Tian Qi watched as the group of people gradually walked away, slowly disappearing into the snow until they were out of sight. Meanwhile, his young master remained motionless like a wooden sculpture, silent. With red - rimmed eyes, Tian Qi called out anxiously, "Young master! If only the young mistress had nodded and come with me! I could have given up everything; I just wanted her!"
Yu Zixi stared blankly ahead, seemingly oblivious, but the fingers curled up were trembling slightly involuntarily.
After leaving the capital, Wei Dongling had someone remove all her headdress and the bright red wedding dress. She then changed into her usual lightweight clothes and put on the new cotton - padded jacket made by the Imperial Household Department for her.
When she took off the red embroidered shoes inlaid with jade, she found that the tips of her socks were wet. Wei Dongling's feet were already frozen blue and purple, completely numb. The embroidered shoes were thin. On the way from Yaoguang Pavilion to Taiji Hall, the snow had turned into ice. Wei Dongling had gritted her teeth and walked all the way without noticing. Only when she took off her socks did she realize that her feet had been numb for a long time.
Yue'e quickly rummaged out thick cotton socks and put them on for her. Ruan Niang said in a deep voice, "Wait!" Then she grabbed Wei Dongling's feet and examined them carefully. She saw that the tip of Wei Dongling's right big toe was deformed from being squeezed, and a very hidden dark - brown mark ran through the toenail all the way towards the sole of the foot.
Ruan Niang's face changed drastically. Immediately, she took out the Nine - Needle Resuscitation Acupuncture and inserted the needles one by one into the acupoints to draw out the blood. Then she used the thinnest silver needle to scrape and squeeze out the dark - brown blood beads bit by bit.
Wei Dongling was extremely shocked. She waved for Yue'e to hand over the red embroidered shoes she had worn and examined them carefully. Then she asked someone to get a pair of scissors and cut them open without hesitation. Inside the broken tip of the embroidered shoe, a small broken silver needle was right where it would touch the big toe.
The tip of the needle was shining with a strange light, obviously poisoned!
Cold sweat trickled down Ruan Niang's forehead. She asked, "Didn't you notice anything when you put on the shoes this morning?"
Wei Dongling replied with a pale face, "I just felt that the shoes were unusually tight, and it started to ache faintly after walking a few steps. I thought it was normal for new shoes, so I didn't pay much attention." She never thought that someone had secretly tampered with the embroidered shoes!
This poison was clearly the culprit that caused her heart palpitations! She had been extremely cautious about her diet and would never drink any traditional Chinese medicine that wasn't personally brewed by Cheng Hao. But she still had this oversight. The person behind this had used such a hidden way to harm her! If Ruan Niang hadn't noticed something strange today, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
Who on earth was so powerful that they could even instruct the embroiderers of the Imperial Household Department to do such a thing with a hidden poisoned needle!
Thinking carefully, ever since she ate that top - grade pill from the Empress Dowager, she had occasionally suffered from heart palpitations. Concubine Shu had also privately told her that the Emperor's pulse was normal, but he also suffered from frequent heart palpitations, and it was kept secret.
Could it be that this poison was already mixed in that top - grade pill? The real purpose of the person behind this was actually to restrain the Empress Dowager! But they didn't expect that the pill would end up being eaten by her by accident?
In the imperial palace of the Celestial Dynasty, who was it that could act secretly and wanted the lives of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and herself?
Someone was impatient! The answer was obvious.
If the tenth prince, Murong Yunqian, had such great power in the palace, it was only a matter of time before he took the Emperor's throne for himself!
Wei Dongling's face was as white as a sheet, and her fingertips trembled slightly. Ruan Niang glanced at her and grabbed her hand, gently shaking her head.
Yes, she couldn't do anything.
In the palace, the Emperor never listened to her advice regarding the tenth prince. Now that she was on her way to marry into Xiliang, how could she interfere in the affairs of the palace?
Forget it. It had nothing to do with her.
At night, the heavy snow that had been falling all day finally stopped. A carriage slowly caught up under the moonlight and drove side by side with the red carriage that Wei Dongling was in.
The attendant of the Xiliang prince was about to step forward to drive it away when he heard Cheng Hao call out urgently, "Those are the relatives of our fifth princess!"
Hearing this, Wei Dongling quickly lifted the curtain and looked out. She was immediately choked by the biting cold wind. When she looked up, in the icy and snowy night, she saw Luo Xunlong driving a carriage galloping towards them. The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Cui Huan, Jing Zhe, Uncle Li, and Yu Haiming all waved and smiled at her.
Wei Dongling covered her lips and almost cried. She knew that all the uncles and elders would not let her marry into Xiliang alone.
However, among these people, almost all those who knew martial arts and could be of help had come. Only Old Brother Qin was left to guard the whole family of the old, the weak, the women, and the children, as well as her many valuable dowries. This was a bit worrying.
Cui Huan didn't care about all this. She jumped off the carriage and quickly went to pay respects to the Xiliang prince, saying, "Greetings, son - in - law! The journey to Xiliang is long. We were worried that the young lady might not be acclimatized and might feel unwell, so we came to serve the young lady on the way to Xiliang. We've caused you trouble, son - in - law. We hope you won't mind." Cui Huan's words were neither overbearing nor humble, thoughtful and polite, but they also left no room for Li Mingyang to refuse. As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she still had to say these polite words.
Li Mingyang looked at the smiling Cui Huan and then at the people in the carriage with their own thoughts. He nodded gracefully and said with a smile, "Miss, you're being too polite! The relatives of the princess are guests of this prince. I hope all of you distinguished guests won't mind the long journey to Xiliang!" The few strong men on this carriage all had unfathomable martial arts skills. It seemed he had no choice but to agree. Besides, it was better for these people to be in the open than to secretly cause trouble in the dark. So, Li Mingyang simply agreed readily.
"Son - in - law, you're being too kind!" Cui Huan said with a soft smile, "The marriage between the young lady and the son - in - law is a match made in heaven. We're happy to see the two of you grow closer on this journey."
Wei Dongling thought to herself: Cui Huan, can you be any more fake? If you keep talking like this, I'm going to throw up.
So, Cui Huan openly got into Wei Dongling's happy - looking carriage. She and Ruan Niang sat on either side of Wei Dongling and grabbed her cold hands.
In this freezing season, Cui Huan's palms were actually sweating? The warmth from her palms made Wei Dongling feel happy.
With her relatives accompanying her all the way, so what if the mountain road was rough and the weather was icy and snowy? She might as well just consider it a scenic trip!
Wei Dongling whispered to Cui Huan, "How's the family?" Were all those priceless gold, silver, and jewels well - hidden?
Cui Huan put her arm around Wei Dongling's slender waist and replied softly, "Don't worry! Prince Xuan sent his guards to protect them. It's okay."
Only then did Wei Dongling feel relieved. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly that at this critical moment, it was still the young prince, Murong Xuan, who was reliable.
The wedding - welcoming procession stopped at a post station. Li Mingyang chose a very warm side - room for his princess. After settling Wei Dongling down, he invited Uncle Li and the others to go drinking.
Jing Zhe didn't go. He quietly guarded outside Wei Dongling's side - room and refused to go far, allowing Cheng Hao to go down and rest.