You're Getting Married, But the Bride Isn't Me?

Above the Gongshu Mansion.

A pair of mounts streaked across the sky.

Two figures descended, landing steadily before the main gate.

Just as they were about to step forward, they saw the Crown Prince's carriage arrive as well.

Li Zhixuan's face immediately lit up with a warm, gentle smile upon seeing Li Xingluo: "Imperial Sister, why have you come to the Gongshu Mansion as well?"

Li Xingluo felt a slight chill in her heart, her tone indifferent as she replied: "If the Imperial Brother can come, why can't I?"

With that, she led Pu Mingzhu directly into the Gongshu Mansion.

Li Zhixuan's smile faltered for a moment. All the officials praised the Crown Prince for being gentle, modest, and humble, but sometimes he truly loathed the image he had built for himself.

He, too, wished he could live as arrogantly and defiantly as Li Xingluo.

Shaking his head, he quickened his pace to follow.

Yet, unexpectedly, the moment he stepped inside, he saw Li Xingluo being blocked at the door by Gongshu Xia.

Li Zhixuan was curious. Although the Gongshu Clan never participated in partisan strife and never fawned over others, they were always respectful toward the Imperial family. Why would they block Li Xingluo?

He stepped forward, intending to ask what was happening.

Gongshu Xia bowed to them both: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Imperial Princess, my father has been suffering from convulsions and a high fever ever since he returned from the Puppet Assembly. It is truly difficult for him to receive guests. Would you two mind coming back another day?"

Li Xingluo: "..."

Li Zhixuan: "..."

If the Puppet Assembly had shocked Gongshu Songting to such a degree, then they had even more reason to see that puppet master.

That person had said that after the assembly ended, he would provide guidance to Gongshu Xia; he must certainly be within the Gongshu Mansion.

Li Zhixuan smiled slightly, quickly thinking of a pretext: "Brother Gongshu, you misunderstand. Today, this Prince is not here to see your father, but to see you."

"See me?"

Gongshu Xia scratched his head in frustration: "If you are looking for me, I am honored, but if you are looking for that puppet master, I am afraid Your Highness will be disappointed."

"Hm? This..."

"Wait a moment!"

Gongshu Xia hurried into the house, brought out a box, and opened it in front of them.

Inside the box lay a neatly folded puppet.

"This is..."

"This is that puppet master."

Gongshu Xia looked annoyed: "We had agreed to drink and talk, but halfway through, he suddenly said his wife was angry and he had to go coax her tonight. He really wasn't in the mood to chat. He said when he is in the mood, this puppet will crawl out on its own."

Everyone: "..."

Pu Mingzhu couldn't help but ask: "Did the master say anything else?"

Gongshu Xia glanced at the box, recalled for a moment, and said earnestly: "Triple-fold, it looks good no matter how you fold it!"

Everyone: "..."

Evening, Southern Pacification Mansion.

Qin Yanying lay back in her chair, legs crossed and shaking freely. As she sipped herbal tea, she asked: "Muye, where is Yuji? Dinner is almost ready, why hasn't she come over to eat yet?"

Qin Muye glanced at her speechlessly. During the puppet refining assembly earlier, she and Chen Sui had disappeared somewhere before it was even half over.

One could only say that the interactions between middle-aged men and women were just that simple and direct.

Sometimes, Qin Muye even felt that Qin Yanying not marrying Chen Sui wasn't because there was some knot in her heart.

Rather, it was because she feared that if they were a married couple for too long, they would grow bored of each other, so she intentionally kept things nameless and titleless to preserve the passion.

Look at how she was chugging that tea—just how thirsty could she be?

He curled his lip: "Treating me was too exhausting for her; she has already fallen asleep."

"It's barely evening, why is she asleep already?"

Qin Yanying muttered, feeling a bit strange, though she couldn't put her finger on why. She decided to get straight to the point: "Muye, when do you plan to marry Yuji?"

"Ah?"

Qin Muye was stunned: "We're getting married already?"

Qin Yanying's brows immediately furrowed: "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Yuji is beautiful, her medical skills are excellent, and she treats you well. How long has the girl been living in the Qin Mansion? Do you not intend to give her a proper status?"

She was truly satisfied with Bai Yuji now.

At first, she had thought this young girl was just coveting the status of the Qin Family.

But then, upon further reflection, a girl with such high medical skills could achieve status in any number of ways; why would she ever need to marry into the Qin Family?

She really is a fine girl.

Qin Muye grinned. "I'm certainly willing, but for something like marriage, I have to consult my parents, right?"

Qin Yanying slapped her thigh. "Perfect! The Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination is coming up soon, and your father will likely be coming to the capital. We can just get it done while he's here."

"The Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination? My father is coming to oversee it?"

"Does he have the culture for that? It's just that those small border nations don't want to fight anymore and are looking to use this opportunity to negotiate peace. Our Qin Family has guarded Annan and beaten up more foreign tribes than anyone else, so naturally, we have to send someone with weight. It'll be either your father or your fourth uncle. I've already written to them; we'll definitely get your marriage settled."

"..."

"You should also air your grievances. The culprit is a bit hard to catch, so while the family is here, we must convince the Emperor to increase the intensity of the investigation."

"Understood!"

Qin Muye was lost in thought. When he was at the Tea Pavilion today, Chen Sui had already told him that all the lackeys who had been rooted out, along with their families, had all died suddenly overnight.

This act of cutting off one's own arm to survive was enough to show the ruthlessness and power of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Chen Sui was extremely annoyed; he knew this was a big fish, and the Brocade Guard alone likely wouldn't be enough to handle it.

However, his request to the Emperor to mobilize the Shadow Guard had gone unanswered.

If he wanted to push things further, he might truly need the Qin Family to step in.

But even if the Qin Family stepped in, the Emperor might not necessarily be willing to hand over the culprit.

Right!

Hand over the culprit!

A cold glint flickered in the depths of Qin Muye's eyes. Today, he had been put off by that Infatuated Woman, and his body had experienced some issues, which caused him to disconnect the surveillance.

But he had still managed to see that Infatuated Woman's fate.

[Main Fate · Infatuated Woman]: A yandere turned demonic, loving but unable to possess.
[Fate Grade]: Seventh Grade (79/80)
[Annotation]: A stinking rat with a connected brain, willing to be reduced to a chess piece, yet out of jealousy and hatred, she slaughtered her lover's offspring and was killed by her lover after giving birth.

Slaughtering her lover's offspring—this "lover" could be none other than Qin Kaijiang.

In his memory, the skin on Qin Kaijiang's body was divided into two distinct areas with a slight difference in color.

It seemed now that this was caused by being skinned by that woman.

For a Grand Marshal to be skinned—such a massive event, yet he, as a son, had never heard of it. This showed that this beautiful woman's identity was far from ordinary.

Coupled with her financial resources and her ability to command Li Xingluo, the answer was practically staring him in the face.

Grand Princess Li Runyue, Li Hong's own younger sister, and the only person in Great Gan to be titled Grand Princess.

It was just that after helping Li Hong ascend the throne, she had vanished without a trace. Very few stories about her had leaked out, and no one knew what exactly had happened to make her become so deranged.

Spending four thousand spirit stones to buy a humanoid Purple Mood, and then actually sewing on a...

Qin Muye was basically certain that Li Runyue's move against him was likely not the Emperor's intention—at least not the Emperor's current intention. The Emperor would have known about the various tribes coming to the capital for peace talks much earlier than he did; it was impossible for him to stir up trouble at such a critical juncture.

But whether the Emperor knew that Li Runyue was the one behind it was another matter entirely.

This kind of crazy woman who lacked any sense of the bigger picture and kept trying to kill him had to be dealt with.

He felt a bit of regret.

If only he had known, he would have installed an explosive member on the puppet.

But upon further thought, that didn't seem feasible either.

No sane person would install such a thing on a puppet; doing so would only invite suspicion.

Moreover, Li Runyue was clearly prepared; the one she had sewn on might even be a mold of Qin Kaijiang's, and she probably couldn't bear to replace it.

That is just absurd!

This woman rarely appeared in public; how was he supposed to kill her?

"Muye? What are you thinking about?"

"No, nothing! Let's eat!"

"Eat up! Later, take some food to Yuji."

"Alright!"

Qin Muye carried the food and walked to Bai Yuji's door.

"Wife, time to eat!"

"Not hungry!"

"Hungry or not doesn't matter; I mainly have something I want to tell you."

"I won't listen!"

"I'm getting married. My family has arranged a marriage for me."

"What!"

Bai Yuji pushed the door open, dragged Qin Muye inside, and glared at him fiercely. "Didn't I tell you not to get married? Do you really think I wouldn't lay a hand on you?"

She didn't even understand why she was so furious.

Although this would squeeze the space she had to manipulate Qin Muye, marriages between noble families were common enough, and she had already prepared to coerce Qin Muye into declining.

Yet, hearing this news still made her incredibly angry.

Qin Muye set down his tray and rubbed his head in frustration. "The thing is, I can't refuse this marriage, and I actually quite like the girl."

Bai Yuji became even angrier.

Qin Muye hurriedly tried to make amends. "Of course, I know this goes against our agreement, and I have no right to talk about liking anyone or not. I came to you specifically to ask for your help in finding a way out."

Bai Yuji asked with a dark expression, "Who is the woman?"