Even as a Prince of Great Qin, Ying An's grand wedding caused only a ripple in the Great Qin Dynasty.
After all, the conflict between King of Qin, Ying Zheng and Prime Minister Lu Buwei was becoming increasingly prominent. Under such circumstances, the marriage of a prince like Ying An, who previously had no significant presence, did initially attract some attention.
But when the powerful figures in the Great Qin Dynasty learned that Ying An was actually marrying Dong Jun of the Yinyang Family, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, this attention quickly waned.
Before Great Qin unified the world, the Yinyang Family's presence among the Hundred Schools of Thought was actually not very high. After all, a great battle between the Mohist School and the Yinyang Family had caused the Yinyang Family heavy losses, and for a long time, it had been in a state of recuperation, striving to restore its strength.
Cooperating with Great Qin was the Yinyang Family's reappearance after nearly a hundred years.
After a long time, though still one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Yinyang Family's reputation and other aspects were far from comparable to other schools of thought.
What truly brought the Yinyang Family to prominence was when Ying Zheng defeated Lu Buwei, took full control of power, and embarked on the journey to unify the world.
In this process, the Yinyang Family rose rapidly, becoming a major school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought, comparable to Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Legalism, Military, and Agricultural schools.
Even the Mohist School, which had a great enmity with the Yinyang Family and had even stolen the Yinyang Family's most prized possession, the phantom sound box, was almost annihilated by the Yinyang Family after Great Qin unified the world, which shows the Yinyang Family's formidable power.
The current Yinyang Family is still far from its peak. It is no wonder that the old foxes in the Great Qin Dynasty naturally regarded the marriage between Dong Jun of the Yinyang Family and Ying An as a sign of the Yinyang Family's allegiance to Great Qin.
Such a marriage might indeed provide Great Qin with an extra arm of assistance, but it would not be enough to change the general situation.
After all, it was well known that Ying An had been physically weak before, and even with his current recovery, no one was optimistic about him, nor would they bet on him while Ying Zheng was in his prime.
Ying An's wedding went exceptionally smoothly; even Lu Buwei, who had been constantly vying with Ying Zheng for power and resisting Ying Zheng's assumption of full authority, showed a supportive attitude.
Because Ying An had been physically weak before, he had always been recuperating deep within the palace.
As a result, before he awakened his memories, Ying An had very little social interaction in Great Qin.
This also led to Ying An being unaware of the identities of many guests at his wedding.
The only ones he recognized were Zhang Han, the future leader of the Shadow Division; the Meng family, a prominent military family of Great Qin, including Meng Ao, Meng Wu, and Meng Tian; and trusted officials of Ying Zheng such as Wang Jian and Li Xin.
Of course, in addition to these future renowned generals, Ying An also saw the famous Lu Buwei for the first time at his wedding.
Lu Buwei, who was clearly showing signs of age, was rapidly declining in spirit and vitality.
Compared to Ying Zheng's youthful vigor, he presented a stark contrast.
This contrast, however, was enough to strengthen the confidence of those officials who supported King of Qin, Ying Zheng's assumption of full authority.
As night approached, the wedding, held at dusk, finally concluded after Ying An, the groom, was escorted to the bridal chamber by maids and palace servants.
Although tonight was Ying An's wedding night, it was also his last night residing in Xianyang Palace.
While the princes of Great Qin did not have explicit regulations like later imperial princes to move out of the palace upon reaching adulthood, unless they were recognized heirs like Fusu, or deeply favored princes like the eighteenth prince Hu Hai, they would all be granted residences upon marriage.
Although Ying An had been physically weak before, he also did not break this rule.
His wedding was indeed held in Xianyang Palace, but before the ceremony, King of Qin, Ying Zheng, had already arranged for a new residence to be prepared for Ying An within Xianyang City.
The day after the wedding, after Ying An and his bride, Dong Jun, paid respects at the Ying family ancestral temple, he would move out of Xianyang Palace and into the new residence bestowed by Ying Zheng.
The wedding night.
Ying An, who had not touched a drop of wine during the wedding, returned to the brightly lit sleeping quarters dressed in a dark black wedding robe.
Before even entering, Ying An saw Da Si Ming, dressed in a long red dress, who, unlike her future enchanting and seductive self, was currently just a big loli.
Compared to the future, where her hands were blood-red and extremely eerie due to cultivating the Yin-Yang Harmony Hand Seal, Da Si Ming's soft hands now only had a slightly rosier hue than normal skin.
At most, there were some faint patterns, far from the appearance of those demonic claws of the future.
"Yinyang Family's Da Si Ming greets Young Master Ying An!" Seeing Ying An arrive, Da Si Ming quickly bowed.
Ying An nodded slightly and said, "You don't need to serve here. You may withdraw!"
"This..." Da Si Ming immediately showed a hesitant expression.
After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Young Master's body has just recovered, and it is not advisable to overexert yourself.
Lady Dong Jun hopes that I stand guard outside to prevent any unforeseen circumstances!"
Ying An's face instantly turned as black as ink.
He cursed inwardly, 'Who are you looking down on?'
What does 'body has just recovered, not advisable to overexert yourself' mean?
Was he going to die from overexertion on his wedding night?
His mouth twitched, and Ying An said with a forced smile, "So, you are guarding outside as a concubine?"
Da Si Ming was instantly startled.
She quickly explained, "Young Master, please don't misunderstand, I... I just... Lady Dong Jun and Lord Eastern Emperor Taiyi were concerned about your health.
So..."
It was no wonder Da Si Ming was startled; indeed, during the Warring States Period, when feudal states intermarried, there was a system of 'concubine attendants.'
On the surface, they were part of the dowry, seemingly similar to future dowry maids, but their identity was often the sister or a woman of the same clan as the main wife!
It was more akin to a 'co-wife' in the future!
But no matter which one it was, it didn't mean Da Si Ming wanted to sacrifice herself!
"Oh, it's not?" Ying An said with a disappointed expression, "In that case, I won't trouble you to stand guard at the door.
Isn't my maid Xiao Lingdang serving in the sleeping quarters?
Having her here is enough!"
"But..." The current Da Si Ming was clearly still too naive.
She was far from possessing the alluring, mature aura of her future self.
In just a few words from Ying An, she was left stammering, incoherent, and unsure how to respond.
Just as Da Si Ming was in a difficult situation, Dong Jun's pleasant voice came from within the sleeping quarters.
"Da Si Ming, since Young Master does not need you outside to prevent unforeseen circumstances, then you may withdraw!"
"Yes!" Dong Jun's voice immediately made Da Si Ming feel as if she had been granted a great pardon.
She hastily bowed to Ying An and then fled as if her tail were on fire, directly employing her lightness skill, disappearing without a trace in a few leaps!
It was no wonder Da Si Ming was so afraid; in her view, to gain Great Qin's allegiance, the Yinyang Family had even married off Dong Jun, the next sect leader.
If Ying An truly wanted her, the Yinyang Family would certainly not let Dong Jun's sacrifice be in vain for his sake.
Watching Da Si Ming disappear, Ying An straightened his robes, pushed open the door to the sleeping quarters.