Li Fuxiang lived through days that felt like years, enduring countless hardships before finally waiting for Gao Yuexing to reach her coming-of-age ceremony, and now he could finally marry her and bring her home.
The Prince Xiang’s Residence was finally completed with the emperor’s approval. At least the mansion had not truly become overgrown with weeds. A flawless Huangshan stone was brought into the estate and placed in the southeastern corner. The garden pond was filled with running water, and a pool of koi fish swam within. A pair of white cranes was purchased from He Ridge.
Servants moved into the residence early and meticulously cleaned every corner.
Everywhere, red silk decorations adorned the place, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Princess Xiang Consort.
Gao Yuexing stood before the mirror, trying on her bridal attire. On her back, an entire phoenix embroidered with golden thread shimmered brilliantly, as if coming to life with her every graceful movement, its feathers raised high.
The phoenix coronet was a gift bestowed by the palace. Adorned with dragons and phoenixes symbolizing prosperity and decorated with jewels and jade, it weighed heavily on her neck. Gao Yuexing had to hold her shoulders and back upright to bear its immense weight, like that of a thousand-pound press.
From noon onward, officials from the Ministry of Works began clearing the streets of debris and pedestrians. The entirety of Huayang Street was lined with ceremonial guards, fireworks, and lanterns.
By dusk, Gao Yuexing, who had been preparing all day, felt lightheaded and had not taken a single sip of water.
For a prince’s wedding, unlike that of commoners, the ceremony was held in the evening, just as the sky darkened.
A crimson bridal sedan, embroidered with pomegranate blossoms, stopped in front of the Gao Residence’s gates. Li Fuxiang, dressed in a splendid robe of gold dragons and opulence, personally came to receive his bride.
Gao Yuexing closed her eyes as four maidservants gently draped the bridal veil over her phoenix coronet.
Her eldest brother, Gao Mingxia, carried her out of the residence on his back.
Gao Yuexing’s gaze remained quiet and lowered as the spring night breeze gently brushed against her veil. She saw Li Fuxiang step beside her. A cool red silk ribbon was placed in her hand, and soon after, Li Fuxiang slipped his hand into hers as well.
As Gao Yuexing held onto the ribbon, she also tightly grasped his hand.
Their journey together was but a few steps.
After escorting Gao Yuexing into the sedan, Li Fuxiang mounted his horse.
The horse carrying him on this special day was his beloved little red steed.
Sitting inside the sedan, Gao Yuexing was surrounded by tall red candles on both sides of the small table, their light reflecting off the red silk, tinting her cheeks with a rosy hue.
Having reached her coming-of-age ceremony, Gao Yuexing had shed the youthful innocence that once clung to her. From the moment she donned the phoenix coronet and wedding robes, she became the unyielding Princess Consort of Xiang.
Tonight, she would reenter the imperial city as the future mistress of the household.
At the Prince Xiang’s Residence, Li Fuxiang lifted her veil, and the two shared the nuptial wine. The wedding of Prince Xiang was unconventional, as no banquet was held for guests. However, the emperor personally arranged celebrations. All court officials received imperial feasts delivered to their homes, and every citizen of the Great Xu Dynasty was given wedding cakes and monetary rewards at their local prefectures and counties.
He had truly achieved universal joy.
That night, countless people in the capital sighed deeply in their courtyards, marveling at the absurdity of life.
Once dismissed as a foolish and useless prince who nearly failed to make it into the imperial genealogy, Li Fuxiang had transformed into the most dazzling young general of the capital, earning god-like renown after a single battle at the western frontier.
The upright and incorruptible Gao Jing, who never sought to climb the social ladder, had unexpectedly married his second daughter off to become the Princess Xiang Consort.
Just as the emperor had hinted back during the hunt at Xiaoshan…
The future of whether Prince Xiang would become emperor was still uncertain.
However, the current emperor had already expressed his intention for a daughter of the Gao family to become empress.
Gao Yuexing and Li Fuxiang sat side by side on the marriage bed.
Tonight, Li Fuxiang was unusually quiet, which Gao Yuexing found somewhat unsettling. She stole a glance at him.
Li Fuxiang was now nearing the age of maturity, and it no longer seemed appropriate to refer to him as a “young man.” In truth, they had not seen each other for a very long time. When the Ministry of Rites set the wedding date, she had been given less than six months to prepare.
During those final six months, Gao Yuexing had been so busy that her days and nights became indistinguishable.
It wasn’t just the embroidery on her own attire; even the inner garments Li Fuxiang wore next to his skin were crafted by her own hands.
Yet now, as she looked at his face again, it seemed that he hadn’t changed much from before.
After they completed the ceremonial rites in the imperial palace and returned to the prince’s residence, the emperor assigned a palace matron to accompany them.
This matron, officially under the service of Consort Xian, was, in fact, the emperor’s trusted aide.
When ordinary newlyweds married, the matron’s role was to provide guidance on conjugal matters.
For Prince Xiang’s wedding, however, the matron’s purpose was to ensure that Li Fuxiang did not overstep his bounds.
Li Fuxiang earnestly cupped Gao Yuexing’s face and said, “I won’t touch you. Stay by my side and take good care of yourself for two years.”
It seemed that Prince Xiang now truly understood something.
As they both loosened their ceremonial robes and lay down, Li Fuxiang drew her into his embrace.
Even though she knew he didn’t mean anything inappropriate, Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but tremble all over. It was beyond her control; it was a deeply ingrained memory in her body.
Li Fuxiang rested his chin against her neck, gently stroking her thin back. Mistaking her reaction for fear, he spoke hoarsely to reassure her, “Don’t be afraid…”
Hearing his voice, Gao Yuexing immediately sensed trouble.
A man of his age…
In the days leading up to her wedding, her mother and a matron had spoken to her extensively. In the Great Xu Dynasty, ordinary people typically didn’t concern themselves with such matters; daughters were considered ready for marriage as soon as they came of age. But Li Fuxiang had been influenced by the emperor, who deemed the timing still not right.
Gao Yuexing reached out to touch Li Fuxiang’s face and said, “Let’s sleep in separate rooms.”
Hearing this, Li Fuxiang reacted strongly, tightening his arms around her and holding her even closer. “No way. I worked so hard to bring you home, and now you want to separate rooms? No! I want to hold you, see you every day, see you every night—I can’t bear to be apart from you for even a moment.”
Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but think of their previous life, where they were often apart more than together, and said, “You can’t always be tied to my side.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “Then I’ll take you with me. Will you come with me?”
Will you come with me?
Inside the room, the red candles burned brightly throughout the night.
Gao Yuexing closed her eyes. That single sentence stirred long-buried memories.
In her previous life, Li Fuxiang hadn’t married her so early. By her calculations, their wedding had been delayed by a year. That year, in late spring, not long after their grand wedding, Li Fuxiang had to head south to conduct an imperial inspection on behalf of the emperor. At that time, Li Fuxiang had also asked her if she was willing to go with him.
Gao Yuexing remembered how absurd her reaction had been. She was a young woman raised in the inner chambers, unaccustomed to the hardships of travel. Moreover, in the entire court, she had never heard of anyone bringing their wife along while carrying out official duties.
She had refused.
She hadn’t even recognized the unspeakable sorrow in Li Fuxiang’s eyes at that moment.
In this life, Gao Yuexing hugged Li Fuxiang tightly and said, “I’ll go with you. Don’t worry. No matter where you are, I won’t leave your side for even a step.”
It was as if someone had placed a sweet, cloying piece of candy into Li Fuxiang’s mouth. No, more accurately, Gao Yuexing’s tenderness made him feel as though he were soaking in a jar of honey, or stepping on soft clouds, as if in a dream.
Li Fuxiang soon forgot the physical discomfort—his impulsiveness and heat gradually subsided.
A young man at the peak of his youth wasn’t easily able to suppress himself, but fortunately, Li Fuxiang had never indulged in such things before. That door remained tightly shut, and though his desires pounded on it relentlessly, they eventually retreated, defeated by their own lack of force.
The two of them fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next morning, all the servants in the prince’s residence were forbidden from entering their quarters. The palace matron, who had been assigned to attend to the prince and princess consort, returned to the palace with a beaming face, reporting that everything was in order.
Thus, no one in the residence suspected anything.
Only two people knew the truth.
One was the Yagu.
The other was Fu Yun, whom Gao Yuexing deeply trusted.
Fu Yun, having reached the appropriate age to leave the palace, had chosen not to return to her hometown but instead entered the prince’s residence to continue serving Gao Yuexing.
Sitting in front of the dressing mirror, Gao Yuexing finally fulfilled her long-cherished wish of styling her hair into a Zhuiyun bun.
Fu Yun pinned a blooming peony hairpin onto her hair and smiled, saying, “The princess consort truly deserves her reputation as a beauty of unmatched grace.”
On the first day after her wedding, Gao Yuexing accompanied Li Fuxiang to the palace.
The emperor set up a game of chess and invited her to play. Gao Yuexing, not yielding an inch, utterly defeated his black pieces, leaving none intact.
The emperor, a petty man by nature, sought to cause trouble. He said, “Come next spring, I plan to send Fuxiang on a southern inspection. He might be gone for quite a while, but it’s a trip he must take. While he’s away, if you grow bored staying in the capital, you’re welcome to visit the palace to chat with me or return to your family’s home for a while.”
He intended for Gao Yuexing to remain in the capital, left alone in an empty residence.
Gao Yuexing smiled faintly and replied, “Your Majesty need not worry. I’m not afraid of hardships. Whether His Highness is merely traveling south for an inspection or heading west to the borderlands, I will follow him every step of the way.”
Hearing this, the emperor looked up at her in surprise.
He faintly perceived in Gao Yuexing the demeanor of someone who stood proudly among the treetops.
The emperor was momentarily dazed, then slowly said, “A daughter raised by Gao Jing… you remind me so much of myself when I was young.”
Gao Yuexing responded, “Why does Your Majesty say that?”
The emperor was unwilling to elaborate further.
Year by year, he grew older. His youthful days had long been rendered unspeakable by the death of Noble Consort Zheng. The debt of love he had always thought he carried was something Gao Yuexing had only heard of in passing from the mouths of others.
The emperor now surveyed his palace and realized that the people he missed were no longer there. Those who could reminisce with him about the past were few and far between.
Li Fuxiang couldn’t live like this.
This was the emperor’s most heartfelt hope for his own son.
Yesterday, Prince Xiang was married. After accompanying his wife to the palace to perform the ceremonial rites to heaven and earth, he left the palace and returned to his Prince Xiang’s Residence.
Li Fuxiang had finally left the imperial palace, leaving behind the warm chambers of Qianqing Palace.
Last night, standing beneath the overwhelming decorations of joy, the emperor’s mind was filled with memories of when Li Fuxiang was first brought out of the Xiaonan Pavilion. Back then, the boy had been timid, obedient, and so very well-behaved. The emperor had used every possible means, employing countless treasures and rare medicines, to gradually nurture the child into a healthy, lively boy who learned to smile, laugh, and even stir up trouble outside the palace.
The emperor had done everything he could to hold onto that time.
But time—it cannot be held onto.
His reluctance could only be suppressed deep in his heart, for this was the very moment when his child’s life was just beginning to experience freedom.
Gao Yuexing noticed the emperor’s expression, quiet and somber like the setting sun, and she personally handed him a cup of tea. “He will eventually return to the palace, return to your side, to bring you joy and care for you for the rest of your life. Your Majesty, you know this in your heart, don’t you?”
If the emperor truly couldn’t let go, he could have immediately conferred the title of crown prince. That way, even if Li Fuxiang left Qianqing Palace, he would merely move to the Eastern Palace, still residing within the high walls of the imperial city. Whenever the emperor wished, he could see him.
But the emperor hadn’t done so.
If he did, Li Fuxiang would spend his entire life with his wings clipped, trapped in the gilded cage of the deep palace.