The Attack of the Wastrel

With that simple sentence from Rong Yuan, Gu Lingzhi suddenly felt calm. Her eyes that were hidden behind the veil shifted downwards to see Rong Yuan’s strong hands clasping hers on her lap. 

Rong Yuan’s hands were strong and smooth, a culmination of his cultivation strength. This pair of hands had held hers many times before and after that day, it would lead her into Rong Yuan’s world forever. 

“Alright,” Gu Lingzhi lightly called before she placed her hands on top of Rong Yuan’s, effectively consenting to giving herself to him. 

Rong Yuan tightened his grip around her and all of a sudden, Gu Lingzhi found herself being pulled into a tight embrace. She nested her head into Rong Yuan’s chest comfortably. 

“Lingzhi…I can’t even explain how happy I am!” Rong Yuan’s excited voice echoed through Gu Lingzhi’s head, causing her lips to curl into a smile. It seemed that she was not the only one who was nervous. Gu Lingzhi could feel Rong Yuan’s heart pounding against his chest, exposing his feelings for her. 

At that point, the wedding helper’s voice rang out, stopping Rong Yuan from saying any more sweet words, “Your Highness, I know that you and the Princess Consort are in love but you should not be doing this now. There are many people waiting for the two of you outside.” 

Rong Yuan gently let go of Gu Lingzhi but his fiery eyes remained trained on his bride. With all eyes on him, Rong Yuan broke into a hearty laughter before he bent down and carried Gu Lingzhi bridal style in his arms. Rong Yuan quickly took down the stairs and carefully placed Gu Lingzhi on the Eclipse Horse that he had rode over. 

With Gu Lingzhi set in place on the horse, Rong Yuan swiftly slapped the horse’s back and commanded the Eclipse Horse to trudge forward proudly through the streets of the city. All around them, onlookers stared at the pair with smiles, allowing a cheerful atmosphere to fill the air.

The eight guards who were carrying the wedding pedestal meant for Gu Lingzhi stared at Rong Yuan in confusion. Third Prince, aren’t you forgetting something? 

“It seems that His Highness’ feelings for the Princess Consort runs deep,” a young lady who had observed the ceremony commented. She had a crush on the Third Prince and once she saw how the Third Prince treated Gu Lingzhi, she decided to give up on him. 

However, her giving up did not mean that others would give up. Further away from them, other ladies stared at Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi with anger and they cursed them with misfortune. 

“Hey, who hit me?” A young lady who had been cursing the couple was suddenly hit on the lips by a stone. Pain shot through her mouth and she could not open her mouth. 

“If you are ugly, stay at home and don’t come out. Who are you to talk about the Royal Family?” Xin Yi coldly snickered to himself. Behind him was a line of fierce guards who glared down at the young lady, daring her to make anymore insults. 

As Rong Yuan’s Silver-Armored Troops, Rong Yuan’s partner was considered their master too and hence, anyone who insulted Gu Lingzhi was indirectly offending them too. If it was not for the wedding that day, they would have captured the young lady and thrown her to the Red Leaf Hill to teach her a lesson. After her time with the demon beasts there, she would learn a lesson or two about what she was allowed or not allowed to say. 

The friends of the rude young lady wanted to defend her. However, upon seeing the group of burly guards, they immediately shrunk backward and kept silent. Carefully tugging on the sleeve of the young lady, they pulled her away from the crowd. 

Rong Yuan had his arms tightly around Gu Lingzhi this whole time and Gu Lingzhi could only shriek as she was placed onto the back of the Eclipse Horse. Her attempts to struggle out of his grasp was met with laughter from Rong Yuan that continued all the way from the Gu Family manor to the palace. As they approached the palace, Rong Yuan slowed the Eclipse Horse down before he gently rested his chin on Gu Lingzhi’s shoulder. Chuckling slightly, his soft voice rang through Gu Lingzhi’s ears, “The bride’s wedding veil has already been blown away. Let me put it on again for you.” 

Gu Lingzhi rolled her eyes at him, “Isn’t that your fault?” 

If Rong Yuan had not urged the horse forward so quickly, her veil would not have been blown off by the wind on the streets. 

Rong Yuan could not help smiling again as he carefully arranged the veil on Gu Lingzhi again. His eyes sparkled as he said, “I have waited a long time for this day and I do not want to waste any time.” 

Before that day, Rong Yuan had always thought that he had good patience. However, all of his patience disappeared when he saw Gu Lingzhi sitting on the bed elegantly with the wedding dress he had custom made for her. With the red sashes drifting before his eyes, his heart called out for him to bring her home. He was only a complete man once she became his official wife. 

As such, he had not bothered about all the proper proceedings of the wedding when he pulled Gu Lingzhi up the horse with him and rushed back to the palace. All the guards at the palace gates who saw Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan on the horse together were so shocked at the sight, their mouths gaped open and they needed a few seconds before they regained their composure. Thereafter, they rushed to report that the Third Prince and Gu Lingzhi had arrived. 

Thankfully, Rong Yuan had planned the wedding carefully and despite his actions that morning, it did not influence the subsequent plans. 

A fully decorated sedan chair with luxurious curtains draped down it arrived and Rong Yuan stared closely as Gu Lingzhi walked into it. The wedding could only continue after this step was done. 

As she sat in the luxurious chair, Gu Lingzhi could not help sighing as she thought of Rong Yuan’s mother. Consort Rong had been in charge of the marriage sedans and it was typically sufficient for just one marriage sedan to be prepared. However, Consort Rong had prepared two beautiful marriage sedans personally and this showed that she was prepared for anything that could go wrong. Otherwise, Gu Lingzhi would have to shamefully walk into the palace by herself since Rong Yuan neglected the original marriage sedan and rode Gu Lingzhi back to the palace. 

The venue of the wedding was at Rong Yuan’s Ronghua Palace. The marriage sedan swayed from right to left under the hot sun for half an hour before they finally reached the destination. During that time, Xin Yi and the other guards that Rong Yuan had left behind managed to catch up to the couple, hence allowing them to witness the momentous moment of Gu Lingzhi being carried on the marriage sedan. 

The complicated wedding procedures tired Gu Lingzhi. At that point, Rong Yuan finally carried out the proper duties of the wedding he was assigned to as he handed the marriage certificate to the Prime Minister. Thereafter, he sat in the middle seat of the Ronghua Palace beside Consort Rong and the white-haired Great Elder from the Gu Clan. 

“First bow to heaven and earth.” Once Rong Yuan sat down, Prime Minister Lu Ming’s voice boomed through the hall. 

In an instant, Rong Yuan tightened his fingers around Gu Lingzhi and they turned together to face the door of the hall before they took a bow together. 

“Second bow to your parents.” 

As the second command was called, Gu Lingzhi turned swiftly around and got down on her knees to bow towards the seniors in the hall. All of a sudden, a sharp voice split through the hall, “Hold on, the people on the seats of the bride’s parents are not the bride’s actual parents are they? If the parents are still living, how can they not attend the wedding?” 

“Who is causing trouble? Come out!” In that instant, pure rage burned through Rong Han’s eyes, the joy and happiness from before disappearing in a split second. He had already increased palace security in case anything happened but that had not stopped some from entering. It seemed that he had to conduct a background check on the guards of the palace again. 

“I am speaking the truth. If I did not remember wrongly, the bride’s parents are still alive. Since they are, isn’t it too disrespectful to marry their daughter and not invite them to the wedding?” 

It was the same voice. However, the man used a special skill that concealed the origin of his voice. Despite the numerous guards in the palace, they could not pinpoint which direction the voice was coming from. 

At that point, everyone could tell that the man was up to no good. However, what was his motive? 

“I have been engaged to Lingzhi for many years. Her parents are in the North Qiu Kingdom and the Second Elder is old, it is not convenient for him to move. As such, we invited the Great Elder of the Gu Family instead. The Great Elder himself is sufficient to represent her parents.” Rong Yuan defended Gu Lingzhi calmly. At the same time, an amused expression crossed Gu Lingzhi’s eyes. 

With Rong Yuan’s words, the commotion in the hall died down considerably. 

Many people in Chiyang City knew about Gu Rong’s betrayal when he brought his family to North Qiu Kingdom. It was almost impossible for Gu Lingzhi’s parents to attend the wedding and hence, the Great Elder was invited as a representative of them. Although this was not according to customary wedding rules, it was the most appropriate for such a situation. 

“This is an obvious act of going against filial piety, why are you trying to find an excuse? Can the Great Elder say he raised the bride?” the voice continued. The man was insistent on creating trouble. 

“Then what do you want?” A sharp killing intent flashed through Rong Yuan’s eyes. He mobilized spiritual energy in his body to sweep through the hall to find the culprit. 

“Forget about him, let’s continue.” Sensing Rong Yuan’s fury, Gu Lingzhi stretched her hand out gently and pulled on his sleeve, persuading, “The marriage is for us, let him say whatever he wants. We can deal with him once the wedding is over.” 

“Right, the wedding is more important. For such a joyous occasion, we cannot let a crazy dog ruin the mood,” the Great Elder laughed awkwardly. “Although I cannot say that I raised Gu Lingzhi, I am the most senior member of the Gu Family and all members of the Gu Family are my juniors. It is appropriate that I am here.” 

The old were wise. The Great Elder’s simple sentence dug at the mysterious man, questioned his respect for the elders and ascertained the Great Elder’s status. Not everyone could compare to the Great Elder. 

With that, the mysterious voice did not call out again. The Prime Minister called out again, “Second bow to your parents…” 

“Your Majesty, the envoy from the North Qiu Kingdom requests an audience. They claim to have a gift for the Third Prince’s wedding.”