Yunyi was stunned, then burst into laughter. After laughing, she sighed, “In this world, true villains are not frightening. What’s truly frightening are hypocrites.”

This wedding that should have been a grand affair with red carpets stretching for ten li came to an abrupt halt due to Cuiji’s murder of Zheng Yang, giving the people of Luoyang another topic to discuss over tea and meals.

Regardless of whether the initial rumors were spread by Cuiji or not, failing to marry twice had a significant impact on Yunyi. Even after the people later learned that Zheng Yang was deliberately murdered by Cuiji and wasn’t killed by Yunyi’s fate, it still couldn’t dispel the increasingly wild rumors. They all said this Princess was a femme fatale – whenever she got engaged, one family would be ruined. Whoever married her would surely have no peace in their household.

Although Yunyi lived secluded in the deep palace, these words constantly reached her ears through Princess Xin’an and others. These so-called sisters would express false concern while making cold, sarcastic remarks. For them, Yunyi’s inability to marry was more delightful than anything else.

In the following two months, Du Ruhui encountered danger twice. Once, while traveling by carriage, the horse pulling the cart suddenly went mad and ran wildly through the marketplace, hitting several people. Fortunately, Du Ruhui acted decisively, forcibly mounting the horse’s back and repeatedly striking its head, killing it on the spot to prevent a major disaster. Du Ruhui only suffered some scrapes, but the driver wasn’t so lucky – he was carelessly thrown to the ground and broke a leg.

The second time was when he and Pei Qiancheng went hunting and encountered a group of black-clothed attackers. Only under the desperate resistance of Pei Qiancheng’s guards did they manage to escape, but the price was that each of them was hit by a sleeve arrow, though fortunately none were fatal wounds.

They both knew clearly that these assassins must have been sent by the Cui family. They hated Du Ruhui for ruining Cuiji, so they constantly wanted to take Du Ruhui’s life. Unfortunately, the Cui family was powerful and influential – not to mention Du Ruhui, even Pei Qiantong didn’t dare contend with them. He ordered Pei Qiancheng to stay home properly, try not to go out, and especially not to associate with Du Ruhui anymore to avoid being implicated.

Pei Qiancheng naturally disagreed with this decision. As brothers, they should share good fortune and face difficulties together. How could he avoid his brother in times of trouble? However, Pei Qiantong had people watch him constantly, making it impossible for him to move freely. He could only send messages telling Du Ruhui to be careful.

After that incident, the Cui family intensified their efforts. Not only him, but his family members also frequently encountered danger, though none were fatal threats – at most they suffered fright and minor injuries.

Du Ruhui understood that it wasn’t because the Cui family was incompetent and couldn’t take their lives, but rather they were deliberately intimidating them. The Cui family wanted them to suffer endless terror before death, and when their psychology collapsed, then they would kill them – like a cat toying with a mouse.

Each time they acted, the Cui family left no evidence, so although Du Ruhui knew clearly in his heart, he had no way to deal with them and could only secretly resent it.

Because of this matter, Du Ruhui’s mother had scolded him countless times, rebuking him for studying so many years yet offending the powerful Cui family for the sake of a dead man. Now the entire Du family had to pay for a dead person.

The Du couple had also gone to the Cui residence wanting to apologize on Du Ruhui’s behalf and begging the Cui family to show mercy, but the Cui family refused to see them and wouldn’t even let them through the door. They could only return empty-handed.

However, the Cui family’s days weren’t too comfortable either. The Zheng family had never forgotten the revenge for their murdered son, especially since the main culprit Cuiji was still alive. The Cui family’s businesses everywhere were impacted by the Zheng family. Of course, the most important was the quarry, but because the Cui family guarded it strictly, the Zheng family had never succeeded.

While undercurrents surged in Luoyang City, the Hedong Governor’s Office was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, presenting a festive atmosphere, because today was the joyous wedding day of Second Young Master Li Shimin of the Li family and Miss Changsun.

Officials large and small from Hedong and Shanxi all came to congratulate. The gatekeeper constantly held up name cards and announced “So-and-so official has arrived,” “So-and-so general has arrived.” As soon as he announced, two servants would immediately come over – one to receive gifts, the other to escort the guest into the hall.

When the gatekeeper’s face was nearly stiff from smiling, a young man carrying a brocade box came over, looked around, and asked, “Is this the Governor’s Office?”

“Of course.” The gatekeeper looked him over and asked, “Whose attendant are you?”

The young man quickly shook his head, “I came by myself.” Then he asked carefully, “May I ask if the one getting married today is Second Young Master Li Shimin?”

“That’s right.” The gatekeeper frowned, “Who exactly are you, and why are you asking these things?”

The young man handed over the brocade box in his hands, “I’m responsible for delivering messages. Someone asked me to give this to Second Young Master, saying it’s to congratulate him and Miss Changsun on their wedding.”

“What’s the name of the person who sent it?” The gatekeeper said while taking the brocade box he handed over. After seeing clearly what was inside, he showed a look of surprise. Although he was just a gatekeeper, the Li residence was no ordinary household. Over this past year or so, he had seen many fine things. One look at the jade pendant in the brocade box told him it was extremely valuable – smooth as fat to the touch. If he wasn’t mistaken, it should be top-grade mutton-fat white jade. Such a pair of jade pendants would cost at least several hundred strings of cash.

The young man shook his head, “I don’t know. I only know it’s someone from Luoyang who specifically requested it be personally delivered to Second Young Master.”

The gatekeeper thought for a while, then handed the brocade box back to him, “Wait here. I’ll go ask Second Young Master to come out.”

After a while, Li Shimin, already dressed in groom’s attire, came out with the gatekeeper. Upon seeing the pair of jade pendants, he also showed surprise, “Who asked you to deliver this?”

The gatekeeper answered for him, “He said that person is from Luoyang, but didn’t give a name, only specifically requesting delivery to Second Young Master.”

“Luoyang…” Li Shimin thought back. In Luoyang, he was only familiar with Uncle Xia Hou, but Uncle Xia Hou had already been transferred to Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Hedong and had just arrived. The jade pendant couldn’t have been sent by him. “The person who gave you the jade pendant – was it a man or woman?”

“It was a young lady with a round face, quite pretty.” The young man chuckled, “She was very generous, giving a full thirty bolts of cloth.” Then he added, “The young lady said the jade pendant was a wedding gift from an old friend to Second Young Master and Miss Changsun, asking Second Young Master to please accept it.”

“An old friend…” Li Shimin murmured, repeating the phrase, “So you’re saying she was also acting on someone’s behalf and wasn’t the owner of the jade pendant?”

The young man was stunned by his question and scratched his head, “I’m not clear about that either. Anyway, that’s what she said.” Then he said, “The item has been delivered. This humble person takes his leave.”

Li Shimin came back to his senses and nodded, “Good, thank you for making this trip.” He then said to the gatekeeper, “Give him a red envelope.”