Chapter 8
There Was Still Another Test
A red figure rushed into the wedding hall like a gust of wind.
Before she even arrived, a sweet fragrance filled the air.
The moment the Empress saw her, she finally relaxed.
Good.
With this girl here, today’s wedding definitely would not succeed.
The Empress immediately smiled in delight.
“Oh my, Junzhu Yuan Lin has returned to the capital? Has Qinghua Academy gone on break?”
Qinghua Academy was Da Zhao’s most famous academy for noble young ladies.
Every girl there was exceptionally talented, and Song Yuan Lin was one of its most famous students.
However, her temper was terrible, and her possessiveness was even worse.
“Is she your beloved?” Fu Zhao Ning quietly asked.
Prince Jun had just frowned when he suddenly felt the red silk in his hand tighten.
Fu Zhao Ning had moved slightly closer to him and softly asked the question.
“No.”
Although Prince Jun wanted to ask, What if she were? What if she were not?
in the end, he simply answered directly.
“Oh. Then I don’t feel guilty anymore.”
Only now did Fu Zhao Ning suddenly realize something.
Prince Jun had never married before, but who knew whether he already had someone he loved?
Still, since he had agreed to marry her, then this responsibility belonged to him now.
Song Yuan Lin answered the Empress while staring fixedly at Prince Jun, almost mesmerized.
“Replying to Your Majesty, the academy is not on break. I rushed back after hearing that Brother Lan Yuan had returned to the capital.”
“Brother Lan Yuan, it’s me—Yuan Lin.”
“Miss Song.”
Prince Jun’s tone was extremely distant.
“If you came to congratulate this prince on his wedding, then stand aside.”
“If you came to cause trouble, then get out.”
Hearing how coldly he spoke to Song Yuan Lin, Fu Zhao Ning immediately understood the situation.
“Brother Lan Yuan, how can you tell me to get out?” Song Yuan Lin complained, completely unoffended.
“I won’t leave!”
“I promised Sister Yun Yao that I would protect you for her.”
“Before Sister Yun Yao returns, you absolutely cannot marry another woman!”
Another Yun Yao had appeared.
Hearing the name Song Yun Yao, Fu Zhao Ning finally remembered.
Song Yun Yao was the number one beauty in the capital and also an extremely talented woman.
But the original Fu Zhao Ning had focused entirely on searching for medicine and doctors for Old Master Fu, so she knew very little about high society matters.
The red silk in her hand suddenly tightened.
Fu Zhao Ning frowned slightly.
Hearing Song Yun Yao’s name, Prince Jun had reacted.
Could this Song Yun Yao actually be the woman he loved?
Seeing Prince Jun press his lips together, Song Yuan Lin became extremely pleased.
“Brother Lan Yuan still can’t forget Sister Yun Yao, right?”
“Hurry and throw this woman out!”
“How could some random stray cat or dog steal Sister Yun Yao’s position?”
As she spoke, Song Yuan Lin suddenly reached out to tear off Fu Zhao Ning’s red veil.
Before the wind from her movement even arrived, Fu Zhao Ning had already sidestepped behind Prince Jun.
If her veil got removed three times in a single day, she really would explode from anger.
Not even one proper wedding procedure had been completed yet.
Prince Jun lifted a hand and blocked Song Yuan Lin.
“Cough cough.”
The moment he stopped her, he began coughing again.
As soon as the Grand Empress Dowager heard the cough, her expression changed immediately, and dissatisfaction flashed through her eyes as she looked at Song Yuan Lin.
“Yuan Lin.”
Song Yuan Lin had accidentally struck Prince Jun’s hand, and panic briefly flashed through her heart.
Everyone knew Prince Jun’s body was delicate and weak.
But all her anger was directed toward Fu Zhao Ning.
That shameless woman actually dared hide behind Brother Lan Yuan?!
She was just about to curse when she heard the Grand Empress Dowager calling her.
Immediately, she swallowed the insults back down and turned obediently toward her.
The Empress looked suspiciously at the Grand Empress Dowager.
Was the Grand Empress Dowager actually planning to protect Prince Jun?
But she clearly disliked Prince Jun too.
The fact that she had personally come today was already shocking enough.
And now she was helping him complete the marriage?
“Grand Empress Dowager, you’ve always loved Sister Yun Yao the most,” Song Yuan Lin said sweetly while kneeling beside her chair and leaning against her leg.
“You clearly know Sister Yun Yao is supposed to become Prince Jun’s Princess Consort. How can you let Brother Lan Yuan marry another woman?”
The Grand Empress Dowager resisted the urge to kick her away.
Instead, she gently stroked her hair.
“Your Sister Yun Yao has been away from the capital for far too long.”
“And recently, this Dowager heard some unpleasant news.”
Song Yuan Lin’s heart skipped violently.
Meanwhile, the Empress suddenly understood.
So the Grand Empress Dowager had heard that rumor?
No wonder she was no longer stopping Prince Jun’s marriage.
Rumor had it that during Song Yun Yao’s long absence from the capital, she had met the Crown Prince of Da He Kingdom and become unusually close with him.
The Grand Empress Dowager, who had always adored Song Yun Yao, felt betrayed.
After all, the Grand Empress Dowager’s most beloved daughter had once married into Da He Kingdom and later died there from illness.
So Song Yun Yao becoming close to Da He’s Crown Prince felt almost like betrayal.
The Grand Empress Dowager was clearly acting out of anger and deliberately allowing Prince Jun to marry someone else.
The Empress felt she finally understood the situation and secretly became angry with Song Yun Yao as well.
Why had she not hidden the matter more carefully?
Why let the rumors spread all the way back to Da Zhao?
And even reach the Grand Empress Dowager’s ears?
“Grand Empress Dowager…” the Empress tried to speak.
But the Grand Empress Dowager impatiently interrupted.
“Begin the ceremony.”
The steward instantly shouted loudly.
“The auspicious hour has arrived—first bow to Heaven and Earth!”
“Second bow to the elders!”
“Husband and wife bow to each other!”
Fu Zhao Ning felt the steward was speaking at impossible speed.
Was the Prince Jun Residence afraid the wedding would fail too?
Everything moved so quickly that she almost became dizzy.
During the final husband-and-wife bow, she bent forward so fast that she nearly bumped her forehead against Prince Jun’s.
For a moment, she thought she heard him laugh softly.
“The ceremony is complete! Escort the bride and groom to the bridal chamber!”
When the steward shouted those words, his relief was obvious.
It was done.
Their prince had finally married.
Their residence finally had a Princess Consort.
They had waited and hoped for this day for so long.
The Empress clenched her teeth angrily and glared at Song Yuan Lin.
She thought Song Yuan Lin would cause far more trouble than this.
And this was all she could do?
“Wait.”
The Empress suddenly spoke.
Hong Zhuo and Fen Xing had just begun escorting Fu Zhao Ning toward the bridal chamber when they froze in place.
“Have all of you forgotten?”
“Back then, the Late Emperor left an order.”
“Anyone who wishes to become Prince Jun’s Princess Consort must fulfill a condition first.”
Originally, the Empress did not want to mention this matter.
Because once the Late Emperor was brought up, everyone would also have to face the matter of Prince Jun receiving the mysterious gift left behind for him.
But now she had no choice.
The Emperor suddenly remembered as well.
“Ah, yes. There really was such a condition.”
Prince Jun’s expression remained calm.
But strangely enough, Fu Zhao Ning sensed a slight fluctuation in his emotions.
The Emperor looked toward her.
“Fu Zhao Ning.”
“The Late Emperor once declared that any woman wishing to become Prince Jun’s Princess Consort must personally enter Luo Yue Mountain within three days and gather ten medicinal herbs.”
The Empress slowly smiled.
