The Prince Beimo said the title was assigned incorrectly, and the court officials of Nanliang did not suspect anything, agreeing to make the correction; it wasn’t a significant effort.

The crucial point was that Princess Jing Mountain was already in Nanliang, practically belonging to the Prince of Nanliang, and even carrying a pregnancy. The raw rice had already been cooked, what could Beimo do?

This marriage certificate was just a formality to make this "privately determined lifelong relationship" proper and above board.

The marriage certificate comes in two copies.

The Prince Beimo sealed it, and the Nanliang envoy took it to the Emperor of Nanliang to affix the Jade Seal, then returned it.

Prince Beimo had been worried Nanliang would find something amiss, but nothing happened, it was a false alarm.

The Princess Consort Mo also felt relieved. Currently, Princess Jing Mountain was fake, but as long as the marriage certificate was real, should the truth come out later, Nanliang could demand the real Princess Jing Mountain from Beimo based on the document. Surely Beimo would have to send her over?

To be cautious, the Princess Consort Mo even consulted with Nanliang officials about this matter.

A mistake in Princess Jing Mountain’s title angering the Prince Beimo was an embarrassing issue that Nanliang officials wouldn’t be foolish enough to disclose.

With the signing of the marriage agreement concluded for now, the next step was preparing for Princess Jing Mountain to wed the Prince of Nanliang.

The marriage contract having been signed, the Prince Beimo felt frustrated but could only accept the situation.

However, Princess Consort Mo did not dare let the Prince of Nanliang marry a palace maid as the Crown Princess Consort. The Prince of Nanliang said Princess Jing Mountain was pregnant and unfit for travel, and the wedding banquet should be held quickly; otherwise, it would not look good as she advanced in months. The Princess Consort Mo then schemed to make Princess Jing Mountain have a "miscarriage."

Xiuxiu slashed her thigh with a knife, and the Princess Consort Mo summoned an Imperial Physician to check her pulse, confirming the miscarriage.

The Prince of Nanliang’s face was cold as frost, and the Prince Beimo seized the opportunity to request Princess Jing Mountain’s return, which Nanliang couldn’t refuse further.

With the marriage certificate written and no pregnancy to hinder, coupled with the Princess Consort Mo’s assistance in persuasion, Nanliang could only nod in agreement.

However, before leaving, the Golden Mountain Princess needed to recover from her injuries.

Seven days later.

The Prince of Nanliang escorted the Prince Beimo and the Golden Mountain Princess out of the city, accompanying them for thirty miles.

Alongside the Prince of Nanliang was the Heir of the Duke of Guardian.

After learning that the Duke Huguo had been punched by General Shi at the border, and his plan to eliminate General Shi using Daqi’s hand was thwarted by a lieutenant alongside the Heir of Marquis Changning, he decided to head to the border to assist his father.

A few days ago, he planned to leave, but as the Prince Beimo and the Golden Mountain Princess were heading back to Beimo, he delayed for a few days to travel together.

With the Heir of the Duke of Guardian escorting, there was no fear that the Prince Beimo and the Golden Mountain Princess would be killed halfway by Daqi, leading to a diplomatic rupture between Nanliang and Beimo.

The escort by Nanliang was not part of Prince Beimo’s plan. He intended to take Princess Jing Mountain back when returning, but to avoid arousing Nanliang’s suspicion, he had to temporarily leave his Imperial Sister in Nanliang.

Princess Jing Mountain missed her parents but was also reluctant to leave, so she chose to let things be.

Now that the Prince Beimo did not take her, she was at ease staying in Nanliang.

However, she did not stay many more days.

After escorting the Prince Beimo to the Beimo Border, the Prince Beimo instructed a subordinate to disguise as him and continue back to Beimo with Xiuxiu, while he camouflaged as a Hidden Guard to fetch Princess Jing Mountain from the Zhao Family.

The Prince Beimo never thought the disguise technique he learned wouldn’t be used in the Nanliang Capital but for fetching his Imperial Sister.

Accompanied only by a guard, Zhao Xu scrutinized, asking, "Didn’t your Young Master come?"

"No," the Prince Beimo answered indifferently.

Zhao Xu breathed a sigh of relief, yet his heart felt even heavier.

As an elder brother, not personally fetching his sister and only sending two subordinates, was he so upset that he didn’t even care about his sister’s safety?

After the Prince Beimo left last time, Zhao Xu felt uneasy for days, eating tastelessly and sleeping restlessly, repeatedly mulling ways to resolve the problem.

He had tried probing Princess Jing Mountain for insights, but her response was futile. She shook her head, saying, "I have never pleased my Elder Brother. When I upset him, I just ignored him for a few days, and he’d come around."

Zhao Xu, "...."

Provoking someone first and then ignoring them would only worsen the situation.

But she wasn’t wrong either. When his little sister upset him, he got angrier than she did, not only having to calm himself but also coaxing her into a good mood.

This was commonplace among brothers and sisters everywhere.

Zhao Xu had other matters at hand and couldn’t dwell on this indefinitely, deciding to play by ear when the Prince Beimo returned.

Now that the Prince Beimo hadn’t come, only his guards arrived, Zhao Xu tried probing them instead.

He ordered drinks and, after a few rounds, began inquiring about the Prince Beimo’s preferences.

The Prince Beimo laughed inwardly but remained expressionless, saying, "I’m afraid I cannot disclose the master’s preferences to outsiders."

The other guard gave the Prince Beimo a sidelong glance, twitching the corner of his mouth relentlessly.

Zhao Xu employed all his tactics, but the Prince Beimo either kept silent, praised the food, or diverted the conversation entirely.

Even the usually good-natured Zhao Xu was running out of patience, let alone the guards behind him.

Their young master had saved Miss Zhao’s life, thus owed by the Zhao Family, and hosted them with a banquet. What they asked wasn’t confidential, just trying to cater to preferences to resolve conflicts, yet it was oil and water with them.

This was the Zhao Family estate.

Failing to get any answers, Zhao Xu gave up.

After leaving, a guard remarked, "I think they just need a beating to behave."

"As Prince NanAn said, if one beating doesn’t work, then two should."

Zhao Xu, usually amiable, had somewhat adopted Prince NanAn’s temper after spending time with him.

The attitude of the two guards earlier indeed provoked him.

One just ate silently.

The other spoke, but only irrelevant nonsense inflaming the situation.

Even their looks were uncomfortable.

Even so, Zhao Xu didn’t heed the guard’s suggestion, reasoning that his own guards carried weight in front of him.

In the end, Zhao Xu took action.

With the guards saying nothing, Zhao Xu wouldn’t let them take Princess Jing Mountain away.

The Prince Beimo stood firm, but Zhao Xu stood firmer.

The conflict grew until Zhao Xu lost control and started a fight.

A good thrashing was the only way to show Prince Beimo his resolve not to let them take anyone from the Zhao Family without his presence.

Nothing is resolved if the person isn’t met.

Having already beaten the master before, adding two guards was nothing.

On the Zhao estate, the Prince Beimo and his two guards were easy pickings.

After beating them up, Zhao Xu felt much better.

The hidden guards followed secretly, trying to find out where the Prince Beimo really was.

Following all the way to an inn, they peeked through the window to see the guard peeling off a human skin mask...

The guard, "...!!!"

The guard was nearly scared to death.

Afraid of being discovered, the guard hurriedly left the inn.

On the way, he smacked himself countless times.

For mouthing off and encouraging their Young Master to beat people.

The anger from the last fight wasn’t even gone, and here was a new one. Should he advise the Young Master to give up on marrying Miss Zhao? That surely wasn’t going to succeed.

The guard returned trembling; seeing him like that, Zhao Xu asked, "Do you know where they are resting?"

"Young Master, you should give up on marrying Miss Qingqing," the guard’s voice wavered.

"I know Qingqing’s brother is hard to deal with, but I won’t give up," Zhao Xu replied firmly.

"...."

"Where is he?" Zhao Xu inquired.

"...."

"You should give up, Young Master...."

"Just tell me where he is," Zhao Xu said.

"Qingqing’s brother used disguise," the guard said, bracing himself.

"We just beat him up."

"...!!!"