The wedding procession had long since left the borders of Fengyu Empire. Hours had passed by quietly and quickly, the bustling capital gradually gave way to the winding mountain roads.
Ancient bamboo forests stretched across the hillsides, their emerald stalks swaying gently beneath the summer breeze, sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, scattering shifting patches of gold on the stone path.
Not long after, the procession crossed the crystal-clear river. The water reflected the azure sky as white cranes skimmed gracefully across its surface before disappearing into a long distance.
By noon, they had reached beside the highest mountain, separating the eastern lands of Fengyu from the northern route leading towards the Longlin Empire.
The procession halted briefly at the mountain pass, Lin Cheng'an sat quietly atop his horse, the cool mountain breeze tugging at this robes. As he watched the attendants prepare to resume the journey, an earlier scene resurfaced in his mind.
Before departing Fengyu Palace,
While the Crown Princess had been speaking with Duke Wang and Duchess Wang, he had remained respectfully nearby watching over them, waiting for their farewell to conclude. The voices of several Fengyu officials had drifted towards him,
"…Did Her Highness just address Duke Wang and Duchess Wang as Uncle and Aunt?"
"I heard it as well," another official said,
"They are not even blood relatives."
"Strange… where were His Majesty and Her Majesty? Shouldn't the Emperor and Empress be the ones who should be bidding farewell to the Crown Princess?"
"The Duke and Duchess seemed closer to Her Highness than the Imperial Family themselves…"
The murmurs had gradually faded, yet they remained in Lin Cheng'an's thoughts.
'How odd… a Crown Princess calling a Duke and Duchess, as her 'Uncle' and 'Aunt', is this how things are done in Fengyu? His mind tried to make sense of it. Or did they forget who her parents were?'
His brows knit together, he thought once again,
'And where was the Fengyu Emperor? Your own daughter is leaving for another empire, and you don't even bother to escort her to the carriage? '
He clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Hmph… enemy empire indeed, cousin brother always says an empire's etiquette reflects its ruler… this one barely passed, or should I say didn't pass?'
--
He straightened on his saddle, puffing his chest slightly,
'Longlin would never show such disrespect. If cousin brother were to sending someone away, he would—'
He paused reconsidering what he was thinking,
'Well cousin brother might not smile either. But he would at least show his face… probably.'
He frowned again, less certain now.
'Cousin Brother's face is rather… expressionless. Still, he would show it, that is the point.'
He nodded firmly to himself, as if settling a great debate. Than another thought slipped into his mind, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the wedding carriage. The crimson curtains fluttered gently in the wind. He titled his head slightly, his horse shifting beneath him.
'Perhaps… Perhaps the Crown Princess is not favored by the Fengyu Empire? They even dared to talk openly while, the procession was leaving. I have heard such things happening in large families,'
His own cousin, Lin Yechen, was the favored one, the heir, the one everyone looked to, the next prince to the throne.
'Even when cousin brother was departing for the southern garrison, my mother had wept herself in tears, loudly and quite embarrassingly, but she had attended. But this Fengyu Emperor did not even weep, he didn't even come, not to mention, not even the Fengyu relatives had come.'
Lin Cheng'an's nose wrinkled slightly,
'Truly, this empire is strange…'
He glanced at the Fengyu officials still gathered near the gates, they did not look surprised, that was the strangest part.
'They spoke of it as though it were ordinary farewell. As if a princess departing forever was no more remarkable than a passing breeze,'
He straightened his spine, a sudden protective instinct flaring in his young chest.
'Well, if her family does not value her, than Longlin will, we are not so petty, we know how to treat…'
He stopped his wandering thoughts,
'What was I even thinking? She is the enemy's daughter, how could I think of treating our enemy's people well? I should not be thinking of her as someone to protect. She is Cousin Brother's concern now not my, let cousin brother deal with this problem… cousin Brother's…'
His gaze subconsciously drifted towards the wedding carriage. The curtains fluttering gently in the wind, again,
'Still… my future Sister-In-Law is quite… beautiful.'
He blinked his eyes, almost immediately, he straightened on his saddle, his gaze lingered on the carriage for only a moment before looking away,
'Though, she hardly smiles, has she always been like that, looking like a calm statue?'
He puffed out a quiet breath, thinking about his cousin brother, he glanced at the carriage for another fleeting moment before a smug smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
'But… Cousin Brother is still more impressive. No one in Longlin can compare to my Cousin Brother, whether it is in appearance, swordsmanship, or strategizing… he excels in all of them.'
He nodded to his childish conclusion which had satisfied him completely, thoroughly convinced. He puffed out his chest with pride.
'the ladies of the capital have admired cousin brother for years, yet cousin brother never spare a second glance on them… that is why he was still… unmarried…'
Lin Cheng'an let out a quite silent sigh, 'Poor… Cousin Brother.'
He thinks of the time when something similar had happened in Longlin banquets,
'Every banquet is the same the noble ladies dressing themselves beautifully… just for Cousin Brother to ignore them. The ministers of the court did try to introduce their daughters… but Cousin Brother politely leaves before even they finish speaking. Even Eldest Aunt keeps worrying about his marriage. She even often says Cousin Brother treats military maps more kindly than people. She would always worry about him.'
'If he had keeps this up… would he have got married to his own sword instead, one day?
He nearly laughed at his own thoughts.
'Thankfully, he had accepted this marriage even if it was arranged, otherwise, Cousin Brother might have reached thirty before remembering he hadn't had a wife.'
His lips curled into a mischievous grin, thinking again in his young and mischievous mind.
'Hmm… perhaps this Future Sister-In-Law is the right person that would be capable of making my Cousin Brother look away from military maps for more than a moment?'
His eyes wandered towards the wedding carriage again,
'Future Sister-In-Law is certainly beautiful… a calm kind of beauty… but Cousin Brother…'
'I should watch carefully over them when they meet. I wonder if Cousin Brother's expression will finally change or get a little rest… though probably not. His face has always had fewer expressions than the palace structure stone lions.'
'Cousin Brother possesses the kind of presence that would make people forget to breathe around him the moment he appears,' a slight grin spread across on his youthful face,
'When they finally stand together… everyone would probably say they are a perfect match. Though, Cousin Brother would still most likely to keep the same cold expression on his face. He probably won't even realize if everyone is staring at them… honestly… Cousin Brother can be hopeless sometimes.'
He chuckled softly at his own thought, shaking his head in amusement. Lin Cheng'an lightly pulled his horse reins onward.
'I am looking for Cousin Brother and Sister-In-Law's marriage…' he said with a childish youthful smile on his face.
The dragon banners rippled proudly in the mountain wind as the procession began its journey again towards Longlin.
--
When the procession had finally resumed after a brief halt at the mountain pass, the wedding carriage rolled steadily along the northern road. Inside the carriage, only silence had settled for a few seconds. Shayue on the other hand had sat gracefully beside the window, her phoenix tuanshan resting lightly on her lap. The gentle swaying of the carriage caused the jade tassels hanging from its handle to chime softly.
Mei Yi, however was unusually distracted, every now and then, she would lift the curtains just to steal enough glances outside before quietly lowering it again.
Finally—she couldn't hold it back any longer and said,
"Your Highness…"
Shayue looked up from the scenery beyond the window to Mei Yi's unusual face,
"What is it, Mei Yi?"
Mei Yi pursed her lips, trying very hard to suppress a laugh, not know how to tell them,
"…This escort from the Longlin is quite an expressive young master."
Ying blinked and repeated, "…Expressive?"
Mei Yi nodded repeatedly.
"I don't know what he has been thinking since we left the mountain pass. First he looks completely confused… then suddenly curious… then he frowned to himself…"
Mei Yi said while counting her fingers, she demonstrated each expression as she spoke.
"Then suddenly once again his expression changed, he looked terribly proud, nodded to himself two or… three times… from my memory, I think so three times..."
Her lips slightly twitched, she covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"…and just now… he almost laughed while riding his horse."
Ying stared at her for a long moment, Mei Yi noticed Shayue and Ying watching her, she coughed awkwardly, Ying said with her serious expression,
"…For how closely have you been watching over him?"
Mei Yi said, "I was merely checking the surroundings… when entering the carriage… he just happened to be on my line of sight."
Ying said again raising her eyebrow,
"That makes… for a quite a long time, it seems."
"…"
Mei Yi looked at her innocently,
"I became curious… okay, I have heard about the Crown Prince having a strain expression on his face, so I didn't expect him to be the complete opposite of him. Though he act like a grown man…"
Shayue listened quietly before the corners of her lips curved into a faint smile, while lowering her tuanshan on her lap.
To Be Continued...