Xiao Heng and Duan Yunfeng completed the wedding rituals, bowing to heaven and earth. Xiao Heng then entered the bedroom, while Duan Yunfeng stayed outside to entertain the guests.

Xiao Heng dismissed the several accompanying maidservants and left only Li Jinxi outside to wait. Alone in the room, he casually lifted the troublesome red veil off his head.

Bored, he sat on the edge of the bed and read a book. After an hour or so, the sky outside had darkened.

Xiao Heng had gotten up early today, and now his stomach was growling. He turned his gaze to the two plates of wedding pastries and fruit on the table.

After finishing the pastries and drinking half a pot of tea, he frowned slightly…

The wedding ceremony was so tedious. Duan Yunfeng didn’t know how long he would be outside drinking, and Xiao Heng’s dinner was just two plates of pastries.

Another hour passed.

Unable to wait any longer, Xiao Heng called Li Jinxi in.

Li Jinxi asked, “Your Highness, is there anything you need?”

Xiao Heng set down the book in his hand. “Is there anything to eat?”

Li Jinxi replied, “There are some wedding pastries in the kitchen. Would you like some, Your Highness? I can have them brought to you.”

Xiao Heng: “…”

He frowned. “No need.”

Li Jinxi seemed a little embarrassed. “Then I’ll go tell the kitchen to prepare something, but it may take a little while…”

“Forget it,” Xiao Heng said, furrowing his brows as though coming to a decision. “Just bring the wedding pastries.”

The pastries were fine.

After midnight, Duan Yunfeng finally arrived at the bedroom door, supported by two attendants.

“You… you all can go now,” Duan Yunfeng waved the servants away, swaying as he walked toward the room.

Before he even reached Xiao Heng, the smell of alcohol hit the air. It seemed he was quite drunk.

This was just as well; with him being this drunk, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. It saved Xiao Heng the trouble of having to knock him out later.

“Princess…”

Duan Yunfeng stumbled to the side of the bed, his head tilting as he collapsed onto Xiao Heng’s shoulder, his whole body seeming boneless as he slid into Xiao Heng’s arms.

Xiao Heng: “…”

He frowned and caught Duan Yunfeng’s arm, lifting him up.

Xiao Heng silently noted down this man’s repeated boundary-crossing behavior.

The atmosphere grew tense for a moment.

Duan Yunfeng seemed to sober up a little. He struggled to sit up straight and reached for Xiao Heng’s veil, only to realize that Xiao Heng wasn’t wearing one. The red veil had long been discarded, Xiao Heng had no idea where it had gone.

The phoenix crown, inlaid with gold and jade, made Xiao Heng look extraordinarily dignified. Under the pearl curtain, his face was as beautiful and serene as snow on a mountain or the moon between the pines. Duan Yunfeng froze for a moment, his breath catching. He thought to himself that he had truly married a celestial being. Without thinking, he reached out, intending to lift Xiao Heng’s chin, but Xiao Heng immediately grabbed his wrist, pulling his clothes collar tight.

In a dizzying spin, Duan Yunfeng collapsed onto the bedding.

“Mm…”

The cool strands of Xiao Heng’s hair brushed his eyes, causing an itch, and his eyelashes trembled uncontrollably. The faint, deep fragrance of sandalwood lingered in his nose. Xiao Heng’s cold, jade-like features were as distant and beautiful as a far-off mountain shrouded in clouds.

Duan Yunfeng’s lips parted slightly, his breath growing hot, his mouth dry.

He tried to move, but realized both of his wrists were firmly held down. Xiao Heng’s eyes, looking down at him, were cold, full of vigilance and caution.

Though Duan Yunfeng was heavily drunk, he could still tell from Xiao Heng’s body language that the princess did not want him to touch her.

“You… if you’re unwilling, I won’t touch you today.” Duan Yunfeng pursed his lips, looking somewhat aggrieved. “Do you really think I would force myself on you?”

He grunted again. “In the future, don’t come begging me.”

Xiao Heng: “…………”

He rubbed his forehead, trying to confirm that he hadn’t misheard.

Earlier, Xiao Heng had been worried that Duan Yunfeng’s touchy behavior might reveal that he was a man, but hearing what Duan Yunfeng just said, he decided to ease his grip on him.

Duan Yunfeng rested one arm behind his head, his long eyelashes partially covering his eyes, his gaze dazed with drunkenness. “You know, you must be… angry with me, aren’t you? Angry that I attacked Luoyang with Li Jichang, causing the emperor to go missing and your palace to be burned down…”

Xiao Heng: “?”

Sometimes, he really couldn’t keep up with this man’s train of thought. But with the way his descendants were, whether it was Yunfeng, Chuyunfeng, Wang Jichang, or some other Chang, they would all end up destroying their own kingdom.

“However, you can’t blame me,” Duan Yunfeng reached out to grab his wrist, his hot cheek pressing against Xiao Heng’s, rubbing his cold hand. He pouted slightly, his expression clouded with seven parts drunkenness. “If you must blame someone, blame your foolish brother.”

“…………”

Xiao Heng’s expression darkened, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

“What did they say again? Oh, the actor emperor… I heard he even handed his memorials to the actors around him to review…” Duan Yunfeng continued, chuckling. “Do you know how many royal edicts my father received over the years to stabilize the kingdom? My father and my elder brother fought against those rebellious armies, from the east to the south, from the west to the north. They still haven’t finished, and then suddenly we hear the court is in turmoil again, the emperor has escaped from Luoyang…”

“My elder brother has followed my father on expeditions since he was young. He was even appointed by the court as the General of the Zhenjun…” When mentioning Duan Yunsheng, Duan Yunfeng suddenly turned his head and buried his face into the blanket and Xiao Heng’s palm, his voice muffled. “When he went to suppress the rebel leader Sun Haohan, An Youliang’s military official’s adopted son deliberately misreported military orders, forcing him into battle. He died on the battlefield, dying for the court’s suppression. His head was cut off by the rebels as a trophy, so no complete corpse remained. But do you know what happened afterward?”

Xiao Heng, possessing the memories of Emperor Jianing Xiao Huan, knew exactly what had happened next.

After Duan Yunsheng’s death, the rebellion in northern Shanxi, which had been suppressed, flared up again. In order to stabilize the situation, An Youliang agreed to the rebel leader’s request. He issued an imperial edict, officially appointing Sun Haohan as the Governor of Yanzhou, with military command over Yanzhou, Dan, Fu, and Fang.

Sun Haohan became the de facto ruler of the four northern provinces, officially breaking away from the court. The disaster of local military governors, or “fanzhen,” completely erupted. All those in control of military power no longer obeyed the court, trying to carve out their own territories. Duan Yunsheng’s year-long suppression campaign became a complete joke.

After Duan Yunsheng’s death, Duan Yu was sentenced to death for privately killing the military supervisor, accused of treason. The court issued an imperial edict to strip Duan Yu and Duan Yunsheng of all their official positions and honors. Later, when An Youliang issued a decree to suppress the rebel forces in Hedong, Sun Haohan, driven by the personal vendetta from the past battle with the Duan family, sent eight thousand troops to assist.

“He never received any justice in his life. What he received was a criminal decree from the court, and the three-army coalition that attacked my father. It was the disgusting face of An Youliang!” Duan Yunfeng’s eyes reddened, his voice hoarse and filled with hatred. “Who was he fighting for in the end? Why should he die to be loyal to such an emperor, to such a court?”

“My father was loyal to the court his whole life. Before my elder brother’s incident, he obeyed the emperor’s decrees without question. Even when An Youliang pushed him to the brink, he never thought about overturning the Xiao family’s regime. But how did he end up? Later, when I led troops to surround Luoyang, An Youliang panicked. He began issuing edicts one after another, not only restoring my father’s titles but also granting him the title of ‘Prince of Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ and making me a marquis. How ridiculous, the world has become such a joke! But why should I listen to him? If I wanted…” Duan Yunfeng looked at Xiao Heng, his bloodshot eyes seemingly burning with fire, shattering all pretenses and restraint. For the first time, he revealed his desires and ambitions. “Why don’t I crown myself king?”

Duan Yunfeng continued, “My father always remembered the grace of Emperor Taizong, saying that if it weren’t for the emperor’s great kindness, we would still be herding cattle on the steppe. He called him the great sage emperor, the rare, wise ruler of a millennium…”

He couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Emperor Taizong was indeed capable, but ‘great sage’—hahaha, he fooled my father, a simple man who didn’t read much…”

Xiao Heng: “……”

Does the King of the North know his son says these things about him?

Duan Yunfeng pursed his lips. “Actually, that emperor was quite clever. Do you remember his minister, what was his name… oh, Wang Boyan? He played the ‘use barbarians to control barbarians’ trick, splitting the sixteen tribes of the northern steppes, causing internal strife. Many of the nomadic tribes served him in battle and were grateful to him, kneeling every day to thank him, even wishing they could be his dogs.”

As he spoke, his eyelids slowly closed, his voice carried a drifting, somnambulant tone. “But he was indeed impressive. Although the division was there, after he united the northern steppes, everyone lived better. To be honest, I want to learn from him, I want to become someone like him, I want to be ‘the great sage emperor’… hmm… the great emperor…”

Xiao Heng maintained a blank expression, but inside, he only wanted to laugh.

Drunk like this and still wanting to become a “great sage emperor,” with his lack of restraint, he’d be lucky if he wasn’t sold by others by weight.

Just as Xiao Heng thought Duan Yunfeng had finally fallen asleep, the latter suddenly opened his eyes again. He grabbed Xiao Heng’s hand, furrowing his brows. “Hiss—why are your hands so cold?”

“Is it due to cold in the palace?”

“It’s fine, I’ll warm them up for you.”

Xiao Heng: “……………………”

His face darkened as he swiftly pulled his hand away.

“By the way… about that…” Duan Yunfeng, now fully awake, couldn’t help but start expressing his thoughts on the old Xiao family. “That Emperor Taizong really had the ability to pacify the world and stabilize the nation, but were the emperors after him just a bunch of nothing?”

Xiao Heng: “…………”

When Duan Yunfeng gets drunk, he talks non-stop, like a dam burst, with no end.

“I also heard… they say the men in the Xiao family have a form of hysteria, it’s something in their fate. They go crazy when they reach a certain age. The current Emperor Jianing, I heard he likes to wear makeup and sing with the actors. Emperor Jianing’s father, Emperor Daizong, was cruel and bloodthirsty. Not only did he create the ‘Wolf, Tiger, and Leopard House’ for torturing people, but he also had an affair with his own sister! Despite the opposition of the ministers, he wanted to take her into his harem… Emperor Jianing’s grandfather, Emperor Shizong, was actually a decent emperor in his early years, caring for the people and implementing benevolent policies. But later, he suddenly stopped attending court and spent twenty years researching how to become an immortal. He didn’t attend court for a single day…”

“After thinking about it, only that Emperor Taizong could be considered a true figure.”

Duan Yunfeng muttered softly, adding, “Although, he was still a bit worse than me.”

Xiao Heng: “…………”

He almost laughed in silence.

Duan Yunfeng: “But he died too early. If he had lived a few more decades, maybe he would have had problems too… ugh!”

Halfway through his words, Duan Yunfeng suddenly felt a tightness in his breath as the cold, distinctly jointed fingers of the other person pinched his jaw.

Xiao Heng’s brow furrowed as he coldly examined Duan Yunfeng. He turned Duan Yunfeng’s face, scrutinizing every inch of the person beneath him. Duan Yunfeng’s features were deep, with long eyelashes and full lips, his eye color pale. Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of mixed-blood, exotic appearance to him—an appearance that bore the legacy of his ancestors from northern Mongolia, who, a century ago, were defeated by Xiao Heng and were ultimately forced to kneel and submit to him.

At this moment, the man before him had a hint of a crimson hue around the edges of his eyes and brows, likely from drinking too much. His lips were particularly red. Xiao Heng held Duan Yunfeng’s jaw, forcing his mouth to part slightly. From this angle, Xiao Heng could see two faint canine teeth and a trace of a reddish tongue. Duan Yunfeng’s half-lidded amber eyes reflected a rebellious, wolf-like defiance.

In the end, he was difficult to tame.

Duan Yunfeng felt uncomfortable as Xiao Heng tightened his grip, his brow furrowing as he struggled. His canine teeth partially revealed, and for a moment, Xiao Heng thought Duan Yunfeng might bite him. But the next second, Duan Yunfeng’s hazy gaze passed over Xiao Heng’s face, his expression and movements softening. He murmured in a low voice, “It hurts…”