An Emperor Crashes the Wedding! I, Li Junhua, Object!

"Suwen... you..."

Li Junhua opened his mouth, as though something had lodged in his throat.

At the garden entrance.

Su Linxian leaned against a spirit tree, arms folded, watching the scene in the pavilion.

Yu Yao crouched beside him, hugging a bag of spirit fruit. Her golden slit pupils sparkled as she ate and watched, the words "what a show" practically written across her face.

Ming Qingshu stood behind Su Linxian, frozen like a wooden chicken.

She looked at the breathtaking woman in plain robes in the pavilion, then at the young man gripping her great-grandmother's wrist. Her mind was a tangled mess.

"That... that's Great-Grandmother?" she murmured. "He really knows my great-grandmother?"

Li Junhua opened his mouth, his fingers still wrapped around Ming Suwen's wrist, his grip unconsciously tightening.

"Did the You Family force you? If you're unwilling, I—"

"Force me?"

Ming Suwen interrupted him. She raised her eyes, her cool gaze resting on the face before her, now so much younger.

"Quite the opposite. The You Family avenged my Ming Family and wiped out the enemies who slaughtered my entire family back then. You Xuanhai searched for me for forty thousand years and never forced anything upon me. He rebuilt the Ming Family Ancestral Hall for me, erected memorial tablets, and sought renowned physicians across the world to prolong my life. These old wounds I carried for forty thousand years—he spent thirty thousand years gathering all the spirit medicines needed to heal them."

"I waited forty thousand years for you."

Li Junhua's fingers went rigid.

"I waited from the bloom of youth until my hair turned white, then from white-haired old age until my youth returned. I waited outside the forbidden zone, in every place you might appear. But where were you?"

She looked into Li Junhua's eyes and spoke each word distinctly.

Li Junhua shuddered. He opened his mouth, wanting to explain.

He had sat in desolate stillness deep within the forbidden zone for seventy-six thousand years, laying plans, plotting, waiting. He had thought his wait was the longest thing in this world.

But he had forgotten that outside the forbidden zone, a woman had waited longer and suffered more than he had.

"I..."

"There's no need to say anything."

Ming Suwen pulled her hand free of his grasp.

Her movement was gentle, yet resolute. She turned away to face the jade-green lotus pond again, her back straight, like a white plum tree standing in the wind.

"I waited forty thousand years for you. It's time for it to end."

Li Junhua stood in the pavilion, staring at her back, as though something had been hollowed out of him. In the end, he said nothing more.

"I understand..."

He turned and descended the stone bridge with heavy steps, walking over to Su Linxian.

"Master..." His voice was so hoarse it barely held its shape. "Let's go."

Su Linxian leaned against the spirit tree, arms folded, and watched him through narrowed eyes for a while.

"You're just leaving like that?"

He had thought Li Junhua would try a little harder.

Li Junhua said, "I'm the one who wronged her."

"Let's go."

Su Linxian straightened and turned toward the garden exit. Yu Yao skipped after him, hugging her bag of spirit fruit.

Li Junhua followed at the rear.

Ming Qingshu did not remain where she was. Watching that plain-robed figure in the pavilion, she hesitated for a long time before finally gathering the courage to approach.

She crossed the stone bridge, stopped at the edge of the pavilion, and softly called to Ming Suwen's back.

"Great-Grandmother."

Ming Suwen's shoulders trembled slightly.

She slowly turned and looked at the young woman with delicate, lovely features before her.

She studied Ming Qingshu for a long while. A sense of kinship stirred in her blood, as though she had recognized something.

"You are..."

"I am Ming Qingshu, a descendant of the Ming Family." Ming Qingshu knelt, her voice choked with tears. "When the Ming Family was slaughtered, I was the only one who escaped. I fled to the Ziwei Domain. I always thought I was the only member of the Ming Family left..."

"That senior just now brought me here."

Ming Suwen froze.

She hurried forward, crouched, and cupped Ming Qingshu's face in her hands, carefully studying her eyes and brows.

"Dear child. Dear child."

Outside the garden, You Chengji approached briskly with several elders, smiling and carrying himself respectfully.

"Young Master Su, since Miss Ming is Ming Suwen's blood relative, she is an honored guest of our You Family. Why not stay at the estate for another two days? Our family head's wedding is the day after tomorrow. Guests will gather then, and the King-Sealing Trial will begin at the same time. If you're interested, you might enjoy watching both."

Su Linxian considered it, then nodded.

"Very well."

That night, the You Family arranged a private courtyard for Su Linxian and his two companions. Elegant and tranquil, it was rich in spiritual energy. The moment Yu Yao entered, she claimed the bed in the innermost room, threw herself into the bedding, and rolled around twice, her golden dragon horns rustling against the pillow.

"Ah—so comfy! Master, Master, when will you get me a bed like this?"

Su Linxian ignored her. He sat in the courtyard's stone pavilion, watching the light glowing in the room opposite.

Li Junhua had shut himself in his room after returning and had not come out.

Once Yu Yao had rolled around enough, she poked her head out, glanced at the tightly shut door, and pursed her lips.

"Master, that fellow is utterly heartless. She waited forty thousand years for him, and he only showed up now that she's getting married."

Su Linxian smiled unconcernedly, picked up the tea on the table, and took a sip.

"Enough. Why concern yourself with so much?"

"Don't disturb me."

With a thought, he summoned the Supreme Emperor Bell.

Hummm.

The little bronze bell flew from his palm, hovered in the center of the stone pavilion, and expanded to roughly ten feet in size.

Su Linxian sat cross-legged inside the bell and began contemplating every subtle mystery of the Peak Emperor Realm.

After his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body reached full mastery, both his physical body and his soul had attained an unprecedented state of perfection. Many laws of the Great Dao that had once been indistinct were now clearly discernible.

In the midst of his contemplation, Su Linxian's brow suddenly twitched.

His divine sense spread silently, passing through the courtyard walls and layer upon layer of halls until it reached the main hall in the deepest part of the You Family estate.

The hall was brightly lit, with several presences gathered inside, seemingly discussing something in secret.

Su Linxian had not intended to pry, but amid one of those presences came a term that interested him.

"The Ming Family."

Inside the main hall, a figure stood with his hands behind his back. His features were imposing, and he wore a black flood-dragon robe, his aura unfathomable.

You Xuanhai, head of the You Family, an Emperor Realm cultivator and one of the foremost experts in the Blazing Extreme Dao Domain.

His expression was dark as he angrily berated the elders below him.

"Why is someone from the Ming Family still alive?!"

The elders exchanged looks, none able to answer. You Xuanhai slammed a palm against an armrest, making the entire main hall shudder.

"Weren't they all killed back then?! More than three hundred members of the Ming Family, not one left alive—that was what we agreed upon! Now a descendant has appeared, and she's even met Ming Suwen—how have you been handling things?!"

One elder said quietly, "Family Head, Ming Qingshu only arrived in King-Sealing City recently. She was in the Ziwei Domain before that. We truly didn't know..."

"Didn't know?!" You Xuanhai abruptly turned. "She cannot live! If Ming Suwen learns what happened back then from her, do you think she'll still willingly marry into the You Family? I've spent forty thousand years laying this net, and just as I'm about to draw it closed, you cause trouble at this critical moment?"

His voice turned icy as he enunciated every word.

"Find an opportunity and kill her. Leave no traces."

Su Linxian withdrew his divine sense, his eyes flickering.

So there was a twist like this?

He had thought the You Family had sincerely avenged the Ming Family. He had never expected that the You Family itself had destroyed them.

They had slaughtered her entire family, then appeared as benefactors, pretending to avenge Ming Suwen and deceiving her for forty thousand years.

How interesting.

Su Linxian turned toward Li Junhua's room and called out.

"Li Junhua."

Li Junhua came out and bowed slightly, his voice hoarse.

"What are your orders, Master?"

Su Linxian looked at him and said evenly, "There's something I need to tell you."

"There may be more to the Ming Family's extermination than you know."

"What?!" Li Junhua froze.

Su Linxian recounted everything he had just heard, leaving nothing out.

Li Junhua's haggard face stiffened, then turned livid. In the end, every expression shattered into an almost crazed fury.

His clenched fists crackled, towering rage burned in his golden pupils, and his aura erupted uncontrollably, splitting several cracks through the courtyard's stone paving.

Bang!

"Bastard!"

"You Xuanhai!!!"

Li Junhua's voice seemed to squeeze through his clenched teeth, every word carrying sky-high hatred.

He had already been prepared to give up.

But that man had deceived Ming Suwen for forty thousand years!

He had slaughtered her entire family, then pretended to avenge them, making her so grateful that she would marry him!

Watching him, Su Linxian's lips curved upward.

"Her wedding is the day after tomorrow."

He tilted his head and glanced at Yu Yao. She was sprawled over the windowsill with a pillow in her arms, watching the excitement, her golden slit pupils blinking.

Su Linxian lifted his chin toward her.

"I'll lend you Yu Yao. Handle it yourself."

Li Junhua abruptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed hard, his voice hoarse and resolute.

"Thank you, Master!"

[Ding! Heaven-Destined Protagonist Li Junhua has submitted completely. Congratulations on receiving 1,000,000 villain points!]

One million?!

Su Linxian's eyes lit up.

Li Junhua rose and strode out of the courtyard with Yu Yao.

Yu Yao tossed aside the pillow and skipped after him.

As she walked, she rubbed her fists and flexed her hands, an excited grin on her face.

"Hehe, I finally get to fight."

The courtyard fell quiet again.

Su Linxian leaned against a pillar of the stone pavilion, watched the two figures vanish into the night, then lifted his teacup and took a sip.

The night was deep, King-Sealing City blazed with lights, and red silk fluttered softly in the wind throughout the city. A storm was coming.

Two days later, King-Sealing City.

The entire city was wrapped in celebration.

From the city gates to the You Family's main entrance, ten miles of streets were carpeted with scarlet brocade. Countless spirit lamps hung on either side, illuminating the entire city as brightly as day. Saint clans and Dao Domain factions arrived in an endless stream, luxurious carriages rolling out of the void and stopping before the You Family's main gates.

The Ancient Saint Clan, the Upper Clarity Dao Sect, the Nine Heavens Sacred Land, the Primordial Beginning Ancient Church... almost every notable faction in the Blazing Extreme Dao Domain had arrived. Even the overlords of several neighboring Dao Domains had sent envoys to witness the ceremony.

"The Yuan Family of the Ancient Saint Clan has arrived, bearing one saint treasure and ten million supreme-grade spirit stones as wedding gifts!"

"The Nine Heavens Sacred Land has arrived with its Dao Child, bearing one million-year-old precious herb and one Saint Realm magical treasure..."

The You Family estate's main gates stood wide open. Two rows of Quasi-Emperor guards in gleaming armor lined the path all the way from the entrance to the main hall.

Before the main hall, a red carpet covered ninety-nine white jade steps. Sixteen enormous bronze cauldrons stood beside them, burning ten-thousand-year-old spirit incense. Wisps of blue smoke rose, shrouding the whole estate in a haze of auspicious mist.

"Hahaha! You're all too kind!"

Today, You Xuanhai wore a red-and-gold flood-dragon robe, an imperial crown on his head and a jade pendant at his waist. He stood before the main hall, his face glowing with delight.

His hearty, booming laughter echoed throughout the estate as he accepted congratulations from guests of every faction.

After forty thousand years of planning, he would finally draw his net closed today. Ming Suwen, the Ming Family's divine maiden whose beauty had eclipsed the world forty thousand years ago, would formally become his wife. The Ming Family's accumulated wealth and resources, along with the primordial bloodline within Ming Suwen, would become the foundation for the You Family's next ascent.

Wine cup in hand, he passed through the crowd and approached Su Linxian and Yun Qian.

"Young Master Su!" You Xuanhai cupped his hands in greeting, his face full of smiles. "I am deeply grateful that members of two Emperor Clans have come! Come, come, let this old man offer you a toast!"

Reclining in his seat, Su Linxian lifted his wine cup and clinked it against his.

His gaze passed over You Xuanhai's shoulder and settled on the figure adorned in red silk deep within the main hall, an inscrutable curve touching his lips.

"Congratulations," he said lightly.

You Xuanhai laughed heartily, drained his cup, and turned toward the raised platform.

His steps were light and his back straight, as though he had become tens of thousands of years younger.

Su Linxian set down his wine cup and leaned back in his chair, his lazy gaze sweeping over the entire hall.

Guests from every faction exchanged toasts, their laughter and chatter filling the hall with festive cheer. He lifted his teacup and took a sip, a hint of anticipation for the coming show in his eyes.

"The auspicious hour has arrived!"

Clang, clang, clang...

Bells and drums sounded together, and celestial music began to play. Silence fell both inside and outside the hall, every gaze turning toward its depths. A procession of maids emerged slowly with flower baskets, scattering petals along the way. Amid the swirling petals, a figure slowly stepped out from behind the hall.

Ming Suwen.

She wore a scarlet wedding gown, a phoenix crown, and ceremonial bridal robes, her face covered by a gold-threaded veil embroidered with a dragon and phoenix.

Her steps were slow, each one seeming to tread upon the clouds, her figure slender and dignified. Her scarlet hem trailed across the ground, and the gold-embroidered phoenix appeared and disappeared with her movements, as though it had come alive. She reached You Xuanhai and stopped.

As You Xuanhai gazed at the figure before him, even his breathing grew heavier.

His fingers trembled slightly as he reached toward the bridal veil.

His voice carried an excitement he could not suppress, as though he had finally obtained the treasure he had yearned for all this time.

"Suwen... at last, you're mine."

His fingertips touched the edge of the veil.

Just then!

"You Xuanhai!!!"

A furious shout thundered in from outside the hall like a bolt exploding from the highest heavens.

That voice bore towering fury and hatred suppressed for ten thousand years, like thunder erupting from the depths of the netherworld.

The entire hall shook under the force of that voice. Countless cups rolled off the tables and shattered into dust against the floor. Everyone inside whipped their heads toward the entrance.

A figure stood in midair.

The newcomer was none other than Li Junhua.

He wore black robes, his black hair hanging loose, his golden eyes blazing with towering fury.

Ming Qingshu followed behind him, her fists clenched tight. Her face was pale, but her gaze was resolute.

Su Linxian smiled. "So you've finally come..."

Li Junhua declared, "I, Li Junhua, will not consent to this marriage!"