The wedding bows were complete. From this day onward, the Zhou Kingdom's inner palace would no longer be without a mistress.
However, the position of Empress of the Zhou Kingdom remained undecided.
Would the Yan Clan's daughter win favor and become Empress, or would the Qin Kingdom's princess be the first to bear a prince?
Only time would tell.
To some ministers loyal to the Zhou Kingdom's imperial family, however, this might well be a good thing.
The Qin Kingdom's current strength could not be underestimated, and its Grand Princess, the Qin Kingdom's Lord's only younger sister, was dearly loved by him.
Anyone else entering the palace might very well meet an untimely death.
But this Grand Princess of the Qin Kingdom was different. No one dared touch her.
Perhaps this was an opening. His Majesty might be able to reclaim imperial authority with the Qin Kingdom's help.
Still, what the Qin Kingdom truly intended, and whether the Zhou Kingdom would be inviting a wolf into its home, required further consideration.
But no matter how one looked at it,
the inner palace would likely know no peace for a long time.
Following custom, the maids escorted Yan Ruxue and Qin Siyao to their respective chambers to wait for His Majesty to lift their red bridal veils and drink the cross-cupped wedding wine with them.
Xiao Mo, however, did not return to the inner palace so soon.
By the time the wedding bows and all the other formalities were finished, evening had fallen.
The wedding feast began.
Amid the ministers' congratulations, Xiao Mo drank several cups of wine and entertained the distinguished guests who had traveled from afar, as well as the stewards and elders of the mountain sects within the Zhou Kingdom. By then, the sky had darkened.
When the