The auspicious day has arrived, and the wedding day has come. Ten miles of red silk have been laid out outside the vermilion gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The pillars of the corridor made of Phoebe zhennan wood are wrapped with red gauze palace lanterns, and even the bronze cranes on both sides of the stone steps are tied with brocade ribbons with twin lotus patterns.
The old prime minister personally watched as the servants straightened the last glass screen depicting phoenixes singing in harmony, when suddenly he heard the tinkling of jade pendants coming from the inner courtyard.
"Your Majesty's makeup is complete!"
Inside her boudoir, Zi Xi sat gracefully before a mirror adorned with intertwined peony branches.
Twelve female officials were straightening every fold of her wedding dress. On the bright red brocade robe with gold cloud patterns, nine phoenixes spiraled upwards from the hem, their tails adorned with eight hundred South China Sea pearls, shimmering with light at the slightest movement.
"Your Majesty, please raise your head."
"When my youngest daughter got married, I did her makeup in the same way..."
With trembling hands, the old prime minister's wife dipped a fine brush in rouge and drew a five-petaled plum blossom between her eyebrows.
The brush suddenly paused. In the bronze mirror, the old lady saw tears welling up in the bride's eyes, about to fall. She hurriedly reached out her handkerchief to catch them, exclaiming, "No, Your Highness! The rouge is going to smudge..."
Feeling a sudden surge of emotion, Zi Xi sniffed, pursed her lips, and smiled shyly. The beaded curtain swayed gently with her movements, scattering golden light across the ground in the morning glow.
She subconsciously reached into her sleeve pocket, her fingertips touching the bright yellow sachet with crooked stitches. It was a calming sachet she had casually sewn, now worn rough from being caressed by Yin Jiuxiao.
Fearing she might be scared if she didn't see him before her wedding, Yin Jiuxiao specially placed this sachet beside her.
The Prime Minister's wife, with a rosy complexion, helped Zixi, whose head was covered by a red veil, into the sedan chair.
"The auspicious time has arrived!"
The official's long, drawn-out chanting startled the magpies perched under the eaves, and the bronze gong in front of the vermilion gate rang out in response.
Amidst the deafening roar of cannons, sixteen strongmen dressed in crimson robes marched in with synchronized steps, their gilded phoenix palanquin gleaming in the morning light.
The pearl curtain hanging from the eaves of the sedan chair was lifted by a corner by the morning breeze, revealing the dragon and phoenix wedding quilt laid out inside the sedan chair. On the bright yellow satin, dragons and phoenixes were embroidered with gold thread, their necks intertwined. At the corner of the quilt, the character "曦" (Xi) was embroidered crookedly.
The stitches were rough and the characters were clumsy, but because the finest gold thread was used, it shone brightly in the morning sun.
The old prime minister standing at the door had sharp eyes and was the first to spot the embroidered characters. He was so shocked that his white beard trembled. This was clearly the handwriting of the emperor!
He suddenly remembered that half a month ago, late at night, a female official from the Imperial Clothing Bureau had come in a panic to report that His Majesty had broken into the embroidery room late at night and driven away all the embroiderers.
The next morning, they found blood-stained gold thread on the embroidery frame. His Majesty had used his pricked fingers to embroider this character, stitch by stitch.
The Empress's position in His Majesty's heart is immeasurable!
As dawn broke, Yin Jiuxiao, clad in a black dragon robe, stepped through the thin mist and arrived.
The robes were embroidered with phoenix patterns in gold thread on black satin, and the dragon-patterned ceremonial robes were unusually adorned with phoenix feather patterns. The flowing light shimmered as the hem of the robes billowed, as if a phoenix from the heavens was hidden in the dark clouds.
The Minister of Rites looked up and saw this, so startled that he almost dropped the jade tablet in his hand.
"Your Majesty! Historical records state... the emperor's wedding should be..."
The new Minister, lifting the corner of his robe, chased after the Emperor's stirrups.
Yin Jiuxiao reined in his horse and looked back, his wide sleeves, woven with black and gold, fluttering in the wind.
Without uttering a word, he merely raised an eyebrow, and the new Minister froze on the spot as if his throat had been grabbed.
As the morning sun pierced through the gaps in the pearl curtain, and the curtain rustled as Zi Xi lifted her veil, her eyes met those of the emperor on horseback.
Yin Jiuxiao's breathing became erratic. He had seen her ruthless fierceness when she was covered in blood and wielding a blade, and he had seen her languidly yawning in his arms, but he had never seen Zi Xi like this before. The pearls on her phoenix crown trembled lightly on her eyelashes, like morning dew hanging on a butterfly's wing, as if they would disappear at the slightest touch.
The Vice Minister of Rites's wail was stuck in his throat.
All the onlookers saw the emperor suddenly dismount, his black dragon boots shattering the fallen flowers on the ground.
He strode past the entourage, the jade pendant at his waist striking the scabbard of his sword, producing a clear and melodious sound.
"This is against etiquette!"
The Grand Master of Ceremonial Affairs finally cried out.
Yin Jiuxiao ignored him and reached out his hand directly to Zixi in the bridal sedan chair.
"I can't wait any longer."
He spoke in a very low voice, his thumb rubbing the calluses on her palm.
Zi Xi's ears turned bright red instantly. Just as she was about to retort and scold the emperor for his improper manners, she suddenly felt dizzy. Yin Jiuxiao actually picked her up horizontally in the street, and the golden phoenix on her wedding dress, which stretched for three feet, seemed to be taking flight in the sunlight.
"Yin Jiuxiao!!"
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