67: For newcomers, just make them laugh.

Because of the grand wedding, Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning needed to return to the imperial palace to prepare. Originally, they were supposed to wait at the Princess's Residence to be married off, but now it had changed so that Mo Yingqi would depart from the Princess's Residence, enter the imperial palace to perform the ceremony, and then return to the Princess's Residence.

As for the wedding banquet, The Emperor had arranged for it to be held in the imperial palace, with Luo Yongfu and Luo Yongze responsible for hosting. Once the three newlyweds finished the ceremony, they could return to the Princess's Residence.

"The Emperor's intention is to not let unnecessary socializing disturb the Imperial Son-in-law and The Two Highnesses." Steward Zheng beckoned for someone to bring the horse over while carefully inspecting the wedding attire on Mo Yingqi. "As for your friends, Imperial Son-in-law, they can just stay in the imperial palace to drink; with the two princes and Commander Fang there, there won't be any issues."

Mo Yingqi took a deep breath; this display was certainly grand. An honor guard had been drawn from the inner palace, and the Imperial Guards were clearing the path. As far as the eye could see, yellow earth covered the ground, and both sides were decorated in red.

What was most extravagant, perhaps, was the maids scattering flowers along the way. The Imperial Guards only maintained order and did not stop the commoners from stopping to watch. Furthermore, the eunuchs were distributing melon seeds and candies to the commoners along the route—the kind where everyone got a share.

"Good heavens, this spectacle is truly not small..." Lu Qianyuan remarked while following along. "The year I first joined the Pacification Bureau, I saw one of the late Emperor's daughters get married, but that spectacle couldn't compare to this at all, could it?"

"You think this is a good thing?" Tang Jingzhong said, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "Although I shouldn't say this, I fear the Censorate will be endless about this again."

"You two can rest easy." Steward Zheng, who was to the side, suddenly spoke up. "Although The Emperor and the Empress provided silver from the inner treasury and dispatched personnel, the actual expenses were all paid for by The Two Highnesses themselves. This was all reported to the Cabinet, precisely because they feared those Censor Officials would make a fuss about it."

The Censor Officials of the Daxing Dynasty sometimes really just looked for trouble where there was none, not to mention that this group was currently breathing through the same nostril as Grand Chancellor Zhou. However, after the last incident, the atmosphere in the entire imperial court was now very ambiguous.

But none of this had anything to do with Mo Yingqi. He was now riding a tall steed, waiting only to enter the imperial palace to marry Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning.

"Don't be nervous; you're making everyone else nervous too." Lu Qianyuan patted Mo Yingqi's thigh from the side. "It's just going through the rituals and formalities; didn't anyone in the palace teach you?"

"It's not because of that." Mo Yingqi shook his head. "I just keep feeling like this is a dream..."

"Oh, give it a rest. I wouldn't even dare to dream of this, yet you've made it a reality!" Lu Qianyuan scolded with a laugh. "Why care about that? Living a good life is better than anything else, don't you think?"

"That's true..." Mo Yingqi nodded. "But my Master... never mind, it should be fine now, right?"

"Fine? Fine my foot! Try not sleeping for a whole night and see!"

On the other side, Xie Qingfeng turned back and glared fiercely at the assassins sent by Partridge Sky who were following him: "Do you believe this? Having to search from house to house, coming one by one?"

"Please don't be angry; we have no choice either..." The assassins were also helpless. "The Duchess would not allow us to show our faces, and besides, the Marquis of Anding was afraid that news would leak out prematurely, so the people were arranged extremely sparsely. However, fortunately, it was finally handled before the grand wedding."

"Hmm, yes..."

Xie Qingfeng looked not far away. Although he was getting on in years, for a martial artist like him, his eyesight was extraordinary. Even if he couldn't see clearly, he could still see Mo Yingqi riding a horse, wearing the bright red wedding attire, passing by.

"Heh, I once said that if he were to get married, I, as his Master, would not come. Now, not only have I come, but I also have to protect him from any mishaps." Xie Qingfeng withdrew his gaze and sat on a nearby step. "Go get me some wine and meat; once I've eaten, I'm returning to the Northern Frontier."

"What? You, what do you mean by this?" The leading assassin couldn't believe it. "We arranged a place for you to rest, and we were going to take you to the imperial palace to observe the ceremony, you..."

"Ha, observe what?" Xie Qingfeng acted as if he didn't care at all. "I came and saw, that's enough, right? The household in the Northern Frontier can't be without someone; winter is approaching, and those bears will likely be wreaking havoc in my courtyard again."

"Please don't make it difficult for us; the Old Madam gave us repeated instructions to take good care of you." The leader looked troubled. "Besides, you are considered the Imperial Son-in-law's only relative; if you, the elder, are not there..."

"Ha, that won't be the case in the future; he has a wife now, he has his own home." Xie Qingfeng waved his hand. "When the Disciple cannot shoulder the burden, the Master shoulders it; when the Disciple is in trouble, the Master settles it. Now that I, as his Master, have settled it, it is time for me to retreat completely."

In truth, Xie Qingfeng had originally wanted to stay. Mo Yingqi only had him as a Master, and he, in turn, only had this one Disciple.

But the moment he saw Mo Yingqi riding past on his horse, that thought was dismissed. Xie Qingfeng suddenly felt that there seemed to be no need to stay any longer. Although his Disciple was marrying his Senior Sister's two crazy granddaughters, at least they genuinely cared about him.

In a trance, Xie Qingfeng suddenly remembered the time when he first brought Mo Yingqi to learn his skills—such a small child, and now he had grown so big.

"Call me Master?" "Master." "What is wrong with you child, acting like you're stupid?" "I only want to learn skills that can kill people; I don't care about anything else."

With a light sigh, Xie Qingfeng turned back to look at the people following him: "Alright, go quickly and prepare wine and meat for me, don't waste time, okay? Rest assured, your Old Madam won't mind these things; she knows my temperament the best."

The group looked at each other, and in the end, could only helplessly compromise. The two of them, senior sister and junior brother, both had strange temperaments—one deeply obsessed, the other incredibly free-spirited.

These people were efficient, and soon they bought a small jar of wine and two catties of spiced beef. Xie Qingfeng didn't hesitate; he directly unscrewed the stopper and toasted from afar in the direction where Mo Yingqi had left.

"Good Disciple, happy wedding!"

When she learned that Xie Qingfeng had left, the Old Madam was not surprised at all. She just quietly looked at the sky outside the palace walls, then sighed: "Forget it, let him go. I know my Junior Brother's temperament too well; let him do whatever he wants to do."

"Mother, he is, after all, that child Yingqi's Master..." Empress Shen asked hesitantly from the side. "It was so hard to get him to come over, and now he's just left like this..."

"No need to worry about it. He has lived his whole life as he pleased, and only because he couldn't beat me was he held in check by me." The Old Madam waved her hand dismissively. "For him, seeing his Disciple get married is enough; he won't worry about the rest..."

"We are all the same; for the newlyweds, just make them smile, and everything else... nothing else matters."