With advancing age, Tuoba Sanniang’s bloodthirsty nature from her youth had somewhat restrained itself. Now she only became interested in killing for real gold and silver, though cutting off hands and feet or slicing away topknots with scalp were things she could do casually. Wei Xun didn’t know what business had brought her to Lingbao County and sat in meditation all night outside Bao Zhu’s door, guarding against her return to harm people.
The next day he summoned Pang Liangji for questioning: “Besides me and Seventh, did you invite other sect-mates?”
Pang Liangji looked terrified: “How could that be possible! This is my wedding celebration, not my family’s funeral! What does Big Brother mean by this?”
Wei Xun crossed his arms and said directly: “I saw Third and Fifth in the city yesterday.”
Upon hearing ‘Third,’ Pang Liangji shuddered and his face gradually paled.
Huo Qi Lang was also startled, asking in alarm: “Though Fifth Brother has enormous destructive power, if we don’t provoke him he might not ignite fires, but Third Sister is truly terrifying. Can the wedding date still be changed?”
Pang Liangji shook his head desperately: “The auspicious day was chosen by fortune-tellers. If I change it, I’ll have to wait until next year to bring Ah Ran home. Besides, I’ve already sent out invitations widely. This isn’t just a wedding—it’s also the ceremony for Gale Protector to wash his hands of the golden basin and retire from the martial world.”
Jade City’s Pang family were local wealthy landlords, not originally martial world people. As the saying goes, the poor study literature while the rich learn martial arts. Pang Liangji loved wielding weapons from childhood and had great talent. His family hired instructors for him and used abundant family wealth to befriend martial world figures. At a young age, he made a name in the Central Plains region, gradually taking on the appearance of a martial sect.
Later, Young Master Pang wanted to advance his martial studies and traveled far to Guanzhong to apprentice under the Chen clan, but unexpectedly became disabled as a result—something no one anticipated.
Chen Shigu had a perverse and deviant nature, focusing his entire life on tomb robbing without caring about reputation or participating in martial world affairs. Though he never established a sect, he was invincible in martial arts throughout his life with no defeats. Many in the martial world believed that by age thirty he was already unmatched under heaven, but because he engaged in evil practices, no one wanted to acknowledge it.
The eccentric master was dead, leaving behind a group of disciples with equally supreme martial arts and strange behavior. Some who came to attend Pang Liangji’s wedding were due to friendship with the Pang family, while many others came out of curiosity about this evil sect. With the wedding date imminent and invitations sent out, many martial world figures could already be seen active in the area.
Pang Liangji said worriedly: “Could Sanniang have accepted someone’s big contract to come to Jade City and exterminate my entire family?”
Huo Qi Lang said: “Since being injured by Big Brother, Third Sister has rarely traveled far in the past year or two. I heard she’s been recuperating at the Lishan hot springs, and even when business comes to her, she only sends subordinates.”
Pang Liangji asked in surprise: “There’s such a thing? What was it about?”
Huo Qi Lang’s face lit up with joy, about to describe the details to Sixth Brother when Wei Xun glanced at him lightly. He quickly changed his words: “Since Big Brother himself is here, there’s no need to fear her.”
Wei Xun nodded and said calmly: “Since you invited me, I’ll ensure you marry successfully. But I only have two hands—if I’m watching you, I can’t watch Jiu Niang. You need to find four reliable guards to follow her throughout.”
Pang Liangji immediately understood. Tuoba Sanniang specialized in assassination—these four people weren’t for protection but to serve as human shields. As long as they could block for an instant, that would be enough time for Wei Xun to rush over and respond defensively.
He immediately agreed, patting his chest in assurance: “Senior Brother, rest assured. Jiu Niang is an honored guest I invited—the Pang family will certainly do everything possible. Besides, if Third Sister comes, it’s for me, not to harm her.”
Wei Xun said nothing, thinking that yesterday Tuoba Sanniang had indeed come to the inn and made a move. Whether it was to avenge that palm strike or to assassinate Bao Zhu was hard to determine.
Since escorting her from Chang’an, the enemies encountered along the way were all insignificant small fry. But if someone learned her true identity and hired Chang’an’s most formidable assassin for pursuit, that would be reasonable.
But Third Sister could kill someone in mere moments. If she truly intended to strike, when he returned to the inn he would have seen only a corpse, not a living person. That throwing knife before leaving wasn’t aimed at vital points—thinking this way, it seemed somewhat suspicious.
This wedding was to repay past debts. He hadn’t intended for Bao Zhu to participate, but with Tuoba Sanniang’s interference, he had to bring her along—at least keeping her within his sight for peace of mind.
Bao Zhu emerged drowsily from her room, looking down to see Wei Xun and his two junior brothers huddled in the inn’s main hall discussing something unknown. Turning around, she saw the equally drowsy Yang Xingjian supporting himself with a peach wood walking stick at his doorway, looking down in confusion and muttering: “How did this one spouting nonsense come again? And there’s an extra one?”
Bao Zhu thought to herself that he hadn’t even seen the most frightening one from last night. Throughout the night, she’d had countless nightmares about female ghosts. Fortunately, each time she was scared to tears by the most terrifying scenes, she was awakened by a peach branch outside the window swaying in the wind and rain and tapping the glass. Previously she hadn’t believed palace attendants’ claims that peach wood warded off evil, but now thinking about it, there was indeed good reason.
Yang Xingjian looked back and saw her, showing a dazed, respectful smile: “Princess, this old minister has recovered…” He stepped forward to bow but ended up top-heavy and tumbled down with a thud.
Bao Zhu sighed, went over to help him up, and sent him back to his room to lie down.
Pang Liangji heard people talking on the second floor. Though his legs were broken, his hearing and sight remained sharp. Looking up with confusion, he asked: “What did that old man just say about princess?”
Wei Xun didn’t look up, casually saying: “You misheard. He said congratulations—congratulations to the newlyweds on their happy union. You’ve been cooped up at home too long; your hearing has deteriorated.”
Though Pang Six and Huo Seven’s skills were far inferior to Wei Da’s, and though this explanation didn’t quite make sense, they had no choice but to believe him.
Manager Pang indeed kept his promise, sending two experienced hair-dressing ladies to help Bao Zhu with trial makeup and hairstyling, letting her choose a suitable appearance to attend the ceremony gracefully and appropriately. Lingbao County was originally named Peach Forest County, and local women favored silk flower styles like peach blossoms and peach fruits. Bao Zhu tried them and found that while they lacked the golden and silver radiance of wealth, they were charming and fresh, so she settled on them.
Two days passed in a flash, and the auspicious day arrived with clear skies after rain.
Wedding ceremonies were conducted at dusk when the bride was received, but the groom’s family preparations began from early morning. This day was imbued with a tense yet joyful atmosphere from the start. Pang Liangji sent a magnificently decorated procession early to collect these most important guests from the inn to Jade City’s Pang family.
In the dim morning light, Wei Da and Huo Qi, serving as groomsmen, each prepared themselves—bathing, arranging hair, and changing clothes, putting on layer upon layer of prepared silk ceremonial robes.
With the hair-dressing ladies’ help, Bao Zhu arranged her hair in a satisfying Wangxian style, inserted a string of light peach blossom silk flowers, and applied a peach petal-shaped silk flower ornament to her forehead. Looking in the mirror, she felt very pleased.
Coming out of her room, she saw Wei Xun also dressed and ready. The groomsman’s attire was an orange-red silk robe in extremely saturated color, which gave some color to his pale complexion. He wore a gold-inlaid engraved belt and cloud-patterned black leather boots. His rough martial world air temporarily receded, and spiritual radiance shone brilliantly from his features—he could be called clear-minded and refined in bearing.
The Tang imperial family most favored passionate, luxurious dress. This groomsman outfit suited Bao Zhu’s aesthetic perfectly. She looked him over once and praised cheerfully: “Isn’t this very good? You should wear more bright colors—this makes you look much healthier.”
After speaking, she lifted her skirt hem and ran downstairs in embroidered pink peach upturned shoes to examine the horse procession the Pang family had sent, the silver bells on her hair ornaments jingling all the way down.
Wei Xun wasn’t accustomed to wearing these slippery silk garments and felt uncomfortable all over. Her casual praise left him stunned in place, the color in his face deepening—whether from the red garment’s reflection or all his blood rushing upward was unclear.
Young Master Pang’s wedding was already known throughout the city. Many children immediately surrounded the procession that came to collect people, begging for copper coins and celebratory fruits. Lodged guests also came out to watch the excitement. The Pang family had prepared early, distributing dates, chestnuts, and lotus seeds for good luck and auspicious omens.
Bao Zhu stood smiling at the entrance watching for a while. Shisan Lang had gone out early in the morning for unknown business. She grabbed a handful of celebratory fruit to save for his return, but turning back, she saw another person in orange-red silk robes slowly descending the inn’s staircase. Bao Zhu’s smile immediately vanished, and the dates and chestnuts in her hand scattered to the ground with a clatter.
This was Huo Qi Lang’s first invitation to someone’s wedding, and moreover serving as her senior brother’s male groomsman. Wanting to perform well, she had deliberately dressed up today, binding her chest flat before putting on the ceremonial robe. From her build, she completely presented the image of a handsome, jade-like gentleman. Somehow, the hideous massive scar on her face had vanished without trace, her features smooth as white jade, with outstanding bearing and radiant glances.
Bao Zhu took one look and felt that whether in height, shoulder width, or bearing, she resembled her elder brother Prince Shao. The shock nearly sent her soul flying.
Unlike his sister, Li Yuanying completely inherited his mother Noble Consort Xue’s peerless beauty. Granted the title Shao, which purely by meaning described the absolute beauty of appearance, youth, and temperament. At fourteen, during his coming-of-age ceremony, wearing purple robes and jade crown as he ascended the court hall, his appearance stunned all civil and military officials. The prime minister Pei Shang described him with one phrase: “Spring mountains clear and bright, dignified as a deity.”
However, Li Yuanying’s stunning beauty brought him no benefits whatsoever—instead, that face created obstacles everywhere. Many political enemies attacked him for having feminine features, lacking the appearance of a ruler and possessing the looks that bring disaster to nations.
Being too beautiful, every time he rode out, Chang’an inevitably had crowds blocking roads like walls, severely congesting traffic with the fervor of throwing fruit to fill carriages and gazing to death like Wei Jie. Therefore, Prince Shao had been forced to travel by carriage for many years. The Tang valued martial prowess—whether civil or military officials, men or women, nobles habitually rode horses when traveling. Only the old, sick, and weak who couldn’t endure exertion used carriages. This became another charge that Li Yuanying was physically weak and unfit to inherit the throne.
Looking at Huo Qi Lang’s orange-red silk robe, Bao Zhu’s mind conjured the grand occasion of her brother’s wedding at age twenty. By then he had matured and resembled their deceased mother even more. Wearing the groom’s brilliant red robe at the wedding, his romantic splendor was unmatched in their generation, making the bride from the Qinghe Cui family seem like a drab gray pigeon by comparison.
The emperor, missing Noble Consort’s pomegranate skirt, had long forbidden harem concubines from wearing red. Seeing his son at the wedding with beauty like Noble Consort reborn, he wept on the spot. During the ceremony, he couldn’t speak two sentences without crying for a while, as sorrowful as an old man marrying off his daughter.
After that wedding, the emperor gradually distanced himself from Prince Shao under the pretext of emotional hurt. Though Li Yuanying lived in Chang’an, in subsequent years he couldn’t see his own father. It was during this awkward period that villains took advantage, alienating father and son. When ordered banished to Youzhou, Li Yuanying never had a chance to personally defend himself.
Having thought countless times since childhood about these unbearable circumstances, Bao Zhu often wished she could exchange appearances with her elder brother. If she could inherit their mother’s unparalleled beauty while her brother needn’t be burdened by that beautiful exterior, he could obtain the supreme one’s true trust as desired: the crown prince position.
Actually, looking at facial features alone, Huo Qi Lang bore no resemblance to Li Yuanying anywhere, not to mention obvious female physical characteristics. One was an imperial prince, the other a martial world knight—Bao Zhu had never compared her to her noble brother.
But today, with bound chest wearing red ceremonial robes, washing away rough wilderness nature with old facial wounds disappeared, the outline similarity was impossible to ignore. One male-born with feminine features, one female-born with masculine features—they had collided in the middle ground of gender fusion.
Immersed in unpleasant memories and deeply missing her long-separated relative, Bao Zhu forgot all about propriety, staring fixedly and absent-mindedly at the formally dressed Huo Qi Lang.
This made the other two present deeply uneasy.
Huo Qi knew she was attractive and often inspired inexplicable love at first sight, otherwise she wouldn’t have caused trouble leading to Dong Zhenzi severely scarring her face. Hearing the sound of crushing railings from the second-floor corridor and sensing intermittent cold air, she quietly turned away, trying to minimize her presence and found a corner table to sit facing the wall.