Chapter 873: Chapter 692: Bring Out Those Who Looked Down on Me for a Walk
Zhou Mu listened through the pearl curtain to the voice inside, which was rather authoritative, and slightly frowned, almost imperceptibly.
Everyone knelt, except for him who stood like a pine tree. Yet at this moment, his heart couldn’t help but tighten, and his fists clenched involuntarily. Zhou Mu wanted to step forward; this tone was not right at all, completely unlike his dear one’s usual demeanor!
Just as he took a step forward, Zhou Mu heard a loud breath from inside the imperial carriage, as if a long-held breath had finally been released!
And with this breath, the heart Zhou Mu had been holding up finally relaxed. Without thinking, there was no one else who would dare to breathe so loudly at such a moment, except for his wayward Changsheng!
"Whoosh!" Just as Zhou Mu shook his head helplessly and indulgently, the pearl curtain of the imperial carriage was suddenly lifted, and a figure in a scarlet undershirt with flickering dragon and phoenix embroidery impatiently stepped out of the carriage.
This figure was so familiar, etched in his heart, but dressed in such an imposing manner was so unfamiliar, as if authority was innate!
Was this the Changsheng he longed for? Zhou Mu’s gaze froze, and a flash of amazement appeared in his deep eyes. When Gu Changsheng donned the imperial robe, he was at the northern border resisting the encirclement of Northern Mongolian and Liaodong. Now, with time passing, she had become the Southern Empress, and it was the first time he saw her wearing the dragon robe...
"I left in poverty, with only an ounce of silver on me, now I return in glory, Capital City, I, Gu Changsheng, am back!" A holy golden spot shone on her brow as Gu Changsheng stood atop the imperial carriage, the pearl curtain behind her shimmering. She spread her arms towards the ruins of the city gate, exuding an aura that seemed to reach the skies.
"Heh..." Zhou Mu heard this and lowered his head with a light laugh. He still remembered when he first talked with Changsheng about their first meeting, she had gritted her teeth, despising his lack of aid for her poor little self...
"What’s so funny?" Gu Changsheng heard the evildoer’s chuckle and immediately rolled her eyes, lacking any grace.
Just these two words made Emperor Zhoulin and the others, who hadn’t yet recovered from her statement about returning in glory, their lips twitching unanimously.
This... is this the Southern Emperor?
Everyone’s notions were overturned. The initial amazement at her stepping out of the imperial carriage in dragon and phoenix robes, with those two sentences, blossomed like fireworks, then quickly faded...
Emperor Zhoulin was even more stunned. To be precise, he was a bit befuddled. This granddaughter-in-law, whom he hadn’t yet welcomed in, he had met without her wearing the yellow robe. The unpredictable feeling now struck him again, truly making this old man nearing his grave feel a bit overwhelmed.
"Lindi, let’s skip the formalities, for official engagements, let’s find Hongyan. Now, drag out those two who publicly despised my dowry!" Gu Changsheng stood atop the imperial carriage, looking down at Emperor Zhoulin, beckoning with her finger, smiling gracefully, "To dare say my dowry is poor, didn’t they inquire that before I left the Heavenly Palace, I ransacked all the mansions of the Southern Borderland’s nobility, and brought all the valuable items to Zhou Dynasty as my dowry."
Emperor Zhoulin, upon hearing this, couldn’t believe his eyes widened. Ransacking the noble houses? To say it so openly, is it really alright?
Hongyan Jiaojiao and a group of old ministers, upon hearing this, immediately knelt before their Sovereign, each one looking ready to cry but having no tears. Still, they thought her statement embarrassing enough. It was such shame that they spread it to the small Zhou Dynasty; how could they bear it?
And her Sovereign wasn’t ashamed but proud of it, why was that?
This was fine, not only did the officials and people of Great Zhou feel disillusioned, but even the old ministers of the Southern Country were quite disillusioned, wasn’t it balanced?
Regardless of everyone’s reactions, Gu Changsheng paid no attention, she was full of passion right now! Seeing Emperor Zhoulin lost and dazed, Gu Changsheng immediately spoke again, "Lindi, don’t hold back, quickly let me see, what kind of talent does your Great Zhou possess, to even call my dowry poor, do you still want to marry daughters to Zhou Dynasty in the future?"
If her dowry was poor, then the ladies of Great Zhou probably wouldn’t need to marry out!
Click-click...
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhoulin’s face became increasingly bitter; his granddaughter-in-law spoke too sarcastically, with just one swing of her words, the unmarried daughters of Great Zhou couldn’t marry out anymore!
"I... I..." Emperor Zhoulin hesitated, wanting to speak.
But before she could speak, Hongyan Jiaojiao flashed out from the Southern Country’s entourage, swiftly and accurately grabbing Prince Liang and Madam Zheng from the crowd and unceremoniously flinging them before their Sovereign, angrily saying, "Your Royal Highness, it’s these two, wearing dragon and phoenix decorations, clearly people of the Zhou imperial clan. Your Highness, even the imperial family dares to give you a hard time, why don’t we call off this wedding, return to the Southern Country, I will immediately hold a selection for an Imperial Consort for you, no need to endure this humiliation in this backwater Zhou Dynasty!"
Hongyan Jiaojiao was truly indignant. To be honest, she looked down on the people of the Central Plains from the bottom of her heart. Even the Imperial Family of Zhou Dynasty, she never regarded them highly. The old ministers of the Southern Country all nodded in agreement, clearly standing with Hongyan Jiaojiao. To besmirch their Sovereign in broad daylight, this little Zhou Kingdom was indeed too small and full of troublemakers!
Gu Changsheng didn’t even have time to clearly see what the two people kneeling on the ground looked like when she heard Hongyan Jiaojiao’s lengthy speech and immediately painedly rubbed her forehead, pointing behind Hongyan Jiaojiao to kindly remind her, "Hongyan, be careful of the backside..."
"Bang!" Before Hongyan Jiaojiao could even turn her head, she felt a light but heavy kick on her buttocks, sending her, a person with profound inner strength, sprawling face first to the ground...
What kind of occasion is this? This is a key diplomatic event between two nations!
She just got a kick like that, you could imagine how disgraceful it was! However, Hongyan Jiaojiao didn’t even have to think to know who the culprit of this kick was...
"Imperial Husband..." Hongyan Jiaojiao wanted to cry but had no tears, she spoke so passionately earlier that she completely forgot there was an untouchable figure standing elegantly among the Great Zhou’s ranks!
The moment Hongyan Jiaojiao was kicked, the surrounding elder ministers of the Southern Country immediately realized what was happening and quickly distanced themselves from her. Their eyes on Zhou Mu almost screamed, "I’m no longer on the same side as this kicked person!"
"Hongyan, your courage is indeed quite bold!" Zhou Mu’s face was as dark as ink, his voice carrying an implicit threat. How could he not be gloomy? He had been eagerly awaiting for over two years, and just when he was finally about to marry the person of his dreams, someone encouraged his woman right in front of him not to marry. It would be fine if that was the end, but they even launched a selection for an Imperial Consort!
It must be said, Hongyan Jiaojiao had an incredible knack for pointing out bombs that would blow herself to smithereens!
"Your Majesty, save me!" The moment Hongyan Jiaojiao saw Zhou Mu’s grim expression, she immediately disregarded her dignity, knowing her life was more important. She bounced off the ground and scrambled behind Gu Changsheng to plead for mercy.
"Don’t do the things you shouldn’t if you want to avoid these troubles, Hongyan, you should be more cautious!" Gu Changsheng sighed looking at Hongyan Jiaojiao beside him. With his peach blossom eyes, he looked provocatively at Zhou Mu, raising his chin, "No need to be so angry without reason, why kick my Hongyan? My Hongyan is focused on the master, she’s very much in my favor!"
The idea of a selection for the Imperial Consort sounds so lovable! Starry eyes.
"Gu, Chang, Sheng!" Zhou Mu looked at the young woman in front of him who was acting inappropriately regardless of the occasion, speaking through clenched teeth.
"Ehh?" Gu Changsheng snapped out of his rosy visions of peach blossoms, only to see his evildoer’s face dark as coal, "Hehe... having another tantrum..."
Gu Changsheng spoke openly, quite straightforwardly.
Zhou Mu gave her a helpless glance, shook his head, and walked toward Yuan Bao. From Yuan Bao’s arms, he picked up the small dumpling sleeping like a piglet, then turned and walked toward the ruins at the City Gate, "Play as you wish, I’ll first take Yaoyao back to my residence to settle her."
"Ehh?" Gu Changsheng came back to his senses, raised her hand wanting to call after Zhou Mu, but it was already too late. All she saw was his impressive purple-gold silhouette, disappearing in the crowd under the protection of a group of personal guards...
"Just left like that?" Gu Changsheng blinked innocently, then suddenly felt a surge of anger, "Damn, he tied up my little dumpling and left!"
This was very much letting her wear tight shoes before even dancing in Capital City, Zhou Mu, that evildoer, used his son to control her, preventing her from dancing with abandon!
Compared to that evildoer, these two people criticizing her dowry’s meagerness in front of her were nothing at all. They didn’t even grasp the key points, did they?
"Aiya, isn’t this Prince Liang? It’s only been a short while since we’ve last met, and you look so disheveled, did you just crawl out from the ground?" Gu Changsheng instantly recognized the figure kneeling and trembling on the ground, speaking out unkindly.
Prince Liang heard this and trembled even more. Didn’t he just crawl out from underground? Zhou Mu’s strike had hurled him straight off the city wall, and had it not been for quick-thinking personal guards, he’d have been buried alive!
"I..." Prince Liang huffed, about to speak, but Gu Changsheng had already turned to another, her eyes immediately sparkling with life, "Aiya, it’s a woman!"
The voice, let’s not mention how excited it was!
Wherever there are women, there will indeed be battles!
Wife of the Former Crown Prince, Madam Zheng, upon hearing this immediately looked up, her gaze sharp and directed at the radiant figure standing above.
"Hehe..." Gu Changsheng looked at Madam Zheng, laughing behind her hand, "This Madam is indeed splendid in appearance, radiant, and richly endowed!"
"You!" Madam Zheng staggered upon hearing this, almost losing her breath and collapsing. Radiant and richly endowed? After being slapped harshly by Hongyan Jiaojiao, how could she not be ’radiant’? Moreover, how was she richly endowed? Clearly, she was swollen from the slaps, wasn’t she?