The happy news came so suddenly that Huo Fenglie was completely unable to understand or believe it. It wasn’t until his surroundings came alive with discussions and vague congratulations that he abruptly stood and looked at his brother and sister-in-law. The two of them just offered him bright smiles.

Huo Fenglie seemed to come to a realization. He felt as if he was floating outside his body. When he immediately rushed out to the gates, he met Liu Zhenqing, who had returned amidst the wind and sand.

Liu Zhenqing brushed the sand off his body as he walked. He looked up to see Huo Fenglie rushing out, and laughed when he saw the Imperial edict in his hand and the slack expression on his face.

“I wanted to rush back and receive it with you. Why did the director of the Dongchang give it to you in advance?”

How could these words be misunderstood? But Huo Fenglie just…..just couldn’t believe it. He stepped forward with the Imperial edict and held it in front of Liu Zhenqing.

“It….it says that a marriage has been granted to…..me and Qing-ge…..is it true?” Huo Fenglie’s voice had become hoarse. He watched Liu Zhenqing closely with tears in his eyes, observing every change of expression on his face. He feared that it was all an illusion, and dreaded seeing Liu Zhenqing’s confused, shocked, and angry expression.

The group following behind looked on with caution. After all, most of them didn’t know why the Imperial edict was different than expected.

But Liu Zhenqing just stepped forward and took Huo Fenglie’s hand, the veins of which stood out due to nervousness. With a smile as beautiful as a flower, he said: “Of course. Could the Imperial decree I asked for be false?”

All expression on Huo Fenglie’s face disappeared almost instantaneously, and before Liu Zhenqing could finish what he was saying, Huo Fenglie had hugged him tightly: “Qing-ge, Qing-ge, are you telling the truth? You asked for an Imperial edict of marriage. It was you who…..you want me? You want me?”

There was initially a smile on Liu Zhenqing’s face, but when he heard these humble words and felt a chill on his neck, he realized Er-gou was crying. Liu Zhenqing suddenly felt upset, thinking that he had been too late in his reciprocation.

He couldn’t be blamed – he had indeed been a little confused and uncertain before. It had taken him a long time to get over the obstacles in his heart.

But Li Jinshu’s appearance had given him a wake-up call. When he had proposed that Huo Fenglie marry the princess, Liu Zhenqing’s expression didn’t change, but at that moment, he wanted to kill both Li Jinshu and that princess.

How dare she covet his Er-gou? What a joke!

The almost terrifying possessiveness he felt at that moment caused Liu Zhenqing to come to the realization that he could no longer make excuses for himself.

He liked Huo Fenglie, and because of that affection, he indulged him in his repeated frivolous behavior. Because of his love for him, he had waited two years for him to grow up and make his decision.

By the time he realized what was happening, his already deep feelings had changed, and everything seemed natural.

He wanted Er-gou and wouldn’t give him to anyone else, even the Kingdom of Xiheng.

Liu Zhenqing was a free and easy person by nature. After turning this corner, he would give Er-gou only the best.

However, this puppy was a bit disobedient. He had been running around all over the place these past few days, which worried Liu Zhenqing.

But that just gave him time to take care of everything. He was older than Er-gou, so it was naturally his responsibility to make the arrangements.

Liu Zhenqing patted Huo Fenglie’s shoulder and said: “I have something for you.”

Huo Fenglie buried his head and rubbed it against Liu Zhenqing’s collar. When he raised his head, his eyes were still red.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and took a small box out of his pocket. When he opened it, a pair of wedding rings lay inside.

When Huo Fenglie was a child, he had heard Liu Zhenqing mention the significance of wedding rings. His brother and sister-in-law also wore a pair due to Liu Zhenqing’s words. 

So when Liu Zhenqing took them out, the look in Huo Fenglie’s eyes transformed.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Are you willing to marry me?”

That night, this person had declared that he wouldn’t marry, but when it was Liu Zhenqing asking the question, Huo Fenglie shouted out before the last word was out of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth: “I’m willing, I’m willing.”

Liu Zhenqing chuckled and raised his hands to show Huo Fenglie how to exchange wedding rings.

Everyone around was in shock.

Li Xingruo snuggled into Huo Feihan’s arms and said: “Your didi is really eager to get married, and he agreed in such a hurry. I won’t be able to tease my shixiong again in this life.”

“This is called a good ending after persevering through hard times. He’s afraid that if he doesn’t say yes in a hurry, Zhenqing will change his mind,” Huo Feihan said with a happy smile.

“Of course he wouldn’t do that. Once my shixiong accepts someone, he accepts them for life.”

“But Fenglie doesn’t dare take the risk, hahaha.”

“Shixiong will prove himself…..”

After receiving the second Imperial edict, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie disappeared. The two naturally returned to the courtyard to finish what they hadn’t completed that night.

When Liu Zhenqing saw Huo Fenglie smiling foolishly with the Imperial edict in hand, he loosened his belt. He raised a hand to lift Huo Fenglie’s chin, and the thin clothing slipped off. Liu Zhenqing leaned forward and pushed him down on the bed, asking: “Do you want to hold the Imperial edict, or do you want to hold me?”

When it came to flirting, Liu Zhenqing was countless levels higher than Huo Fenglie. He had just been passive before. Huo Fenglie had witnessed Liu Zhenqing flirting with others, but he had never been flirted with by Liu Zhenqing when they were both of equal status. This sudden move froze Huo Fenglie’s prior roguish behavior in its tracks.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Liu Zhenqing took out a bottle of ointment and tossed it onto the bed. He had prepared it during the past few days, and had naturally read some books as well. Although he was volunteering to be on the bottom, as the elder between them, he couldn’t suffer a loss.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to do it that night, I just wasn’t ready. But since I upset you, Qing-ge will make it up to you, starting from…..here.”

These words, along with the way Liu Zhenqing slowly lowered his head, completely drained Huo Fenglie of rationality.

Huo Fenglie was disoriented by such a happy event, and the first half of the night was under Liu Zhenqing’s control. If he hadn’t run out of strength in the latter part, Huo Fenglie wouldn’t have had a chance to turn the tables. But from the time the sun set to when it rose again the next day, Liu Zhenqing felt a little regretful – regretful that he had been so domineering before and turned the man into a fool, giving him the opportunity to accumulate his strength for later use.

Liu Zhenqing was actually forced to tears several times, but just as he was about to get angry, Huo Fenglie said: “Is it true? Qing-ge is really going to marry me? Am I dreaming?”

Subsequently, Liu Zhenqing stayed lying down.

If someone hadn’t come to remind them that peace talks were scheduled for the next day and that the envoys were waiting to talk, Huo Fenglie likely wouldn’t have stopped.

Liu Zhenqing was so exhausted that he no longer cared about face, and just let Huo Fenglie carry him to the meeting. The others had moved on from their initial shock to acceptance.

When they went to negotiate the next day, Huo Fenglie once more carried a sleepy Liu Zhenqing to the carriage.

Inside, Huo Fenglie held him in his arms, only letting go when they reached the peace talks tent at the border.

He was still anxious, and actually didn’t want Li Jinshu to appear in front of Liu Zhenqing again.

Liu Zhenqing smiled slightly when he saw Huo Fenglie’s appearance. He got off the carriage and glanced toward the peace talks tent, saying: “Perhaps it will be just as you hope.”

Huo Fenglie was puzzled, but upon walking into the tent, he didn’t see Li Jinshu.

The peace talks gradually returned to normal, but there was no longer a marriage element to the negotiations. It was as if that day had been an illusion.

Huo Fenglie was still a little confused when they departed: “What’s going on?”

Liu Zhenqing nestled into Huo Fenglie’s arms. Looking out the window at the vast, lonely desert, he said with a smile: “It’s very simple, ah. He must have heard about the Imperial decree of marriage. There’s no point in him pestering me any further.”

“Will he give up so easily?” Huo Fenglie was skeptical.

Liu Zhenqing smiled faintly, but there was a hint of ridicule in his tone: “Even if he doesn’t want to give up, he has no choice.”

The Crown Prince had said before that he would never agree to sacrificing Liu Zhenqing. Therefore, plans had been made from the beginning. Li Jinshu only dared to do such a thing because the old emperor was on his deathbed. He wanted to embarrass Great Zhou, and also to test their strength and bottom line. So they just needed to make Li Jinshu understand that he could not control the fate of Great Zhou, and that Great Zhou could throw the Kingdom of Xiheng into disorder at any time.

The Crown Prince had made many arrangements in Xiheng over the years. This time, Liu Zhenqing had called on Huo Feihan’s shadow guards to contact those people, then had the Huo Family Army re-deploy troops as a deterrent. As regent, Li Jinshu had to manage things even if he had no desire to, and once he did, it would be evident that it was the work of Great Zhou. This was a warning.

If it really came to using force, Li Jinshu’s methods may not measure up to Liu Zhenqing’s, and there was still the Crown Prince controlling things from afar. The death of the old emperor would not have any impact on Great Zhou. When Li Jinshu recognized this face, he had no choice but to accept his fate. He couldn’t touch Liu Zhenqing, and he couldn’t afford to offend Huo Fenglie.

A marriage was granted, and all of Li Jinshu’s proposals were summarily rejected. It was also a sign of a great power’s prestige to not seek peace through marriage. Mutually beneficial arrangements were the only way to secure eternal cooperation. This was the answer given to Li Jinshu by the increasingly powerful Great Zhou.

Huo Fenglie listened slowly as he watched the setting sun shine onto Liu Zhenqing’s face, adding a new level of charm to his appearance. The person in his arms turned to smile at him, saying: “Do you understand?”

Huo Fenglie nodded: “I understand. But there’s just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Qing-ge, when you first came here, were you willing to marry me at any time?”

Liu Zhenqing was startled, and an unnatural look stole over his face.

Huo Fenglie hugged Liu Zhenqing and kissed his face, saying: “Qing-ge, before we left this morning, I asked my brother and sister-in-law to make preparations, and also asked He Lan and Qin Yu to go south and spread the news. There’s an auspicious day next month – let’s get married then, okay? I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Before he knew it, Liu Zhenqing was already being pressed down in the carriage, greeted intermittently by Huo Fenglie’s loving pecks.

His “okay” was immediately blocked by a kiss. Liu Zhenqing had only one thought in his muddled brain, which was that the ointment was so effective that he stood no chance of getting hurt, which allowed Huo Fenglie to go wild.

But he really couldn’t resist this person’s deep affection, so he could only cover his mouth, feeling shy and embarrassed, and attempt to stay quiet.

The carriage gradually began to shake as it returned to the city, but nobody dared to look back or prick up their ears. All they knew was that the desert sunset today was exceptionally brilliant and colorful, foreshadowing stability in the west and the prosperity of Great Zhou for many years to come.

And…..that everyone got their happy ending.

The End

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T/N: Phew, it’s finally done! All those extras just about killed me. Thanks for reading, everyone! Please support the author if you’re able to!

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(Alt Universe) Extra 28 << Table of Contents