Chapter 192 The longing love that is not meant to be
“Your Majesty, Your majesty…” Seeing that Ming Yue Cheng didn’t speak for a long time, Fu Er tuned his face and looked at him. He discovered that Ming Yue Cheng was frowning. The amethyst bead slowly rolled over Ming Yue Cheng’s fingertips. His mind seemed to have wandered to elsewhere.
“Your Majesty…”
Until when Fu Er called “Your Majesty” for the third time did Ming Yue Cheng’s mind come back. “Oh, it’s prime minister’s daughter. Not bad!” Ming Yue Cheng stood up and walked slowly to Gu Yun Yao. He spread her palms and placed the bead in her palm.
“You will be it! Zhen 1 likes your educated, well-balanced and cautious appearance. Zhen will bestow you with the letter ‘Jin’! in the future, you will be zhen’s consort Jin!”
Jin (瑾) means brilliance.
One sentence defined Gu Yun Yao’s future. There was a moment that Gu Yun Yao thought she was dreaming. Until when Gu De’s voice rang in her ears did she immediately knelt.
After selection of consorts only one woman rose above others, making the officials feel a sense of loss. Just when many people pined their hops on the next selection of consorts, Ming Yue Cheng issued an imperial decree to announce to the world, that in his whole life, his harem would only have one person, Gu Yun Yao.
This imperial decree caused a lot sensation in Nan Feng. At all times, the harem of the emperor was full.
The wealthy family had always had many wives and concubines not to mention an emperor of a country. However, now Ming Yue Cheng expressed that he want to leave the six palaces without consorts. This was a really shocking news.
Many people speculated that Ming Yue Cheng had a physical problem. More people expressed that they couldn’t understand this matter. All the treasures of this world is his. Naturally, the beauties of this world is also his. Why did Ming Yue Cheng express that he only wanted to drink one ladle worth of water from the Ruo river that is three thousand li long?
Ruo river is three thousand li, one only drinks one ladle worth of water from it: there are so many potential lovers to choose from, but you only pick one from among those potential lovers.
Li: Chinese mile: 500 meters
Compared to these critics, the position of Ming Yue Cheng enhanced greatly in the hearts of women.
No matter what era, no woman was willing to share her husband with others. This imperial decree made all those women who were married and those who were about to be married be very envious of Gu Yun Yao. Only be one pair for the whole lifetimes was only a dream for the women of this era. Now, a dignified emperor put this dream into action, making people couldn’t help but admire his courage and also envy Gu Yun Yao’s happiness.
However, such a thing wasn’t accepted by those officials at the court who were adherent to old ideas. The imperial family valued heirs. The emperor only had one woman. What if this woman couldn’t bear children? What if she only gives birth to daughters? Besides, if the emperor doesn’t select consorts, their interest wouldn’t be linked with that of the imperial family, leaving these people very uneasy.
So, not long after the imperial decree was announced, a large number of memorials were sent to Ming Yue Cheng’s imperial study. There were also officials who protested at the court. It was just, Ming Yue Cheng had already set his mind. So, naturally he didn’t accept people opposing it. After cutting the heads of those who were opposing the fiercest, the matter of Ming Yue Cheng selecting consorts was stopped. Everyone saw the methods of this young emperor. No one slammed their hot head on Ming Yue Cheng’s sword.
After selecting the day, the whole palace was busy preparing for Ming Yue Cheng’s wedding. Because this was the only wedding in his life, Gu De suggested to make it grand and lively. Originally, Ming Yue Cheng wanted to oppose it, but he wasn’t able to win against Gu De who directly gestured with his hand to let the people go prepare.
During this period, Ming Yue Cheng only saw Gu Yun Yao once. Now, Gu Yun Yao became the happiest woman in Nan Feng! When the people from both the inside and the outside of the palace were envious of her, only Gu Yun Yao knew that this marriage was fake. This was her and Ming Yue Cheng’s secret.
Gu Yun Yao never tried to guess the reason Ming Yue Cheng did this. To her, Ming Yue Cheng was her benefactor. Besides, he gave her such a good life. She should safeguard Ming Yue Cheng’s everything, including his reputation. So, when everyone were making indirect approach in making inquiries about her and Ming Yue Cheng’s matter, Gu Yun Yao had long prepared a pretext that allowed no one to find any flaws.
Time went by day after day. The wedding was also approaching.
The entire palace was covered with red bright lanterns. When evening came, the lanterns were lit. Looking at them from a high place, they looked like countless of fireflies fluttering in the nightly sky.
“Your Majesty, take some rest! Tomorrow is your wedding. You need to get up early!”
Fu Er stood beside Ming Yue Cheng. Until when the bell rang outside, Fu Er opened his mouth to persuade Ming Yue Cheng to rest.
“What time is it?”
“First of the five night watch periods (19:00-21:00).”
“Oh…Where is Feng Qi Qi?”
“She will arrive soon in the capital. It should be one of these two days?”
“Got it!”
Ming Yue Cheng lay on the bed and stared at the dragon and phoenix embroidery on the top of the canopy. His heart felt a bit complicated. In his heart he had an illusion, hoping that Feng Qi Qi could arrive on his wedding day and stop his wedding. Of course, this was only a dream in Ming Yue Cheng’s heart. Feng Qi Qi was with Feng Cang, plus they brought their child. This was the reality. No matter how he dreamed, he couldn’t change the fact that Feng Qi Qi and Feng Cang love each other.
Sleep, after sleeping everything would have gone by…Ming Yue Cheng comforted himself like this. Until when the bell of the third of the five night watch periods (23:00-01:00) rang did he fell asleep in a groggy state.
Early in the morning the next day, Fu Er helped Ming Yue Cheng get out of bed and prepare. Gu Yun Yao also began to dress up. The whole palace was full of joy. All of the officials who had a rank came to the palace to congratulate on the wedding.
Although, Ming Yue Cheng only wed Gu Yun Yao as his only woman, but he only gave her the position of consort. So, Gu Yun Yao wasn’t eligible to enjoy the treatment of an empress and also couldn’t receive the rite from the officials in the main hall together with Ming Yue Cheng. She could only wait for Ming Yue Cheng at Qingluan palace.
Qingluan: greenish mythical bird related to phoenix
The new emperor had married. The main hall was full of enthusiasm. Just when people were about to toast, someone came to report that Bei Zhou’s regents brought princess Zhen Guo, the regent’s shizi2, Xiaoyao wang3 and Xiaoyao wangfei4 to come congratulate on the wedding.
Hearing that Feng Qi Qi had come, Ming Yue Cheng was so excited that half of the wine in the cup fell out. Only when Fu Er handed him a clean towel to wipe his hand did Ming Yue Cheng wake up.
When the officials of Nan Feng heard that Bei Zhou’s regent and princess Zhen Guo came to congratulate, they all looked at the entrance of the hall. These two people, one was hailed as the most handsome man of the world; the other was hailed as the most beautiful woman of the world. The people only had heard the rumors and haven’t seen them in person. Now, this was an opportunity.
Not long after, they saw a few people walk in. the ones who appeared first before everyone’s eyes was Feng Cang’s family of three.
The man was dressed in white. From afar, he looked like an immortal. From close, he looked life half human half demon. Especially that pair of long and narrow eyes had a charm as if they could suck one’s soul, making people not daring to look at them for fear that they would fall into them.
Looking at the woman, she seemed like a fire from afar, making people think that she would be a passionate person. They didn’t expect that when she got closer, she was a refined woman like the fairy in heaven.
The appearances of Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi alone left people in amazement. Wanyan Kang and Su Mei who appeared later also let people talk about them for a long time. although they weren’t as flashy as Feng Cang’s pair, but the man was also handsome and the woman was beautiful.
“Congratulations to Your Majesty!”
“Thank you!” Ming Yue Cheng looked at Feng Cang and then looked at Feng Qi Qi. At last, his gaze fell on Feng Xiao who was in Feng Cang’s arms.
“Xiao er also came?”
Ming Yue Cheng was Feng Xiao’s godfather. Now, when looking at Feng Xiao, he felt more cordial. He went straight down and took Feng Xiao from Feng Cang’s arms.
“Haven’t seen you for a while. Xiao er has become more and more cute!”
When the officials saw that Ming Yue Cheng was so skilful at holding a baby, they all couldn’t help but wonder. Even Gu De was surprised when seeing such a Ming Yue Cheng. However, aside from being surprised, Gu De was also very happy. It seemed that Ming Yue Cheng was very fond of children! It’s good as long as he likes children. The blood of Nan Feng was able to continue on then!
How would Gu De know that the reason why Ming Yue Cheng likes Feng Xiao was very simple? It was just because he is the child of Feng Qi Qi.
The original lively party became livelier because of the addition of these honorable guests from Bei Zhou. Especially when Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi delivered the gifts, the atmosphere of the entire hall was heightened to the highest.
“This is something we asked Guanghua gongzi5 to specially design for Your Majesty and consort Jin. This set of jewelry is called Peacock Flying to the Southeast and is made from tourmaline.” While Feng Qi Qi spoke, she displayed this set of jewelry to the officials. This was a rare opportunity. As a good businesswoman, Feng Qi Qi wouldn’t let go of any opportunity to promote Tong Bao Zhai and Jue Se Fang. Especially at such a place. There were so many officials and aristocrats here, naturally she had to show off!
“So pretty!”
“What a wonderful piece of work!”
“So beautiful!”
The amazing thing about Tong Bao Zhai was that both men and women would find it breathtaking after they have seen it. Moreover, the jewelry that Tong Bao Zhai produced would always retain the jewelry’s original form. On the basis of the original form, the jewelry would be molded with many natural elements to make it look stunning.
This set of Peacock Flying to the Southeast was entirely made of tourmaline. In particular, the peacock hairclip and feathers were all made with multicolored tourmaline. These were polished into small particles and then pieced together. It was very beautiful, making one have no choice but to love it.
Feng Qi Qi felt very happy when she saw the awe in everyone’s eyes. After putting down the jewelry, she took out a splendid-looking set of clothes made by Tong Bao Zhai. The jewelry would be gifted to Gu Yun Yao, but this set of clothes was personally designed by Feng Qi Qi as a gift for Ming Yue Cheng.
Ming Yue Cheng had always liked purple, so Feng Qi Qi has made this set of clothes with several layers of purple brocade. From the outer to the inner layers, there was a constant overlap of purple, the color went from shallow to deep, giving it a sense of prestige.
Everyone knew that Guanghua gongzi’s designs were invaluable. Ming Yue Cheng got married now and Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi actually managed to ask Guanghua gongzi to make such a unique design for Ming Yue Cheng and Gu Yun Yao. It was enough to prove their sincerity to congratulate the couple.
Of course, these people didn’t know that the famous Guanghua gongzi was actually Feng Qi Qi herself.
At this moment, Ming Yue Cheng felt extremely happy in his heart. This was due to nothing else but Feng Qi Qi, because she had personally made a set of clothes for him. If it wasn’t for the fact that there were many people here and that he was still at the banquet, he would have surely taken off his clothes and put on this set of purple clothes that Feng Qi Qi has made for him.
Wanyan Kang and Su Mei gifted the couple a pair of palm-sized jade carved lion, these were also priceless.
Bei Zhou’s Regent and Xiaoyao wang came in person to congratulate Ming Yue Cheng on his wedding day, this has truly shocked all the officials in Nan Feng. Although the officials knew that Ming Yue Cheng had an alliance with Bei Zhou, and that he had worked together with Bei Zhou to overthrow Xi Qi, they still didn’t expect for Ming Yue Cheng to have such a good relationship with the new power holders in Bei Zhou.
Dong Lu and Xi Qi became history, so Bei Zhou and Nan Feng became the only two countries coexisting on the continent. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot contain two tigers. As soon as Bei Zhou had overthrown Dong Lu and Nan Feng overthrew Xi Qi, some people started to think that maybe in ten years’ time, these two big countries would start a war against each other.
One mountain cannot contain two tigers: in an area, there cannot be two very strong personality people leading. Just like in a mountain, there will only be one king, one leader.
However, now that the officials have seen their friendship, their doubt have dispelled. Truth to be told, no one was willing to go to war. Everyone hoped to live a stable and happy life. Ming Yue Cheng’s behavior after he had ascended the throne made some officials misunderstand his intentions, they thought that their sovereign had the ambition to take over the entire world. But now that they have seen their friendship with their own eyes, they could finally be at ease.
Fu Er already arranged a spot for Feng Cang and the rest before they arrived, he left them the most honorable seats. The music and dance started to play the moment the four of them sat down.
A while ago, Ming Yue Cheng took Feng Xiao and has been holding him in his arms ever since. Feng Xiao seemed to be particularly fond of him (MYC), he didn’t cry nor made any noise. When Ming Yue Cheng teased him, he would laugh and smile. That innocent laughter was spread to everyone’s ears and as a result, improved everyone’s mood.
“Looks like Xiao er is very fond of me!” Ming Yue Cheng waited until the song and dance had ended, before he reluctantly gave Feng Xiao back to Feng Qi Qi.
“You are his godfather, so he naturally likes you!”
Ming Yue Cheng was very satisfied with Feng Qi Qi’s answer. Although the two of them couldn’t be together in this lifetime, he could still be the godfather of her children and this relationship would let them always be in touch.
There were many people present, so Ming Yue Cheng didn’t chat with Feng Qi Qi for long. He returned to his dragon chair and stared at the singing and dancing on the stage instead, displaying a behavior of a newlywed emperor.
Gu De was the only one constantly staring at Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi sitting in front of him.
Gu De had already received Gu Yun Wan letter before this. In the letter, she had mentioned Feng Cang and Feng Qi Qi’s matter. She also mentioned the child gu inside Feng Xiao’s body. Gu De knew that the couple came this time to cure their son’s gu. He (GD) had glanced at Feng Xiao earlier and discovered that he (FX) was really as cute and adorable as Gu Yun Wan had described. It was truly a pity for such a small child to have a gu inside his body.
What Gu De found surprising was the fact that Feng Xiao seemed to be a bit different. Usually, people who had the gu inside their body would show a somewhat unhealthy state. It didn’t matter if it was their complexion or their eyesight, it would look abnormal. Even adults would become like this, let alone a child.
Children had a weak resistance to begin with, so if someone poisoned them with the gu then their tolerance would become even worse. He had encountered children who had been poisoned with the gu before. All of them were emaciated and looked petite. Moreover, they were dispirited and downcast, and kept crying incessantly.
Dispirited and downcast: in low spirits
However, these conditions didn’t show up for Feng Xiao. Gu De had glanced at him earlier and saw that he (FX) was plump and healthy. He was very cute and adorable, was he really poisoned with the gu?
1. Zhen: I, used by the emperor
2. Shizi: heir of the crown prince/prince of first rank by the main consort
3. Wang/wang: the first-rank prince
4. Wangfei: the main consort of the first-rank prince
5. Gongzi: young master