After a relatively lax rest of the journey, the group finally arrived at the kingdom of Hua with no other delay.
Along their journey Hua Shen told her of the matters to be expected.
For one, he immediately threw out a disclaimer that he had never been involved with anyone since arriving in this world. Even though he knew that Li Feifei would not be jealous even if he did, Hua Shen still wanted to tell her so that she could never use his nonexistent infidelity as an excuse to go around making him wear a green hat. Only with her would he mind being forced to wear a green hat, not because of his face as an emperor but as a jealous and possessive husband.
"This husband was very popular before heading out to Li."
When the capital's gates were in sight, Hua Shen had carefully iterated. Li Feifei knew that he was implying that he was worried others would attempt to drive a wedge between the two of them. She was about to tease him, but before the words could leave her lips Li Feifei noticed Hua Shen's pair of dark red orbs were so earnest that she swallowed any teasing remarks and unconsciously nodded instead.
After what felt like half a day's worth of silence, she absentmindedly asked, "What brought this on anyway? It doesn't seem to be as important as the other matters."
Of course, the other "more important" matters were the internal affairs of the kingdom. Even if they were going to immediately head off to the other kingdoms for unification, the foundation was going to be the kingdom of Hua, so it was only natural to completely stabilize it first.
Unfortunately, her offhanded remark unknowingly hurt Hua Shen slightly but he knew Li Feifei wasn't completely disregarding him on purpose. He also knew that she would only need a few seconds to realize why he brought up this fact, thus let her figure out the answer on her own.
Sure enough his wife was worthy of his love what with her experience as a peerless queen of drama, she deduced, "You had a fiancée from birth. As a prince, how could you not? And you have annulled the engagement, earning her family's ire. As a prince's fiancée, no matter how unfavored you are, how could her family be lacking in anything be it power or status?
"Knowing you, you've already taken care of them. But then the others in the ministry would not look upon you as someone they could easily place their complete trust in as someone who was capable of destroying his fiancée of 14 years and her entire family. There's bound to be even more distrust towards you for bringing in a foreign Empress.
"Furthermore, there's probably an Empress Dowager? Though, there's also the chance that you have also taken care of her, too, since she had supported the engagement between you and that fiancée. This means that she was on good terms with that family and would have been against you harming them.
"And lastly, I feel that the only one who would be capable enough to manage the affairs in your absence is either a trusted prime minister or one of your brothers. As for your other brothers, the ambitious ones should have been deposed and disposed of appropriately. Am I missing anything else?"
Hua Shen nodded in approval and happily hugged her, "Baby, you're so smart."
Hua Kingdom's affairs were full of clichés, so it really didn't take much to deduce the happenings. Furthermore, Li Feifei knew Hua Shen enough to confidently declare that he would definitely not show any mercy to anyone in this world--NPCs no less.
Hua Shen attentively explained the parts she missed, which were basically more in-depth information about the brothers that he'd kept alive for the sake of efficiency. He also disclosed that the Empress Dowager's current position was no different from a paper tiger. Even as an Empress Dowager she could not force him to take in an empress of her choice, nor any concubines.
She also held little to no power over the court due to his influence. He had cut off her hands and feet in the ministry; anyone who had any intent to help her were risking the wellbeing of their entire household.
Thus, even if the she disliked Li Feifei, there was nothing she could do.
The same went for his ministers. Those who had been too persistent in recommending their own daughters and trying to send them up his bed were ruthlessly taken care of, setting an example to the other ministers. Similarly, if there were any unreasonable opposition to his rule, someone new would turn up in their place the next morning.
Hua Shen admitted he was a total dictator; he was a complete tyrant. Only with his absolute domination over the court would they be able to ensure a flawless "clear." That had always been his way of doing things.
After he described his minor accomplishments regarding his tyranny, Hua Shen confirmed the deaths of the ex-fiancée and her family as they were simply poisonous and were constantly up to no good.
The Sixth Prince had two younger sisters, but he'd never met them. It wasn't as if the original had cared for them either, as he was the least favored prince and never considered them more than future chess pieces in his scheme to overthrow the former emperor.
There were many other details that didn't need to be expounded upon as they would be stepping right into the midst of it all anyway--albeit only for a few weeks at most.
Before the carriage had neared the tall and sturdy gates of Hua, Li Feifei and Hua Shen as well as the rest of the entourage changed back into the flaming red wedding attire in order to display the kingdom's new Empress's position in their young Emperor's heart. Even though Hua Shen was known to be quite childish outside of the kingdom, in actuality the citizens of Hua placed him on a very high pedestal as one of the most competent rulers in centuries despite his obvious status as a dictator in court.
So, if this esteemed Emperor treasured his new Empress very much, there was no way the masses would dare to show even the slightest dissatisfaction towards her.
When the group finally passed through the gates and marched into the capital of Hua, Li Feifei had already somewhat expected the liveliness and booming businesses that could rival and maybe even outdo the streets of Li's.
Although both kingdoms were military-oriented kingdoms, there were undoubtedly much more respectable individuals in Hua whether young or old.
The highest contributor to the peace and wealth of Hua had to be Hua Shen's business-oriented big brother, the 18-year-old Second Prince, Hua Tishen.
Amazingly, there were rarely any beggars on the street, and the air was particularly clear. There was also a large medical center near the center of the capital that more than likely belonged to the medicine fanatic Third Prince, Hua Liushen.
Hua Shen had revamped the wedding procession on a grander scale than what he'd done in Li. Furthermore, their robes were entirely different and more elaborately decorated.
Even more importantly, Li Feifei had been given the phoenix crown given only to the Hua kingdom's Empress to wear along with it.
Originally, the width of the headpiece was over two feet long and weighed enough to break not one but three entire necks, but Li Feifei vehemently rejected going through such a meaningless suffering by forcing herself to wear such a bothersome thing for the sake of formalities.
Hua Shen helplessly resigned and ended up taking it apart and personally reconstructing it to her tastes. The golden crown had an assortment of expensive gems and pearls embedded within. Two tiny rubies were inlaid into the eyes of both phoenixes as they faced each other with a radiant golden sun in between them. Small golden strings of chains draped over Li Feifei's veil from the headpiece with lustrous rubies attached at the ends.
If she rode in the carriage, then wearing all of those layers and the crown would have been for naught, so Hua Shen had her ride with him on his gallant steed. This way he could also show his own people how much he treasured his wife, their Empress.
Sure enough, the people instantly recognized her.
Countless "oohs" and "ahhs" were shamelessly received out of reverence for the duo's beautiful figures and status. Some citizens were dubious due to Li Feifei having come from Li, but most others were lecturing them saying that the two countries had allied, and it was a great occasion! More importantly, to say such treasonous things, one must have had the gall bladder of a tiger!
The procession ended up pausing their steps once they reached the central hospital. Two prominent figures were standing respectfully with their hands behind their backs as if they had been waiting the group's arrival for a long time.
In fact, it wasn't wrong to say that they were indeed full of anticipation to meet their long-awaited sister-in-law, but truthfully, they just couldn't stand running the kingdom in the place of their youngest brother anymore after only a little over three weeks!
""Your Majesty!""
With genial smiles pasted across their pale and haggard handsome faces, the Second and Third Princes animatedly welcomed the entourage in front of the lively ancient hospital. They didn't forget to slightly lower their heads, but even if they did, it was clear that Hua Shen would not have cared either way.
Hua Shen simply waved away their greeting as expected.
Scrutinizing their sister-in-law with interest as they'd thought their youngest brother to be gay--always hanging around with only his personal eunuch all day long--it was no surprise that both the Second and Third Princes could not see much due to the impediment caused by the red wedding veil. Of course, this was all thanks to the machinations of their childish youngest brother who was unquestionably a hen-pecked and petty husband and brother.
If Hua Shen was aware of the well-guarded rumors floating around underground and behind closed doors stating that he was without a doubt gay, his face would darken enough to ooze ink and many heads would be sent flying. After all, it was all Zero's fault for always sticking to him, urging him to hurry on over to Li Feifei's side before she cheated on him and updating him on her situations.
More importantly, he couldn't have such rumors lingering around while his wife was not yet completely within his grasp in this world.
What if she suddenly decided to throw candidates for male concubines at his face later on? Even worse, what if she took that as an excuse to also take the bent path and turned away from him, her husband?
While those thoughts would fly through Hua Shen's head for a split second, they would also disappear just as fast. After all, if he really had to, Hua Shen would just show Li Feifei how straight he truly was when the time came. The only one who would suffer a loss and regret in the end would be Li Feifei.
Thus, the speculations regarding the sexual orientation of the mighty Emperor of Hua went unnoticed by the involved party at this time due to his own carelessness. But it wasn't necessarily detrimental for him...
The curious duo could only assume that their youngest sister-in-law was a once-in-a-millennium beauty that could straighten up men who were bent beyond repair. Li Feifei naturally exerted a languid air, but it never took away from the instilled regality of her posture. Furthermore, the rumors and murmurs about their brother highly treasuring her didn't seem to be false as his arms were wrapped snuggly around her waist as his hands maintained a tight grip on the reins of the horse.
They could tell immediately that she was not as head over heels over their little brother as he was over her by how inattentive she was towards him to the point that it almost seemed as if she was disregarding him.
Suddenly, the two felt very minute feelings of pity towards their youngest brother and associated it with the fact that he'd never had a woman before. Because he'd never had a woman before, maybe their first night was not very pleasant and therefore their little Emperor failed to appeal to the new Empress.
"If his skills were unsatisfactory, he learns fast. So, just give him some time."
Hua Tishen, the reliable businessman with plentiful experience in that field due to his extensive travels, sympathetically spoke up for his pitiful youngest brother. Even if he was a tyrant with a relatively large build for a 14-year-old, he was still too naive and had killed his fiancée before he could properly become a full-fledged man.
If anything, didn't most women desire a man's first time just as much as a man did a woman's? With this thought, Hua Tishen no longer worried about his brother's love life.
Li Feifei smiled amiably at Hua Tishen, extremely amused by the unintentional jab and directed her eyes full of teasing towards her husband who was "not that good in bed."
In response, Hua Shen shamelessly and wordlessly slid one of his hands back and squeezed her ass. Thinking that it felt pretty good, he squeezed again. Then three more times.
Li Feifei was not embarrassed, but she felt that her butt cheeks would probably turn red if he didn't stop. So, she stopped him with a threatening glare.
Hua Tishen and Hua Liushen stood patiently, bemused by the sight of their stoic youngest brother outwardly flirting with his wife. Even though he subjected them to mental torture by having them run the kingdom's affairs despite their strong abhorrence for it while he wasn't around, the two men couldn't help but spoil and dote on their youngest brother who really wasn't in the least bit cute.
Anyway, Li Feifei and Hua Shen had to go to the palace.
It was already late in the morning and morning court was drawn short due to their arrival. All the ministers had long gone home.