Chapter 716: A Wedding for the Ages
While the guests were stupefied by Li Qianlin's charm, one of them murmured, "No wonder the king of the east was willing to have Dong Mingxing host the wedding. She really is absurdly beautiful..."
Li Qianlin's beauty would be besmirched even by the highest of praises. The men were shocked; the women were jealous. The diaphanous gown seemed to illuminate itself without any source of light whatsoever. It made Li Qianlin's body look as though it were studded with jewels—this wasn't a wedding gown, it was the raiment of the gods!
Dong Mingxing herself was captivated.
Many of the female guests murmured to each other as they tried to identify the designer of the gown.
Even Li Zongming was openmouthed. He didn't seem capable of reconciling the woman on stage with his daughter.
When had she become so beautiful?
Li Qianlin's beauty was stunning to begin with, but what really allowed her to capture the attention and imagination of the crowd was the disaster-grade gown of starry night.
Duan Zisuan was very pleased with his new daughter-in-law.
Li Zongming came to his senses after sneaking a few more peeks at his daughter.?My daughter is really pretty, isn't she? That lad got a bargain.
Li Zongming glanced at the groom, who stared at the crowd with a resolute gaze and deep, intelligent eyes. He was dressed neatly in a suit. He was not particularly handsome, and could hardly compare to Li Qianlin in that regard, but he stood as her equal largely due to his aura, which flared as though it would devour everything in sight. The two of them, standing together, looked like a matched pair.
Strangely enough, Duan Gen's body was wrapped up in colored fog, and only the outline of his body could be seen from afar.
The colored fog was so impenetrable that even Li Zongming and Duan Zisuan were unable to overcome it.
Li Zongming thought that it was something the westerners had planned, worried that Li Qianlin's beauty would make her seem far too superior a match to Duan Gen. On the other hand, Duan Zisuan thought that it was something the easterners had planned, worried that Duan Gen would eclipse Li Qianlin instead.
The two kings' complementary misunderstanding made Zhang Lie's ridiculous plan go as planned.
Everyone's focus was on the bride, and the weak illumination on stage meant that no one realized that the groom's identity had changed.
The bride and groom, holding hands, walked toward the front of the stage. Their other hands, they held up in the air, four fingers extended. One finger was for loyalty, another for fidelity, the third for abiding love, and the last for mutual partnership.
Li Qianlin felt as though she were in a dream.
"Under the auspices of heaven and earth, I so swear that, be it in illness or in strife, in pain or poverty, my love for my partner shall not waver."
"Under the auspices of heaven and earth, I so swear that, be it in illness or in strife, in pain or poverty, my love for my partner shall not waver."
The bride and groom made matching bows to each other.
The customs of the worlds of east and west were different from those on Earth. The will of the world itself would recognize and approve of their marriage, and they would receive corresponding marks as a result.
"So sworn: Li Qianlin."
Li Zongming watched on with benevolence. He had raised his daughter for two whole decades, and it was finally time to let her go.
"So sworn: Zhang Lie!"
Duan Zisuan's eyes suddenly widened in shock. Zhang Lie?! What? Who was this?!
Before either king could react, the skies lit up in gold. A thousand stars shone brightly, heaping well wishes on the newlywed couple. Two beams of rainbow light tangled in the air and landed on the two newlyweds' foreheads, a proof of marriage.
When newlyweds swore vows to each other under the will of the world, they would be bound together for life. If they ever were to betray each other, they would be punished by the will of the world.
The beam from the will of the world caused the rainbow fog surrounding Zhang Lie to dissipate, and the bride and groom were revealed in their entirety.
The guests grew silent, and Li Zongming jumped up in his seat.
The groom holding hands with the bride wasn't Duan Gen—he was a stranger no one knew! Who was this 'Zhang Lie'? Why was he marrying his daughter? Whose idea was this? Where was Duan Gen?
Duan Zisuan was equally flummoxed to find an unknown groom standing on the stage. What had happened to his son? What was this farce?
"Who's that?" Duan Zisuan was so angry that his face was turning green. This was his son's wedding, but where was his son? This was a public insult to the world of the west! In rage, he thundered, "Li Zongming, do you take me for a fool?"
"Calm down, Duan Zisuan! I don't know what's going on either." Li Zongming suddenly twisted his head and commanded, "Stop the music!"
Only then did the guests finally start to react.
They glanced at the king of the west, thundering in rage, and were utterly baffled. Wasn't the wedding going perfectly? The bride was a beauty for the ages! What was there to be upset about?
Only belatedly did they realize that the groom wasn't a Suanni—he was from an alien race.
"Hold on, isn't something wrong?"
The bride was far more beautiful than expected, and that beauty gave an otherworldly shine to the wedding. The groom, however… wasn't the groom supposed to be a Suanni?
What did he call himself, Zhang Lie? Who was this Zhang Lie?
The bride was the original bride, the wedding was the original wedding, the kings of the realm were the original kings of the realm, but the groom... was someone different?
Even Dong Mingxing seemed baffled. "Just what is that girl thinking?"
This was Dong Mingxing's first time being a host for a wedding, and it was an honor for her to even agree to it—was Li Qianlin trying to make a clown of her?
Dong Mingxing knew that Li Qianlin was a serious girl, but upon looking at the ersatz groom on stage, she couldn't help but feel as though she was at the receiving end of a prank. And if she, who actually knew Li Qianlin, felt this way, what would the guests think?
For this historical marriage to suddenly become so farcical...
The indigenous people of the worlds of east and west were unable to accept what had happened, but the aliens of the Milky Way were behaving in another manner entirely. After all, they quickly recognized the identity of the man on stage—he was a human!
The starbeasts were particularly close allies of the human race, and they recognized Zhang Lie immediately.
"Isn't that... the champion of mankind, Zhang Lie?!"
"Really?!"
"Really?!"
"It really is!"
Many of the aliens from the Milky Way were gobsmacked.
Zhang Lie had truly made a splash and an indelible impression in front of this gathered crowd.
For him to be replacing the groom on such a momentous occasion—no one could believe it; it was the stuff of whimsy and daydreams.
"No matter who he is, he's a true man, I say!"
"Hear, hear!"
Some praised Zhang Lie for his courage, but others disparaged his idiocy.
"A true man, perhaps—but one who doesn't have long to live..."
"If not for all the guests present, the two kings of the realm would have ripped him to pieces already!"
Li Zongming leapt up onto the stage. "Who are you?!" To his daughter, he asked, ?"Just what's going on?"
Zhang Lie stood with a grin on his face, ignoring the kings growing more and more agitated. His eyes were for his bride and his bride alone. Even Zhang Lie hadn't expected to end up marrying Li Qianlin in such fashion.
As for Li Qianlin herself, she was even more confused. She didn't know how to begin the story of her convoluted and unimaginable evening...
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