Chapter 2 The Grand Wedding.
The princesses inside the palace were completely unaware of what was happening outside. At that time, they were also unaware that in the struggle for power among men, a woman's fate could be so easily rewritten.
The princess was told that after the marriage, she would remain in her own palace to await her wedding, and a governess would live in her palace to teach her about the matters.
After a princess marries, she lives in her own residence and must understand how to manage the household finances, control the servants, manage her private property, and know how to audit the household's expenses. While a princess may not concern herself with worldly affairs, she cannot be ignorant of them, lest she be deceived or even sidelined by her servants.
She also needs to know how, as a princess, after marrying into the family, she can be both polite and respectful to her parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, and other relatives and friends.
Finally, the last thing to learn is how to get along with the prince consort; to put it bluntly, it's the art of the bedroom.
The wedding is set for next month. With limited time, the princesses are being taught by three nannies in shifts from morning till night, leaving them with almost no free time.
Princess Lingyi, the seventeenth princess, had a particularly tough time because she had to learn other things from Aunt Liucui when she returned to her palace at night.
Aunt Liu Cui, a maid brought from outside the palace by the Seventeenth Princess's birth mother, scoffed at the bedroom arts taught by the old woman. "Don't listen to that old woman's nonsense," she said. "If you insist on maintaining a certain decorum and dignity because of your princess status, the man will immediately pull up his pants and run away. How can there be marital harmony then? Men, no matter how respectable they are outside the bed, only have one thought in bed: to have fun. You have to make them happy, make them infatuated, make them go crazy, make them become unlike themselves, even less than human. You have to make them see you like a hungry dog smelling meat..."
If the bedroom arts taught by the nanny were embarrassing, then what Aunt Liu Cui taught was even more shameful and infuriating.
Emperor Jiahe was licentious and lustful in his early years, fathering dozens of princes and princesses.
She was originally just one of the many princesses who were not favored in the harem. Her birth mother died early, and for those few years she only depended on Aunt Liu Cui for survival. Later, with the help of the Crown Prince, her life became much better.
In her heart, Aunt Liu Cui was no different from her birth mother, and she could not bear to disobey her.
Even so, sometimes Aunt Liu Cui's teachings made her wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, and she just didn't want to do them.
At this point, Aunt Liu Cui would coldly reprimand her: "The Emperor has made so many southern tours and seen countless beauties, yet he only brought your mother back to the palace. It's not just because of her exceptional looks, but also because she's skilled in this art. You're going to marry far away, and you'll have to rely on yourself for everything from now on. You know I've lost my virginity and can't leave the palace, yet you don't listen to me now. Are you afraid I won't sleep well at night after you leave?"
Hearing her say this, the gentle and obedient Lingyi could not resist. She would suppress her shyness and obediently do as she was told.
The nanny taught the princesses for thirty-five days, but Aunt Liu Cui taught them for ten more days.
During these ten days, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and sixteenth princesses left the palace one after another to get married. On the eighth day of the ninth month, it was time for Lingyi to leave the palace.
After waiting so long to be married, Jingchi was finally freed that night and was able to see her loved ones one last time.
The Crown Prince and his wife were still in seclusion, reflecting on their mistakes. They couldn't come over, but they sent someone with a stack of house and land deeds.
The visitor was Zhou Chuanyang, the Crown Prince's trusted chief eunuch. After dismissing the palace servants, he said to Lingyi, "When His Highness heard the imperial decree that day, his usually mild-mannered nature was instantly enraged, and he kicked over the desk. However, the matter was beyond redemption, and His Highness was powerless to change it. These are the dowry items he and the Crown Princess prepared for the Princess..."
Lingyi quickly declined, but Zhou Chuanyang, who was prepared, advised, "His Highness said that in recent years, the Emperor has spent a great deal of money on alchemy and temple construction, and the national treasury and the imperial treasury are not enough to cover the expenses. The princesses' dowries are just for show, and the princesses need these things to protect themselves. The Crown Princess also asked me to tell the princess that since the Emperor arranged the marriage, His Highness has been unable to eat or sleep properly, blaming himself for being incompetent in protecting you. Just to give His Highness some peace of mind, please be sure to accept these things."
The words brought tears to Lingyi's eyes. After accepting the house and land deeds, she ordered someone to bring over a box. "Inside are some mundane items that I made in my spare time, which I haven't had a chance to give away yet. Please take them back today, Father-in-law."
The box was packed full.
The prince enjoyed drinking, but unfortunately, he couldn't hold his liquor. There were three jugs of fruit wine, made from different fruits, which were sweet and not easy to get drunk on.
The prince often suffered from headaches, and inside was a sachet that could refresh the mind by simply smelling it.
The Crown Princess had difficulty sleeping during her pregnancy. She had a pillow stuffed with dried herbs, which had a calming and sleep-inducing effect and was harmless to the fetus.
There was also a whole jar of salted green plums, which the Crown Princess loved to eat.
There are also toys prepared for the unborn child...
The items were small, inexpensive, and not unique; the Imperial Household Department could make any of them.
What's rare is that she's always being thought of. Zhou Chuanyang sighed again, no wonder the Crown Prince favors her so much even though they're not from the same mother.
When the inventory was finished, there was only one stamp left in the box. Lingyi was taken aback when she saw it, and hurriedly took it out and stammered, "This, this is a little, little thing that I made when I was bored before. I just put it in and forgot to take it out."
Zhou Chuanyang knew perfectly well who liked seals. He secretly regretted it, but showed no sign of it on his face.
After closing the box, Lingyi said, "Please tell my brother, the Crown Prince, that both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor. As a princess, I would gladly accept any marriage alliance, let alone an arranged one. Please do not worry about me or overthink things. Remember to take care of yourself, and we may meet again in the future."
Lingyi was not good at socializing. After Zhou Chuanyang left, only a few concubines in the palace sent people to add to her dowry. The only relative who came to see her off was the Fifteenth Princess.
When the Fifteenth Princess arrived, Lingyi barely recognized her.
The Fifteenth Princess, who was always slender, looked so thin that she seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, and her face was also somewhat haggard.
In response to Lingyi's concern, the Fifteenth Princess smiled and said, "I caught a cold a while ago and have only recently recovered, which is why I look a bit frightening. Don't look at me like that. I am a doctor myself, what is there to worry about?"
Her birth mother was originally a female physician in the Imperial Hospital. Once, while taking the pulse of a concubine, she was favored by Emperor Jiahe and then forgot about her.
Such things were common in the imperial harem. Aunt Liu Cui was destined to die in the palace because of the emperor's whim.
The difference is that the fifteenth princess's birth mother was pregnant with the emperor's child and was given the title of beauty.
Influenced by her mother, the Fifteenth Princess devoted herself to studying medical books and herbs. Since Lingyi often cooked for the Crown Prince, and medicine and food are inseparable, she would often shamelessly ask him for advice, which gradually led to a close relationship between them.
In Lingyi's mind, the Fifteenth Princess's medical skills were far superior to those of the imperial physicians.
Hearing this, Lingyi felt relieved and had no time to dwell on it. She ordered a palace maid to bring her a box containing silver coins.
"This is my savings over the years, but unfortunately it's not much, only a little over a hundred taels. You can take it and use it."
Both are princesses, but the Sixteenth Princess, whose mother was Consort Zhuang and whose uncle was a high-ranking official in the cabinet and Minister of Revenue, did not need money. Similarly, Lingyi, who received much care from the Crown Prince, also did not need much money.
The fifteenth princess's mother was of low rank, and she herself was not favored, so she needed money to bribe her way to a good life.
Unfortunately, the marriage decree came so suddenly that Lingyi had no time to prepare. All she had was the allowance she had accumulated over the years, which was far from enough.
The fifteenth princess then took out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve: "These are contraceptive pills. Although they are much milder than the contraceptive soup, all medicines are still somewhat toxic. Try not to use them too often in the short term."
After the Fifteenth Princess left, Aunt Liu Cui opened the medicine bottle, smelled it, and said, "As expected of a palace secret recipe, it doesn't use many harmful ingredients. I didn't expect that a princess, who usually has a cold and aloof demeanor, would actually make this kind of medicine in secret."
Lingyi's eyes welled up slightly: "Fifteenth Sister is always cold on the outside but warm on the inside, she must have made this especially for me."
Aunt Liu Cui sighed, "You are truly blessed. Both the Crown Prince and the Fifteenth Princess genuinely care for you. I only hope that you will continue to have such good fortune after you leave the palace."
At night, Lingyi hugged Aunt Liucui in bed, her eyes sore but she kept them open and refused to sleep.
Aunt Liu Cui sighed helplessly, "You're about to get married, why are you still acting like a child? Do you think it won't dawn until you close your eyes tomorrow?"
Tears streamed down Lingyi's face, her voice muffled: "I don't want to get married."
"Silly child," Liu Cui laughed and scolded, "Women always have to get married. Do you want to end up like me, living as a widow for some old geezer?"
Hearing her scold her father, Lingyi was not angry; instead, she felt a surge of resentment.
Why did the Emperor still favor Aunt Liu Cui even though he clearly disliked her, preventing me from taking her with me? Since he favored her but didn't give her any rank, Aunt Liu Cui has never suffered any grievances with me. After I leave, how will she, a mere palace maid, live in the palace?
"Men are like that," Aunt Liu Cui admonished her one last time. "They're always looking at what's in their bowl while eating what's in the pot, and they're always eyeing what's in other people's. As long as they haven't tasted it themselves, they'll even snatch a bone from a dog's mouth and gnaw on it. No matter how beautiful you are or how capable you are, you can't keep them by your side, let alone their hearts. Luckily, you're better than your mother. Although you're soft-hearted and easily manipulated, at least you have the status of a princess. You just need to wait until your body matures and give birth to a child as soon as possible before you have any hope for the future. Once you have a child, if you like him, you can give him some treats from time to time. If you don't like him, just let him get far away. Out of sight, out of mind. Raise your child in the princess's mansion and live your life happily."
Aunt Liu Cui always spoke in a witty and humorous way, and Ling Yi wanted to laugh, but tears still flowed uncontrollably.
The next day, when the princess took her leave, Lingyi couldn't squeeze out a single tear in front of Emperor Jiahe and Consort Guo.
Fortunately, his eyes were still swollen, so it could be considered a tearful farewell to his father and father.
After Emperor Jiahe and Consort Guo exchanged a few words of advice as usual and completed the formalities, Lingyi bid farewell to her father and left the palace where she had lived for nearly sixteen years.
Princess Lingyi's residence was far away in Jizhou. After leaving the palace, she stayed at the Imperial Son-in-Law's Office and got married from there.
The next day, she changed into a phoenix coronet and wedding gown. The head maid appointed by Consort Guo, surnamed Zhao, repeatedly reminded her of the rules and etiquette of the wedding. Consort Guo also replaced all the personal maids that the Crown Prince had given her, and they flitted around the room like butterflies.
She felt dizzy and her eyes were swollen until a red wedding veil was removed, which finally calmed her down.
They got into the sedan chair, went through the wedding ceremony, and entered the bridal chamber.
If Aunt Liu Cui or her original personal maid were present, they could have exchanged a few words, and the bridal chamber wouldn't be as silent as an ice cellar.
A completely unfamiliar place, completely unfamiliar people.
Through the gap in the bridal veil, she looked down at the wedding dress and remembered that it had been sewn stitch by stitch by Aunt Liu Cui.
Although the Imperial Household Department could have prepared it, Aunt Liu Cui stayed up countless nights to rush it out before her wedding.
Overwhelmed with grief, Lingyi couldn't help but shed tears once again.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up as her bridal veil was lifted. She instinctively looked up and, through her tears, saw a tall man standing by the bed.
Before she could even see his face clearly, Lingyi's first reaction was fear.
Although he was dressed in a red wedding robe for a prince consort, it couldn't suppress his imposing aura, a sharpness honed through countless battles.
Qin Lie lifted the veil, his gaze falling on Ling Yi's tear-stained face, his eyebrows slightly raised.
Tears on such a joyous occasion are not only against etiquette but also an ominous sign, likely to displease the prince consort. Zhao Mama quickly smoothed things over, asking, "Princess, Prince Consort, shall we drink the nuptial wine now?"
Before Lingyi could answer, Qin Lie had already sat down by the bed.
A palace maid brought out a tray with two half-ladles filled with wine. Qin Lie ordered Yi to each hold one, and they drank together.
After drinking the nuptial wine, the ceremony is complete.
The palace maids helped Lingyi bathe and change clothes. In the clean room, Zhao Mama instructed her, "Princess, you just shed tears. I'm afraid you have displeased your husband. His Majesty has high hopes for you. Princess, you should be careful in the future and not disappoint His Majesty's expectations."
The so-called expectation was nothing more than Emperor Jiahe's extreme suspicion of the Qin family, but when he saw Lingyi for the first time when the princess took her leave, he felt that his daughter's appearance might really win over the prince consort's heart.
Aunt Liu Cui also told Lingyi not to worry, as no man in the world would not love such stunning beauty.
But when Lingyi recalled Qin Lie's heavy, oppressive gaze when he looked at her earlier, it was colder than the autumn rain outside, and she couldn't see any liking in him at all.
After bathing, Lingyi sat in front of the dressing table while a palace maid dried her hair.
The palace maids changed the water, and Qin Lie walked towards the clean room. Some of his dowry maids wanted to follow him to serve him, but he refused.
Thinking she understood perfectly, Granny Zhao quickly gestured for the eunuch to go in and serve her.
"No need." Qin Lie spoke for the first time, his voice like metal striking jade. "You can serve the princess; I don't need anyone to serve me."
His gaze fell on the hunched-over eunuch, his voice turning colder: "From now on, such androgynous beings are not allowed to appear before me!"
After saying that, he turned and went into the clean room, leaving only silence in the outside.
No one expected him to be so cold and hard, yet his imposing presence was so great that even Zhao Mama, who had served the Consort for many years, dared not utter a word, let alone the other palace maids, all of whom trembled with fear.
The little eunuch was already pale and trembling like a leaf.
Therefore, it was pointless for anyone else to stay in the room any longer. Granny Zhao ordered everyone in the room to wait outside. Before leaving, she instructed Lingyi, "Princess, remember, you must not cry out in pain, scream, or utter any lewd words in bed."
Her hair was still damp, hanging down her back. Lingyi looked at the empty bridal chamber, where only a patch of red, like blood, stung her eyes.
She slowly walked back to the bedside, where the longan, red dates, peanuts, and lotus seeds that had been placed there had been taken away by the palace servants.
Two square pillows were placed side by side on the bed, along with two large red brocade quilts embroidered with mandarin ducks with intertwined necks. Lingyi took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and wrapped herself in the quilt.
Qin Lie showered very quickly; almost as soon as she lay down, footsteps came from the quiet room.
Regarding marital relations, the governess said that the prince consort must make advances, and the princess must not refuse. Aunt Liu Cui instructed her that she should tease and provoke the prince consort, but not let him eat too much.
Lingyi didn't know who was right and who was wrong. At this moment, she subconsciously closed her eyes, wanting only to escape.
I heard footsteps stop by the bed, followed by the sound of the bed curtains falling.
After that, she didn't need to listen; even with her eyes closed, she could feel someone lying down beside her, and Lingyi kept her eyes even more closed, afraid to open them.
After waiting anxiously for a long time with no movement from the person beside her, Lingyi secretly opened her eyes and saw Qin Lie lying casually on the side of the bed, fast asleep.
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