“Very well, then allow this Humble Servant to pose a simple query. In the annals of our glorious nation’s history, there is a celebrated woman, known as Qiao Yan Jun. When she wed, she famously used an entire street as her dowry – a tale presumably known to all. So, pray tell, what was the name of the younger brother of the gentleman Qiao Yan Jun married?”

The fifty-seventh year of the Qi Li Yuan Feng era, the fifteenth day of the fifth month. A day deemed auspicious for travel, for marriage, and for settling into a new abode…

Perhaps, however, not the most suitable day for answering questions.

The vast manor of the Grand Scholar of the Court of Judicial Review was adorned with crimson and festive colors.

Outside the Yi mansion, nine layers of ornate gates had been erected along the street.

Chong Xuan Sheng, resplendent in a grand scarlet official’s robe, currently stood before the fifth gate, a joyous smile on his face, devoid of any anxiety.

Leading the way before him, the Green Luan, Jiang Qing Yang, was, however, itching with impatience, his gaze darting about restlessly.

According to the marriage customs of the Qi kingdom:

The new groom and the new bride wear grand scarlet.

The Green Luan accompanying the new groom must wear green attire, and the Purple Phoenix attending the new bride must don a purple gown. This is the so-called “Green Luan and Purple Phoenix, an auspicious sign for a propitious marriage.”

This green attire was not the simple style Jiang Wang usually favored, but rather embroidered with intricate green patterns, depicting cloud-laden seas, displaying colors of extreme luxury.

As the saying goes, “people rely on clothes, horses rely on saddles.” Today’s Marquis Wu An, to describe him as handsome and refined, would not be an exaggeration.

The young maiden guarding that gate, her eyes were practically glued to the Marquis Wu An’s person. Of course, the question from her lips was anything but lenient.

These nine layers of colored gates each presented a challenge. The questions posed were often fantastical, involving Dao techniques, divine abilities, weaponry, fisticuffs, and all manner of trials, without restriction. There were also requirements to perform somersaults, sing operas, or engage in other peculiar acts. Each layer represented a single pass, the nine layers signifying eternity.

The surrounding throng of people crowded the area tightly, among them no shortage of young masters and princes.

The grandson of the Marquis Bo Wang was celebrating his grand marriage, and had invited the world-renowned Marquis Wu An to serve as the Green Luan. It was assumed that he would be unstoppable, like bamboo splitting effortlessly. Everyone eagerly awaited the display of the peerless talent’s grace.

But the reality was…

Today, Jiang the Green Luan had not passed a single gate. He had been stumped by questions of poetry, lyrics, and songs at four gates already.

If one could not pass the test, there were ways to proceed.

On previous occasions, it involved either performing a body technique akin to a wolf’s sprint and a pig’s charge on the spot, or it required using Dao techniques to arrange some rare patterns.

And before the fifth colored gate, hung bottles of five flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. Each bottle was filled to the brim with a broth of unknown color. Drinking it allowed one to proceed.

This was given the name “Five Flavors Intermingled.”

Entering the Five Flavors with extraordinary powers was permitted, but resisting with extraordinary powers was not. The sourness was enough to make teeth ache, the sweetness excessively cloying, the bitterness caused faces to wrinkle, the spiciness brought on a sweat, and the saltiness made one choke…

Jiang Jue Ye’s handsome face was already an indistinguishable mix of blue, red, black, and white.

At this moment, he looked at Yi Huai Min, who stood smiling with his eyes narrowed before the grand gate of the Yi mansion, his gaze filled with profound killing intent.

Yi Huai Min, why are your questions so biased? You ask me who Qiao Yan Jun’s husband was, and I cannot answer. I only know the name Qiao Yan Jun. And you still ask about her husband’s younger brother?

As for those questions of poetry, lyrics, and songs, you wouldn’t let me recite famous works, yet you found obscure passages in forgotten corners. Are you even human?

In the circle of young masters in Lin Zi, this Yi Huai Min was also a rather unique existence. He was a representative figure of the “lying flat” faction, a rising star who held the potential to inherit the mantle of Chong Xuan Ming Guang.

Of course, he was still very young and had not yet been tested by time. It remained to be seen if he could possess the consistent spirit of Master Ming Guang.

After all, the rhythm of life in Lin Zi was generally quite intense. Even the most decadent young people occasionally had moments of profound reflection and would stir themselves to make an effort every so often.

With an ordinary appearance, completely lacking his father’s good looks, Yi Huai Min wore a look of regret as he glanced back, saying, “The auspicious hour is almost upon us. Is Marquis Wu An not going to reveal his true capabilities?”

Jiang Wang had at this point clearly recognized the reality of the situation. He knew that relying on himself, he could not pass these nine layers of colored gates. For a moment, he looked left and right.

“Don’t turn back.” Chong Xuan Sheng, whose smile was particularly bright, had already transmitted his voice a step ahead: “Don’t look at me. Such an obscure and peculiar question, I wouldn’t know either. If I did, do you think I would watch you suffer? Things have come to this… today is my grand happy day, don’t drag me down with you in losing face.”

Marquis Jiang Ye suddenly glanced at Li Long Chuan on the side of the field, and swiftly transmitted his voice to ask for the answer.

Li Long Chuan remained silent, striking a pose as if drawing a bow, indicating that he was a military man, from a family of military strategists, and did not understand such things. Brother Jiang, you should ask others.

“…” Jiang Wang looked again at Yan Fu, who had just been holding hands with Wen Ting Lan and whispering sweet nothings. Regardless of whether he was pretending not to notice or truly unaware, Jiang Wang sent a burst of voice transmissions.

Yan Fu turned his head, looking at him with sincere earnestness, then suddenly raised both hands: “Come, let’s cheer for Marquis Wu An!”

As he clapped his hands, he shouted: “Marquis Wu An! Give it strength!”

The surrounding crowd was suddenly stirred, and for a time, applause thundered and cheers surged like a tide.

“Marquis Wu An! Give it strength!”

“Marquis Wu An! Give it strength!”

Truly…

Too embarrassing.

Jiang Wang silently made a note in his heart. He pulled down the sour-flavored bottle, tilted his head and gulped it down. Immediately, his face wrinkled with sourness.

“Marquis Wu An, how heroic!!!” Li Long Chuan led the cheer.

The crowd followed, boiling with excitement.

“I’ll help you, I’ll help you.” The young maiden guarding the pass, her small face flushed, quickly took down the sweet-flavored bottle, thoughtfully opened it, and handed it to Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang was momentarily speechless. He took it and drank.

Sweet… too sweet.

So sweet that his teeth seemed about to fall out one by one.

And that face, which had originally been wrinkled, was completely stretched out.

The sweet flavor for a time overwhelmed the sourness, and his stomach began to churn.

He had just managed to swallow that mouthful with great difficulty when the bitter-flavored bottle was handed over again. The young maiden holding the transparent glass bottle looked at him with anticipation – her expectant gaze fixed on what new expression Marquis Wu An’s face would contort into.

“Chong Xuan Sheng, ah Chong Xuan Sheng, you must remember everything I have done for you.”

Jiang Wang sighed deeply, raised the bottle and drank it down again. Suddenly, a commotion erupted from within the Grand Scholar of the Court of Judicial Review’s mansion.

He vaguely heard someone shouting—

“Eh, eh, eh, the new bride is coming out! Quickly, go see!”

“How is she coming out at this time? Where, where?”

Jiang Wang’s voice-hearing Immortal State quickly activated. In the midst of the commotion, he immediately captured Fourteen’s timid voice: “They say he’ll be here soon, but he hasn’t arrived yet. I think he’s lost his way, so I’ll just go out and find him…”

But this voice was quickly cut off.

Presumably, the Grand Scholar Yi was unwilling to let people hear his daughter’s eagerness to marry in this manner.

Jiang Wang’s face suddenly changed color: “What’s happening inside? Everyone be careful, I’ll go take a look!”

With a wave of his hand, the bitter-flavored bottle, the spicy-flavored bottle, and the salty-flavored bottle shattered simultaneously.

With the urgency of a public good, displaying the courage to take on responsibility like Marquis Wu An, he led the charge into the Yi mansion. For a time, the wind howled and stones were sent flying. The several bamboo tubes holding the questions behind him all disappeared into chaos, leaving only the bare nine layers of colored gates, allowing the new groom to pass through smoothly.

“Nothing, nothing!”

The reaction from the Yi mansion was also very swift. Immediately, a housekeeper stood at the door: “Everything is normal inside. Just now, a cat knocked over a flower vase. Esteemed guests, there is no need to worry! Please continue to pass through the colored gates!”

“But these colored gates are all messed up!”

“The question tubes? Where did those several large question tubes go?”

“Find them, find them! They were just here!”

The crowd was in disarray, and several young maidens guarding the gates searched everywhere for the question tubes.

“Don’t panic!” Yi Huai Min stepped forward at this moment: “I remember all the questions!”

But as soon as the words left his lips, his face fell.

Jiang Wang took an urgent step forward and supported him, saying with great concern: “Brother Yi, you’re drunk!”

“It’s not that I’m telling you off, Huai Min. Usually being lazy is fine. But today is your sister’s big happy day, how could you drink so much?” As he complained, he handed him over to the Yi mansion’s housekeeper: “Quickly take your young master to sober up.”

Then, standing on the steps, he turned his head and waved his hand: “Sheng ge er, hurry, let’s not miss the auspicious hour!”

Chong Xuan Sheng had watched the entire process, smiling brightly as Marquis Jiang Ye saved himself. At this moment, he walked forward with a grand stride, stepped into the Yi mansion, and went to welcome his new bride.

Guarding the inner courtyard was Yi Huai Yong, whose personality was completely opposite to Yi Huai Min. He was simple and prudent, not one to talk much. In appearance, however, he quite resembled his father in several aspects.

If one observed this pair of brothers carefully, they would discover that their eyebrows were quite similar in many ways. However, it was the difference in small details that led to one being considered relatively handsome, while the other appeared ordinary.

He was originally not a person of a boisterous temperament. Coupled with the fact that his younger sister had just almost rushed out of her boudoir to the Chong Xuan family, he simply followed the etiquette process in a structured manner, and then let go with a smile.

Jiang Wang, as the Green Luan, led the way. Chong Xuan Sheng walked slowly behind, greeting the relatives and friends from the Yi family along the way. He was extremely skilled at such interactions, making the atmosphere very lively.

Yan Fu, Wen Ting Lan, and Li Long Chuan also joined the throng behind the new groom, their chatter endless. Having passed the nine layers of colored gates and drunk the Five Flavors Water, they seemed to have just remembered that they too were members of the welcoming party, and together, they advanced towards the new bride’s fragrant boudoir—a fragrant tower specially overseen by cultivators from the Ministry of Works, commissioned by Yi Xing Chen at great expense. In just a few short days, this fragrant tower had been constructed within the mansion. Compared to the ladies of the prominent families in Lin Zi, it was in no way inferior.

After the ceremony of acknowledging relatives, Fourteen would reside here. Later, this would be her maternal home, and she herself would often want to return to visit.

The party advanced smoothly, scattering money or presenting gifts. It could be described as unstoppable—until they encountered Li Feng Yao, adorned in a purple phoenix-patterned gown.

Her tall figure was fully accentuated by this attire today. The temperament inherited from a military family was also ingrained in her bones. Standing before the tower, she was like a barrier blocking a million soldiers.

One could not tell whether it was her beauty that was intimidating, or her power.

The noble air exuded by the phoenix pattern and subtle shadows on that purple gown was indeed only fitting as her adornment.

Yi Xing Chen’s adopted daughter was marrying, and it was necessary to have a Purple Phoenix of a certain status accompany her.

With Yi Xing Chen’s position, it was not difficult to find the daughters of several prominent families to send.

But to match the Green Luan invited by Chong Xuan Sheng, searching all of Lin Zi, there were actually not many.

Chong Xuan Sheng specifically invited Li Feng Yao to be this Purple Phoenix precisely to support Fourteen and ensure she did not suffer any grievance. Otherwise, he would have preferred to ask Chong Xuan Xin to be the Green Luan.

In terms of family background, talent, appearance, cultivation, and all other aspects, even in Lin Zi, the capital of the Eastern Kingdom, there were not many women who could compare to Li Feng Yao.

With Li Feng Yao keeping watch, the new bride indeed suffered no grievance.

The high-spirited, aggressive welcoming party, upon seeing Li Feng Yao, immediately lost three points of momentum from head to toe.

As the Purple Phoenix today, it was not appropriate to be too aloof, so her face also wore a faint smile.

But that kind of momentum from within made people dare not slight her in the slightest.

Jiang Wang, who had stormed through the colored gates and pressed Yi Huai Min, who had shown such cleverness and imposing presence, upon seeing Li Feng Yao, was also momentarily nervous.

Chong Xuan Pang had not mentioned beforehand who the Purple Phoenix was, and Li Long Chuan had not leaked any information today. As the Green Luan, he had been busy running around and had not had time to think further. He had still thought that Li Feng Yao would arrive a little later, directly at the Marquis Bo Wang’s mansion for the banquet.

According to the prevailing customs in Lin Zi, especially at the weddings of famous families, the Green Luan and the Purple Phoenix always engaged in several rounds of confrontation, thereby demonstrating the foundation of both the new groom and the new bride, indicating a well-matched marriage.

Traditionally, there were both civil and martial contests.

Otherwise, how could the auspicious sign of the Green Luan and Purple Phoenix be displayed?

But Jiang Wang truly did not know how to engage in a battle of wits and courage with Li Feng Yao. He felt a sense of being lacking in several aspects.

Having spent a long time with Li Long Chuan, who feared Li Feng Yao like a tiger, and with Xu Xiang Qian and the others who had long been subdued by Li Feng Yao, facing Li Feng Yao, his innate momentum was insufficient… It was all the fault of these useless young masters!

Li Feng Yao, however, was very relaxed and natural. She restrained her usual air of keeping people at a distance of a thousand miles and looked at Jiang Wang with interest: “I will test you.”

The welcoming party fell very quiet.

Li Long Chuan, Yan Fu, and Wen Ting Lan were all concentrated, and Chong Xuan Sheng even made an effort to widen his eyes.

Jiang Wang decisively clasped his hands together and bowed: “I have already played the monkey show for half the day outside. After drinking those Five Flavors bottles, I am still dizzy and my stomach is churning. Sister Feng Yao, please show mercy.”

Li Feng Yao looked at him quietly for a while.

She looked at him until everyone unconsciously became nervous.

Suddenly, she smiled lightly, the ice and snow melting: “Good, you have passed.”

“Ah? He passed just like that?” Li Long Chuan, who enjoyed a good show and was not afraid of trouble, and perhaps relying on the fact that it was a big happy day and feeling that his elder sister was much gentler, shouted from within the party: “He hasn’t been tested on anything! Sister Phoenix, you’re supposed to be the last pass! You can’t play favorites!”

Li Feng Yao smiled and looked towards him: “I just tested Jiang Wang. I tested his politeness. Now, I will test the rest of you.”

“No, what does this have to do with me?” Li Long Chuan began to speak, then shrank back: “I’m not the Green Luan anymore…”

Li Feng Yao simply said: “Come over.”

Li Long Chuan, famous for his heroism, how could he lose face in front of so many people? He immediately pushed the person beside him: “Don’t block me, let me through!”

The crowd tacitly made way.

He then walked out spiritedly: “Test me then test me, what is there for Li Long Chuan to fear?”

A jade belt wiped, a pair of sharp eyes, a momentum like a lone charge against a thousand armies.

Li Feng Yao did not even look at him. She only said softly to Jiang Wang: “You all go in first, don’t miss the auspicious time. I will have a chat with Long Chuan.”

The welcoming party spiritedly entered this fragrant tower.

Neither Chong Xuan Sheng, Jiang Wang, nor Yan Fu spared Li Long Chuan a second glance.

Of course, their ears were all pricked up. No one was willing to miss the sounds behind them. Marquis Wu An, who was good at listening, even amplified a certain person’s voice within the tower.

“Just now there were many people, it was my fault. Sister, today is a big happy day—”

“Hahahaha…”

In the fragrant tower of the Yi mansion, the crowd roared with laughter.

How lively.