The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 1547: An Ominous Sign

"Silly girl..."

Yue Yunlan gently held Qiao Qiao's hand and spoke in a low, serious voice. "After I complete the wedding ceremony with Yan Jinghong, Qiao Qiao, you must take my father and mother and leave the imperial capital. Go as far away as possible."

"Miss, what do you mean? I don't want to. I want to stay with you. Wherever you are, Qiao Qiao will be there too!"

A sudden sense of dread rose in Qiao Qiao's heart. She understood Yue Yunlan's personality very well. She would rather be shattered jade than intact tile.

She knew that her miss would never accept her fate and willingly marry Yan Jinghong.

"This time, no matter what, you must listen to me. Otherwise, I will never acknowledge you as my sister again."

Yue Yunlan's expression was extremely serious. Qiao Qiao froze for a moment. She had never seen her miss speak to her so solemnly before. The more serious Yue Yunlan was, the heavier the unease in Qiao Qiao's heart became.

At that moment, a group of palace maids entered from outside the door to escort the bride. The middle aged woman leading them bowed gracefully at the doorway and said with a bright smile, "Miss Yue, the auspicious hour has arrived. You may board the phoenix carriage now."

Yue Yunlan clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and gently lowered the pearl curtain of her phoenix crown. Then she slowly stood up and pressed her red lips together before saying softly, "We can go now."

"Miss..."

Qiao Qiao supported Yue Yunlan's arm. She could feel that Yue Yunlan's eyes looked like still water, completely lifeless and without any light.

"Alright then. Escort the bride onto the phoenix carriage!"

The middle aged woman cheerfully ordered the servants to escort Yue Yunlan onto the phoenix carriage. Music immediately began to play, gongs and drums filled the air, and everything was lively and festive.

...

Tianbai Imperial City, Zhengyang Hall.

At this moment, all the civil and military officials were already seated. Yan Jinghong wore a red robe and sat high at the main seat.

Even the Fourth Prince, Mo Yan, although called the King of Tianbai, could only sit below Yan Jinghong. None of the ministers paid him any attention. This puppet emperor could only sit to the side, quietly drinking wine by himself, yet he still had to force a smile from time to time in case Yan Jinghong became even slightly displeased.

Throughout the hall, the ministers continuously flattered Yan Jinghong. He laughed loudly, clearly pleased with himself.

Three days had passed, and Ling Feng still had not come out of the Seven Emotions Demon Domain. It seemed everything was already decided.

Perhaps he had overestimated Ling Feng. If Ling Feng ended up trapped in the Seven Emotions Demon Domain for the rest of his life, that would actually be rather boring.

Yan Jinghong raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp. In the distance, he saw a ceremonial procession approaching from the direction of the inner palace, almost at the entrance of Zhengyang Hall.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations to the Regent on your grand wedding!"

"The Regent and Miss Yue truly make a perfect couple, a match made in heaven!"

Seeing that the bride was about to arrive, the ministers quickly stood up, preparing to go outside with Yan Jinghong to receive the bride.

"Report!"

At that moment, an imperial guard in armor rushed into the grand hall from outside, knelt before the hall, and shouted loudly, "Reporting to the Regent, something terrible has happened!"

"How dare you!"

Hearing such words on the Regent's wedding day, the ministers who were eager to flatter Yan Jinghong immediately shouted angrily, "Insolent fool. Today is the Regent's wedding day, yet you dare to speak such nonsense. Guards, drag this man away and await punishment!"

The guard quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy, then hurriedly said, "Re Regent, no, this is real. The border situation has changed. The Northwestern Army has announced that they are now submitting to Jingwang!"

"What?"

The entire court was shocked. If that was true, then under Jingwang's command would now be both the Tianmang Fortress of the Southern Army and the Qingtian Fortress of the Northwestern Army.

"What is going on? Wasn't Han Li always neutral? Why would he suddenly submit to Jingwang?"

"This is bad. The two largest fortresses outside the imperial capital are now under Jingwang. The city lords of the various counties will probably start wavering and may even switch sides."

"Jingwang has always been timid. Why has he suddenly become so bold that he managed to win over both Yuan Tiangang and Han Li, those two old foxes?"

The news arriving on Yan Jinghong's wedding day was clearly not a good omen.

While everyone whispered among themselves, Yan Jinghong slowly stood up from the main seat. He glared at the guard who delivered the message and spoke loudly, "The Northwestern Army, is it? They have quite the nerve. I did not even send troops to suppress them, yet they dare to submit to those rebels. Very good. After my wedding, I will deal with them as well."

As he spoke, his aura surged outward, and the ministers immediately calmed down.

With Yan Jinghong's current cultivation, even if the Northwestern Army submitted to Jingwang, it ultimately would not change anything.

"Everyone, shut your mouths. No one is allowed to discuss this matter any further."

Yan Jinghong stood with his hands behind his back and looked around the hall. His gaze finally stopped on the guard who delivered the message as he said coldly, "If today were not my wedding day and I did not wish to see blood, you would not be spared for ruining my mood. Now get out of my sight."

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Regent. Thank you, Regent!"

The imperial guard scrambled out of Zhengyang Hall in panic. Everything returned to normal. The bridal procession had already arrived outside the hall, and Yan Jinghong laughed loudly as he strode out to personally receive Yue Yunlan from the phoenix carriage.

All the ministers hurried after Yan Jinghong like a group of followers, offering endless congratulations with bright smiles.

"Hmph. A bunch of fence sitters."

The Fourth Prince Mo Yan clenched his fists, raised his wine cup, and drained it in one gulp. His brows were tightly furrowed. He was clearly the emperor, yet he had become completely invisible.

If he had known things would turn out like this, he would never have invited the wolf into his house back then, nor would he have conspired with Yan Jinghong to poison the late emperor.

"Well, well, it seems His Majesty the Emperor is somewhat dissatisfied?"

A cold voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, startling Mo Yan. He turned around and saw that it was the Blood Sword Heavenly Lord, Li Qingling.

Mo Yan's mouth twitched slightly, and he quickly forced a smile. "Not at all, Imperial Advisor. You must have heard wrong. I was just wishing the Regent and Miss Yue a long and happy marriage."

"Hahaha..."

Li Qingling laughed loudly and gave Mo Yan a meaningful look. Mo Yan's eyelids twitched slightly as if he suddenly understood something.

It seemed this Li Qingling was also very ambitious. The position of Imperial Advisor was probably far from enough to satisfy him.

Mo Yan simply smiled faintly. The fact that he could endure humiliation and survive under Yan Jinghong's tyranny as a puppet emperor proved that he was not a simple man either.

Before he confirmed Li Qingling's true intentions, he would never reveal his own ambitions.

At this moment, Yan Jinghong had already helped Yue Yunlan down from the phoenix carriage. Surrounded by the ministers, he led Yue Yunlan into the Zhengyang Grand Hall, the two of them walking side by side.