The wedding of Bai Rouyuan and Prince Murong Yexuan unfolded not merely as a celebration but as the culmination of two intertwined destinies.
Wuzhen City had never seen such splendor; lanterns blazed like stars, silk banners fluttered like crimson clouds, and every street was filled with joyful cheers.
Rouyuan's Bridal Splendors
Rouyuan appeared like a figure from a celestial painting.
She wore a breathtaking red wedding dress, masterfully designed by Wen Xianyi, Murong Qingshi, and Yan Doudou—a piece of artistry unmatched in the empire.
Her wedding dress crafted from silk dyed in phoenix-red, shimmering with each breath of wind. Embroidered with gold threads in patterns of peonies and golden lotuses symbolizing prosperity and purity, inlaid with tiny diamonds that glimmered like morning frost, Flowed behind her like a gleaming river of light.
Her jewelry was equally magnificent, a golden phoenix crown set with rubies and jade, earrings shaped like teardrops of dawn, made of luminous pearls, a golden necklace adorned with sapphire petals, bangles carved with dragon-and-phoenix motifs, rings of jade, ruby, and imperial topaz on her delicate fingers.
A thin red veil—embroidered with faint lotus silhouettes—covered her face, softening her radiance into something ethereal.
She looked stunning, regal, and otherworldly… yet still the Rouyuan everyone loved: gentle, determined, and filled with quiet strength.
Yexuan's Magnificence
Yexuan stood equally resplendent.
He wore a crimson ceremonial robe embroidered with golden dragon scales that shimmered with each step, the shoulders marked with diamond studs, symbolizing the honor of a war hero, a black-and-gold waist belt bearing the Azure Dragon Emblem, his hair tied into a high noble knot with a jeweled coronet.
His handsome face carried a smile that refused to fade—eyes bright, proud, and overflowing with a happiness he didn't bother to hide.
He was accompanied by his closest brothers-in-arms, Murong Yunxi, Wei Shensu and Lin Changyu.
Together, they formed a procession that radiated strength and celebration.
The Bride-Chasing Ceremony
Upon arriving at the Bai Residence, Yexuan was greeted warmly by Marquis Bai, Bai Yunchen, and Bai Yanyu.
But before he could enter Rouyuan's chamber…Wen Xianyi, Murong Qingshi, and Yan Doudou blocked the door.
"Where is the toll money?" Xianyi demanded with hands on her hips.
"You're marrying our precious Rouyuan. You think you can enter without paying?" Qingshi added with a smirk. "We will not let you pass!" Doudou teased.
Lin Changyu, Wei Shensu, and Murong Yunxi immediately joined the playful bickering.
Yunxi teased, "Yexuan-Ge, just pay them before they raise the price again."
Shensu added, "If you don't hurry, Rouyuan will fall asleep."
Changyu laughed, "This is the fate of a groom."
After paying a generous amount, the girls finally relented and brought Rouyuan forward.
Farewell at the Bai Residence
Yexuan gently took Rouyuan by the hand and brought her to her father, Bai Longyuan and her brothers.
Bai Longyuan's voice trembled.
"Your highness… she is my treasure. Love her, protect her… make her happy for the rest of her life."
Rouyuan burst into tears.
Yexuan bowed deeply.
"I will cherish her with my life."
The Grand Procession
Rouyuan was carried in a magnificent wedding sedan, veiled in red silk and surrounded by guards and musicians.
Yexuan rode beside her, his eyes never leaving the sedan window.
The procession circled Wuzhen City, crowds cheering as firecrackers exploded like strings of red blossoms.
Children tossed flower petals, and elderly women raised lanterns for blessings.
It was a celebration the city would never forget.
Arrival at the Murong Mansion
When the wedding procession arrived at Azure Dragon Mansion,
The entire Wen Clan was already assembled. Patriarch Wen Shisheng stood at the front, dignified and proud, with Wen Roushan and his wife beside him.
Consort Rou and Prince Murong Yunxian smiled warmly as they waited.
Not far behind were Bai Longyuan, Bai Yunchen, and Bai Yanyu; Master Su Yuelien, and Rouyuan's closest friends—Wen Xianyi, Murong Qingshi, and Yan Doudou.
At the entrance, Yexuan's parents, Prince Murong Zhenxi and Li Xiao Ran, personally welcomed their new daughter-in-law, their expressions filled with joy.
The Wedding Ceremony
The wedding was held in the grand front hall, decorated with towers of red lanterns, hanging scrolls painted with phoenixes, and A golden brazier lit with sandalwood and lotus incense.
Rouyuan and Yexuan performed the traditional rites, Heaven and Earth Bowing Ceremony. They bowed toward the sky, acknowledging the heavens as witness to their union.
Ancestral Tribute, together, they offered wine and incense to honor the ancestors.
Husband and Wife Bowing Ritual, Yexuan knelt first—shocking the hall—declaring, "I bow first so the world knows from today onward, Rouyuan is the one I honor above all."
Rouyuan, flustered and touched, bowed back.
The hall erupted into applause.
In the Bridal Chamber
The candles glowed in soft golden light.
Rouyuan sat on the bed, veil still gently covering her face.
Yexuan lifted the veil with trembling hands.
Their eyes met.
Both shy.
Both smiling.
Both overwhelmed.
He took her hand.
"Rouyuan… thank you for choosing me."
She whispered back, "Thank you for waiting for me."
Yexuan leaned his forehead gently against hers.
"From today…your sorrows are mine; your joys are mine, your dreams—
I will guard with my life."
Rouyuan's eyes softened.
"My heart has been yours since long ago."
The night continued quietly, wrapped in warmth, whispered promises, and a love that finally—finally—found its place.
For three days and nights, the wedding festivities flourished, lavishly funded by Patriarch Wen and the Wen Clan for their beloved granddaughter.
The whole of Wuzhen City celebrated—banquets filling every street, fireworks brightening the skies, and joyous gatherings held in honor of the two newlyweds.
Five Years Later — A Peaceful Afternoon in Bloom
Five years slipped by like petals carried along a quiet river.
Prince Murong Yeuhua, Rouyuan's eldest son, now four years old, ran through the garden paths of Azure Dragon courtyard with the same bright, stubborn spirit as his father.
Rouyuan, her belly gently rounded with a pair of twins, watched from the terrace.
Despite being nearly seven months pregnant, she remained as lively as ever—moving about with practiced grace, tending to her patients at Sacred Lotus Medicine Hall, teaching every week at the Imperial Medical Academy, and managing her home with warmth.
Yexuan had long given up trying to keep her still.
"Slow down, my love," he often said.
But Rouyuan only laughed and replied, "If I stop moving, I'll fall asleep."
Life had stabilized into something warm and beautiful.
At the Imperial Medical Academy Rouyuan's name had become legendary.
Her teachings in anatomy, sanitation, childbirth safety, emergency surgery, and herbal-based antibiotic principles had shaped a new generation of imperial physicians.
Students bowed whenever she passed, whispering,
"The Imperial Golden Physician…"
"She saved half the Eastern Sea Region…"
"Master Bai's lessons changed everything…"
Yet Rouyuan remained humble, preferring to be called simply Teacher Rouyuan.
Afternoon Tea at Azure Dragon Mansion
The scene shifted to a bright afternoon.
The sky was warm, and jasmine petals drifted through the air as Wen Xianyi, Yan Doudou, and Murong Qingshi arrived at the Murong residence for their usual weekly gathering.
Servants led them to the lakeside pavilion.
Their children—little whirlwinds of laughter—ran in circles around the lotus pond. Doudou's two boys, Wei Jian (5) and Wei Lin (3), chased dragonflies by the water. Qingshi's son, Bai Qingyue (5), tried to keep the younger children out of trouble like a miniature general. Murong Yeuhua, the innocent troublemaker, proudly showed them a frog he had caught.
Yan Doudou clutched her chest dramatically.
"Yeuhua! Put that thing down—your mother is pregnant!"
From the veranda, Rouyuan laughed.
"Doudou, it's only a frog."
"It's alive!"
Doudou pointed as if facing a battlefield threat.
Xianyi, now beautifully pregnant at four months, teased,
"If my child starts catching frogs too, I know who to blame."
"Blame Yexuan," Qingshi added with a grin.
"His son acts exactly like him."
They all burst into laughter.
The Spark of Discovery
Rouyuan spent several nights alone in the back room of Sacred Lotus Medicine Hall, surrounded by jars, cloth-covered trays, and rows of cooling herbal broths.
She had long known—from the life she once lived—that the world once conquered infection with something called 'penicillin.'
If she could recreate even a crude form of it in this era, countless lives could be saved.
For months she experimented quietly.
She prepared shallow trays of steamed rice and barley, kept them warm, and watched them as they naturally grew different kinds of mold.
Most were useless. Some were dangerous.
But Rouyuan was searching for a very specific kind 'a pale blue, slightly sweet-smelling mold' that formed in delicate rings.
One morning, she finally found it.
A soft blue-green mold bloomed on the corner of a barley loaf.
She lifted it gently, studying the tiny droplets of liquid forming around it.
"Penicillium… I finally found you."
Carefully, Rouyuan transferred the mold into jars of weak medicinal broth.
Over days, the mold released a cloudy liquid — a crude antibiotic.
She filtered it repeatedly through silk cloth and charcoal until the color cleared.
The result was a pale golden liquid.
Weak by modern standards, but powerful by ancient ones.
"What are you doing?"
Yexuan leaned against the doorway, arms folded, watching his wife with amusement.
"You look like a thief creeping about… sneaking around like you're afraid someone will catch you."
Rouyuan nearly dropped the tray of jars in her hands.
Yexuan moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her gently, mindful of her rounded belly—seven months pregnant with their second twin child.
"I'm working on something important," she murmured.
"A new medicine. I'm calling it 'Blue-Mold Healing Essence."
"A new medicine?" Yexuan echoed, peering over her shoulder with interest.
"Mmm. But I need to test it first." She turned slightly, her eyes shining with curiosity and mischief.
"So… can I borrow my dear husband's soldiers for the experiment?"
"My soldiers?" Yexuan raised a brow. "Test… on them?"
Rouyuan nodded innocently.
Yexuan sighed, helpless against her earnest expression.
"Alright, alright. If it's you, my wife—take whoever you need."
He kissed her temple lightly.
"But at least let me supervise," he added.
"I don't want you running around the camp with that big belly of yours."
Rouyuan laughed softly. "As you command, Sir."
Rouyuan tested it first on infected cuts from injured soldiers — careful, tiny doses applied only to the wound surface.
Within a day, fever went down.
Within three, the wound stopped swelling.
It worked.
She named the medicine, 'Blue-Mold Healing Essence'
— though in her heart, she still called it penicillin.
Rouyuan Introduces Penicillin to Her Students
Rouyuan gathered her students and young physicians.
She set a tray on the table — half with normal bread, half with blue-green mold.
"This mold," Rouyuan explained, "releases a substance that kills the foul things that cause festering wounds."
The apprentices gasped.
She continued, dipping a brush into the filtered liquid, "It does not cure all illnesses."
"But for infection, rot, pus-filled wounds, fevers from injury, and certain lung ailments… this medicine will save lives that herbs alone cannot."
She taught them step by step how she done it, how to grow the safe strain of blue mold, how to discard dangerous molds, how to purify the liquid with charcoal and fine cloth, how to apply it only to infected areas in small doses...
To never to drink it, never to inject it.
How to record patients' reactions.
The students wrote pages upon pages of notes, trembling with excitement.
"This knowledge," Rouyuan told them, "must be used for healing, never for greed. If misused, the heavens will take it back."
The Hundred-Day Celebration of New Life
Today marked the hundredth day since the birth of Rouyuan's twins, Murong Yiran and Murong Yan.
The mansion was lively as Murong Yunxi and Wen Xianyi arrived first, followed by Bai Yunchen and Murong Qingshi with little Bai Qingyue, and Wei Shensu and Yan Doudou with their two energetic boys, Wei Jian and Wei Lin.
Lin Changyu also joined the celebration, carrying beautifully wrapped gifts for the occasion.
The traditional hundred-day item-choosing ceremony was held, and laughter echoed through the room as the babies reached for the objects before them.
Everyone was in high spirits—until the children began competing over the twins.
"Mother, can we bring Yan and Yiran home with us?" Bai Qingyue tugged Qingshi's sleeve.
"No! They're my little brother and sister," Yeuhua immediately protested, puffing his cheeks in indignation.
"I want them too!" Qingyue insisted.
"We want them as well!" Wei Jian and Wei Lin chimed in, already trying to climb closer to the crib.
The mothers exchanged looks with their husbands—deadly, meaningful looks that said,
Handle your children.
We're going to the Azure Dragon Courtyard.
And without another word, the women turned gracefully and walked away.
They only bring the little twins, Murong Yiran and Murong Yan with them, leaving the bewildered men to deal with their overly enthusiastic offspring.
Sitting Down for Tea
The four women settled around a lacquered table.
Servants poured steaming osmanthus tea, and plates of pastries—almond cakes, lotus buns, and candied berries—were set before them.
Qingshi leaned her cheek on her hand, sighing dramatically.
"We've come a long way, haven't we? Think about it… seven years ago, we were running around treating patients and fighting assassins."
"And now we're fighting toddlers," Xianyi murmured.
Doudou laughed until she snorted.
"Toddlers are scarier. Assassins don't throw tantrums."
Rouyuan watched them with a warm smile.
Her heart felt full.
"I'm grateful," she said softly.
"For all of you. For every crazy moment that led us here."
Qingshi nudged her.
"You should be. Without us, your life would be too quiet."
"Quiet?" Doudou leaned forward. "Rouyuan married a man whose entire job is to jump off cliffs, chase criminals, and fight mercenaries. Quiet is impossible."
They laughed again—so freely, so happily.
Beneath the golden afternoon light, with children playing and tea steaming between them, it truly felt like peace.
A peace they had all fought for.
And so, as the lanterns of Azure Dragon Mansion glowed softly against the night, laughter spilled from every courtyard, weaving into the wind like a promise carried across generations.
Bai Rouyuan—once a girl caught between worlds—now stood surrounded by the family she cherished, the children she adored, and the man who had chosen her through life, death, and destiny.
Peace had returned to the empire, blooming gently under the golden age shaped by her hands and healed by her heart.
Though challenges of tomorrow would surely come, Rouyuan no longer walked alone.
With Murong Yexuan by her side and a legacy of healing growing beneath her touch, her story settled into the quiet assurance of a future bright, steady, and full.
And thus, in the harmony of family, friendship, and love hard-won, their tale came to a sweet and enduring close—yet left the feeling that their happiness would live on far beyond the final page.
— The End