"Don't you all think this marriage is unfair to the Crown Prince and Xie Chang'an? It's been raining for a whole month. Do you really think the sky will clear up if the Crown Prince marries a man with a purely Yang birth chart?" Ye Jingyu asked in a sullen voice.
“Of course not, weather changes have nothing to do with people!” Yun Shu replied.
“We all know that the so-called prophecies are false, but the common people don’t know that. They believe in the prophecies without a doubt. In order to appease the people, we have no other choice but to do this,” Ye Jingming said.
"What if the weather doesn't clear up after my brother and Xie Chang'an get married? The external threats to Dayuan have been eliminated, and the lives of the people are getting better and better. Are we going to let a period of rainy weather cause unrest and make all our efforts over the years go to waste?" Ye Jingshu asked with some irritation.
No one could answer her question.
Because no one can change the will of Heaven.
Everything seemed to be left to fate.
"Yun Shu, aren't you good at observing celestial phenomena? Can you tell when the weather will clear up?" Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Ye Jingchen asked Yun Shu with a smile.
"I'm not very skilled, but I can confirm that it will be rainy for the next three days," Yun Shu said somewhat dejectedly.
"Then let's tamper with the wedding date. Let's postpone it as much as possible. Maybe the sun will rise eventually?" Ye Jingyu suggested.
“Delaying it can only delay it for a while. If it drags on for too long, it will still cause unrest among the people,” Gu Beichen said.
"It's easy for things to go wrong if it drags on too long. Trust the Imperial Observatory; they'll choose a suitable day!" Ye Jingchen reassured everyone.
Xie Chang'an said that the continuous rainy weather would last for a month and a half, and now a month has passed, and the sky will soon clear up.
Their wedding day will be set on the day the weather clears up.
At that time, whether they see the prophecy as a lifeline or scoff at it, everyone will think their marriage is a match made in heaven, and everyone will bless them.
The Dowager Empress, the Emperor, and the Minister of Rites discussed the matter for an hour in the Chongzheng Hall and decided on the candidates for the three matchmakers.
The matchmaker for the groom's family was the wife of the heir of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, who was also the maternal aunt of the crown prince. The matchmaker for the bride's family was the third young mistress of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. As for the middle matchmaker, it was the Minister of Rites, since he was most familiar with the procedures and rules of royal weddings.
After the matchmaker is chosen, the first step of the six rites is betrothal.
The groom's family needs to prepare a live white goose as a gift, symbolizing fidelity and good fortune.
In addition to the essential white goose, nine auspicious items need to be prepared as a bonus.
The acacia symbolizes marital harmony, the auspicious grain symbolizes abundant harvests, donkey-hide gelatin and dried lacquer symbolize a close and inseparable relationship between husband and wife, the nine-child calamus symbolizes many children and blessings, the red reed and cotton represent tolerance and gentleness respectively, the double stones symbolize unwavering love, and the longevity thread signifies health and long life.
Living white geese are the rarest of all. Fortunately, the royal family already kept them. Ye Jingchen personally prepared the gifts needed for the betrothal and handed them over to the wife of the heir of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, who would then take the gifts to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
This marriage is of great importance, so the moment of betrothal is the focus of everyone's attention.
Along the route from the palace to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence, many common people gathered on both sides of the street to watch, and the entrance of the Duke of Zhenguo's residence was packed with onlookers.
Upon arriving at the Duke of Zhenguo's residence, the Crown Prince's wife instructed her men to line up outside the gate, holding white geese and nine auspicious objects, to demonstrate to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence and the people of the capital the importance the royal family attached to this marriage.
Then, the Crown Prince's wife was welcomed into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, where she presented her betrothal gifts. After the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion confirmed her, the 'choice ceremony' was completed.
The next day, the third young mistress of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, carrying gifts personally prepared by Xie Chang'an, entered the East Palace to request an audience with Ye Jingchen.
In order to personally hunt a live white goose as a gift, Xie Chang'an went to the mountains where white geese were said to appear on the very day he returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. He searched for a whole day and night before finally hunting a white goose.
In the Eastern Palace, Ye Jingchen personally accepted the gifts sent by the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Bai Yan instructed the palace servants to take good care of her, and Fangfei was instructed to put the auspicious gifts that were included into his private treasury.
By the time the emperor received the news and rushed to the Eastern Palace, the Third Young Mistress had already completed her mission and left.
"What does the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion mean? Isn't betrothal a marriage proposal from the man to the woman? Does Xie Chang'an intend to marry the Crown Prince? This is a crime of deceiving the emperor!" The emperor roared in fury.
The auspicious gift had already been put into the emperor's private treasury. When the emperor saw the white goose, he was so angry that he ordered his men to kill and eat it on the spot, but Ye Jingchen stopped him.
“Father, please calm your anger. The more grand the wedding ceremony, the more it shows the sincerity of the royal family. Xie Chang’an is also a man, and it is perfectly reasonable for the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion to hold a betrothal ceremony. If you were to kill and eat the white goose, which symbolizes loyalty and good fortune, wouldn’t that be unlucky?”
"I will bear with it for now. Once this matter is over, I will definitely kill it, eat its flesh, and drink its blood!" The emperor said this and then turned and left.
After the betrothal ceremony, the next steps are asking the name and accepting the auspicious name.
After the two exchanged their birth dates and times, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau personally performed divination. This time, the result from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's divination was the same as before: a match made in heaven.
The emperor ordered someone to inform the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion of the divination results, and the two parties formally confirmed the marriage agreement, with a betrothal letter as proof.
Afterwards, on an auspicious day, the Crown Prince's wife would send the betrothal letter, gift book, marriage certificate, and betrothal gifts to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence. After the Duke of Zhenguo's residence accepted the betrothal letter and gift book, they would reciprocate with betrothal gifts, thus completing the "grand betrothal ceremony."
The betrothal gift list contains a list of items and quantities, reflecting the groom's sincerity. The longer the betrothal gift list, the more respectable the bride's marriage will be.
Although Xie Chang'an was not a woman, this marriage was of great significance. In order to stabilize the people's hearts, the emperor spent a lot of money, sending out dozens of boxes of "betrothal gifts", including gold, silver, jade and precious objects, as well as silk and satin.
Ye Jingchen still felt it wasn't enough, so he emptied most of his private treasury. In addition, there were gifts from the concubines of the palace, and supplements from his brothers, sisters and companions. The Anguo Duke's Mansion was also very generous this time. The head of the procession delivering the betrothal gifts had already arrived at the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, while the rest had not yet left the palace.
To demonstrate the importance the royal family attached to this matter, the emperor ordered the people delivering the betrothal gifts to circle the imperial city, so that everyone could see how lavish the royal family's betrothal gifts were.
During this time, the Imperial Guards led the way, and the Imperial Guards escorted the procession. Almost all the common people were attracted by this grand event and ran to the streets to watch the excitement.
The panic of not seeing the sun for a month was largely dispelled by this lively event.
What amazed the people of the capital even more was that not only were the betrothal gifts from the royal family to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion dazzling, but the dowry prepared by the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for the future crown princess was no less than that of the royal family's betrothal gifts, and the long line of dowry was longer than the street.
The grand spectacle of the day of the tribute ceremony was a sight rarely seen in the imperial city for a hundred years.
But this is only the betrothal ceremony; no one can imagine how lively the wedding day will be!
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