Chapter 442 Hu Shanxiang 33
She accompanied the Crown Princess for dinner and personally gave the skin care products she developed to her future mother-in-law, making the Crown Princess very happy. When they came out of the East Palace, the sun had already set outside.
"After entering the palace, I always feel that the time passes very quickly. In a blink of an eye, it's already October." Hu Shanxiang strolled slowly, as if she had just discovered today that the palace was gradually showing the colors of autumn.
"Yes, in the blink of an eye, I have been staying with you in this palace for a month."
Sun Ruowei's words startled her. She turned around and looked him up and down, earning a puzzled smile from Ruowei: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Privately, we are equal, so why are you calling yourself a slave again?"
"Oh, well... I've learned a lot of rules this month, and I feel like my brain is turning into a mess." Sun Ruowei smiled a little embarrassedly.
But Shanxiang knew how hard she'd been working these days. The palace was full of rules, especially since Ruowei would be serving her personally. Every move she made represented her, the future Crown Princess, so she couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake. For Ruowei, who was naturally free-spirited and disliked restraint, this was undoubtedly difficult and painful.
"I'm sorry to have wronged you."
"Why should I feel wronged? Honestly, you're the one who has it harder. Seeing you dealing with so many people every day makes my scalp tingle. I'm just learning some waiter work, which is pretty easy compared to you."
Sun Ruowei was telling the truth; she did think so. However, if given the chance, she was certain she would do her utmost to leave.
Ruo Wei, who had been looking forward to this day so much, had never imagined it would actually happen. With the arrival of spring, the increasingly busy Crown Prince suddenly found some leisure time and came to chat with his future Crown Princess.
"Grandpa asked me to take you with me to see the newly built palace. He said that after the capital is moved, you and I will get married there."
Hu Shanxiang put down the book in her hand and asked after hearing this: "What about my family?"
"Of course I'll go with Grandpa and the others when the time comes. The palace should grant us a mansion."
"Well, it's nothing, but I have to make my parents run around again, and I can't help but feel guilty."
Zhu Zhanji hurriedly comforted her after hearing her words: "You are the only daughter your parents have. If they are not around for our wedding, they will regret it for the rest of their lives. Moreover, your brother is now in the Ministry of Revenue. When the time comes to move the capital, he will have to go with us."
"Yes, then I'll trouble you to take good care of it when the time comes."
"Of course I should."
The two of them exchanged fake politeness for a while, both unable to hold back their laughter. Ruo Wei, who was serving beside her, was happy for her sister and excited to be able to leave the palace for a while.
Even though it's only for a while, at least it can relax my muscles.
She and Shanxiang looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
…
This time they travelled light from Nanjing to Shuntian, with only them and the old monk, plus some escorting Jinyiwei. They had to sleep in the open air all the way, but it was quite interesting.
Hu Shanxiang was surprised that he was not a young master who was ignorant of the world, and Zhu Zhanji was also impressed by her erudition. With Yao Guangxiao's guidance, both of them felt that this trip was very beneficial.
Unfortunately, happy times are always short-lived. No matter how leisurely they took it, they still arrived in Shuntian two months later.
Taking advantage of the fact that the emperor and his men had not yet set off, and the person with the highest actual status here was the crown prince, he simply took some time out from his busy schedule and took Hu Shanxiang to visit his childhood hometown. The two of them revisited all the places they had eaten, played, and seen when they were young.
"drive!"
"Hey! Ha, I got it again!"
Hu Shanxiang, riding a Hequ horse, jet black except for its hooves, white as frost, drew her bow and shot another arrow right through the bull's eye. With a bright and carefree smile, she pulled the reins with one hand, turned a corner, and ran in the opposite direction.
"Bring it here."
Hu Shanxiang reined in her horse, dismounted gracefully, walked in front of Zhu Zhanji, spread her hands, and smiled triumphantly at him.
"I'm telling you, are you setting me up? From yesterday to today, you've dragged me through all sorts of things. How could it be easy for me to save up some money? I've already lost to you after such a short while."
Zhu Zhanji glanced at the bull's-eye reluctantly, but still slapped the note in his hand into hers.
"Thank you for your patronage. Our shop operates with integrity. Welcome to come again next time." Shanxiang immediately tucked the banknote into his sleeve, touched Mo Shuang who leaned forward, took out a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus candy from his purse and stuffed it into the horse's mouth, rubbing the cute big horse's head vigorously. "I won some money today, I'm going to give them a snack."
As soon as these words came out, Banli behind Zhu Zhanji seemed to understand, and also walked over happily to rub against her. The man and the two horses were very happy.
"You're such a loser! She named you Chestnut. Did you buy her off with just a few meals?"
Zhu Zhanji was very disappointed with Hu Shanxiang, but was then dismissed by Hu Shanxiang with a sentence: "You are invited to eat too."
"I want to eat mutton hotpot."
"Okay, you're the Crown Prince and you have the final say. How about I cook for you myself? That's sincere enough, isn't it?"
Zhu Zhanji smacked his lips twice and said, "It's okay."
"Virtue."
"Hey, did the old monk take you to choose Fangshan to build a temple last time? Did he tell you why?"
"He didn't say, but I guess it's to make it easier for him to practice tightrope walking in the future."
The two of them returned to the palace, playing and joking. They heard that the emperor had already set a date for the departure, which was estimated to be in three months. Shanxiang and Ruowei also resumed their palace life.
On the first day of the first lunar month in the nineteenth year of the Yongle reign, the emperor received congratulations in the Fengtian Hall in Beijing, held a grand sacrifice in the southern suburbs, and feasted his civil and military officials as well as envoys from all over the world.
The task of moving the capital was basically completed.
What followed was the enthronement of the Crown Prince and his wedding. Needless to say, for the former, the Ministry of Rites had already prepared the rituals early on, and now it was just a matter of proceeding smoothly according to the rules.
However, since there had been no precedent for the "Crown Prince"'s wedding, the Ministry of Rites had to guess the emperor's intentions and follow the wedding process similar to that of the prince.
On the day of the wedding, the ceremony began with the setting up of the tents, the Crown Prince's carriage, and the procession of carriages through the palace gates. Officials from the Eastern Palace, along with ceremonial guards and a large band of musicians, escorted the Crown Prince to the front of the Concubine's residence. The Crown Prince and the officiant then exchanged greetings. Following her parents' instructions, the Concubine rode in the carriage, then the phoenix sedan chair, and finally the carriage. She arrived outside the Eastern Palace gates, then changed to the carriage again, and finally disembarked in front of the pavilion. Under the guidance of the boudoir attendant, she stood outside the gates on the west side, facing east. The Crown Prince bowed to the Concubine, inviting her in, completing the wedding ceremony.
In short, this whole process kept the two of them busy from dawn to late at night. They were so dizzy that they both breathed a sigh of relief while sitting on their wedding bed.
"Are you hungry?"
Zhu Zhanji was dressed in a crimson gauze robe and a crown on his head. He was sitting there with a solemn expression and a big sword on his horse. At first glance, it was really hard to look at him. The several female officials who had just led the way were a little timid. Now that only the two of them were left, they asked if he was hungry as soon as they opened their mouths.
Hu Shanxiang glanced at him and slowly raised her hand. The cuffs of her bright red gown slowly slid down, revealing the Juyi underneath.
"You are...oh, come on, come on."
Zhu Zhanji looked up at her nine-pheasant crown and hurriedly reached out to help hold it up. He also called for a palace maid to come in and help her take off the crown and loosen her hair.
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