Chapter 113: Wedding Ceremony and Hug. This chapter only has a wedding but no big sex.
After the winter solstice, the 26th day of the Jia month is an auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory.
Bu Chunqu was bustling with activity. Although there were barriers on the roadside, it did not stop the people from wanting to watch the fun. Everyone looked up to see His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin riding his horse in his bright red wedding gown.
I'd only heard he was frail, then ruthless. But now, seeing him for real, I'd been surprised to find him so gentle and refined, as brilliant as a garden orchid. His dark brows and deep eyes held a smile like a spring breeze. His elaborate and ornate ceremonial attire only made his sickly appearance appear more spirited, as pure and elegant as a sparse flower reflected in water.
Hearing someone shouting auspicious words and asking for rewards, the King of Jin instructed Chen Cheng, "Distribute some of the silver ingots you've prepared, and tell them that there will be gold ingots as we parade around the city to welcome the princess. Ask them to accumulate more blessings for the princess."
As soon as the decree was issued, the two streets suddenly became more lively. If it were not for the Fengchen Guards to maintain order, they would have rushed out of the barrier and followed the Prince of Jin to welcome the princess.
Cong Ying is waiting to be married in Ji Su Garden.
This wedding was a grand event with an imperial decree. In addition to several close friends, the ladies who had been on good terms with the Jiang family also came to see the bride off. Cong Ying thanked them and asked Ji Caibing to help with the reception and arrangements.
It was still early, and Cong Ying couldn't stay in the pavilion. She wanted to go out and help before the ladies got dressed and changed into their wedding dresses. Unexpectedly, as soon as she went out, she ran into several ladies gathered by the bamboo grove.
There seemed to be a dispute. The two people who were adding fuel to the fire looked unfamiliar, but the leader looked somewhat familiar.
Congying pondered carefully, remembering that she was the wife of an official in the Ministry of Rites, surnamed Sun. This Lady Sun had been close to her aunt, Cai, and had occasional dealings with her mother, Zhao. She had offered the Jiang family many unfavorable suggestions before and after the death of the old censor, Jiang. Rumors of her connection to the Qian Jijiu family led Congying to suspect that the plot to marry her off to Qian Lao San was initiated by this Lady Sun.
Madam Sun hadn't come to visit for a long time, but today she came to join in the fun and even blocked Madam Xie's way, acting very sarcastic.
"It's really strange. In the past, even a meeting with Madam Xie was difficult, let alone an invitation. With our powerless status, even a meeting was difficult. But today, we can actually see Madam Xie in person here. I wonder if it's because Princess Jin is so honored, or if the Xie family has changed, so Madam Xie has become more approachable."
Another person said, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is so noble, of course everyone wants to have a taste of the Princess of Jin's beauty. It's just that Lady Ji who greeted them in front is so careless. Merchants are so careless that they let anyone in. It would be bad if they disturbed the Princess of Jin's carriage."
So these three people blocked Madam Xie outside the moon cave gate and refused to let her in, wanting to take the opportunity to take revenge for the resentment they had accumulated from not being able to reach her in the past.
Madam Xie suppressed her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Meng, who was about to come forward to argue. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a clear female voice shouting, "Mother! Sister-in-law!"
The ladies looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Princess of Jin, who should have been dressing in the pavilion, holding the hem of her skirt and running quickly along the corridor to them. Although she was without makeup, her whole body was filled with the joy of a newlywed. She was as pretty as a fresh lily covered with dew. Suddenly, she threw herself into Madam Xie's arms, holding her arm, showing a very intimate gesture.
Her voice was also a little tender: "Why did you come just now, mother? I was waiting for you to comb my hair, I was so anxious."
When Mrs. Sun and her group heard the word "mother", their expressions changed.
Many people knew that she was engaged to Xie San, but instead of quickly distancing herself from Xie to prove her innocence, she went so far as to call Madam Xie "mother." Was she crazy?!
Aren't you afraid of tarnishing your reputation and angering His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin?
Madam Xie didn't want them to cause trouble by talking too much, so she explained to Madam Sun, "I have long since adopted Madam Jiang as my adopted daughter. Her biological mother has converted to Buddhism and is no longer with her, so I am here to escort her out of the house today. I am not here to cause trouble as you worried before."
Only then did Cong Ying pay a little attention to Madam Sun and her group, and asked calmly, "Whose servants are you? I don't recognize you."
The maidservant refers specifically to the servants. When Mrs. Sun heard this question, the corners of her mouth twitched and her face changed immediately.
But she dared not speak out her anger, and had to smile and flatter to smooth things over: "Your Highness, the noble lady is often forgetful. I am Aunt Sun from the Sun family in East Lane. I used to be friends with your mother and aunt. Today I am here to see you off and congratulate you on your wedding. Look, I even brought a gift."
She held up a brocade box, inside of which was a jade ruyi of fine quality.
Congying didn't answer and smiled: "Oh, now I remember, I remember Madam Sun said that this jade ruyi would be used as a dowry for my cousin when she gets married."
Madam Sun said awkwardly, "It's not that I didn't catch up with the Second Lady..."
Cong Ying said, "My cousin and aunt in Pingzhou miss you very much. How about I take you to see them?"
Pingzhou is a thousand miles away, and it is said that the people there are fierce and the land is full of malaria. Mrs. Sun's face changed immediately and she begged for mercy.
Madam Xie patted the back of Cong Ying's hand gently and said, "Let's go get ready. Don't miss the auspicious time."
Cong Ying nodded, left them, and walked towards the wedding pavilion with Madam Xie.
Behind them, Madam Sun's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her chest was filled with bad luck. The few of them looked at each other with a look of resentment. Madam Sun gritted her teeth and said, "Let her be arrogant now. If the King of Jin knew about this, he would definitely be disgusted with her for not being a good wife! Just wait and see!"
After saying this, he went forward, looking for an opportunity to complain to King Jin.
Cong Ying smoothed her face, changed her clothes, combed her hair, and put on her makeup in the wedding pavilion. Then, Madam Xie helped her sit on the Luohan couch.
She saw Madam Xie busying around, repeatedly checking the things she was going to take out of the house, and instructing the bridesmaids on how to help her out of the house, how to arrange her skirt, and how to protect her crown. Everything was done in an orderly and logical manner.
I couldn't help but feel a slight sour taste in my nose.
When she was young, her eldest cousin from the Jiang family got married. When she was taken away by her husband's family, she hugged Cai and cried bitterly, unable to bear to part. At that time, Cong Ying watched, and she didn't quite understand. She felt that even if she married a very bad woman in the future, she would not be so heartbroken as to hug Zhao and cry like this.
Now I feel a little bit of the same feeling.
She called out softly, "Mom."
Madam Xie quickly put down her work and came over, asking gently, "Is the crown too tiring for you?"
Cong Ying shook his head, hugged her waist, leaned his head against her belly, and said softly, "Thank you for putting aside the past grudges and coming to see me off today."
Madam Xie patted her head and said, "There's no past grudge between us. I won't be in Yunjing anymore, so of course I'll have to see you doing well before I can rest assured."
Cong Ying was slightly startled: "You want to leave?"
Madam Xie nodded and said, "After I send you off, I plan to return to Chen County."
Cong Ying said, "It's good to be away from the chaos for a while."
But the hand holding Mrs. Xie's sleeve became more and more reluctant to let go, and it was difficult to let go.
The auspicious hour was approaching, and outside there was a bustle of activity with the sound of drums and firecrackers. Cong Ying, holding a fan to cover his face, peeked out and saw the pearl curtain swaying. A group of people surrounded Prince Jin and pushed open the main gate.
The young master wore auspicious clothes, his earrings were shimmering with sparkles, and his hat was as red as stars.
As soon as he entered the door, he looked towards her. When their eyes met, Zuo Ying's heart started beating wildly and she quickly closed the fan again.
Although I have been married two or three times, my mood is different every time and I am still nervous now.
After all, Prince Jin's status was different from Xie San's. Ji Caibing and Zi Su did not dare to use their power to trouble him. Ah He and Yin'er were not familiar with him and did not try to stop him, which allowed him to take advantage of them. They only followed Mrs. Xie's orders and wrote two poems praising the new bride before they spared him.
He slowly parted the beaded curtain, came to Cong Ying, half-knelt down and held out his hand to her: "My wife has been waiting for you. Will you come with me?"
The way he looked at her was like a warm stream of water. Because it was so clear, it made people mistakenly think it was shallow, but in fact it was very deep and quiet.
Such a look was tempered by fifteen years of painful searching, and only then did it have such a heart-breaking brilliance, and it was the reason why she could not forget these eyes full of affection the first time she saw him.
Thinking of the fifteen years she had seen in her dream, Cong Ying's eyes suddenly turned red.
Prince Jin comforted her: "Don't be afraid, and don't worry too much."
Congying nodded and held out her hand to him. Suddenly, petals flew up from the room, and everyone cheered and prayed for the newlyweds. Congying let him lead her outside, circling the front hall and back pavilion of Jisu Garden twice, bidding farewell to her family and friends, before finally leaving and boarding the princess's carriage.
Out of consideration for Mrs. Xie's feelings and fearing that she would be sad thinking about Xie Xuanlan, the ceremony of bidding farewell to Yue's parents was cancelled from Yingshe.
Unexpectedly, Madam Sun popped her head in and said, "Even if my biological mother isn't around, don't we still have my mother-in-law? I heard Madam Jiang call Madam Xie 'mother'—oh, I was wrong, it wasn't mother-in-law, it was adoptive mother-in-law. Madam Jiang's official mother-in-law is now the eldest princess, so the private address she gave her before doesn't count anymore."
I don't know whether she was taking advantage of the harmony in the host family on such a happy day and not making a fuss, or whether she was blinded by jealousy for a moment, but she said it so bluntly, she was just short of shouting "Jiang Congying is not a faithful wife".
There was a subtle silence at the scene, and everyone glanced at King Jin cautiously to see how he would deal with the situation.
A normal man would be uneasy if he heard the bride privately call another man's mother "mother-in-law" during the wedding reception. At the very least, he would feel discouraged and disappointed, and at worst, he would have a fit on the spot.
It depends on whether his case is light or heavy.
Congying just thought it was funny. She quietly squeezed Prince Jin's hand, signaling him not to pay attention to it and that the wedding ceremony should take priority.
Prince Jin wanted this wedding ceremony to be successful more than she did.
There was no trace of anger on his face after being offended. Instead, he smiled and said, "This lady is right. Madam Xie treats the princess like her own daughter and has been kind to her and taught her. As her adoptive mother, of course I must pay my respects. Come - please have Madam Xie sit in the hall."
Mrs. Xie, who was watching from afar, did not expect this to happen. Before she could wipe her eyes, Zi Su and Chen Cheng respectfully pushed her up to the hall.
She hesitated. "How does this make—"
Although the people in front of her were indeed her son and daughter-in-law, after all, due to their secular status, it was better for her to just keep them in mind. Why bother to cause rumors?
Prince Jin and Congying knelt down without hesitation, kowtowed solemnly to Madam Xie, and called her "Mother" in unison.
The King of Jin said: "I will marry your wife, and she will be your daughter, repaying her parents like the black bird, and enjoying the happiness of the cypress and cypress branches."
He said he would take care of Mrs. Xie like his own mother.
Mrs. Xie helped him up, tears welling in her eyes. She was already trying hard to hold back her sobs. She nodded and said, "Okay... treat Ah Ying well in the future. You must take good care of yourself."
He then gave Congying some instructions, hugged her several times, and wiped her tears.
The guests who came to watch the fun were dumbfounded, and were inevitably affected by the sincere affection. They raised their sleeves to wipe away tears, but could not help but smile with envy and comfort, looking at the family in the hall who were clearly not related by blood but were as sincere as real children.
Some people praised Prince Jin for being a man who could accomplish great things, while others lamented that he was too indulgent towards Princess Jin.
Some people were panicked and aggrieved, like Mrs. Sun and her group, who were almost mad with anger. Knowing that there was no point in staying any longer, they left quietly, looking dejected and dusty.
After bidding farewell to his parents and welcoming the princess to the Zhai carriage, Chen Cheng briefly explained the whole story of Madam Sun to Prince Jin.
The King of Jin said, "It is not appropriate to kill on such an auspicious day. You may decide how to deal with it."
Chen Cheng agreed to the statement and stopped bothering himself with this trivial matter.
The Zhai carriage drove out of Jisu Garden and walked slowly around the spring streets. Dances and music filled the air in front and behind, and the people on both sides raised their voices to wish Princess Jin a long life and endless happiness. The sound was so loud that it even drowned out the sound of suona.
Even someone as indifferent as a firefly was shocked by the noise and couldn't help but lift up a corner of the Zhai carriage to look outside.
Seeing the female officials on both sides each holding a colorful box, which was full of gold ingots, they grabbed a handful generously and threw it to the direction where they heard the loudest shouting. They really spent money like water.
Zi Su whispered, "To make these gold ingots, the princess emptied half of her treasury."
Cong Ying was dumbfounded: "The Princess actually agreed?"
Zi Su, with the look of a senior princess, raised her chin and said in a commanding manner, "The grand ceremony of my son's wedding is so grand that even the three sons of the Xie family put together can't match it! Spread it out, spread it out as much as you can for me!"
After hearing this, Congying felt both amused and soft-hearted.
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The author has something to say: I underestimated the word count a little bit in Private Marseille, and I almost didn't finish this chapter. I didn't want to be sloppy, so I had to start another chapter.
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