9: It's just a little trick.

The Imperial Garden was beautiful, but the atmosphere inside this pavilion was inexplicably oppressive.

Although Mo Yingqi had risen to his feet, he remained standing in place, unmoving.

Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning exchanged a look, both revealing a helpless yet incredibly doting smile.

"We prepared some refreshments for you; the pastries from the Imperial Kitchen are the most delicate and delicious." Luo Yongan reached out and gently grabbed Mo Yingqi's wrist.

"Although we shouldn't be meeting you before the wedding, Yongning and I simply couldn't wait any longer..."

"The Eldest Princess is joking; after waiting for five years, what's a few more days?" Mo Yingqi kept his head lowered. He didn't look angry, but rather like a younger brother throwing a tantrum at his sisters.

"It's just that Your Humble Servant still has official business at the office, so I really cannot stay for long."

"Yingqi, it was the fault of my sister and me for suddenly leaving you behind in the Northern Territory." Luo Yongning stood up and grabbed his other hand.

"Back then, my sister and I were truly helpless. Our Imperial Grandfather had long intended for our Imperial Father to inherit the throne, but several princes were eyeing it covetously at the time, each with their own supporters. A situation arose suddenly, and my sister and I had to leave immediately; we didn't even have the chance to leave you a letter..."

Although Mo Yingqi had only entered the capital last year, he was well aware of the undercurrents among the princes during the final years of the late Emperor.

If not for the stability of the Daxing Dynasty, the bravery and combat prowess of the Shen Family, and their Disciples spread throughout the military, this Struggle for succession among the seven sons might have truly destroyed the vast lands of the Daxing Dynasty.

Even so, while the entire Daxing Dynasty appeared peaceful now, under the surface of this calm lake, turbulent undercurrents were raging.

The remnants of the Rebel Prince were still unwilling to give up, and the heir that Mo Yingqi had captured was merely one of many on the run.

Most importantly, that Grand Chancellor Zhou—while he might not go so far as to usurp the throne—had reached the pinnacle of power during the late Emperor's reign and had the final say in the imperial court. Many people despised him behind his back but dared not speak out.

This man was extremely calculating; he never took sides during the Struggle for succession among the seven sons, only making his move after The Emperor had stabilized the situation to attack the other princes.

Not to mention the entire Daxing Dynasty, just looking at the present, at least half of the officials in the Wende Hall, where The Emperor held court daily, were his confidants and Disciples.

He did not want to usurp the throne, but he constrained The Emperor at every turn. The Emperor was dissatisfied with him, but due to his status, he could only endure it for the time being.

Of course, Mo Yingqi's greatest wish was to drag this "Nine-Thousand-Year-Old" from the clouds... down into the abyss.

"Sending Yongning and me to the Northern Territory was my Maternal Grandmother's arrangement, and our Imperial Father agreed to it." Luo Yongan looked at the boy she had thought about day and night, her eyes filled with love... and a trace of extremely hidden morbidity.

"Partridge Sky, Yingqi, you should have heard of it, right?"

Mo Yingqi's pupils dilated for a moment. Although he was a scholar who had passed the provincial examination, he had been practicing martial arts with his master since he was young, so he was clear about certain matters in the pugilistic world.

Not to mention that Partridge Sky could be said to be the most famous organization in the entire pugilistic world.

"Partridge Sky was actually founded by the founding Emperor, and Yongning and I have now inherited it." Luo Yongan sighed with a hint of helplessness.

"Over these five years, we took over Partridge Sky from our Maternal Grandmother and helped our Imperial Father ascend to the throne, but we never... Yongning and I have never forgotten you..."

"Yingqi... don't be angry, and don't ignore your sisters, okay?" Luo Yongning's body was trembling, seemingly out of sadness, yet it also seemed like she was suppressing something.

"My sister and I really missed you. Even if it goes against the will of the world, even if we are criticized by others, we still want to fulfill the promise of the past..."

The promise...

Mo Yingqi suddenly chuckled. When he first learned he was to be the Imperial Son-in-law, he had thought of the promise his two senior sisters made to him when he was young—that when he reached the age of adulthood, they would both marry him.

It was just that the young Mo Yingqi didn't have a concrete concept of marriage.

He only thought that "marrying him" meant the three of them could always be together, and that was good enough.

So Mo Yingqi naturally nodded and agreed, after all... in his life, they were very important, very important indeed.

Furthermore, who could have imagined that those two sisters, who seemed like they had fallen from the heavens in the icy Northern Territory, would be the princesses of the current dynasty?

Even though such thoughts had crossed his mind, Mo Yingqi truly never thought about it in detail, because it was too unreal.

"Your Humble Servant..."

"Don't keep saying 'Your Humble Servant'; there's no one else here." Before Mo Yingqi could continue, Luo Yongan quickly interrupted him.

"However things were in the past, that's how we will interact in the future."

"It's different now, Your Highness." Mo Yingqi shook his head gently.

"Back in the Northern Territory, Your Humble Servant did not know your identities as Princesses. Moreover, Your Humble Servant is merely a seventh-rank official in the Pacification Bureau; I truly... lack the fortune to bear such heavenly grace."

He wasn't being petulant, nor was he complaining; Mo Yingqi was simply very clear about his own status.

As a mere Captain, marrying a princess was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of. Even with the bond of childhood sweethearts between the three of them, how would things be in the future... Mo Yingqi really didn't dare to think about it.

Furthermore, he had joined the Pacification Bureau for the sake of revenge.

Now that he had suddenly become an Imperial Son-in-law, he really didn't know if it was good or bad.

"Yingqi, do you know that the matter of the two Legitimate Princesses marrying you has already spread throughout the capital?" Luo Yongan looked at him with a smile, her eyes carrying a hint of triumph.

"Although the imperial decree arrived at the Pacification Bureau three days ago, you know yourself that the Pacification Bureau is a rigid threshold. You are always the ones investigating others, but whatever happens inside, especially involving the inner palace, no one would dare to speak of it casually."

"It's just that before you entered the palace today, Yongning and I had people spread the news. We even used some of Partridge Sky's influence in the capital. From the moment you stepped into the Imperial Palace, the entire capital probably already knew, right?"

"If not for the one-year national mourning, all this... you would have likely already been our Imperial Son-in-law."

Mo Yingqi's throat bobbed; he was so frustrated by these few sentences that he almost vomited blood.

On the side, Luo Yongning accurately captured his expression and added with a giggle: "Besides, our Imperial Father's word is final, and even the Empress Dowager has issued an imperial edict to personally oversee our wedding. Little Yingqi, no matter what, you can't back out now, okay?"

"No, how old are you two?"

Mo Yingqi suddenly raised his head, but immediately lowered it again, blushing.

Although they had suddenly gone missing, over these years, even though Mo Yingqi complained in his heart, he had never forgotten them.

Even when he left the Northern Territory, he had not given up and had inquired about their whereabouts along the way.

Just as he raised his head, he met the bright and charming peach-blossom eyes of the two sisters.

The sisters were three years older than him. Five years ago, they were already stunning, and now they radiated a kind of mature charm.

"That's right, Yingqi should be like this, shouldn't he?" Yongning pulled him to the table and personally poured him a cup of tea.

"We know Yingqi is throwing a tantrum at us, but there's no helping it. The younger brother we doted on in the past, we will have to dote on even more in the future."

"That's not the point, okay?" Mo Yingqi really couldn't stand their behavior.

"Back then, because of you two acting like this, Master said the whole North City knew I had two fiancées. This isn't the Northern Territory anymore; it's the capital, and you are Princesses. Why are you still doing this?"

The North City wasn't large, and he didn't know how the two sisters had managed it, but when he was only eleven or twelve, the whole North City said he was fated to have peach-blossom luck, having two fiancées at such a young age.

Similar incidents were numerous. There was even a nominal childhood engagement he once had, which they had forcibly ruined. Although he didn't care, the problem was that to this day, he still didn't know how they had managed to ruin it!

Now it was even worse. Having arrived in the capital, although he had complaints in his heart, Mo Yingqi also genuinely felt that his current status was too low and truly did not match their status as golden branches and jade leaves.

But the problem was that you two were still pulling this act... and at this time, with their status, was it really appropriate?

"Oh, Yingqi, don't worry about these trivial matters." Luo Yongan smiled and handed him the teacup.

"In any case, you can't run away. If Yingqi dares to defy the imperial decree, no matter how much Yongning and I try to protect you, I'm afraid the Imperial Father wouldn't let it rest, right?"

Mo Yingqi couldn't help but shrink his neck slightly. Defying an imperial decree was one thing, but for such an unprecedented decree, if he dared to defy it... even if it weren't for that, those Censor Officials would stand on the same side as The Emperor and submit memorials to have him executed by slow slicing.

As for the reason, it would just be four words... ungrateful and ignorant of good intentions.

"This is..." Mo Yingqi's previously chaotic thoughts were immediately drawn to the fragrance wafting from the teacup.

"Is it jasmine tea?"

"That's right, we specially added sugar. Taste it and see if the flavor is the same as before?" Luo Yongning said with a smile.

"Sister hasn't made tea in a long time. If the taste hasn't changed, after we are married, Sister will make it for you to drink every day, okay?"

"Drink this cup of tea first, then we'll talk, okay?" Luo Yongan's voice was incredibly gentle.

"Whatever you want to know, your sisters will definitely tell you then, okay?"

"Alright, Your Humble Servant has been rude."

Mo Yingqi was indeed full of questions. Although they had said some things, there were still too many things he couldn't understand.

Draining the tea in one gulp, Mo Yingqi gently set the teacup down with both hands, then looked up and asked: "Your Highness, Your Humble Servant does not know..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Mo Yingqi felt the world spinning, and his vision went black in waves. In his blurred sight, he clearly saw Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning, their eyes filled with a morbid possessiveness, and on their faces... an incredibly dangerous smile.

"Be good, Yingqi, just sleep for a little while, okay?"

"Yes, yes, when Yingqi wakes up, he won't remember it. It's just a little... small scheme!"