Chapter 59 The Grand Wedding
Ji Weisheng, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, quickly replaced Liu Qingzheng and rescheduled the wedding date.
This time, Emperor Yongzheng carefully examined each word to ensure there were no problems. The wedding dates for his three sons remained unchanged, but the concubines were all brought forward by one month.
On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, the Prince Bao's mansion was decorated not as grandly as the main wedding, but it was still festive enough, and the arrangements were made in accordance with the standards for welcoming a concubine.
The sedan chairs of the two concubines arrived at the gate of the mansion at about the same time. A'Ruo, supporting Qingying, wanted to go in first, but was blocked by Tongjia Zhilan's maid. In the end, Tongjia Zhilan went in first.
"Gege..."
A'Ruo couldn't help but complain, and Qingying whispered a reprimand: "On such a joyous day, don't cause any trouble."
"I'm only doing this for you. Why should Lady Tongjia have entered the family before you?"
"What good is it to enter the gate first? It can't compare to the bond between me and Hongli."
Qingying spoke with certainty, and thinking that tonight was her and Hongli's wedding night, she couldn't help but smile shyly.
“Princess…this servant should change her address. The Princess is right.”
A'Ruo deliberately omitted the word "side," which indeed pleased Qingying greatly. The two chatted happily in the bridal chamber, both convinced that Hongli would come to her place that night.
"Spirit Sparrow".
"Yes, madam. Do you have any orders?"
Tong Jia Zhilan's personal maidservant approached cautiously, looking at her with some concern.
Tong Jia Zhilan, her lips slightly pursed beneath the veil, asked, "Lingque... do you think the Prince will come to my place tonight?"
"Don't worry, Consort Qing, it will definitely happen. The Prince has chosen you. Consort Qing was bestowed by the Emperor and is not favored by the Prince."
Lingque wanted to comfort her, but that was exactly what Tong Jia Zhilan was worried about, "After all, it's a marriage bestowed by the Emperor. I'm worried that the Prince might go there first because of the Emperor..."
"this……"
Lingque was also unsure, and the master and servant were worried when they suddenly heard cheerful greetings outside.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Lingque quickly tidied up Tong Jiazhilan and stood up to the side again.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Tong Jiazhilan swallowed hard, her heart pounding. Her hands clenched tightly, time seemed to pass both quickly and slowly.
In a daze, the veil was lifted, and Tong Jia Zhilan slightly raised her eyes, looking closely at Prince Bao Hongli, dressed in wedding attire and with a face as handsome as jade. Instantly, her face flushed red, and she shyly called out, "Your Highness..."
That night, the Tinglan Courtyard, where Tong Jia Zhilan lived, was filled with springtime romance, while Qingying waited in disbelief all night in the Jinxiu Courtyard.
Hongli rested for three days at Tinglan Courtyard before going to Qingying's Jinxiu Courtyard, where he also rested for three days according to custom.
He was impartial and showed no favoritism towards anyone. If there was any favoritism, it was towards Princess Gao of Shuyu Pavilion.
But Qingying obviously couldn't accept this fact, so she could only keep brainwashing herself and the people around her. When Hongli wasn't around, she would mutter "over the wall and on horseback" every day.
Time flew by, and soon it was the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the day when the primary consort, Fucha Langhua, entered the mansion.
Looking at the entire mansion adorned in bright red, Qingying was heartbroken. But according to custom, she, along with Madam Tongjia and Madam Gao, had to kneel at the gate to welcome the Fujin (the princess's wife) in, which was utterly unbearable.
Therefore, Qingying, who was kneeling in front of Tong Jia and Zhilan, could not hide her sadness.
Gao Xiyue, kneeling behind her, noticed and couldn't help but roll her eyes. She couldn't stand Qingying no matter how she looked at her. She'd already stolen her childhood sweetheart title before, and now, as the primary wife, she was causing this scene. Where did that leave the prince's face?
As expected, Empress Hua was right, that bitch is just being pretentious!
...
With the dragon and phoenix wedding candles burning, Empress Fucha Langhua sat nervously on the wedding bed, waiting for Hongli's arrival.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and more than one person entered for the upcoming ceremony. But Fucha Langhua could only hear the footsteps of one person. For some reason, she had a strong intuition that it was the footsteps of Prince Bao, Hongli, her husband.
Her heart pounded like thunder, and Langhua couldn't hear anything until Hongli lifted her veil. She stared blankly at him, slowly becoming intoxicated by his gentle, smiling eyes.
Princess Consort Dun, who volunteered to represent the noblewomen, stepped forward and handed the jade cup filled with the wedding wine to Hongli. Her eyes were full of emotion and joy. "Please drink this wedding wine, Your Highness. May Your Highness and Princess Consort live in harmony and happiness for a hundred years."
Another noblewoman handed the jade cup to Langhua, offering the same heartfelt blessings: "Princess Consort, drink this wine, and may you and His Highness be forever united in heart and have many children and grandchildren."
Langhua smiled shyly, raised her wine cup, and exchanged a glance with Hongli. The shyness and love in her eyes were self-evident. The two drank the nuptial wine, and then, guided by the ladies of the court, sat together on the brocade-covered wedding bed to enjoy the nuptial feast.
Amidst the teasing questions from the noblewomen about whether she would have a child, Langhua blushed deeply, feeling flustered and at a loss for words, and whispered, "Yes."
The whole process was finally over, and the ladies of the court left, leaving the couple alone.
Hongli gently took Fucha Langhua's hand. "Langhua, is that your name?"
"Yes, my name is Langhua."
When Hongli held her hand so affectionately, Fucha Langhua nodded shyly.
"Langhuan Paradise, a place of radiant beauty for women, a fine name, worthy of a princess..."
Fucha Langhua looked up and gazed at Hongli with eyes so tender they could melt water. The couple smiled at each other and spent a wonderful night together.
...
"Aruo, it's so lively today..."
Qingying leaned against the door, listening to the music outside, her expression forlorn.
“Consort,” A’ruo wanted to comfort him, but she had just been punished for the issue of addressing him a couple of days ago, so she didn’t dare to call him “Fujin” directly. “Consort, don’t worry, the Prince has you in his heart. If you hadn’t been late on the day of the selection, she wouldn’t have been able to become Fujin.”
A'Ruo said this with a hint of guilt, but Qingying immediately perked up. "You're right, but you can't say this outside. I can accept it for Hongli's sake. The title of Fujin is just a formality."
Upon hearing Qingying's words, A'Ruo immediately felt no longer guilty. "The concubine is right. The wife has only usurped your title!"
Unaware of what outrageous words the master and servant were spouting, Fucha Langhua got up early the next morning and went to the palace with Hongli to pay their respects.
It was only at this moment that Fucha Langhua truly realized just how much favored and valued her prince was. The Emperor, Empress Dowager, Empress, Consort Jing, and Consort Hua—all the powerful figures in the palace—had bestowed upon him generous wedding gifts.
Fucha Langhua could sense that the prince was very pleased with her, which was why the ladies in the palace were also exceptionally friendly towards her.
However, Aunt Jianqiu, who served the Empress, secretly told her not to worry about the Empress's reputation and to treat Consort Qing as an ordinary concubine, which left her somewhat puzzled.
Should we take this statement literally or literally? And what makes this Consort Qing different?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
