Chapter 169: The Emperor and Empress’ Wedding

May of the second year of Renhe

The sun was rising, the clouds were shining brightly, and the whole imperial city was immersed in a festive atmosphere. Today was the wedding of the new emperor and empress. Inside and outside the palace, there were lanterns and decorations, and red makeup was everywhere, showing the majesty and luxury of the royal family.

In the morning, Xu Nian got up early in her room, and a group of female officials and maids came in and began to dress her up. The wedding dress on the hanger beside her was dazzling. It was made of the finest silk and gold thread, and was embroidered with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes.

After hearing from Lady Official Wu that this wedding dress had taken half a year to embroider, Xu Nian looked at the luxurious wedding dress through the mirror and felt a headache. It seemed that she would suffer today.

After the maids prepared Xu Nianjie's face, they gently wiped her skin with warm fragrant water to make it smoother and more delicate. Then, the female officials began to comb her hair, twisting her black hair like a waterfall into a high bun, inserting various precious jewelry and hair accessories, such as gold swings, jade hairpins, etc., each of which was worth a fortune.

Xu Nian felt that she was just a jewelry stand now, but for the sake of the queen's dignity she could not refuse.

The makeup was the most crucial step. The court painter carefully painted her eyebrows and eyes. He first used black stone to outline her long and thin eyebrows, then used rouge to smudge her pink cheeks, and finally used cinnabar to add a delicate lip color. Xu Nian was naturally beautiful, and after this careful makeup, she was even more beautiful, stunning everyone in the room.

After finishing her makeup, Xu Nian put on the heavy phoenix robe.

Before leaving the house, Xu Nian was different from other ordinary brides. She did not need to go to meet the elders. Instead, all the Xu family members had to greet her outside the bridal chamber.

Meanwhile, other parts of the palace were also being prepared intensively. Officials from the Ministry of Rites directed the palace maids and eunuchs to conduct a final inspection of the wedding venue. From the palace gate to the palace, the entire route was covered with red carpets, and flowers and incense burners were placed on both sides, filling the air with fragrance.

Luo Jin'an, who had already dressed up, walked around in the hall. For some reason, he felt unusually thirsty today.

"Mo Yan, pour me another cup of tea."

"Your Majesty, please don't drink any more. You've already drunk three pots of tea this morning."

Luo Jin'an thought about today's procedures and did not insist any further, but after looking at the sky outside the window, he urged again.

"It's already so late. I should go and welcome Nian'er."

"Your Majesty," Mo Yan said in a panic, stopping Luo Jin'an. "The Empress' phoenix chariot still needs to go around the Imperial City. It's still early."

Mo Yan felt relieved as he watched His Majesty finally sit down. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that His Majesty would not be able to wait for him to go and welcome him in person.

The auspicious time had arrived. Xu Nian, surrounded by maids and female officials, walked out of the chamber and sat on the magnificent phoenix chariot.

The phoenix chariot was pulled by eight pure white horses, the body of the chariot was inlaid with gold and silver jewels, and red satin and tassels were hung all around. Xu Nian sat in the phoenix chariot, with a dignified manner, and the Xu family members on both sides knelt down to salute him.

The phoenix sedan slowly moved forward along the red carpet, and after leaving Xu's house, it slowly moved forward on the route planned in Shengdu City. The people on both sides knelt on the ground and shouted, "May the Empress be well and healthy. May the Empress bless our dynasty with good weather, peace and prosperity."

At this moment, Xu Nian truly felt the responsibility and mission on his shoulders as the representative of a country.

Finally, the phoenix chariot arrived at the imperial city, passed through palace gates, and finally arrived in front of the palace where the wedding ceremony was held. Luo Jin'an had been waiting there for a long time. He was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a crown on his head. He was tall and handsome.

Luo Jin'an couldn't wait for the phoenix sedan to stop, so he hurried forward to greet her. Xu Nian, supported by the palace maids, slowly stepped down from the phoenix sedan.

Luo Jinan stretched out his hand. Xu Nian looked through the bead curtain in front of him at the person who was still smiling foolishly as before. He slowly stretched out his hand and placed it on the slightly cool hand. Together with Luo Jinan, they walked into the palace.

The palace was decorated solemnly. In the center stood a huge dragon chair and phoenix chair, surrounded by civil and military officials and royal family members. Luo Jin'an and Xu Nian came to the incense table under the guidance of the ceremonial officer.

As the ceremonial officer sang loudly, "Bow to Heaven and Earth!" Luo Jin'an and Xu Nian turned to face the outside of the hall and bowed devoutly.

"Bow to your parents!" Luo Jin'an and Xu Nian turned around and faced the Queen Mother who was sitting above, and knelt down to pay their respects.

"Husband and wife bow to each other!" Luo Jinan and Xu Nian stood facing each other, smiled at each other and then bowed deeply.

After the ceremony, Luo Jin'an took the Queen's hand and walked to the Dragon and Phoenix Chairs, where they sat side by side. At this time, the ceremonial officer sang loudly again: "Officials pay their respects!"

Xu Nian could only see a group of shadowy figures, and then the sound of worship echoed in the hall.

When all the ceremonies were over and Xu Nian sat on the wedding bed in Fengyi Palace, she felt like she was about to faint.

From early morning to dusk, she carried out the arrangements of the ceremonial officer like a replica machine, not daring to slack off for even a moment.

When Luo Jinan came in, what he saw was Xu Nian, who was swinging his embroidered shoes on his feet.

He smiled and walked over, half-knelt on the ground and put the embroidered shoes on Xu Nian. Then he said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, Nian Nian, wait a moment. It will be done soon."

Xu Nian sat up straight, feeling somewhat embarrassed. At this time, Luo Jinan also sat down beside her.

The female officials came in one after another and served the wedding wine. Luo Jinan and Xu Nian took the wine glasses, put their arms around each other, and drank it all in one gulp.

The two of them held wine glasses in their hands and looked into each other's eyes with deep affection.

Upon seeing this, the maids in the bedroom retreated silently, and Xu Nian, who had been very calm, became inexplicably nervous at this moment.

"Niannian, can I help you take off your phoenix crown?"

"Oh—OK."

Without the restraint of the phoenix crown, Xu Nian felt that she could finally move around properly. She saw various steamed buns and dried fruits on the table and sat down at the table to eat without hesitation.

Seeing that she was eating with relish, Luo Jinan ate some as well, and the two of them even voted for which steamed bun was the best.

After eating, drinking and washing up, the room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Luo Jinan was lying on the bed with a book in his hand, motionless, while Xu Nian was in a dilemma holding the pajamas in his hand.

She really didn't expect that this pajamas was so revealing, even more so than modern ones... which made people think more about it.

While Xu Nian was still struggling, she couldn't help but fall onto the bed. Luo Jin'an placed his hands on both sides of her body and smiled helplessly: "Niannian, if you keep dawdling, it will be dawn soon."

"But...but...this dress...um..."

Luo Jin'an didn't give her another chance to speak. God knows how long he had been waiting for this day.

"Nian Nian, I am pleased with you."

Xu Nian no longer had the strength to respond. She felt like a small boat floating on the sea, with the breeze sometimes caressing her and the waves sometimes crashing down on her. She could only hold on to Luo Jinan tightly for protection.

The red candles flickered, the light and shadows were dim, Luo Jinan looked at the beautiful woman who had fallen asleep, and closed his eyes with satisfaction.