He had wanted to come to express his gratitude after just ten days, but the Imperial Physician refused to let him get up, so it had been delayed until now.

Miao Feng Xian looked back at his guard, who carefully presented the gift on the table. “Miao Feng Xian thanks Miss Feng for saving his life. This humble gift cannot fully express my gratitude.”

“You’re too kind,” she truly was just being polite and didn’t refuse it. “I’m just curious, why has Your Highness personally come as an envoy this time?”

Miao Feng Xian scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed: “The alliance treaty is important, and some terms still need to be negotiated. Besides, I wanted to meet my fiancée.”

Feng Miao Jun smiled: “Has Your Highness met Princess Han Yue yet?”

“I have.” About three days ago, the Jin King had arranged for him to meet Princess Han Yue, of course after the palace servants had dressed him up properly. Princess Han Yue was indeed beautiful; her appearance and bearing were worthy of being a princess consort. If he married her, the Yao royal family would certainly be satisfied. But when Miao Feng Xian looked at her, his mind would always flash back to that stunning glimpse in the carriage.

She had even shared hardship with him.

Now this person sat across the table from him, her features as beautiful as a painting, elegant and composed, with a self-assurance that young maidens in their prime didn’t possess. It was as if that enchanting, gentle allure he had seen that night under the lantern light had been merely his imagiKingdom.

He certainly couldn’t have been mistaken, but whichever face she showed, he found himself delighted. Others didn’t know that his nose was extremely sensitive, and at this moment he could detect a faint fruity fragrance emanating from the beauty, a scent that was fresh with a hint of sweetness, completely different from the powder and perfume of ordinary women.

Twenty-one-year-old Yao Prince Miao Feng Xian heard the sound of his heart-stirring.

Feng Miao Jun waited for a while but didn’t hear him continue. She thought to herself, could it be that this man only becomes talkative after being injured, but is normally so sparing with words? “Has the alliance treaty been finalized?” she asked.

“Yes. Our Yao forces have already engaged the enemy. If Wei does not withdraw its troops, Jin will also declare war against them in seven days,” Miao Feng Xian said solemnly. “Once matters here are concluded, I will return to my country in three days.”

She was very curious: “What about Your Highness’s engagement to Princess Han Yue?”

Miao Feng Xian hesitated before saying: “The date has been set. We will be married in my country on the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month.”

Still three months away. The bridal procession would travel much slower than ordinary merchants, probably taking nearly twenty days on the road.

A person’s true nature is revealed in times of danger. When Miao Feng Xian encountered the Jing Jing beast, he knew he had no chance of survival, yet he still protected her and urged her to leave first. This point made Feng Miao Jun admire him greatly. Moreover, according to Mo Ti Zhun, the two princes of Yao respected each other and got along well, without the usual overt and covert struggles common in royal families. Such an environment would naturally be best for Princess Han Yue. Feng Miao Jun was happy for her friend and couldn’t help clapping her hands, saying: “So you’ve come to deliver wedding invitations and ask for red envelopes? It seems I need to prepare a wedding gift early.”

Miao Feng Xian was confused: “Red envelopes?”

“Oh, what we call ‘li shi,’ cut from red paper. You probably don’t have those where you come from.” She had slipped up; here they had the custom of giving “li shi,” but they didn’t use red paper to wrap them. Moreover, this was only popular among commoners and merchants. In royal court gift exchanges, they used precious items—who would need paper to wrap money?

She began to consider what gift would be appropriate for Han Yue. This was one of her few friends, who was marrying far away and whom she might not see again for a long time.

But Miao Feng Xian said seriously: “If Miss Feng is willing to make one for me, I would be delighted to receive it.”

“??” This statement somehow seemed to have a different meaning. For her to make a red envelope or a sachet for a young man seemed inappropriate.

Miao Feng Xian, meeting the slight surprise in those phoenix eyes, felt a warmth in his heart and decided to speak frankly: “May I be so fortunate as to also take Miss Feng as my bride?”

Feng Miao Jun was truly caught off guard this time: “What?” Wait, this wasn’t how the script was supposed to go, was it?

Then she heard Miao Feng Xian continue without hesitation: “As long as Miss Feng agrees, your position here would be a proper marriage, no less than Princess Han Yue’s. In the future, I will do my utmost to ensure your safety. The danger of that day will never happen again as long as I have breath in my body.”

“Wait a moment!” This man suddenly became articulate, words pouring out like beans from a bamboo tube, leaving her confused. “Why do you suddenly want to marry me? Just because I saved your life? What if I were hideously ugly?”

“I like you,” Miao Feng Xian gazed at her intently. “We people of Yao don’t like beating around the bush. The life-saving favor is just icing on the cake.”

“Oh.” Feng Miao Jun nodded. The young man thought she was agreeing and was about to rejoice when he heard her say, “I won’t marry you.”

The smile on his face froze: “W-why not?”

“For the same reason you like me, I won’t marry you,” Feng Miao Jun slowly gathered her thoughts, smiling composedly again. “I decide my marriage and will only marry someone I like. I’m sorry, but I don’t like you.”

“Is it because of Princess Han Yue?” Miao Feng Xian wasn’t ready to give up, his handsome face showing urgency. “In Yao, commoners practice dual-wife marriages, and the royal family can have two consorts of equal rank, with no distinction between first and second. If you agree to marry me, I promise I won’t favor her over you.”

“It has nothing to do with Han Yue.” Of course, it had everything to do with Princess Han Yue! In Feng Miao Jun’s principles, only life and men could not be shared. The first exception was unavoidable, but the second boundary had to be defended at all costs. She had a cleanliness obsession—even if the other woman was Princess Han Yue, it wouldn’t work. “I have no reason to marry you, but I have reasons not to.”

Miao Feng Xian’s mind was now working rapidly: “You mean, your identity as a disciple of the State Preceptor?”

She shrugged.

“That’s not a problem for me,” he smiled, revealing a row of neat white teeth. “My talent is quite good, and I have a great chance of inheriting the State Preceptor’s mantle. Marrying another disciple of the State Preceptor would be perfectly natural.”

It was common knowledge that disciples of the State Preceptor didn’t marry nobility, but there were occasional exceptions. For instance, if the State Preceptor himself came from the royal family, he would naturally have intricate relationships with royal relatives—that was called blood being thicker than water, a nature that couldn’t be taken away. If Miao Feng Xian could become the State Preceptor, who could dictate whom he married?

“Miss Feng does have a somewhat extraordinary position in Jin capital, but finding a suitable husband from here may not be easy.” He had spent the past few days inquiring about Feng Miao Jun and knew something about her. A beauty of her caliber, if not for the backing of the State Preceptor and her cultivation, would have been claimed by some faction long ago. But as she grew older, she would still need to marry. Though Jin had many talented men, she couldn’t marry into power and wealth, which eliminated a large portion of potential suitors.

Just thinking that someday some unworthy man might pluck this begonia flower before him made anger rise within him, and he wished he could cut off that man’s head with one sword stroke.

“The Second Prince is indeed eloquent, no wonder he could persuade the Jin King to ally,” Feng Miao Jun smiled slightly. “However, whom I marry is my own business, and Your Highness need not concern yourself with it.”