When Xu Qi An and Second Uncle returned, the servants had already begun cleaning up the aftermath of the wedding feast. The maids were collecting dishes while the manservants gathered food waste in wooden buckets. Following the Second Madam’s instructions, the leftover food from guests would be sent to aid disaster victims outside the city.

Xu Qi An appreciated Second Madam’s thoughtfulness – he didn’t want anyone saying “Meat rots in rich men’s homes while the poor freeze on the streets.”

“Ning Yan, your aunt and I will retire for the night,” Second Uncle said as they approached the inner courtyard.

He turned to leave but couldn’t – looking down at his nephew’s hand gripping his sleeve, he feigned ignorance: “Ning Yan, why are you holding me back?”

Xu Qi An gave him a pointed look. “Second Uncle, neither you nor Second Madam can leave today. That group is still lingering in the mansion, clearly planning to stir up trouble. With you and Second Madam present, they’ll show some restraint. Without elders keeping order, they might tear the roof of my bridal chamber.”

Though Guardian Yuan was there as backup, Xu Qi An felt it wasn’t enough insurance.

“Keep order? What order?” Second Uncle tried yanking his sleeve free while spraying his nephew with spittle. Jabbing a finger at his forehead, he scolded: “You brought this on yourself! Who told you to go around charming women? And what order could I keep? Look at who’s in there – His Majesty, the Imperial Mentor, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect, and that Beast Realm Ruler. I’m just a small Seventh-rank Cultivator. Who could I possibly intimidate? Any one of them could crush me with a finger.”

He held up his pinky finger for emphasis.

“You raised me after all. Though I didn’t inherit any of Second Uncle’s virtues, this flirtatious nature – who do you suppose I got it from?” Second Uncle yanked his sleeve free: “Let go, let go, or I’ll have to discipline you.”

Xu Qi An released him and called out to his retreating: “I truly didn’t inherit Second Uncle’s virtues, but I did learn his techniques with tangerines. I’ll go tell Second Madam about that.”

Second Uncle spun around, all smiles: “Ning Yan, it’s your wedding day! How could the wedding night festivities proceed without your Second Uncle? Come, nephew, we’ll face this together.”

Xu Qi An beamed back: “Second Uncle is the best!”

…

In the inner hall, Second Madam had Lu E and the other maids serve flower tea to the distinguished guests to aid digestion.

Zhong Li had changed into clean robes and sat quietly beside Daoist Jin Lian with her hair loose. Earlier, after the chaos, Daoist Jin Lian had “suddenly realized”: “Miss Zhong, come sit by me. My virtuous energy can temporarily suppress your ill fortune.” Sure enough, no more accidents had occurred since then.

Li Ling Su, his head wrapped in bandages, took a sip of flower tea. His eyes brightened: “Excellent tea. It leaves a sweet aftertaste and wonderful aroma while clearing internal impurities. This is no ordinary flower tea.”

“If Daoist Li likes it, I’ll give you a few ounces,” Second Madam said delightedly, thinking this handsome young man truly knew how to please.

Second Madam loved nothing more than praise for her flowers, and praising her flower tea was just as good.

The others also showed expressions of enjoyment. Most knew this tea must have come from Mu Nan Zhi – only she could grow such premium tea.

Li Ling Su used the chance while lowering his head to drink to transmit to Yang Qian Xian, who stood in a corner (with no hanging plants overhead): “Brother Yang, the wedding night festivities are about to begin. This is our chance for revenge!”

They had restrained themselves during the wedding feast since everyone present was respectable, but the wedding night celebrations would be different – they could truly cut loose.

Yang Qian Xian transmitted back excitedly: “I’ve waited long for this day. Xu Ning Yan is my lifelong rival. He always achieves what I cannot. The things I dream of and struggle for come easily to him. Before, the Censor repeatedly misunderstood and secretly favored him. Now the Censor is gone, yet he’s become a First-rank Warrior…”

“I understand completely!” Li Ling Su transmitted consolingly. “Though our domains differ, our hatred for Xu Ning Yan is the same.” After a pause, he humphed: “Tonight, this Holy Son will utterly humiliate Xu Ning Yan and make him regret crossing me.”

Li Ling Su’s grudge against Xu Qi An was far more complex than Yang Qian Xian’s mere jealousy. The Holy Son had been repeatedly pranked and humiliated by that bastard Xu Ning Yan, nearly achieving Supreme Detachment through the process.

Mu Nan Zhi, Princess Huai Qing, and the others silently drank their tea, quietly building up their emotions and planning their moves. The incident with Zhang Shen had left them somewhat awkward. Though others tactfully avoided mentioning it, the guilty parties remained subdued for now.

Chu Yuan Zhen, Daoist Jin Lian, and Asura sat together. The first two were still savoring the earlier verbal sparring among the ladies, finding their veiled barbs and shifting alliances – sometimes uniting against Xu Ning Yan, sometimes attacking each other – far more interesting than court politics.

Of course, if it were just women’s scheming and verbal battles, the entertainment value would be insufficient. What made this show truly fascinating was that the protagonist was First-rank Warrior Xu Ning Yan.

As for Asura, he stayed for the wedding night revelry because, as a fellow member of the Heaven and Earth Society, he worried Xu Ning Yan couldn’t handle the situation and wanted to help keep order. It wasn’t because he wanted to watch women scheme and Xu Ning Yan get embarrassed.

Whether his presence would help maintain order was another matter entirely.

Similarly, brothers-in-arms, Song Ting Feng and Zhu Guang Xiao had much simpler thoughts – they never expected their good brother Xu Ning Yan to not only frequently invite them to brothels for music, but even set up a theater in his home… This was far more interesting than listening to music in brothels.

The “Night Courtier” cradled a fox kit, a smile playing on her lips as her bright eyes darted about, clearly plotting something.

Ji Bai Qing had also stayed. Wedding night celebrations were suitable for all ages, and elders need not avoid them. She planned to shield her eldest son – while she dared not say more, she felt confident in handling a few young women.

Among this group harboring various schemes, the martial arts alliance leaders’ thoughts were much simpler – they had stayed purely to participate in the traditional wedding night revelry. Jianghu folk loved a good celebration.

At this moment, they saw the groom Xu Ning Yan return with Xu Ping Zhi, and all rose.

Li Ling Su suppressed his excitement and smiled: “A spring night is worth a thousand gold pieces. We should escort the groom to the bridal chamber.”

“Big Pot!” Xu Ling Yin ran over on her short legs and announced loudly: “I almost choked to death on a chicken bone!”

She looked at Xu Qi An seriously, waiting for his reaction.

That shouldn’t be possible, your fate is too strong… Xu Qi An was about to ask when Second Madam said irritably: “Don’t exaggerate like your Second Uncle. She just choked a little. It was all Li Na’s fault, fighting her for the drumstick – Ling Yin stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.”

And so, Xu Qi An was escorted toward the bridal chamber by the crowd.

…

In the bridal chamber, the senior palace maid who had come as part of the dowry peered through a window crack and saw Xu Yin Luo approaching with a large group.

“Your Highness, there are so many people…” The palace maid seemed intimidated by the procession.

Lin An was like a maiden riding a flower sedan chair for the first time – which she was.

But she felt no nervousness, only fighting spirit, because Lin An knew that Princess Huai Qing, the Imperial Mentor, Li Miao Zhen, and the other women who had designs on her dog slave would surely not let her off easily.

The Second Princess had matched wits with the Crown Princess since childhood. Though she lost repeatedly, she never gave up, and if she lacked other talents, she certainly didn’t lack a fighting spirit.

Bang!

With a measured sound, the bedroom door was pushed open and the crowd poured in.

The bridal chamber was extremely spacious, divided into outer and inner sections. The outer section had a hall and two rooms for the two senior palace maids.

The inner section had one large and one small hall separated by an expensive and beautiful six-panel screen. The large hall was for meeting close female friends, while the small hall contained a desk and curio shelves.

The entire bridal chamber exceeded 200 square meters, more than enough to accommodate this group of schemers.

Lin An had put her phoenix crown back on and wore the red wedding dress embroidered with golden phoenixes. She was exquisite and magnificent – facing beauties like Luo Yu Heng and Huai Qing, she felt not the least bit intimidated. At least in terms of beauty and bearing, Lin An held her ground.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Your Highness!” Wang Si Mu said with a smile.

The others bowed and offered congratulations, except for the fish in the pond.

After Lin An rose and returned the courtesy, Yang Qian Xian, wearing his hood, strolled to the window. With his back to everyone, he said eagerly: “Everyone, I have an interesting idea.”

When all eyes turned to him, Yang Qian Xian said solemnly: “As the saying goes, ‘Priceless treasures are easy to obtain, but true love is hard to find.’ Princess Lin An is of noble birth, with a golden branch and jade leaf. Her marrying Xu Ning Yan makes me feel… urgent. So I plan to ask Xu Ning Yan a question. During this process, I will watch his qi with my technique. If he lies, I will know.”

Li Ling Su applauded like a stage assistant: “Wonderful, wonderful! This is a good idea. I think everyone should ask the groom one question.”

At these words, everyone’s eyes flickered with various thoughts. This game would be very interesting indeed. Strike straight at the heart!

“We think it shouldn’t just be questions for the groom,” Huai Qing struck the first blow of familial conflict, saying coolly. “Lin An must also answer questions.”

This suggestion won unanimous approval from Li Miao Zhen and the others.

At this point, Lin An didn’t realize the gravity of the situation and stuck out her chest fearlessly.

The plain-looking Mu Nan Zhi frowned: “Wait, I remember Xu Ning Yan has techniques to conceal his qi.”

Luo Yu Heng said coolly: “It doesn’t matter. Even if he conceals his qi, while the qi-watching technique cannot see through it, it can detect the concealment.”

Meaning Yang Qian Xian could use his technique to see that Xu Qi An was hiding his qi and know he was cheating.

Fate could only be concealed, not changed.

“No fun, no fun, let’s play something else,” Xu Qi An quickly refused.

“If you don’t agree, we won’t leave today – we’ll all sleep in your room,” Li Ling Su declared loudly.

Everyone laughed in agreement.

Xu Qi An pondered for a moment, then said: “Fine, but I have one condition. You can’t be the only ones asking questions – Lin An and I should get to ask too.”

The scholar Chu Yuan Zhen responded with clear logic: “You’re the groom tonight – we can ask questions, but you cannot.”

You’re asking for it, don’t blame me… Xu Qi An sighed helplessly: “Alright!”

As they spoke, Second Madam removed the little bean’s shoes and pushed her onto the big bed to roll around.

In the capital’s customs, having young children roll on newlyweds’ beds could ward off evil and bring blessings, while also symbolizing “early childbearing.”

Usually, both boys and girls would roll on the bed, symbolizing having children of both sexes.

Seeing Xu Ling Yin rolling about on the bed, Ji Bai Qing’s face darkened. She thought, “Ah, Xiao Ru, you’re the most vicious one.”

She certainly didn’t want her eldest granddaughter or grandson to be like Ling Yin, even if the child showed exceptional talent in cultivating the Force Insect.

The game proceeded by drawing lots – whoever drew the lot marked “ask” could pose a question to either the bride or groom.

First-rank Warrior Xu Qi An supervised to ensure fairness in drawing lots.

Soon, the first round’s results were in – the lucky winner was Asura.

Those who hadn’t drawn the “ask” lot showed disappointment.

Yang Qian Xian transmitted: “Quickly ask him how many women he has outside.”

Asura glanced at him and said: “An interesting question, but I refuse!”

What did he just transmit… Everyone looked between Yang Qian Xian and the nine-foot-tall, exaggeratedly muscular Asura.

Asura is still quite decent. Where is Guardian Yuan? What’s taking Senior Brother Sun so long… Xu Qi An thought to himself, then said: “Do you want to ask me or Lin An?”

Ignoring Yang Qian Xian’s back of the head, Asura looked at Xu Ning Yan and said: “I’ll just ask a casual question, nothing too difficult.”

Just as Xu Qi An’s smile began to appear, Asura said: “How did you advance to Second-rank?”

Xu Qi An’s smile instantly froze.

Mu Nan Zhi’s expression changed.

The hall suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Those who knew the truth suddenly felt their blood boiling – the opening scene was already the main event.

Li Miao Zhen, Luo Yu Heng, and Huai Qing subtly glanced at the pale-faced Mu Nan Zhi.

Not bad, eliminate one first.

Meanwhile, Li Ling Su and Chu Yuan Zhen swept their gazes over Asura.

They knew this monk had a black heart.

As a fellow monastic, Great Master Heng Yuan was truly Buddhism’s conscience.

Xu Ling Yue, Ji Bai Qing, and Xiao Yue Nu didn’t know the inside story, but they were all extremely skilled at reading people. Seeing Xu Qi An’s frozen smile and the undercurrents flowing between the Heaven and Earth Society members’ expressions and exchanged glances, they sensed something was amiss.

Xu Qi An took a deep breath:

“Flower arranging!”