Qi Qi quickly put the red veil on Su Mei. Su Yue also stuffed a red and big apple in the hands of Su Mei. âHold the apple well. Donât lose it!
Apple symbolizes peace in China. The word for apple in Chinese is ping which is a homonym to peace.
The matron of honor helped Su Mei out of the room. Then they walked all the way through the wangfu and finally got to the entrance.
After seeing Su Mei come out, Wanyan Kang immediately dismounted. He wanted to go support her but was stopped by Feng Qi. âWangye3, it isnât your turn yet! Wait till you get to Xiaoyaoâs wangfu, then you can be more active!â
Feng Qiâs words made everyone laugh. Wanyan Kang also got a big red face and could only look at Su Mei entering the palanquin.
After the bright red curtain of the palanquin was put down, only then did Wanyan Kangâs heart settled down.
âRaise the palanquin!â
A grandiose team of brideâs escort moved towards Xiaoyaoâs wangfu. Su Mei who was in the palanquin clenched the apple tightly, and her heart jumped like the jolt of the palanquin, up and down.
She never thought that she would one day marry the person who loved her, and never even thought she would marry a countryâs wangye. Things that she had never dared to think about, had now become a reality. Her beloved man was now out there. They are going to her new home. All these things made Su Mei feel very happy.
In order to welcome the new mistress, Xiaoyaoâs wangfu had been decorated anew. Wanyan Jie and Dongfang Lan had already arrived here. Wanyan Jie was sitting upright on the chair. Although his face was pretending to be calm, the excitement in his eyes couldnât hide his childish heart.
This was the first time that Wanyan Jie had attended a wedding ceremony, and he was also to officiate the wedding of Wanyan Kang. It made him feel fresh and very happy.
âEmperor, great empress dowager, wangye has brought wangfei4 over!â Wanyan Kang just arrived at wangfu, there was already someone notifying them.
âGreat-grandmother, zhen5 wants to go and see!â As soon as he heard this, Wanyan Kang couldnât sit still. He was eager to know how the welcoming of the bride looked like. He was very curious and wanted to go ahead to see.
After seeing Wanyan Jieâs excited appearance, Dongfang Lan took his hand and patted it gently. âEmperor, you are the marriage officiant today and a marriage officiant shouldnât walk around!â
âOh....â Wanyan Jie was a bit disappointed. He couldnât go out, so he could only stretch his head and kept his eyes on the outside. He wanted to see Wanyan Kang and Su Mei sooner.
After waiting for a while, Wanyan Kang finally appeared in front of the crowd. He led the red satin that connected him to Su Mei, while the matron of honor carefully supported Su Mei. The two people came in one after another.
âThe first bow to heaven and earth! The second to the great empress dowager and the emperor! The last for the husband and wife! Ceremony completed! Bring them to the bridal chamber!â
After Su Mei was sent to the bridal chamber, she finally woke up from the dream. She got married! She had become the bride of Wanyan Kang! Su Mei who was holding the apple, was somewhat nervous. From time to time, there was some laughter from outside, and Su Mei could feel that there were several maids in the room. Fortunately, the phoenix coronet on her head was modified by Feng Qi Qi. It wasnât so heavy, otherwise, she would have a sore neck and headache after waiting for so long.
After waiting for a long time, so long that Su Mei didnât know what time it was. Only then a voice came over. âWangye has come!â
Wanyan Kang came?! Su Meiâs mood was somewhat complicated. The extreme excitement was essential, but apart from her happiness, there was still some nervousness. At this moment, Su Mei felt a thin layer of sweat in her hands. Due to her head being covered by a red veil, she couldnât see the outside. She could only lower her head and look at her fair-skinned finger on the apple.
âCongratulations wangye! Congratulations wangfei!â
âHm! You all... withdrawn!â Wanyan Kang waved his hands to let everyone go. After only he and Su Mei were left in the room, Wanyan Kang took a deep breath and went to Su Mei.
Su Mei knew that Wanyan Kang had come. At this moment, her heart jumped so hard until the moment Wanyan Kangâs shoes appeared before her. Su Meiâs heart almost stopped beating.
Time was so static, and the surrounding was so quiet. So quiet that Su Mei could hear her own heartbeat and Wanyan Kangâs breathing from afar.
Wanyan Kangâs eyes slowly filled with love and looked at Su Mei under the red veil with deep love. After a long time, he uttered a long sigh. âLittle Mei er6, I have finally taken you as my wife!â
Accustomed to Wanyan Kang mischievously face, Su Mei didnât know that he also had such a calm and deep side. Wanyan Kangâs hand reached out and placed Su Mei small hands on his own palm. He laughed softly after he felt the sweatiness of Su Meiâs hands.
âLittle Mei er, you are nervous!â
This laughter made Su Mei very embarrassed. She wanted to pull out her hands, but it was tightly held by Wanyan Kang.
âLet it go!â Su Mei scolded softly.
âNo! Not going to let go. Iâll never let go of it!â
Wanyan Kang grabbed Su Meiâs hand. Then he searched his body blindly for a while and pulled out a golden box. Didnât wait for Su Mei to understand, Wanyan Kang had already knelt down in front of her. âSu Mei, are you willing to marry me?â
The appearance of Wanyan Kang made Su Mei think of the situation when Feng Cang proposed to Feng Qi Qi. She once said to Wanyan Kang that she was very envious of Feng Qi Qi! It was said that the man has gold under his knees, but Feng Cang was willing to kneel for love, for his beloved woman. This was really not easy to do. She (SM) didnât expect he (WK) took her unintentional words to heart.
The man has gold under his knees: a man should have dignity and not grovel or bow down. In ancient times, men would only bow to their ancestors and someone of a higher rank. Kneeling to anyone other than that, especially kneeling towards women was a shameful thing.
Wanyan Kang opened the box with a sapphire ring inside. Only by looking at the style, Su Mei knew that this was designed by Feng Qi Qi. Could it be that Feng Qi Qi also participated in this matter? When she thought of the good things that Feng Qi Qi did to her, Su Meiâs eyes became moist.
âSu Mei, would you like to marry me?â After seeing Su Mei didnât utter a word, Wanyan Kang was somewhat anxious and moved the box closer to her. âAre you willing or not?â
One sentence, Wanyan Kang repeated it three times. This made Su Mei couldnât help but uttered a âfoolâ in her heart. She had already sat in the palanquin and did the wedding ritual with him. How could he still say such foolish things?!
Su Mei deliberately made things difficult for Wanyan Kang. Anyway, she had a veil covering her head now. Wanyan Kang couldnât see her expression and didnât know that she was doing it intentionally.
The beauty behind the red veil didnât say a word made Wanyan Kang completely anxious. He simply picked up the ring and directly put it on Su Meiâs ring finger.
âAiya, youâre using force!â Su Mei was happy in her heart, but her mouth was shouting.
âHumph, I donât care so much! You got into my household, so youâre mine! Even if you donât accept it, you have to accept it. You accept it, then thatâs the best!â Wanyan Kang stood up and patted off the dust on his knees. He then sat next to Su Mei, clutching her left hand with the ring and smiled foolishly.
âYou rascal....â Su Mei quietly sighed.
âYes. Iâm a rascal. Iâm set on you! Donât even think of dumping me, Iâll keep bothering you!â
Donât know why, but only after Su Mei put on the ring and didnât refuse, was Wanyan Kang able to have a peace of mind. It felt really good to lean so close to Su Mei and held her hand tightly! He hadnât felt this happiness for a long time!
âHey....â
After waiting for a long time, Wanyan Kang didnât make a sound. Su Mei couldnât help but use her elbow to nudge him.
âWhatâs wrong?â Su Meiâs âbumpâ caused Wanyan Kang to wake up from his dream.
âQuickly take off the red veil for me! You want me to wait until when?!â
Su Meiâs shouting made Wanyan Kang jump up. Only now did he realize that he hadnât lifted the veil. He hurriedly lifted open the bridal veil and then that pretty face of Su Mei appeared in front of Wanyan Kang.
âReally beautiful....â Wanyan Kang praised her from the bottom of his heart. His eyes fixed on Su Mei, and the burning passion in his eyes, made Su Mei felt a burst of heat.
1. Wangfu: the residence of the prince of first rank
2. Jianghu: the martial arts world
3. Wangye/wang: the prince of first rank
4. Wangfei: main consort of the prince of first rank
5. Zhen: I, used by the emperor
6. Er: term of endearment