Anke sat back in the sedan chair she had just been in, still holding the apple in her hand, and was smoothly taken to their future home.
With the help of the matchmaker, Ertai stepped out of the sedan chair. Now that Ertai had severed ties with the Fu family, there was no need for any further formalities. He returned to their new home early.
As for those people outside making a fuss? Anke had already heard their voices and knew about this habit. After all, they were brothers; who wouldn't want to see you marry a beautiful woman and then force you to drink a lot of alcohol?
However, those people weren't ignorant of the rules; they obediently let Ertai come in first, and then they took their seats.
Ertai took a few deep breaths to calm his excited emotions before carefully reaching out and removing the bridal veil from Anke's head.
The moment Ertai saw Anke, his breath caught in his throat. Anke wore a phoenix crown and a wedding robe, her round almond eyes shining brightly as she looked at him, her nose delicate and her lips rosy red.
Under Ertai's gaze, An Ke's face involuntarily flushed. After all, it was quite rare to see Ertai dressed in red. This wedding attire made Ertai look particularly dashing and spirited, with his beautiful eyes sparkling.
"Is the prince consort staring at the princess so intently? Don't just stand there, prince consort, hurry up and drink the nuptial wine!" came the teasing voice of the matchmaker from the side.
Ertai then came to his senses and hurriedly placed the wedding scale in his hand on the tray. He then took the wine cup from the tray and drank the nuptial wine with Anke.
The bride tied a knot in Anke and Ertai's wedding dresses, wishing them a son soon and a lifelong union.
After all the ceremonies were almost finished, Ertai waved his hand, gave them a reward, and dismissed them.
Looking at the woman he had longed for day and night, the woman he had finally married, Ertai was almost in disbelief, and he was so excited that he almost shed tears. Seeing the intricate, heavy, and obviously gorgeous headdress on Anke's head, Ertai quickly untied the knot between himself and Anke.
"An'an, you must be tired with all that headdress on. I'll take it off for you now." Ertai gently removed the headdress from An'ke's head and gently massaged her scalp.
"Okay, I understand. There are many people waiting for you to greet them outside. Go on ahead." After Ertai finished removing all his jewelry, Anke held his hand and said with a smile.
"Hmm, if An'an is hungry, have Xingxing go to the kitchen to get some food. If she's sleepy, she should take a bath and rest early." Ertai blurted out his concern for An Ke without thinking, rambling on and on like the wet nurse who used to take care of An Ke.
“Okay, I understand, go ahead.” An Ke said with a smile, while Er Tai slowly walked out of the bridal chamber, looking back every few steps, as if An Ke would disappear on the spot if he left.
Xingxing had already brought some snacks from the kitchen. "Princess, please have some. You only ate a little this morning, and you've been busy for so long," Xingxing said with concern.
After all, back in the palace, no one could cut off the princess's food. Back at the manor, the prince and princess went to great lengths to prepare her meals. Now, it's just a wedding, and they've only given her so little for breakfast. If she doesn't eat more now, how will she enjoy her wedding night?
Although Xingxing didn't understand at first, she was going to marry the princess, so she had overheard some of the stories. Therefore, she knew what was going on.
Anke had no idea what was going on in Xingxing's mind. Seeing that the tea and snacks Xingxing brought over looked and smelled quite appetizing, she picked up a piece and tasted it.
"Not bad, did the chef in the manor make this?" Even though An Ke was already feeling hungry, she still maintained her elegant demeanor.
"Xingxing has already found out. The prince consort had someone make a reservation at the teahouse early this morning, saying it was the one the princess used to frequent when she left the palace." Xingxing was also happy for the princess, after all, Ertai was so considerate to her, and the princess was indeed a good man to rely on.
An Ke smiled without saying a word, but then took another piece and tasted it. Afterwards, she asked Xingxing to take out the books from the small wooden box that had come with her dowry and look at them.
Anke casually leaned against the softly cushioned couch, holding her favorite book in her hands, with her favorite tea and snacks beside her. It was as if she were still in the Prince's mansion.
Xingxing stood by, ready to serve the princess whenever she needed her.
After watching for a while, Anke rubbed the area around her eyes, looked at the sky outside which was gradually darkening, and then asked someone to prepare some water for her to take a bath.
Anke brought quite a few maids with her as part of her dowry, and they all went to the dining hall to prepare water early in the morning.
Xingxing helped Anke bathe and change. Anke let Xingxing wring her hair from behind while she stood in front of the dressing table, looking at the treasure she had just developed a few days ago, and applied it to her face.
She then sat down to the side, took out a delicate little hand warmer, and began drying her hair. When it was almost dry, Anke stretched and slowly walked towards the bed.
Anke wasn't going to sleep yet; she was eager to go to sleep and picked up a book to read on her bedside table. She was reading while waiting for Ertai to return.
Although some people on Ertai's side wanted to get him drunk, he wasn't completely unprepared. He had already instructed several of his servants to practice their drinking skills over the past few days. So he did drink some, but they didn't make him drink it all.
He was still somewhat conscious. After seeing off all the guests, Qingzhu wanted to help Ertai walk towards the new house, but Ertai waved his hand. He was perfectly conscious and didn't need anyone's help.
Qingzhu could only stay behind to clean up the mess. Ertai first went to the new house, looked at the roses planted next to it, and then chuckled softly. He then tiptoed into the room, but he didn't expect that An'an was still waiting for him.
He had intended to tiptoe in, and even if he only held An'an to sleep tonight, that would be fine. But he never expected to see a beautiful woman reading by candlelight as soon as he entered.
As soon as he entered, though he moved quietly, he still brought in a chill. An Ke shivered almost imperceptibly.
After entering, Ertai stood at a distance, quietly watching An Ke without approaching. After a moment, he slowly walked forward, softly bowing his head and asking, "It's so late, isn't An An sleepy? Why are you still waiting for me?"
"Of course I'll wait for you. The hot water is ready, go take a bath first." Anke knew that Ertai had been standing there just now to wait for her to warm up so that he wouldn't bring the cold air to her.
Seeing Ertai's sincerity before her, Anke naturally wanted to reciprocate. She had initially felt some fear about consummating their marriage, but now Anke felt somewhat relieved.
Upon hearing this, Ertai thought that his strong smell of alcohol had offended Anke. He hurriedly ran to the screen to take a bath.
Seeing that there wasn't even a servant behind Ertai, Anke sensed something was wrong and asked, "Where's Qingzhu, who's always by your side? Why isn't he here?"
Ertai had already undressed quite a bit over there. Hearing Anke's words, he quickly poked his head out and replied, "He's cleaning up the mess in the front hall. I didn't let him come along."
Anke gave an "oh" and fell silent. She had originally intended to read quietly, but listening to the sound of water coming from behind the screen, she found it impossible to calm down. Putting the book aside, she patted her slightly flushed face, took a few deep breaths, and lay down obediently, but her eyes kept wandering around.
When Ertai finished dressing in his nightgown and came out while drying his hair, he saw that Anke had already wrapped herself up like a silkworm cocoon. He chuckled softly and slowly walked over.
Looking at Anke, who was wrapped up tightly in bed with only her head showing, her eyes tightly closed but her eyelashes trembling, Ertai noticed that Anke was different from usual. He naturally knew that Anke was nervous, and he unconsciously swallowed, because he was nervous too.
Then she slowly sat down on the chair next to her and carefully dried her hair. She couldn't go to bed with her hair still damp.
Hearing the commotion, Anke knew that Ertai had come to her bedside, but then she heard his footsteps turning back. Anke cautiously opened her right eye. Seeing Ertai sitting there drying his hair, Anke became intrigued and lay on the bed watching him with great interest.
It's said that admiring a beautiful woman under lamplight has a unique charm, and the same is true for admiring a handsome man by candlelight. Not to mention Ertai's slender figure, broad shoulders, and narrow waist; even just sitting there, you can vaguely see his well-defined eight-pack abs.
Now that the princess was staring at him like this, Ertai couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with his demeanor. His movements gradually slowed down, and Anke, who had been lying down watching for a while, felt a little sleepy.
He then rolled back over and breathed a sigh of relief. His hair was almost done. He carefully climbed onto the bed and lay down, shoulder to shoulder with Anke.
Anke noticed Ertai's actions, but hearing his steady breathing, one might think he was already asleep. Was tonight going to be such a peaceful night?
Anke quietly got up and glanced at Ertai. Ertai's desire was immediately aroused. Anke saw that Ertai's eyes were already slightly red and realized that he was holding back.
Then she reached out and hooked her arm around Ertai's neck, pulled him down a little, and gently kissed him on the lips.
A thousand rays of light flashed in Ertai's eyes, and then he embraced and kissed Anke tightly. Then, Ertai subconsciously pulled down the curtains on the bed.
The candlelight reflected off the curtain, casting tangled shadows of people inside, while sounds drifted slowly from the crack in the door.
This made Xingxing, who was waiting outside the door, blush bright red. At this moment, Granny Cheng, who had finished tidying up, looked at the blushing Xingxing at the door and teased, "Have you prepared the water we'll need later?"
Xingxing responded in a muffled voice, and Granny Cheng just smiled and looked at Xingxing, who was so thin-skinned.
Granny Cheng was the most senior nanny who had served the Princess. The Princess was still worried, so she specially arranged for Granny Cheng to come to the mansion with An Ke when she got married.
Although Granny Cheng hadn't watched the princess grow up, she had interacted with the princess several times during her stay at the mansion. Granny Cheng genuinely felt that the young mistress was kind, gentle, and polite. The servants around her were also very well-trained.
She could handle things calmly and composedly; it was the first time I'd ever seen Xingxing, the princess's attendant, act this way. Even Granny Cheng felt that her own mindset had become much younger.
The commotion continued until the water was heated several times, the candle burned out, and a faint light shone through the window before gradually subsiding. Just then, a voice inside the house called out to prepare the water.
Xingxing hurriedly called to the maids below to carry in the hot water. Ertai did not let Xingxing serve Anke's bath, but instead told them all to leave. He then gently lifted Anke from the bed and carefully bathed her.
He quickly rushed over, then lay down on the bed and looked at An Ke's sleeping face. He held An Ke contentedly and fell into a deep sleep.
Anyway, they don't need to visit the parents-in-law after the wedding, and they also have a seven-day holiday after the wedding. They can sleep as long as they want.
Meanwhile, the Ji family residence on the other side was in a similar situation. Qing'er had been forcing herself to go and offer tea to her parents-in-law, but unexpectedly, her mother-in-law told her to come back in the afternoon and that there was no rush.
This made Qing'er so embarrassed that she hurriedly buried her head under the covers again. Ji Chu knew it was his fault, so he gently coaxed Qing'er from outside the covers.
After finally managing to get Qing'er out of the blankets, he received several loving marks from her – pinching his arm.
Ji Chu didn't think much of it; after all, how could he not withstand a few pinches from his wife? He even found it somewhat enjoyable. Qing'er, on the other hand, could only admit defeat when it came to shamelessness.
*
Meanwhile, in the distant highlands
Ziwei had already held a ceremony with the prince of Gaoyu, but on their wedding night, the prince did not enter the room.
Ziwei sat there all night, watching the candles burn out. She felt that this kind of life was truly torturous. It turned out that the prince was still holding a grudge about what had happened back then, which was why he hadn't entered the bridal chamber.
However, the High King was unaware of this and was still waiting for them to come and pay their respects. Ziwei could only swallow her bitterness and go to the concubine's room next door to find the prince.
Jin Suo also felt that the prince had gone too far; how could he abandon his young mistress on their wedding night? But there was nothing they could do; they were now on the territory of a higher realm, and when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
But when Jin Suo helped Ziwei to the entrance of Concubine Yu's bedroom, they heard laughter and playful noises coming from inside.
"Your Highness, you've been resting here all night. Surely the Princess Consort won't be upset and deliberately try to trip me up?" came the affected voice of the concubine, Yu.
"She dares? Even if you, the prince, were to rest here, or even if you were to have children, so what? I don't like her. I've already found out that she's been abandoned by the Qing Emperor. I don't care for a princess like that. She..." Hearing the words coming from inside, Ziwei felt a chill run through her body and walked back numbly.
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