She Was Unwilling

"Sis, why are you looking at me like that?" Feng Ruoyu asked uneasily, shrinking her neck.

"Little girl, the story your Qi Bei-brother told was made up too. Don't you think he's childish?" Feng Ruoyun said.

"But I don't think he was making it up," Feng Ruoyu retorted.

Feng Ruoyu looked at her sister's clear, limpid eyes and smiled. Perhaps she had been overthinking things. Although her younger sister was clever and knew everything, knowing something did not mean she understood it.

"You, honestly, don't you know that Qi Bei will have to go to his fief after getting engaged too? If you want to hear stories, hire a bard to tell them to you." Feng Ruoyun lovingly stroked her sister's beautiful hair.

Feng Ruoyu muttered a couple of words, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Sis, look! Qi Bei-brother and Sister Mingyue are here."

Qi Bei led Princess Mingyue down from the carriage by her small hand. Behind them, two rows of palace maids and Nord Family maids held the long wedding ribbon attached to Princess Mingyue. Petals drifted down through the sky, and thunderous applause erupted from the guests present.

The engagement ceremony officially began.

The grand priest of the Temple of the Goddess of Life walked out of the temple. The guests began gathering around Qi Bei and Princess Mingyue, while the two protagonists naturally became the focus of everyone's attention.

In the face of the guests' sincere or false congratulations, Qi Bei maintained a faint smile from beginning to end and returned each greeting one by one. His impeccable manners finally revealed the bearing and poise expected of a scion of a great family.

Princess Mingyue also wore a reserved smile, her gaze occasionally brushing over Qi Bei's smiling face. For some reason, watching the grace he displayed made her feel awkward. He was clearly a bastard, yet he insisted on pretending to be a gentleman.

At that moment, the grand priest of the temple took up the sacred scripture, faced the statue of the Goddess of Life, and began reciting words of blessing.

The grand priest's slightly hoarse voice recited the incomprehensible blessing in a strange rhythm of pronunciation. The entire square, including the onlookers beyond the cordon, fell silent.

One syllable after another seemed to take shape as it darted into Qi Bei's ears, giving him a strange sensation—as if his consciousness had pierced through space and time and reached some mysterious world.

There, a pair of eyes as gentle as autumn waters gazed softly at him, carrying a trace of faint surprise.

Who was that? How could there be such beautiful eyes in this world? They were like a dazzling starry sky embedded within them. At a single glance, they made one feel as though even the soul had been sublimated.

Qi Bei strained to open his eyes wider, trying to see more clearly.

Yet at that very moment, his whole body trembled, and his consciousness was forcibly yanked back.

"What are you spacing out for? The grand priest told us to come forward." Princess Mingyue looked at him strangely. Just now, he had seemed as though his soul had left his body.

"Oh, I was just a little sleepy." Qi Bei shrugged and walked with Princess Mingyue, hand in hand, to stand before the grand priest of the temple.

The grand priest of the temple was a kindly-looking old man. His clothes were spotless, his gaze clear, and he was brimming with vitality.

"You are all children of the gods. The Goddess of Life has bestowed her blessing upon you, and the inheritance of life shall continue forever." As the grand priest spoke, he raised his hand and swept it through the air over Qi Bei and Princess Mingyue's foreheads. At once, a faint radiance passed over the two of them.

Qi Bei and Princess Mingyue both felt as though extra vitality had been infused into their bodies, causing every pore to open in comfort.

So this was the Life Magic that, according to rumor, only a few grand priests of the Temple of the Goddess of Life could use. It truly was extraordinary.

Next, the grand priest of the temple brought out a jade bowl of emerald green. Inside was a liquid that emitted a faint, lustrous glow. This was the Holy Water of Life that countless believers yearned for but could not obtain, said to prolong life and drive away all illnesses.

Qi Bei had drunk it once when he was born. Being born into the greatest noble family in the Golden Leaf Dynasty came with certain privileges.

At an engagement or wedding ceremony, the two people were required to drink the Holy Water of Life together.

When ordinary people became engaged or held a wedding at the Temple of the Goddess of Life, the ceremony was presided over by an ordinary priest, and the Holy Water of Life they drank was actually nothing more than clear water.

"Beneath the statue of the Goddess of Life, Qi Bei Nord, are you willing to be bound to Mingyue Golden Leaf for life, never to part or forsake one another?" The grand priest of the temple looked toward Qi Bei.

"I am willing." Qi Bei answered, though the question made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Beneath the statue of the Goddess of Life, Mingyue Golden Leaf, are you willing to be bound to Qi Bei Nord for life, never to part or forsake one another?" The grand priest of the temple looked toward Princess Mingyue.

"I..."

"She is unwilling!" Just as Princess Mingyue was about to answer, a gloomy voice suddenly rang out.

The guests erupted into an uproar. Following the voice, they looked over and saw a handsome young man arrogantly approaching in a purple mage robe.

Qi Bei narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc. As expected, this engagement ceremony would not pass peacefully.

"I have absolutely no intention of blaspheming the great Goddess of Life. I am merely speaking the truth. To lie before the Goddess of Life would be the greatest disrespect to her. Princess Mingyue told me herself that she had only become engaged to this brat because she was forced to." Fentian shouted.

"Who is that? He's got some nerve. Even if he's wrapped himself in a mage's skin, couldn't he tell what kind of occasion this is?"

"Could he be Princess Mingyue's true love?"

"What do you know? Let me tell you—he's a disciple of Tongtian Mountain, one of the Five Great Holy Lands. He's counting on His Majesty and the Nord Family not daring to do anything to him."

The guests discussed it animatedly. The deep-rooted ugliness of human nature took hold; instead of worrying, every one of them was thrilled beyond measure.

Emperor Hanmos and the head of the Nord Family, seated in the upper seats, remained expressionless, as though this sudden turn of events had nothing to do with them.

"I am willing. I am willing to become engaged to Qi Bei Nord." At that moment, Princess Mingyue spoke. Her voice was not loud, but she used magic to amplify it, and it echoed across the square for a long while.

Fentian's expression stiffened. He suddenly felt like a fool. He had worked himself into a frenzy, yet everyone had simply ignored him.

The grand priest of the temple smiled and handed over the jade bowl containing the Holy Water of Life.

Qi Bei, his face calm and unruffled, took it and drank half in one gulp. Then, mischievously, he secretly spat some back into the bowl before handing it to Princess Mingyue.

Princess Mingyue took it and was about to drink when Fentian said, "Junior Sister, you just joined Tongtian Mountain. Perhaps you don't know that Tongtian Mountain disciples aren't allowed to become engaged without their master's permission."

Princess Mingyue froze. Katie had never told her about such a rule, though she herself did not know about the engagement.

However, Princess Mingyue only paused for a moment before directly drinking all the Holy Water of Life from the jade bowl.

"Junior Sister, you..." Fentian cried out in disbelief. This move had originally been his trump card. Naturally, he would not have come to cause a scene without making preparations. He had anticipated the possible reactions of the imperial family and the Nord Family, but he alone had failed to anticipate Princess Mingyue's reaction.

Qi Bei glanced at Princess Mingyue in surprise, then at Fentian, whose face had turned a mottled blue and white. He suddenly felt a little sympathy for the man.