Chapter 139 The Prince’s Wedding (Part 2)

The three princes got married together, which was a major event that had never happened since the founding of Da Zhao. All five doors of the Zhaode Gate in the imperial palace were opened. The last time there was such a scene was when the emperor ascended the throne.

The auspicious time is in the evening, when the wedding procession will set out simultaneously from the three families of Ye, Liu and Fu, passing through Baofu Street, the main street in the central axis of the capital, to arrive outside Yu Street. After passing Yu Street, the sedan chair will enter the palace from the main gate in the middle of Zhaode Gate.

After the sedan chair entered the palace, a dinner banquet was held inside the palace and a buffet banquet was held outside the palace.

The banquet was set up from outside the Zhaode Gate of the Imperial Palace to the end of Yu Street, where people shared the joy.

Several large pots were placed in the middle of Yu Street. The Yu chefs also had to take care of the palace banquets. When there were not enough, they simply borrowed chefs from major restaurants in the city to cook. Citizens in the city who wanted to come and watch the fun could bring their bowls and chopsticks and have a royal wedding banquet.

On the eighth day, ministers do not have to be on duty. Officials above the fifth rank can bring their families to the palace for the banquet. Officials below the fifth rank are not qualified to attend the palace banquet. If they wish, they can eat at the buffet with the common people.

In addition, every Dazhao official, regardless of rank, was given a one-time payment of two months' salary as "auspicious money", which was also meant to bring good fortune.

At 3 p.m., both sides of Baofu Street and Yu Street were crowded with people who had come to watch the wedding procession. The windows of the taverns and teahouses along the street were also crowded with people.

At 2:00 pm, three wedding processions set out from the palace at the same time, with processions leading the way in front and three princes riding tall horses behind, who were also today's grooms.

"It turns out that the second prince is the best looking!"

"It's not surprising. I heard that the second prince's mother was of low status and was chosen by the emperor because of her beauty. It's normal that the second prince she gave birth to is more handsome."

Thanks to Yan Siyu, she had planned to watch the excitement a long time ago, so she booked a private room in a restaurant on Baofu Street early on, and posted a message yesterday inviting her sisters to come and watch the excitement before entering the palace.

It was such a lively day today that the adults in the family did not restrict them. They just said that they could go back home after watching the wedding procession. They had to go into the palace to attend the palace banquet before the sedan chair was brought in.

It's a good thing that His Excellency is not here, otherwise they would have been taught a lesson for talking about the prince so casually.

Seeing that Shen Yuan didn't say anything, Yan Siyu teased, "Yuanyuan, why don't you say anything? Do you think no one is as good-looking as your Master Xie?"

Shen Yuan was not humble at all, and raised her neck, "Of course."

"Look, you're bragging about it before you even get married. Yunyi, you should learn more from Yuanyuan. You've been engaged for a long time, but you still blush when you talk about the young master of the He family."

Shen Xi smiled and said, "Most people can't imitate her. I have never seen her blush in her life."

Facing everyone's "teasing", Shen Yuan threw up his hands and said, "Why should I blush? This is the truth."

In her opinion, Xie Hui was good-looking because both the princess and Lord Xie were good-looking. With both parents looking like that, it was impossible for the child to be that bad. Not to mention that Xie Hui only picked out the good parts of his parents.

She had never seen Concubine Xian and Lady Xia, and had only seen the Empress, who was dignified and generous, but not as pretty as Princess Kangle. The Third Prince also looked more like his mother.

After joking around for a few more times, Lu Shuyan reminded them, "Shouldn't we go back? We have to go into the palace soon. There are a lot of people on the road, so it will take a while to get back."

They didn't have much time to come out this time. Their main purpose was to watch the excitement of the wedding procession. But at this moment, there was nothing else to see except the groom.

After Shen Yuan and Shen Xi arrived home, they hurriedly changed their clothes and were about to enter the palace with their family.

"Grandma, this outfit suits you so well! It looks like you were born to be a noble!"

It was the old lady's first time attending a palace banquet, and she was feeling uneasy. But after her granddaughter interrupted her, she couldn't help laughing, and her nervousness was relieved a lot.

"Your mouth!"

"What's wrong with my mouth? Don't you like it?"

"I like it, I like it very much!"

There is a palace banquet today, so only Shen Su and He Ying are staying at home. The banquet may not last very late, and He Ying is in poor health now, so she can't stay for long, so Shen Su is also at home to accompany his wife.

"Sister-in-law, there are some delicious foods at the palace banquet. I will bring them back for you."

"Hey, let me see, we are all carrying sacks with us, right? We can pack them back after we finish eating."

After Shen Xu finished speaking, his wife glared at him and said, "It's good that you have this intention. Stop being so weird."

"Yingniang is right. You are so grown up but still quarrel with your sister every day. You should go back with Yingniang. Don't stand here. We are leaving now."

"Okay." Shen Su responded aggrievedly. He finally understood that he was not the son of the Shen family at all, but the son-in-law of the Shen family.

The Shen family received an invitation written by the Empress herself, so they were not with the other officials and their wives who attended the palace banquet.

"Today, the palace is busier than the market."

However, although there were many people, there was still order. When you arrived outside Zhaode Gate, you had to get off the carriage and walk. Carriages outside were not allowed to enter the palace.

"I have met Lord Shen. I am Qingzhong. The Queen Mother specifically ordered me to come here and wait for you."

"I'm sorry to trouble the Empress, and also to trouble the eunuch."

"No, no, I dare not. I have seen the old lady, madam, and the two young ladies. The banquet for male and female guests is not in the same place. Zhuiyun and Zhuyue will take you there later." Qingzhong stepped aside and pointed to the two palace maids behind him.

Those invited by the Empress herself were considered relatives, and the banquet was held outside the Zhaoming Palace where the Emperor lived. The Ministry of Rites initially intended that the relatives invited by the Empress, Concubine Xian and Concubine Xia should stay in their respective palaces, but the Empress felt that it was not a good idea to separate them, and after discussing with Concubine Xian and Concubine Xia, they decided to simply gather the three families together. Since they were originally a family, it would be more convenient for them to stay together.

The Queen had also specifically instructed the seating arrangement for the banquet, and the Shen family's seat was right next to Princess Kangle.

However, they arrived early, and Princess Kangle had not come yet. Shen Yuan saw that her grandmother's face was frowning again, and knew that she was panicking.

"Grandmother, when you return home this time, you will have more to tell your elder sisters. Not only did you attend the prince's wedding, you also drank with the empress, concubines, princesses, and princesses!"

"The more you talk, the more my heart starts to beat faster. You might as well let me eat outside!"

"Last time, didn't you say that there was an old lady named Fang who was bragging to you about how many grandchildren she had and how you only had two? Go back and talk to her this time and tell her that it's okay for you to have so many grandchildren. Do your grandchildren have the ability to take you to the palace to see the emperor?"

After persuading his grandmother, Shen Yuan turned to Madam Shen and said, "Aunt, didn't Madam Wang, the Tongzhi of Jinling, brag to you about how well her daughter married? When you go back, go find her and ask her if your son-in-law is amazing. Did he take you to the palace? Did he take you to see the empress?"

Shen Yuan's words made Zhuiyun and Zhuyue, who were waiting to serve behind him, couldn't help laughing, and they could only try their best not to laugh out loud.

There were other female members of the family here, and the Shen family were unfamiliar faces to them. However, even if they did not know the Shen family, the ladies who often entered the palace could recognize Zhuiyun and Zhuyue standing behind the Shen family, and naturally they did not dare to look down on them.

After seeing that Princess Kang Le was also very close to them, she began to wonder whether she should have more interactions with the Shen family in the future.

Princess Kangle said to them, "The feast will start in about a quarter of an hour. The bridegroom and bride will come to toast after they pay their respects to the ancestral temple."