Chapter 3, "Newlyweds".
==Chapter 3: Newlyweds==
The palace buildings are magnificent, stretching as far as the eye can see from the palace road. The clear sunlight shines down from the sky, and the glazed tiles on the eaves glow with a bright yellow light.
The palace eunuchs led the King and Queen to the Qianqing Palace. When Su Wanyue was in Nanqiong, she was the little princess of the Nanwang Mansion and often came and went from the palace, but her mood today was completely different from before.
As the eunuch led the way, he also curiously observed the Princess Weiyang from Nanqiong, now the Princess Consort of Cheng. His Highness Prince Cheng was tall and handsome, while Princess Consort Cheng had skin as smooth as jade and a graceful figure. The two looked extremely well-matched.
Eunuch Zhou, who was by the Emperor's side, was waiting at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace early in the morning. When he saw Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu coming over, he quickly greeted them and went into the palace to report to them.
A moment later, Eunuch Zhou came out of the hall with a smile and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness the Princess, His Majesty invites you in."
The couple went inside together. Su Wanyue caught a glimpse of someone sitting in the hall, dressed in a bright red robe with gold phoenix patterns and a hairpin in the shape of a nine-tailed phoenix. She guessed that this was the current Empress.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty."
The emperor at the head of the table raised his eagle-like eyebrows, and the empress beside him also put down her teacup and began to scrutinize the newlywed couple. Her gaze lingered on Su Wanyue for a while, and then she frowned imperceptibly. Most of the princesses of this dynasty's royal family were spoiled and willful, so why did this Princess Weiyang not have a trace of spoiled and willful behavior? Could it be that the Southern Qiong royal family had chosen their most outstanding daughter to marry Prince Cheng in order to establish a good marriage alliance?
As the legitimate princess of the Southern Qiong royal family, Princess Weiyang possessed an exceptionally noble status.
With such a virtuous wife, Xiao Yu undoubtedly has gained another advantage. As for the Crown Prince...
In the blink of an eye, the Empress's expression began to darken, and her lips pressed into a straight line.
"No need for formalities, please take a seat."
The Emperor's voice boomed like a bell, carrying a subtle sense of oppression, "Your Highness, you have come from afar; are you adapting well to life in the capital?"
Su Wanyue smiled slightly and said that she really liked the environment in the capital.
The Emperor nodded amiably, quite satisfied with Princess Weiyang from Nanqiong, at least she was sensible. He then instructed Xiao Yu to treat his princess well and not to let her suffer any grievances, otherwise he would be the first to punish him.
Xiao Yu calmly agreed.
This man always acted as if he had everything under control in front of Su Wanyue, so much so that Su Wanyue was momentarily distracted and glanced at him again. Was there nothing in this world that he couldn't control?
The Empress said, “Prince Cheng and Princess Consort are newly married and deeply in love. I have nothing to say to them. However, I feel an instant connection with Princess Consort whenever I see her. I always feel that I lack a lovely person to talk to in the palace. If Princess Consort has nothing to do in the future, she can come to the palace more often to chat with me.”
His Majesty: "Zhou Shengkang, take Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng to pay their respects to the Imperial Concubine."
With a long arm outstretched, Eunuch Zhou walked respectfully to Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue, saying, "Your Highness, Your Highness, this way please."
The palace where the Imperial Concubine resided was Chengqian Palace, and its plaque was even written by the Emperor himself. It is said that among all the palaces, the Imperial Concubine was the one most favored by the Emperor. Everyone knew that the Imperial Concubine was the Empress's biggest worry.
Last night, His Majesty stayed at Chengqian Palace. Consort Qin did not sleep at all and is now resting on the chaise longue, covered with a thin brocade quilt, looking languid and charming.
Granny Gui lifted the curtain and came in, smiling, "Your Highness, His Highness and the Princess Consort have arrived."
Consort Qin opened her fox-like peach blossom eyes, lazily propping herself up on the chaise lounge with one hand, and asked Granny Gui to invite someone in.
When Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue paid their respects, Consort Qin looked at Su Wanyue with a smile. The woman's hair was styled into a cloud-like bun, with two peony hairpins inserted on either side. She had an oval face, almond eyes, red lips, and skin as white as snow. Her appearance was exquisite and beautiful in every way. Her figure was graceful and her demeanor was elegant. It has to be said that Consort Qin liked such a woman.
Consort Qin called out, "Rise," and then ordered, "Serve tea."
Granny Gui personally served tea, while the other maids presented brocade and a set of red coral headdresses. Su Wanyue thanked Consort Qin.
Consort Qin smiled and asked Su Wanyue, "How well are the apricot blossoms in my little garden these days? I wonder if Weiyang likes apricot blossoms?"
Su Wanyue was an extremely intelligent woman. She guessed that the Imperial Concubine had something to say to someone in private, and she nodded gently.
Seeing her nod, Consort Qin's smile widened. "Granny Gui, take the Princess to the small garden for a stroll."
"Your Highness, this way please."
After Su Wanyue followed Granny Gui to the small garden, Consort Qin glared at Xiao Yu and said, "I selected so many noble ladies from prestigious families for you before, but you didn't like any of them. Princess Weiyang was chosen by you personally as the Princess Consort of Cheng. Do you like her now?"
Xiao Yu toyed with the celadon cup with his long, slender fingers. It was undeniable that Princess Weiyang, whom he had married, was beautiful, but Xiao Yu had seen too many beautiful women, so he didn't necessarily like women who only had a pretty face.
However, since she was the one he married, he would still give her some face.
Apricot blossoms brush against the face, and spring is in full bloom.
"Your Highness, these are all the apricot blossoms in your little garden."
Just as they were admiring the flowers, a spoiled and charming voice suddenly came from inside, "Who are you? What are you doing in Mother Consort's back garden?"
Su Wanyue turned around and saw a girl of about thirteen years old. She was dressed in luxurious clothes and followed by many maids. Judging from her clothes and demeanor, she should be a princess of the royal family.
"This servant greets the Seventh Princess." Granny Gui was startled. "Your Highness, this is the Princess Consort, also known as Princess Weiyang of Nanqiong."
The Seventh Princess is the biological daughter of Consort Qin and Xiao Yu's half-sister.
The Seventh Princess's curious gaze fell on Su Wanyue, and in a moment, she ran to Su Wanyue like a gust of wind.
"So you are Princess Weiyang."
Granny Gui and the other maids all lowered their heads, afraid that this little princess might say something she shouldn't, causing trouble for His Highness and the Empress. Everyone in the capital knew that the Seventh Princess was on good terms with Miss Qin from the Marquis of Yiyong's mansion. Back then, the Empress strongly recommended Miss Qin to be the Princess Consort of Cheng. If it weren't for considerations of the current situation, who would be the Princess Consort of Cheng today would be unknown. Granny Gui was afraid that the Seventh Princess would see the Princess Consort and want to stand up for Miss Qin. What should she do then?
Granny Gui secretly gave a wink to the last maid in the pink dress.
Su Wanyue smiled gently, her face as beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water. She said she was Princess Weiyang.
Upon hearing this, the Seventh Princess's eyes widened. She took two steps forward and grasped Su Wanyue's slender hand. "So Sister Weiyang is really as beautiful as the rumors say. When I was just beginning to experience love, I heard that Sister Weiyang was a beauty of unparalleled grace and fame throughout the world. Seeing her today, it is indeed true."
Granny Gui: "..."
Others: "..."
So the Seventh Princess didn't come here to cause trouble for the Princess Consort.
Perhaps because the Seventh Princess's tone was too exaggerated, Su Wanyue couldn't help but chuckle. The beautiful woman smiled, her smile no less charming than the apricot blossoms in spring: "Thank you for the compliment, Seventh Princess."
This is the first time Su Wanyue has shown a genuine smile since she agreed to marry in place of Princess Weiyang.
Xiao Yu happened to come over and saw this scene.
"Oh dear, my brother is here." The Seventh Princess was about to speak when she caught sight of her brother out of the corner of her eye, and her smile became even brighter.
The Seventh Princess and Xiao Yu are siblings from the same mother. The Seventh Princess usually respects Xiao Yu, her own brother, the most, and their sibling relationship is better than that of others.
Xiao Yu walked over with his hands behind his back, his silver boots stopping an inch away from Su Wanyue. His voice was deep, "Your Highness, it's time to return to the manor."
Su Wanyue's eyes were gentle as she bowed slightly to him.
The Seventh Princess only exchanged a few words with Su Wanyue before she took a liking to this sister-in-law from Nanqiong. The Seventh Princess smiled and stepped forward to take Su Wanyue's arm, "Sister Weiyang, let's go."
When Consort Qin heard that her daughter was going to be rude to Princess Weiyang, she was almost startled. Yu'er and Princess Weiyang were newlyweds, and the envoy from Nanqiong, Zhou Heng, and the Prince of Xiang from the Nanqiong royal family were still around. If news of Consort Qin and her daughter bullying Princess Weiyang were to spread at this critical juncture, wouldn't that give the Empress a handle to use against them?
Consort Qin was extremely anxious, regretting that she had been so preoccupied with maintaining a polite relationship with the Empress these past few days that she had forgotten to remind Xiao Qi to get along well with Princess Weiyang. Xiao Qi was such a fiery and impulsive person; if something were to really happen to her…
Despite her inner anxiety, Consort Qin remained remarkably calm. She even had the leisure to ask the lady-in-waiting beside her where the newly acquired bolts of shimmering brocade were.
Just then, Consort Qin looked through the window and saw her daughter chatting and laughing with Su Wanyue as they entered the palace. Consort Qin's heart quietly settled down. It seemed that her daughter still knew her place and wasn't being unreasonable at this time.
"Your daughter greets Your Majesty."
Consort Qin said with a indulgent look, "Why did you decide to come and pay your respects to your mother today? Did you know in advance that your sister-in-law was coming to the palace to pay her respects to your mother today, so you came?"
"That's right." The Seventh Princess pouted and acted coquettishly towards Consort Qin. When Consort Qin chuckled, the Seventh Princess leaned close to Consort Qin's ear and said, "Mother, sister-in-law is really a beauty."
Seeing that she genuinely liked Princess Weiyang, Consort Qin smiled and tapped her nose, which saved her a lot of trouble.
"Since Xiao Qi likes your sister-in-law, then go to Prince Cheng's residence to chat with her whenever you have time." Consort Qin looked at Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue and said with a smile, "That's all I have to tell you. It's getting late, so you should go back now."
"Yes, Mother."
The carriage from Prince Cheng's residence was parked under the shade of the trees. When they saw Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue coming over, the guards quickly bowed. Xiao Yu easily got into the carriage. Su Wanyue could have gotten in just as easily, but she couldn't reveal that she knew martial arts, so she could only lift the hem of her skirt and be helped up by Qin'er.
The Prince Cheng's residence is not far from the palace. Just like when they arrived, Xiao Yu closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as soon as he got into the carriage. Su Wanyue stared blankly at the golden nanmu tree above her head.
Having finally returned to the Prince Cheng's residence, Su Wanyue was puzzled to see Xiao Yu still following her. She asked hesitantly, "Your Highness, what's going on?"
Seemingly finding her words amusing, Xiao Yu paused, giving her a half-smile, half-mocking look. "Can't I dine in the Princess's room?"
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