After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 30
Hi! I’ve been MIA for more than a week but I’m back. The new schedule will be MWF.
Chapter 30: Second Watch of the Night
The next day, after arriving at the Li Mansion, He Xinruo saw that the servants were busy preparing for the wedding ceremony to be held in a few days.
During the Crown Prince’s bridal acceptance ceremony, he was also expected to personally welcome the bride on the day of the grand wedding at the Grand Tutor’s mansion. This welcoming ceremony involved Grand Tutor Li and other important guests invited by the Li family. Therefore, everyone in the Li Mansion was working diligently without any slack. The main lady of the Grand Tutor’s mansion, Madam Dong, also made the servants rehearse the procedure several times a day, fearing any mistakes.
Li Shuying invited He Xinruo mainly because she was one of the invited guests, and secondly, she was curious about the cousin from the Fang family, whose name was not well-known. She wanted to understand more about her through He Xinruo.
He Xinruo, worried about how to bring up the matter with Ruan An, quickly suppressed her joy upon hearing Li Shuying’s question and exaggeratedly told her about recent events.
“The cousin from the Fang family is delicate and gentle, like a willow swaying in the wind. As soon as she entered the mansion, she had conflicts with her mother-in-law. Although Marquis Dingbei favors her, the mother-in-law is helpless against her. In the end, the mother-in-law simply exempted her from the morning and evening greetings.”
“She occasionally visits the main lady’s courtyard, but her attitude isn’t very respectful. It’s almost like she’s there just for tea and snacks, quite perfunctory.”
“Right, after she entered the mansion, there was also the incident of her feigning pregnancy. It really fooled me and her mother-in-law. But, that matter was left unresolved.”
“Who would have thought that the Chancellor would be so fond of the child she bore, keeping him almost always by his side?”
After hearing He Xinruo’s jealous complaints, Li Shuying actually grew more admiring of the cousin from the Fang family.
From the beginning, she felt that this woman from Shu wasn’t as simple as she appeared.
Not only did she control the rebellious man, Marquis Dingbei, with her offspring, but after entering the mansion, she even manipulated the people of the Huo family.
When she gets the chance, she must meet this woman to see how capable she really is.
Seeing Li Shuying deep in thought, He Xinruo took the opportunity to instigate further, saying, “A few days ago, I invited the cousin from the Fang family to join me on the Imperial Street to see your wedding ceremony, but I don’t know what she was thinking; she directly refused.”
Li Shuying looked at He Xinruo and smiled gently, her eyes calm as she replied, “You said the cousin from the Fang family appears delicate, so she must be in poor health. It’s normal for her to refuse. There’s no need to make a big deal out of such a small matter.”
He Xinruo’s expression changed slightly, unsure if the future Crown Princess was genuinely magnanimous or just hiding her true feelings.
But since Li Shuying had said so, He Xinruo had no choice but to hold back her other words, feeling quite embarrassed, and smiled back at her.
Li Shuying was not foolish and knew that He Xinruo’s words were intended to provoke her against the cousin from the Fang family.
Although the cousin had no official title, she was a duchess and a noblewoman of the court.
And as the future Crown Princess, she would have plenty of opportunities to trouble her at future palace banquets.
But the more He Xinruo acted this way, the more she revealed that the cousin from the Fang family was indeed of a higher status than her. How could this young cousin make He Xinruo, the eldest Miss of the He family, so wary? She had resorted to such a low tactic to deal with her.
The more He Xinruo spoke, the more Li Shuying admired the cousin from the Fang family. She naturally appreciated clever people.
Moreover, as the wife of Huo Pingxiao, Madam Fang’s status in the circle of noblewomen was already very special. The frontier was still unstable, and Huo Pingxiao was expected to achieve more military merits in the future. It was only a matter of time before Madam Fang received an official title.
In contrast, her situation with Crown Prince Xiao Chong was not very good.
The most favored concubine in the palace was now Chen Guifei, the only daughter of the Duke of Chen. Chen Guifei, currently seven months pregnant, was about to give birth. The Duke of Chen also held some military power and was not on good terms with Huo Pingxiao.
The Emperor overly favored Chen Guifei and her child,
and if the child in her womb was a boy, then the Empress in the central palace would probably be more anxious than her.
Although the Empress bore the Emperor a son and a daughter, with the son Xiao Chong being made the Crown Prince, Xiao Chong himself was quite mediocre, not as outstanding as the other princes.
Especially Prince Xiao Wen, who had been made a duke this year, was ambitiously eyeing the position of Crown Prince.
Xiao Wen was quite talented. Last year, he had achieved great merits in the flood relief efforts in Yue State, and the Emperor appreciated him.
Unfortunately, Xiao Wen’s mother came from a humble background. She was originally a singer and dancer in the palace, and after being favored by the drunken Emperor once, she was forgotten until she discovered her pregnancy. Only then did the Emperor grant her the status of a seventh-rank female official.
Later, she gave birth to Xiao Wen for the emperor and was only conferred as a talented lady. Until her death, she was buried under the ritual of a consort’s rank.
On the day Xiao Wen was ennobled, his mother was posthumously conferred the rank of a concubine, but this honor was merely a sad consolation.
Previously, when Grand Tutor Li considered marriage for Li Shuying, he also included Xiao Wen as a potential suitor.
However, Xiao Wen’s maternal family lacked influence in the court, leading Grand Tutor Li to eventually abandon this option.
Moreover, although the Crown Prince was of mediocre talent, this meant he was easier to manipulate, a fact well understood by both Huo Lang and Grand Tutor Li.
The gender of Consort Chen’s child was unknown, and Xiao Wen’s mother was of low birth, but this did not mean they posed no threat to Li Shuying and Xiao Chong’s status.
Li Shuying thought that since her cousin from the Fang family had little connections in Chang’an and the power of Duke Pei’s household had waned after the old duke’s death, extending an olive branch to her would surely be welcomed. With the support of Marquis Dingbei and the Crown Prince, Xiao Wen and Consort Chen’s ambitions might be restrained.
Soon, it was the day before the wedding ceremony.
According to ritual, the Crown Prince should perform a purification ceremony outside the Chengtian Gate, but although the officials prepared food and drinks and the emperor dressed in his ceremonial robes, the Crown Prince Xiao Chong was nowhere to be seen.
The emperor sent people to urge him from the Eastern Palace, and Xiao Chong finally arrived, tardy.
It turned out that Xiao Chong had visited a brothel in Pingkang District on the eve of his wedding. He fought with a handsome top scholar, who was recently selected by the emperor, over a beautiful courtesan.
Since the courtesan of Pingkang District could choose her patron, and she favored the more handsome top scholar, she didn’t choose the Crown Prince, despite his disguised offer of a fortune.
The Crown Prince, muddled by alcohol, caused a ruckus in Qinliu Hall, and was later stopped by the patrolling magistrate Li Yifang.
After Li Yifang took the Crown Prince back to the office, he discovered his true identity.
This matter was not under the jurisdiction of the magistrate, so the drunken Crown Prince was taken to the Dali Temple, from where the Empress had him secretly retrieved.
However, the incident spread throughout the alleys in a small scale.
Li Shuying learned of this on her wedding day.
Looking at her own youthful and stunningly beautiful reflection in the mirror, Li Shuying almost scratched her own palm with her fingernail.
She knew that in the Eastern Palace, Xiao Chong kept four official concubines and countless favored palace maids whose names were unknown to her.
She hadn’t expected that the Crown Prince would visit Pingkang Alley, and the person he encountered was the lowest of the low in her eyes.
The more Li Shuying thought about it, the more disgusted she felt.
The maids serving her were unaware of the Crown Prince’s incident and didn’t understand why their mistress looked so gloomy on this joyous day.
Fortunately, Li Shuying’s phoenix crown had a beaded curtain that hid her face, and the silk fan in her hand helped conceal her unpleasant expression.
As Li Shuying rode in the phoenix carriage, listening to the joyous sounds outside, her heart was not at ease, but she comforted herself repeatedly.
She was to be the future Empress, and Xiao Chong could not have only her as a woman.
She was not a narrow-minded, petty woman.
What she sought was power and status, not the illusory affections between men and women.
Whether or not the Crown Prince truly liked her was not important.
With these thoughts, Li Shuying looked outside the phoenix carriage.
Because the phoenix carriage is a type of carriage with only a canopy on top and bamboo curtains on both sides, she could easily glance and clearly see the surrounding streetscapes.
The crown prince’s wedding ceremony naturally wouldn’t rely on ordinary street officials to maintain order. The emperor specially invited Grand Marshal Huo Pingxiao with the northern palace’s forbidden army as their ceremonial escort, accompanying them into the imperial palace.
Li Shuying saw Huo Pingxiao, who rode past on a horse, and her expression momentarily froze.
The man wore a set of ceremonial armor that was light and thin in copper, except for the heavy beast-eating shoulder armor on his arms, which accentuated his upright, tall stature with a slender waist and long legs.
Huo Pingxiao’s helmet had copper tubes with bright, long feathers, his nose bridge was sharp, and his eyes and brows were deep, shining brilliantly without peer.
He reined in his horse, maintaining the order of the ceremonial procession. The black lacquered scabbard waist knife at his side clanged with the landing of the horse’s hooves. His full body of scale armor shone brilliantly under the scorching sun.
He seemed like a god, majestic yet not lacking in handsomeness.
Unlike all the men in Chang’an city, Huo Pingxiao was indeed a genuine favored child of the heavens. At this moment, Li Shuying suddenly understood why those young girls were so crazily fond of him.
He indeed had the capital to be arrogant and indifferent to any woman.
For a moment, a faint regret arose in her heart. (TL: She better not)
Why hadn’t she realized Huo Pingxiao’s outstanding qualities earlier? With this man’s talents and military power, if he truly desired that position, it was not impossible.
Finally, the phoenix carriage arrived at the Chengtian Gate of the palace city. According to protocol, Huo Pingxiao and the northern palace’s forbidden army dismounted to walk and escort her and the crown prince into the palace.
Huo Pingxiao and the eunuch of the Ministry of Rites stood together, silently watching as Xiao Chong and Li Shuying entered the palace gate.
Because she had some unusual thoughts about him just now, Li Shuying deliberately paused as she walked past him.
She felt that even through the bead curtain, Huo Pingxiao could clearly see her face. His official rank was high, and he was in charge of presiding over her wedding. It wouldn’t be inappropriate for her to softly thank him without losing decorum or causing gossip.
Li Shuying indeed had a stunningly beautiful appearance. She always prided herself that even the coldest and most indifferent men, upon seeing the smile she intentionally showed them, would fall for her.
She revealed her practiced and flawless smile, and in a soft voice, she said to Huo Pingxiao, “Thank you, Lord Dingbei, for escorting my wedding procession.”
After speaking, Li Shuying felt a bit more anxious. She was eager to know how Huo Pingxiao would reply and what kind of expression he would have when facing her smile.
“The crown princess need not thank me; this is my duty,” he replied.
Hearing this, Li Shuying’s smile suddenly stiffened.
Huo Pingxiao’s words were naturally without fault.
But the man’s tone was too cold.
Even colder were his eyes.
It could be said that he didn’t even glance at her face, his eyes and brows exuding indifference and disinterest.
Just like the rumors about how he treated other women.
Li Shuying’s heart seemed to freeze, gradually enveloped by coldness. She lowered her eyelashes in desolation, becoming increasingly curious about the cousin who married into his house.
