Chapter 157 The Grand Wedding (3)
After the Crown Prince left, Meng Guanqi escorted Li Xiaoxiao back to her new room, and then went out to greet the guests. The way everyone in the Meng household looked at him was completely different now.
They used to assume that Meng Guanqi marrying Li Xiaoxiao was a sign of his own depravity, but now it seems that he is the one who actually benefited from it.
The Crown Prince not only gifted Li Xiaoxiao a large mansion but also arranged a job for her in the palace. Is this something an ordinary person could do? Furthermore, the young heir of the Eastern Palace seems extremely close to Li Xiaoxiao, calling her "sister" at every turn. When did they become so familiar?
The people in the Meng family suddenly realized that there must be many secrets between Li Xiaoxiao and the Crown Prince. The reason why Meng Guanqi insisted on marrying her despite everyone's objections must be because she could bring him closer to the Crown Prince.
They couldn't help but slap their thighs in disbelief. They had been so foolish; thankfully they had come today, otherwise they would never have known that their family members had such a good relationship with the Crown Prince.
When Liu finished her business at the Li residence and escorted the guests to the east of the city, she noticed that her sisters-in-law were looking at her strangely; the intimacy in their eyes made her feel uneasy.
The sisters-in-law pulled Liu aside, and Nie scolded, "Sister-in-law, you're so tight-lipped! Why didn't you tell us sooner that His Highness the Crown Prince was coming to Qi-ge'er's wedding? We almost missed it!"
Second sister-in-law Ye also said, "That's right. I was in such a hurry to leave today that I didn't even have time to take out my newly made clothes. I came out wearing a half-new, half-old outfit. I don't know if others will laugh at me for not being dignified enough."
Lady Liu asked in surprise, "Has His Highness the Crown Prince already come?"
Madam Nie said, "They've arrived, but they just left. They said they arranged some kind of job for Qi-ge's wife. Sister-in-law, Qi-ge's wife is just a woman; why would the Crown Prince arrange a job for her? What kind of job did he arrange?"
Madam Ye added, “That’s right. The real work should be done by the men. Qi Ge’s wife’s most urgent task is to give birth to a big, healthy son for our family. If we need help, our Guan Xing is of the right age. Although he hasn’t achieved much in his studies, he is very obedient and would be perfect to serve by the Crown Prince’s side…”
Liu was terrified when she heard this. She wondered why her sisters-in-law were so affectionate towards her. It turned out that one or two of them were using her to inquire about Li Xiaoxiao's relationship with the Crown Prince. She had never even heard of the job in the Eastern Palace that they were talking about. How could she dare to answer them?
Madam Liu quickly said, "Today is Qi-ge'er's big day, and I'm very happy to welcome all of you sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law to congratulate us. However, our house is small and there are many people, so this isn't the time to talk about such things. Sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, please find a place to sit down and chat and have some tea. I'll go to the bridal chamber to see how Xiao-xiao is doing."
Nie and the others called out several times, but she left without turning her head. Ye said sourly, "I didn't expect that my usually honest fourth sister-in-law would become so slippery. Does she think she's climbed up the social ladder by marrying into the Crown Prince's family?"
Madam Nie thought it wouldn't matter to inquire about Li Xiaoxiao's relationship with the Crown Prince, but to her surprise, Madam Ye from the second branch casually mentioned wanting to steal Li Xiaoxiao's job, which scared Madam Liu away. Madam Nie was almost furious. Seeing that Madam Ye still had the nerve to make sarcastic remarks, she couldn't help but mock, "Would anyone who got a job at the Crown Prince's palace just give it to someone else? Especially His Highness the Crown Prince. He can have anyone he wants. Li Xiaoxiao can't go, so why is she waiting for her to find someone to go in her place? Sister-in-law, why are you already drunk before the banquet even starts?"
Ye blushed deeply with embarrassment: "It's clearly my fourth sister-in-law who's afraid we'll find out and won't say anything, so why blame me, sister-in-law? Guanxing isn't like Guanyun and Guanfeng, who have the path of taking the imperial examinations. He's never liked studying since he was little. If we don't find him an important job, how will we find him a wife in the future?"
That makes sense, but you can't just ask to take a job on someone's wedding day, can you? Nie ignored her and walked away.
When Liu arrived at the new house, all the guests had been led out. Only Li Xiaoxiao was sitting inside, with Liu Zhi beside her. The two of them were sitting on the bed, enthusiastically unpacking purses.
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao take out another silver note from her purse, Liu Zhi exclaimed, "Wow, another fifty-tael note!" She quickly took the note, carefully opened it, and placed it in a box next to her. Inside the box was a small stack of silver notes and a number of silver ingots.
Liu was stunned: "What are you doing?"
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled: "Madam, we're opening the purses! The aunties and uncles back home are so generous, they all gave us silver notes and silver ingots, some as little as ten taels, and the most as much as one hundred taels! We've already opened over three hundred taels!"
The largest purse, containing one hundred taels of silver, was a gift from Old Madam Meng. Li Xiaoxiao hadn't expected her to be so generous, giving her so much money.
Liu smiled. Since Xiaoxiao hadn't formally served tea to her mother-in-law yet, she didn't correct her address. She asked Liuzhi, "What's going on? Why are you suddenly receiving so many purses?"
Liu Zhi said crisply, "They were all given by the old lady of the mansion and the ladies of each household. I feel that they didn't have time to prepare, so I had to take out money from my pocket as a greeting gift." Otherwise, the greeting gifts given to the bride are usually hairpins, hair ornaments, jade pendants, etc. Who would give money so openly?
Liu asked curiously, "I was wondering the same thing. Didn't they say we weren't allowed to come?" Then, a thought struck her and she said, "I heard the Crown Prince came?"
The Meng family is definitely after the Crown Prince.
As Li Xiaoxiao continued unpacking her purse, she casually remarked, "I've already been here~"
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Madam Liu sighed, unsure whether to call her carefree or composed: "He even promised you a position in the Crown Prince's Palace in public? As soon as I arrived, your aunts came up to me and asked what kind of position it was."
Li Xiaoxiao nodded: "It wasn't the Crown Prince who granted it, but the Crown Princess who asked me to enter the East Palace to protect Aze. I have already agreed."
Liu was taken aback: "Does Qi-ge know about this?"
Li Xiaoxiao shook her head: "He doesn't know yet. I'm going to tell him tonight."
Liu hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself. Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi got married late, and she had long wanted them to have children as soon as possible after their marriage. She never expected that she would have to go to the palace to serve.
Liu knew that Li Xiaoxiao was pure of heart and didn't have many hidden thoughts, and that she hadn't yet gotten used to being a wife, so she readily agreed to the Crown Princess's request for such a big matter, forgetting to discuss it with Meng Guanqi.
She said tactfully, "You and Qi-ge'er will be husband and wife from now on. You can't treat each other the same way as before. You need to discuss things carefully. For something as important as serving in the Eastern Palace, you also need to consider your health. What if you get pregnant? How will you explain it to the Crown Princess?"
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes widened: "If you're pregnant, you can go back to work after three months. When you're close to giving birth, you can come back for maternity leave. After your three-month maternity leave, you can go back to work. It won't affect anything!"
Huh? Is that what she was thinking? Going to work in the palace while pregnant? Liu was so shocked that she suddenly lost the strength to persuade her.
Forget it, let Meng Guanqi handle this. She's probably too old and can't keep up with Li Xiaoxiao's train of thought.
Because of the unexpected arrival of the Crown Prince and his wife, many unexpected people came to Meng Guanqi and Li Xiaoxiao's wedding. After seeing the attitude of the Crown Prince and his wife, they no longer dared to underestimate Li Xiaoxiao. Moreover, because they could not find out more about her background, they felt that she was even more mysterious.
Only then did everyone belatedly realize that they had previously thought Meng Guanqi was foolish for marrying a maid. Now it seemed that the truly foolish ones were those of them who knew nothing. The newly appointed third-ranked scholar was shrewd; the bride clearly had an excellent and deep connection with the Crown Prince. How could she be an ordinary person? It was likely that the maid's identity was just a smokescreen she used to cover up her true intentions.
Suddenly, the newlyweds became incredibly popular.
But Meng Guanqi, drunk, had no time to care about these things.
Pang Shi carried him straight back to the bridal chamber, tossed him onto the bed like a dead pig, and said somewhat apologetically to Li Xiao, who had already washed up and changed into comfortable clothes, "You seem quite drunk. I'm leaving him to you now~"
He had already shielded Meng Guanqi from eight or nine out of ten drinks, so how could he be so drunk after only four or five cups? He was as red as a boiled shrimp, it was truly embarrassing. If it weren't for the need to avoid overshadowing the host, Pang Shi would have wanted to send Meng Guanqi back inside and drag Li Xiaoxiao out for a couple of drinks.
After Pang Shi and the others escorted Aze away, most of the guests had already left. Li Xiaoxiao looked at Meng Guanqi, who was sleeping peacefully on the bedding, and felt that he seemed to be faking it, or perhaps he was really drunk.
She was furious! This was supposed to be her wedding night, and the groom had actually fallen asleep from drinking too much! It was outrageous! She had been looking forward to telling him how many red envelopes she had received that day.
To receive a windfall out of the blue—is there anything better in this world? And yet, no one shares it with; how unfortunate!
She tugged at his ear, but he didn't react. She muttered to herself, "How many drinks did you have? Pang Shifu should have covered most of them for you, but you're still this drunk. I still have so much to tell you..."
Meng Guanqi, who had her eyes tightly closed, suddenly laughed and opened them: "Is there something you haven't told me?"
He sat up, his face still flushed, but his eyes were clear, and there was no trace of drunkenness.
Li Xiaoxiao's almond-shaped eyes widened: "Just now, Pang Shi threw you onto the bed like a dead pig, didn't you feel any pain?"
Meng Guanqi then began to grimace and rub his bones: "I have to bear the pain. You have no idea how cunning those soldiers are. If I hadn't pretended to be drunk, would I have gotten in?"
Li Xiaoxiao gave him a thumbs up. Meng Guanqi got up, looked at the food on the table, picked up his chopsticks and started eating: "I've been going around the table toasting people all day, I haven't eaten anything..."
The dishes on the table had gone cold. Li Xiaoxiao pressed his hand down and said, "The food is cold. Be careful not to get an upset stomach if you eat it. I'll ask the kitchen to cook you a bowl of noodles."
Meng Guanqi said, "Sure, would you like some too?"
Li Xiaoxiao patted her stomach: "I just finished eating not long ago, I think I'll stop eating~"
When the noodles were ready and brought in, Meng Guanqi noticed she was staring at his bowl and pushed it towards her, saying, "Want some?"
Li Xiaoxiao thought for less than a second: "Then I'll eat less." Then she took half of his noodles and ate the only fried egg.
Meng Guanqi: ...
He finished the rest of the noodles, and suddenly noticed the wine pot on the table. He poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her.
Li smiled and said, "You haven't had enough to drink yet? Didn't you just—"
Meng Guanqi looked at her earnestly: "This is a nuptial cup. We are still one step away from completing the ceremony. Only after drinking this nuptial cup can we be considered a true couple."
Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but retort, "We've already completed the wedding ceremony, so you can't deny that we're husband and wife. Besides, it's just the two of us in the room, how would we know if we drank or not?"
But he insisted on drinking, so she had no choice but to share a cup with him and drink the wine together.
The wedding wine was meant to enhance the mood, and not long after they drank it, Li Xiaoxiao felt a little hot. She breathed slightly and asked, "Don't you feel a little hot?"
Meng Guanqi's face flushed again, and he kept stealing glances at her: "Hmm, it is a bit hot. It's getting late, let's rest."
An eerie silence suddenly fell over the room. They were both adults and married, so they had naturally been taught what to do next. Although they were in a free-love relationship and had kissed several times, this was the first time they had been in the same space at this time.
Why was it that, although she had been a maid for quite some time, she had never served Meng Guanqi personally? Now, being in the same room with him so close, and even sleeping in the same bed, she suddenly felt a little flustered and short of breath.
Afraid that Meng Guanqi would find out she was scared, she immediately went to bed, pulled the blanket over herself from head to toe, leaving only her eyes showing so she could peek out from time to time.
Seeing her nervousness, Meng Guanqi was also nervous, his palms sweating and his throat dry. He coughed awkwardly, went back to the table and gulped down two cups of tea. He felt the room was too bright and subconsciously wanted to blow out the candles, but when he got to the candles, he realized they were red candles and couldn't be blown out; they had to burn until dawn.
He had no choice but to walk back to the bedside, glance at Li Xiaoxiao who was pretending to be asleep, and suddenly felt like laughing, but he held it back and reached out to lower the curtain.
With the curtains lowered, the light became dim and ambiguous. Meng Guanqi took off his outer garment and gently lay down beside Li Xiaoxiao. For a moment, neither of them moved.
Li Xiaoxiao secretly glanced at Meng Guanqi, who was not moving. From her angle, she couldn't see if he had closed his eyes or not, but he hadn't moved at all. Could he be asleep?
Thinking this, her eyes involuntarily drooped. She had gotten up very early this morning and had been sitting in bed all day, which was more tiring than running a few laps outside...
She was just about to fall asleep when she suddenly felt an arm encircle her waist, and then a familiar scent rushed into her nostrils. Suddenly, she felt a weight on her body; someone was already pressing down on her.
Li Xiaoxiao woke up with a start, opened her eyes, and looked into his deep, star-like eyes, where two flames seemed to burn, as if they wanted to draw her in and burn her up together.
Meng Guanqi's face turned bright red, his breath ragged, and he whispered in her ear, "Xiaoxiao, can I...?"
Li Xiaoxiao blushed too, but she didn't like being so coy and clingy. Gritting her teeth, she flipped over and pinned Meng Guanqi down. To his astonishment, she leaned forward and kissed him deeply, panting, "What's wrong with that? Isn't it normal between husband and wife?"
Meng Guanqi immediately objected. She was stronger than him, and he didn't care about being stronger in other situations that required effort, but being pinned down on the bed was too much of a blow to his pride as a man. He immediately resisted and insisted on being on top.
The two rolled around on the bed, vying for dominance. Clothes were removed one by one. It was unclear whether passion or reason prevailed, or neither. In the end, their skin was pressed together, both burning with desire, and it was impossible to tell who had won or lost...
Meng Guanqi trembled all over, her snow-white face drenched in sweat, while Li Xiaoxiao muttered under her breath, "Is that all..."
Meng Guanqi's neck turned red, and he stammered, "Just now, that doesn't count. I, this is my first time!"
I was too sensitive the first time, that's why I reacted this way.
He was so ashamed and furious that he immediately started over. Fortunately, he was able to enjoy it a little more the second time. The two were in sync and gradually got into the swing of things. The only drawback was that Li Xiaoxiao probably had never been on top of anyone before, so she kept trying to suppress him from above, which made him waste a lot of energy maintaining his male dignity. Absolutely not! He was pinned down and unable to move.
The two rolled from one end of the bed to the other, and one of them even fell off the bed. When the storm had passed and everything was calm again, Meng Guanqi picked up the limp girl and put her back on the bed. He then immediately collapsed on top of her and fell asleep almost instantly from exhaustion.
The next morning, Liu Zhi peeked out from the doorway, wondering if Li Xiaoxiao and the others were awake yet. Granny Qi immediately stopped her, saying, "Don't wake them yet, let them sleep a little longer."
Last night, the noise inside the house was so loud that Granny Qi and Madam Liu were terrified. It felt like their son and daughter-in-law were about to tear the house apart during their wedding night. Unfortunately, the house was small and the soundproofing wasn't very good. The two of them stared at each other for a long time until late at night before they finally calmed down and got a good night's sleep.
Granny Qi didn't intend to wake them up so early, but Rui Rui was unhappy because he found out after getting up that he had stayed in the house in the east of the city instead of going home. He immediately got angry, slid off the bed, searched around the yard, didn't see anyone, and then went to their room and started banging on the door.
After knocking a few times, Liu Zhi, who had rushed over, immediately picked him up and said, "Rui Rui, do you want some steamed buns from outside? There's a really delicious steamed bun shop at the end of our alley!"
Rui Rui was temporarily attracted by the steamed buns outside, and obediently followed her out.
But the knocking woke up Meng Guanqi and Li Xiaoxiao from their sleep. Meng Guanqi was startled when he heard the knocking and immediately sat up. As soon as he moved, he felt pain all over his body, as if he had been in a fight.
Li Xiaoxiao wasn't in much better shape. The fall she took last night had already left marks by this morning, with bruises here and there. The two of them sat up, their heads looking like a bird's nest. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Meng Guanqi stretched her limbs, got out of bed, picked up her fallen clothes, and put them on. As she dressed, she looked around at the mess on the bed, the curtains were torn, and the small stool and washbasin in front of the bed had rolled into the middle of the room. She couldn't help but blush a little: "Did we make too much noise?"
This is not the Li residence. The houses are far apart, so any noise won't get out. Besides, Liu's bedroom is right next door.
Li Xiaoxiao finished dressing and yawned: "It's all because you were pushing me so hard, otherwise the tent wouldn't have broken, the stool wouldn't have tipped over, and the washbasin wouldn't have fallen over..."
How dare she say that? If she hadn't been trying to pin him down, would he have resisted like this?
After putting on her clothes, Meng Guanqi still blushed a little and said in a low voice, "I can listen to you about everything else, but can't you listen to me when we're inside the house?"
Li Xiaoxiao was surprised. She hadn't expected him to argue with her about something like this. What was this? Male chauvinism?
She couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling: "Then you need to practice more."
Meng Guanqi glared at her, both embarrassed and annoyed. Seeing that it was getting late, she immediately took the initiative to tidy up the messy bed.
He was making the bed and folding the quilts, while Li Xiaoxiao sat in front of the bronze mirror combing her hair. From today onwards, she was also a woman, and according to custom, she should put her hair up and comb it into a woman's hairstyle.
After she finished combing her hair, Meng Guanqi also made the bed. The two looked at each other's appearance and found that the places with ambiguous marks were covered by clothes. They were very satisfied and opened the door hand in hand and went out.
Rui Rui was sitting on the bench in the corridor, eating a sesame cake and swinging his little legs. When he saw Meng Guanqi and Li Xiaoxiao come out of the house, he mumbled, "Brother is sleeping in."
Li Xiaoxiao thought his little face covered in sesame seeds was especially cute, so she couldn't help but go up and kiss him. Then, she snatched the sesame cake from his hand, stuffed it into her mouth, bit off only the edge, and put it back in his hand.
Rui Rui stared blankly at the edge of the pastry in his hand, which had a ring of teeth marks on it. The sesame seeds and sugar filling were gone. He immediately pouted and burst into tears.
Willow Branch, standing nearby, couldn't help but roll her eyes and immediately tried to comfort him, "Oh, Rui Rui, don't cry, don't cry, let's go buy more..."
Rui Rui angrily said, "Xiao Xiao, you big bad guy!" He snatched his biscuit away!
Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but burst into laughter, while Meng Guanqi shook his head: "Catching a ghost."
The two went to pay their respects to Madam Liu. Granny Qi brought over steaming hot tea, and the newlyweds knelt before Madam Liu, serving her the tea. Li Xiaoxiao then addressed her as "Mother," and Madam Liu smiled and gave them large red envelopes. From then on, they were family.
After serving tea, the two sat down to eat brunch. Liu couldn't help but ask, "Xiaoxiao, have you told Qi'er that you agreed to serve in the Eastern Palace?"
Meng Guanqi then remembered that there was such a thing, and couldn't help but look at Li Xiaoxiao with questioning eyes: "When did this happen? How come I've never heard you mention it?"
Li Xiaoxiao swallowed the porridge in her mouth and said calmly, "That's what the Crown Princess said when she sent me off to my wedding yesterday morning. This is what I was thinking. Anyway, I'll have nothing to do after the wedding, and you don't earn much. Why don't you go out and find a job to supplement the family income?"
Seeing the worry on Liu's face, she comforted her, saying, "Mother, it's alright. The Crown Princess said that I'll be like Qi-ge'er, going out in the morning and returning home in the evening, and I'll stay at home."
Madam Liu sighed, "I just feel that you two are not young anymore. If you get pregnant, you won't be able to go anymore. How will we explain that to the Crown Prince?"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "You can still work even if you're pregnant. You'll just be by Aze's side to protect him. You won't be fighting every day. It's okay, Mother. I know my own body. I won't do anything reckless."
Helpless, Liu Shi thought for a moment and decided to support Li Xiaoxiao: "Mother, Xiaoxiao is right. I think that the Crown Princess is really indispensable to Xiaoxiao because she still gave her this job even though she knows that Xiaoxiao has already married me. Moreover, she must have also taken into account the possibility that Xiaoxiao will get pregnant and have children. If she is really pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to enter the palace, the Crown Princess will understand."
They've only just gotten married, and having a child isn't something they can just decide to do right away. Besides, the Emperor is planning to release the Sixth Prince recently, and the Crown Princess is probably worried that he'll continue to be a threat to the Eastern Palace after he's released, which is why she wants Li Xiaoxiao to protect him closely.
Moreover, Liu had told them that after she finished arranging their wedding, she would take Rui Rui back to Biyang County. They had been away from home for more than half a year, and only Magistrate Meng was there. Liu was eager to return home.
After Liu left with Rui Rui, only Li Xiaoxiao was left at home. She was someone who couldn't stay at home quietly at all, so she might as well find a job to do to pass the time.
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