Chapter 225 The True Controller

Chapter 225 The True Controller

Every day at noon, a peculiar sight appears on the official road leading from the capital to the Xishan Hot Spring Resort.

A fast horse, exhausted and foaming at the mouth, with a red plume symbolizing "urgent military intelligence" on its back, galloped past like a shooting star chasing the moon.

The messenger on horseback was covered in dust, his expression solemn, as if he were carrying a shocking secret concerning the survival of the nation.

However, when the messenger rushed into the manor and knelt before Pei Yunjing, he handed over only a thick stack of daily memorials filled with nonsense.

"Your Highness, these are the bills drafted by the Cabinet today. Please take a look."

Inside the pavilion, Pei Yunjing was rolling up his sleeves, holding a palm-leaf fan, and focusing on a charcoal stove in front of him.

On the stove sat a sizzling, golden-brown pig's trotter.

Those were the "specially supplied pigs" that the Black Armor Guards had washed clean with tears in their eyes a few days ago.

"Just put it there."

Pei Yunjing didn't even raise his head, casually picking up the vermilion brush with his other hand.

Without even glancing at it, or opening the memorial, he wrote a large character in a flowing, elegant style on the very top of the stack of memorials—

【read】.

"Take it back and let Zhang Zhengqing handle it."

messenger:"……"

He stared at the bright red character "阅" (read), his lips twitching.

That's it?

This is a major matter involving water conservancy in Jiangnan and the Ministry of Revenue's funding! Your Highness, are you making such a hasty decision?

"Is there anything else?"

Pei Yunjing turned the pig's trotter over, sprinkled some cumin on it, and the aroma exploded instantly.

He glanced at the messenger with some impatience:

"Get lost if you have nothing to do. Don't block the airflow for my barbecue."

"Yes, yes! This subordinate takes his leave!"

The messenger picked up the memorial and fled in panic.

Although Pei Yunjing was not in court, and although he acted like a "tyrant" who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun.

But throughout the entire Great Sheng Dynasty, from civil and military officials to commoners, and even the young emperor Zhao An, who spent his days swinging his legs on the dragon throne in the deep palace, everyone knew perfectly well what was going on.

The one sitting on the throne in the Golden Palace is nothing more than a mascot.

The emperor of this great dynasty still bears the surname Pei.

The real master is currently hiding in his estate in the Western Hills, roasting pig's trotters for his greedy queen.

"Are you done yet?"

Tangli squatted by the stove, holding a small plate in her hand, staring longingly at the pig's trotter, her mouth practically watering:

"It'll get tough if you roast it any longer! This is the front leg, the most tender part!"

"What's the rush?"

Pei Yunjing cut off a piece of meat with a knife, blew on it, and brought it to her lips:

"Try it, is it cooked?"

Tang Li gulped it down, hissing from the heat, but gave a satisfied thumbs-up:

"Delicious! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! Your Highness's cooking is absolutely amazing!"

Pei Yunjing looked at the oil stains on her lips, his eyes full of doting smiles.

He put down the knife, took out a handkerchief, and wiped her mouth.

These days were the most comfortable time of his life.

There was no backstabbing or bloodshed.

My daily task was to feed her and listen to her strange and wonderful ideas.

He conquered this land.

But for him, the only meaning of this land was that it allowed him and her to live as they pleased on this land.

"Your Highness..."

Just as the two were enjoying their pig's trotters together, the old steward, Uncle Zhao, came over without anyone noticing.

Looking at his lord's "from now on, the emperor will not hold court in the morning" demeanor, he hesitated to speak, yet remained silent.

Although these days are nice, I always feel like... something is missing—a proper sense of ritual.

"Spit it out." Pei Yunjing was in a good mood and, unusually, didn't get angry.

"Cough cough."

Zhao Boqing cleared his throat, glanced at the pear tree that was being happily eaten, then looked at Pei Yunjing, and cautiously reminded him:

"Your Highness, look... the Northern Rong have been destroyed, the court is stable, and you and the Princess are living a blissful life."

"Shouldn't we... go back to Beijing to take care of some important business?"

"Is this serious business?"

Pei Yunjing raised an eyebrow: "Am I not handling important business right now?"

In his view, fattening up Tangli was the most important thing.

"Oh dear, that's not what I meant!"

Uncle Zhao was so anxious that he slapped his thigh repeatedly:

"This old servant means... the wedding!"

"When the princess entered the manor, it was a marriage to ward off bad luck. Everything was kept simple, without even a proper ceremony. She was even carried into a cage... cough cough."

Zhao Bo glanced at Pei Yunjing's expression and lowered his voice:

"Now that the Princess is the goddess of our Great Sheng, the only mistress of the royal palace, don't you want to... give the Princess a grand wedding that the whole world will envy?"

Pei Yunjing abruptly stopped cutting the meat.

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Tang Li beside him.

Yes, he owes her a wedding.

When she married into the family, she was faced with a cold iron cage, a hungry tiger, and a knife held to her neck.

There was no grand wedding procession, no throngs of guests, and even the cup of wedding wine was drunk later at a palace banquet with murderous intent.

This is unfair to her.

"Tangli".

Pei Yunjing put down the knife and pig's trotter in his hand.

He wiped his hands clean, solemnly took her hand in his, and the casualness in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a seriousness and passion.

"Uncle Zhao is right."

He looked at her, his voice low:

"I owe you a title, and even more so, I owe you a wedding."

"I want the whole world to know..."

Pei Yunjing stood up, his gaze fixed on the direction of the capital, and his aura of supreme authority erupted forth:

"You, Tang Li, are my lawfully wedded and only wife, Pei Yunjing's wife."

"Walk."

He scooped Tangli up in his arms and strode toward the carriage:

"Go back to Beijing."

"Let's hold...the grandest wedding since the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty!"