"Your Majesty, we, your humble servant and the two consorts, thank you," said Prince Guo.
The Fourth Prince raised his hand, signaling the announcer to continue.
"The ceremony is complete, proceed to the bridal chamber." The two brides entered the bridal chamber with the help of their maids.
After the bride entered the bridal chamber, Consort Shu and her female relatives also went to the banquet. The female and male relatives held their banquets in separate rooms.
Lanqin kept an eye on the Eighth Prince's wife. She was quiet and reserved. Unlike men, women couldn't drink and make merry. They had to maintain proper etiquette. Even when Consort Shu was happy, she would only cover her face and smile. So even the wedding banquet wasn't as lively as a typical family's. It was more like a ritual.
Among the male guests, the Fourth Prince was naturally seated in the place of honor. The brothers began to drink. The princes praised the Seventeenth Prince for his contributions to the Qing Dynasty in suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion.
"Seventeenth Prince, I'd like to toast you. Your suppression of the White Lotus Sect has greatly enhanced the prestige of our Great Qing!" the Third Prince said, raising his wine cup.
The Seventeenth Prince also raised his cup and said, "Third Brother, you flatter me. I was merely fulfilling my duty as a subject." After saying that, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
The Fourth Prince also said, "Yunli is truly outstanding. I am very pleased with him. Having him around has saved me a lot of trouble."
The seventeenth prince said, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."
The Fourth Prince continued, "You'll be having your wedding night tonight, so drink less wine to avoid making things difficult. You need to take good care of these two wives, understand?"
The Seventeenth Prince nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand and will not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations."
The Fourth Prince then said to the other princes, "Don't pour too much wine for Yunli today; he still wants to consummate his marriage."
Upon hearing this, the other princes all put down their wine cups. They had originally intended to get Yunli drunk, but now that the Emperor had spoken, none of them dared to do so.
As for the banquets for ordinary officials, they were lively but vulgar, with the sounds of string and wind instruments filling the air, and toasts being exchanged, conversations and songs filling the room, creating a harmonious atmosphere. However, it was obvious to anyone with discerning eyes that everyone was extremely bored, exchanging only perfunctory pleasantries, nothing more than the insincere sentimentality of officialdom, which was nothing but annoying and unsurprising.
Even the grandest banquets and most lavish feasts eventually come to an end.
Apart from the Fourth Prince, the other princes were all dead drunk. The Seventeenth Prince was alright, though, since the Emperor had forbidden anyone from getting him drunk and disrupting his wedding night. So the Seventeenth Prince couldn't be drunk, and the Emperor didn't dare to either. Instead, the other princes started drinking with each other, one cup after another, and no one tried to get the Seventeenth Prince drunk anymore.
On the women's side, the Eighth Prince's wife sat sullenly at the table, watching the others chatting and laughing. She felt that some people kept glancing over as if they were talking about her.
In the past, she was always the one talking about other people's roles; never before had anyone else spoken about their own.
But now, she can only endure others pointing fingers at her and can only suppress her anger and keep pouring herself more wine.
Suddenly, the Eighth Prince's wife stood up with a wine cup in her hand and walked straight toward Consort Shu without any expression.
Everyone had heard about the Eighth Prince's residence long ago, and everyone knew that the Eighth Prince's wife had been seeking help everywhere these days, but the Emperor's mind was made up and no one dared to help her.
Everyone looked at the Eighth Prince's wife, worried that she might do something strange. Unexpectedly, the Eighth Prince's wife walked to the side of Consort Shu, bowed to Consort Shu, and asked, "Consort Shu, Minghui congratulates Consort Shu on the addition of two good daughters-in-law."
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