Chapter 419

Shen Ninghua frowned slightly as she watched Xia Jingqiu leave with a face full of anger, and she involuntarily placed her hand on her belly.

Hong Ling stepped forward. “Miss, breakfast has been prepared. You should eat something first. You can think about other things later.”

“Hong Ling, get someone to keep an eye on Madam Xia at all times.” In her previous life, she did not even know that she had an aunt. Moreover, she felt disgusted since Xia Jingqiu had set up several plots to harm her, and she was certain that Xia Jingqiu had no feelings for her at all. At this moment, her patience hadn’t been exhausted simply because they were related. Shen Ninghua hoped that Xia Jingqiu would not be deceived till the end.

“Yes, Miss, don’t worry. Once there is news, I will immediately inform you.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. Just as she returned to Huajun Pavilion and sat down, Baili Junyi came back. Seeing that she was eating breakfast at this hour, he asked curiously, “Ninghua, why are you having breakfast so late today? Did something happen?”

“Madam Xia was here.”

“Madam Xia? Side Concubine Yang Yingxue’s mother?” He did not have good impressions of Yang Yingxue and Xia Jingqiu. However, for the sake of Shen Ninghua, he would lend a hand if he could. “Why was she here? What did she want?”

Shen Ninghua’s lips twitched slightly. “She’s probably here to settle the score with me.”

“What score? Was she trying to blame Yang Yingxue’s death on you?!”

“I think so. I’ve already asked Hong Ling to investigate. There should be a mastermind guiding her.”

Baili Junyi nodded and kept this matter in mind. Although Madam Xia had limited capabilities, he could not let down his guard now. Oftentimes, people would be ruined because of insignificant characters like her. “Ninghua, finish your breakfast first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Not long after Xia Jingqiu left, Bu Yonghan had someone send a letter to apologize on behalf of Xia Jingqiu for making a scene at Fifth Prince Mansion. Shen Ninghua chuckled and put the letter aside. Alright, this Bu Yonghan was really smart and played the roles of both good cop and bad cop.

Hong Ling went to investigate and found out that Xia Jingqiu entered the capital with the Great Yue Kingdom’s envoy and lived in Misty Inn in the capital. Usually, no one went to see her or chat with her. In the past few days, she stayed in her room and didn’t do anything unusual.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day that Baili Jinchuan and Bu Yonghan got married. On this day, Xia Jingqiu made her appearance again and went to Second Prince Mansion to attend the ceremony. Despite her lowly status, she was, after all, Yang Yingxue’s birth mother, so it was understandable to invite her to attend the Second Prince’s wedding.

Hong Ling held Shen Ninghua’s arm and helped her get into the carriage. “Miss, Madam Xia has been silent for so long. Do you think she will make a fuss at the wedding banquet later?”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “No.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because of Bu Yonghan. She is an extremely proud person, and she values this wedding very much. She will not allow Madam Xia to make a scene. Also, no matter how upset Madam Xia is, she will not dare to make a fuss at the prince’s wedding, not to mention this wedding is related to the marriage alliance between the two countries. Unless she doesn’t care about her own and Yang Lian’s lives, she will definitely behave herself throughout the wedding procedure.”

Second Prince Mansion was not far away from Fifth Prince Mansion. About fifteen minutes later, the carriage stopped, and Shen Ninghua got out of the carriage by holding Hong Ling’s hand. Baili Junyi, who was riding over, got off the horse and handed the horse to the guards who came forward. He walked side by side with Shen Ninghua.

The announcement sounded. Baili Jinchuan stood at the door and welcomed the two of them in.

“Second Royal Brother, congratulations. Today is your big day. You must drink a few more glasses later.” Baili Junyi smiled particularly sincerely when he saw Baili Jinchuan dressed in auspicious clothes.

These were probably the sincerest words he had ever said to Baili Jinchuan recently, but they sounded particularly harsh in Baili Jinchuan’s ears. His expression was cold and indifferent. Although he curled his lips slightly, there was no joy at all on his face. “Thank you, Fifth Brother. Go in.” If wearing the red clothes was meant to marry Shen Ninghua, he would wear them for as long as he needed to. But now, he felt as if his body was covered with a layer of thorns because he was forced to wear the suit to marry someone he did not like at all. He wished that he could tear the suit off and chop it into pieces!

Shen Ninghua did not speak. After bowing slightly, she followed Baili Junyi and took their seats. Then, she looked over the princes’ seats, and her heart skipped a beat. The Crown Prince had not come yet. The Third Prince’s seat was empty, and only the Fourth Prince was sitting by the side and drinking alone. It seemed that Father Emperor really hated the Third Prince. He did not even make an exception to let him attend such an important occasion.

The Fourth Prince glanced at Baili Junyi and cupped his hands indifferently. He did not even bother to stand up. Then, he turned his head back and continued to drink the wine. Baili Junyi didn’t mind him at all. After making sure that Shen Ninghua sat properly, he sat down next to her and let Hong Ling and Qing Que stand behind them.

Not long after, the Crown Prince arrived. Shen Ninghua felt strange. Usually, the Crown Prince would be with Baili Qingcang in order to show off his glory and dignity as the Crown Prince. Why did he arrive earlier this time?

After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats. The Crown Prince donned a gentle smile and did not look bizarre or upset at all as he said, “Most of the guests have already arrived. Father Emperor will come over later. Second Royal Brother’s wedding is really lively. I don’t think our weddings can compare it.”

When he spoke, his face was full of smiles. There was no trace of gloominess. It was as if he was simply stating his opinion. However, a trace of ridicule and displeasure flashed across the Fourth Prince’s eyes. “Hah! This wedding is related to the marriage alliance between the two countries, and his bride is a princess. I heard that the dowry alone filled 180 carriages. The scale and grandeur could almost compare with the Crown Princess’ dowry. If their wedding is held hastily, it means that we are disrespectful to the Great Yue Kingdom, doesn’t it?”

The Crown Prince smiled slightly, as if he didn’t catch the sarcasm in the Fourth Prince’s words. “Yes, you’re absolutely right.”

Baili Junyi couldn’t be bothered by their disguised dispute. He carefully picked out a cluster of the biggest grapes and handed them to Shen Ninghua. “Ninghua, these grapes are really nice. Try some.”

Shen Ninghua chuckled slightly, plucked a grape, and ate it. She nodded slightly. It was indeed delicious. She assumed that these fruits were royal tributes, and the palace had delivered some to the wedding banquet. Furthermore, she figured that the Crown Prince’s unusual attitude was probably because Baili Qingcang had asked him to come alone this time. There must be something that happened in between. She should ask someone to investigate later.

Not long after, Baili Qingcang and Noble Consort Qi came hand in hand. Baili Qingcang looked quite energetic, and there was a faint smile on his face. Noble Consort Qi was dressed in a gorgeous palace dress. After carefully dressing up, she looked even more radiant and beautiful. With her easygoing and noble aura, she looked both elegant and calm. Many people sighed in admiration. There would be no one in this world with such a temperament and bearing like Noble Consort Qi.

Everyone bowed and greeted them. When Baili Qingcang asked them to stand, they took turns to say compliments and congratulations. At this moment, the hall was particularly lively.

The smile on the Crown Prince’s face stiffened slightly, and a sinister glint flashed across his eyes. The change in the expression happened so quickly that no one spotted it.

Everyone was used to the procession since they had attended many weddings, and there was nothing new that could make them interested. When they heard the protocol officer announcing the arrival of Princess Yonghan, everyone looked towards the door.

The sound of fireworks rang out, and Baili Jinchuan stood below the steps, slightly bending over to take the bride’s hand. Bu Yonghan slowly emerged from the bridal sedan chair.

The auspicious hour arrived, and the morning sun sprinkled down. It shone brightly on Bu Yonghan’s red and gold auspicious clothes.

Everyone looked over with rapt attention. Only then did they see clearly that the gold embroidery on the wedding dress was the picture of a hundred birds paying homage to the gorgeous and noble phoenix. Seeing this pattern, everyone gasped in shock and felt their hearts skip a beat. Only the Empress could use this pattern, yet Bu Yonghan wore a dress with this pattern on it.

Then, they related this matter to the Crown Prince attending the wedding alone, and speculation began to unfold in their minds. Was the Emperor hinting at something? Was he expressing his dissatisfaction towards the Crown Prince, or was he expressing his high hopes for the Second Prince? Nevertheless, how could he allow Bu Yonghan to use something that should be meant for Noble Consort Qi?

Noble Consort Qi donned a faint and sweet smile, and no one could sense any peculiarity unless they looked closely. However, Shen Ninghua found a trace of anger in her expression. In recent days, many officials had proposed to Baili Qingcang to elect an empress, but he didn’t budge. In fact, he even reprimanded the officials who had made such a proposal. Because of this, no one dared to bring up this topic again.

Noble Consort Qi hadn’t yet worn a phoenix robe, but Bu Yonghan openly wore it on her wedding day. No matter how open-minded Noble Consort Qi was, she must have felt indignant right now.

Baili Qingcang frowned, but he did not say anything.

The protocol officer made another announcement loudly, and the wedding procedure went on step by step. The whole procession took about two hours. When it ended, Bu Yonghan was sent to the wedding room, while Baili Jinchuan stayed to entertain the guests.

Perhaps because of the pattern on Bu Yonghan’s wedding dress, when Baili Qingcang took his leave, Noble Consort Qi, who was supposed to stay for a while longer, excused herself by saying that she was not feeling well and went back to the palace with Baili Qingcang.

The Fourth Prince laughed out loud. It was obvious that Noble Consort Qi disliked her daughter-in-law. Haha, this was getting more and more interesting. The daughter-in-law disrespected for her mother-in-law on her wedding day, and the latter return fire her directly! This was so funny and amusing.

After sending off the Emperor and Noble Consort Qi, everyone sighed in relief. The atmosphere in the main hall gradually relaxed, and many people began to make toasts to Baili Jinchuan.

Shen Ninghua was talking to Baili Junyi when she suddenly felt a piercing gaze fall on her. She turned around curiously, but she didn’t see anyone.

She glanced at Hong Ling, and Hong Ling quickly bent down. “Yes, miss?”

“Did you see Madam Xia?”

“No.” Hong Ling had already scanned the entire hall a few times, but she did not see Xia Jingqiu.

Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but frown. Not long after, a maid came over and was stopped by Qing Que and Hong Ling before she could even get close.

The maid wasn’t flustered when she was stopped. She said softly, “Your Highness, the Princess invites you over. She said that she has something to tell you. It’s about your aunt.”

Shen Ninghua was slightly startled and immediately understood that the Princess she referred to was Bu Yonghan. “Today is the wedding day of the Princess. Isn’t it inappropriate to deal with things now?”

“Yes, the Princess said the same thing, but she has no choice, so…” the maid lamented with pursed lips.

There was no sign of Xia Jingqiu in the main hall. Did she go to the wedding room in the backyard? How dare she? Or was there something fishy?