Volume 1, Chapter 57: The Battle Between the Two Dowager Empresses

As soon as Yin Yulian spoke, Shen Li's face clouded over with sorrow, and she began to sigh repeatedly.

"It is indeed a match made in heaven—well-matched in social standing, a handsome groom and a beautiful bride, fulfilling every wish of mine. However, the national treasury is empty, and His Majesty says he cannot spare much silver to fund the wedding. There are standard precedents set by the Imperial Household Department for the marriages of imperial princes and princesses. Now, even that budget has been cut in half.

"I keep thinking that since this is the very first joyous occasion for the imperial family since His Majesty ascended the throne, the wedding must be grand and magnificent at all costs, so as not to become a laughingstock for outsiders. Even after emptying all my private funds to subsidize it, there is still a massive shortfall. Alas, how on earth am I going to scrape together this sum of money..."

Long Zhanyan vaguely remembered that she had a few vials of mermaid blood in her spatial storage. That mermaid blood dated back to the time in the lower realm continent.

The crimson-blooded demon had been hacked by the close-combat warriors until it roared frantically. After a moment, numerous splits had opened up across its massive flesh ball, instantly spewing out grayish-white liquid.

Lin Xinyan wanted to open her mouth to retort, but taking in the environment of the room, the words stalled on the tip of her tongue and she swallowed them back down.

Immediately afterward, Cheng Lan and Zhao Han resumed their daily routine of chatting about everything under the sun, from ancient times to the present.

"Long Zhanyan, do you really think you're remarkable just because you're a Prince's Consort? Murong Xianhao still hates your guts just the same!" Tuoba Weiyang said angrily, her eyes fixed intently on Long Zhanyan, as if she wished she could burn a giant hole right through her.

"It's fine. I can see that you're completely normal right now. The procedure must have failed and didn't give you schizophrenia," the inspector comforted.

Gao Shun was indeed difficult to get along with—Liu He had already made this clear to Xianyu Fu, Xu Huang, and the others—yet Gao Shun was undeniably a man of noble character. This trait suited Xu Huang's taste perfectly, which was why Xu Huang actually had a rather decent relationship with Gao Shun. The man only appeared much more stern on the surface, but getting along with him carried no pressure at all.

Adriano lacked any semblance of a young man; in his own words, he had already lost his passion for football and his desire for victory.

"Teacher, I see that these troops are already elite enough. Shall we head down the mountain now?" Sect Master Quan asked, eager to try his hand.

Gu Jincheng was just about to give instructions for the upcoming arrangements when Qiao Anqing suddenly spoke up: "You dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn just to make me accompany you on a run to the company?" Her tone was full of incomprehension, mixed with a hint of grievance.

However, a few days before the city was destroyed, the county magistrate had the coffin moved back to the county yamen because he felt there were still lingering doubts and wanted to investigate further. At the time, Elder Zhou had fiercely opposed it, fearing that it would disturb Zhou Zuo's peace.

"I even recorded a video. If they dare to trouble me, I'll turn the video into a gift and mail it to each of their friends and family members one by one. Anyway, I have plenty of money and energy right now." Luo Rou curled her lips, her eyes revealing a mixture of gentleness and resilience.

Hearing this, Zhou Cong felt a slight flush of embarrassment on his face. He truly had not expected Shang Liuli to be so bold and unrestrained.

Chai Hongrui abruptly stopped in his tracks and froze for a moment, presumably not expecting Shang Liuli to propose going together.

The latter's figure was very slender; Shen Qi gathered her completely into his arms with a hold so easy it felt as if she could be embraced within the span of a single grasp.

Although, because the production team unilaterally decided to modify the recording schedule, if they were unable to record due to scheduling conflicts, it wouldn't strictly count as a breach of contract, and no compensation would need to be paid.

Chen Fei couldn't help letting out a groan. The characteristics over in Berlin didn't match the description of the iron plate; that was just an inference they made based on the identity of the homeowner.

As soon as those words fell, the complexions of the five hundred undefeated soldiers shifted drastically, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans broke out across their foreheads.

She ran desperately toward the front, pouring every ounce of her strength into it, yet as she rounded the corner, she was still overtaken by a classmate from Class Three.

Jiang Xianya immediately backed down, offering the man in cyan a flattering smile—a smile as twisted as a withered chrysanthemum in the wind.

Not long after, Qin Chuan found Ling Jianfei, who was continuously excavating deep within the innermost pit—an ancient pit shockingly filled with human ashes.

After listening to Jiang Zhaoshun's explanation, everyone present wore contemplative expressions. How should one put it? Whether it was unpredictable death, endless vengeance, or the one-way path of the living, every description of the flower sounded deeply inauspicious.

His Five Elements Spirit Body was already a rare bloodline in this world, capable of turning the five elements to open heaven and earth; purely in terms of physical constitution, even the Void Beasts were far inferior to him.

On the surface, it looked beautiful, but if one were truly to tear open their hearts, lungs, and guts, chances were they would all be pitch black.

"It doesn't matter, Teacher Mo. I can handle this bit of discussion," Jiutian smiled, reassuring Mo Boyan.

Amidst everyone's laughter and chatter, the screen displayed scenes of the Spring Festival: firecrackers popping, fireworks bursting, dragon and lion dances, sounds of joy and laughter, and children chasing one another, painting a picture of supreme happiness, peace, and harmony.

Jiang Rui took out the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China checkbook, wrote down eighty-eight thousand yuan, had both parties sign it, tore off the check, and handed it to Gu Meiyu.

Gu Huaijin reined in his thoughts, his fingers tightening around the porcelain bottle. After a long while, he finally turned around and walked straight into his tent.

The two of them sprinted until they reached a spot out of the waiter's sight before stopping. Li Muyue braced his hands on his knees, and after catching his breath, he said.

"What?" The enemy general wore a look of utter disbelief. He pulled on his horse's reins and looked around left and right, but apart from James and his remaining soldiers, no other troops had appeared at all.

In this troubled era, to stand still is to fall behind. Perhaps Liu Jingsheng really was aging, and even on the verge of death... his vision remained confined to this tiny patch of Jingzhou.

At the lead was a tall, dark-faced man, and acting as his assistant beside him was a sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked scrawny fellow.

Granted, it was impossible for everyone to pull out ten yuan, but given the current situation in the East, for the majority of people, pulling out ten yuan per person was still a breeze.

Right and wrong, the officers and men around the North Gate had already formed their own understanding. Now, enlightened by Zhang Yong and watching Pang Yi get berated by Zhang Yong to the point of speechlessness, a clear path suddenly formed in their hearts, firmly cementing their resolve to follow Zhang Yong all the way to the end.

"This..." Nan Feng originally wanted to refuse, but who would have known that the young girl had already helped her up, pulling him away toward somewhere else. He turned his head back to glare at Sheng Xia, whose jealousy had thoroughly boiled over.