I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 216 Wedding Ceremony
Seeing the light in Ye Wanshu's eyes, a strange warmth welled up in Fu Mingchi's heart.

He could clearly sense that Wan'er had let go of her past prejudices against people and was beginning to trust him from the bottom of her heart.

He liked Wan'er very much like this, and he only wanted her to stay like this forever, with no trace of sadness in her eyes.

Although the internal strife has been temporarily quelled, the situation ahead remains very serious. The enemies facing the Great Ye Dynasty will be even more ruthless than those of the Gu family. He is worried that this girl will do something foolish again.

He gently kissed her forehead, then hugged her tightly from behind. Suddenly, he spoke in a deep voice, "Wan'er, promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you will never put yourself in danger again."

Ye Wanshu realized that he was blaming her for returning to Lin'an alone, and laughed it off, saying, "Although this trip back to Lin'an was somewhat dangerous, things were still accomplished. Your Highness is still complaining about me."

“It’s done.” Fu Mingchi nodded. “But you kept it from me and everyone else. You were walking on thin ice every day, but you didn’t even offer an explanation, causing everyone to misunderstand you. You don’t care about yourself, but I do.”

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have treated you like that back then."

Hearing Fu Mingchi's suddenly resentful voice, Ye Wanshu felt inexplicably guilty: "I just wanted to get everyone out of trouble with the least amount of money."

“You don’t need to apologize to me,” Fu Mingchi said, his tone turning somewhat fierce. “I know you care about your family and friends, and you think they are important, but I also think you are important. How can I bear to see you suffer these grievances alone?”

Turning her around so they were facing each other, Fu Mingchi became even angrier: "The current predicament of the Great Ye Dynasty is not the result of your actions. How can you be expected to bear the burden of these problems? Furthermore, it is not something you can reverse the decline on your own."

Ye Wanshu agreed with this point.

Given the circumstances at the time, she had no better options and had to resort to this last resort.

Seeing Fu Mingchi's unhappy expression, Ye Wanshu softened her expression, nestled into his arms, and deliberately touched her belly in a wronged manner: "Look at your father, we haven't even moved into his house yet, and he's already lecturing and bullying your mother."

Fu Mingchi's face stiffened, and he said somewhat embarrassedly, "She's not even pregnant yet, why is Wan'er complaining to the child?"

"With His Majesty's blessing, I'm sure I'll conceive," Ye Wanshu replied playfully.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Chunhong's voice came from outside: "Your Highness, Miss, General Zhu has urgent business to attend to."

The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Wanshu immediately said, "I'll go with you to see him."

Fu Mingchi's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.

Although Zhu Wencai was impulsive, he was also sensible. He and Wan'er had been separated for a long time, and unless it was something particularly important, he would never have come to disturb them at this critical juncture.

I'm afraid there has been a major upheaval in the imperial court.

Without making a sound, Fu Mingchi led Ye Wanshu to sit down on the bedside and smiled brightly: "Wan'er was feeling a little tired just now, why don't you rest in the room for a bit? I'll be right back."

After comforting her and getting her to rest in bed, Fu Mingchi hurriedly left.

For some reason, Ye Wanshu felt unusually uneasy.

Now that Empress Dowager Gu is dead, even if people's hearts are unsettled, they won't be able to stir up too much trouble, unless something changes in the northern border.

Thinking of this, she immediately got up and led Chunhong and Xingtao over there.

Just as they reached the side room in the outer courtyard, several guards suddenly blocked their way.

"Princess, His Highness has ordered that he and General Zhu are discussing matters inside the hall, and no one is allowed to approach," the leader said stiffly. Ye Wanshu felt a surge of anger. This was, after all, her own residence, yet he showed no respect, actually barring her, the hostess, from entering.

Moreover, he was just complaining to himself that he shouldn't have kept everything from him, but now the tables have turned and he's the one keeping things from him.

Without any intention of retreating, Ye Wanshu stared coldly at the group of guards, silently maintaining a stalemate with them.

Inside the side room, as soon as Fu Mingchi entered, he saw Zhu Wencai holding a black box, his face extremely gloomy.

He asked somewhat uneasily, "What is it?"

"It was sent by the northern delegation, and they said it was a wedding gift for His Highness and the Queen."

At this point, Zhu Wencai's voice gradually trembled and choked with emotion. He hesitated several times before finally refusing to speak, and ultimately did not dare to say the rest.

Fu Mingchi immediately opened the box and saw a sticky, fleshy substance inside that had already begun to rot.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a woman's breast milk, and Fu Mingchi's unease immediately rose to his throat.

It was sent from the north, and specifically to him, so it could only be his aunt's.

Seeing the prince's sinister expression, Zhu Wencai knelt heavily on the ground and reported with unbearable grief: "The northern bandits suddenly attacked Tiemu Pass. To protect the people of various prefectures and retreat to Jiayu Pass, the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis and the Mu family army were all killed in action. Princess Daqiu cut off the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis's breast milk and sent it to Lin'an. She also boiled the Lady's body into a soup and sent it to the Duke of Ningguo. When the Duke learned of the Lady's death, he fell seriously ill. He doesn't know what the situation is now."

Upon hearing this, Fu Mingchi closed the box with a heavy heart and clenched his fists tightly.

"Princess Daqiu led a delegation into Lin'an, demanding that His Majesty submit to Daye and also ordering His Majesty to send Princess Jinghe and the tens of thousands of women from before to the capital of Daqiu, or else she would massacre Lin'an."

Zhu Wencai's expression grew increasingly indignant: "Right now, the entire city of Lin'an is in a state of panic. All the civil and military officials have gone to the Qianqing Palace to plead with His Majesty to seek peace with Daqiu. His Majesty has been so angered that he has fallen ill and cannot get out of bed."

Fu Mingchi narrowed his eyes and sneered disdainfully, "What a bunch of spineless cowards."

Enraged, Fu Mingchi drew the sword from Zhu Wencai's waist and stormed out the door, only to bump into Ye Wanshu, who had a cold expression on her face, as soon as he reached the door.

The two looked at each other silently. Fu Mingchi immediately avoided her and was about to continue walking out.

Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, Ye Wanshu was startled and quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Fu Mingchi, what are you going to do?"

During the brief standoff with the guards, she had sent Chunhong to gather some information, only to learn that the Daqiu delegation had entered Lin'an, and that Lady Dingyuan and the Mu family army had all perished at Tiemu Pass.

Although she was grieving, she knew that this was not the time to vent her anger on the princess of Daqiu.

Taking the knife from his hand, Ye Wanshu hugged him tightly with heartache and gently comforted him, saying, "The entire Ningguo Duke's family is loyal and valiant. Back then, when the capital was in turmoil and Jiangnan was also in turmoil, the Duke's three sons all died in battle on the walls of Suzhou to protect the safety of the southern border. The Mu family army were also brave warriors who followed Lord Mu in his campaigns. They died heroically for the country. However, our court has been in decline since Lord Mu passed away. The entire court has been terrified by the Daqiu people, and they have probably developed a servile mentality. Although Your Highness and His Majesty both have the ambition to turn the tide, we should proceed slowly and steadily."

She vaguely remembered some interesting stories about Daqiu that she had heard in her previous life. The Daqiu princess who came to Lin'an this time was not valued by the Daqiu royal family. Although her brother was the crown prince of Daqiu, his position was always coveted by others. The two siblings were just outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

"Has Your Highness considered carefully why the Daqiu Iron Cavalry did not march straight into Jiayu Pass, but instead came to negotiate peace in a feigned manner?"

Ye Wanshu patiently analyzed for him: "On the one hand, they want our dynasty to submit, but on the other hand, they are so cruel to the Lady of Dingyuan. This is just to completely enrage Your Highness so that the Princess of Daqiu will die in Lin'an. Only in this way can they arouse the determination of the people of Daqiu to fight against the enemy and give them a more sufficient reason to invade the south."

Fu Mingchi had also considered this possibility, but he had been blinded by hatred. After listening to Ye Wanshu's words, he gradually calmed down.