Chapter Seventeen: Pre-Marital Storm

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  "What exactly is..." Mo Mo was about to ask Han Lin when Rong Rong rushed over and interrupted.

  "Princess, His Majesty has summoned you to the throne hall."

  "Uh-huh, I see." Momo swallowed back what she was about to say as they arrived at the grand hall.

  Today's court meeting seemed to have ended later than usual. When Mo entered the grand hall, a group of officials were still there, quietly waiting for him. Looking at the gleaming floor, he bowed and knelt down "Mo Ran pays respects to Your Majesty, long live!"

  "Get up." Xing Chen lightly lifted his finger.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Mo Mo stood up and saw Qian Jue Se standing beside him. "Huh? General Qian wasn't supposed to be at home recuperating? Why did he attend the court assembly?" Mo Mo was puzzled. He glanced around and then lowered his head to look at the ground.

  "The marriage between Princess Mo Ran and Lou Lan is a great joy for our dynasty. From now on, the Lou family will be considered part of the royal family." Xing Xun Chen slightly turned his head to look at Xuan Yu below, who also nodded in agreement.

  "Moke, are you satisfied with the dowry I have prepared for you?" The voice of Xing Yun Chen echoed in the grand hall.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty. Mo Mo still wants one more person." Mo Mo knelt down again.

  "Rise and speak." The rarely smiling Xing Chen looked at Mo Mo kneeling before him.

  "Svetlana" did not get up, still kneeling to answer. Because Mo Mo had a premonition that Xing Chen would not agree. In fact, her premonition was correct. Xing Chen indeed put away the rare gentleness and narrowed his eyes "I'll give you two top-notch dance classes, Svetlana can stay."

  "Thank you, Father Emperor." Momo lowered his head even further.

  "Get up! Give him a seat!" Su Manran didn't wait for Xing Chen to speak. He let Mo Mo get up and sit aside.

  Mo Mo sat down beside Xuan Yu's body and said with her eyes, "It's not that I don't want to help. It's just that Father Emperor doesn't allow it!"

  Xuanyu also glanced at Mo and nodded slightly. For the time being, there was nothing to say.

  "General Thousand's Edict" Star Xiao Chen had already ordered the imperial eunuch to read out the imperial edict. "There is General Qian Jue Se, whose moral character and conduct are excellent. He has a good way of governing the army. He is specially appointed as the Protector-General of the Country, and will marry Princess Mo Ran in the Lou Lan Palace. Let it be known!" After finishing reading, Mo Mo and Xuan Yu looked at Qian Jue Se together, thinking that he wouldn't agree to it. To let a foreign general lead an army to get married is a provocation, isn't it? Even if they give Lou Lan a warning, what would happen to Mo Mo's days after that? Has Star Xiao Chen gone mad?

  "Following the imperial edict", Qian Jue Se was handed down the sacred decree amidst a sigh. Xing Xiao Chen left with Su Man Ran after dawn broke. The court officials silently dispersed. Mo Mo had not walked far when Xuan Yu caught up with him.

  "Princess, wait a minute." Xuan Yu stood still in front of Mo Mo. "Can you help me with something?" Mo Mo nodded. "I want to see Svetlana."

  "Why are you so..." Mo Mo hadn't finished speaking when a brilliant idea flashed in her mind "Is she your dancing girl?"

  "Oh, I see." Mo Mo lowered his head and thought for a moment before looking up and saying "Come to the Ink Pavilion this evening."

  Good

  In the evening, the Mo Ran Pavilion was brightly lit, and a group of musicians were playing with all their might. In the midst of the scene, one person's long sleeves fluttered as they sang "Yu Shu Luo Jin Lian". Mo Mo sat at the head seat, carefully watching Su Weilan dance: her golden proportions were indeed enough to make men infatuated, but was Xing Chen also captivated by her? What should she do? Mo Mo thought about his worries without noticing that the music had stopped and the dance had ended.

  "Princess... Princess..." Rong Rong looked at the two people sitting on the main seat, both staring at Svetlana motionlessly, and couldn't help but speak up to remind them.

  "Oh?... Ah, is it over already? Hmm, you can go down. Oh right, Svetlana stays behind." Mo Mo adjusted his clothes and sat up straight, looking at the nervous Svetlana.

  "Princess" Svetlana broke the silence first. "Lana jumped not to the princess's satisfaction?"

  "I'm very satisfied. Lana, I think you should understand why Prince Loulan appeared here. If there's anything to say, now is the time." Mo Mo stood up, not looking at the two stiff people. She lifted her skirt and stepped out of the doorway, considerately closing the door behind her. Turning back, she sighed, "It's so awkward, after all, that person is my husband..."

  Just as Mo was about to leave, Han Lin suddenly appeared and pulled Mo's hand, lightly squatting outside the window of Mochen Pavilion.

  "This will let others see..." Before Mo could finish, Han Lin covered Mo's mouth and whispered "Don't worry, I've blocked everyone outside." Then he focused on eavesdropping.

  "Lanna, I'm sorry, I didn't know the king had sent you away. When I came back, I couldn't find you anywhere...” Xuan Yu was about to say something else when Svetlana interrupted him, "Prince, Lanna is grateful for your concern, she's doing very well now." From start to finish, there wasn't a hint of emotional fluctuation in her tone.

  Mo Mo stared at Han Lin in surprise, her eyes filled with the words: So it was Xuan Yu's one-sided love! Han Lin also looked enlightened.

  "Lanna, come back to Loulan with me, okay? I won't touch that princess, trust me!" Xuan Yu got up from his position and squatted down beside Svetlana, trying to hug the person in front of him. But was dodged by Lanna.

  "The prince, please take care of yourself. Tomorrow is the big wedding, and Lanna still has to rehearse her dance. If the prince doesn't have anything else, Lanna will take her leave." Wanting to leave, Svetlana sat back down again and handed the auspicious marriage token around her neck to a disappointed Xuan Yu.

  "Why don't you believe me? Lanna, I came here just to see you!" Xuan Yu finally burst out, though it was suppressed.

  "Prince, I don't think you know this, but before entering the palace of Loulan, I had someone I loved. You forced me to stay in the palace and be separated from them! It's also because of your love that I was far away from my hometown and drifted to a foreign land! What do you want now? Do you want me to die in front of you?! The tearful accusation stunned Xuan Yu on the spot. He didn't think his actions would bring Swetlana such great pain, thinking that loving her was enough."

  "Originally... Haha... I thought that if I gave you the best things, the most genuine love, you would fall in love with me. But you've abandoned this love like a worn-out shoe!" Xuan Yu suddenly stood up, stumbled and staggered as he rushed out of the door, and fell to the ground by the doorway. Mo Mo ran over to help him up. Even someone who usually seems strong and carefree has such a fragile side.

  "Support me back" Xuan Yu's whole body was unstable. He was held by Mo Mo and taken to the adjacent bedroom, his tightly clenched fingers were pried open, and a handkerchief was pulled out from his sleeve to wipe away the blood stains on his palm. His furrowed eyebrows were smoothed out as he looked at Xuan Yu's eyes slowly opening.

  "I thought that by giving her the best food and clothes, and my sincerest love, I would get her true heart in return, and we would be happy. But in the end it turns out to be......" Xuan Yu stared blankly at Mo Mo in front of him.

  "I've experienced deception before and I know the taste. But I've also come to realize that unhappy people don't know what true happiness is, and some people mistakenly pursue others' happiness as their own. In the end, whether they achieve it or not, they're still unhappy. They insist on pursuing someone who's impossible to attain, but miss out on the person most suitable for them. I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong, you think about it yourself."

  "Mò Mò" This was the first time Xuan Ye called her by her name, Mo Mo, rather than "Princess". Mo Mo stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "Do you have someone you love?" The sadness had left Xuan Ye's face.

  "It's said that we're alike." Mo's lips curved downward in a bitter smile. "The one you love doesn't love you back."

  "So what are you going to do? Continue?" Xuan Ye looked calmly as Mo walked back to his side.

  "No, I don't ask for his love, I just want to do things that make him happy. In my lifetime, help him achieve his wishes." Mo Mo lowered her head as if to see clearly into her own heart, took a deep breath, and when she lifted her head again, her eyes were slightly moist.

  "Hehe, I'm really useless. I was supposed to comfort you, but in the end, it's myself who..." Xuan Yu then took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped away Mo Mo's tears.

  "Let's go back to Loulan together, far away from here, far away from them! Let's start our own happiness again! Mo Mo, don't cry. Tomorrow is the big wedding, I don't want to see my queen with red eyes." Xuan Yu sat up, calming down his emotions. He opened the door and pulled Mo Mo out.