The Purple Perilla Star Region lay in the west of the Starlight Empire, bordering the Azure Star Region, the Pegasus Star Region, and the Starlight Central Star Region.
The Su family was the greatest family of the Purple Perilla Star Region, on account of its old patriarch being the Purple Perilla Governor.
The Purple Perilla Star Region had, all along, held no high sense of presence among the various great star regions of the Starlight Empire, for it was a star region neither outstanding nor lagging in any respect whatever — for all the world like that least conspicuous of students in a classroom.
But however "mediocre" the Purple Perilla Star Region might be, the Su family that held a whole Purple Perilla Star Region in its grip was, of all things, one of the most powerful few families in the Starlight Empire.
And Zhao Chen, in leading his own Owl Dragon Legion out this time, had not directly used the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships — though both T4 Lucents did move along with the fleet.
For, after all, using this thing cost no little per single trip.
And this operation, besides, was not pressed for time.
Zhao Chen's fleet need only sail in the ordinary way; reaching the Purple Perilla Star Region before the middle of May was no problem in the least.
For one must bear in mind that, as far back as a month before, Zhao Chen had dispatched several T3 Silver Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Reconnaissance Ships to slip into the Purple Perilla Star Region.
One of them had, moreover, tailed the Third Prince Qin Hu's fleet the whole way.
So even should something sudden truly arise, at worst he could use the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ship then.
…
Time came to the middle of May.
At about the time the royal house had made public, a mighty, sweeping interstellar fleet, a full thousand and more interstellar warships strong, arrived outside the main-star starport of the Su family's star system in the Purple Perilla Star Region.
In fact, of these thousand-and-more interstellar warships, Qin Hu had originally led only 300 royal legion fleet warships in person to fetch the bride.
As for the rest of those interstellar warships, they were, one and all, noble forces looking to curry favor with the Prince Faction, who'd dispatched their own fleets to follow along.
This bride-fetching procession had, naturally, no small number of media arrive ahead of time to make ready to film and broadcast it.
For this was, after all, the Third Prince's important day.
The T4 Starlight Emperor-class Medium Carrier Starship that the Third Prince rode drew slowly near the outer perimeter of the Su family's main-system starport.
At this moment, from a docking platform on the starport there extended a passage, fashioned of a transparent material, which at last linked up with the T4 Starlight Emperor, forming an interstellar corridor.
The great doors along both sides of the corridor opened.
Qin Hu, clad in a handsome ceremonial dress, advanced slowly under the escort of a squad of honor-guardsmen.
And at the same moment, a party of people walked out from the opposite side.
At the very front was an old man seated in a floating mechanical chair — white-haired and hoary, gaunt as a withered stick, so that one could even faintly make out several tubes extending from the mechanical chair and inserted into this old man's body.
This was, naturally, the eldest star-region governor now living.
The Su family Governor.
Rumored to be near enough 150 years of age.
Perhaps because the Purple Perilla Star Region kept so low a profile, this governor, too, conducted himself with a low profile; in all his life he'd met with no great rises or falls.
Not like the Starlight Emperor, who, when facing the Mechanical Race's fleets, had even led fleets on campaign in person several times.
And of Governor Chu of Chu River there was even less need to speak — from the age of 15, his life could be called a very history of war.
But to return to the matter at hand.
The two parties soon came together in the middle of this crystal corridor.
"This decrepit old one leads the scions of the Su family to pay his respects to His Highness the Third Prince." The Su old governor's mouth did not move, but from the floating mechanical chair there came the voice of an aged man.
The Su old governor had, as far back as several years ago, lost the ability to speak, and relied entirely on this voice-system.
"I dare not, I dare not. It ought to be the junior paying respects to Elder Governor Su. Elder Governor Su has devoted his whole life to the Purple Perilla Star Region; even in the Starlight Central Star Region, this junior heard no small amount of Elder Governor Su's legend." The Third Prince, warlike though he was, was no fool in the ways of the world either.
The more so since the other party was, besides, his own future in-law — and one who would, in time, become the backer at his own, Qin Hu's, back!
After the one old, one young had chatted a few idle words, Qin Hu looked toward a middle-aged man behind the Su old governor.
"Su Qiang, why do you not come at once and have a look at your worthy son-in-law." The Su old governor spoke.
Only then did Su Qiang dare come forward.
Qin Hu made Su Qiang a bow.
"Your son-in-law Qin Hu pays his respects to his honored father-in-law."
"The Third Prince must not perform so great a courtesy — must not!" Su Qiang at once came forward to support him.
The two of them chatted merrily there, for all the world like father and son.
Behind them, the Su family's people looked at Su Qiang, one and all, with envious eyes.
Su Qiang was, in truth, a very ordinary Su family direct-line member.
One shouldn't be fooled by the Su old master's great age and his low-key conduct — in certain respects, he'd never been low-key at all.
Only a year ago, he'd taken an 18-year-old concubine.
On account of the Su old master, the Su family could be said to have branched and leafed out to a terrifying degree: his direct-line male descendants alone were suspected to run into the triple digits!
And the generation of grandsons and granddaughters, of great-grandchildren even, was beyond all numbering!
Su Qiang, though of the direct line, was in the Su family charged only with overseeing the affairs of a few planets — the sort who has no great ability of his own, but who, on the strength of this bloodline, would live his whole life without a worry for food or drink.
Had he not sired that precious daughter, that is.
The Third Prince's personally naming Su Qiang's illegitimate daughter to wed had, at the time, been envied by no small number of the Su family's people.
But there was nothing to be done — who was to blame that this was Su Qiang's own good luck?
Of course, behind it all there were, besides, no small number of the Su family's young women who cursed that stinking woman Su Lan behind her back.
In sum, Su Qiang, on account of this daughter, could be counted to have risen meteorically to fortune, becoming a figure second to none in the Su family.
"How is it I've not yet seen Miss Su Lan?" Qin Hu, having chatted a good while with this crowd of Su family folk without so much as catching sight of his own sweetheart, asked with some puzzlement.
"There's a thing His Highness may not be aware of — by the custom of our Purple Perilla Star Region, whenever a woman is wed out, there's a dowry that goes with her. And our Su family's dowry is that." Su Qiang pointed at a distant interstellar warship whose hull-paint was exceedingly festive and fair to look upon.
Looking closely, one would find that it was a T3 Dragon-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship!
"My daughter is already aboard this interstellar warship — but by custom, she may only leave the ship after arriving at the main house. Until then, apart from your representatives, Your Highness may not board it in person. It's my hope that Your Highness will understand." As Su Qiang said this, he pressed once upon his handheld terminal.
Thereupon, an added dome atop the T3 Dragon-Croc suddenly opened, baring a lavishly appointed crystal room within.
One could see, at this moment, a woman gowned in a snow-white wedding dress, seated upright within it — for all the world like a canary.
At the sight of his dream sweetheart, Qin Hu gulped.
Though within his heart he longed to draw near his own bride, upon his lips Qin Hu nonetheless said, all smiles, "I understand, I understand. It's all custom, after all."
And at this very moment, the media broadcasting this scene, too, sent out the picture of Su Lan there in that crystal room.
No small number of women were, one and all, envying this woman her good fortune, that she could wed the Third Prince.
And within this crystal room, Su Lan, a coldness filling her brow, looked at the transparent viewport before her.
She mocked herself.
She truly was, for all the world, like a bird in a cage.