Seven days after the funeral of the previous emperor of Da Xia, the whole Lan Manor got down to the marriage of Ye Huangyu and Nie Fengxing .
It would be Ye Huangyu’s second marriage . When she was first married to the Hong Manor, she was not given a formal wedding . Hence, both Ye Lingyue and Mrs . Lan tried their best to create the best wedding for her this time .
After Marquis Guanwu agreed to the marriage of Nie Fengxing and Ye Huangyu, he showed great sincerity to Ye Huangyu by sending plentiful betrothal presents .
Having known about the coming marriage, people of the Ye Manor including Ye Gu rushed to Xia City .
In the early morning, the bride-to-be Ye Huangyu was invited by Mrs . Lan to select fabrics and jewelry .
The dazzling jewelry and precious North Qing brocade had really impressed Lan Cai’er, Ye Yinshuang, Ye Liuyun and others .
“Lingyue, you have prepared too much for me . I am no longer young and don’t need these things . But you are still young and should dress up more often . ” Ye Huangyu kept a straight face and had Ye Lingyue try on the jewelry and clothes instead .
Ye Huangyu felt quite uneasy about letting her daughter attend to the marriage affairs .
“Who says that my mother is no longer young? You have forgotten that the owner of Fengming Manor mistook us for sisters . ” Ye Lingyue showed her disapproval .
“Aunt Ye, please stop refusing . Such jewelry and clothes mean nothing for Sister Lingyue . Lingyue is too cunning . Without telling me, she bet 1 million liang (1 liang is equal to 50 grams) of gold at the Casino of Splendidness . After the Imperial Contest, she made a big fortune . Do you know what we call her now? We call her Tyc.o.o.n Ye now since her gold is too much to store . Except for Lord Feng, no one is as rich as her . Even the emperor may not have so much money . ” Lan Cai’er pouted her lips .
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For this, Lan had been pestering Ye Lingyue to give some stakes in Zuixian Restaurant .
“Cai’er, how could you talk to Aunt Ye like this? You are a girl and should not talk about money all the time . ” Mrs . Lan frowned and criticized her daughter when walking in with an old maid .
Lan Cai’er heard such words and retracted her neck .
“Sisters, I remember that I have promised to take you on a tour around Xia City . The weather is nice today and I will treat you to wine at Zuixian Restaurant . No, tea . . . ” Lan Cai’er feared nothing . She could even talk back with her neck red when General Lan scolded her in a high voice . However, she could do nothing when Mrs . Lan did the same .
In Ye Lingyue’s words, Mrs . Lan was the one that had the final say in the Lan Manor .
Lan Cai’er then pulled Ye Lingyue out of the room and the latter felt nothing strange .
The two were just several steps away from the room when Mrs . Lan gave a sign .
“Huangyu, I am sorry for this . Cai’er can never put us at ease . She is already more than 20 years old but remains single . As her mother, I am quite worried . ”
Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er were both warriors and had good vision and hearing . They heard Mrs . Lan’s words clearly . Ye Lingyue sensed that Lan Cai’er was holding her hand more closely and that there was sweat on Lan’s palm .
When they walked out of the Lan Manor, Lan Cai’er had already lost her vitality and looked disappointed .
“Sister Lan, you seem unhappy . Is it because you are worried that no one will marry you?” Ye Yinshuang made fun of Lan Cai’er sensing her unease . The two were a little similar in that they were both straightforward .
In Da Xia, women would marry at a young age . Normally, a girl’s marriage would be fixed when she was 14 years old . The oldest age for marriage was 16 . Few girls would remain single at the age of Lan Cai’er who was in her 20s .
If Lan Cai’er was ugly-looking, all seemed reasonable .
However, she was a pretty infanta . Soon after Ye Lingyue came to the Lan Manor, she heard from her old servers that a large number of men proposed to Lan Cai’er when Lan was in her teenage years . But no one won Lan’s heart .
This left Ye Lingyue even more puzzled about why Lan Cai’er still remained single .
Ye Liuyun was quite smart and pulled Ye Yinshuang when sensing Lan Cai’er’s unhappiness .
Lan thought for a moment and then spoke with regret .
“At your age, I fell in love with a man . Pitifully, the one I loved was not the right guy . I pursued him for 4 years but he just did not love me . For him, I have nearly put my father in jeopardy . Hence, I will remain single all my life . ”
The other girls were all taken by surprise .
It was the first time for Ye Lingyue to hear Lan talking about the past .
Lan was such an optimistic girl but even she had bitter memories .
Ye Lingyue suddenly recalled how she first met Lan Cai’er and her father .
At that time, Lan Yingwu was wounded by the magic of evils . It was said that he was attacked by cults when trying to put down the riot on the Central Plains .
Maybe it was not true and something else happened?
Ye Lingyue wanted an answer but hesitated about asking when her sisters were also present . Then she thought she could ask Lan Cai’er about what on earth happened some time later .
“Let’s forget about these men . Zuixian Restaurant has offered the customers some new wine and we can go on a drinking spree today . ” Lan Cai’er forced a smile with these words .
When the four were about to go to the restaurant, Lan Yingwu returned from the court and called Ye Lingyue .
“Lingyue, I heard from the prison guards that Hong Fang wants to see your mother these days . Fengxing has intercepted the message . Do you need to see Hong Fang? ”
The people of the Hong Manor plotted to overthrow the government . Now the truth was clear and Xia Houqi had already ordered the beheading of Hong Fang and others after 3 days .
The marriage of Nie Fengxing and Ye Huangyu was approaching . The former was certainly unwilling to let Hong Fang meet his bride-to-be at this time .
Lan Yingwu thought that Ye Lingyue was after all the daughter of Hong Fang and then decided to tell Ye about it .
“Please don’t tell my mother about it . She is too soft-hearted and Hong Fang is too tricky . He wants my mother to see him and then I will meet him instead . ” Ye Lingyue decided to visit the prison to see what Hong Fang was up to .
It was already the second time for Ye Lingyue to visit the prison .
Last time, the one she saw was Xia Houhong .
This time, however, she went there to see her biological father Hong Fang .
In the dark prison, Hong Fang, Hong Yulang and Zhuge Rou were detained in the same room .
Hong Fang was no longer high-spirited and vigorous . He had on the prison garb and wore the specially-made shackles . Zhuge Rou and Hong Yulang were both in low spirits, smelling terrible .