Using a City as Our Wedding Gift

　　Inside Jue Ping City, the ninth prince was getting married to Imperial Daughter Ji An. In the capital, the Yao family’s banquet began in the morning and continued into the night. Aside from this, there was another place that had been lively as a result of their wedding. That would be Ji An Prefecture, which had seen a resurgence with Feng Yu Heng’s arrival!

　　To Ji An Prefecture, Imperial Daughter Ji An was the soul of the prefecture. Even the people of Yu Zhou admired Feng Yu Heng. News of the imperial daughter’s wedding had reached this side long ago. For the sake of Feng Yu Heng’s happiness, Qian Feng Shou had arranged for some activities in Yu Zhou and Ji An Prefecture to celebrate. From the moment they woke up, there were fireworks being set off. As noon approached, the main road in Ji An Prefecture was used to put on a play.

　　The ones that traveled the furthest had come from Hai Zhou. They had all come bearing wedding gifts. Although they could not be handed to Feng Yu Heng herself, the thought was what mattered, and they felt at peace.

　　In regards to the gifts, Qian Feng Shou accepted them all; however, they were not taken for himself. Instead, a separate account was opened. After discussing it with the sixth prince, Xuan Tian Feng, the two made a decision for Feng Yu Heng. The food and other usable goods would be sent into the imperial daughter’s manor. As for things like expensive furniture and display pieces, they were sold for money, which would be placed in the account. As for this account, it would be an account that would be provided by Imperial Daughter Ji An for the citizens of Ji An Prefecture and Yu Zhou. It would be used to help the poor.

　　The people were in favor of handling things in this manner. The cheers in Yu Zhou and Ji An Prefecture became even louder after this matter.

　　At this time, the sixth prince, Xuan Tian Feng, did not go out to watch the play in the streets. He remained in his study inside the imperial daughter’s manor. With a brush in his hand, he wrote the character for “celebration” on a piece of paper. A look of sorrow faintly appeared on his face; however, this was quickly replaced by gratification. He slightly opened his mouth and muttered to himself: “Finally able to see the girl with endless hopes get married, sixth brother wishes you happiness.” After saying this, he wrote the character for “celebration” once more.

　　After being sent to the bridal chamber, there would still be another rite. It was just that this rite did not require the one presiding over the wedding to be completed. Instead, it relied on the grannies in the manor who had both sons had daughters and who were in good health. They brought the bride and groom over to the bed, where they sat down. Their clothes were pulled together, and the nuptial wine was poured. All manners of auspicious things were said, as they watched the two drink the nuptial wine. Only then were plates of dates, peanuts, longan fruit and lotus seeds brought forward. The two then ate a bit of everything before saying some more auspicious words. Only then was this rite completed.

　　The newlywed husband did not need to remove the bridal veil at this moment. He first needed to go out and chat with the guests and toast them. The newlywed bride would remain there and wait until the banquet ended and the husband returned. Only then would it truly be their bridal chamber.

　　Right before leaving, Xuan Tian Ming whispered into Feng Yu Heng’s ear: “I won’t drink too much wine. Tonight, we should be a little more alert. Most of the soldiers in the military camp have come into the city to participate in the festivities. I feel that Gu Shu’s general will not pass up such a good opportunity. It’s possible that they will attack tonight.”

　　Feng Yu Heng’s thoughts became stern, as she immediately nodded and replied: “Don’t worry. If he dares to come, we will fight all the way to Yue Ping City. We’ll take Yue Ping City as a wedding gift for ourselves. How about it?”

　　Although it was through the veil, Xuan Tian Ming was still able to feel his wife’s witty appearance. He could not stop himself from smiling. Reaching out, he rubbed her cheeks, “There isn’t a single girl that would be so happy to hear there’s a battle to fight.”

　　She just replied: “That’s why I can stand at your side and become your wife.”

　　Xuan Tian Ming did not continue to stay. With a smile, he turned around and left the room, returning to the front yard and the guests. As for the two grannies in the bridal chamber, they thought on the conversation between the two newlyweds and felt incredibly envious. A girl that could set foot on the battlefield and speak about taking a city as a wedding gift, just how domineering was that?! In the past, they felt that Imperial Daughter Ji An had been fortunate; however, who knew that the one that was truly fortunate was the ninth prince. It would be impossible to find another one like this wife in this world.

　　The festivities in Jue Ping City were very lively. Not only had the guests from the capital come, but even the soldiers from the army had mingled in. There were also the citizens from Jue Ping City. They all had something to speak about because of this wedding.

　　But the city’s defenses had not become negligent because of this matter. Xuan Tian Ming had even secretly told Xuan Tian Ge’s group that they must not go out nor leave the residence. Although he definitely did not believe that Gu Shu’s army would be able to charge into the city, they could not be lacking in preparation. After all, the people in this residence were all people near and dear to him and Feng Yu Heng. They were people that they would desperately fight to protect.

　　In the end, Xuan Tian Ge was a girl raised in the imperial family. She understood this very well. When her ninth brother mentioned it once, she immediately understood the situation and even quietly discussed it with Xuan Tian Hua: “Seventh brother, say, if Gu Shu’s people really did not know what was good for them and attacked tonight, will my ninth brother and Heng Heng charge straight into Gu Shu’s capital and remove that shitty ruler’s head?”

　　Xuan Tian Hua looked at this younger sister and repeatedly shook his head: “How could it be so explosive? If it really was that easy for two armies to face each other, our Da Shun would not need to take care of those sick horses.”

　　“But have you not heard of the rumors about the heavenly lightning?” Xuan Tian Ge tugged at Xuan Tian Hua’s sleeve, saying with emotion: “Ever since passing through Sha Ping City, I have heard that ninth brother has something called heavenly lightning. When thrown out, it can blow up and kill swaths of people. The action is as though lightning came down from the heavens. The citizens call it heavenly lightning. Seventh brother, say, where would that sort of thing come from?”

　　In regards to this, Xuan Tian Hua had heard a bit about it, but he had never gone to ask Xuan Tian Ming about it. Intuition just told him that those things definitely could not have come from Xuan Tian Ming. If things went as expected, they should have come from that girl, right? In his impression, that girl was always bringing out all manners of strange things. Most of the time, they had never even seen them before.

　　But he did not want to say such things to Xuan Tian Ge. This younger sister’s thoughts were a bit more innocent. There were certain things where if she knew too much, he feared that she might someday make a mistake and slip up. In regards to Feng Yu Heng’s abilities, Xuan Tian Hua felt that it would be best if not too many people knew about it. Thus he shook his head and said to Xuan Tian Ge: “The people will always exaggerate a bit when speaking. I just heard that it was a large amount of gunpowder put together. It’s roughly the same idea as a firework! The craftsmen with a bit more ability made it. Gu Shu does not have any preparation or defenses against it, thus they fell. There’s no need for you to think too deeply on that matter. Especially after you return to the capital, you must not speak about it. Do you understand?”

　　Xuan Tian Ge nodded, “Seventh brother, don’t worry. Tian Ge knows what’s important. Imperial Uncle has already told me that I can know about ninth brother and A-Heng’s situation here, but I must not speak about it to anyone. It will arouse feelings of envy, and it will bring out the people with bad intentions, who will cause trouble for ninth brother.”

　　Seeing that this girl was understanding, Xuan Tian Hua calmed down. But when it came to that heavenly lightning, even he himself had begun wanting to see it. Tonight in the desert, it was unlikely that it would be peaceful. This was something that had basically been decided. They just did not know when they would choose to begin this battle. How much ability did Gu Shu have, and how far North could they travel?

　　The banquet continued until late into the night before the citizens dispersed to return home and rest. The soldiers, however, had secretly headed out of the city under Xuan Tian Ming’s orders. They headed toward the military camp to prepare for the battle at night.

　　Their expectations were correct. Yue Ping City had indeed received word of Xuan Tian Ming’s wedding; however, this news arrived extremely slowly. They only caught wind of it halfway through the celebration. In Yue Ping CIty, Bi Xiu and Fu Ya were in bed, enjoying the pleasure of intimacy.

　　When Fu Ya had met Bi Xiu, she was still a virgin; however, through Bi Xiu’s exploitation, she became more and more proficient and had become a bit clingy. As for Bi Xiu, he had become a bit addicted from Fu Ya’s initial offer to have him think of her as Feng Yu Heng. Without him noticing, he really had become a bit infatuated with Da Shun’s Imperial Daughter Ji An. He would even frequently think that it was the real Imperial Daughter Ji An underneath him. How joyous an occasion would that be? To be able to have that sort of woman, that would be the proudest moment for a man!

　　Gradually, he began to enter a fantasy. He would leave his head wife’s position open for Feng Yu Heng. In the future, that woman would become his wife. Not only could she accompany him onto the battlefield, but she could also produce steel for Gu Shu. She could even bring the heavenly lightning to Gu Shu. With steel and heavenly lightning, Gu Shu would no longer fear Da Shun. Who cared about any ninth prince or eighth prince, as he would not help anyone. He would just bring Feng Yu Heng and charge straight into Da Shun and go straight for the capital. He would have Gu Shu become the ruler of the world. Then, Gu Shu’s ruler would view him as his beneficiary, and his family would become the strongest family in Gu Shu. He would see who would dare to try anything!

　　With these fantasies, Bi Xiu exerted himself even more on Fu Ya. Although Fu Ya did not know what exactly this person was thinking, based on his eyes, she was able to make a reasonable guess. But she was not afraid in the slightest. She knew about Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tian Ming’s abilities. She also knew that the lowly Gu Shu was not Da Shun’s opponent in the slightest. She was hoping for Gu Shu to quickly be defeated and Bi Xiu to take her to Gu Shu’s capital. There, she would live a peaceful life. Of course, she had also thought of Bi Xiu being a bit more competent and defeating Xuan Tian Ming. Like that, she would be able to feel proud and elated. Unfortunately, that was an impossibility.

　　These two had their own thoughts in mind, as the bed creaked endlessly. Fu Ya had been worried that the bed would collapse; however, Bi Xiu felt that this sort of sound was more stimulating and always enjoyed it.

　　Finally, news of the happenings in Jue Ping City reached Bi Xiu’s ears. When the deputy general reported this through the door, even Fu Ya was stunned. She then quickly reacted. The ninth prince had long since said that he would marry Feng Yu Heng on the day that she became of age. This person really had kept his word. Her heart was a bit sorrowful; however, she quickly recovered. It was water under the bridge, and she was no longer the same Fu Ya as before. It would be best if she did not think about what she had and did not have. That would prevent Bi Xiu from seeing through it. Like this, she could preserve her life.

　　As the general, Bi Xiu did not spend all of his time thinking about things in the bedroom. At this time, hearing about Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng’s grand celebration and that all of Da Shun’s soldiers had gone into Jue Ping City to drink, he immediately realized that this was a great time to counterattack. So what if they had heavenly lightning? You will all be stuffed up inside the city. While you have drank yourselves silly, we will charge back into Jue Ping City. Xuan Tian Ming, this time, you cannot escape!

　　Bi Xiu let out a hearty laugh and immediately called for the soldiers. At the same time, he loudly said something from the bottom of his heart: “Keep that Imperial Daughter Ji An for this great one. She must be kept alive!”