Chapter 79

She shook the key hanging on her neck, boasting: "This is the key Father Emperor gave me, saying my dowry is all in that little storeroom over there, an entire storeroom!"

Pei Yunxi pointed to the storeroom behind her; compared to the opposite storeroom where the Chief Eunuch had taken Mu Yuanzhi, it was more than twice as large.

"Such an opportunity is rare; why don't you, sister, come see my dowry too?" Pei Yunxi, without hesitation, went to pull Mu Yuanzhi.

Seeing Pei Yunxi spreading her tail like a peacock everywhere, Mu Yuanzhi had no choice but to indulge her wish, giving her a chance to show off, and getting to watch a foolish performance for free.

The Chief Eunuch followed behind them, beaming, and interjected: "His Majesty thinks of the princess, so naturally he gives only the best."

The princess he referred to naturally was Pei Yunxi.

Pei Yunxi smiled sweetly, eager to open the storeroom door.

As soon as the door opened, luxurious dowry filled the view, dazzling the eyes.

Countless silks and satins, the seals of the wedding wine aged long ago, various jewels and gold hairpins came in box after box; most eye-catching was still the phoenix crown inlaid with nine hundred ninety-nine luminous pearls, the largest of which came from the East Sea, its value immeasurable.

Pei Yunxi naturally picked up the phoenix crown right away to show off, saying, "Sister, look, isn't it beautiful and becoming on me?"

Compared to this phoenix crown, the room's white jade tables and chairs, zitan wood lacquered frames, and colorful glazed screens all paled in comparison.

At that moment, no one knew who had opened Mu Yuanzhi's small dowry storeroom.

That storeroom, compared to this one, was truly a small storeroom, with half as much inside; due to the lighting, the utensils and furniture inside appeared dim, lacking any grandeur, a stark contrast.

Seeing this, Pei Yunxi's pride grew even more, and she said, "Sister, you'd say it's like that, right?"

She asked again.

"Yes, it really is beautiful; I felt the same when I tried it on," Mu Yuanzhi laughed.

Pei Yunxi's face froze instantly.

Because these dowries were originally prepared for Mu Yuanzhi; the Son of Heaven had begun preparing them when he brought Mu Yuanzhi back to the palace to raise her, including this phoenix crown, all specially prepared for Mu Yuanzhi.

To find the largest and brightest South Sea luminous pearl, the Son of Heaven each year ordered people to search the whole world, and finally found it three years ago, adding the final perfect touch to this phoenix crown.

When Mu Yuanzhi tried it on then, she couldn't bear to take it off; it was too beautiful, wearing it she felt she was the happiest woman under the Son of Heaven, and she fantasized about wearing it when she married her most beloved Xiao Yichen, becoming the envy of all as a bride.

Time has changed circumstances; when she looked at the phoenix crown again, she felt nothing at all.

No matter how beautiful something is, without its original meaning it loses significance, and she no longer wanted to marry Xiao Yichen.

"Take your time looking; I won't keep you company, after all I have plenty of proper business to attend to." Mu Yuanzhi said this and left to go work on the accounts.

Pei Yunxi felt resentful and couldn't find a way to make up for it; she held in her breath, returned to her own palace, and when Pei Shangling came to ask how her dowry inventory was going, she resentfully said, "These dowries were originally prepared for my sister; my taking them over like this seems not right—perhaps I should return them to her?"

"What are you saying, little sister? She's the one who's moving into another's nest, right? Didn't she just give you harsh words again?!"

How he still keeps in mind that she couldn't marry that scoundrel Gu Rongjin, yet she remains so obstinate and oblivious?

The crown prince elder brother also said it, clearly it's just that Mu Yuanzhi herself has changed!

Pei Yunxi didn't deny it, instead pursing her lips, looking rather bothered, saying, "Marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime major event; it should be filled with blessings for oneself, right?"

Pei Shangling thought it made sense, saying, "It's fine, little sister; Brother Ling will prepare several carts of dowry for you!"

He also has plenty of treasures; let's give them all to little sister as dowry!

But Pei Yunxi felt that even if Pei Shangling's treasures were fine, they still couldn't compare to Father Emperor's, so she hinted, "Thank you, Brother Ling; perhaps Father Emperor still has dowry to give me."

In other words, she hoped someone would bring it up to Father Emperor, that her current dowry was already ample, and if she asked for more it would seem greedy.

Pei Shangling pondered that perhaps he should be the one to bring this up to Father Emperor.

Little sister is right; she should have dowry that belongs to her!

When Pei Shangling went to speak to the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven was personally reviewing Pei Yunxi's wedding attire design, and he said, "How do you like this set of feathered robes?"

"Heaven and earth, black and yellow; a thousand feathers, colorful phoenix—naturally it's excellent!" Pei Shangling looked very satisfied.

The Son of Heaven then smiled: "You have good eyes; this is the wedding attire I specially ordered rushed into production—although rushed, every stitch and thread, each feather here is meticulously selected, all rare spirit birds, best befitting the nobility of my little princess."

The more Pei Shangling looked, the more he felt this wedding attire could match that phoenix crown to transcend the ordinary; little sister would surely like it.

As for Mu Yuanzhi's wedding attire, he didn't care anymore; after all, her dowry was all newly prepared, so it couldn't be too bad, right?

Moreover, it's not even certain whether this marriage will happen!

In about a month, he is determined to sabotage this marriage!

In a few days will be the day to try on the wedding attire; the National Teacher also selected the date, presented it to the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven had no objection, and the date was set for the twenty-fifth of next month.

With the date set, the proceedings can now move forward.

When Mu Yuanzhi went to try on the wedding attire, she ran into Pei Yunxi again; this time not only Pei Yunxi came, but Xiao Yichen did as well.

What a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.

Pei Yunxi had been waiting for Mu Yuanzhi to arrive; she linked arms tightly with Xiao Yichen, leaning like a little bird dependent on a person, her smile sweet, as if she had obtained the best in the world.

"Did we not check the almanac before going out, little Zhiyan?" Gu Rongjin said loudly on purpose, "Why do I feel today is a bit inauspicious?"

"Brother Rongjin is absolutely right," Mu Yuanzhi replied cooperatively.

She didn't want to see annoying people, so she pulled Gu Rongjin and left.

Xiao Yichen's gaze fixed on the two people's joined hands; his eyes sank terrifyingly, and his whole aura turned cold.

Pei Yunxi naturally felt it too, and instantly felt wronged again, saying, "Brother Chen! Do you like my sister?"

She finally couldn't help but ask.

They're both about to get married, yet he still cares about Mu Yuanzhi!

Xiao Yichen didn't withdraw his gaze, but said, "Don't think too much; the one who will marry me is you."

Hearing those words, Pei Yunxi felt a bit relieved, "Then let's go."

"Mm."

The place for trying on the wedding attire was inside the Domestic Affairs Office; the four of them went in one after another, and the Domestic Affairs Office became busy.

When Pei Yunxi's feathered robe wedding attire was brought out, it stunned everyone present.

"What a beautiful wedding robe!" Those who had never seen it before exclaimed in amazement.