Just as everything was in place, a murmur of whispers came from the door.

"It's really the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion!"

"I never thought the heir would actually come."

Shang Ruoyi slightly raised her eyebrows. Just as she put down her veil, the sedan chair curtain was lifted, and a hand reached under the veil.

Seeing that hand with distinct joints, her expression changed slightly.

Although she had never held weapons like swords, spears, or axes, as a special agent team leader who had been on the battlefield, she could tell at a glance the strength hidden in this hand.

He Jingheng looked at the person in the sedan chair. Seeing that she didn't reach out her hand for a long time, his brows furrowed.

Just as his patience was about to run out, a small, delicate hand was placed in his palm.

This made He Jingheng, who had never held a woman's hand before, feel an unexpected flutter in his heart.

Shang Ruoyi was led out of the bridal sedan chair by him.

As soon as she stood firmly, He Jingheng let go of her hand.

The wedding nanny supported her, speaking auspicious words as they walked into the prince's mansion.

She was wearing a veil, and the ill-fitting and cumbersome wedding dress made it extremely difficult for her to walk. In contrast, after going through the formalities, He Jingheng was pushed into the mansion by his personal guard, Yun Tian, not even sparing her a glance.

Seeing that the two newlyweds had entered the courtyard, the guests followed them into the prince's mansion.

"Ouch!" Mu Qingning's cry of pain came. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw her lying on the ground, disheveled, with her hairpins and jewelry scattered around.

She looked nothing like a noble lady from a prominent family.

"Isn't this Mu Qingning, the legitimate daughter of the Mu Mansion?"

"How can she even walk properly?"

"Right Prime Minister's legitimate daughter indeed! So embarrassing."

Mu Qingning, her face flushed red, was helped up by the servants. Hearing the jeers from all around, she angrily shouted, "What are you looking at? Keep looking, and I'll gouge out your eyes!" Everyone in the capital knew about Mu Qingning's fiery temper.

Seeing her like this, the crowd covered their mouths and left.

Mu Qingning looked at the glass beads on the ground and said in a deep voice, "Which petty person still wears such things?" Glass beads were the cheapest kind of ornaments. Even ordinary commoners rarely wore jewelry made of such beads these days. This showed how perfunctory Shang Nian was about this marriage.

When they reached the main hall, after paying respects to heaven and earth, Shang Ruoyi officially became the Crown Princess of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion.

Just as the servant was about to lead her to the bridal chamber, a burst of laughter came from the guests watching the ceremony.

"Hahaha, how precious Prime Minister Shang is to his legitimate daughter that he's reluctant to marry her off. Instead, this concubine-born Second Miss has been married off in a muddle." The speaker was the heir of the Xiao Prince's Mansion. He had always been at odds with He Jingheng. Now that He Jingheng was injured and the emperor had taken away his military power, he seized the opportunity to kick a man when he was down.

He was the happiest person about He Jingheng's injury.

"Jingheng, is your leg really useless? Tsk, tsk, tsk. To become a cripple like this. Fortunately, you have a concubine-born younger brother. Otherwise, your Dingguo Prince's Mansion might be at risk of having no heirs."

The guests nearby pretended not to hear, looking down at their noses and minds. Even though the heir of the Xiao Prince's Mansion hated the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, this wasn't the time to bring up old wounds! The heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion was moody. If he got angry here, they might be implicated.

Hearing these words, Shang Ruoyi slowly stopped. Through the gap in her veil, she clearly saw the hand that had just led her tightly clenching, the knuckles turning white.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

The Dingguo Princess, sitting in the main seat, looked livid, while Concubine Zhao, standing aside，secretly rejoiced.

"Princess Consort?" The maid beside her said softly, "Follow this servant to the bridal chamber."

She moved her steps and her thin lips parted slightly.

"Dog thing."

These three words were neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

For a moment, the main hall fell silent. Everyone looked at the Crown Princess, who was being helped by the maid and walking with difficulty, in shock. It was hard to believe that these three words came from her. Even He Jingheng turned his head slightly.

"What did you say?" The heir of the Xiao Prince's Mansion was furious. "You little concubine-born girl, how dare you talk to this prince like that? You're tired of living."

"I'm talking about a dog in the prime minister's mansion. Why is the heir of the Xiao Prince's Mansion so angry?" Shang Ruoyi stopped, not moving her body at all. Her tone was calm, and there was no sign of lying. "That dog has an ugly face with a mole on it. It barks and bites at everyone it meets, just like a rabid dog. It's really annoying. But if you like it, I can ask my father to send it to you. I just don't know if that dog is still there. After all, it's rabid. How would it know where its food comes from? And who gave it that so-called peaceful life?"

After saying that, her figure slowly disappeared through the door.

He Jingheng looked in the direction she left, and his originally clenched fist gradually relaxed.

The heir of the Xiao Prince's Mansion glared at her retreating figure, his eyes filled with hatred. He had actually been ridiculed by a lowly concubine-born girl!

He knew exactly that the rabid dog Shang Ruoyi mentioned was referring to him.

But with her vivid description in public, there was nothing he could do to her.

However, this feud was set today. If he got hold of her handle in the future, he would settle the old and new scores together.

The eunuch in charge of delivering the congratulatory gifts returned to the palace and reported everything he saw today to the emperor in detail. "Your Majesty, this servant saw that the common people in the streets regarded the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion as if he were a god."

"A god?

"Why do you say so?" The Emperor of Tianshun's face changed slightly.

"Some people brought congratulatory gifts. When they saw that the Dingguo Prince's Mansion didn't accept them, they even brought a basket of eggs. When they saw the heir, the common people were extremely excited, almost on the verge of kneeling. And some people said... said..."

By now, the Emperor of Tianshun's face was extremely gloomy. Seeing him stuttering, the emperor angrily slapped the table and roared, "Speak!"

"They said that our Tianshun Dynasty enjoys peace today because of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion."

The Emperor of Tianshun sat on the dragon throne, his face extremely solemn.

"Leave."

"This servant takes his leave." The eunuch's eyes flickered, and a faint smile crossed his lips. He bowed and retreated.

The Emperor of Tianshun's chest heaved violently. He swept the things on the table to the ground.

The Dingguo Prince's Mansion!

The Dingguo Prince's Mansion!

The word "Dingguo" was like a curse.

Why was it only the people of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion who could stabilize the country?

What was he, the emperor, for?

He didn't want to live in the shadow of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion anymore, nor did he want his descendants to be restricted by the Dingguo Prince's Mansion.

Looking at the memorial scattered on the ground, his eyes glimmered slightly.

Shang Ruoyi sat in the bridal chamber. Her already weak body was overcome with dizziness.

"This headdress is too heavy." Just as Shang Ruoyi was about to take off the crown on her head, she heard a rustling sound outside the door.

"Is it true? Where did you hear that?"

"It's absolutely true. I just came from Concubine Zhang's courtyard. The imperial doctor from the palace is in the Second Young Master's room. They said they're taking the lady's pulse."