Volume One, Chapter 11: Carried to the Altar to Be Wed

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Princess Huayang had intended to mock her a little longer.

But after opening the chests and inspecting their contents, Madam Wang hurriedly bowed her head and reported, “Your Highness, every one of these ingots is genuine. Our residence is saved!”

The way Madam Wang looked at Su Zhizhi had changed from disdain to gratitude.

This new princess consort was truly the benefactor of the Prince Jin Residence.

The residence had been running at a loss for days. If things continued this way, it would soon be nothing more than an empty shell.

Madam Wang had been Prince Jin’s wet nurse, and when it came to loyalty, she believed no one in the residence could surpass her.

“Princess Consort, as for His Highness, I’ll have people carry him over at once.”

Madam Wang’s obsequious expression infuriated Princess Huayang.

“Madam Wang, why are you turning your elbow outward? Are you really going to do whatever this woman tells you?”

Su Zhizhi took an ingot from one of the chests. “If you were this wealthy too, you could do whatever you pleased!”

“You...”

The gold gleamed brilliantly beneath the winter sun.

No matter the era, the ancient truth that money could make even ghosts turn millstones remained eternal.

Little Liz was close to tears. His body had gone rigid, and he did not dare take a single step.

He had thought this new princess consort was weak and incapable, the sort of woman who would obediently spend the night alone in the bridal chamber.

Only then would His Highness have the chance to carry out his plan.

Who could have imagined that this princess consort would refuse to play by the rules?

All Little Liz could do was watch helplessly as his prince was carried in, still alive.

Su Zhizhi lowered the red bridal veil over her head once more. With Heaven and Earth as their elders and the guests present as witnesses, she completed the rites and became his wife.

When the ceremony was over, Su Zhizhi secretly pinched Prince Jin’s cheek.

The feel of a handsome man’s skin really was something else.

Satisfied, she withdrew her hand. “Carry him back to the bridal chamber.”

Su Zhizhi lifted her veil again and clasped her fists. “Everyone here is a friend of Prince Jin, and therefore a friend of mine as well. Today, the Prince Jin Residence will surely treat you all to the finest food and wine!”

The princess consort’s bold declaration left everyone astonished.

What an exceptional woman.

She lowered the veil whenever she pleased and lifted it whenever she pleased.

Nearly all the guests were soldiers who had spent years fighting on the battlefield. They were deeply impressed by her generous and utterly unpretentious manner.

“This princess consort is no ordinary woman.”

“If His Highness wakes and sees how valiant and spirited she is, he’ll be grinning from ear to ear.”

The soldiers murmured among themselves.

They had expected to attend a desolate, joyless banquet, but instead found that the residence had prepared an extraordinarily lavish midday feast.

Madam Wang had intended to keep expenses to a minimum and had not asked the kitchen to prepare much food.

She had never imagined that the princess consort would summon several of the most famous chefs in the capital, nor that she would call in all the assistant cooks from Deshan House, the capital’s most luxurious restaurant.

Even the Emperor’s wedding to a consort had never been conducted with such grandeur.

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But that was not all. Madam Wang watched as guests claiming to be relatives of the princess consort arrived in a grand procession, dressed in magnificent clothes.

The entire Prince Jin Residence was filled with celebration.

When Madam Wang looked up, even the red plum blossoms on the branches seemed to bloom more brilliantly than usual.

This wedding was a hundred times grander than all the previous eight weddings combined.

Fang Hui, disguised as a cook, finally relaxed somewhat when he saw the scene.

There was no way his Pavilion Master’s wedding could be treated carelessly.

He had ordered the disciples of the pavilion to dress in their finest and attend the wedding feast. He had even withdrawn one percent of Eternal Radiance Pavilion’s gold reserves from the money house to lend grandeur to the occasion.

Had the Pavilion Master not repeatedly emphasized that her identity must not be exposed, Eternal Radiance Pavilion would have invited every high-ranking noble in the capital to witness the spectacle.

Unfortunately, their own troublesome ancestor had insisted on wading into these muddy waters. Fang Hui let out a long sigh and stroked the beard on his chin.

Who knew what sort of chaos the Pavilion Master would create in the Prince Jin Residence?

Everyone present was grinning from ear to ear.

The princess consort had not only given generous wedding gifts to every servant in the residence and every soldier present, but had also consulted the roster of Prince Jin’s former subordinates. She instructed the soldiers to take the surplus silver and wedding candies home and distribute them among all the ordinary troops.

Lieutenant Yan, formerly one of Prince Jin’s subordinates, ate with tears glistening in his eyes.

They said that a true man did not shed tears lightly, yet when he had seen the prince lying on a bed frame in his wedding robes, his heart had filled with boundless sorrow.

Though Prince Jin was stern and exacting, he had always treated his soldiers generously.

A prince who would rather go without meat himself than take food from his soldiers’ bowls—how could such an army fail to stand as one?

Without Prince Jin, how could the Great Wei army stand against the forces of the Southern Frontier?

Sorrow was sorrow, but one still had to eat.

The entire wedding was filled with warmth and merriment.

Only Princess Huayang wore a funeral-like expression.

She had come intending to laugh at this ugly woman.

Instead, she had made herself the joke.

“翠鸟, let’s go!”

Watching Princess Huayang depart in fury, Su Zhizhi felt no satisfaction at having avenged herself. A layer of worry clouded her eyes.

Based on her experience, Princess Huayang was not a bad person.

At the very least, she was not someone who slaughtered innocents.

Then why had the previous eight princess consorts met such violent deaths?

She had to return to the bridal chamber and find out.

Inside the bridal chamber, red candles flickered.

In the dim light, Prince Jin’s breathtakingly handsome face was a feast for the eyes.

She had expected to marry a rough country man. She had never imagined she would end up with such a handsome bargain.

“Stop pretending, Your Highness. There’s no one here. Get up.”

After the exhausting wedding ceremony, Su Zhizhi simply removed her embroidered shoes and sprawled across the bed.

“This bed is so comfortable.”

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She patted Prince Jin, who lay beside her.

“Your Highness, it’s time to get up and eat.”

“If you’re not going to eat, I’ll start without you. I’ve been hungry all day.”

The moment Su Zhizhi sat up, she felt someone clamp a hand around her throat, cutting off her breath.

A tremendous force sent her crashing back onto the bridal bed.

That handsome face was now less than two inches from hers. No—for accuracy’s sake, his lips were almost touching her cheek, close enough for her to clearly feel Wei Guxiao’s breath.

He looked even more attractive with his eyes open.

Unfortunately, those eyes shone with a sinister, terrifying light, like a starving wolf preparing to tear her apart alive.

So this was how he repaid kindness.

“Your Highness, you’re awake?”

Prince Jin gave Su Wanan no chance to continue.

His five fingers, hard as iron, closed tightly around Su Zhizhi’s throat.

He growled in a low voice, “Speak! What is your purpose in marrying into this residence?”

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you...”

Prince Jin’s gaze remained dark and unfathomable. Only then did he loosen his grip.

“Cough, cough, cough...”

Sure enough, handsome men could not be relied upon either.

The title of demon had not been bestowed on him without reason.

“Your Highness, did you strangle your previous eight brides to death as well?”

“You!”

Wei Guxiao’s expression turned ugly.

His patience had reached its limit.

A prince being carried to his own wedding ceremony—what kind of disgrace was that?

And then to be openly teased by the Su family’s false heiress—that was an even greater humiliation.

“Your Highness, calm down. The poison in your body has only just been neutralized. If you let your anger overwhelm you now, you really will be beyond saving.”

The moment she finished speaking, a sharp sword was pressed against Su Zhizhi’s throat.

“Who are you, exactly? And how did you know that I had been poisoned?”

Su Zhizhi was hardly being threatened like this for the first time.

The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile. “Your Highness, I was just wondering whether I’m an assassin sent by the Crown Prince or by the Duke of Su’s residence to kill you. But it seems both the Crown Prince and the Duke of Su believe you’re doomed to die. Why would they send me to kill a dead man?”

A sudden thought struck Su Zhizhi. She slapped her forehead. “I remember now. I was sent by my esteemed duke father to be buried alive and accompany you in death.”

“Buried alive? Accompany me in death?”