Jin Jinzhi stayed in the front hall, greeting the guests coming and going.
Just as I was about to leave, a loud shout came from the doorway: "Eunuch Zhao has arrived!"
Zhao Zhongquan, the chief eunuch beside Yun Beiye, arrived at the gate of the Jibei Prince's Mansion with a group of palace maids and eunuchs.
"Jin Jinzhi, Prince of Jibei, and Yun Duoduo, Princess of Jibei, receive the imperial decree!"
Yun Duoduo, who was originally heading towards the bedroom, turned out from behind the corner of the wall with the help of A Xiang and Qing Dai, and knelt down next to Jin Jinzhi.
Yun Duoduo walked very fast, and the crown on her head inevitably swayed a little. She raised her hand to steady the crown, which was inlaid with pearls and jade.
[Did the Emperor send Zhao Zhongquan to deliver the imperial decree?]
Didn't you just bid farewell to your father in the palace?
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Prince of Jibei and the Ninth Princess are a match made in heaven! This scroll is written as a token of my congratulations!"
Upon hearing the imperial decree, everyone knelt on the ground.
"His Majesty bestows this inscription: May you have a long and happy marriage!"
Zhao Zhongquan's voice was high-pitched, filled with excitement and joy.
He watched Yun Duoduo grow up, and he also watched Jin Jinzhi grow up. He had long developed a deep affection for these two children.
He was genuinely happy for the couple who had finally gotten married.
Several eunuchs carried a wooden frame containing Yun Beiye's handwritten calligraphy and hung it on the eaves of the sleeping quarters.
Zhao Zhongquan continued reading the imperial edict: "Bestow upon him a jade flamingo sculpture, a manor, and 500 hectares of farmland..."
"I will reward you with fifteen first-class palace maids and fifteen guards!"
A group of palace maids and guards entered through the door and knelt on the ground in unison, saying, "Greetings to the Prince of Jibei! Greetings to the Princess Consort of Jibei!"
Zhao Zhongquan pointed to the eunuchs carrying boxes who kept coming in, "Your Highness, Consort De, here is a jade screen!"
"Consort Wan, here is a pair of love knots for husband and wife!"
...
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the courtyard in front of the Prince of Jibei's mansion was already piled high with gifts.
After announcing the imperial decree and checking the list of gifts, Eunuch Zhao Zhongquan left the Prince of Jibei's residence.
Ah Xiang and Dong Shuang helped Yun Duoduo to her bedroom to rest.
The ministers surrounding the Prince of Jibei's residence had quite an eye-opener today, seeing many tributes and treasures.
Originally, Yun Duoduo's wedding procession included dozens of boxes of dowry brought from the palace, all prepared by the Empress Dowager and Empress Zhaoyuan.
Now His Majesty and the ladies of the palace have sent so many congratulatory gifts.
It is evident that the Ninth Princess holds a truly extraordinary position in the hearts of His Majesty and the ladies of the palace!
One after another, envoys from other countries, as well as Jin Jinzhi's colleagues, came to offer their congratulations.
"Gifts from Loulan have arrived!"
"The Wusun have sent their congratulatory gifts!"
"Gifts from Northern Liang have arrived!"
"The Shu Kingdom's congratulatory gift has arrived! The thousand-year-old blood jade knot of unity has arrived!"
The steward carefully put away the congratulatory gift from the Shu Kingdom. It was a sandalwood box containing a piece of thousand-year-old blood jade shaped like a love knot, along with a note that read "May you have a long and happy marriage."
"The Western Chu is so stingy! They didn't even send any gifts?!"
"Wasn't the Ninth Princess quite generous during her coming-of-age ceremony?"
The crowd was abuzz with discussion, saying that the King of Western Chu was petty and narrow-minded, not even sending a gift for the princess's wedding, showing no class whatsoever of a great nation.
He had previously said he was willing to offer five cities of Western Chu as a dowry to marry the Ninth Princess, but now it seems that a man's words are truly deceitful.
If this man is also the ruler of a country, then he is even less trustworthy!
As they were discussing this, a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd, and an envoy dressed as a man from Western Chu appeared at the gate of the mansion, leading a tall, snow-white, four-legged animal.
"Gifts from the Western Chu have arrived!"
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
"A white jade alpaca!"
The envoy led the alpaca inside, but the alpaca seemed unwilling, its feet seemingly glued to the ground, and it wouldn't move an inch.
The envoy struggled to pull the rope and try to go inside, but the alpaca wouldn't budge and even spat at him.
"Huh, is this some kind of sheep-something, sheep-weight?"
There are no alpacas in Nanyang, so the locals have never seen one before. They are quite amazed to see the alpaca with its snow-white fur and half a person's height.
"You're the one who's a weight!"
"This is called an alpaca!"
"Wow, so this is an alpaca! This is truly an eye-opener!"
The speaker rubbed his eyes vigorously with his dry, wrinkled hands, then opened them wide and carefully examined the alpaca from left to right and from top to bottom.
Several onlookers curiously approached and tried to touch the alpaca. The alpaca looked at them disdainfully, raised its chin, and spat at them.
"Why are you spitting?!"
The person who was spat on retreated repeatedly, wiping their face with their sleeve.
"Hey! This is so rude!"
More and more people gathered at the entrance of the Prince of Jibei's residence to watch the alpacas. The alpacas were spitting wildly and indiscriminately at the crowd, and the envoy was unable to stop them, which led to everyone cursing and swearing at the alpacas at the entrance of the Prince of Jibei's residence.
Yan Ying, who was guarding the door, was extremely troubled.
He knew that if troublemakers came, he would have his own way of dealing with them. But what if it was an animal that couldn't understand human speech?!
Seeing this, Hong Qiu'er, who was recording the gift list with the housekeeper, slapped her thigh, turned around and ran into the kitchen. After looking around, she couldn't find any suitable ingredients.
In the blink of an eye, he spotted the alfalfa growing by the gate. He bent down, plucked a clump, and ran back to the gate, panting, to place the alfalfa near the alpaca's mouth.
The alpaca then opened its eyes and looked at the person in front of it.
"Come on, Tuotuo, eat this, and follow me!"
Yan Ying glanced at Hong Qiu'er suspiciously, but Hong Qiu'er patted his chest and said, "Leave the alpaca to me; alfalfa is its favorite food!"
"I'll bring it into the palace and lead it to the backyard, so that everyone won't gather here and cause any trouble on this joyous occasion!"
Yan Ying nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Fatty Hong is really capable!"
And so, the alpaca was led by the nose into the Prince of Jibei's mansion by Hong Qiu'er.
Gradually, things returned to normal in front of the Prince of Jibei's mansion, and officials came one after another to present congratulatory gifts.
"A pair of jade ruyi scepters from the Left Prime Minister's residence!"
"The Ministry of War has sent two pearls from the East China Sea!"
"The General of the Cavalry's residence has sent ten bolts of brocade and silk!"
"Commander of the Imperial Guards, present a piece of calligraphy and painting!"
Yun Duoduo listened to the steward read out the gift list in the bridal chamber. Each family sent different gifts. Some came in person, while others sent their servants because they had important business to attend to.
Sun Ren, Sun Huohuo, Xue Guangjin, and Xiao Jinyu are all away from the capital recently. Their wedding gifts were prepared well in advance and will be sent to the Prince of Jibei's residence on the day of Yun Duoduo's wedding.
"Grand Commandant Ren, present me with a pair of icy jade bracelets!"
"The garrison commander of the capital, escort him..."
(Author's note: Your support is the greatest encouragement for Duoduo. Could you please give me a five-star review? Thank you!)
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