On the morning of the grand wedding, at the General's Manor.
Crimson Nine sat before the vanity mirror, looking at the breathtakingly red bridal robes reflected in the glass. Her expression remained indifferent. Xiao Xi rushed in, clutching a letter in her hand.
"Miss! Someone shoved this through the back gate. They said... it's a personal letter from the Second Prince."
Crimson Nine arched an eyebrow. Before she even opened it, the tactical bracer on her left wrist pulsed with light.
[System Alert: Trace amounts of hallucinogenic substances (Datura pollen) detected on the paper. Long-term inhalation causes mental confusion. Suggestion: Immediate destruction.]
Crimson Nine let out a cold laugh. She didn't even bother breaking the seal. Instead, she held the corner of the envelope to the flame of a nearby red candle. The fire instantly curled around the paper, devouring it. In the strange fragrance released by the burning pollen, she watched his so-called "deep affection" turn to ash, her eyes remaining frigid.
"What is Ning'er burning? The scent is quite pungent."
A cool voice rang out. Xiao Zhan stood at the doorway, having arrived unannounced. Today, he wore a dark red royal喜服 (wedding robe) embroidered with pythons. It made him look as elegant as carved jade, though he maintained that lingering "sickly" disguise in his eyes.
"Burning some disgusting trash," Crimson Nine replied, turning to look at him. "Sent by the Second Prince. Your Highness, your elder brother seems 'deeply rooted in love' with me—he even resorted to drugging the letter to make me 'change my mind' on the bridal sedan."
Xiao Zhan's phoenix eyes narrowed, a flash of murderous intent flickering deep within before transforming into a sharp, poisonous smirk. "Second Brother is certainly becoming more creative. Ning'er, as you said, this 'regretful grass' isn't just covered in filth; it's grown poisonous. It truly should be cast far away."
He added softly, "It seems a house arrest isn't enough to stifle his talent for scheming."
He walked slowly to her side, looking at the heroic woman in the mirror. He reached out, his long fingers gently tidying the red silk at her temple. "What a pity he doesn't realize that you aren't just grass anymore—you are covered in thorns. Aside from me... anyone who touches you dies."
Crimson Nine looked at their overlapping reflections, a playful smirk touching her lips. "Your Highness, save the sweet talk for Zhanchuan. Let's go. Don't keep the Preceptor and your brother waiting. Let's treat this wedding as my 'parting gift' to this capital."
On the day of the wedding, the ten-mile-long main street of the capital was packed to bursting.
Logically, this should have been a somber affair—the union of a fallen Prince and an orphaned girl. But when the wedding procession appeared, the entire city held its breath.
Xiao Zhan had discarded his wheelchair. For the first time, he rode atop a magnificent, snow-white Ferghana stallion. Beneath his dark red robes, his posture was as straight and resilient as bamboo. Though his face remained pale, the deep gaze of his phoenix eyes carried a pressure that made people shiver.
"Your Highness, the auspicious hour has arrived," Shadow Blade whispered.
Xiao Zhan nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the closed gates of the General's Manor.
BOOM!
The gates swung wide.
Crimson Nine did not allow the matchmakers to support her, nor did she wear the red veil that would have obscured her vision. She wore crimson bridal robes embroidered with gold-threaded begonia flowers, cinched at the waist by a black jade-inlaid belt that highlighted her lithe, explosive agent's physique.
She stepped over the threshold, but in her hand, she held no silk flower ball. Instead, she gripped a pitch-black longsword with a ruby-encrusted hilt—the personal blade of the late General Chu Zheng.
[System Prompt: 108 surveillance points detected. 36 spies from the Preceptor, 42 scouts from various Princes.]
With a cold smirk, Crimson Nine ignored the gasps of the crowd. She reached up and tossed her red veil over her shoulder, letting it flutter away to reveal a face of absolute, heroic beauty.
"Heavens... the Chu girl isn't wearing her veil?"
"That's General Chu's sword! Is she getting married or going to war?"
In the crowd, several old veterans who had fought alongside her father felt their backs straighten, their eyes turning red with emotion. This wasn't a girl being sent away into exile; this was the return of a God of War!
Crimson Nine walked with a wind-like stride directly to Xiao Zhan's horse.
Xiao Zhan looked down at her, his admiration completely unconcealed. He reached out his hand, his voice low and teasing. "Ning'er, the roads in the capital are difficult to walk. Shall I carry you for a stretch?"
Crimson Nine arched an eyebrow. She didn't take his hand. Instead, she tapped her toes against the ground and leaped. Her body was a streak of crimson lightning as she vaulted through the air, landing steadily on the horse behind Xiao Zhan.
"The sedan is too slow," she said, her voice ringing out brilliantly in the wind as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Since we're going to Zhanchuan, let's go fast. Your Highness, ride!"
Xiao Zhan let out a low laugh—the most genuine, spirited laugh of his entire life. He snapped the reins, and the white stallion reared up, hooves shattering the silence of the street.
"Depart!"
Atop the City Walls.
State Preceptor Xing Chen's black robes billowed in the wind. His face was grim as he watched the couple who had completely escaped his control. The tracking butterflies in his palm beat their wings frantically, trapped in a "signal loop." For the first time, he felt a surge of anxiety that his grand plan was collapsing.
Meanwhile, within his manor, Xiao Yu watched through a secret tunnel opening. He saw the woman he could not have clinging intimately to the "sickly ghost" he hated most, the two of them riding together into a sunset that was hauntingly beautiful.
"Chu... Zhao... Ning..." Overcome by rage, Xiao Yu coughed up a spray of crimson blood.
This was no exile.
This was a pair of "Gods of War" delivering a resounding slap to the face of the capital before the eyes of the world.
Behind them, the procession carried heavy crates (filled with defense tech Crimson Nine had manufactured overnight), disappearing into the yellow sands beyond the city gates.
[System: High-risk monitoring zone of the Capital exited.]
[Current Status: Secure.]
[Next Phase: Cross the Fengyuan Plains; Reclaim the 37 Military Stockades.]
The wind picked up, and Crimson Nine took one last look at the shrinking imperial city.
The game had only just begun.