The atmosphere in the hall was strange, as though some emotion was brewing, waiting to reach a critical point before erupting.
From beneath his hood, Yang Qianhuan swept his gaze across the crowd, paying particular attention to the table where the women were competing in beauty and brilliance. He had more or less seen it now. Li Lingsu hadn’t guessed wrong. These women all, to one degree or another, wanted to ruin the wedding.
But for various reasons, they couldn’t sabotage it openly.
So they had to put on a show, each using her own tricks to vent her anger. In short, they couldn’t let Xu Ningyan and Princess Lin’an have an easy time.
Yang Qianhuan looked at Xu Qi’an again. Seeing his expression of utter headache, Senior Brother Yang was delighted…
Once this matter spread, Xu’s reputation for being hopelessly lustful would definitely be impossible to avoid. With that stain on his name, Yang Qianhuan would be able to seize on it and blacken Xu Ningyan with all his might.
Xu Qi’an really did have a splitting headache. Right now, he was fighting a battle of wits with the fish in his pond.
The fish all harboured ulterior motives. They were both allies and enemies. And he, with the fish, was both their enemy and the one who had to keep their emotions stable.
Huaiqing’s move had been truly deliberate and vicious. She had directly detonated the fish’s emotions and driven them mad.
For instance, the Flower Goddess might tear off her bracelet and kick up a scene, accusing him of being romantic, lustful, fickle and heartless. Or Li Miaozhen might sweep her sleeve and leave with cold mockery. Or the National Teacher might draw her sword and hack at him. Or Lin’an, upon hearing the news, might come running out to cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide, forcing him to drive away the fox women…
Truly vicious.
At the same time, Xu Qi’an kept studying Yeji with some suspicion. This didn’t seem like her style at all.
The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox had mentioned earlier that she wanted to give him a gift. While pulling open the bag, Xu Qi’an had waved his hand and refused, saying, “No need, no need.”
His attitude had been very clear. It would be enough to leave a few fox girls in the Southern Marches, and he’d visit when he found time.
The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox hadn’t stated her position then, so Xu Qi’an had taken it as tacit agreement. Who could’ve expected her to be holding back a major move here?
Sending eighteen fox women, are you trying to ruin my reputation? It’ll make people think I’m so lustful I won’t spare any female around me… If this gets out, even if I ride a little mare people will think I’m completely deranged… As Xu Qi’an’s thoughts turned, he looked around the crowd, trying to find an ally who could help smooth things over.
Lingyue looked furious, so she was no help. His birth mother had only just arrived, so it wasn’t suitable for her to put on airs. Miao Youfang was playing dead, and his combat strength was too weak. He wasn’t even qualified to serve as cannon fodder.
Auntie had sufficient status and standing, but she had no fighting power at all.
Zhong Li was examining Yeji. Beneath her loose hair, her brows gradually drew together.
“Greetings, Silver Gong Xu!”
Other than Yeji, the seventeen fox women curtsied gracefully and said with smiling faces:
“From now on, we belong to Silver Gong Xu.”
Beautiful women were naturally hostile to one another. Seeing the fox women strike alluring poses, not only Mu Nanzhi and the others, but even bystanders like Wang Simu, Xu Yuanshuang, and Auntie all felt displeased.
Xu Qi’an took the opportunity and said:
“Thank you all very much for coming to attend my wedding. Once you’ve finished the wedding wine, I’ll send you back to the Southern Marches.
“I can’t possibly accept the Princess’s kindness.”
Yeji covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
“Xu-lang, you’re pretending to be proper again. These are all your concubines in the Southern Marches. What, now that we’ve come to the Central Plains, you don’t want them any more?”
!!! Xu Qi’an was stunned.
As soon as those words came out, the men’s gazes in the hall turned strange and suggestive.
Xu Qi’an might not have been the Emperor, but the size of his harem was far greater than the Emperor’s.
So now I understand why Li Lingsu hates big brother so much.
Xu Erlang thought to himself.
Mu Nanzhi lightly pressed down on her bracelet, and all of a sudden she had an urge to perish together with this heartless man.
She could tolerate Luo Yuheng, partly from helplessness, and partly because the other woman was, after all, an Earthly Immortal and qualified to stand on equal footing with her.
As for marrying Lin’an, she was already full of anger and resentment, so furious she wanted to scratch Xu Ningyan’s face to pieces.
And now he wanted to keep these gaudy little sluts in the residence too?
Did they think she had no temper at all?
Luo Yuheng’s state of mind was much the same as her “good sister’s”. She could tolerate one Flower Goddess, but she wasn’t willing to tolerate a second Lin’an, much less these creatures.
The other fish thought much the same.
As the experienced owner of a fish pond, Xu Qi’an immediately saw the smile at the corner of Li Lingsu’s mouth begin to spread uncontrollably, and of course he sensed the danger in it.
Just as he was about to speak and expose Yeji’s identity, he heard Zhong Li say softly:
“You’re Fuxiang? No, that’s not right. Who’s controlling you?”
Everyone in the hall heard Zhong Li’s words and froze. In perfect unison, they looked at Zhong Li, then in perfect unison they looked at Yeji.
Fuxiang?
This woman is Fuxiang? That mistress of Xu Ningyan’s?
Didn’t she die long ago? And Fuxiang doesn’t look like this, nor is she a Yao.
Very few people knew that Yeji was Fuxiang.
Controlled?
What does that mean? Who’s controlling Fuxiang, and why?
As thoughts churned, Zhong Li suddenly let out a miserable cry and fell into Chu Caiwei’s arms, wailing pitifully:
“My eyes, my eyes have gone blind…”
Chu Caiwei was greatly alarmed. She hurriedly brushed aside her senior sister’s beautiful hair and found that her eyes were merely red, with hot tears rolling down her cheeks. They had been irritated, but she wasn’t blind.
Even with Xu Ningyan by her side, Senior Sister still suffered the occasional little mishap. Chu Caiwei felt a wave of sympathy, then waved at the crowd to indicate that Zhong Li was fine.
Luckily it’s only a thread of divine sense, otherwise Senior Sister Zhong, you’d have died then and there… So it really is you, you stinking fox. Later I’ll trap this strand of your thought inside Fuxiang’s body and let you experience what it feels like to be rammed… Xu Qi’an had in fact already guessed.
The real Fuxiang would never have put him in such an awkward position.
Only the mature and mischievous Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox would do such a thing.
Xu Qi’an seized the chance and quickly cupped his fists with a solemn expression.
“So it is the Princess. Princess, you’ve come all the way to the capital to attend Xu’s wedding. I am deeply grateful.”
After saluting, he put on a show of wry bitterness and said:
“As for these fox women, there is no need. Princess, please don’t join Her Majesty in teasing me. Is there perhaps some important matter you wished to discuss with me tonight? Hmm, once the banquet is over, we’ll discuss proper business. For now, please sit and have a cup of wedding wine.”
He put on a thoroughly businesslike manner and subtly hinted that the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox had joined forces with Huaiqing to “frame” him.
The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox clicked her tongue.
“How dull!”
Quite a few people glanced at Huaiqing.
Mu Nanzhi’s expression improved a little, and Luo Yuheng no longer kept such a cold face.
Xu Lingyue felt that big brother was a good brother again.
Li Miaozhen and Susu lowered their heads to drink, fairly satisfied.
Instead, no one asked about Fuxiang for the time being. They simply stored it away in their hearts.
Li Lingsu and Yang Qianhuan, however, were not pleased at all, thinking that the bastard had escaped disaster yet again.
The crisis was temporarily resolved, but the feelings of shock and anger from before were not so easily dispersed. Xu Lingyue smiled and said:
“From the look of big brother, it seems he truly didn’t know the fox clan sisters were coming. Why did Your Majesty tease my big brother like this?”*
Though it sounded like questioning, she used a teasing, playful tone.
Truth mixed with falsehood, making it impossible to tell her real attitude.
It was rare for Xu Lingyue to join the fray, and Li Miaozhen, who had always been straightforward, sneered:
“Her Majesty and Princess Lin’an are deeply affectionate sisters. Naturally it was to test whether Silver Gong Xu is the sort of man who is of two minds.”
Huaiqing said blandly:
“We trust Silver Gong Xu’s character. What we fear is women with evil intentions deliberately approaching Silver Gong Xu. For example, disguising themselves and sneaking close, or approaching him under the guise of like-minded friendship, or pretending to be weak and pitiful, and so on.
“Lin’an is innocent and straightforward. She can’t contend against such women.”
Who is she insulting here? The fish were instantly enraged.
Zhong Li wasn’t very happy either, as she felt that “pretending to be weak and pitiful” was secretly aimed at her.
Mu Nanzhi laughed:
“Your Majesty is truly thoughtful. Ningyan, Aunt Mu thinks that if you hadn’t married Princess Lin’an, then you and Her would be a match made in heaven.”
As soon as those words came out, no one knew how many faces in the hall changed colour.
That straight shot from the Flower Goddess even left Huaiqing momentarily stunned.
The Flower Goddess continued:
“Oh yes, Her Majesty has reached the highest peak. Today, the court is stable, and the four reaches are at peace, it’s time to consider matters of marriage. There are many a young handsome talent here, is there anyone Your Majesty has in mind? Why not pick.”
After speaking, she wore a face of alarm and sincerely admitted fault.
“This common woman misspoke after drinking and offended Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
Luo Yuheng said flatly: “Send her to the Jiaofangsi!”
Huaiqing nodded.
“Approved!”
Li Miaozhen and Susu, along with Yeji who had only just taken her seat, nodded in tacit agreement.
Mu Nanzhi’s expression changed slightly. She knew full well that, with beauty like hers and elegance unmatched under heaven, she was very easily targeted.
Xu Qi’an awkwardly tried to smooth things over. “National Teacher, that’s going too far for a joke.”
Luo Yuheng lowered her head and drank.
Wang Simu didn’t dare say a word the whole time, afraid she’d get caught in the crossfire. It wasn’t that she feared a war of words. When Miss Wang let loose with sarcasm, she was more than capable herself.
There was just no need.
Now this looked a bit more like a great household… Xu Erlang’s lips curled up as he remembered what his big brother had said to him, gloating, when Auntie first moved in.
Marvellous, marvellous!
Daoist Jinlian, Zhao Shou, Wei Yuan and the others ate calmly, drank calmly, and listened with great relish.
Xu Pingzhi gave a cough and said:
“Ningyan, it’s about time.”
Xu Qi’an immediately understood. He rose at once and said with a smile:
“Everyone, excuse me, excuse me!”
He took Miao Youfang and Xu Erlang with him, each carrying a jug of wine, and went out to make the rounds of the toasts.
He first went to the courtyard where the people of the Wulin Alliance were gathered. After raising a cup, he asked:
“Has Alliance Leader Cao gone into seclusion?”
Xiao Yuenu smiled.
“The Alliance Leader’s trying to break into the third rank.”
He has indeed reached that point… Xu Qi’an nodded. Ji Xuan’s Blood Pill was in his hands. The reason he hadn’t given it to Cao Qingyang wasn’t because he was stingy, but because it would’ve been too wasteful.
Cao Qingyang was half a step into the third rank. His flesh body had already begun to transform, no longer completely mortal. After taking part in the war in the Central Plains, he had advanced another step. At his current level, he no longer needed fortune to withstand the backlash of the Blood Pill.
But at Cao Qingyang’s realm, reaching the third rank was only a matter of time, so there was no need to spend a Blood Pill on him.
That was how advancement through the Blood Pill worked. Those who could withstand it didn’t need it, and those who couldn’t withstand it couldn’t use it.
So the Blood Pill really only had two uses. One, to help beyond-mortal martial artists recover and strengthen themselves. Two, to provide those blessed with fortune with a fast route into the beyond-mortal realm.
Xu Qi’an looked at Xiao Yuenu, mature and gentle, with first-rate looks and figure, and smiled.
“There’s something I’d like to ask Tower Master Xiao.”
Xiao Yuenu held her wine cup in her slender jade hand and smiled with pursed lips.
“Please speak, Silver Gong Xu.”
Xu Qi’an transmitted his voice:
“Are you Xueji?”
Xiao Yuenu’s smile did not change. “What is Silver Gong Xu talking about? Yuenu doesn’t understand.”
Xu Qi’an smiled, then left with his little brother and little tagalong.
Next he went to the courtyard where the Nightwatchers had gathered. Brother Chun mixed in among this bunch of coarse martial men like a clear stream in a mudslide. It had nothing to do with looks or dress, but with the way everyone else’s leftover bones and food scraps were either thrown everywhere or piled on the tables.
Brother Chun wasn’t like that. Brother Chun had sorted the rubbish…
Bones with bones, fruit peel with fruit peel, fish bones with fish bones.
Li Yuchun was still a Silver Gong, but the number of Bronze Gongs under his charge had increased, and so had his stipend.
His life was fairly comfortable.
Xu Qi’an knew his boss’s character well. Like Wei Yuan, Brother Chun had appreciated and looked after him back then out of public duty, not private affection.
So Xu Qi’an couldn’t promote him and heap honours and riches on him out of personal feeling.
That would be disrespectful to Brother Chun, and Brother Chun most likely wouldn’t accept it anyway.
Of course, the care he ought to receive certainly wouldn’t be lacking.
There were too many guests at the wedding. Table by table, toast by toast, with a few words exchanged at each stop. By the time the whole process was over, the night was deep and the wedding feast was nearing its end.
Xu Qi’an did not return to the inner hall, because he had to go to the front gate to see guests off.
From his second uncle, who had come out with him, he learned that the “scheming and infighting” in the inner hall had not died down after his departure.
“For some reason, plates kept falling and smashing. More than ten shattered in a row. Most of them landed on Miss Zhong. Isn’t she unlucky?”
According to Second Uncle, everyone in the hall had more or less suffered some ill luck.
Lingyin had nearly choked to death on a chicken bone. Lina had scalded her tongue with chicken soup. Li Lingsu had tripped while making a toast and happened to hit the corner of a table, splitting his head open.
Wei Yuan’s clothes had been stained with wine and food, because the table Li Lingsu had struck happened to be the Nightwatchers’ table. When Nangong Qianrou wiped Wei Yuan clean, he accidentally tore his clothes.
Yang Qianhuan always liked to get up halfway through eating and stand in a corner facing the wall, and as a result Auntie’s hanging spider plant had smashed him on the head.
Looking at the dark street, Xu Qi’an smiled and said:
“Well of course. Zhong Li is a Master of Prophecy, bad luck clings to her.”
Second Uncle Xu nodded.
“Right. Song Qing and Chu Caiwei said the same. Afterwards, Zhang Shen, yours and Erlang’s teacher, said Confucian spells could dispel the misfortune. But instead of saying ‘There is no calamity here’, he said ‘There is to be no jealousy here’.”
Xu Qi’an was startled.
“He didn’t die, did he?”
“We saved him!” Second Uncle Xu said.
That’s a kind of bad luck too… Xu Qi’an immediately relaxed and sighed inwardly.
If he said there was no calamity here, that would dispel Zhong Li’s bad luck.
If he said there was to be no “jealousy”, then the ones targeted would be Mu Nanzhi, reincarnation of the Undying Tree, Huaiqing, the supreme ruler of the land, and Luo Yuheng, an Earthly Immortal.
Zhang Shen really had a long life ahead of him.
The reason he’d misspoken was most likely Zhong Li’s fault, though it also had something to do with how he’d watched the show with great interest for half the day and formed a deep impression.
As for Luo Yuheng and the other fish… socially dead!
With his own strength alone, the great scholar Zhang Shen of Cloud Deer Academy had hammered them flat.
“So no matter what, I got my revenge.”
Xu Qi’an threw back his head and laughed, hands on hips.
Second Uncle Xu thought for a moment, then suddenly understood.
“You did it on purpose? Heh, you little brat, sly and nasty.”
Xu Qi’an had slipped out to make the rounds of the toasts and deliberately hadn’t brought Zhong Li with him. It had all been part of his plan, decided before the wedding feast began, to get back at those who had enjoyed the spectacle and stirred up trouble.
Since he couldn’t avoid it, they could all hurt each other instead.
“Oh, Duke Wei’s here.”
Xu Qi’an saw Wei Yuan coming out of the residence with a mighty procession of Nightwatchers.
Wei Yuan’s face was dark. His chest was smeared with a large patch of grease and stains, and there was also a tear in the robe.
“Oh no, Duke Wei, how could you be so incautious?”
Xu Qi’an went up to him with a beaming smile and lowered his voice. “The Empress Dowager made that robe for you, didn’t she? Seems it’s the only one?”
Wei Yuan glanced at him and walked off, looking most displeased.
Then Zhao Shou came out with four great scholars, while a dispirited Zhang Shen was being carried on Yang Gong’s back.
“Teacher, what’s happened to you?” Xu Qi’an asked in feigned surprise.
Zhao Shou smiled.
“Today was truly splendid. The gift money wasn’t wasted.”
Li Mubei, Chen Tai and Yang Gong stroked their beards and laughed.
The unlucky one was Zhang Shen, not them. They had watched to their hearts’ content and listened to their hearts’ content.
Xu Qi’an put on a guilty look.
“It was this student’s failure to attend properly, and Teacher was implicated because of me. Later, I’ll write a poem and present it to you, Teacher.”
The moment Zhang Shen heard that, his face lit up.
The expressions of Zhao Shou and the other great scholars darkened at once, and they could no longer smile.
After seeing off batch after batch of guests, Xu Qi’an knew the battle wasn’t over yet.
Aside from Wei Yuan and the great scholars of Cloud Deer Academy, those who had left were only guests with middling ties to him.
As for the first two groups, they either held high office or served as models of scholarship, so they needed to maintain their image and status and had not chosen to stay and make a racket in the bridal chamber.1
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society, the fish in the pond, the rebellious disciples of the Sitianjian, his fox friends from the goulan, and the rough men of the Wulin Alliance, this lot was still in the residence.
Time for the racket in the bridal chamber… Xu Qi’an rubbed between his brows.
In this era, making a racket in the bridal chamber was a custom found everywhere. Its meaning broadly came down to the following:
First, to ward off evil and avert disaster.
By teasing the bridegroom or bride, evil and misfortune were driven away. The core idea was much like naming a child “Goudan” [dog bollocks]. A lowly name made for a tougher fate and an easier upbringing.
Second, to improve the new bride’s relationship with her husband’s family.
Third, to improve the relationship between bride and groom.
The second and third were much the same. In an age where marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers, bride and groom were strangers, or at best strangers who had met a few times.
So a bit of “playful trouble” was needed to dispel the unfamiliarity and distance between them.
As time passed, making a racket in the bridal chamber became a custom.
Xu Qi’an reckoned that those two bastards, Yang Qianhuan and Li Lingsu, would take the chance to make things difficult for him.
And the fish would most likely take the chance to make things difficult for Lin’an.
But it didn’t matter. He had already anticipated all of it. Everything was still under control.
It was time to invite Protector Yuan out of retirement.
To intimidate this bunch of petty bastards, as well as the womenfolk.
I rather want to know what they’re all really thinking too… After tonight, I’ll have Senior Brother Sun protect Protector Yuan properly and list him as a first-class protected animal of the Great Feng. Xu Qi’an stroked his chin.
闹洞房 nao dongfang, traditional custom where guests play pranks, make fun of, and “haze” the newlyweds in their wedding chamber, thought to drive out evil spirits. ↩
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