The twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month was the wedding day.

At five o'clock in the morning, Zhao Shouzheng put on his official uniform and went to the main courtyard ancestral hall to worship his ancestors and report the good news of his descendants' marriage.

Zhao Hao also dressed neatly, and in the ancestral hall in the west wing, he burned incense for the four "old uncles" and told them that he was getting married...

Then Zhao Liben and Zhao Shouzheng took their seats in the main hall, and the uncle who served as the sponsor led Zhao Hao to the seat of his father and grandfather and bowed three times.

Because marriage is a matter of parents' decision, Zhao Liben did not say anything, but just looked at his grandson with a smile, kind and like a normal grandfather.

So it should be the father who speaks.

Zhao Shouzheng was filled with emotion. Looking at his 18-year-old son, he couldn't help but think of how difficult it was for him to be both a father and a mother to raise him over the years.

In the blink of an eye, my son has grown up and is about to start a family.

very nice……

Thinking of this, Mr. Zhao's eyes turned red and he covered his mouth, about to cry out.

"Second brother, you have to speak some words." Zhao Shouye reminded helplessly.

"Hey, hey." Zhao Shouzheng quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his eyes, and ordered his son: "Welcome Jiaou and take care of the house."

"How dare I disobey your orders?" Zhao Hao read out the order, stepped back, bowed again and left.

Outside the hall, the bridesmaids, wearing red flowers in their hair and red silk draped over their shoulders, had been waiting for a long time. When they saw Mr. Zhao coming out, they put a big red flower ball on his head, wrapped a black gauze hat with red silk, inserted a golden flower, and helped him onto a big white horse covered with red and colorful ribbons.

"Let's go to welcome the bride!" The promoter sang loudly, and the bridesmaids led their horses out the door.

The wedding procession had been waiting quietly in the alley for a long time. When they saw the groom come out, they started playing music and dragon and lion dances to lead the way.

The scene was well-organized and everything was there. But if you have seen the two weddings he held in Nanjing and Suzhou, you would think they were inferior.

In Jinling, there were colorful pavilions stretching for more than ten miles, and the streets were deserted; in Suzhou, there were lights and flowers all night long, comparable to the Lantern Festival.

Because they were at the feet of the emperor, and the tall-bearded Paw Patrol was watching them, they dared not overstep the line, so even though they were marrying the daughter of a princess and a university scholar, they could not be as extravagant as they were in Suzhou and Jinling. So there is no need to describe it...

When we reached the Tenth Prince's Palace Street, we saw the luxurious scene again. But that was done by Her Royal Highness the Princess. Go and impeach her if you dare.

But the royal family's behavior was different from that of nouveau riche like Young Master Zhao. The entire wide street was covered with high curtains to prevent people from seeing... Yes, even outsiders were not allowed to see.

But it’s better not to watch it, so as to avoid witnessing the disparity between the rich and the poor in this world…

The curtains were made of red and yellow silk, with dancing dragons on the curtains and flying phoenixes on the curtains, which were extremely expensive. Inside, there were cauldrons burning ambergris, vases filled with evergreens, and bright gold and silver and jewels, making people feel as if they had entered a fairyland.

There is no way. The princess is much richer than Zhao Hao in terms of the gold and silver treasures she has. People often describe the richness of the dowry as "a thousand acres of fertile land, ten miles of red dowry". If Ning An's dowry to Li Mingyue was converted into fertile land, it could buy the entire capital. The team delivering the dowry the day before yesterday really stretched more than ten miles!

The most valuable dowry was all her shares in Xishan Group. As the chairman of Xishan Group, the princess owned 27.32% of the group's shares, of which 2.32% was held on behalf of the palace. So a full 25% of the shares were transferred to Li Mingyue's name. That is, a full 2.5 million shares.

Although under the suppression of Gao Gelao, the stock price of Xishan Group is no longer rising rapidly, and has been trading sideways for a long time at around 30 taels. Even if calculated at a stock price of 30 taels, the value of these stocks is as high as 75 million taels. Although it cannot be converted into real money, Li Mingyue is already the richest woman in the world...

Perhaps only one day in the future, when Jiangnan Group’s stocks are listed, will Jiang Xueying be able to compete with her.

Someone may ask, if all the money is given to the daughter, what about the son? Don't worry, Ning An still has 11.48% of the shares of Lugou Bridge Company, which is also worth tens of millions of taels. After she dies, she will naturally belong to Li Chengen...

In other words, the young master will have to be poor for decades...

~~

Under the guidance of Eunuch Ji, Zhao Hao dismounted outside the Princess's mansion. Li Chengen, with red eyes, came out to greet him at the east side of the mansion gate, bowed facing west, and respectfully welcomed the distinguished guest into the mansion.

After Zhao Hao stood on the left side of the mansion gate, Zhao Xian, who was in charge of holding the goose, presented the goose to him.

Li Chengen placed the wild geese in front of the Yin'an Palace and led Master Zhao to bow four times to the eldest princess in the Yin'an Palace. Then Zhao Hao withdrew from the mansion.

The young master did not see him off, but turned around and went into the palace to report. This was not his revenge for his sister's capture, but that was the rule.

Even if the princess loves Zhao Hao, she cannot let him enter the palace. It is also a rule. If it were up to her, she would rather go to Zhaojia Hutong and be the man's parent, but as a princess of the royal family, her words and deeds must abide by the royal rules.

As for the trysts with lovers, sending cannons over a long distance, and being in love with each other, those were all done by Zhao Lang's cousin Xiao. What does it have to do with her, Princess Ning'an?

After Li Chengen informed his son-in-law that his family would personally go to pick him up with geese, Ning An ordered Liu Shanggong, who was serving as the nanny, to lead Princess Yilan Li Mingyue to Yin'an Palace.

The young princess bowed four times to the eldest princess, and after she stood up, she listened to Ning An's calm and royal instructions: "When you go to your husband's house, be obedient and respectful. Be respectful and cautious, and don't disobey your uncle and aunt's orders."

Uncles and aunts are the parents-in-law.

Although the little princess has no mother-in-law, Ning An still reads from the script, maybe she will have one in the future.

Afterwards, Lady Liu put a veil on the princess' head, and Li Chengen sent her to the phoenix sedan chair. The sedan chair with sixteen bearers slowly left the mansion amid the young master's tears, and followed the wedding procession to slowly leave the Princess's mansion.

~~

The wedding procession arrived at Dashamao Hutong with music and dance.

Compared to the extravagant Princess's Mansion, this place is much simpler. Although Bu Gu is not short of money, as a clean official, he still has to pay attention to the impact.

Zhao Hao dismounted outside the Grand Secretary's residence and was led into the residence by Zhang Jingxiu. The brothers-in-law rushed up to him and asked for red envelopes. This is a custom in Beijing, called "blocking the door". It is said that if ordinary people get married, the groom must be skinned to enter the door of his wife's family. Fortunately, the Grand Secretary's residence still has to pay attention to etiquette, and Zhao Hao is the teacher of the brothers-in-law, so they dare not go too far. After getting a good deal, they happily let him in.

In the main hall, Zhang Juzheng and his wife were both wearing first-grade formal wear and sitting upright facing south.

The sun had already risen, but Mr. Zhang's face was still in the shadows. I don't know if he didn't want people to see his panda eyes, or if he didn't want people to see his red eyes...

Zhao Hao bowed to his father-in-law and mother-in-law four times with great respect. Zhang Juzheng slowly let him stand up, looked at Zhao Hao for a long time, and then blurted out a few words: "If you dare to bully Xiao Jing, I will never forgive you!"

"Father-in-law, please rest assured. I love Xiaojing so much!" Zhao Hao said hurriedly, swallowing his saliva.

"Hmph, only time can reveal a person's true character!" Zhang Juzheng refused to believe it.

"Master, don't worry. This kid will definitely do what he says." Gu smiled and tried to smooth things over. The more the mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him. She added, "Xiao Jing is very willful. Please be tolerant of her son-in-law."

"Yes." Master Zhao responded respectfully.

Then, the brothers-in-law followed the custom of their hometown and served the groom an "egg dish" made of eggs boiled in sugar water, as well as "four-fruit tea" and "satisfying soup". The groom only had to drink the soup as usual.

At this time, the five ladies of fortune led the bride, who was wearing a big red veil, out. After they worshipped their ancestors and kowtowed to their parents, the eldest brother led the bride to the sedan chair with a red silk scarf and finally sent her off with firecrackers.

Young Master Zhao walked out of the Grand Secretary's Mansion carrying the bridal sedan amid the blaring sound of firecrackers.

The sounds of gongs, drums and firecrackers gradually faded away with the wedding procession, and the Grand Academy became quiet again.

Then, the Grand Secretary Zhang, who had been sitting in the shadows, shook his shoulders a few times, and there were some shiny water marks on his face.

"Master, are you crying?" Gu asked softly.

"Bugu didn't cry, he just shed tears." Zhang Juzheng said stubbornly: "This is a normal reaction to eye injury."

"Isn't it because of my daughter's marriage?"

"Absolutely not." Zhang Xianggong said decisively, but his voice was trembling: "What's the good of having a poor girl? She makes Bu Gu angry all the time. I finally raised her up, but she flew away..."

After saying this, he covered his face with his sleeves and stopped talking, but his shoulders were shaking more and more violently.

~~

On the other side, the Zhao family was filled with joy and excitement as they welcomed a new member!

Although everyone in the officialdom knew that Gao Ge Lao was going to deal with Master Zhao, some people didn't care, or there was no point in being afraid.

The wedding banquet was naturally hosted by Jingcheng Weijixian. In order to fully guarantee the wedding of the young master, Weijixian Restaurant has been closed since yesterday. So I can concentrate on preparing ingredients, cooking utensils, and tableware. I came to Zhaojia Hutong at midnight today, vowing to prepare a perfect wedding banquet for the guests and make the young master proud.

It was worth it for them to do so, because there were so many distinguished guests today. From the elder brother Zhao Jin to a group of Jiangnan officials, all of them came to attend the wedding.

They have thought it through, and they are afraid that it is useless. Even if a donkey falls, its frame will not fall. The Jiangnan Gang cannot be frightened! Otherwise, they will be attacked by everyone.

Zhao Hao's disciples in Beijing didn't care about that at all. Even if a knife was placed on their necks, they would still come to attend their master's wedding.

Of the eighty-six successful candidates under Master Zhao, half are now serving as officials in the capital. All of them came here without missing a single one.

This is actually a demonstration to those censors. You can mess with me today, but please pray that none of my disciples will become officials in your hometown in the future...

In addition, there are Zhao Erye’s peers, old acquaintances, and good friends.

Among his peers, the timely rain-song master enjoys a very high prestige. Who hasn't spent his money? Cross it out and change it to who hasn't received his grace?

No one wanted to be branded as ungrateful at this time. Besides, one cannot hold everyone responsible for one's actions. Could Lord Gao really abolish all the Jinshi candidates in the second year of Longqing's reign?

As a result, more than one hundred officials from Beijing came, and their ranks were higher.

As well as shareholders of Xishan Group and Lugouqiao Company headed by Duke of England Zhang Rong and Duke of Dingguo Xu Wenbi...

There were more than a hundred tables of distinguished guests, filling the Zhao Mansion!

I just want to show Gao Huzi, are you sure you want to mess with our groom?