Chapter 463 The Bridal Chamber

Looking at Huo Lin's clumsy attempts to upset her, and listening to his panicked self-doubt, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes instantly turned into a forced smile.

"Fool..." she chuckled, her voice slightly nasal, and said softly, "Why wouldn't I want to?"

She raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears that were about to fall from the corner of her eye with her fingertips. Her eyes were glistening with tears, yet filled with the brilliance of starlight.

"I'm just so happy." She looked into his eyes, speaking each word clearly and solemnly, "Huo Lin, thank you for giving me such a wedding."

Huo Lin felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. His handsome face could no longer contain itself, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a silly grin.

She said she was willing, and she even smiled at me. That's wonderful; I didn't mess it up.

He pulled Jiang Huan into his arms and said with the same solemnity, "From today onwards, you are my rightful wife."

Feeling the warmth of his embrace, Jiang Huan leaned against his firm, warm chest, her heart melting like spring water.

Upon seeing this, the guests in the hall burst into good-natured laughter and offered their blessings.

Huo Yunxing put his arm around Ayina and teased, "A moment of bliss is worth a thousand pieces of gold, so stop clinging to me and hurry up and drink the wedding wine."

Shen Yi stood next to Mingzhu, waving his fan and laughing, "That's right, that's right, the next step is to have some fun in the wedding night."

Huo Lin then released Jiang Huan, his ears turning red. He tried to remain calm and glared at them, but the smile in his eyes was impossible to hide.

In front of everyone, the two drank the nuptial wine.

When they tied their hair together, Huo Lin carefully cut off a lock of hair from each of them, clumsily twisted them together, and put them into a brocade pouch, handling them with the same care as if they were handling a rare treasure.

We became husband and wife, our love unwavering; we will share the same bed in life and the same grave in death, nothing can separate us.

After the ceremony, the guests who had been teasing and joking around in the bridal chamber laughed and joked for a while, but finally, under Huo Lin's stern gaze, they wisely withdrew, leaving the couple alone.

The palace doors closed gently, the noise subsided, and the vast sleeping quarters fell silent, with only the soft crackling of burning red candles remaining.

Huo Lin turned around and looked intently at Jiang Huan.

She sat gracefully on the dragon bed, adorned with a quilt covered with a hundred sons and a thousand grandsons, dressed in a bright red wedding gown and surrounded by pearls and jade. In the flickering candlelight, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, and her eyes were even more alluring.

Huo Lin felt his throat was dry and his heart was pounding like a drum.

She is now my Empress, my lawfully wedded wife, I... I can...

“Madam…” His voice was low and husky, and his warm breath brushed against Jiang Huan’s ear.

Jiang Huan looked up at him and met his eyes, which were brimming with passion. Her face flushed even more, and she felt a little embarrassed.

"Um?"

A single word, light and soft, with a slight nasal tone, brushed against Huo Lin's heart like a feather.

He could no longer resist. He reached out and gently lifted her chin, lowered his head and took her soft lips into his mouth, kissing them tenderly and tracing their shape little by little.

Gradually, the kiss deepened and became more passionate. He pried open her teeth and chased after her soft tongue, their breaths mingling and their scents mingling.

Jiang Huan felt weak all over from his kisses and involuntarily reached out to wrap her arms around his neck, responding to his kiss.

In a moment of confusion and infatuation, Huo Lin's hand trembled as he touched the buttons of her wedding dress.

The intricate buttons seemed particularly unruly; he tried several times but couldn't undo them, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

[What kind of stupid button is this? It's so hard to undo. I should have had the Imperial Clothing Bureau make it simpler.]

Jiang Huan sensed his anxiety and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"Don't rush..." Jiang Huan comforted him in a muffled voice, guiding his hand to help him untie the annoying knot.

The neckline of the wedding dress finally opened slightly, revealing a small patch of fair and delicate skin, which shimmered with a lustrous glow in the candlelight.

Huo Lin's gaze darkened instantly, and the blood in his body seemed to boil and rush to his head.

Suddenly, he felt a heat on the tip of his nose, as if some warm liquid was flowing out uncontrollably.

He froze, instinctively reaching out to wipe his fingertips, which were now covered in bright red blood.

Huo Lin remained frozen in that position, his handsome face flushed red.

"I...I have a nosebleed? At a time like this?"

My illustrious reputation, my imperial majesty, are all gone.

[Ugh, this is so embarrassing! Where can I hide? I need to crawl into a hole! Don't I have any dignity?]

When Jiang Huan saw him suddenly freeze, she stepped back slightly and, upon seeing the blood seeping from between his fingers and his expression of wanting to bang his head against the ground, belatedly realized what had happened.

"puff--"

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the laughter grew louder and louder until she finally collapsed onto the soft bedding, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Hahaha, Huo Lin, you...you actually have a nosebleed, hahaha..."

Good heavens! Who would have thought that His Majesty the Emperor, known for his ruthless and decisive nature, would have a nosebleed on his wedding night because he was so excited?

If this gets out, it will be a laughing stock for the entire court.

Huo Lin looked at her laughing so hard that his ears and neck turned bright red with embarrassment. He frantically tried to find something to wipe his nosebleed, but the more he tried, the less he could find.

"Don't laugh." He tried to maintain his authority with a stern face, but with the blood streaming down his nose and his flushed face, he was utterly intimidating.

Jiang Huan finally stopped laughing, sat up, took out her silk handkerchief, suppressed her laughter, and leaned over to wipe his face.

"Alright, alright, I won't laugh anymore. Our Emperor is just... well, he's too hot-tempered."

As she wiped, she talked nonsense with a straight face, but the smile in her eyes was impossible to hide.

After a while, Huo Lin calmed down a bit, but looking at her beautiful face so close to his, the nosebleed that had just stopped seemed to be making a comeback.

He quickly took a deep breath and forced himself to look away.

[Don't look, don't look! If you keep looking, you'll really lose too much blood!]

Seeing his adorable attempt to remain calm, Jiang Huan put down her handkerchief, reached out her hands, cupped his cheeks, and turned his face to meet her gaze.

“My husband,” she said, her playful tone replaced by a tender gaze as she looked at him earnestly, “thank you for giving me this wedding, thank you for inviting my parents and brother, thank you for making me feel that I am your cherished and properly married wife.”

Looking at the undisguised love in her eyes, Huo Lin felt his embarrassment replaced by immense satisfaction.

He took her hand that was cupping his face in his, and looked at her intently.

“Jiang Huan,” he called her name, his voice deep and tender, “it is my greatest fortune, Huo Lin, to be able to marry you.”

After saying that, he kissed her again, this time more deeply and passionately than before.

Red curtains sway, candlelight casts a dim glow, and the room is filled with the warmth of spring.