In the mid-spring month, Emperor Hao issued several imperial decrees.

First of all, the forces in Chaoyan were divided into two units. One force was stationed in the south, but temporarily stopped the attack on Jiuqiu. Another westward movement settled in Daze to consolidate the military defenses of various coastal areas.

Another imperial decree is to announce that Emperor Yan Ji Qingling will marry Daze in the month of Meng Qiu, and marry Daze for a hundred years with Baili Fuyao, the son of Daze. Mu Chen, the eldest prince of Chaoyan, as the wedding envoy, will also go to Pingfeng City with Emperor Qingling to preside over the marriage.

As soon as the news of the marriage was announced, Emperor Hao dismissed Qingling from all his positions in the army on the grounds of preparing for the wedding.

Several imperial decrees were issued, causing all kinds of shocks and speculations in the court, which was no problem.

Qing Ling knew in her heart that Emperor Hao was suspicious of Mu Chen and her after all, and although he did not punish him on the surface, the power that could be reduced was still reduced. In the future, if you want to take action or do something in government affairs, I am afraid it will not be so easy.

Because the situation in the West Sea was still unstable, the father and son of the Marquis of Daze soon returned to Pingfeng City, preparing for the marriage on the one hand, and cooperating with Mo Nan'an Mountain and others to deploy troops along the coast.

And the handover of Mu Chen's military power also took a lot of time to complete. He now has a large number of supporters under his command, and there are confidants in the major military camps, even if the Emperor takes back his command, it does not prevent him from continuing to implicate these forces in his hands. Therefore, after returning to the southern camp, he handed over military power on the surface, and secretly rearranged the manpower, and stayed for more than three months.

An Huaiyu was worried that Mu Chen would be depressed due to the loss of power, so he sent letters of greeting every few days, telling him interesting stories in the capital.

For example, the dowry of Emperor Qingling filled a palace, but the people who came to give congratulatory gifts every day were still endless, almost breaking through the palace gate of Yinque Palace. Emperor Ji personally supervised the craftsmen and weaver girls, and cut out sixteen sets of wedding dresses, none of which were of the same style and color, and the materials used were extremely valuable......

An Huaiyu is a simple-minded woman, good at internal affairs, but not familiar with government affairs, she knows how to do a lot of things to relieve Mu Chen's worries, but she never understands why he is worried.

She only said that Mu Chen's official career was not smooth and he lost face, so he stayed in the south and refused to return to the capital, and thought that he had always been close to Qingling, so she told him all these happy events, hoping to let him understand that His Majesty still cared for their brothers and sisters, so that he would not have to worry too much.

However, when these letters arrived in Mu Chen's hands, he couldn't even tell whether he was happy or sad.

He silently calculated Qingling's wedding date, and felt that every day seemed to pass very quickly.

stranded in the south, in addition to being really busy with business, it is also because he does not want to return to Lingxiao City.

He couldn't imagine, or dared not imagine, what crazy things he would do......

That day, Qing Ling's tearful questioning of him had already become the most common scene when he dreamed back at midnight.

"Even if I don't marry him, can I marry you?"

"Even you've become scary...... Because of these filthy and disgusting thoughts, you have done so many evil things, killed so many people, and deceived me again and again......"

"You married another woman, and I felt sorry for it, but I didn't do anything! You, why do you always have to be so strong, and you always want me to do everything according to your wishes? ”

Mu Chen's heart ached, and he felt as if something had broken apart in his body, again and again.

But he remembered that she also said, "Even if there were no misunderstandings, I would not have believed him, let alone fallen in love with him." So I can't just watch you gamble everything for this impossible thing, and let all your previous efforts go to waste! ”

So in those broken pains, there were wisps of sweetness, mixed with gloomy and deep guilt and despair, which plunged his thoughts into boundless confusion and darkness.

For a hundred days and nights, this mood changed without stopping.

When the moon of Meng Qiu came, he finally returned to Lingxiao City, his face was as cold and elegant as ever, and he couldn't see the torment and struggle in his heart for months.

Everything she does, it's for him.

Only by letting herself stand at the pinnacle of the world can she live up to her.

～～

The ceremony of the emperor's marriage is very complicated.

First of all, a few months ago, a female official in charge of teaching the wedding ceremony moved into the dormitory to help the emperor get acquainted with the various procedures and etiquette, as well as the customs of Osawa. Three days before the wedding, they should wear a heavy dress and a crown, and chant prayers on the top of the sun and moon, praying that they and their future husbands will raise their eyebrows and have a happy family.

Today, Qingling has long lost the confidence and determination when he first agreed to the marriage, hoping that he can get out of this marriage. The whole person fell into a kind of confusion born of the fear of fate, and always felt that all this was God's punishment for his mistakes, except for maintaining his due demeanor in public, most of the time, he only indifferently let the female officials and palace maids lead him to act.

Try on wedding dresses, try on jewelry, and recite the sacrificial words......

Secretly drinking liquor in the dormitory at night, I had a trace of clarity when I was half drunk and half awake, but I still couldn't think of what kind of road I had embarked on, and where would I finally be?

Originally, the emperor got married, and the busiest person should be Queen Fangshan, who is her stepmother. However, Emperor Hao understood the disagreement between the queen and Qingling, so he handed over the preparations to the eldest emperor from the beginning. Shu Yan is deeply loved by the Emperor, life has always been pampered, the marriage has adhered to their own style, everything is extremely extravagant, the pearl jade of the South Continent, the spices and cloth of the West Continent, rare treasures, dizzying.

Qing Ling himself was the person in charge of Chaoyan's treasury, and he knew that the finances were tight at the moment, so he couldn't help but be full of doubts.

Shu Yan was amused by her confusion, and said with a smile: "You stupid girl." You are married to the son of Daze Baili, according to his family's financial resources, how can you make your dowry look thin? He lowered his voice, "It's good that you know this in your heart, and you don't have to feel that you are a little shorter in front of the world." On the bright side, all these things are still prepared by our family. They married the pearl of the prince's brother and the most noble emperor of the Chaoyan Kingdom, and they were in a hurry to curry favor, and it was also appropriate to do something icing on the cake. ”

Qing Ling was stunned for a while, and then realized that some of the things of his dowry were actually prepared by the people of the Baili family.

This...... Doesn't seem reasonable?

But after thinking about it, since people are used to giving money, they don't have to be hypocritical, and it is better to find an opportunity to sell it another day than to embezzle some dark iron ore with guilt......

The night before the wedding, Emperor Hao came to see Qingling.

The father and daughter were silent for a long time.

Emperor Hao asked, "When you go to Daze, what do you want to do, do you understand?" ”

Qing Ling said, "I will keep an eye on Baili's every move, and pay attention to their contacts with Jiuqiu and Lieyang. ”

Emperor Hao nodded, stared at her for a while, and said, "You are not the only one who can do these things. Your main task is to have a child, preferably a boy, as soon as possible. In the future, the father will put both Daze and Jiuqiu into his hands. ”

Qing Ling's face was slightly red, "The situation in Lieyang and Jiuqiu is still unstable now, even if you have a child, it may not be useful. ”

Emperor Hao waved his hand, "The night is long and there are many dreams." Baili Yu is a treacherous and cunning person, although he promised to let your first child come to the Chaoyan clan, but now the meaning of Xianxia Pass and Qingyun Sword is not as good as before, and it is not a powerful excuse, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not regret it. It's too early to do that! ”

He looked at his daughter, sighed, lowered his voice and continued: "That child from the Baili family has outstanding appearance, and he is not wronged by you. You also know in your heart that the children of the emperor's family can never act on their emotions. ”

Qing Ling was silent for a long time, slowly got up, and knelt down in front of Emperor Hao.

"The daughter understands the words of the father. I only ask my father to look at his daughter for the sake of a lifetime of happiness for Chaoyan, and allow his daughter a future to rely on! The daughter's husband's family is an adversary that needs to be guarded against, and the future children are also pawns to control the political situation in the Eastern Continent. If there is no one in her mother's family who is reliable, what hope can her daughter have? ”

Emperor Hao leaned over to help Qing Ling, raised his hand and touched her cheek, his eyes faded from sharpness and speculation, and the corners of his eyes and mouth deepened slightly, revealing rare pity.

"You kid......"

He naturally understood the meaning of Qing Ling's words, paused, and slowly promised: "I took Mu Chen's military power to teach him a lesson. In the future, if he wants to take it back with his ability, I will not stop him. ”

The next day, Qingling officially bid farewell to his parents in the Chengji Palace, and under the eyes of his clan relatives and important ministers, he boarded the marriage ceremony to Pingfeng City.

Under the permission of Emperor Hao, Emperor Gu Yuechang also brought his children to marry Qingling.

At this time, Wang Chengyi of Yuzhong had been ordered to die by Emperor Hao, while Gu Yue and a pair of children were deprived of royal privileges and placed under house arrest in Weilu Mountain outside Lingxiao City. As for the conspiracy that Fang Shanlei did not have time to expose in the main hall that day, it was also suppressed indefinitely under the attitude of Emperor Hao's refusal to make it clear.

Qing Ling sat in the gorgeous and wide wedding court, looking over the window to the crowd on the platform outside the main hall. Mu Chen sat across from her, his gaze fixed on her.

Qing Lingyan's red lips were slightly hooked, with a slight sneer, "See? My father specially asked my third aunt to marry me. He wants to remind us that he can always move out of the old story and ask you and me for his sins whenever he wants to. ”

Not far from Gu Yuechang Emperor Ji, there stood Ah Jing.

Her makeup today is a little bright, but she still can't hide the loneliness and frustration in her eyes, and the white hands that are folded in front of her are tightly twisted, as if she is restraining some strong emotions.

Qing Ling's chest was slightly suffocated, and he subconsciously turned his head and retracted his gaze, but collided with the dark bottomless black eyes on the opposite side.

Both of them lost their minds for a moment.

The months of separation gave them enough time to think and accept, but the look in Mu Chen's eyes at this moment still made Qing Ling feel frightened for no reason.

She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Don't look at me like that." ”

"And how am I going to look at you?" Mu Chen smiled reluctantly, "I thought I had done well enough. ”

Outside the hall, the master of ceremonies, the chief uncle in charge of the ceremony, issued an order, and pulled dozens of gilded imperial palaces carrying the emperor's entourage and dowry to slowly rise into the air, and gradually drove into the misty clouds and mist on the Vermilion Bird Palace in the eyes of everyone.

Mu Chen looked away from the window, looked at the palace that was getting farther and farther away outside the window, and silently promised in his heart:

One day, he will take her and come back here.