Chapter 142 The Wedding
In all his years, Aze has never attended anyone's wedding.
Perhaps when he was very young, the Crown Princess might have taken him to a royal wedding, but he was probably too young to remember it at all. After all the things that happened in the Eastern Palace, it was impossible for her to take him to another wedding. So, in his mind, this was the first time he had been invited to someone else's wedding.
He was overjoyed and immediately ordered the eunuchs and maids in his room to help prepare congratulatory gifts. In addition to the gifts for Meng Liniang, he also wanted to personally select gifts to give to Madam Meng and her family.
Watching their son transform from a mature and composed man into a typical child in an instant, the Crown Prince and his wife were filled with emotion. When it came to raising children, they couldn't even come close to the Meng family.
Aze spent a long time choosing gifts, and after finally selecting the gifts for everyone, he solemnly asked the Crown Prince to help him ask for half a day off. He planned to leave the palace early on the second day of the month to go to the Meng residence, otherwise he would not be able to see Meng Liniang off in time.
Aze said solemnly, "If Father is in a difficult position, I can ask my grandfather for leave directly. If I have missed any lessons, I will make them up twice as hard when I return."
The little boy was bargaining with him so earnestly that the Crown Prince was both amused and annoyed. He couldn't help but flick him on the forehead: "You little devil! Who said I was in a difficult position?"
Aze cried out in pain and covered his forehead.
The Crown Prince then patted his head and said softly, "It's rare that you get along so well with the Meng family. Go ahead and go. I'll have Pang Shi accompany you."
As long as he agrees to let him leave the palace, it doesn't matter who Aze is with.
On the first day of the new year, Aze was beaming with joy, his eyes and brows radiating happiness. When a young prince asked him why he was so happy, Aze casually replied, "Nothing, but I've taken half a day off tomorrow to attend Lord Min's wedding."
The young princes, being at an age where they are mischievous and love to join in the fun, couldn't sit still upon hearing this and all crowded around: "Why are you allowed to attend Lord Min's wedding?"
Aze tilted his head back: "Because I was invited, and it wouldn't be good not to go if I was invited."
The young princes were incredibly envious; none of them had been invited to the wedding.
Li Huai, the eldest son of the First Prince, is twelve years old this year. The First Prince has long since moved to a separate residence outside the palace. He has attended many weddings with his father and mother, but those were just incidental. He has never been formally invited to a wedding.
So he was envious: "Who is Lord Min? Why would he invite you to his wedding?"
Aze said, "It's not Lord Min getting married, it's his son getting married."
The young princes didn't care whose wedding it was; they wanted to go too.
Li Shen, from the Third Prince's household, looked on with longing: "If you're going, could you take me with you? I've never been to a wedding before!"
Upon hearing Li Shen speak, the other imperial grandsons immediately clamored, "I want to go too!"
"I'm going too!"
"Take me with you, take me with you..."
"If you're all going, I want to go too..."
Aze glanced at the young princes in the study. There were seven or eight of them. How could he possibly take so many people to Sister Li Niang's wedding? But the crowd was indignant, and he couldn't be too stingy. So he said, "My father has already asked for leave for me. I will be leaving the palace early tomorrow morning. If you can persuade your fathers and mothers to ask for leave for you, then come with me."
The young princes scattered immediately, each calling their own eunuch to quickly drive them home to find their parents.
As a result, that afternoon Emperor Jian'an received seven or eight leave requests from people other than the Crown Prince, with all sorts of reasons, but none of them were the same as the Crown Prince's.
The Crown Prince didn't make any excuses at all. He simply said that Lady Meng's daughter was getting married, and Aze had lived with her for a few months and wanted to attend her wedding. So Emperor Jian'an agreed without much thought.
As a result, all seven or eight of his classmates happened to be absent from school, and if there was nothing fishy going on, he would have walked backwards.
He summoned the parents of seven or eight of his young grandsons to the palace. Apart from the eldest, third, and fourth princes, who were his sons, there were several cousins from the imperial clan. The young grandsons were all about the same age, so they were put together to study.
Emperor Jian'an threw seven or eight memorials back at them: "What a coincidence that everyone in the class is asking for leave? One is dizzy, another has diarrhea, and yet another sprained their ankle? Tell me honestly, what were you all doing?"
The eldest prince, left with no other option, revealed the truth: "The crown prince received a formal invitation to attend a wedding, and the children were incredibly envious, wanting to go with him. Not only did the crown prince not refuse, but he also said that if they could get leave, he would take them along. So my son went crazy when he got back!"
The Third Prince said expressionlessly, "My child is ten years old and is rolling around on the ground."
The fourth prince, with his deadpan expression, said, "My husband said he'd jump into the fish pond if I didn't give him leave."
The children of the other relatives also had their own ingenious methods, and each one was different, clearly indicating that they had discussed it beforehand, with none of them repeating the same thing.
Emperor Jian'an was both amused and annoyed: "Does Min Xiao'an know that your son is going to attend his son's wedding? With so many imperial grandsons going, what are the other guests supposed to do?"
The Crown Prince smiled slightly and stepped forward: "Father, please rest assured, wherever Ke'er goes, the little grandsons will follow. Anyway, with Pang Shi watching over him, there won't be any problems."
Besides, with Li Xiaoxiao around, what else does he have to worry about?
However, he would not mention her in front of Emperor Jian'an.
Emperor Jian'an had no choice. Since it was only for one day, he decided to let it go. After all, it was almost the end of the year anyway, so he decided to let them relax.
He approved their leave with a stroke of his pen.
The princes and their relatives quickly thanked Emperor Jian'an and then withdrew.
Seeing that the Crown Prince was also about to leave, Emperor Jian'an spoke up, "Chengming..."
The Crown Prince stopped in his tracks: "Is there anything else, Father?"
Emperor Jian'an asked, "Have all the arrangements for the imperial examinations been made? The seals will be sealed on the 20th of December..."
The Crown Prince looked at Emperor Jian'an with a puzzled expression. Although he was the chief examiner of the imperial examination, the imperial examination was a major event. Officials from the Ministry of Rites were always present when the progress was reported. Moreover, hadn't he just reported the situation to Emperor Jian'an at the morning court session this day?
He had no choice but to repeat what he had reported today: "The examiners of the Ministry of Rites will prepare all the questions before the tenth of the month and print them in the Imperial Archives. After printing, they will be sealed and not opened until the nineteenth of the second month to be sent to the Imperial Examination Hall. Each procedure requires the signatures of at least three people. Three people must also accompany the examiners to supervise each other when the questions are entered into the secret vault. This is all in accordance with the usual practice in previous years and there is nothing special about it."
Emperor Jian'an asked, "I heard that you recently handed over an official surnamed Liu from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Justice. Has he committed any crime?"
The Crown Prince cupped his hands and said, “This man was originally ranked first on my list of candidates for the imperial examinations. I suppose he saw that the spring examinations were approaching and there was no chance of promoting him, so he cleverly created an opportunity. A month ago, I sent Huang Ziwen from the Ministry of Rites to Yunzhou to investigate a case of cheating among the candidates. As a result, this man surnamed Liu wanted to take Huang Ziwen's place while he was away from the capital. He arranged for local thugs to impersonate Huang Ziwen's family members to run rampant at the docks and randomly injure innocent passersby. Therefore, I handed him over to the Ministry of Justice to find out if he had any other intentions besides wanting to become an examiner…”
This was the first time the Jian'an Emperor had heard of this matter: "Why didn't you submit a memorial to report it?"
The Crown Prince said, "Since the Ministry of Justice has not yet found a clear answer, I originally intended to wait until the case is closed before reporting to Your Majesty."
He smiled slightly: "This is my first time serving as the chief examiner this year. Perhaps I was too nervous. Please forgive me, Father."
Emperor Jian'an paused for a moment, then waved his hand: "So be it. If it is found that he has done anything unusual that affects the imperial examination, execute him immediately to deter those restless villains."
The crown prince bowed and said, "Yes."
Emperor Jian'an looked at his calm face, which revealed no emotion, and felt very uneasy.
Since that incident, he seems to have changed completely. His son, whom he used to be able to see through at a glance, is gone, and seems to be gradually slipping out of his control, no longer needing to report everything to him.
But his actions were always justified and well-founded. Even if he asked, he could give a clear explanation that left the man speechless. But the man just didn't like that feeling.
Looking at the gloomy sky outside, Emperor Jian'an sighed, "Another year has passed. This year marks the thirty-second anniversary of the late emperor's passing. I had a dream a few days ago in which the late emperor wanted me to go to the imperial mausoleum to offer incense to him. Why don't we hold the memorial service at the imperial mausoleum this year?"
The Crown Prince sighed, "Yes, my grandfather could visit my father in a dream if he wanted to see him, but I often wish for my deceased children to come to me in my dreams, yet I have never seen them. I wonder if their little souls have found peace and no longer yearn for me, their father who was only a father for a few years..."
As she spoke, a few tears fell.
Emperor Jian'an was instantly speechless.
The Crown Prince gently wiped away his tears and said apologetically, "Please forgive my rudeness, Father. But I can't control myself whenever I think about this. I estimate it will take several more years for me to recover."
Emperor Jian'an forced a smile: "As the crown prince, you are not a woman, how can you put on such an act? It's fortunate that none of the cabinet members are here, otherwise the censors would have impeached you again."
The Crown Prince hurriedly said, "Your subject knows his mistake and will never let anyone see it again."
Emperor Jian'an, feeling a lump in his throat, forced a smile and said, "You may leave now. I see the weather isn't very good; it might snow during the New Year, making the journey quite inconvenient. Let's hold the sacrificial ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple..."
The crown prince bowed in agreement, then bowed again before turning to leave.
The moment the crown prince turned around, both of their expressions changed simultaneously.
The crown prince's gaze was gloomy, and his face was calm as still water, but his fist, which was wrapped in his long sleeves, was already clenched into a ball.
How long has it been? Emperor Jian'an already wants to take advantage of the New Year's sacrificial ceremony to release the sixth prince?! He said he dreamed of the late emperor and wanted to go to the imperial mausoleum to burn incense? According to the rules of the Great Wu Dynasty, when the emperor goes to the imperial mausoleum to worship his ancestors, it is a major sacrificial ceremony, and the whole family must be brought along, not one can be missing.
He really went to great lengths to get Li Chengyao released, even coming up with this kind of excuse.
Fortunately, he was prepared. Long before Meng Guanqi asked Pang Shi to send him a message, he had already made preparations.
Emperor Jian'an would never imprison Li Chengyao for too long; otherwise, he wouldn't have only kept him in a palace near the Empress, clearly intending to release him.
The Crown Prince knew long ago that Li Chengyao would be released, but he absolutely could not release him before the imperial examinations, especially since he had already gotten a clue.
Emperor Jian'an missed his late father, and he also missed his children who had been poisoned. He constantly reminded Emperor Jian'an what a vicious and ruthless monster he was imprisoning, and not to be blinded by a few tears, or to try to use him to control the emperor.
He wouldn't be afraid of being bitten to death if he had such a venomous snake by his side.
On the night of the first day of the lunar new year, Aze went to sleep as soon as it got dark. The next day, before dawn, he hurriedly dressed in thick clothes and rushed to leave the palace.
Pang Shi, having to accompany the prince, slept in the palace instead of returning home. Before he could even get out of bed, there was a knock on the door: "General Pang, are you ready? The prince is preparing to depart..."
Pang Shi was startled and quickly got up to check the water clock. It was only the beginning of Mao (5 a.m.)! It wasn't even dawn yet!
But he couldn't possibly keep the prince waiting, so he hastily washed his face with water, got dressed, and went out.
Just outside the palace gate, eight carriages were lined up. When they saw Aze's carriage coming out, the curtain was lifted and eight little kids rushed over like chicks just released from their coop, waving their cloaks.
Pang Shi looked utterly dejected. How come they're all getting earlier and earlier? Whose wedding is held at dawn? In this cold weather, don't these little rascals need to sleep?
Aze also got off the carriage and asked excitedly, "You all got leave?"
"Of course!" the eight little princes said proudly, and then chattered about how they had begged their fathers and mothers to get leave.
Just moments ago, they seemed like chicks released from their coop, but now they've turned into a flock of ducklings that've been starving for three days and are clamoring for food. Pang Shi, surrounded by them, is having his head buzzing from the noise.
At that moment, when the court officials were lining up to enter the palace for court, they couldn't help but look over curiously when they saw a group of young imperial grandsons chattering at the palace gate.
Seeing them looking at him, Li Huai excitedly waved to them: "We're going to attend Lord Min's son's wedding!"
So, before dawn, the news that Lord Min's son was getting married spread throughout the court.
Lord Min was attending court today. As soon as he entered the Taiji Hall, he was greeted with congratulations all the way. He could only smile and thank them one by one, but he was very puzzled. His son was just a minor scholar, and his marriage should be a small matter. Why did so many of his colleagues know that he was getting married today?
I had to ask around to find out that a group of young imperial grandsons were going to attend Min Yu's wedding today.
Lord Min: ...
He came from a humble background and had no connection with the imperial family. Why was he unaware that so many imperial grandsons were attending his wedding?
The nine imperial grandsons, including Aze, gathered at the palace gate and then set off in a grand procession towards the Li residence.
After a short while, Pang Shi knocked on the gate of the Li residence.
Li Xiaoxiao was still asleep when she heard nine imperial grandsons arrive at the door, and her eyes widened in surprise.
What's going on?!
Didn't she only invite Aze?
She glanced at the water clock subconsciously. It was only a little before six o'clock, and it wasn't even dawn yet. Why would anyone come to a wedding so early?
But since they had already arrived, she couldn't very well refuse to receive them, could she? She immediately got up and glanced at Rui Rui, who was sleeping like a little pig. These past few days, Liu Shi had been resting in the west of the city, but Rui Rui complained that the place was too small and noisy, so she brought him back. He was sleeping soundly at this hour and still couldn't get up.
She woke up Liu Zhi and asked her to come over and watch over Rui Rui. She then hurried towards the outer courtyard.
Aze and the other imperial grandsons had already disembarked from their carriages outside the mansion gate. Aze asked, "Have you all prepared the wedding gifts you brought for the wedding?"
All the imperial grandsons shouted in unison, "Ready!"
Aze then said, "Let's start with Li Jin, and have everyone line up from the youngest to the oldest, each holding a congratulatory gift, and wait for Sister Xiaoxiao to come out and greet us."
Except for Li Huai and Li Shen, who went back to their carriages to receive the cloth from their personal eunuchs, the other imperial grandsons immediately ran to their wet nurses and took the cloth from them.
They couldn't go to the wedding empty-handed, so after taking leave yesterday, they all agreed to ask their mother for a bolt of cloth as a wedding gift, so they wouldn't have to think about what to give.
Eight imperial grandsons lined up from shortest to tallest, each holding a bolt of cloth. The one at the front was the youngest grandson of Emperor Jian'an's cousin, who was only five years old. The cloth was longer than him, and he struggled to hold it. His wet nurse offered to help him, but he refused.
So when Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi came out to greet Aze, they saw an exceptionally cute scene. Aze was standing at the front, holding a gift that he could barely carry. Behind him, a row of people, from shortest to tallest, were lined up, each holding a piece of cloth, excitedly waiting for the host to come and receive the gifts.
Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi subconsciously looked at Pang Shi, but Pang Shi turned his face away. "Don't ask me. You were the one who started this whole thing by inviting the imperial grandson to the wedding. I'm just here for show."
The people had already arrived at the door, and the wind was cold and strong, so it was impossible to let the children stand there in the wind. Li Xiaoxiao quickly asked Zhao Jian to come out and receive the gifts, and then led all the imperial grandsons into the courtyard.
Dozens of eunuchs and wet nurses were surrounding the imperial grandsons, and they all tried to step inside. Suddenly, Aze turned around and said, "Each of you is allowed to leave only one person to serve you. The rest of you should all go back to your own homes. Come to Lord Min's house at 5 PM to fetch your masters. Do you understand?"
He didn't want such a large group of people coming into Sister Xiaoxiao's house. What was the difference between this and being in the palace? He came out to relax and have some fun, and he didn't want so many people to come in and ruin his mood.
However, it wouldn't be right to leave none of them behind. These young princes are very pampered and need to be served, so leaving one behind is just right.
Upon hearing this, the people around the imperial grandsons panicked. How could they leave only one person behind? What if something happened? Who would be responsible?
Aze said coldly, "General Pang was assigned by my father to protect me, and my sister Xiaoxiao is also here. We are going to attend Lord Min's wedding, not some messy place. What could possibly happen? Just go back and report. If your uncles have any questions, just say that I told you to. If anything happens, come find me."
The eunuchs and palace maids were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying they dared not.
Li Xiaoxiao looked at Aze in surprise. It had only been a short time since they last met. Was this still the same Aze who would fight with Rui Rui and then get beaten to tears?
Who knew he had this side to him? He's so handsome! And everyone, whether older or younger than him, was completely submissive to him, without any sign of rejection. It's truly amazing.
They turned away dozens of eunuchs and palace maids, and only a dozen or so people entered the courtyard, making it much more spacious.
The young princes entered the courtyard and looked around curiously. Li Huai quickly noticed something was wrong: "Isn't this supposed to be a wedding? Why isn't there a single red ribbon?"
Aze looked at Li Xiaoxiao curiously, and Li Xiaoxiao said, "Sister Li Niang is getting married in the east of the city. Aze, do you want to go there now?"
Aze was shocked: "You're getting married in that little house in the east of the city? Why not here? It's so small there's barely room to stand!"
His memory was of standing in the middle of that small courtyard with his younger brother, on the verge of tears.
Meng Guanqi was caught off guard and clutched his chest, feeling ashamed to admit that even that small house was a gift from someone...
Li Xiaoxiao chuckled and said, "That's the Meng residence! This place is the Li residence. How can Sister Liniang get married here?"
"Alright..." Aze asked, "When will Sister Liniang get married?"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "We should leave at 9:00 AM. We can get there before 9:00 AM..." But it's only 5:00 AM now, and they still have to wait an hour and a half for Min Yu to come and pick them up.
The young princes had gone out so early, they must not have eaten breakfast. Li Xiaoxiao instructed the cook to prepare breakfast for the princes, while she led them to the back courtyard.
Aze naturally took Li Xiaoxiao's hand and asked as they walked inside, "Where's my brother? Is he with Madam Meng?"
Li smiled and said, "No, he sleeps in my room."
Aze sighed, "I knew he couldn't stand even the slightest hardship; he must think the place is too small."
Li Xiaoxiao almost burst out laughing, thinking to herself, "You really know him!"
It was too cold, so Li Xiaoxiao led all the princes into the main room of the third courtyard and asked the maids to help heat up the kang (heated brick bed). Aze then said to the princes with a serious expression, "This is my wrestling teacher, Sister Xiaoxiao. Call her Sister Xiaoxiao."
The imperial grandsons called out in unison, "Sister Xiaoxiao!"
Aze nodded in satisfaction: "Sister Xiaoxiao, I taught them all the wrestling techniques you taught me. We even held a competition, and I won in the end."
Li Huai, standing to the side, said regretfully, "I was just a little bit away from beating you."
Li Shen also said, "Me too."
Aze shook his head confidently: "Impossible. You guys are improving, and so am I. I can even learn new moves from Sister Xiaoxiao to defeat you."
Li Huai asked with anticipation, "Can I learn from Sister Xiaoxiao? Although I lost to you, I competed with my older and younger cousins when I got home, and none of them could beat me!"
"Me too, I want to learn too!"
"I want to learn too!"
Finally, only the five-year-old, who had been sleepy since he came in, also said in a childish voice, "I want one too."
"Did Aze set up a kindergarten training class for her?" Li Xiaoxiao looked utterly hopeless.
Fortunately, breakfast was ready in the kitchen, and all the princes sat down at the table to eat, thus changing the subject. Then they witnessed Li Xiaoxiao's appetite. Under her influence, even the pickiest eater, Li Jin, drank a bowl of millet porridge and ate a steamed bun, making his wet nurse extremely happy.
After they finished breakfast, just as dawn was breaking, the princes learned that the wedding would not begin for another hour, and they couldn't help but rub their eyes.
They got up too early today, and after eating, their stomachs felt warm and cozy, so they started to feel sleepy.
The underfloor heating in the house was already on, and the kang (heated brick bed) was warm. Li Xiaoxiao moved the kang table aside and let them take off their outer clothes and lie down on the kang to sleep together for half an hour. After they woke up, they would set off for the west of the city to escort the bride.
Hearing that they could sleep for another half an hour, the imperial grandsons quickly lay down and soon fell asleep.
After waking up, the imperial grandsons, along with Li Xiaoxiao, Meng Guanqi, and Ruirui, rode in two carriages and headed towards the Meng residence in the west of the city.
The Meng family mansion was already bustling with activity. Although none of the Meng family's own sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law were coming today, three of the Meng family's eldest and third branches' wives had come, and Liu was chatting with them inside the house.
Meng Liniang had already finished her makeup and was dressed in a bright red wedding gown. She sat on the bed waiting for the appointed time.
Hearing that nine imperial grandsons, including the Crown Prince, had come to attend Meng Liniang's wedding, Liu and her three sisters-in-law were stunned. They quickly invited them in to sit down and stuffed wedding candies and cakes into their hands.
The princes were very excited, stuffing wedding candies and cakes into their pockets, and then asked Li Xiaoxiao to take them to the bridal chamber to see the bride.
After Li Xiaoxiao took them away, Qin, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Meng family's main branch, immediately said to Liu, "Why didn't you tell me beforehand that you invited the imperial grandson over?"
If they had known her family was so influential, they would have given a more generous gift. What's going on? Why did all the imperial grandsons come to Meng Liniang's wedding?
Liu said with a wry smile, "I only found out when I saw him..."
When Li Xiaoxiao asked Qi Shi to invite Aze to the wedding, she was also there. She thought Aze would come alone, but she never expected that he would bring so many imperial grandsons with him.
She could only force a smile and say, "They're just kids, probably here to join in the fun. Let's just go about our business."
That being said, with so many imperial grandsons here, who could possibly turn a blind eye?
The three sisters-in-law exchanged glances, their eyes filled with unspoken schadenfreude. The other sisters-in-law from Liu's main branch had made excuses not to come; if they had known so many imperial grandsons were coming, they would probably have regretted it to the core.
Sure enough, at the Meng family ancestral home in Taiqingfang, Meng Rong took two hours off specifically to attend Lord Min's wedding banquet.
He hadn't planned to go, but the events at the palace gate today had spread throughout the court. Even during court, the emperor couldn't help but tease Min Xiao'an, saying that he was too diligent, even attending the morning court for his son's wedding. He also mentioned that a whole class of imperial grandsons in the Imperial Study were pretending to be sick just to join in the fun at his son's wedding, and told Min Xiao'an to give them a few more wedding candies.
Seeing that the Emperor was only joking and did not intend to blame him, Lord Min hurriedly smiled and agreed. After the court session, many important officials who had received invitations but had not planned to go changed their minds and decided to go. It would be inappropriate for Uncle Meng Rong not to go.
Madam Nie was shocked that he would return at this time. When she heard him say that the imperial grandson had gone, the high-ranking officials had gone, and even he had asked for leave to go, she was stunned: "What, are we still going? My younger siblings and I have already told my fourth sister-in-law that we have something to do and can't go..."
Meng Rong fumed and said, "So many princes and ministers have gone, but none of you, their own aunts and uncles, are going. Do you want the Meng family to be talked about behind your backs? Hurry up and tell your younger siblings to prepare their carriages and horses so they can all go together!"
This was a huge slap in the face. Nie was so ashamed that her face turned red, but she still had to bite the bullet and quickly inform her younger siblings. Meng Rong also called on the fifth brother, and the group shamelessly took a carriage to the Min family.
The people in charge of receiving them from the Min family were completely unaware that, because they were Meng Liniang's uncles and aunts, they were even arranged to sit at the head table. When Nie and the others arrived, Liu was sitting with the three sisters-in-law from the first and third branches of the family.
Seeing that Nie and the others were forced to smile as they were invited to sit at their table, Liu's expression remained relatively normal, while the sisters-in-law from the eldest and third branches of the family were struggling to suppress their laughter until their stomachs ached.
Seeing that Liu was still as soft and cuddly as ever, Ruan, the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's wife, couldn't help but ask, "Hey, didn't you sisters-in-law say that your nephew was getting married and going back to his parents' home and soaking in the hot springs? How come you all have time to come over?"
Nie's face stiffened for a moment, feeling extremely embarrassed and annoyed. She blamed Ruan for being too meddlesome; even Liu, the person in charge, hadn't said anything yet, and Ruan was the one causing trouble.
She could only force a stiff smile and say, "When we sisters-in-law went back, our father scolded us, saying that nephews and nieces are not as close as nieces. He gave us a good scolding, so we had no choice but to come here with our backs to the wall. Please don't mind our repeated visits, sister-in-law."
Madam Liu was secretly pleased, but there was no need to bring up Minister Meng. Minister Meng didn't even respect Meng Guanqi, let alone Meng Liniang, who was a concubine's daughter. The reason they changed their minds and came over was probably because they saw that several of the imperial grandsons were here.
While inwardly complaining, she smiled and said, "It's great that my sister-in-law and sister-in-law can come. So many elders are giving Li Niang face; we can only welcome them..."
The Ye family members standing to the side, not as well-mannered as the Nie family, could barely manage a smile, which amused the Ruan family members so much that they almost burst out laughing. They thought the wedding was truly wonderful and they would talk about it for days to come.
Lord Min never expected that the arrival of several imperial grandsons would result in nearly five extra tables of guests, all of whom were of noble status, making him extremely proud and his face almost stiff from smiling.
The wedding was a very lively affair. The princes followed Aze the whole time. Aze pulled Rui Rui around and they followed him around and had a great time. When the family carriage came to pick them up, they held Min Yu's hand and were reluctant to part.
Li Huai said, "Next time you have a happy occasion in your family, please send me an invitation. I will definitely come."
Li Shen immediately said, "Send it to me too."
The other imperial grandsons immediately followed suit: "Give them to me too!"
Min Yu smiled and agreed to each of their requests, then helped them into the carriage one by one before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Finally, we got rid of those troublemakers. They kept running around the house, and the family was on tenterhooks the whole time, afraid they might fall or get hurt and we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves. In the end, we got rid of them safely.
With so many important figures helping Meng Liniang with her wedding, her status in the Min family was undoubtedly elevated. In the days that followed, her parents-in-law and sisters-in-law treated her extremely well, and she peacefully spent her honeymoon period, beginning to wholeheartedly live with Min Yu.
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