Chapter 364 – The Sweet Princess Was Here – Welcoming the Bride (09)
If it were just some low-status palace concubine, it would still be tolerable. But Bai Fangxin carried special significance, and the King of Huan hadn’t even left yet—she could not be touched.
Ignoring the fact that it was already the middle of the night, Emperor Jude stormed toward Kunning Palace in anger. Consort Liang secretly laughed, signaling to the palace maid beside her, and followed along with a facade of “virtuous kindness.”
The Empress was awakened in the dead of night by Nanny Li, who said His Majesty had arrived.
Before the servants could even announce him, Emperor Jude burst into the Empress’s bedchamber.
“Empress, is Consort He with you…”
The final word—“here”—stuck in his throat.
The Empress was a beautiful woman. Startled by his furious intrusion, her face turned pale. Several strands of hair fell loosely around her cheeks, and she rose gracefully to pay her respects.
“Your Majesty, your concubine greets you.”
For a brief moment, Emperor Jude felt as if he had returned to the day he first married her. Back then, she was just as beautiful, wearing a bright, carefree smile. When had she begun offering blunt admonitions? When had her words become increasingly displeasing to his ears, until the two of them were merely polite and distant?
“Your concubine greets Her Majesty the Empress.”
Seeing the Emperor staring in a daze, Consort Liang looked up at the Empress again. That almost youthful beauty shocked her heart, and she quickly spoke up to break the atmosphere.
Emperor Jude coughed twice, trying to mask his momentary lapse.
Consort Liang reminded him, “Your Majesty, about Sister Consort He…”
Right, Consort He.
“Empress, I heard you summoned Consort He to Kunning Palace and that she still hasn’t left. Where is she?”
The Empress lowered her head, hiding her expression.
“Consort He is not in my palace.”
“The servants attending to Consort He said you summoned her. Bring forth the witnesses.”
…
Inside Guangyang Hall, the rain had stopped at some point. Bai Tang slept in a daze and seemed to hear people talking.
He cracked his eyes open slightly and saw Wu Chenyi speaking with Xiao Duzi.
“Nanny Li sent someone over. His Majesty stormed off to Kunning Palace in a rage, saying that Her Majesty the Empress detained Consort He.”
What kind of matter couldn’t wait until daylight? Why question the Empress in the middle of the night? It was a blatant slight against her.
Wu Chenyi felt growing dissatisfaction toward the increasingly muddle-headed Emperor Jude. What would the court and the harem say about the Empress tomorrow?
Because it touched on the plot, Bai Tang suddenly snapped awake.
“Qiu’er, what’s happening now?”
“In the original storyline, the male supporting character enters the palace, but out of jealousy, Consort Liang has him kidnapped and tortured half to death, then frames the Empress for it.” Qiu’er glanced at the plot book.
Xiao A opened the map, searching for the heroine’s location.
“The heroine was framed by Consort Liang too—she’s been stuffed into a secret chamber in Kunning Palace, just waiting for Emperor Jude to search the place and humiliate the Empress.”
The plot that originally belonged to the male supporting character had now been snatched by the heroine.
Doesn’t that mean Mother Empress is the one about to be framed?!
Bai Tang sat up.
“Qiu’er, Xiao A, keep an eye on the progress. A-Yi and I are going to Kunning Palace to rescue Mother Empress~”
“It’s too late. Under Consort Liang’s instigation, Emperor Jude is confronting the Empress without backing down. He’s about to launch a full search of Kunning Palace.”
“What do we do then…”
Bai Tang froze mid-movement while dressing. His watery eyes, hazy from sleep, welled up with a few involuntary tears.
“We can move Bai Fangxin out, but that will require energy…”
Xiao A’s gaze shifted toward Qiu’er. Aside from the main system’s operating power, all the remaining energy was under Qiu’er’s control. And Qiu’er guarded that energy like his life—it depended on whether he was willing.
As for that trashy heroine, Qiu’er absolutely did not want to save her. It would be great to let her embarrass herself in public.
But… when Qiu’er met Bai Tang’s pleading gaze, he reluctantly said, “Fine… just this once. Energy is hard to come by—we can’t waste it.”
This wasn’t saving the heroine at all. It was saving Tang Tang’s mother-in-law; the heroine was only being rescued incidentally.
Thinking this way, Qiu’er’s resistance eased a little.
Wu Chenyi finished speaking with Xiao Duzi. When he turned around, he saw Bai Tang already up—half-dressed, standing by the bed and yawning.
“It’s not even dawn yet. Why don’t you sleep a bit longer?”
Wu Chenyi gently pulled Bai Tang’s clothing closed. His half-covered appearance was far too enticing. Before their marriage, Wu Chenyi refused to take advantage of him.
“Mmm… I have a really bad feeling. Mother Empress might be in danger. Can we go to Kunning Palace to check?” The youth’s throat was a little dry, his soft milky voice carrying a slight rasp.
“Going there in the middle of the night wouldn’t be good for Mother Empress’s reputation. I’ve already sent someone to Kunning Palace. Tang Tang, stay here with me in Guangyang Hall and wait for news, alright?”
A faint smile flashed in Wu Chenyi’s eyes. Bai Tang was saying “Mother Empress” more and more naturally now.
Hearing his future husband’s reasoning, Bai Tang suddenly remembered the rule that men and women should not be alone together. In this strict ancient society, unless assassins or emergencies were involved, a man would never visit a woman’s quarters at night. Even if nothing happened, it would ruin her reputation—she’d be as good as socially dead. People’s gossip alone could drown her.
“…Okay then. Who did A-Yi send? They need to be fast. Until I see Mother Empress safe, I won’t feel at ease.”
“It’s Suwen. She’s highly skilled in martial arts. She should be reaching Kunning Palace by now,” Wu Chenyi reassured him.
What he didn’t know was that even if Suwen hurried, it was already too late. Fortunately, Qiu’er had already transferred Bai Fangxin away; even if Emperor Jude searched every corner of Kunning Palace, he would find nothing.
“Mm-hmm, Mother Empress will be fine.”
Bai Tang already knew the outcome—he was simply waiting for that Consort Liang woman to reap what she had sown.
At dawn the next morning, Suwen returned to report what had happened in Kunning Palace the previous night. It was truly spectacular.
The Empress denied that Bai Fangxin was ever in Kunning Palace. Consort Liang then “accidentally” mentioned that Kunning Palace had a secret room, and a palace maid—whose “conscience couldn’t take it”—stood up to guide the way.
But that so-called secret room contained no instruments of torture at all. Inside was a shrine to a Bodhisattva, with only a prayer cushion on the floor and nothing else.
The Empress froze for a moment, then visibly relaxed. With a look of utter despair, she said, “This is the secret room of Kunning Palace. I have nothing more to say. Everything will be decided by Your Majesty.”
Emperor Jude felt guilty and furiously reprimanded Consort Liang for slandering the Empress and coveting the position of the empress consort. Otherwise, how would she have known the secret room existed? It was merely a dim shrine room—yet she dared claim the Empress tortured palace servants there.
What was worse, Bai Fangxin was eventually found in Consort Liang’s own chambers, covered in injuries from head to toe.
Consort Liang was utterly shocked and let slip, “How could this be? She was obviously—”
Emperor Jude roared, “Obviously what? I see you for what you are—malicious and scheming! Guards!
Consort Liang has been arrogant, extravagant, and jealous, and has shown disrespect to the Empress.
She is to be demoted to the rank of Concubine, have her stipend withheld for one year, be confined for six months, and copy the Precepts for Women fifty times to be submitted to the Empress for inspection!”
He lifted the tearful, beautiful Empress and gently comforted her, completely ignoring the pale, devastated Consort Liang.
With the Empress’s youthful appearance now, Consort Liang couldn’t compare to even half of her beauty. Not to mention, the Empress was now seen as the vulnerable party—gravely ill, then unjustly accused—evoking sympathy from all sides.
Emperor Jude awarded the Empress plenty of treasures as compensation, all of which she sent to Guangyang Hall. She had learned to be magnanimous, often pushing Emperor Jude toward other consorts.
He could see but not touch—his interest in the Empress grew even stronger. His appetite kept being teased, leaving him restless with longing. Yet the Empress insisted that she was still recovering from illness and didn’t want to “pass her sickness” to him, leaving no room for criticism.
Because of her, the other consorts received imperial favor more often and were extremely grateful, contributing generously to the Crown Prince’s wedding preparations.
…
Wu Chenyi and Bai Tang’s wedding was held as scheduled.
Bai Tang sat in the newly decorated bridal chamber at the post station, surrounded by festive lanterns and bright decorations. The noise outside grew livelier and livelier, and his little heart thumped wildly.
This wasn’t the first time he had married his dear husband, but he was always nervous each time.
When one is nervous, time feels especially slow.
Bai Tang felt as though ages had passed, yet Wu Chenyi still hadn’t come.
He quietly pushed the window open and looked outside. At the entrance of the courtyard, a group of people surrounded Wu Chenyi, who was dressed in splendid wedding attire, escorting him toward the room.
Bai Tang hurriedly sat back in place, his heart beating even faster.
“Tang Tang, relax a little. Bai Fangxin is still recovering from her injuries, all the villainous characters are confined, and today’s wedding will definitely be flawless.”
Qiu’er munched on an ice pop.
“Hey—Xiao A, don’t push me! Ah! My ice pop—pay me back!”
Xiao A snatched Qiu’er’s ice pop, and the two little dogs bickered and chased each other back into the small white house, leaving Bai Tang alone, nervous and anxious as he sat waiting.
“The Crown Prince has arrived. Please have the Crown Princess come out,” the nanny serving as the wedding attendant announced loudly.
Xiao Duzi distributed red envelopes to the palace servants guarding the door. Whether they were from the Wu Dynasty or from Huan, everyone received one—no one was left out.
Every face was full of joy.
Especially the attendants from Huan—their favorability toward Wu Chenyi rose dramatically. He was so thoughtful and meticulous. As long as the Seventh Prince didn’t quarrel with the Crown Prince, life would surely be harmonious and pleasant.
A palace maid draped the red bridal veil over Bai Tang. Shortly after, a pair of hands gently held the hands resting on his lap. A calm, reassuring male voice sounded beside his ear:
“Tang Tang, I’m here to take you.”
The youth nodded lightly and gave a soft “Mm.”
According to tradition, the bride should have been carried out by a relative. But Wu Chenyi intended to break the rules.
He lifted Bai Tang onto his back himself.
The palace servants gasped in surprise, and the wedding attendant hurriedly said, “Your Highness, this is against protocol.”
“There’s no such thing as ‘against protocol.’ Today, I am the protocol.”
Wu Chenyi smiled and said to the youth on his back, “I will never let you go for the rest of my life.”
A soft, sweet voice responded, “Then you’d better carry me properly~”
With ceremonial music playing, Wu Chenyi carried Bai Tang out the door, personally settling him into the wedding sedan chair and escorting him to the Crown Prince’s residence outside the palace.
…
Inside the palace, Changning Palace.
Bai Fangxin stood at the hall entrance, looking toward the palace gates. The young palace maid attending her thought she was missing the Seventh Prince, who was to become the Crown Princess today, and tried to comfort her:
“Although Your Ladyship is unwell and cannot attend His Highness’s wedding in person, three days from now the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will enter the palace to give thanks. You will be able to see the Crown Princess then.”
Bai Fangxin was already filled with resentment, and hearing the maid’s unintentional remark nearly made her cough up blood in anger.
But none of this had anything to do with Wu Chenyi, who was happily marrying outside the palace.
Today was a wonderful day—every moment worthy of remembering and cherishing.
Author’s Note :
They finally got married. It wasn’t easy!