C49: Wedding
Since waking up in the morning, she hadn’t rested for a second.
Early in the morning, she was placed in front of the copper mirror by Madam Leng.
It was fine to take a bath, and she felt comfortable in a bath of petals. But it was different to open one’s face, which was to remove the fuzz on one’s face and hurt a lot.
Fortunately, her skin was delicate, and there wasn’t much fuzz on her face. After much effort, the biddy managed to wring two fuzzes for her. She let out a cry, tears welling up in her eyes.
Madam Lady pressed her shoulder and found it funny. “Does it hurt that much?”
She said coquettishly, “It hurts …”
Madam Leng could only let the biddy to be gentle. Who knew that after searching her face for a long time, she still couldn’t find anything else. She withdrew her hand and said, “That’s enough.”
Xie Zhen thought she would be able to rest for a while. Who knew she would have to comb her hair and change her clothes and put on makeup.
She sat there for two or three hours.
During this time she could not even move. When everything was ready, she wanted to stand up, but found that her body was stiff and she could not move.
Finally, she pitifully called out to “Mother” and got Madam Leng to help her up.
In her bright red dress, she had time to study the girl in the mirror.
In the mirror, she wore a gold crown and a golden mask. She wore a bright red dress with a flowery design. Her waist was covered with a complicated ring that jingled and tinkled as she walked.
Looking up along her sleeveless shoulders, she could see a slightly makeup face. She had probably never dressed like this before, but at first glance, she didn’t recognize herself.
The servant maids who usually waited on her were also dumbfounded. Each and every one of them gaped in a daze, unable to speak.
Before Xie Zhen could see enough, Madam Leng gave her a gold bottle and told her to carry it all the way to the sixth prince’s Mansion.
It wasn’t long before Yan Yu brought someone to greet the bride. She simply didn’t have any time to rest.
Xie Zhen was tired. After begging Madam Leng for a long time, she sat on the lady couch for a while, not even bothering to eat her lunch.
When the time came, there was a drumming outside, and before anyone could call her, Xie Zhen suddenly woke up from her dream.
She opened her bleary eyes and looked outside, forgetting where she was. “Why is it so noisy?”
The biddy called out to the little one and covered her with a gold cap. She carried her quickly to the door.
Xie Zhen didn’t even have time to say good-bye to Madam Leng and Xie Xun, who finally realized that she was going to be married.
She grabbed Xie Zhen’s hand at the door.
Xie Xun followed her, reluctant to part with her. “sister should come back often to see me …”
She nodded. “Yes, I will!”
The biddy carried her to the door, which was already full of people greeting their bride.
Yan Yu was in the forefront on his steed. He wore a red polo neck robe with a hairpin. The flower was red in color, and his features were handsome.
Ever since Xie Zhen came out, his eyes have been on her, waiting for his wife to be put in the big wicker palanquin. Just as the palanquin was about to start off, her hand tightened around Madam Leng’s hand, unwilling to let go.
This scene was extremely normal in the eyes of the onlookers. After all, she was the young lady who would be married off. Which one of them wasn’t reluctant to part with their family?
However, in Yan Yu’s eyes, it was a different story.
Xie Zhen held on to Madam Leng’s sleeve for a long time, and she refused to let go. Under her bright red clothes, a pair of white and tender hands tightly gripped onto Madam Leng’s sleeve, giving off a rather pitiful feeling.
In the end, the biddy was worried that she might have missed the good time, so she forcibly separated the mother and daughter’s hands and sent her to the bridal sedan.
As soon as she put down the lid, she immediately got up from the palanquin.
In the palanquin, she tried to pull back the curtains to take one last look at her father and mother, but the biddy held the curtain tightly to prevent her from lifting it.
The biddy also wondered, after so many years of being a match maker, she had never seen a girl so homesick.
Isn’t marrying the sixth prince a joyous occasion for the entire family …?
Why were the expressions of father and mother so melancholic in this family?
The wedding procession wind the trumpets all the way, and the gongs and drums were loud enough to make Xie Zhen’s ears ring in the big palanquin.
She held a golden bottle in her arms, and after being told by Madam Leng not to break it, she tightly hugged it. She sat straight and did not dare to move an inch.
There should have been a lot of people on the street, but unfortunately, her line of sight was blocked by the gold cap. She couldn’t see anything, and she could only hear the clamoring of children, accompanying her all the way to the sixth prince’s Mansion.
Her heart skipped a beat as the palanquin gently landed.
Yan Yu dismounted from his horse, took the arrow from the servant’s hand, drew the bow to aim, and shot the door of the palanquin.
Everyone cheered in unison.
The match maker helped Xie Zhen out of the palanquin and handed her large red ribbon.
As soon as she held it in her hand, the biddy handed the other end to Yan Yu, “Your Highness, please take this end.”
They held the two ends of the red ribbon, Yan Yu glanced at her, his gaze falling to her white hands as tender as bamboo shoots. He pursed his lips and silently led her into the mansion.
There were many relatives and friends who came to congratulate him. On one side was the nobleman and royal members, and on the other was the high officials and loyal officials. When they saw the new couple walking over, some of them who were close to Yan Yu could not help but play jokes with him.
The bride had to cross the brazier to get in, and someone with a bad heart had added more charcoal to the brazier, and the fire suddenly went up high, and Xie Zhen, in her tedious jubilee, simply couldn’t get over it.
She stopped in front of the brazier and was in a dilemma. She hatefully thought to herself, if let her know who did it, she won’t forgive him …
But anyway, she had to cross the brazier.
Several young juniors on both sides began to jeer. The Seventh Prince also called out, “Sixth sister-in-law, why don’t you let Sixth Brother carry you over?”
Everyone else agreed.
Standing next to the seventh prince was the crown prince. With a smile on his lips, Yan Tao looked at the girl in the bright red wedding dress quietly.
She looked like she was in a difficult situation, but she wasn’t flustered at all. She looked like she was from a big family.
Xie Zhen didn’t expect Yan Yu to carry her. She was about to pick up the hem of her dress and clench her teeth and jump over when she felt a sudden tightening in her waist, and a sudden suspension of her body, and she leaned against a solid chest.
In the next moment, she was placed on the ground.
Due to the red clothes he was wearing, Yan Yu’s face was slightly red from the reflection. However, his expression didn’t show much as he continued leading her towards the central room.
In the central room, Emperor Yuan Hui was very happy when he and the empress sitting on the square chairs. However, due to the presence of the crown prince, he couldn’t smile too clearly. He only pursed his lips and smiled as he watched Yan Yu and Xie Zhen walk over.
Yan Yu’s mother, imperial concubine Hui, passed away, and the empress Wang took over the marriage ceremony. The empress Wang was dignified and gentle, but after all, it wasn’t her own son’s wedding. So, she only gave a slight smile.
The pair of newlyweds knelt on the prayer mats, listening to the host’s lead. After they finished worshipping the heaven and earth, the couple paid their respects and then entered the bridal chamber.
The bridal chamber was in the main courtyard, and the surroundings were all red.
Surrounded by several servant maids and biddies, Xie Zhen was escorted into the inner room. Inside, she seemed to hear the voices of Princess He Yi and the Crown Princess.
She thought it was an illusion, but it wasn’t.
Princess He Yi laughed and shouted.“Sixth Brother, quick, flip the hood. I want to see what Ah Zhen looks like.”
Yan Yu took the jade ruyi from the match maker and walked to the bed. Sitting on the bed was the girl he had spent so much effort to marry.
Xie Zhen sat properly, her head slightly down, unable to see the expression under the red hood.
He held the jade ruyi in his hand and placed it under the hood. Before anyone could react, he lifted the hood.
With a sudden flash of light in front of her eyes, Xie Zhen raised her eyes to the man in front of her.
She was originally a peerless beauty, but now, after meticulously dressing up, her beauty was even more breathtaking.
The top of her head was covered with a red curtain, and behind her was a red silk quilt. Under the light of the huge candle, her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were beautiful.
Even the match maker who was used to seeing newlyweds couldn’t help but be stunned at this moment.
Only then did Xie Zhen realize that there were so many people standing in the room, including the Crown Prince, third Prince, fourth Prince and their princesses, as well as a few other women.
She only recognized Princess He Yi and the Crown Princess, so she gave them a gentle smile before lowering her gaze.
The smile became a blush in the eyes of the others, and the bride’s smile was so beautiful that the whole room seemed to be lit up.
The match maker reminded Yan Yu, “Your Highness, it’s time to drink the wine.”
Yan Yu regained his composure and suddenly became awkward. He coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “Yes.”
He sat next to him, hands on his knees, and his hands tensed almost imperceptibly.
Before drinking the wine, the match maker took a lock of their hair and tied it into a knot. Then she cut off the lock of their hair with a pair of gold scissors and placed it in a rosewood box.
“Love and happiness always.” After saying that, she passed them a cup of wine.
Xie Zhen held her wine cup and looked up at the man opposite her.
The two of them were closer than they had ever been before. It was as if they could only move forward a little more and touch each other’s noses.
Yan Yu’s eyes were fixed on her, making her feel a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to speak, he suddenly raised his cup and gulped down the wine in one gulp.
Without waiting for her to finish, he got up and walked out of the room.
Xie Zhen held her glass in her hand, somewhat stunned.
The others were also stunned. They had never seen such an unromantic groom on his wedding night. Leaving his beautiful bride aside, what was he in a hurry to do?
The match maker quickly tried to cover it. “Your Highness is being shy. Empress, don’t mind him. When he comes back tonight, he’ll definitely regret it!”
Xie Zhen was a little aggrieved. She lowered her head and muttered, “Uh-huh.”
She knew that Yan Yu did not like her, but she had not expected he disliked her to this point.
Did he not think she would be embarrassed when he left?
Princess He Yi helped her to scold Yan Yu. After scolding Yan Yu, she came to a conclusion, “Sixth Brother must have found you too beautiful today. He’s too embarrassed to see you so he left!”
The Crown Princess seemed to be experienced, so she spoke reasonably, “Sixth Brother is still young and doesn’t know how to take care of a lady. Please forgive him. Just teach him a lesson in the future.”
To be honest, Ling Xiangwu did not expect that Yan Yu would marry her in the end.
Last time, the girl with the finest embroidery was clearly the third miss of the Xie family. The fifth miss had only embroidered a single leaf of a poplar tree. Dosen’t Sixth Brother like the girl who was the most adept at craftsmanship? Why would he fancy her?
But on the other hand, there was nothing to be curious about.
Xie Zhen’s eyes were red, and her natural beauty made her look even more pathetic.
None of the men could resist her smile.
….
Yan Yu was an exception.
After everyone had left, only Xie Zhen and the four servant maids and two biddies she had brought with her from the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion were left in the room.
After a tiring day, Xie Zhen put on a red pleated jacket and begonias. She slept on the bed for a while in a pale, leather-tinged ganoderma tattoo coverd half of her arm.
When she finished sleeping, she was still very angry.
She did not think she would forgive him in the short term.
“When will he be back?” she asked Shuang Yu.
Shuang Yu had just sent someone to the front yard to take a check, so she replied straightforwardly, “His Highness was kept by the crown prince and the Seventh Prince. It’ll probably take some time …”
She puffed out her cheeks and angrily said, “If he doesn’t come back, that’s for the best. I’ll sleep on my own!”
As she said that, she crawled into the bed. She was so angry that she was full that she covered her head and went to sleep.
Shuang Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. She had never heard of a couple who were in a difficult situation on their wedding night. She advised, “Miss, at least wash your face …”
She remembered that she had put a lot of makeup on her face, so she climbed out of the bed, stood in front of the bronze bowl of the wooden frame, washed her face and rinsed her face. Then she took off her hair and sat on the edge of the bed.
After washing her face, she no longer felt so drowsy.
She sat on the edge of the bed with her eyes half closed, thinking about something.
The candles in the room had been burning for most of the night, but Yan Yu still hadn’t returned.
At last there was only a small wick, dimly lit, barely illuminating the room.
When Yan Yu returned, it was already late in night.
Today, he was overjoyed. He had drunk quite a lot of wine. He felt dizzy and his head was spinning, and even walked with a light gait.
The maidservant was about to change his clothes, but he had to return to the inner room first.
His mind still retains some sense, and knew that Xie Zhen’s in there.
The lights in the inner room were extinguished, leaving only a single oil lamp on the table, illuminating the room and making it dim.
He walked to the bed and frowned. He felt as if a fire was burning in his throat.
He sat on the edge of the bed, feeling a little nervous. After a long while, he asked in a hoarse voice, “You’re asleep?”
There was no response from the bed.
He looked inside and felt that something was wrong. He stretched his hand and realized that the bed was empty. Where was she?
He immediately woke up from his drunken stupor. By the light of the moon, the bed was indeed empty.
