Feeling embarrassed by Zheng Boyuan's gaze, Xu Zhi blushed, lowered her head, and said, "Brother Boyuan, sit down and eat."
Granny Lu came in from outside and said, "You two, don't eat yet, drink the nuptial wine first."
Xu Zhi said strangely, "Granny, we drank it when we got married."
Granny Lu smiled and said, "But you didn't consummate your marriage back then. What we brought this time is a bottle of Daughter's Red wine that our Third Master buried under the pear tree in the courtyard many years ago. It's said that the Third Master and Third Madam buried it together when the girl was a child, so that she could drink it when she got married. Granny Lu brought it with her when she came from the capital."
Xu Zhi knew this. It was buried by Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci when the family was about to leave the capital for Hexi. At that time, Xu Zhi was still young. After Chen Zhaoci packed up the family's belongings, he specially went to the street to buy the best daughter's red wine. He and Xu Rao personally dug a hole under the pear tree and buried the wine.
Upon hearing that the wine was buried by his parents-in-law more than ten years ago, Zheng Boyuan smiled and said, "Since it is a token of my parents-in-law's goodwill, we should naturally have a good drink together."
Granny Lu poured wine for the two of them into two golden cups and said, "Drink this wine, and you will live a loving and harmonious life together, and have many children. My daughter has grown up now."
As Granny Lu spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing Granny Lu's expression, Xu Zhi felt a little sad and helped Granny Lu wipe away her tears, saying, "Granny, look at you, why are you shedding tears again? Bo Yuan and I will naturally live a good life. We also need to keep Granny by our side. When we have children in the future, we will need Granny to help us teach them."
Granny Lu quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears and said, "Look at me, what am I doing? This is a joyous day. The young lady said that our young lady and her husband will definitely live a good life together in the future."
Zheng Boyuan said with a smile, "We still need to ask the nanny for more help. Azhi and I don't have a proper elder here, so we need the nanny to take care of us. Come, Azhi, let's drink the nuptial wine and then toast the nanny."
Xu Zhi blushed, held up her wine cup and drank the nuptial wine with Zheng Boyuan. After putting down the two golden cups, she poured wine into several small cups. The two of them respectfully toasted Granny Lu, and the three of them ate around the table. Granny Lu then began to make the beds for the two of them to sleep in.
The dried fruit on the bed was put away in a small bamboo basket. Granny Lu said to the two people sitting at the table with flushed faces, "It's getting late, young lady and young master should rest early."
Although they had been married for several years, this was the first time the two of them had been in such a confined space. In the past, although the two of them ate, talked and chatted together, they always had people serving them. Xu Zhi actually felt very oppressed by Zheng Boyuan sitting next to her.
Zheng Boyuan said with a smile, "Azhi, let's get some rest."
Xu Zhi blushed, lowered her head, and softly hummed in agreement. A north wind was blowing outside, but the room was filled with the warmth of spring. Both Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan knew that their relationship had grown even closer.
Xu Zhi was living a more and more comfortable life in Luzhou, enjoying a peaceful and idyllic time. However, the situation in the capital was becoming increasingly tense. This was because Emperor Liang Cheng suddenly felt dizzy in front of all the court officials during the grand court assembly. The imperial physician was immediately escorted to the court by several guards. After diagnosing the situation, he said that Emperor Liang Cheng was overworked and advised him to rest more.
Emperor Liang Cheng was not only overworked, but also pressured by his court officials during the grand court assembly to establish an heir. The eldest and third princes were out of the running, and although the second prince had been in contact with some scholars, Emperor Liang Cheng disliked his behavior. Although the second prince was the legitimate son of the empress, Emperor Liang Cheng once said that he was not suitable to be a monarch who could lead the people of Liang to expand the territory. Therefore, he was basically abandoned. At this time, the only ones who could compete were the sixth and seventh princes.
Emperor Liang Cheng had few concubines in his harem, and not many princes had been able to grow up safely in the palace over the years. Apart from the first three princes, there were the sixth and seventh princes. The twelfth prince's birth mother, Consort Liu, was framed by Consort Wan, the birth mother of the third prince, and Consort Wang, the birth mother of the first prince. After being sent to the Cold Palace, she secretly gave birth to the twelfth prince. In order for the twelfth prince to grow up safely, Emperor Liang Cheng had someone secretly raise the mother and son in the Cold Palace. However, later, Emperor Liang Cheng felt that the twelfth prince could not continue to stay in the Cold Palace. Most importantly, Emperor Liang Cheng carefully observed his sons and felt that none of them were capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of being a monarch.
The Great Liang Dynasty has been established for over a hundred years. On the surface, the country is peaceful and prosperous, but in reality, several surrounding countries are eyeing it covetously, and the court has long suffered from deep-seated problems. If a wise and capable person is not appointed to take over, the Great Liang's century-old foundation may be swallowed up by the Northern Di or the Great Yan.
The twelfth prince, Xiao Yuan, was a bet Emperor Liang Cheng made with himself. He wanted Xiao Yuan to understand the people's sentiments, to travel to every corner of Liang, and to truly love the country that he was about to rule. Therefore, Emperor Liang Cheng did not pay much attention to the sixth and seventh princes.
The sixth prince's birth mother was Wang Xiuyuan, while the seventh prince's birth mother was Consort Shao. Wang Xiuyuan was from a collateral branch of the Wang family, while Consort Shao came from a humble background. She was a palace maid who served tea in the palace. After Emperor Liang Cheng favored her once, she gave birth to the seventh prince. Consort Shao was also a shrewd person, and she gradually rose to the rank of consort.
The Sixth Prince had always followed the First Prince. After the First Prince lost power and was imprisoned by Emperor Liang Cheng, many of the First Prince's forces switched allegiance to the Sixth Prince because his maternal family was a branch of the Wang family. Meanwhile, General Wang of the Wang family was still stationed in the southwest. Therefore, the Sixth Prince was more popular.
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