Chapter 046

The Anguogong Mansion was also full of guests that day, and it was quite lively. Even though Anguogong was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhan Yue Shangzhu, he was still very happy to meet these close friends who came to congratulate him.

The people who came today were either rich or noble, either relatives of the royal family or nobles. Although the Anguo Mansion had reached its current state and there was no need to curry favor with anyone, one had to live for face.

Duke Anguo greeted the guests who came to congratulate him one by one, with a somewhat stiff smile on his face.

Zhan Yue Shangzhu, first of all, felt most proud of the Zhan family, and the second most proud ones were his good friends who were related to the Duke of Anguo.

This wedding banquet was personally arranged by Old Lady Wen. Old Lady Wen always knows how to behave. Even though the Fu family is no longer the same as it used to be, since the Fu family is Zhan Yue's in-laws, Old Lady Wen still arranged their seats at the front.

At that time, after so many years of wind and rain, the only people who were truly qualified to attend the banquet at the Yongding Marquis' Mansion were Fu Xiao and his wife.

Princess Ruyang became a nun and only sent gifts of congratulations. Fu Rong's widow, Lu, died of illness in her early years, leaving only one daughter, who was eight years older than Zhan Yue and married to Zhili more than ten years ago. The ceremony was also complete but the bride was not present.

Fortunately, Song was generous and talkative enough, and she did not feel awkward when interacting with the ladies.

The ones who were really embarrassed were the people from Wu Chongbo's Jia family.

Although Jia had passed away, she was still nominally Zhan Yue's biological mother. And this time she was Zhan Yue's mistress, so it was natural that Lady Wen sent a wedding invitation to Wu Chongbo as well.

After several days of discussion, the Wu Chongbo family generally believed that it was okay to offend the Anguogong Mansion, but it was not good to offend the royal family and the princess. Moreover, their nephew was the heir of the Anguogong Mansion, so they had to send someone to support the situation.

Therefore, the current wife of Wu Chongbo came.

Today's wife of Wu Chongbo, Mrs. Jia, is Zhan Tai's aunt.

It was unknown whether Mrs. Wen had arranged Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Song on the same table intentionally or accidentally. In the past, Mrs. Jia and Fu Shiyu did not get along, and Mrs. Jia had heard about it to some extent. But in the past, Mrs. Jia was the principal wife and Fu Shiyu was the concubine.

Now the situation has changed. Mrs. Jia went to the Anguo Mansion again because Fu Shiyu's son was married.

Mrs. Jia originally thought that her nephew had made great progress by being promoted to the third rank in Guanglu Temple. She did not expect that the Fu family would be in such a state of decline, and Zhan Yue could actually surpass Zhan Tai without making a sound.

Mrs. Jia grumbled to herself while continuing to force a smile.

Amidst the insincere greetings, Jiashan's sedan chair officially entered the door.

She covered her head with a veil, first stepped over the money and grain basin, and then stepped over the saddle. A red apple was placed on the saddle, which meant a peaceful life.

These steps are easy for Jiashan.

Her breathing only slipped for a moment when Zhan Yue was holding the scale bar to remove the red cover.

Zhan Yue was tall, and the red ribbon on his wedding dress made his waistline look very tight. Jia Shan sat on the couch, and at this moment, she was as tall as Zhan Yue's waist.

From her angle, she could just see Zhan Yue's overly tense muscles under his wedding dress. Jia Shan didn't know why, but her heart was beating like thunder.

Her eyebrows were bent, and her face suddenly turned red. Under Zhan Yue's pressing gaze, Jiashan lowered her head slightly.

She seldom appeared in such a seductive manner, and Zhan Yue's eyes could not help but show a hint of tenderness, and he could not help but raise the corners of his lips.

Lady Wang, wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, as the lucky bride at today's wedding, also moved into the bridal chamber along with the other ladies who came to welcome the bride and the ladies who came to see her off.

According to the rules, she had asked the people in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to prepare the Zisun cake yesterday. The Zisun cake had to be cooked half-cooked.

Wang was wearing a festive crabapple red brocade jacket. With a smile on her face, she took out a piece of grandson's cake from the plate and fed it to Jiashan.

Jiashan's pupils shrank slightly, but he still carefully took it and put it to his mouth. As expected, only the outer layer of the Zisun Bobo was cooked, and the inside was still wrapped in raw dough.

She took a light bite, and immediately a little boy outside the window shouted, "Are you going to have a baby?"

Zhan Yue was still sitting next to Jia Shan. His breath was steady, but his eyes were burning. Jia Shan bit his lip and said with a bit of embarrassment, "Raw."

Wang and the other ladies all covered their mouths and laughed happily. Wang squinted her eyes and said, "After hearing this, the princess and her husband must live in harmony and have many children in the future!"

Zhan Yue nodded and replied in a serious tone, "Okay."

Jiashan's emotions were in turmoil. She blushed and gently pushed him, and there was another burst of laughter in the bridal chamber.

Wang grabbed a handful of auspicious fruits from the plate beside her and scattered them on the tent. The auspicious fruits prepared for scattering on the tent were also very particular, a mixture of four kinds of fruits: red dates, peanuts, longans, and chestnuts, which meant "early birth of a noble son."

Wang scattered the fruits in her hand over the couple. Zhan Yue protected Jiashan with one hand and turned his face away.

The ceremony lasted for so long that Zhan Yue didn't even have time to take a good look at her.

On the way to the wedding, Jiashan had been sitting in the wedding sedan chair with a red veil on his head. Now, the two of them were so close that he could almost touch her pounding heartbeat with just a stretch of his hand.

Zhan Yue suddenly couldn't help himself and wanted to bend down and kiss her.

"My princess." Zhan Yue's fingertips entangled the ends of Jiashan's black hair. He thought repeatedly in his heart, "She is really mine."

"It's time for the newlyweds to drink the wedding wine!" Wang's words pulled Zhan Yue out of his lingering thoughts.

Wang handed over two exquisite small wine glasses, and Jiashan and Zhanyue took one each.

The two of them glanced at each other subtly, then turned halfway to the side.

Jiashan's face flushed, she tried her best to remain calm, but her curled eyelashes still fluttered, which was very charming.

Zhan Yue's eyes were clearly black and white, and his handsome face was like a peach blossom.

Jiashan felt so ashamed when he thought that this was actually his second marriage but Zhan Yue was drinking the wedding wine for the first time.

What's there to be nervous about? Jiashan told himself.

The next moment, Jiashan's breath was still boiling and frightening. The wine went down his throat and became strong, and the breathing of both of them became unstable for a moment.

Zhan Yue, wearing a loose wedding dress, reached out his hand and firmly grasped Jia Shan's hand. He leaned over slightly, leaned close to Jia Shan's ear, and whispered something.

Next, after eating the Zisun dumplings, the ceremony is officially completed.

After the ceremony, only the ladies of honor could stay in the bridal chamber. Zhan Yue, as the groom, had to go to the main hall to offer toasts. In terms of closeness, it should be the Quanfu woman, Wang, and Zhan Yue's eldest sister-in-law, Zhang, who stayed behind to greet the ladies of honor from the palace who came to see the bride off.

But I heard that in order to be on the safe side, the old lady placed Zhang in the main hall, and also found the cousin of the Duke of Anguo and the cousin of Zhan Yue from her own family to do this.

Old Lady Wen came from a noble family, and the Wen family was still very prominent. Old Lady Wen was looking for the current second wife of the Wen family. On behalf of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, the second wife led the ladies to the flower hall. Wang ordered the extra maids and servants to pack up and leave.

The new house was left to Jiashan and the servants she brought with her.

Generally speaking, large families with strict rules would rarely gossip about the bride when she is alone.

Especially, Jiashan was a noble person. Even if someone wanted to join in the fun, they dared not speak.

After all the irrelevant people had left, Jiashan's straight back relaxed a little. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a long breath.

For a woman, getting married is a big deal. Madam Zheng was also happy for Jiashan, but worried that Suyu was inexperienced, so she stayed by the princess' side.

After a day of work, not to mention Jiashan, even Nanny Zheng felt tired for her.

Nanny Zheng stepped forward, handed Jiashan a cup of tea, and asked with a smile: "The ceremony is over, and there are no outsiders around. Would your highness like to eat something to warm up first? The prince consort is entertaining people in the main hall, and it may take a while for him to come back."

Jiashan had only had a bowl of porridge before dressing up since she woke up at 11am, and had not eaten anything else. She should have been extremely hungry, but perhaps the hunger had passed, or perhaps she simply had no time to think about being hungry.

Jiashan just took the tea and moistened her lips. She smiled and said, "Madam, you mean well. But this is inevitably a bit disrespectful to the prince consort. I'll wait for him to drink it later."

Jiashan is a princess. Although marrying Zhan Yue is a step down, Nanny Zheng certainly hopes that the princess and her husband can have a harmonious relationship.

Hearing Jiashan's words, Madam Zheng said happily, "It's good that the princess thinks so."

"Just now, I took a look at the ladies who came to the mansion to welcome the bride." Nanny Zheng had been with the empress for many years, and she could basically recognize all the ladies of status. She analyzed for Jiashan, "The bride is the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, and the bridesmaids are the second wife of the Wen family and the wife of the son of the Marquis of Yongning. They are all well-known figures in the aristocratic families. From this point of view, the Duke of Anguo's mansion still knows some etiquette."

Jiashan just smiled indifferently. Based on her understanding of the Anguogong Mansion, such a big move was not something that Anguogong or Zhang would do.

At least, in the previous life, when Jiashan and Zhan Shaoying got married, the bride was not the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, but the wife of the Marquis of Changxing. The best men were not the current two people. In the previous life, one of the best men invited by the Duke of Anguo's mansion was Zhang's family, the wife of the son of the Marquis of Cheng'en.

In the Anguo Mansion, the only person who could invite the wife of the Zhenguo Duke to come out of retirement was probably the old lady Wen. The Yongning Marquis's son and Zhan Yue served in the Five Armies Commandery together, so the wife of the Yongning Marquis's son was probably invited by Zhan Yue.

Jiashan said nonchalantly, "It's only the first day now, we'll have to wait and see. It's not easy to tell whether someone knows etiquette or not."

"However, the people who planned this wedding really put a lot of thought into it," Jiashan said slowly.

Tomorrow when she goes to pay respects to the elders, she will definitely have to meet Old Lady Wen. In order to return the favor, she must also satisfy the old lady.

Madam Zheng said, "I have asked Su Yu to prepare a gift for tomorrow's meeting. Although the princess will not live in the Anguo Mansion permanently, they are the family of the Prince Consort after all, so they need to be taken care of."

Madam Zheng was mature and prudent, and Jiashan was not worried about these small matters. However, there was another problem that was worth Jiashan's consideration.

Now that she was newly married, it was reasonable for her to live in the Duke of Anguo's mansion for a while. After she got married and returned home, she would move to the Princess's mansion soon.

Jiashan had experienced the mixed crowd in the Duke of Anguo's Mansion once in her previous life. She could avoid this family of troublesome relatives by going to the Princess' Mansion and avoiding seeing them.

What about Zhan Yue?

After all, his last name is Zhan, and he is related to the Anguo family. Moreover, with his pride, would he be willing to live with me in the princess's mansion? Would he be afraid of gossip?

Jiashan took a sip of hot tea and decided to find time to discuss the matter with Zhan Yue.

"Your Highness..." Nanny Zheng took off Jiashan's crown and said with some embarrassment, "Today is the wedding night. When the consort comes back, he will definitely drink some good wine. I see that the Duke of Anguo has not arranged any other concubines for the consort..."

Although Nanny Zheng was thick-skinned, it was difficult for her to speak. She coughed and said softly, "If it's the first time for the Prince Consort... Your Highness should bear more."

Nanny Zheng's words were vague, but Jiashan understood, and her face turned red instantly.

Zhan Yue had never had a concubine before, which meant he was inexperienced. In his previous life, after Jia Shan got married, he heard similar things from other women. They said that some men had a unhappy experience on their wedding night because they had never been with a woman.

For this reason, he may even become angry with his wife and begin to think about taking a concubine.

Is Nanny Zheng afraid that... Zhan Yue and herself... will not have a good experience in the bridal chamber?

Jiashan was so embarrassed that the balm on her face turned red.

Just as Jiashan was daydreaming, a respectful voice suddenly came from outside the door: "The fourth master is back!"

Outside the new house, the Anguo Mansion also sent people to stand guard, so Guan Zhanyue was called "Fourth Master".

Nanny Zheng did not expect Zhan Yue to come back so early. Guests usually want to leave after having a great time. Before she could even get rid of the surprise on her face, Zhan Yue had already pushed the door open and walked in.

Jiashan patted his face, not wanting Zhan Yue to see his unstable side. Madam Zheng also turned around and saluted him.

Zhan Yue knew that Madam Zheng was Jiashan's wet nurse and had a close relationship with her. He naturally treated Madam Zheng very politely and said, "No need to be so polite."

Zhan Yue smelled of alcohol, but it wasn't strong. Madam Zheng guessed that he must not have drunk much, so she asked, "Has the prince consort had his meal? I'll ask someone to prepare some."

Zhan Yue looked at Jia Shan and asked calmly, "Have you used it, Princess?"

Jiashan smiled and replied, "I'm waiting for you to join me."

Just now, when they were drinking the wedding wine, others might not have heard it, but Jiashan heard it clearly, and he whispered in his ear, "Wait for me."

In that case, let's wait for him.

Zhan Yue's eyes were clear, and he whispered, "Then I'll trouble you, Madam."

Nanny Zheng hurriedly went there politely.

After Madam Zheng left, Zhan Yue and Jia Shan were the only ones left in the bridal chamber. There was an odd silence for a moment, and then they both seemed to feel that being silent with each other was too unfamiliar.

Zhan Yue walked to the bed and sat down. He saw that Jia Shan had an indelible look of fatigue on his face, so he asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you tired?"

His gaze circled directly on Jiashan without dodging or evading.

After entering the room, Zhan Yue said only a few words, most of which were based on her ideas, showing full respect. Jia Shan felt a warm current in her heart, and she smiled and said, "It's okay. Marriage is only once in a lifetime, so it doesn't matter if it's a little tiring."

She asked, "What about you? You just toasted, so you must be even more tired."

Zhan Yue replied: "Not tired. I am still happy."

"I smell of alcohol, I'm going to wash up first." Zhan Yue paused, and the rest of the words rolled on his tongue before he said, "Wait for me for a while, okay?"

He was so cautious that Jiashan felt embarrassed.

She nodded and said, "Sure. I want to wash off my makeup, too."

"Then I'll get someone else to serve you." Zhan Yue said.

Seeing that he had to think for a long time before speaking, Jiashan couldn't help but say, "We are already husband and wife."

She looked serious and called softly, "Yanqing. You don't have to be so polite to me."

This was the first time Jiashan called him Yanqing.

Zhan Yue's Adam's apple moved slightly, and there seemed to be a flame burning in his eyes. A spot on his chest suddenly went soft.