The King seemed to be overcome with anger, followed by a fit of coughing. The Crown Prince quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath.

Feng Miao Jun couldn’t see the contents of the letter, but she could discern Mo Tizhun’s face alternating between pale and flushed, clearly switching between fury and embarrassment.

What could be written in that letter to make the King and Mo Tizhun so angry?

She saw Mo Tizhun quickly say something to the King, but his voice was so low that she couldn’t hear a word.

Being stared at by countless pairs of eyes, the King, despite his rage, managed to suppress it. He exchanged a few words with Mo Tizhun, then summoned the ceremonial official and pronounced each word distinctly: “Announce that the Jin wedding ceremony is temporarily suspended and will be rescheduled for another day!”

The great hall erupted in an uproar.

The bride had disappeared, vanishing without a trace under public scrutiny. With hundreds of witnesses in the viewing stands, even if the Kingdom wanted to gloss over the incident, it was powerless to do so and could only announce the suspension of the wedding.

Feng Miao Jun didn’t look at anyone else, focusing solely on Mo Tizhun. This State Preceptor of Jin remained silent when the King made his decision, and the Kingdom’s State Preceptor also maintained a calm demeanor. Their earlier discussion had already touched upon this point.

Where had Princess Hanyu gone? Had she been abducted, or…?

This unexpected incident that occurred in just a quarter of an hour was enough to set everyone’s imagination running wild.

Next, the King requested that envoys from various countries return to their guest houses to rest, while the crowd beneath the sacrificial temple began to disperse.

Feng Miao Jun heard the clamorous noise from the square below, but the commoners were still being evacuated quickly and in an orderly manner, showing that the military guards of Yin Zi City were quite adept at handling emergencies.

Surrounded by numerous guards, the King, the Kingdom’s State Preceptor, and the officials all rose and departed.

As Feng Miao Jun turned to follow Yun, she glanced back at Miao Feng Xian, who stood in place with his head slightly bowed, lost in thought. Though the figure in the fire-red robe still stood straight as a spear, at this moment he appeared somewhat desolate and lonely.

A ceremony meant for universal celebration had come to nothing.

As grand as the first half of this wedding ceremony had been, the second half was equally bizarre.

The groom, Miao Feng Xian, the second prince of the Kingdom, became the day’s biggest loser. It was foreseeable that for at least the next year, he would be the greatest laughingstock across the central lands.

Feng Miao Jun already heard the discussions from all around, with the most common phrase being: “The Kingdom and Miao Feng Xian have lost face this time.”

She sighed lightly and averted her gaze, unable to bear looking any longer. But as she turned her head, she met Yun’s gaze, and he smiled, asking her: “Feeling sorry for him?”

Feng Miao Jun shook her head. That was Princess Hanyu’s husband; it wasn’t her place to feel heartache. At most, she felt some sympathy.

As a result, he moved closer and whispered: “Be careful, some love affairs begin with sympathy.”

Feng Miao Jun couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. At a time like this, how could he still be in the mood for such jokes? But immediately, her heart tensed:

Could this be the work of the Wei Kingdom? Could Yun be behind it?

After all, the Kingdom losing face before the entire world would bring the most joy to the Wei Kingdom, wouldn’t it? The obstruction of the Jin wedding would also benefit the Wei Kingdom the most, wouldn’t it?

Yun expressed his dissatisfaction: “What kind of look is that?”

Feng Miao Jun remained silent and lowered her head. She had no position to blame Yun; this country and everyone here had no direct stake in her interests.

She saw the Crown Prince of the Kingdom step forward and firmly pat his brother’s broad shoulders, whispering something in his ear. Miao Feng Xian didn’t raise his head but turned slightly, hooking his arm around his brother’s.

This was comfort from family.

From this moment on, the entire city of Yin Zi was placed under martial law.

The various diplomatic delegations were escorted back to their lodgings under the guard of the city’s military. It was called an escort, but it was more like being confined. Looking out from her guest room window, Feng Miao Jun could easily distinguish which people below were commoners and which were secret guards and sentries.

With Princess Hanyu missing, foreign delegations were under great suspicion.

Under these circumstances, Feng Miao Jun naturally didn’t dare to wander around and honestly stayed within the guest house. Yun was even more compliant; he almost immediately fell into a deep sleep upon returning, until dusk when the King sent people to inspect and investigate. Feng Miao Jun had to wake Yun up. The Langyu delegation cooperated fully, answering all questions just like many other delegations. At this juncture, with the King certainly furious, no one dared to act arrogantly.

Naturally, Yun and the others had been well-behaved recently, with witnesses and evidence for their comings and goings, so the questioning ended quickly.

At this time, there were eyes and ears everywhere in the guest house, and who knew how many eavesdropping techniques had been placed? Even though Feng Miao Jun suspected that the instigator of this turmoil was Grand State Preceptor Yun, she didn’t dare to even ask.

After a troublesome day, even Feng Miao Jun was tired. After dinner, she simply went to bed, regardless of how the situation might develop.

However, she still underestimated the severity of this incident.

The next morning, when the deputy envoy of the Langyu delegation brought steaming hot spicy soup and scallion pancakes to his superior, he mysteriously said: “Another major incident occurred last night.”

Yun, his eyes still half-open, stirred the soup with a silver spoon without taking a bite: “What happened?”

The deputy envoy knew about his superior’s lazy temperament and wasn’t concerned: “The Wei Kingdom envoy died.”

Yun still had that half-asleep appearance, but Feng Miao Jun, standing behind him, nearly jumped up.

Qi Tian Xing was dead? How coincidental, right after Princess Hanyu’s disappearance?

“So what if he died, Yin Zi City won’t miss such a person… wait, that’s not right.” Yun seemed to have just come to his senses. “The Wei Kingdom envoy? Could his death possibly be related to yesterday’s disappearance of the bride-to-be?”

Now everyone could enjoy the drama comfortably.

The deputy envoy lowered his voice even more: “Actually, after the wedding ceremony was suspended yesterday, the King detained the Wei envoy in the palace, only releasing him at night. But after returning to the guest house, he suddenly collapsed with a violent illness and fell unconscious. The Wei people tried several times to go out and seek medical help but were blocked by the city guards stationed outside. Eventually, the city guards reported to request the royal physician to come and diagnose him, but it was already too late to save him.”

Feng Miao Jun was struck speechless hearing this news. It was like a thunderbolt, causing her heart to churn endlessly. Yun also shook his head: “The Kingdom has now inherited a hot potato.”

Feng Miao Jun could guess that Princess Hanyu’s disappearance was related to the Wei Kingdom delegation, and naturally, the King could too. Last night, he had brought Qi Tian Xing into the palace and must have questioned him thoroughly. As for whether they had a falling out or how harsh the interrogation was, that was unknown.

The deputy envoy said: “There’s a buzz of excitement throughout the guest house, with everyone discussing various theories.”

Yun made an affirmative sound, looking serious: “Tell them not to cause trouble and not to go out. Let’s keep a low profile until this storm passes.” It was obvious that if news was spreading like this within the guest house, it would be even worse outside. Even if the Kingdom officially suppressed the information, there are no walls that don’t leak. Once this bad news grew legs and traveled for a few days, rumors would spread even more wildly in the streets and neighborhoods, impossible to contain or block.