Chapter 302: Yuwen Ze gets married, the Prince Heir

Yuwen Ze's brain was buzzing, a bit dazed.

But it seemed to be unexpected, yet within reason...

It was like something his Big Brother could do!

"This is an effective aphrodisiac that I specifically asked Miss Yun to concoct!"

Chen Yan's eyes flashed with mischievous light, his face not red and his heart not beating, saying solemnly.

He paused, then argued with sound reasons: "Regardless of man or woman, even if the chastity archway is built to the sky, just one drop is enough to stir up desire!"

Saying this, he shook the bottle, listening to the light sound of the liquid sloshing inside.

That cunning appearance was exactly like a salesperson for some special product.

"Big Brother, what use do I have for this?" Yuwen Ze asked, full of confusion.

He wasn't a fledgling who had just stepped into the world.

He didn't know how many times he had been to the Jiaofang Si, brothels, etc...

Everything was light-car-familiar-road; could he still need this kind of thing?

Chen

"I fear she is not so easy to get along with!"

The Fanyang Lu clan, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans.

Du Gu Mi Luo's mother was the legitimate wife Dugu Zhao married after his previous wife passed away.

Her parents' family background, combined with their doting on their youngest daughter, forged her personality.

Chen Yan, holding the Mingjing Si in his hands, had long since investigated all of this with perfect clarity...

Compared to Pei Suiwan, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Therefore, he had specially prepared this secret aphrodisiac.

"On the wedding night, she shouldn't cause any trouble, right?" Yuwen Ze asked, lost in thought and murmuring to himself.

He roughly understood what his A Xiong meant...

But even if she were arrogant, overbearing, and willful, that shouldn't affect the consummation of the marriage, right?

If something went wrong, it would be a loss of face for both families...

"Who can say for sure?"

"Better safe than sorry!"

Chen Yan shrugged and laughed.

He paused, then continued: "Accept it on behalf of your Prince Heir..."

Having said that, he tossed the small white porcelain bottle, which carried a faint, exotic fragrance, to Lu Cangfeng.

"A Xiong's words make sense!"

Yuwen Ze nodded, deeply agreeing: "It's not the expected that one fears, but the unexpected..."

Having it is better than not having it; would his A Xiong ever harm him?

Although the vast majority of aristocratic women are sensible, decorous, and mindful of the big picture, one fears that the Dugu woman, who has been showered with thousands of favors, might be the rare exception...

Chen Yan reached into his robes again, the playfulness on his face fading completely. His gaze darkened, and he signaled to Yuwen Ze, "A Ze, have everyone around us withdraw!"

"Mm."

Yuwen Ze already had an unspoken understanding and caught his meaning immediately, knowing his A Xiong must have something that could not be leaked to teach him. He cleared his throat and said in a loud voice: "All of you, withdraw!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand toward the attendants of the residence on his left and right.

Immediately, the Prince's personal guards and attendants, along with the State Duke Mansion's private soldiers, retreated outside the courtyard without a moment's hesitation.

Only Lu Cangfeng, a trusted confidant, remained by Yuwen Ze's side.

"Keep this small blue bottle safe!" Chen Yan took out a blue-bodied porcelain bottle from his robes again and instructed.

The bottle was small and exquisite, its glaze like the water of a lake in deep winter, exuding a cold, eerie light.

"This is...?" Yuwen Ze asked.

Chen Yan pinched the stopper and turned it gently without opening it, merely weighing the bottle in his palm. His voice was as cold as if it had frozen: "A chronic poison specially made by Yun Guniang; it is colorless, odorless, and difficult to detect!"

"A Xiong, how long will it take for the poison in this small blue bottle to take effect?" Yuwen Ze gripped the blue bottle, feeling the icy glaze seep into his skin. A look of seriousness appeared on his face as he asked in a low voice.

How could Yuwen Ze not understand why his A Xiong would give him a chronic poison?

At the right time and the right opportunity, send that soon-to-be-wed Jin Wang Prince Heir's wife on her way!

After all, once Dugu Zhao died and his remaining political resources were absorbed, she would have no further utility...

"Its toxins will remain dormant in the user's body..." Chen Yan's gaze suddenly turned toward the outside of the courtyard, as if piercing through layers of corridors and landing on some unseen place.

He paused, then said word by word: "Only when it encounters the corresponding trigger will the poison take effect!"

The greatest advantage of this chronic poison formulated by Yun Xi is that they hold the power over when it takes effect...

It can allow Du Gu Mi Luo to die at the perfect moment, without leaving a single flaw!

"I understand!"

Yuwen Ze nodded, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitching slightly. His usually gentle eyes were now like poison-quenched blades, surging with undisguised ruthlessness. He handed the small blue bottle to Lu Cangfeng and instructed:

"Cangfeng, after the Dugu woman marries in, order someone to mix it into her food and drink daily..."

Yuwen Ze had absolute trust in Chen Yan, so he did not ask further.

When the time came, there would naturally be a trigger for the poison...

All he needed to do was ensure this chronic poison was administered well.

"Yes." Lu Cangfeng nodded and replied without any hesitation.

The eighteenth of the tenth month.

As soon as the light broke, the Jin Wang Mansion was wrapped in a festive atmosphere.

The vermilion gates were covered in large red "Double Happiness" characters, and the gold-powdered dragons and phoenixes shimmered in the morning light.

The stone lions in front of the gate were draped in red silk, and the copper bells hanging from their necks jingled in the wind, mingling with the festive music playing in the mansion, lively enough to lift the roof.

On the main street outside the Prince's Mansion, an eight-bearer sedan chair was slowly approaching.

The sedan curtain was lifted by the wind, revealing the bride sitting upright inside.

Du Gu Mi Luo, daughter of the Duke of Wei, wore a phoenix crown and a ceremonial robe embroidered with a "hundred sons and thousand grandsons" pattern using peacock feather thread, which shimmered with five-colored light in the sun.

Her head was covered with a red veil, revealing only a section of her fair neck. Her fingers, holding a round fan, were slender, and her fingertips were slightly curled due to nervousness.

The sedan chair stopped in front of the Prince's Mansion, and the matchmaker sang out loudly: "The bride is stepping out of the sedan—"

Yuwen Ze, who had been waiting here for a long time, welcomed Du Gu Mi Luo inside after completing the archery ritual.

He held one end of the red silk, while the other end was in her hand.

The concentric knot tied in the middle of the red silk swayed, like a bond suspended between the two of them.

Step by step, following the matchmaker's guidance, they headed toward the main hall.

The ancestral tablets were placed in the hall, and mellow sandalwood incense burned in the censer, intertwining with the festive atmosphere filling the courtyard.

Yuwen Hu sat upright above, looking at the pair of newlyweds below with profound meaning, his face full of deep smiles.

"First bow to heaven and earth!"

"Second bow to the high hall!"

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

As Yuwen Ze bowed, his peripheral vision swept over the figure at the other end of the red silk. The slight tremor in his fingertips made him sneer in his heart: "Becoming a widower soon after, the reputation won't sound good..."

"But being able to hold Dugu Zhao's political legacy as the son-in-law of the Dugu clan, this deal is still very worthwhile!"

In Yuwen Ze's eyes, the woman bowing to him was nothing more than a pink skeleton!

Her life had already entered its final countdown...

Under the red veil, Du Gu Mi Luo's eyelashes trembled lightly, concealing the calculation that flashed through her eyes. She thought to herself: "I heard that my husband, this Jin Wang Prince Heir, has always been timid, weak, and indecisive; he should be easy to manipulate..."

"If I can turn him to my father's side, that would be best!"

"If not, I can also use him to spy for information..."

For a man like this, who was a thousand times inferior to Yang Gong, she would have plenty of ways in the future to make him follow her in everything.

Making him serve the Dugu clan.

"The ceremony is complete! Send them to the bridal chamber—"

The festive music exploded again, and Yuwen Ze pulled the red silk, leading her toward the inner courtyard.

The door of the bridal chamber was gently closed, shutting out the noise from outside, while the banquets in the main hall and courtyard had just begun.

The Prince's Mansion's cooks had already prepared a hundred delicacies, which were being served to each table like a flowing stream.

Beside the rosewood round tables, guests were drinking and exchanging toasts, and the young nobles gathered together, loudly discussing the ceremony that had just taken place.

From time to time, someone would tease Yuwen Ze about his reserve during the bowing ceremony, drawing a burst of laughter.

Chen Yan held his wine cup and came before Yuwen Hu, laughing: "Great Chancellor, congratulations on gaining an excellent daughter-in-law!"

"You brat!" Yuwen Hu raised his wine cup, clinked it lightly, and a curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Hahahaha!"

The two laughed tacitly and drank the wine in their cups in one gulp.

"Which family do you intend to choose for a remarriage?" Chen Yan leaned in closer and asked in a low voice.

"It seems A Yan has guessed it..." Yuwen Hu smiled and said, "Then let us two write it on the table and see if they match!"

"Good."

Chen Yan replied, and together with Yuwen Hu, they dipped their fingers in the wine and wrote on the table.

Two "Du" characters appeared before their eyes.

It was the Du of the Wei-Du clan in the south of the city, the one "a thousand and five feet from heaven"!

Inside the bridal chamber.

Red candles burned high, reflecting the whole room in red.

Du Gu Mi Luo sat on the edge of the bed, still covered by the red veil, her phoenix crown and ceremonial robe immaculate, the round fan in her hand placed on her knees, as still as a painting.

Yuwen Ze lifted the red veil with a scale beam and said nonchalantly: "Madam, we should drink the nuptial wine and go to sleep..."

As he spoke, he picked up the two cups of nuptial wine on the table, preparing to go through the motions.

"Husband, wait!" Du Gu Mi Luo stopped him.

"Hm?" Yuwen Ze raised his eyebrows slightly, as if realizing something, and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Husband, now that I have married into this Jin Wang Mansion, I feel empty inside and lack a sense of security..."

Du Gu Mi Luo crossed her delicate hands and placed them on her lower abdomen, the pearls on her phoenix crown hanging by her cheeks, shimmering with fine light. "So I would like to set three rules; surely you wouldn't disagree, Husband?"

"Oh?"

Yuwen Ze became interested, set down the two cups of nuptial wine, and asked with a smile: "How would Madam like to set these rules?"

"I have already drafted the rules!"

Seeing Yuwen Ze cooperating, Du Gu Mi Luo took out a densely written sheet of paper from her sleeve and handed it over: "Please take a look, Husband..."

"You have more than three rules written here!"

Yuwen Ze scanned it at a glance and said sarcastically.

There were a whole bunch of clauses and frameworks restricting him.

The most critical one was that there could be no children from other women in this lifetime.

This was an attempt to control all the future bloodlines of their branch!

Du Gu Mi Luo raised her hand and gently smoothed the wrinkles of her ceremonial robe, her voice neither high nor low, but carrying an unquestionable seriousness: "Are you willing to accept this, Husband?"

Yuwen Ze toyed with the paper that was meant to bind him, smiling enigmatically, and said playfully: "And if I do not agree, what will you do then?"

——

PS: Asking for a free little gift; I want to drink Snow King's lemonade,? (′? `?).