Chapter 1139: First Volume, Chapter 1139: Three Women in Competition

First Volume, Chapter 1139: Three Women in Competition

Just a moment ago, the killing intent radiating from Qin Feng had sent a chill down the backs of everyone present.

Now, Qin Feng wore a warm, amiable smile.

His change of expression was faster than turning a page.

At that moment, Qin Xiaofu rushed over upon hearing the news; seeing the solemn atmosphere in the front hall, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

"My young master has always hated evil and cared deeply for Heaven."

"Anyone who dares harm Liang's subjects shall become my young master's mortal enemy."

"Though today is a day of great joy, nothing is greater than a human life—whether commoner or noble, any innocent person shall be fiercely protected by my young master."

Under Qin Xiaofu's reassurance, the guests' expressions gradually calmed.

Laughter returned to the front hall, and Qin Xiaofu finally exhaled in relief.

He scurried up to Qin Feng, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and grinned at him, signaling that this minor trouble was entirely under his control.

At that moment, Shen Qingci and Liu Hongyan returned.

Since neither of the two had married yet, the duty of entertaining guests could not possibly fall to them.

Yet as elder sisters, they could not help but worry, so they had hurried to the street corner early to wait.

Upon seeing the Wedding Procession arrive, they immediately ran back to inform Qin Feng.

"They're here! They're here!"

"Feng'er, what are you standing around for? Go change your wedding garment at once!"

Pushed and urged by Liu Hongyan and Shen Qingci, Qin Feng returned to the Back Courtyard to change his wedding garment; as a Prince, he had several sets of wedding attire.

One set was for receiving guests, another for the wedding ceremony itself.

Meanwhile, the Send-off Escort was now only one street away from the Qin Family.

But it was precisely this street that had a problem!

The Send-off Escort from the palace was the largest, with over a hundred eunuchs and maids solely assigned to escort Li Xiaolan.

In addition, the music troupe playing gongs and drums, along with the Imperial Guard ensuring safety, numbered another hundred.

The procession stretched over three hundred steps from front to back.

At the very center of the Send-off Escort was Li Xiaolan's carriage.

Li Xiaolan, already the foremost Mingyue Princess of Liang, and soon to become a Princess Consort, had her status firmly established—her carriage's specifications were exceptionally high!

Six pure white horses pulled her carriage.

Dressed in black-and-red wedding garment, Li Xiaolan sat inside, her head covered by a bridal veil embroidered with a golden phoenix, surrounded entirely by festive red gauze.

To the left of the imperial Send-off Escort was Jing Qianying's procession.

Her entourage was also substantial, totaling over one hundred sixty people.

If one were to be strict, Jing Qianying's status and rank surpassed Li Xiaolan's by a considerable margin.

After all, Jing Qianying was the Bei Di Nü Huang, equal in rank to the Liang Emperor.

But…

Jing Qianying had also married Qin Feng, becoming a Princess Consort of Liang—thus, she now held two identities.

In Bei Di, she was the supreme Nu Huang; in Liang, she was the Princess Consort, ranking just below the Liang Emperor.

Therefore, it was understandable that Jing Qianying's Send-off Escort was one rank lower than Li Xiaolan's.

Compared to Li Xiaolan's bright red wedding garment, Jing Qianying wore the traditional Bei Di attire: a plain white wedding robe.

A snow-white long robe covered her entire body; she sat inside the carriage wearing a white phoenix crown.

Bei Di had no custom of a bridal veil, but to respect local customs, Jing Qianying wore a thin white gauze bridal veil over her head.

To the right of Li Xiaolan's carriage was the Ning Guogong Fu's Send-off Escort.

It was the smallest, yet still grand enough to be envied by other noble daughters.

One hundred twenty people.

Xie Yun'er's wedding garment was roughly comparable to Li Xiaolan's, but whereas Li Xiaolan's was black-and-red, Xie Yun'er's was pure red.

Black and red together represented the highest specifications of Liang.

As the saying goes, "Upper dark, lower reddish-brown"—dark symbolized dusk, black with a faint red tint.

Reddish-brown symbolized dawn, red with a faint black tint.

Sunset and sunrise, yin and yang intermingling—this was the most noble color combination.

Normally, only Imperial Consorts in the palace could wear wedding garments of this level; Li Xiaolan, as a Princess, was not entitled to such honor.

But since Li Xiaolan was marrying Qin Feng, the Liang Emperor granted her a special exception, allowing her to wed with the rites of a Noble Consort.

Xie Yun'er, as the daughter of the Ning Guogong, was, after all, merely the daughter of a high official.

Thus, her wedding garment was no different from most others—pure, festive red was sufficient.

At this moment, the three Send-off Escorts arrived simultaneously at the intersection and halted, converging.

Although everyone knew all three brides were headed to the Qin Family, even palace nobles had distinctions of rank and status—how much more so for Qin Family's Princess Consorts?

Who entered first, who entered later, this not only reflected status, but would also affect future favor.

The one who entered first would naturally gain the better omen.

The imperial Send-off Escort saw this and could not tolerate it.

The lead Elder Princess immediately placed her hands on her hips and cried out sharply: "What are you waiting for? Raise the volume to the maximum!"

"A Princess's wedding—how could the pomp be lacking?"

Under the Elder Princess's order, the already noisy music troupe immediately went wild.

They strained every muscle, pounding the gongs and drums as hard as they could, or blowing their suona horns to near-deafening levels.

In an instant, the wedding music of the imperial palace's Send-off Escort completely drowned out the other two escorts.

The Mingyue Zhai Send-off Escort was also unwilling to be outdone!

Although Jing Qianying was a Northern Di person who had come to Shedynasty and had been overshadowed by Li Xiaolan, last night the two young misses Shen Qingci and Liu Hongyan had already given their orders.

Under no circumstances was Jing Qianying to be slighted in the slightest, or there would be severe punishment!

The "Big Maid" responsible for escorting Jing Qianying — how would she dare hesitate? She immediately shouted at the wedding band: "Blow louder! Make as big a racket as you can!"

"Our bride is Nu Huang herself. Even if we can't outshine the Princess in grandeur, we still can't fall behind!"

"If anyone dares slack off, watch out — this old auntie will deal with you!"

How would the crowd dare hesitate? They too exerted every ounce of strength they had.

The Ning Guogong Fu Send-off Escort, although it also wanted to compete, had too few people in the end. Even though the wedding band had already given its all, the sound was still considerably weaker than that of the other two Send-off Escorts.

Three escorts, three wedding bands.

For a time, it seemed as if the entire Jingdu was echoing with deafening music.

The common folk gathered along the street to watch the excitement looked at the three Send-off Escorts crowding the intersection and, covering their ears, began to discuss loudly.

"This kind of scene — I've truly never seen it before."

"You said it! Live long enough, and you'll get to see all sorts of strange scenes."

"I've only ever heard of two Send-off Escorts facing off against each other — when did the bride's own people start fighting too?"