There were loud music and ceremonies, and colorful sedan chairs cleared the way. On the wedding day of Xiao Du, Marquis of Xuanyuan, the bride's procession lined up along the long street. The roadsides and restaurants were filled with people who came to watch the excitement. As Xiao Du's "reputation" was widely spread among the noble families in the capital, many young ladies who had come out of curiosity were also sitting in the private rooms, wanting to see what this famous evil star looked like.
I saw a snow-white horse with a black mane walking slowly. The man on the horse was wearing a red official uniform with a dragon pattern and a crown inlaid with gold beams. He was tall and straight, with broad shoulders and arms. His appearance was not as ferocious as people imagined. He could even be called handsome. However, many years of fighting on the battlefield had given him a strong look. His face was lazy and casual, which was inconsistent with the festive atmosphere around him. It seemed that he was not here to get married today, but just out for an outing to enjoy the flowers.
In a tavern beside the street, a drunk was talking: "Thinking back to the time when I followed the prince to fight at Jialu Pass, although the prince had not yet been crowned, he was extremely brave. Facing tens of thousands of Wu country troops, he showed no fear at all. With a silver spear, he killed them all and made them hide in fear. Later, those grandsons were afraid of the reputation of our Xiao family army and did not dare to invade the border for a long time. When the prince returned to the court that year, the late emperor specially gave him armor and a horse, and he was welcomed by the people. To me, how can the scene today compare to that day?"
Perhaps because he was reminiscing about the past, his cloudy eyes gleamed with brilliance, and his face was full of pride. Others knew that this man was once a soldier in the Xiao family army. He returned to Beijing three years ago due to injury. He usually loved to drink and brag. Seeing that he was in high spirits, they smiled and joked with him: "I think you are just drunk. The man on the street is no longer the prince. The title of Xuanyuan Hou was conferred by the late emperor himself." The man was stunned by what he said, and seemed to sober up a little. Then his face changed, and he slammed the table and said: "What a bullshit Xuanyuan Hou, he just lost a battle at Pingdu Pass and became a prince. "You are just enjoying yourself at home and not guarding the border. This is really a disgrace to the reputation that the old marquis has worked so hard to build." The man next to him was startled. Fortunately, the music on the street drowned out his nonsense. The waiter in the store saw that he was still swearing and unwilling to stop. Fearing that he would cause trouble, he quickly covered his mouth and dragged him away. The drunk waved his hands wildly, and the wine glass in his hand slipped from the railing to the street, rolled to the side of the flower sedan chair that Yuan Xi was riding, and was immediately drowned by the noisy ceremonial team.
In the eight-legged flower sedan, Xia Yuanxi was wearing a red gauze with unicorn-embroidered sleeves, a plain silver belt, and a hundred-child embroidered cap. She felt the tension in her chest slowly dissipate. The music outside the window had finished playing a song. Walking along this road, she was getting farther and farther away from the Prime Minister Zuo's residence. Although there were too few things in the Prime Minister's residence that she could remember, it held her only precious memories of the past seventeen years, and the only person worth her remembrance lived there.
She sighed softly, feeling her neck aching from the pressure of the gold-studded and pearl-studded chastity crown on her head. She suddenly remembered what the Seventh Aunt had told her last night: "After you get married, you must be careful with your words and actions, be discerning and observant, and understand that your husband's favor is only temporary. You must be able to control his favor in order to maintain your position."
The seventh concubine had inquired for her from many sources. The old marquis Xiao Yunjing only married a wife and two concubines. Her mother-in-law, the emperor's sister, Princess Zhenrui, was said to have become empty after giving birth to her legitimate son Xiao Du. From then on, she was confined to the Buddhist temple for meditation and rarely intervened in the affairs of the mansion. In recent years, the internal affairs of the mansion have been managed by a concubine named Wang. It is rumored that this concubine Wang is very capable and manages the business and human relations very well. The old marquis intends to make her a concubine. Concubine Wang has a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter has already married, and the other concubine has only given birth to a concubine daughter. It sounds like there is no proper mistress in the mansion now, and the family is not as prosperous as her own family. If a clever and obedient person is replaced, it will not be difficult to take over the family. However... Yuan Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly. She had been ignorant for so many years and didn't know anything about the affairs of the harem. She was afraid that she would let down the seventh concubine. Thinking of everything she might have to face in the future, she couldn't help but sigh again and fell into deep panic.
Yuan Xi fiddled with the double knotted necklace tied around her waist in annoyance, and couldn't help but think again, what kind of person is the legendary Xuanyuan Marquis Xiao Du? Is he really as cruel, violent, willful and absurd as the rumors say? Although she has a simple mind, she is still a 28-year-old girl after all, so how can she not guess what her future husband will look like.
While she was daydreaming, the sedan chair had already landed. The etiquette officer sang the poem for the sedan chair to be lowered. The sound of music and firecrackers could be heard. Yuan Xi was led to the inner house by the red rope. There were strange voices all around her. Many people were constantly swaying. She had never dealt with such a scene before. She was so nervous that sweat appeared on her palms. Fortunately, there was a wedding veil in front of her, which made her feel safe for the time being. She numbly followed the etiquette officer's call, bowed to the groom, drank the wedding wine, and was sent to the bridal chamber in a daze before she even recognized the face of the person she was bowing to.
The bridal chamber was decorated with gold and jade, and was extremely luxurious. The stove was burning with a faint smell of Suhe incense. After a day of hardship, Yuan Xi felt a tightness in her chest and a sore body. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door, and the sound of loud shouts of congratulations was endless. She was just wondering when Li Ma, who came with her as a dowry, pushed the door open and shouted with joy: "Miss, great news! His Majesty has just sent someone to send a generous gift to congratulate the Marquis on his marriage, and also issued an edict to recognize you as his sister, and give you the title of Princess Lanjia, and also the title of a third-rank lady."
Nanny Li was talking with great joy and excitement, but Yuan Xi was a little confused. She really couldn't understand why the emperor repeatedly bestowed his grace on her. Was it just to give her a status worthy of the title of Marquis Xuanyuan? After all, it was said that Xiao Du and the emperor had studied together in the palace for many years, and they were as close as brothers, so the emperor repeatedly tolerated his absurd behavior. After all, she was just a concubine of the prime minister's mansion, and now she was given the title of princess to be worthy of the title of Marquis Xuanyuan. However, she was still full of doubts: Why was it her?
At the same time, Xiao Du, who was hosting a banquet in the courtyard, stood up, raised his robe, took the imperial edict, and slightly raised his lips, saying in his heart: "Mingcheng, you really have good intentions." Then, Zhou Zongguan quickly arranged for the two eunuchs who announced the imperial edict to sit down, and ordered the servants to officially start the meal. The servants and maids brought the dishes to the table, but the guests grumbled at the dishes on the table. Fortunately, at this moment, the gongs and drums sounded on the stage, and the Hua Dan's sleeves fluttered, singing a play to cheer them up. The guests followed suit and raised their chopsticks and cups, and greeted each other warmly.
Only in one corner of the wedding banquet, the atmosphere on the table was a little solemn. At this time, a man in a purple brocade robe and with an imposing manner stood up, raised his wine glass and said, "The Marquis is indeed loyal and righteous, and it is worth our brotherhood with him! Come, let's drink this cup together and congratulate the Marquis on his wedding!" Seeing that his eyes were a little red, the others suppressed their excitement and stood up and said, "General Zheng and I will toast to the Marquis!"
At this moment, the night was deep, but the Xuanyuan Marquis's mansion was decorated with lanterns and people were drinking. In the new room, under the red candles and curtains, Yuan Xi sat on the edge of the bed with his head down, thinking about everything that might happen tonight, feeling uneasy.
Outside the door, a gauze lamp with a big red wedding character was swinging. Xiao Du was drunk, but his eyes were clear. He sneered softly, "Prime Minister Xia, what kind of daughter did you send here?"
In the main courtyard, the banquet was not over yet, and General Zheng was already drunk. He was being supported by a maid towards the guest room when he suddenly felt someone pinching his waist lightly, which made his whole body numb. He lowered his head and saw a pair of seductive eyes in the dim light.
The candle in the dragon and phoenix candle holder popped with a bang, and the door was suddenly pushed open, and Yuan Xi's heart began to beat violently. She felt someone had lifted her wedding veil, and her eyes finally became bright, and then she saw a face that seemed to be smiling from the flickering candle.
Unlike what she had imagined, this face was neither rough nor fierce. There was a faint smile on the handsome face, which made Yuan Xi breathe a sigh of relief, but her heart beat faster and faster.
Xiao Du also carefully looked at his new wife: thin eyebrows, bright eyes, pointed face, typical southern girl's appearance, not beautiful, but pretty. But... her breathing was a little faster, and she looked pitiful, as if she was having a hard time breathing.
Xiao Du felt that if he didn't say something, his bride would be so nervous that she would suffocate to death, so he smiled and said, "Do you want me to call you my wife, madam, or... Xi'er?"
Yuan Xi had never been so close to a strange man before, and hearing these slightly teasing words, her face suddenly turned red. She lowered her head at a loss, clutching the corner of her clothes tightly, and tried to open her mouth, but she couldn't say a word.
Xiao Du felt a little strange and funny. After all, she was a young lady from the Prime Minister's Mansion and should have seen the world. How could she be so scared? Yuan Xi finally took a deep breath and raised her head with courage. She saw Xiao Du smiling with a mouthful of white teeth. For some reason, she remembered the rumor that he could eat human blood, so she touched her neck unconsciously.
Xiao Du was stunned by her action, and then thought with a little contempt, could it be that she was so scared because she believed those rumors? So he deliberately asked: "Why are you touching your neck?" Yuan Xi was embarrassed and embarrassed, and finally squeezed out a few words from her teeth: "Neck...itchy..." Then she thought that this was the first sentence she said to her husband on her wedding night, and she was so ashamed that she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
Xiao Du was amused by her and burst into laughter, then he thought a little nervously, she was so embarrassed after just a few words, what if... He suddenly found it funny, so he held back his laughter and said, "It's getting late, let's rest early." Then, without waiting for Yuan Xi to react, he quickly stripped off his outer robe and inner clothes, revealing his strong and naked upper body.
Yuan Xi felt her breathing suddenly stagnate, and the blood in her body began to rush to her head. When she moved her eyes to Xiao Du's naked chest, she was suddenly stunned. She had only seen naked men in medical books and Cunzhen pictures before, and what she saw with her own eyes was different from what was in the paintings. Moreover, the body in front of her was so perfect: the muscles were firm and the lines were clear. If there was a knife that could cut it all along the texture and then draw a picture to record it in the book, it would definitely be much more pleasing to the eye than the pictures she had seen before.
She was lost in reverie while Xiao Du was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why his beloved wife, who was almost fainting from shame before she even opened her mouth, was now staring at his naked chest with a... greedy expression.
Although Xiao Du was usually unruly, this was the first time that a woman looked at him with such naked eyes. For a moment, he felt his face getting hot, and he had the urge to pull his clothes back to cover his body. Then he thought, as a dignified Marquis Xuanyuan, he was actually blushing in the bridal chamber when his new wife saw him. What would people say if it got out? So he had to bite the bullet and straighten his chest, thinking angrily: I must look back to get it over with, and he was ready to reach out and pull Yuan Xi's belt...
At this moment, a scream suddenly came from the yard: "Help! Someone is being murdered!" The two of them were awakened from their thoughts and turned their heads to look out the window.