After exchanging a few more pleasantries amidst this awkward and cold standoff, Yun Lie led Luo Cuiwei to bid farewell to Jiang Ronghua.
Jiang Ronghua also stood up and stepped down the stairs. There seemed to be tears in her eyes, but as if she was still unwilling to give up, she said to Yun Lie in a low and urgent voice, "If Your Highness really does not want to stay in the capital, you can at least ask His Majesty to grant you a fief of Yuanzhou or Yizhou, and not return to Linchuan."
Yuanzhou and Yizhou are both prosperous places, and compared to Linchuan, they are closer to the capital.
Yun Lie lowered his eyes, his voice deep and cold: "Perhaps I will disappoint Mother again. I have never intended to beg for food from anyone."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ronghua's tearful eyes welled up with anger and frustration. "Everyone says that the Northwest is poor and sparsely populated, with only a few decent cities within hundreds of miles. Why is Your Highness so stubborn?"
Yun Lie remained unmoved, giving a nonchalant snort, "I've disappointed Mother again."
Seeing that he showed no sign of softening or backing down, Jiang Ronghua finally turned her anxious gaze to Luo Cuiwei.
This seemed to be the first time she had truly acknowledged Luo Cuiwei's presence since the two of them had entered.
Before she could even speak, Yun Lie interrupted her again with another farewell.
After bowing again to say goodbye, he took Luo Cuiwei's hand and turned to leave.
****
It was dusk when they returned to Prince Zhao's residence.
Yun Lie held Luo Cuiwei's hand tightly as they entered the study together.
After they sat down, he settled her on his lap, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, and buried his face in her temple without saying a word.
Luo Cuiwei didn't ask any further questions, but simply nestled quietly in his arms, letting him hold her tightly as if she were a lifeline.
After a long, silent embrace, Yun Lie gave a muffled, bitter laugh, "Don't you think I was being disrespectful to my mother?"
His face was right next to her neck, and his warm breath brushed against her as he spoke, making her involuntarily turn her head away.
Noticing her avoidance, Yun Lie raised his head and glared at her as if he were very aggrieved.
"Okay, okay, here you can lean on me," Luo Cuiwei quickly snuggled closer to him, like stroking a big cat's fur, and gently patted the back of his head. "I only know that everything has a cause and effect, so it must be that she hurt your heart in the past."
She knew very well that Yun Lie was a person who valued loyalty and affection.
Just by looking at how he has emptied his royal treasury over the years to subsidize the Linchuan army, and how he has taken in his comrades who had nowhere to go after being wounded and discharged from the army, and supported them all under the guise of guards, one can tell that he is by no means a cold-hearted person.
Seeing that she showed no sign of reproach, Yun Lie pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "Do you want to hear it?"
Luo Cuiwei thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. "I'm not in a hurry. I'll say it when you're ready. Don't force yourself."
“I’ll get angry if I tell you, and I don’t want to get angry right now,” Yun Lie buried his face in her temple again, “I’ll tell you slowly later.”
"good."
"slight."
He suddenly called her softly in her ear, his voice sounding unusually weak and helpless, which made Luo Cuiwei feel a pang of sadness in her heart, and she hurriedly responded in a soft voice.
"If my mother had asked you to persuade me just now, would you have agreed?"
To be honest, according to common sense, Jiang Ronghua's suggestion of "staying in the capital" or, as a second-best option, "requesting to be enfeoffed in Yuanzhou or Yizhou" would be the correct choice that ordinary people would agree with.
Luo Cuiwei turned her head to look at the top of his dark hair and said softly with a smile, "I don't understand those things, I only know that I want to stand with you."
"Don't you ask whether it's right or wrong?"
“I won’t ask,” Luo Cuiwei said, hooking his chin with her fingertips so that they could look into each other’s eyes. “Since we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, we are husband and wife and partners. Wherever you dare to go, I dare to go; whatever you dare to do, I dare to do.”
Yun Lie rubbed his burning eyes, seemingly embarrassed by his unusual sentimentality, as if trying to hide something, and gently bit her earlobe.
"If you keep doing this, you'll easily spoil me."
"I'm touched, but don't hit me... or say anything..." Luo Cuiwei blushed as he teased her, pressing down on the large hand that was playing around her waist, and scolded him with a smile, "We're outside the palace right now, so we'll have to rations withheld."
Yun Lie laughed and leaned against her shoulder, pulling her tightly into his arms.
****
According to custom, the newlyweds are not allowed to see each other the day before their wedding.
Therefore, Luo Cuiwei returned to the Luo family mansion on June 26th to await her marriage.
On the 27th, the wedding procession from Prince Zhao's residence arrived at the Luo family's residence precisely at the auspicious time calculated by the Taichang Temple.
The sun blazed fiercely that day, dyeing the world a magnificent and radiant golden-red.
Luo Cuiwei, the eldest daughter of the Luo family in western Beijing, married in a grand ceremony. She was officially appointed as the Princess Consort of Prince Zhao by imperial decree, and held half of the Prince's golden seal, thus formally taking over the Prince Zhao's residence.
Ordinary people may not be able to understand the profound meaning behind this, but the royal family, noble families and meritorious officials were all deeply shocked by it.
It has been a long time since the princes of the Yun royal family have been known to "entrust half of their seals to their spouses".
It should be noted that the last princess who married into the royal family as a commoner, holding half an official seal, was Gu Chun, the princess consort of Li Chongyan, the founding prince of the Yun clan, nearly two hundred years ago.
For princes who have established their own residences, entrusting half of a golden seal to their partner is a solemn promise that they will keep even in the face of death.
However, Luo Cuiwei didn't have much of an opinion about this.
Poor thing, after being escorted out of the Luo family mansion by Yun Lie's wedding procession at dawn, she was immediately followed by a ten-mile procession of red bridal procession around the city, entering the inner city to receive the imperial investiture in the golden hall, and performing the rituals of washing hands and sitting opposite each other with Yun Lie...
Throughout the day, all she remembered was running around like a spinning top, bowing repeatedly while wearing a heavy golden crown and wedding dress.
When she was sent back to her festively decorated bridal chamber at dusk, she was exhausted, like a puppet, having not eaten or rested all day. She couldn't even manage a fake smile.