Initial Volume Trouble from Heaven ☆ Chapter 1 The Marrying Princess (Revised)

  Nan Li, Xuanhe twenty-ninth year, summer.

  The southern general was defeated, and Princess Ji's heart was filled with thoughts of peace and reconciliation. She married far away in a foreign land at night.

  Inside the Jinque Hall, the beams were made of cloud-patterned nanmu wood, crystal and jade were used as lanterns, pearls were used as curtains, and bronze was used as column bases. On the ceiling of the hall, a bright moon pearl hung down, shining brightly, like a bright moon. Above the main hall, eight golden pillars stood tall, with five-clawed golden dragons carved on them. The floor was paved with white jade, inlaid with gold beads, and carved into lotus flowers, with each flower having five petals, fresh and delicate, distinguishable in detail, and warm to the touch, surprisingly made of bluestone warm jade, like stepping on jade lotus flowers everywhere, truly extravagant and exquisite.

  On either side of the blue jade lotus incised by Yu Yu, officials stood for the morning court, and at the very top, a dragon chair made of gold was prominently placed, with a five-clawed golden dragon majestically overlooking everything in the Golden Hall.

  At this moment, on the Golden Throne, the voices of congratulations from the officials were endless. The Southern Emperor sat on the dragon chair, and when his eyes fell upon the woman in the bright red exquisite wedding dress, with a dragon and phoenix auspicious canopy covering her head, the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually deepened, and a flash of sharp dark light flickered and disappeared.

  "Your Majesty, the auspicious hour has arrived, the Ninth Princess should set out now."

  "Heh heh, Emperor Fu said it makes sense. I wouldn't want to give up the Ninth Princess even if I wanted to, but I have no choice." The Southern Emperor's eyes, which were welling up with tears, fell on the proud and majestic Night Country Emperor Shi, Fu Wei-Huan, just like a father who was about to send off his daughter, feeling so reluctant, so sorrowful.

  "The ninth princess is married to the war king's palace, noble as a queen, no need for the southern emperor to worry."

  "It's a day of great joy, one that I have longed for." Looking at Fu Emperor Shi's face to see something, Nan Huang continued, "Gao Lisheng, pass on my imperial decree to confer the title of Gonguo Princess on the Ninth Princess, and let her be exempt from kneeling."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Long live Your Majesty, congratulations to Princess Gonguo." All officials bowed their heads and chorused in congratulation.

  The title of First-Rank Princess was only eligible for princesses born to the Empress, and in the minds of these ministers, Ninth Princess didn't know what kind of luck she had that allowed her to enjoy the title of Gongnuo Princess.

  "The son thanks the emperor for his kindness."

  "Awake, Ninth Brother." The Empress Xu was signaling to him from beside him without stop, but the Emperor Nan pretended not to see it and had his own plans for enfeoffing Ninth Princess as Gonguo Princess.

  Defeated and returning home, he was the dignified ruler of a country, even if it meant losing face by giving away one of his daughters in marriage, he would not let the people of the Night Kingdom feel at ease.

  It delights him to see the people of Ye Guo uneasy at heart, and it's even better if this marriage can make them suspicious all day long, which suits his intentions. Sacrificing a daughter is unimportant; what matters is how much value sacrificing this daughter can create for him.

  "Thank you, Father."

  The Southern Emperor nodded in satisfaction, smiling as he said: "Fu Emperor's Teacher, I have personally handed my precious daughter over to you; I hope you will take good care of her. Set off now."

  "The peace of mind of the Southern Emperor is all that matters." Emperor's teacher, Fu Wei Huan, cupped his hands and lowered his eyes, a hint of sharp light flashing across his eyes, then raised his head again to address the Ninth Princess: "Your Highness, please."

  The palace maid in a plain-colored palace dress supported Yixin, first facing the South Emperor and gently bowed her body, softly saying: "Ajiu bids farewell to Father Emperor."

  The palace maid saw Nan Huang nodding and bowing, then carefully supported Yixin's hand as she turned around, her lotus steps lightly moving towards the outside of the Golden Temple, with the Southern Palace envoys led by Emperor Shi closely following behind.

  Until the red luxurious soft sedan chair came out of the imperial palace, Princess Ji Xin was escorted by the palace maids to board the phoenix carriage heading to Ye Guo. The joyful drum and music played, under the gaze of the people of Nan Guo, they slowly left the city, embarking on the journey back to Ye Guo.

  "Mother, the princess has gone to the Night Country, what can be done with only you left behind? The princess and you grew up relying on each other, but when she left, you didn't even come to see her off..." Zixue gently wiped away the tears on Yixin's white hands that were visible outside of her wedding dress, her eyebrows furrowed.

  "Taking good care of the princess is our duty as servants, and we must not think or ask about anything else that's not our business."

  The old lady Sun held the dowry list given by the Ninth Princess in her hand, took a look, then carefully took out a brocade box, locked the list inside and put it into the secret compartment behind the soft couch.

  "Yes, I understand."

  "Xue Zhi, after arriving at the border of Yeguo at night, you will be in charge of serving Princess Gong alone. Be careful with everything."

  They all knew how Jiugong Princess was married off, but they couldn't let anyone in Ye Country know the inside story, or else none of them would be able to live.

  "Yes."

  A faintly discernible heavy expression floated across her delicate face, she took a deep breath, Xue Xi lowered her eyelids, and the hands in her sleeves clenched into fists. Even if it meant risking her own life, she would protect the princess completely.

  If it weren't for Her Highness, she would have died long ago.

  Hei and his companions, after a month of long-distance travel, finally arrived at the capital of Yeguo - Jincheng.

  "Good day."

  At the sound, a white-clad girl walked to a place three feet away from the man and stopped. The scorching summer wind blew across her face, lifting her three thousand black hairs. Her face was like a flower, her appearance was like the moon, her skin was as smooth as jade, and her slender figure was wrapped in a white robe. Her eyes were dimly lit, and she was beautifully clear.

  "The slave pays respects to Duke Min."

  "You're welcome."

  Minjun Hou Xuan Yuan Si Cheng, 19 years old, warm and elegant like jade, voice as gentle as a willow.

  "The slave thanks you, Master, but doesn't know what instructions you have?"

  "In another hour, we will enter the city. Go to the Southern Kingdom's princess and inform them to make preparations. The War King's welcoming party is waiting at the city gate."

  As they spoke, Xuan Yuan's gaze inadvertently swept over the magnificent phoenix carriage bestowed by Emperor Nan Huang. Except for seeing Ninth Princess Yixin in her wedding dress at Jin Que Hall, he hadn't seen her figure again throughout their journey.

  If he hadn't seen Yixinze leave the Golden Temple and get into a sedan chair, then exit the palace gate and board the Phoenix Carriage, he would have suspected that Ninth Princess didn't exist in the first place.

  "The Ninth Princess of Nanguo seems very mysterious, and apart from her two personal palace maids and Sun Ruolan, she doesn't come into contact with anyone else."

  "Have you ever seen Jiǔ Gōngzhǔ?"

  "No." The beautiful eyebrows of the good-looking girl slightly frowned, and her red lips lightly opened again: "The slave has always been waiting outside the phoenix carriage, never heard the ninth princess speak loudly, even if it's a tone that is a bit heavy, the ninth princess is still the most well-behaved princess the slave has ever seen."

  She is the head maid of the War King's mansion, and the people she usually comes into contact with are either royal relatives or high-ranking officials. At the very least, they are all young ladies from good families. I really haven't found any young lady from a certain family who is as quiet as this princess.

  "Hehe, you're right, she's like a riddle."

  "If Master has no other instructions, I will go and pass on the message."

  "Go."

  "I bid you farewell."

  Xuanyuan Sicheng turned around and met his teacher's eyes, saying: "What does the teacher think?"

  A month is neither long nor short, enough for them to see through a person, yet they did not see through the ninth princess Yixin, and even her face was not seen.

  "The Fourth Prince of Nanguo is not as simple as he appears on the surface, and the Ninth Princess is his biological younger sister. It seems that she also has a deep mind and must be guarded against."

  Fu Weihuan stood with his hands behind his back, his heart feeling as if it had a huge stone pressed on top of it, suffocating.

  The war between the Night Country and the South Country, on the surface, they won, but at a deeper level, it made them see the increasingly powerful military strength of the South Country. If they continue to let them develop, sooner or later, the ones who will lose will be the Night Country.

  Moreover, what a great price they paid for winning that battle.

  "The teacher is right, the ninth princess and the news we investigated are completely like two people, could it be that the news is wrong?" Xuan Yuan Si Cheng's gaze fell on Feng Ou once again, until Liang Chen walked towards them, only then did he withdraw his line of sight.

  "It doesn't matter, just remind the war king to be more careful." Although the ninth princess was a peace marriage, she was after all the princess of the southern kingdom. If they didn't let her become the official wife, it's likely that the southern kingdom would use this as an excuse to declare war again, and in the end, it would be the innocent common people who would suffer.

  "The slave greets Master Candidate, and Emperor's Teacher asks for peace."

  "What did Ji Gongzi say?"

  "Madam Wang returned and said, 'The Ninth Princess has made all necessary preparations.'"

  "Teacher, let's set off then. Missing the auspicious hour for entering the city wouldn't be good."

  "Uh-huh."

  Fu Weihuan waved his hand and the large team quickened their pace, advancing towards Jincheng.

  "The princess hasn't woken up yet, if she's discovered by the people of Yeguo, it would be...” Xue Qi's face turned pale, and the consequences were not something a small slave like her could imagine.

  The old lady glared at Xue Qi and looked at the ninth princess who was still sleeping, saying in a low voice: "Her Highness will wake up."

  They have arrived at the capital of Yeguo, and Ninth Princess has no way out. Even for the sake of Fourth Prince, she will obediently follow the War King to get married.

  "Mother, sir... The princess's... The princess's hand just moved a little."

  "Did you see it clearly?"

  "Take a good look."

  Inside the Phoenix Carriage, an old nurse and two young palace maids, with six eyes staring unblinkingly at Yixin's fingers, indeed discovered that her fingers moved slightly from time to time.

  "Hmm..."

  Soft and low, a gentle hum escaped from her lips, stained with heartache, which was quite pitiful.