Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 188 Shang Rang's Shadow
When the sky is filled with celestial clouds, it is an auspicious time for weddings.

Like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, the bandit army captured Jianzhou City in northwestern Fujian in less than half an hour. After the city fell, the governor was immediately beheaded, and the former governor's mansion became the venue for the wedding of Shang Rang, a general of the bandit army, and the Fairy of Shadows from the Taishan Sect.

For those in the martial arts world and in the military, the six traditional rites of "betrothal, name inquiry, auspicious date selection, gift presentation, wedding date setting, and wedding ceremony" cannot be fully performed, so they have to act according to their own discretion.

Inside the courtyard, a "green pavilion" was erected for the wedding ceremony. Inside the pavilion, the groom and bride sat side by side, the groom on the left and the bride on the right. Shang Rang wore a red robe, while Zhuo Ying wore a fitted blue-green dress, which accentuated her dignified and slender figure. This was the wedding attire in the Tang Dynasty, which also gave rise to the term "red man and green woman".

There was no red veil as in later generations; the bride held a round fan in her hand to cover her face.

The gathering of heroes was quite grand, with the banquet stretching from inside the mansion all the way to the gate. However, only those at the tables next to the bridal chamber had the privilege of catching a glimpse of the bride's stunning beauty as she removed her fan.

Zhuoying is no longer the head of the Taishan Sect; she has passed the position to a close junior sister. This is a necessary step to formally join the Grass Army; otherwise, she won't be able to explain herself to the imperial court.

Given Chuoying's personality, she would inevitably continue to remotely control and issue orders to some extent. However, her focus had shifted to the Grass Army.

Upon learning of Shang Rang's attack, Zhuoying completed the handover of the sect leadership within a few days and rushed over. For more than a month, the rebel army had been carving their way into Fujian through the mountains, and Shang Rang had been delirious from poisoning. Zhuoying had been managing Shang Rang's network of connections.

Xu Tangju and Wang Chongyin were originally confidants of Shang Rang's elder brother, Shang Junzhang. After being won over by Zhuoying, they became even more loyal to Shang Rang.

Zhuoying, with her keen eye for talent, promoted a group of promising young men, including Li Tangbin, Geng Biao, Cui Shou, Zhang Quan, and Han Zhong, making up for the losses caused by the large number of generals killed or surrendered in the battles of Qizhou and Xuanzhou. The Caojun Zhenyi Alliance faction once again boasted a wealth of talented individuals, reminiscent of the era when Wang Xianzhi was in power.

Skilled in self-preservation, Chuo Ying, known as the Fairy, shares some similarities with the witch You Di. However, while You Di acts flamboyantly and intensely, Chuo Ying is much more gentle and considerate, tactfully taking into account the interests of all parties involved.

Huang Chao was a magnanimous man, and considering his past friendship with Wang Xianzhi, he had no intention of keeping Wang Xianzhi in the faction for the time being to assimilate and integrate him. Such integration could easily incite unrest in the short term and weaken the overall fighting strength of the army.

Chuo Ying issued orders, promoted talented individuals, and remained behind the scenes as much as possible, giving Shang Rang ample face. This made his subordinates feel that although their leader was no longer as resourceful as before after being poisoned, he was still as loyal and righteous as ever, and with his wife's assistance, he was capable of leading his brothers.

In this process, Chuo Ying seized power, Shang Rang weathered the crisis, and the newcomers obtained the positions they desired. The Zhenyi Alliance faction is now free from the danger of mutiny, which is also conducive to the Cao Army's next campaign to advance into Lingnan.

All parties are currently satisfied with the situation. As for any potential conflicts that may arise later, we'll deal with them as they come.

Therefore, when Zhuoying did things, it seemed quite appropriate on the surface, and it could even be passed down as a beautiful story of a husband encountering misfortune and his fiancée not regretting their old vow.

At the banquet, all the heroes were envious of Shang Rang for having such a talented and beautiful wife.

Sitting next to Zhu Wen, Tian Jun gulped down wine while gazing longingly at the figure in the blue tent, dressed in finery.

Duan Hongyan approached without anyone noticing, revealing an understanding smile: "Alliance Leader Shang and Fairy Zhuoying have finally become a couple. Junior Brother, when are you going to marry Sister Jun, this 'Little Dragon Girl'?"

Upon learning that Zhu Wen and Tian Jun were in love, Duan Hongyan showed genuine joy. As a result, Tian Jun, who was already straightforward, completely put aside her suspicions about Duan Hongyan and regarded her as a close sister even more.

Zhu Wen took a sip of wine and lowered his voice, saying, "It's not that fast. Junmei and I haven't even kissed yet."

Duan Hongyan let out a soft cry, her face full of disbelief.

Seeing Tian Jun's expression, he realized that what Zhu Wen said was true.

"You two don't seem like naive people at all; I didn't expect you to be so innocent," Duan Hongyan said with a bright smile, patting Zhu Wen and Tian Jun on the shoulder each. "You still have a long way to go."

She made it sound like she had a lot of romantic experience herself.

Duan Hongyan was known for her quick wit and outspokenness, and she was also quite knowledgeable. Regardless of how much she actually understood about relationships between men and women, her words came out quite naturally.

Duan Hongyan then affectionately stroked Tian Jun's waist and whispered in her ear, "My junior brother has a lot on his mind. It's no use for you to seduce him with just your figure. If you want to make things happen sooner, try to figure out his thoughts and say some intimate things. Between men and women, it's about mutual pampering, not just one-sided things."

Although she spoke in detail, Zhu Wen could hear her. However, Duan Hongyan's words were so soothing that they posed no problem for Zhu Wen to hear.

Tian Jun seemed to understand, her face showing gratitude. She immediately pulled Duan Hongyan into her arms, breathing the smell of alcohol onto Duan Hongyan's face: "Hongyan, you're so good to me..." "Too tight, you lizard, let go of this young lady!" Duan Hongyan complained, "I can't breathe."

"Oh, so you called me a four-legged snake again! Watch me tickle you." Tian Jun snorted and tickled Duan Hongyan's waist, and the two beauties immediately started playing around.

After the banquet, the maids and servants went up and lowered the blue curtains. According to etiquette, the newlyweds completed their rites and consummated their marriage inside the curtains before moving into the house.

The shadowy monk, having shed his heavy formal attire, sat side by side on the bed, only a short distance apart, showing no sign of taking things further.

"Chuoying has her own little thoughts. She cannot consummate her marriage with you. Does your husband feel any resentment?" Chuoying asked gently.

Shang Rang sighed and rubbed his temples: "How could that be? We were just forming an alliance, but you have done far more than I expected. Such mundane matters are of no concern to me."

These days, Zhuoying washes her hands and cooks soup, kneads dough and bakes flatbread. The Taishan Sect Leader, who usually doesn't lift a finger in the kitchen, personally fillets fish and slaughters chickens, chops ginger and minces garlic, to express his sincerity in recruiting talented people for Shang Rang.

When Li Tangbin and the others saw that Zhuoying's hand was covered with a fine cloth after being pricked by a fishbone, they were all moved to tears of gratitude.

At present, having such a virtuous wife is undoubtedly a godsend for Shang Rang.

"Besides, you've fallen for a girl, so it's not a big deal for me to lose face."

Zhuoying nodded: "Young master, you can take a concubine as soon as possible to continue the family line. As a general, having offspring early will put the other generals at ease. Zhuoying has several sisters in the Taishan Sect, all of whom are quite beautiful and virtuous..."

Inside the tent, she spoke to Shang Rang with the same dignified and gentle manner, perfectly embodying the ancient ideal of "raising the tray to eyebrow level."

Shang Rang understood that although Zhuo Ying's words were magnanimous, they also revealed that her true feelings were for Lan Suting, and that she would definitely remain chaste for her same-sex lover.

"There's no need to rush into such things." As Shang Rang spoke, he felt a sharp pain in his head, which blocked his train of thought.

Seeing Shang Rang's expression change, Zhuo Ying gently reached out her soft hand and skillfully rubbed and massaged Shang Rang's forehead.

After being poisoned, Shang Rang suffered from headaches many times a day.

At first, Shang Rang was in a daze every day, his mind was in a fog, and he slept almost all day except for eating. After ten days, his daily routine returned to normal, but he soon found that he not only had a lot of headaches, but his mind also often became numb when thinking.

Even so, Shang Rang still felt his heart flutter when he looked at the gentle woman beside him.

If you ask whether Shang Rang likes the other person, of course he does! It's not surprising that a young man would fall in love with such a beautiful and talented woman who is also knowledgeable and sensible.
However, Shang Rang decided to respect Zhuo Ying's wishes, not to force the issue, and to be content with a marriage in name only.

He liked fame and fortune, but he wasn't an ambitious person. Shang Rang also didn't expect that his master Wang Xianzhi and his elder brother Shang Junchang would leave so suddenly, instantly pushing him to the position of leader of the Zhenyi Alliance faction's grass army.

If one is a true tyrant, one will definitely try to lower the guard of the shadowy figure, and then seize the opportunity to obtain the other's body, striving to completely control the other and use it for one's own purposes.

However, Huang Chao was good at judging people. If Shang Rang had the same temperament as Shi Pu and Gao Yan, how could Huang Chao have tolerated such a person having his own faction in the rebel army? It was precisely because Shang Rang lacked ambition that Huang Chao showed great magnanimity.

It should be known that even a universally acknowledged gentleman like Li Mi, the King of Wei, could not escape the bloodshed between Zhai Rang and the Hall of Righteousness!

As for the future, Shang Rang had no idea what would happen. He only knew that if he couldn't find a cure, even if he could retain his current position, he would inevitably become a puppet of Zhuoying. Of course, Zhuoying was tactful and would leave him with a semblance of dignity.

Shang Rang was not known for his martial prowess, and when the poison damaged his mind, relinquishing power became inevitable for him. Faced with this situation, he could only sigh inwardly, yet still hold onto hope.

For Salt Commander, Shang Rang, a loyal, unambitious, and resourceful man, was ultimately more reliable than a faction that was actually led by a woman.

Shang Rang could only hope that Huang Chao would do everything in his power to find a divine doctor who could cure him of the poison.

(End of this chapter)