Chapter 471: Golden Phoenix flaps its wings, conferring the title
Grandma Xi re-tied Ji Qingwu's hair, put some light powder on her face, and said countless auspicious words.
On such a happy day, Ji Qingwu was so happy to hear this that his face almost froze with smiles.
While they were getting ready, loud drum and gong sounds were heard outside.
In the yard, the towering phoenix tree is hung with coral and glass lamps, which are very beautiful. The entire Ji family's house was covered with red silk and large red lanterns were hung high.
Ji Bolian and Qiao had been waiting in the main hall for a long time. Old Madam Ji and Ji Qingyuan were sitting nearby. When they saw Ji Qingwu come in, they hurriedly stood up and bowed.
Ji Qingwu held a golden round fan in his left hand to cover his face. On it was embroidered a picture of hundreds of children and grandchildren, so detailed that the expressions of the characters were extremely vivid.
She raised her right wrist, revealing a gold bracelet engraved with the Ruyi Tianhua brocade pattern, and asked them to stand up.
Qiao walked forward, placed a pair of silver scissors wrapped around a lotus flower between Ji Qingwu's hands, and cut them.
"I will go to the palace to cut off the wind and rain for the queen."
Ji Qingwu shook Qiao's hand and said, "Thank you, mother."
Qiao's eyes instantly turned red, Ji Bolian's beard trembled, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Empress, the palace is not like home, if..."
Ji Qingwu called softly, "Dad, don't worry, I know my limits."
Madam Ji, who was standing by, said, "Your Highness, it's time to leave. Don't delay the auspicious time, or the Emperor will blame you."
Emperor Wu Su was waiting for her in the Jiying Hall in the palace, and together they accepted congratulations from civil and military officials.
The time was calculated by a master in the palace early in the morning. The much-anticipated wedding of the emperor and empress could not afford to make any mistakes.
Ji Qingwu turned around, blinked, and tried hard to push back the sour tears.
She just couldn't bear to see Ji's father and Qiao's sad looks. Even if she got married, she was still their daughter, and that would never change.
Outside, red ribbons were tied to the trees all over the city, soldiers were standing by to maintain order on the roadsides, and the crowds of people were surging in an endless stream, shoulder to shoulder, and everyone was stretching their heads to get a glimpse of the Queen's appearance.
The queen's sedan chair was already waiting at the door, with thirty-six eunuchs standing behind it. Small jade chimes were hung on the eaves of the sedan chair, ringing without wind.
Ji Qingwu walked to the gate and as soon as he appeared, the people burst into warm cheers.
In front of the sedan chair there was a large brown horse with a red silk tied to it, and the person sitting on it was the imperial ceremonial officer.
When Ji Qingwu saw who it was, she stopped in her tracks.
She originally thought that her eldest brother would be the official in charge of the imperial ceremony. Strangely enough, after she returned home, she seemed to have never seen Ji Changlin show up.
But even if Ji Changlin was away for some reason, it would never be Wei Ting's turn to be the chief ceremonial officer at the wedding.
Wei Ting's face still showed signs of exhaustion, and his brows were filled with fatigue. He must have rushed back from the northern border overnight and arrived at the gate of Ji's house without even having time to catch his breath.
The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and he was obviously stunned when he saw her appear.
But Wei Ting didn't remain stunned for too long. He immediately dismounted and walked in front of her. His chest heaving, he said in a loud voice: "I greet your Majesty. I have been ordered to welcome you into the palace!"
Ji Qingwu frowned slightly.
Are you really following orders?
Wei Ting did not look reluctant at all.
Was it Emperor Wu Su who asked him to come back, or did he come back voluntarily?
The onlookers were whispering, and some of their words also drifted into Ji Qingwu's ears.
Her frowning brows relaxed and she immediately understood why Wei Ting was here.
"General Zhenbei is truly a good man. It turns out that General Wei took the initiative to ask for marriage in order to protect the queen and the little prince and princess from being assassinated by Xijin's assassins. They were all just putting on an act."
"That's right. After the emperor dealt with Xi Jin's gang of thieves, he rushed back to marry the queen. General Zhenbei came to pick her up on the emperor's behalf. The relationship between the monarch and his subjects is really good..."
Ji Qingwu's eyes flickered.
Emperor Wu Su had a good relationship with Wei Ting, and she married Wei Ting at the request of the emperor. Who spread this rumor?
Ji Qingwu was well aware of the fact that no matter how hard she tried to hide it, she could not conceal the fact that she had married into the Wei family and lived there for a period of time.
It will definitely be recorded in history books, and she will inevitably be criticized by people in later generations.
But now, Wei Ting served as her imperial ceremonial officer at her wedding and personally welcomed her into the palace, confirming the rumor...
Ji Qingwu looked at Wei Ting with complicated eyes.
Wei Ting avoided her gaze, looked at the red carpet on the ground, and said loudly: "The auspicious time has arrived, please move, Queen."
Ji Qingwu straightened his back, walked out of the gate of the Ji Mansion, and walked towards the sedan chair.
Before getting into the sedan chair, Wei Ting raised his left arm so that she could rest her wrist on it.
Ji Qingwu glanced at Wei Ting, then spoke up, "Thank you, General Wei."
Should she thank him for helping her, or for being her ceremonial officer, or something else...
Wei Ting still didn't look at her, but stared at the phoenix pattern on the hem of her shawl and whispered, "Between you and me, there's no need to say thank you forever."
Ji Qingwu sat down in the sedan chair, and the golden phoenix on the phoenix crown flapped its wings and flew away, taking her to the Phoenix Palace.
*
Jiying Hall.
The glazed tiles sparkle and the exterior of the hall is decorated in a very festive and luxurious manner.
Aunt Fanghua, as the female official who led the ceremony, helped Ji Qingwu walk to the bottom of the platform.
On both sides of the platform, officials stood in silence. The emperor standing in front of the hall also changed into auspicious clothes, but not the bright red wedding dress that matched her.
Instead, it was the black court dress that the emperor wore to establish his empress.
Ji Qingwu raised his eyes and looked at Emperor Wu Su who was standing on the high platform.
She had seen him look majestic in court robes before, but this one was obviously different from what the emperor wore when attending court and worshipping his ancestors.
The twelve-tassel black jade crown has red gold beads hanging from it, and on the chest is a bright yellow silk embroidery with eight groups of colorful clouds, dragons and phoenixes and double happiness patterns, representing the union of dragons and phoenixes.
This set of clothes can only be worn when the queen is enthroned.
Because the distance was too far, Ji Qingwu could not see the emperor's eyebrows and eyes clearly, and did not know what his expression was, but looking at his tall figure, he was as quiet and steady as a jade tree or a green pine.
The most important part of the wedding ceremony has arrived.
The empress needed to go up on a high platform and perform the enthronement ceremony, and the emperor would personally present the empress with the golden book and golden seal that symbolized her status.
There are five flights of stairs in total, each with nine steps.
Ji Qingwu needs to walk towards him step by step.
The ceremonial music played, and Ji Qingwu climbed up the stairs. The trailing phoenix robe swayed three inches, and the golden hairpins behind the phoenix crown swayed slightly, and the oriental pearls hanging from it did not collide with each other.
Even the third petal of the golden peony on the tip of her shoe was always parallel to the edge of the step.
Ji Qingwu took every step steadily and gracefully.
All the officials were looking at her, their eyes following her figure. Lu Juan, dressed in a crimson purple official robe, was standing on the left, Duan Mingfeng, dressed in a navy blue robe, was standing on the right, and Prince Yong was standing in the front.
Ji Qingwu didn't have time to look at their expressions. Her heart was beating like a drum and her palms were sweaty. She must not make a fool of herself at such a ceremony.
She held her breath and concentrated all the way until she finally reached the last two steps.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
