It was only then that Shangguan Wan’s icy expression showed a hint of emotion. He’s finally here…
“Your Highness, the Prince Consort looks especially handsome today!” The palace maid that came to announce Jiang Yucheng’s arrival said this cheerfully but was met with silence instead.
“I got it. You may leave,” answered Shangguan Wan blandly a moment later.
W-what’s going on… Why doesn’t Her Highness seem happy at the news? Shouldn’t she feel shy and happy that her groom has come to fetch her? But why does it seem like… she doesn’t care at all? The palace maid was taken aback by Shangguan Wan’s unenthusiastic response. She had planned to get a reward for saying some nice things to the latter, but the unexpected situation left her at a loss.
“Why are you still standing there? Run along and go do what you need to do! You’ll be punished if you fail to do your duties well!” Chan Yi—who was waiting at the door—scolded the palace maid softly.
“Y-yes!” The frightened palace maid immediately responded to her and left after that. She still had a look of confusion on her face when she was outside though. That’s strange. Her Highness and Eldest Young Master Jiang are usually a loving couple, so it doesn’t make sense that she’d behave this way on the day of their wedding… Don’t tell me that she was upset because I praised Eldest Young Master Jiang?
At the thought of that possibility, the palace maid cursed herself for having a blabbermouth.
Inside the palace, Shangguan Wan looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her scars and injuries had been completely covered up, and the exquisite makeup made her look even more beautiful than usual.
Needless to say, she was also considered a top beauty in Xi Ling City, but her outfit added allure to her. The only thing was that the slight resentment in her eyes spoiled her overall aesthetic beauty as it made her look somewhat cruel.
Seeing this, one of the nannies smiled and said ingratiatingly, “You’re as beautiful as a fairy, Your Highness! Out of the many mistresses I’ve served over the years, you’re the most beautiful one of all!”
“Yeah! The Prince Consort will be amazed by your beauty!” added the other nanny.
Shangguan Wan scoffed inside her heart. As she slowly touched the phoenix hairpin on her head, she quietly asked, “Oh? Then… How do I compare to my elder sister in terms of looks?”
The elder sister Shangguan Wan referred to was naturally the late Crown Princess—Shangguan Yue. Thus, the two nannies—who were taken aback by the question—felt awkward answering it.
Although Shangguan Wan was indeed beautiful, she paled in comparison to her half-sister. Just their demeanors alone spoke volumes about their differences, much less their appearances. The former was conventionally pretty, while the latter’s otherworldly beauty made people feel that it was blasphemous to even take a second look at her and that they could only admire her from afar.
Truly, there was no comparison between them.
A quick-witted nanny smiled. “It’s your big day, so you’re naturally the most beautiful woman, Your Highness!”
Shangguan Wan said nothing in response, although mockery was evident in her eyes. Even without them saying it, she knew full well that she wasn’t on par with Shangguan Yue in terms of the appearance department. As shown in the painting, the fourteen-year-old Shangguan Yue was already a stunning beauty, which was no wonder why Jiang Yucheng was mesmerized with her for a whole decade.
Just then, loud ceremonial music could be heard coming from outside, which meant that Jiang Yucheng had arrived at their palace.
The palace maid that was scolded earlier hastily took two steps back and said eagerly, “Your Highness, the Prince Consort dismounted from the horse and came here right away on foot after entering the palace! He can’t wait to marry you!”
Actually, there was quite a distance from the palace gate to Huayang Palace, but the palace maid said it this way to emphasize how fond Jiang Yucheng was of Shangguan Wan.
Sure enough, the two nannies chimed in. “Looks like the Prince Consort is deeply in love with you, Your Highness! He’s really eager to take you as his wife!”
Deeply in love with me? I wonder if they would still say that if they knew that he had given me a tight slap across the face, got his men to escort me back here, and given me a harsh warning. Shangguan Wan scoffed internally before putting the red veil over her head, which covered her mocking expression.
Chan Yi walked over and helped Shangguan Wan out of Huayang Palace, where Jiang Yucheng and his entourage were already waiting outside.
Under countless watchful eyes, Jiang Yucheng walked up, stretched out his hand toward her, and gently said, “I’m here to marry you, Wan’er.”
…
Meanwhile, everyone was gathered in the huge square in front of Lang Kun Hall, which was paved with white jade stone. The court officials stood neatly on the left, while the big shots from the various major clans stood on the right. Their surroundings were naturally heavily guarded by the Black Guards.
In the middle of the square was a red carpet, which extended up the nine flights of stairs and all the way to Lang Kun Hall’s entrance.
The reason why the wedding and the coronation ceremony were held here was that Lang Kun Hall was where the Tianling Power Staff was enshrined. It was a well-known fact that the Tianling Power Staff was the true symbol of the Tianling Dynasty’s power and authority.
To everyone here, the wedding wasn’t the highlight of the day, for they were more interested in whether Shangguan Wan would be able to successfully go up the nine flights of stairs and enter Lang Kull Hall to take the Tianling Power Staff.
The stairs—which were carved with dragons—looked majestic, solemn, and ancient. Standing atop the stairs, one could already vaguely sense the power they contained, what more of the Tianling Power Staff.
Dragon Teeth Mountain and Chong Xu Cabinet were standing next to each other. Mu Hongyu—who went up to Chu Liuyue and the others—couldn’t help murmuring when she saw the scale of the ceremony. “As expected of a grand ceremony—this is really impressive…”
Ye Ranran, however, blinked. “This is nothing. You ain’t seen nothing yet, Hongyu!”
“This is nothing?” asked Mu Hongyu in surprise. But this is Shangguan Wan’s wedding-cum-coronation ceremony. Both are very important events, so it doesn’t make sense that there’s anything grander than this.
“Yeah! Back then—” Ye Ranran paused and carefully looked around before lowering her voice to a whisper. “The late Crown Princess’s fifteenth birthday celebration was even grander than this, and so was the Grand Court Meeting! It was also really grand when she came back from inspecting the frontiers!”
“All that for the late Crown Princess?” Mu Hongyu widened her eyes in surprise. Even her birthday celebration was grander than Shangguan Wan’s wedding and ascension ceremony… I wonder how important that person was?
“Of course! The Third Princess is only a princess. She can’t be compared to the late Crown Princess.”
As Chu Liuyue listened from the side, she smiled and said nothing.
Just then, a melodious trumpet sound filled the air.
“The Third Princess and her Prince Consort are here!”
