198: The imperial decree has arrived again, and the wedding will proceed as scheduled!

Grand Princess Residence.

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

Inside the bedchamber, Xia Qingyue had smashed everything that could be broken to pieces.

"Aaaaaah!"

She paced back and forth in the room like a madwoman, venting the fury and humiliation in her heart.

"Li Qing! Li Qing! Li Qing!"

She shrieked the name she hated to the bone with madness.

"How dare he! How dare he speak to me like that!"

"What right does he have! What right does he have to doubt me!"

Beside her, Elder Chen lowered his head.

"Your Highness, please calm your anger! Your Highness, please calm your anger!"

"Calm my anger? How can I calm my anger!" Xia Qingyue turned around abruptly and kicked him to the ground.

"That commoner! That peasant! He actually dared to question me to my face!"

"His eyes! Did you see them? The way he looked at me! It was like he was looking at a dead person!"

An unprecedented fear grew wildly from the depths of her heart.

She was afraid.

She was truly, truly afraid.

Li Qing's calm, emotionless gaze made her tremble from the depths of her Soul.

"No..."

She suddenly calmed down.

"I didn't do this."

"Although the Shadow Kill Organization took my mission, their target was the Seventh Princess, not Xiao Chen."

"Could it be they took the initiative themselves?"

A thought surfaced in her mind.

"That bastard Golden Mask! What is he trying to do? Does he want to drag me down with him?!"

Great waves surged in Xia Qingyue's heart.

She suddenly realized that things seemed to have spiraled out of her control.

She thought she was the chess player.

But she hadn't expected that she had long since become a pawn on someone else's chessboard.

The night grew deep.

Inside the bedroom of Guanhai Garden, the lights were brightly lit.

Li Qing sat quietly by the bedside, looking at the youth who was still fast asleep on the bed.

After being nourished by a massive amount of top-tier Medicinal Pills and Li Qing's selfless infusion of vitality, Xiao Chen's external injuries had basically healed.

His broken limbs had also been reset and fixed.

However, what was truly fatal were the internal injuries.

His Dantian was shattered, something even precious herbs could not restore.

To save Xiao Chen, there were only two ways.

Either find a legendary Divine Pill or medicine to repair it.

But even the Great Xia treasury didn't have such a Divine Pill!

Li Qing's gaze became profound.

A Divine Pill?

He glanced at the so-called "sacred healing medicines" on the table that had been taken from the Imperial Treasury.

These things might be priceless treasures in the outside world.

But here, they seemed like a drop in the bucket.

He guessed that the Great Xia imperial family must have legendary divine items truly capable of bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh on bone.

But such things were definitely national treasures, the ultimate foundation of the imperial family.

Not to mention he was currently only a future Prince Consort; even if he truly became the Old Emperor's son-in-law, that Old Emperor might not be willing to part with it.

Unless he could offer an equivalent exchange that the entire imperial family could not refuse.

Forget it, it will be resolved sooner or later. If all else fails, there's always pure Body Refining!

When the first ray of morning sunlight shone through the window lattice into the bedroom of Guanhai Garden, which was filled with the mixed scent of blood and herbs.

Li Qing pushed open the door and walked out.

In the courtyard, Crown Prince, was pacing back and forth with an anxious expression.

Behind him followed Elder Xuan and several Imperial Palace Experts with unfathomable auras.

Seeing Li Qing emerge, the Crown Prince's eyes instantly lit up, and he hurried forward to meet him.

"Brother-in-law! Are you... are you alright?"

He looked at Li Qing's face, which, though still expressionless, had returned to a normal complexion, and felt secretly shocked.

He still felt a lingering fear from the terrifying Killing Intent Li Qing had brought back yesterday, which almost seemed ready to overturn the entire Royal Capital.

"I'm fine." Li Qing shook his head, his voice returning to its usual indifference.

"Your little brother..." The Crown Prince glanced toward the bedroom and asked hesitantly.

"He won't die."

"That's good, that's good." The Crown Prince let out a long sigh of relief.

As long as the person wasn't dead, there was still hope for everything.

However, Li Qing acted this way for a little brother with no blood relation.

He must be someone who values loyalty and friendship.

Then he certainly wouldn't treat him poorly in the future!

Once he grows up, he will be his sturdiest support.

"Your Highness, how is the investigation going?" Li Qing asked directly.

At the mention of this, anger and helplessness reappeared on the Crown Prince's face.

"Still no clues."

He shook his head, his voice full of frustration.

"The opponent's methods were too clean. I used all my power and practically turned the entire Royal Capital upside down, but I couldn't even find a single hair of theirs."

"However, it is certain that the Shadow Kill Organization is involved in this."

"That sinister Saber Qi and those professional methods of erasing all traces carry their unique hallmark."

"Shadow Kill..."

Li Qing slowly mulled over the name.

In his eyes was a bottomless, icy Killing Intent.

"Good, very good."

He nodded.

"Since they won't come out, I will force them out."

Just then.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the front courtyard.

An Old Eunuch from the palace, holding a roll of bright yellow imperial edict, walked quickly over under the escort of several Imperial Guards.

"The imperial edict has arrived—!"

The shrill voice broke the silence of Guanhai Garden.

The Crown Prince and Li Qing exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of gravity in the other's eyes.

The two hurried forward and knelt on one knee.

"By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees!"

The Old Eunuch unfurled the imperial edict and read it aloud.

"Marquis Wuan Li Qing possesses both virtue and talent, excelling in both civil and military affairs, and is a pillar of our Great Xia. I am greatly pleased and hereby bestow the hand of the Seventh Princess Ning Shuang in marriage to honor his contributions."

"However, as the nation prepares for this marriage, petty scoundrels are making trouble, intending to disrupt the court and provoke the imperial prestige. Their crimes are inexcusable!"

"My mind is made up! The wedding must proceed as scheduled!"

"Not only that, it must be held on a grand scale! An extraordinary scale!"

"I want the whole world to see that the majesty of my Great Xia imperial family is not to be provoked! My Prince Consort is not someone any random nobody can insult at will!"

"I hereby order the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Clan Court, and the Imperial Household Department to jointly organize this! Ensure that this grand wedding is magnificent!"

"By Imperial Command!"

"..."

The reading of the imperial edict was finished.

The entire courtyard was deathly silent.

The Crown Prince looked up, his face filled with unconcealed shock!

He hadn't expected his father would make such a forceful decision!

At such a critical juncture, not only did he not postpone the wedding, but he wanted to hold it on a grand scale?

What was he doing?

This was an open declaration of war against those enemies hiding in the shadows!

This was using the entire imperial family's reputation to back Li Qing!