Although Shang Ruoyi had walked some distance, her hearing was extremely sharp. Every word of the First Lady's fell clearly into her ears.

Her brows furrowed involuntarily. What did the First Lady mean by that?

The wedding procession had already arrived at the gate. Shang Ruoyi, dressed in a wedding gown with a red veil covering her head, was helped out of the Prime Minister's Mansion by a maid.

"Did you see that? When the Second Miss of the prime minister's mansion gets married, neither the prime minister nor the madam come out to see her off. Not even a single concubine is present."

"Oh, haven't you noticed? The heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, the bridegroom, didn't even come out to welcome the bride. It's said that the betrothal gifts are also pitifully few, only twenty sets."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This Second Miss really has a hard lot."

"Yes! Without the support of her natal family and not favored by her husband, how will she live in the future?"

A gentle breeze blew, lifting a corner of the veil. By chance, she saw the people who had just been gossiping.

The corners of her lips curled up. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she kicked a few stones at her feet.

Those four stones seemed to have eyes, hitting the front teeth of those people precisely.

"Ouch!"

One of them reached out and two front teeth landed in their palm.

"Teeth! My teeth!" Looking at the bloody teeth in their hands, the few people rolled their eyes and fainted.

Their cries were drowned out by the festive music and didn't cause much commotion.

Shang Ruoyi walked straight to the bridal sedan chair, without the slightest bit of nostalgia for the Prime Minister's Mansion.

She didn't notice that all her little actions had fallen into a pair of eyes.

After the wedding procession left, that person quietly departed as well.

At this time, in the Dingguo Prince's Mansion.

"Your Highness, this marriage..." Yun Tian, holding a tray with the wedding attire, pleaded with a bitter face, "The heir, the wedding procession has already returned. Please change into your wedding clothes quickly! This marriage was bestowed personally by the emperor. We mustn't be negligent!"

He Jingheng sat by the window. His eyebrows were as black as ink paintings, his eyes like twinkling stars. His handsome and flawless features were distinct and three-dimensional, and his natural kingly bearing was even more imperial than that of the current Crown Prince.

Outside, there was the sound of gongs and drums, and red silk and brocade were everywhere. Yet he was dressed in a black robe with silver trim and dark patterns. He looked nothing like a bridegroom on his wedding day, more like someone going to a funeral.

His gaze was fixed on the chessboard in front of him, turning a deaf ear to what Yun Tian said.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort requests that you go to the front hall to receive the guests." The voice of a servant came from outside the door.

He Jingheng waved his arm, and the door closed with a bang.

The servant outside wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Ever since the heir's leg was injured, his temperament had become extremely strange.

He not only refused to see people but also never stepped out of the courtyard gate and didn't allow outsiders to enter his yard.

Now the only person who could enter his courtyard was the old Princess Consort.

Yun Tian looked at him with a headache. "Your Highness, if you don't like her, you can just leave her alone after she's married. But you can't not show up, can you?"

After placing the last chess piece, He Jingheng finally moved his gaze away from the chessboard. He looked at the wedding clothes on the tray and said in a deep voice, "This Highness has a leg injury and it's inconvenient to move. I'm afraid I can't perform the wedding ceremony. How about you go in my place?"

Yun Tian quickly knelt down. "Your Highness, please don't joke. How can someone else replace you in the wedding ceremony? If the emperor finds out, our prince's mansion may be charged with disobeying the imperial edict."

Just then, a figure leaped into the courtyard.

"Your Highness," Yun Qi's voice sounded.

"Come in."

Yun Qi walked to He Jingheng's side and whispered a few words in his ear.

He Jingheng's eyes slightly changed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

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"Exactly." Yun Qi was also very puzzled. How could a young lady from a boudoir have such martial arts skills? At first, he thought it was a coincidence, but since several people were all hit in the front teeth by stones, it couldn't be a coincidence.

"This is rather interesting," a dark light flashed in He Jingheng's eyes.

"Your Highness, this subordinate suspects that she is a spy sent by Shang Nian," Yun Qi said in a deep voice. "That Second Miss kicked out with such clean and neat movements. Without some martial arts skills, it would be impossible to hit those people's front teeth so accurately."

"If she's a spy, this Highness rather admires her courage."

He knocked on the tray in Yun Tian's hand. "Change my clothes."

The sound of gongs and drums grew closer. Before long, the wedding procession arrived outside the prince's mansion. At this time, the Dingguo Prince's Mansion was surrounded by common people, and many of them were holding congratulatory gifts.

The Dingguo Prince's Mansion had been fighting for the Tianshun Dynasty for years and was deeply loved by the people.

Even on the day of the heir's wedding, Prince Ding He Yuwen was still on the battlefield and hadn't returned.

So the common people came spontaneously to offer their congratulations and watch the ceremony.

This scene was seen by the eunuch who came to deliver the congratulatory gifts on behalf of the emperor and empress. He frowned deeply but said nothing.

The bridal sedan chair stopped. Shang Ruoyi sat in the sedan chair, and for a long time, no bridegroom came to lift the curtain.

"This bride is so pitiful. It's bad enough that the bridegroom didn't come to welcome her. Now that she's at the gate of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, no one even comes to lift the curtain."

"That's right. If I were the bride, I would have died of shame and anger."

Shang Ruoyi heard this and couldn't help rolling her eyes.

Mind your own business!

Dying of shame and anger?

At such a beautiful and young age, why should one live or die because of a man?

Besides, she had managed to come back to life. In her previous life, she lived for the country. In this life, she just wanted to be herself.

"This is the daughter of the prime minister's mansion. Keep your voices down. Don't let her hear." Then an arrogant voice came, "What are you afraid of? She's just an unremarkable concubine-born daughter."

"Concubine-born daughter? Wasn't the one betrothed to the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion the daughter of the prime minister's mansion?"

"Would the legitimate daughter of the prime minister's mansion marry a lame man? Even if he's the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, Shang Yufu wouldn't marry him." The person said this in a very low voice, but Shang Ruoyi still heard it clearly.

She lifted a corner of the sedan chair curtain and looked at the woman who was speaking.

She was dressed in a green dress with a head full of pearls and jewels.

In her memory, this was Mu Qingning, the legitimate daughter of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Mu Qingning was one of the admirers of the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion.

After all, among the unmarried men in the Tianshun Dynasty who were handsome, prominent, and powerful, He Jingheng, the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, was even more popular than the current Crown Prince, He Lingzhan.

But ever since He Jingheng's leg was injured, those women who had originally admired him had given up their thoughts.

Shang Yufu had also changed from an object of envy to a pitiful figure.

Whenever there was a palace banquet or gathering, everyone would step on her.

Shang Nian never wanted to betroth his legitimate daughter to He Jingheng. After all, even if he inherited the throne, his daughter would just be a Dingguo Princess. How could the position of empress bring such glory to the family?

Moreover, the current emperor had long been dissatisfied with the Dingguo Prince's Mansion. If he married his legitimate daughter there and something went wrong in the future, wouldn't he end up losing everything?

Shang Ruoyi touched her headdress.

She remembered that when Shaoyao was doing her hair bun, there was a hairpin with a few glass beads coiled on it.

She took down those glass beads, held them in her hand, and threw them at Mu Qingning's feet through the gap in the sedan chair curtain.