Chapter 126 Wedding Night, Returning to the Ancestral Hall

Seeing the Second Miss put down her fan, Honeysuckle said quickly, "Miss, we still have to wait for the Prince to come and perform the ceremony of putting away the fan."

"No need. Just go out and get the red lacquer box that my mother prepared for me." Xie Yao said calmly.

Xiao Yizi's words during the wedding ceremony were still echoing in her ears.

He specifically said to himself, "There's no need to wait for me to blow you away."

After Rendong left, Xie Yao raised her eyes and looked around with a stern look.

The bridal chamber was decorated in an extremely festive manner, with fiery red curtains hanging from the ceiling, embroidered with auspicious patterns of mandarin ducks. The charcoal fire was just right, and bright wedding candles were burning all around, filling the room with warmth.

The jade censer is burning with incense, the fragrance is soft and lingering, everything is so good, making people feel nostalgic.

In less than a moment, Honeysuckle came back with a box with a wooden plate on it.

She placed the wooden tray in front of Xie Yao and said, "Just now, I met Guard Xiaobai on the road. He said that this is the clothes sent by the prince. The prince instructed you to wait in the bridal chamber and put them on if you feel cold."

The White Guard is Atractylodes macrocephala, and the Little White Guard is Bletilla striata.

Xie Yao's heart moved slightly, but she deliberately ignored the dress.

She opened the dowry box, and inside was the land deeds her mother had given her on the eve of her wedding, and half a box of oriental pearls emitting a soft luster.

Xie Yao placed the box in the middle of the bed in the bridal chamber, which was covered with a bright red quilt.

This is the most valuable thing in her dowry. I hope Xiao Yizi will forgive her actions tonight after seeing it.

Xie Yao asked again: "How is it outside?"

Honeysuckle said, "It's a bustling scene with flowers in profusion. The palace has set up over a hundred banquets. I'm afraid they'll be busy until late at night."

Today, almost all the civil and military officials in the court, except those from the Xie family, came to the palace.

The family of Prime Minister Jiang came from the family of Minister Jiang, the father of Lady Anping, and the family of the general Qin family, the maternal family of Lady Jingning, the mother of the prince, and the visitors were the prince's uncle and aunt.

The Su family is a family of generals. It was General Su Huai'en who came with his sister Su Tan.

There was also the Du family, where Xiao's second aunt married into. Even the empress dowager and the eldest princess sent people to pay their respects.

According to custom, the groom must drink alcohol on his wedding night.

But no one dared to force King Jingbei to drink as he was sitting in a wheelchair. So, the task of drinking fell on the two sons of the third master of the Xiao family, Xiao Wenyuan and Xiao Lanzhou, the cousins ​​of King Jingbei.

"Since the prince's mansion is so bustling, I imagine the baron's mansion is no less bustling."

As Xie Yao spoke, she sneered with her red lips and gently unbuttoned a button of her wedding dress.

Before Rendong could be surprised, she spoke sternly, "Rendong, from now on, you will stay outside the bridal chamber. Unless King Jingbei himself comes, don't let anyone know that I'm not in the house until I come back."

Honeysuckle: "The young lady is not in the house?"

The wedding dress was quite complicated. Xie Yao carefully took off the heavy skirt, folded it neatly and put it aside.

Then she wanted to take off the phoenix crown.

The phoenix crown and those hair accessories were made by the makeup maid sent by the palace. It took her two hours to make them. They were more complicated than the wedding dress.

Miss Xie was in a panic as she was unpacking the items, and a look of embarrassment appeared on her bright and beautiful face.

In her previous life, she had never been treated so carefully and attentively, nor had she ever had her hair combed so gorgeously and beautifully.

Although Rendong didn't know what Xie Yao was going to do, she still stepped forward and took the initiative to help her take off the gold hairpin and phoenix hairpin on the phoenix crown.

Finally, Xie Yao was left with only her middle garment, and her black hair was like clouds, which she secured with a hairband.

The inner garment was also crimson in color. Xie Yao stood up and looked at the wooden tray that Rendong had just brought in.

On the wooden tray was a black cloak with a sable fur trim and embroidered with brocade patterns. It felt soft and smooth to the touch.

She hesitated only for a moment before putting on her cloak, walking to the window and pushing it open a crack.

The sounds of congratulations and drinking games drifted in, and even through the courtyards, one could still feel the clamor outside.

"Don't worry, miss. I will definitely guard this place well." Honeysuckle looked at her. Although she was nervous, she still spoke seriously.

Xie Yao nodded, pushed the window open completely, and flipped out nimbly.

When she stood up, she found that the cloak was a little big, so she had to draw the dagger from her waist.

With a "swish", the hem of the cloak was cut a few inches shorter.

The night was the best cover. Xie Yao avoided the patrolling guards of the palace and disappeared into the shadow of the wall in a few jumps.

Half an hour later, outside the high wall of Wenchang Marquis's Mansion, Xie Yao climbed over an old tree and got in.

The house was indeed bustling with activity. The front hall was brightly lit and the sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras could be heard everywhere.

Xie Yao sneered. The Sun family came to cause trouble during the day, and the news of what Xie Zhi had done in Chengfo Temple spread throughout the capital. But then, the Xie family still held a banquet and used her wedding as an excuse to attract guests. They were indeed thicker than a city wall.

Perhaps, the title of Consort Xiao Yizi had requested for his mother would also be used by Xie Mingan to make the guests feel that the Xie family was in great favor with the emperor.

As expected, as soon as Xie Yao walked to the stable, she found the carriage of Eunuch Qing from the palace and the carriage of Lord He, the Minister of Rites.

I think it was after Eunuch Qing and He Yu came to announce the imperial decree and conferred the title of Second Rank Lady on my mother that she was kept.

Since Eunuch Qing is here, it will be more convenient for her future plans.

When passing by Xie Mingan's study, Xie Yao took a look.

The study, which was usually well-guarded, now has only two servants left tonight.

The banquet in the front yard was so busy that even the guards were transferred to the front to serve.

She didn't stop and went straight to the Xie family ancestral hall in the deepest part of the backyard.

The closer you get to the ancestral hall, the quieter it becomes.

Soon, Xie Yao arrived at the ancestral hall and pushed open the door.

The eternal lamp inside was extinguished, there was no candle, and it was almost pitch black.

Only tonight the moon is as cool as water, bright and soft, silently gazing at the world.

Xie Yao stood indifferently in the moonlight, with silver light flowing on her cloak, a long and narrow shadow behind her, and rows of Xie family ancestral tablets in front of her.

Long time no see, Xie Family Ancestral Hall!

She was not afraid at all. She glanced at these dead things and saw the tablet in the front row with the old man's name on it. Her eyes became even colder.

This was her grandfather, who died of illness when she was five years old.

When the old uncle was alive, he always looked at my mother with a gloomy and disgusted look, and his words were full of disdain.

"A daughter of a businessman with a stinking money-bag, if Ming An didn't like her, how could she be worthy of entering the Xie family?"

"Before she even got married, she got pregnant. Such a shameless woman will give birth to a naughty daughter. It's really a misfortune for the family..."

Because she was naughty when she was young, she was often punished by her grandfather to kneel in the ancestral hall.

The old man's attitude further encouraged Xie Mingan to look down on his mother.

"Miss." Qiliang walked out from the corner.

Before the young lady got into the bridal sedan, he had been waiting for a long time, having received the young lady's gaze.

Xie Yao asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, everything is here."

Qiliang walked with her to the altar, moved a wooden box where incense was kept all year round, and opened the lid.

It was filled with tung oil, kerosene, and more than ten pounds of pine resin.

These are the things on the list that Xie Yao gave to Qi Liang, and they had been hidden under the bed in his room.

Tung oil, rosin and other materials are expensive, and ordinary people also use them, but they don't use that much. If you buy too many flammable materials at one time, not only will they be easily discovered later, but they will also attract the attention of the government.

Therefore, after Xie Yao gave Qi Liang enough silver, Qi Liang took the opportunity to go out shopping and saved up several times to buy the full amount.

His heart was beating like thunder. He swallowed hard and said, "Miss, let me do it. You are of noble status. No—"

Before Qi Liang could finish his words, Xie Yao suddenly raised her hand.

She turned back warily and said in a cold voice, "Who?"

The moonlight poured down and fell on Xiao Yizi who was sitting in a wheelchair.