Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 88 Good Overcomes Evil

Hongchen, her face contorted with grief, prostrated herself on the ground and kowtowed three times to Emperor Qianlong, saying, "Your Majesty, I have come today to lodge a complaint, not to discuss marriage with my daughter! Moreover, my daughter is still young, not yet sixteen, and it is not appropriate for her to marry!" Qianlong sternly retorted, feigning an air of authority, "Men and women should not touch each other, let alone have physical intimacy! This has always been the way of Chinese tradition, with deep-rooted feudal ideas, morals declining, and gossip a powerful force. If your daughter doesn't marry Bai Shandian, who will she marry in the future? Tell me, who else would be willing to marry her?" This was indeed a practical problem! Given the current situation, if Hongyue didn't marry Bai Shandian himself, the spittle flying from the servants in the General's Mansion would be enough to drown her! Hongchen hesitated, "This… is indeed a problem! I hadn't thought of that!"

Qianlong coldly laughed, "For the sake of your Hong family's reputation, and even more so for the sake of your daughter's future happiness, your daughter must marry Bai Shandian! He can't renege on his decision even if he wants to!" Hongchen turned and glared at Bai Shandian, seeing his worried face and his self-satisfied expression, and couldn't help but gloat from the bottom of her heart. She then raised her head and said to Qianlong, "Your Majesty, I have another matter to ask Your Majesty to decide!" Qianlong stared at her, as if he could see right through her, and coldly said, "Don't say anything more, I know what you're thinking! Rest assured, your daughter will definitely be a legitimate wife in the Bai family! Because yesterday I issued an edict to have Bai Shandian divorce Xiang Quan, and now he is a bachelor!" Hongchen was secretly surprised. As expected of the current emperor, he was indeed meticulous and insightful in understanding people's hearts! She immediately smiled and thanked the emperor for granting this marriage. Emperor Qianlong was known for his swift and decisive actions. He immediately issued an edict ordering Bai Shandian and Hong Yueliang to make preparations for their wedding, which would take place three days later at the General's Mansion! The Emperor himself would be present to preside over the ceremony!

Back at the inn, Bai Shandian lay on the bed for a short rest, tossing and turning, his mind unsettled. How could he, so shrewd, not know that the Emperor's bestowal of marriage was rife with ulterior motives? On the surface, it seemed to be protecting him, readily handing over Hong Yueliang to him, but secretly, it was using his and Hong Yueliang's wedding day as bait to lure Xiang Quan and the remaining members of the Mo Qing Society into a trap! It's easy to imagine that when Xiang Quan heard that her husband had married another woman, even the most composed and steady person would secretly come to investigate! After all, they weren't officially divorced, and she never dreamed that Bai Shandian would dare to openly and arbitrarily marry someone else, so blatantly, so grandly, and with such astonishing fanfare!

Bai Shandian was determined not to let Xiang Quan and the others walk into his trap. On his way back from the Lonely Mountain Palace, he took a detour to Yue Wang Temple to secretly look for the abbot, but he couldn't find him—it turned out that the abbot, fearing implication, had already fled without a trace with the Mo Qing Society's followers. In this way, Bai Shandian completely severed ties with the Mo Qing Society and Xiang Quan! Even messages couldn't get out for the time being!

The wedding was held as scheduled at the General's Mansion in Hangzhou. Because the Emperor himself presided over the wedding, it caused a sensation throughout the Jiangnan region. Officials and wealthy people from all over vied to prepare lavish gifts, gathering in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The streets were practically deserted; the General's Mansion was packed with guests, and the three main streets in front of the mansion were lined with banquets. The place was bustling with activity, and guests were shoulder to shoulder. Furthermore, the General's Mansion had specially invited the renowned Yue Opera Troupe and the Shaoxing Opera Troupe from Hangzhou to perform on stages at the crossroads in front of the mansion, creating a vibrant and competitive spectacle!

Bai Shandian, dressed as a groom in a bright red robe and a wedding hat, rode his prized Akhal-Teke horse, leading the wedding procession. Amidst the cheerful music of a band playing sheng and drums, he slowly made his way through a path parted by the crowd to the gate of the General's Mansion, where he stopped. Immediately, firecrackers exploded, drums roared, and the joyous music resumed. Bai Shandian, beaming, dismounted and, led by the matchmaker and surrounded by several bridesmaids, entered the General's Mansion. Passing through the courtyards and into the inner chamber, in Red Moon's boudoir, the groom lifted the beautifully dressed bride, exchanged a few pleasantries with the beaming Red Dust couple, and then, as a farewell to her parents, escorted by one bridesmaid carrying a red candle and another a red lantern, directly out of the courtyard. In one breath, they reached the bridal sedan chair outside the gate, gently set the bride down, covered her head with a red veil, and gracefully stepped into the chair. Several bridesmaids stood ready on either side of the chair, at any moment to attend to the bride. At the steward's command, "Lift the sedan chair!", eight sedan chair bearers lifted the chair, and a band cleared the way with gongs and drums. White Lightning mounted his horse and led the way, leading a large wedding procession on a grand procession around the entire city—a spectacle of extravagance and ostentation. Its sheer luxury truly astonished all the children present! Of course, this also aroused the envy of some wealthy young men and high-ranking officials, who were extremely jealous: "A wedding as glamorous as Bai Shandian's is enough for a lifetime!"

As the wedding procession reached Wulinmen Street, a funeral procession slowly approached from the opposite direction. The clash of such a joyous and sorrowful occasion was already considered unlucky, but the funeral procession was even more rude and aggressive, walking right in the middle of the road, completely blocking the avenue! Not only did they refuse to give way, but they also began to clear the way with gongs and drums, and one of the men shouted incessantly, "Unauthorized personnel, get out of the way! Otherwise, you'll lose your lives!" Bai Shandian reined in his horse, waving for the wedding procession to stop. He looked closely at the funeral procession; there were at least a hundred people, all wearing mourning caps, their faces bowed, as if they dared not show their true faces! And each face was strikingly familiar! He was momentarily stunned, thinking, "Could these people all be members of the Southern Fist School in disguise?"

Just then, a resentful voice coldly scolded, "Your wife is not dead yet, and you can't wait any longer! It's one thing to sneak around, but to be so blatant! Are you deliberately humiliating me? White Lightning! Do you want anyone to live?" A figure flashed, and a woman dressed in mourning clothes stood before White Lightning's horse! He looked closely and saw that it was his wife, Xiang Quan, whom he had been longing for day and night! At this moment, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her jade-like face was cold, and her incomparably beautiful eyes were filled with tears, making her both pitiful and lovable, and irresistible.

"Listen to me, Quan'er! I was forced into this. It's a trap! A trap set by the Emperor! He wants to use my marriage to Hong Yueliang as bait to lure you and the Mo Qinghui followers into a trap, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop!" Bai Shandian hurriedly jumped off his horse and whispered to her. Unexpectedly, her fragrant fists and jade-like hands shot out like lightning, delivering two slaps to his face in quick succession. She angrily retorted, "Still trying to fool me! A few days ago, you had the abbot of Yue Wang Temple deliver a message to Mo Qinghui and me, saying that the imperial court was going to use the entire nation's resources to arrest us, and that we should hide away to avoid the limelight. But we had barely hidden ourselves when we heard the news that you and Hong Yueliang were going to openly get married! Humph, even now, you still want me to run away so you can have your good time! Bai Shandian, you heartless bastard! How can you face our ancestors? Not to mention me, how can you face your children? For your own pleasure, you've abandoned your entire family?!" As she spoke, her nose stung, and she could no longer hold back her emotions; tears streamed down her face.

Seeing her chest heaving and her expression extremely agitated, Bai Shandian felt incredibly guilty. He reached out to wipe away her tears, but Xiang Quan slapped his hand away, causing him to quickly withdraw it in pain. Xiang Quan said coquettishly, "Don't touch me! Today I'm going to kill that vixen so she won't harm anyone else in the future!" With a swift movement, she somersaulted to the bridal sedan chair, her arms flying wildly, knocking down the two bridesmaids. Lifting the sedan chair curtain, she saw the bride with her red veil on her head. She grabbed her and, like an eagle snatching a chick, dragged her out of the sedan chair. With a burst of internal energy, she lifted her above her head and slammed her to the ground—Red Moon, now with her red veil falling, was held upside down, her soul seemingly flying to the heavens! Suddenly, she felt dizzy, her body sinking sharply, and she crashed headfirst to the ground! If she lands in that position, she'll smash that stunningly beautiful woman's head to pieces!