Chapter 488: Extra 4: The Wind Blows, Scattering Red Silk; Ripples Rise, Crushing Cold Bones (3)

Chapter 488: Chapter 485: Extra 4: The Wind Blows, Scattering Red Silk; Ripples Rise, Crushing Cold Bones (3)

“Since you’ve accepted this dagger, you can’t marry anyone else.”

A bitter pang shot through Mo Lingling’s heart. She stammered out a threat, “You… I… In any case, I won’t be a concubine! If you insist on marrying me, then I’ll… I won’t kill myself, but I have my ways. You and that Wei Shisi won’t have a moment’s peace!”

Duan Mingfeng said dismissively, “What do I care if Wei Shisi is at peace?”

He seized her hand, pulling her in front of him. “And how do you plan to make me miserable?”

Mo Lingling was scared out of her wits, but she forced herself to appear calm.

“Don’t push me!”

Duan Mingfeng gritted his teeth and spoke in a rush. “No mistresses, no concubines. If you’re willing, I’ll go to the Emperor tomorrow and request a marriage decree. I want the entire world to know that you, Mo Lingling, are my wife. A marriage decreed by the Emperor cannot be dissolved without another imperial command. Think it over. If you agree, come find me at the Imperial City Department tomorrow.”

Then, his ears burning red, Duan Mingfeng quickly vanished into the night.

After he left, it took Mo Lingling a long time to process what had just happened—a full two hours.

But two hours was not nearly enough to get through the long night.

「The next day.」

The sky was still dark; even the roosters had yet to crow.

It was still an hour and a half before the gates of the Imperial City Department were due to open.

Someone who hadn’t slept all night had come to wait by the main gate, only to be surprised by the sight of a person crouching beside one of the stone lions.

Mo Lingling’s legs had gone numb from crouching. When she saw Duan Mingfeng, she first let out a dry laugh, then pulled down a bundle she had hung on the stone lion’s head.

The joy Duan Mingfeng had felt upon first seeing her was now matched by his immense disappointment.

“You’re leaving.”

Mo Lingling nodded. She looked at him, her voice hoarse as she said, “Yes, I… I’m going back to Xianyang.”

A heavy silence fell around them.

The two of them spoke at the same time.

“I…”

“You…”

Duan Mingfeng seemed to age years in an instant. “You go first,” he said.

Mo Lingling kept her head down, drawing circles on the ground with her toe. “I want to go back to visit my parents’ graves,” she said.

Duan Mingfeng’s head was also bowed, his expression hidden. “Go, then,” he said calmly.

Mo Lingling fiddled with the strap of her bundle. “I also want to bring their son-in-law to meet them,” she said in a small voice. “So they won’t have to worry about me from beyond the grave. Can I?”

The early morning sun painted the sky a brilliant red, but Mo Lingling’s face was redder still.

A bright light flared in Duan Mingfeng’s eyes, and the hand gripping his sword began to tremble uncontrollably.

Yet his expression remained perfectly calm. “Fine. If we’re leaving now, I’ll need to go to the Imperial Palace and request a few days of leave.”

Mo Lingling nervously picked at her fingers. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll wait for you.”

Duan Mingfeng turned and strode away stiffly… to the right.

Mo Lingling had to grab the stone lion to keep her balance, her palms slick with sweat. Unable to suppress her joy, she patted the lion’s head and burst out laughing.

When Duan Mingfeng’s figure appeared before her again, Mo Lingling hastily pursed her lips, stifling her unrestrained laughter.

Duan Mingfeng pointed to the left.

“The Imperial Palace is that way,” he said. “I was so happy, I walked in the wrong direction.”

‘Was he happy?’

Mo Lingling couldn’t actually tell from his rigid expression just how happy he was. She could only guess from his stiff, uncoordinated walk just how endearingly flustered he was.

‘What if he’s so flustered he forgets to mention the important part?’

Mo Lingling cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

“Duan Mingfeng!”

Duan Mingfeng turned around and looked at her seriously.

Mo Lingling’s smile pierced the thin morning mist, seeming to illuminate everything around her. Her voice echoed across the grounds of the Imperial City Department.

“Don’t you dare forget to tell the Emperor!”

“That you’re going to marry me!”

*

Three days after Princess Baocheng’s one-month celebration, the Imperial City Department hosted a wedding banquet.

The banquet was a boisterous affair; even the Emperor and Empress made a special appearance to offer their congratulations.

Of everyone present, the least happy was the fourteenth young lady of the Wei Family.

Drunk as a skunk, she went to crash the bridal chamber, even drawing her Snow Sword and vowing to fight Duan to the bitter end.

The Wei Family matriarch hadn’t attended, sending only a few junior members in her stead. But they were unable to talk Wei Tongyou down, and the commotion eventually reached the main hall.

At the wedding feast, the Emperor and Empress were seated at the head table.

Having completed her month of postnatal confinement, Ji Qingwu’s face was fuller and radiant, giving her an even more graceful and regal bearing.

She was thrilled to see the couple finally get their happy ending and wanted to have a cup of celebratory wine, but Emperor Wu Su stopped her, forbidding her from drinking alcohol.

Ji Qingwu was trying to wear Emperor Wu Su down, haggling from a full cup to half a cup, and finally down to a tiny sip. Just when it seemed Your Majesty the Emperor was about to relent, someone from the rear courtyard came to summon her.

Ji Qingwu whispered a few words into the Emperor’s ear and made to rise. But in full view of everyone, Emperor Wu Su took her hand and carefully adjusted her pearl-inlaid, phoenix-patterned cloak. He then instructed Li Yuzong to accompany her.

Only with the arrival of the Empress did things in the bridal chamber finally quiet down.

Wei Tongyou was so drunk she could barely recognize the person before her. Sobbing, she threw her arms around Ji Qingwu’s leg.

“Your Grace, you must see justice done for me! Duan Mingfeng made me a promise, but he went back on his word!”

Mo Lingling also looked at her with a wronged expression and murmured, “Empress.”

Wei Tongyou’s pestering was giving Duan Mingfeng a headache. ‘If it weren’t my wedding day,’ he thought, ‘I’d have already run her through and tossed her down a dry well.’

Ji Qingwu glanced at Duan Mingfeng. “Have all uninvolved persons leave.”

After the room was cleared, Ji Qingwu sat and looked at the two people standing before her—and the one sprawled on the floor.

She asked, “Did Mr. Duan promise to marry you?”

Wei Tongyou looked up, full of grief and indignation. “Marry him? I want to kill him! He lied to me!”

Ji Qingwu asked, “What did he lie to you about? I will see that justice is done.”

Wei Tongyou burst into tears. “He said he was going back to his old home in Xianyang! He said the position of head of the Imperial City Department would be mine, and that he would personally train me! But he lied! He’s not leaving anymore…”

The more the young woman spoke, the more upset she became. The official post that had been within her grasp was gone.

And why wasn’t he leaving? Because Mo Lingling wasn’t leaving, of course.

In the end, Ji Qingwu led the young woman from the Wei Family away, promising her the position of the next head of the Imperial City Department.

The two remaining in the bridal chamber felt their faces burn.

As the wind stirred, the red silk fluttered. Waves of passion crested, shattering the winter in their bones…