The day of Tantai Ye's wedding arrived, filling the capital with an unprecedented liveliness.
The common folk buzzed with gossip, especially as whispers spread that the bride, Princess Anning, was in a coma, causing a great deal of amusement.
Some brought up old tales of common women and the Princess of Qinghe, speculating wildly.
In the tea houses, storytellers embellished the event with fantastical narratives.
However, regardless of external chatter, the General's mansion bustled with preparations for the joyous occasion.
As the Empress Dowager's adopted daughter, the bride was to be married from the palace.
Two days before the wedding, Lan Murou was sent into the imperial palace, attended by dedicated servants.
During the night, Tantai Ye secretly entered the palace.
The palace maids on night duty, sent by the Empress Dowager, were positioned by the bedside as Lan Murou was unconscious. Witnessing someone's intrusion, they were startled and immediately tried to cry out.
"Be silent. It is I."
"General!"
Moonlight cast a chilling frost upon his cold, handsome face.
The palace maids quickly bowed. Seeing him sit by the bedside, they hesitated for a moment before reminding him.
"General, it is not advisable for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding."
Tantai Ye paused. "Is there a taboo?"
"Yes."
He lowered his sharp gaze and said, "I will leave shortly. You may go and stand guard outside."
The palace maids dared not say more and respectfully withdrew.
The door closed, leaving only the faint flicker of candlelight within the room.
Tantai Ye gazed at the person lying on the bed, day after day, asleep. His chiseled face was devoid of any expression, his long, sharp black eyes filled with a proud solitude, like a hawk in the night.
"Rou'er."
He reached out and gently caressed her soft, tender face, his expression terrifyingly calm.
"I am so despicable. If you wake up, will you hate me for marrying you?"
The person on the bed offered no response, her eyes, which once held a tender gaze, were closed, never to open again.
Tantai Ye let out a scoff, his expression sagging.
"You will not wake up. Never again."
A double death, a punishment from her to him, ensuring his remaining years would be without peace.
Yes, she had achieved it.
He would never know peace in this life!
The air was terribly still.
Tantai Ye sat by the bed, quietly watching her, his gaze somewhat hollow.
The wedding day arrived swiftly. On the day of the grand ceremony, the bride was roused early. However, she remained unconscious, with palace attendants serving her throughout the proceedings.
The entire palace exuded a cold, desolate atmosphere.
The festive "喜" characters hanging on the palace walls seemed to mock this absurd marriage.
Since Lan Murou had no relatives in the capital, Tantai Ye invited the Grand Princess to dress her and escort her, bestowing great honor upon the occasion.
When the Grand Princess arrived with her retinue, the bride had just donned her phoenix coronet and robes and was being helped to sit before the dressing table.
Everyone looked at the bride with her eyes closed, their expressions varied.
A bride in a coma was a preposterous affair, something unheard of since the establishment of Jiuzhou.
"Oh, what a beautiful bride, truly a beauty beyond compare."
Those who accompanied the Grand Princess were influential nobles from the capital. A madame, sensing the awkward atmosphere in the room, chuckled and tried to smooth things over.
Once someone broke the silence, others joined in.
Gradually, the hall became a little more lively.
The Grand Princess, seeing that time was running short, quickly instructed Granny Quanfu to prepare the bride, adorn her, and dress her elaborately.
Yet, the auspicious hour had arrived, and the welcoming procession had still not appeared.
"Quick, go and see if the groomsmen are delayed—"
"Your servant will go now."
Meanwhile, at the General's mansion, chaos had erupted.
Tantai Ye knew that Lan Murou cherished her younger brother the most, so he had brought Lan Muyan back to the capital.
However, the child, having somehow learned the truth of his sister's coma, had attacked Tantai Ye in the rear hall, causing a tremendous commotion.
The Tantai clan members were furious. The event was already a laughingstock, and on the wedding day, such a disgraceful incident had occurred, nearly causing the old matriarch to faint from anger.
The General's mansion was filled with guests, all of whom had caught wind of the whispers and were discussing it in private.
Madame Yuehua and other madames hurried to greet the guests, unable to attend to matters here.
"My sister does not wish to marry you."
Seeing that time was running late, Tantai Ye did not wish to argue with him and ordered him to be taken away.
"Keep a close watch on him, lest he cause trouble."
"Yes."
Due to Lan Murou's condition, it was inconvenient for her to perform many courtesies during the wedding procession. The welcoming party therefore proceeded directly to the Xuanwu Gate to receive the bride, bypassing the imperial court.
The Grand Princess, seeing the firecrackers from the groomsmen, ordered the bride to be placed in a dragon carriage drawn by four pure white horses. The procession departed the palace with much fanfare.
This wedding was an incredibly grand affair.
All the citizens of the capital gathered on the streets to witness the spectacle.
After all, the Tantai clan had hosted a three-day banquet at the Wangyue Tower before the wedding as a good omen, with anyone welcome to partake.
The capital had been abuzz with excitement for days.
On the Vermilion Bird Avenue, even before the bride's sedan chair emerged, many citizens were already peering out in anticipation.
Such was the grandeur of the Tantai clan's wedding; rows of soldiers stood at attention. As the procession emerged from the palace gates, the troops orderly moved out, separating the crowds, creating a majestic scene.
"Wow, so many people."
The bride's procession was indeed quite spectacular. Military honor guards led the way, followed by over a dozen elaborately dressed palace maids on horseback, paving the path.
With ten miles of dowry, accompanying guards, and musical ensembles, there were three to five hundred people in the procession. As they exited the palace gates, music played continuously, accompanied by the cacophony of firearms and firecrackers.
The dragon carriage where the bride was seated was adorned with painted white egrets, and its four corners were draped with golden bead curtains that swayed gently in the wind, obscuring the figure within, allowing only a faint glimpse of a crimson silhouette.
"Why is she sitting in a carriage?"
"Don't you know? They say the bride is unconscious. If she were in a sedan chair, wouldn't she fall out? Ah, ha ha."
The common folk, witnessing the magnificent spectacle, spoke with laughter.
However, just as the leading honor guard had taken their positions and the dragon carriage carrying the bride emerged from the palace gates, a large group of assassins suddenly appeared.
The scene unfolded with such suddenness that no one anticipated it. In the heart of the imperial city, such an event during the Tantai clan's wedding procession was unexpected, and the entire entourage descended into chaos.
The accompanying soldiers, sensing the danger, quickly moved to assist.
But with so many citizens gathered on Vermilion Bird Avenue to watch, the assassins' appearance caused the panicked crowd to scatter, inadvertently blocking many soldiers.
General Su Lin, who was escorting the bride, saw the sudden emergence of numerous assassins and swiftly rode his horse to protect the dragon carriage.
"Quickly, protect the Madam, go quickly—"
"General, it's people from the Southern Border—"
With a loud bang in the sky, smoke bombs detonated, and a peculiar fragrance spread rapidly, causing many soldiers to cry out and collapse.
The common folk fared no better, their screams and cries of pain echoing incessantly.
The entire street descended into a chaotic mess.
"General, the Madam has been taken!"
"Quick, chase after them—"
Su Lin, enraged, quickly mounted his horse and pursued.
"Quick, go and inform the General! The Madam has been abducted! Can we order the city gates closed?!"