Father Zheng sneered, “Excellent! The Cui family is becoming more and more capable. A mere guard dares to rebuke me so boldly.” At this point, he kicked Cui Yongzhong and shouted angrily, “What kind of thing are you? Even your master is polite and respectful before me, yet you dare to rebuke and command me – do you seek death?!”

Father Zheng’s status was far above what a Cui Yongzhong could contend with, so he dared not get angry, much less retort. He could only endure the pain and bow his head, saying, “This subordinate doesn’t want Master Zheng and my master to harm their friendship.”

“Friendship?” Father Zheng laughed mockingly and said coldly, “It was already completely destroyed when this bastard killed my Yang’er. From today onwards, my Zheng family will be mortal enemies with your Cui family for generations to come!” After saying this, he kicked Cui Yongzhong aside and left with Du Ruhui and the others. Though the Cui family had many guards, none dared to obstruct them.

Watching their departing figures, Cui Yongzhong stomped his foot forcefully and ran toward the Cui residence. In the current situation, the wedding procession was impossible; the most urgent matter was to find a way to save the young master’s life.

Meanwhile, in the Changsheng Hall, Ruyi and Jixiang stood anxiously at the palace door, looking outside. Unfortunately, the person they were hoping for had yet to appear.

Jixiang said urgently, “The auspicious time has already passed. Why hasn’t the Prince Consort come yet?”

Ruyi said helplessly, “Exactly! How can they perform the wedding ceremony if they miss the auspicious time? I just sent someone to check at the palace gates, and they said the Prince Consort hasn’t even entered the palace yet. Could it be that he drank too much last night and forgot that today is the day to marry the Princess?”

“This is a life-changing event – how could he forget? Even if he truly forgot, the entire Cui household wouldn’t forget.” At this point, Jixiang’s eyelid twitched, and she blurted out, “Could it be that Young Master Cui suddenly changed his mind and doesn’t want to marry the Princess?” Before she finished speaking, Ruyi had already lightly patted her mouth and scolded, “On such a joyous day, don’t speak nonsense!”

Jixiang also felt she had spoken inappropriately and quickly spat on the ground, patting her own mouth, “Thoughtless words, thoughtless words – may they never come true.”

Ruyi glared at her, “Young Master Cui loves the Princess so much – how could he possibly change his mind? There must have been some incident on the way that prevented him from entering the palace on time.” She then called someone over, “Go to the palace gates again to check. If the Prince Consort enters the palace, come tell me immediately.”

Just as the palace servant was about to leave, someone rushed in, running while saying, “The Prince Consort has entered the palace! He’s entered the palace!”

Hearing this, both Ruyi and Jixiang immediately felt a great weight lifted from their hearts. “Good that he’s entered the palace. I’ll go tell the Princess to prepare.”

The palace servant grabbed her and caught his breath, “Don’t go tell the Princess yet.”

Ruyi asked puzzledly, “Why not?”

“Because… because the Prince Consort didn’t enter the palace alone.” Hearing this, Jixiang immediately laughed, “The Prince Consort must have brought several people with him to escort the Princess. Everyone knows this, right?”

“No.” The palace servant caught his breath and said urgently, “The Prince Consort was escorted into the palace by Master Zheng, Young Master Du, and the others. I saw them heading toward the Qianyuan Hall – they should be going to see His Majesty. They…”

Jixiang was completely confused and raised her hand, “Wait, what did you say? I know Young Master Du, but why did Master Zheng also enter the palace? And you said he was escorted in?”

The palace servant nodded, “I couldn’t believe it when I first saw it either, but it’s absolutely true. Master Zheng, Young Master Du, and Lord Pei – they all escorted the Prince Consort to the Qianyuan Hall together. Something major must have happened; otherwise, it wouldn’t be like this.”

Ruyi said anxiously, “What… what are they doing? How can there be a wedding if they’ve escorted the Prince Consort away? Today is the Princess’s joyous day!” She then asked the palace servant, “Did you ask why?”

The palace servant said helplessly, “Miss Ruyi, you didn’t see Master Zheng’s expression at the time – it was as black as charcoal. No one dared to approach and ask about such an ill omen.”

“Useless thing.” Just as Ruyi was getting annoyed, someone approached from behind them, “Miss Ruyi, the Princess sent me to ask if the Prince Consort has entered the palace.”

Ruyi bit her lip, “Jixiang, you go to the Qianyuan Hall area to gather information. I’ll go comfort the Princess.”

Jixiang nodded, “Alright. Don’t tell the Princess about the Prince Consort being escorted to the Qianyuan Hall just yet.”

“I know. Go quickly.” After Jixiang left, Ruyi walked to the inner hall. Yunyi had already changed into a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, with a red veil embroidered with phoenixes and peonies covering her head, concealing her devastatingly beautiful face.

“Has the Prince Consort entered the palace?” Yunyi looked at Ruyi approaching through the red veil.

Ruyi forced a smile, “Yes, I heard he’s already passed through the palace gates. He should arrive here soon. Please wait a little longer, Princess.”

After a moment of silence, Yunyi asked, “Has something happened?”

Ruyi’s heart fluttered with panic, and she quickly said, “Nothing has happened. There was just a small incident on the way, so he was delayed for a while. Actually, whether the timing is auspicious or not doesn’t matter – as long as the Princess and Prince Consort love each other, that’s what’s important.”

Yunyi stared at her, “When did you learn to lie to me?”

Ruyi said uncomfortably, “How could this servant lie? Princess, please don’t overthink.”

Yunyi said no more but asked, “Where is Jixiang?”

“I sent her to welcome the Prince Consort. She’ll be back soon. Are you hungry, Princess? I’ll go get something for you to eat.”

Yunyi shook her head slightly, “I’m not hungry. Go watch outside.”

Seeing that Yunyi asked no more questions, Ruyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, curtsied, and withdrew from the inner hall. She waited for a full hour before finally seeing Jixiang appear. Ruyi hurried to meet her, “How is it? Is everything fine now? Where is the Prince Consort?”

Jixiang had run too urgently and couldn’t speak for a moment, only shaking her head desperately. Seeing this made Ruyi anxious, “What happened? Tell me!”

After finally catching her breath somewhat, Jixiang said urgently, “No need to wait anymore. The Prince Consort… the Prince Consort can’t come.”

Ruyi looked at her in astonishment, “Can’t come? What do you mean?”

Jixiang shook her head, “Do you know how Young Master Zheng died?”

Ruyi answered without hesitation, “Of course I know – he drowned. Everyone in Luoyang knows that.”

“No.” Jixiang said with a grave expression, “Young Master Zheng was killed by Young Master Cui!”

“Ah!” Ruyi was shocked and covered her mouth, but still couldn’t muffle her cry of surprise. The people nearby were the same, staring at Jixiang with faces full of astonishment, unable to believe her words.

After a long while, Ruyi finally said in a trembling voice, “Are… are you certain you’re not joking with me? How could Young Master Cui possibly kill someone? This… this is impossible!”

Jixiang sighed, “How could I joke about such a serious matter? When I heard it, I couldn’t believe it either and asked several times to confirm.”

Ruyi steadied herself and asked, “Why would Young Master Cui do such a thing?”