APPIC — Chapter 73.3

Update (3/3)

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“The bride descends from the sedan, greeted by drums and music.”

 

Stepping on the soft red carpet, Jiuzhu felt as if she was stepping on clouds.

 

“The newlyweds hold the red thread while auspicious clouds surround the doorstep.”

 

Jiuzhu was handed a piece of red silk. She glanced at the large red embroidered ball in the middle of it and secretly looked at Chen Wang[mfn]T/N: Looks like this— [/mfn].

 

“Don’t be nervous,” Chen Wang whispered in her ear. “You are now Ben Wang’s Wangfei; no one dares to disrespect you.”

 

“Your Highness, I’m not nervous,” Jiuzhu said, tightly gripping the red silk. “Just curious about your look today.”

 

“Do I look good today?” He gently squeezed her hand.

 

“Good.” Jiuzhu added. “Your Highness looks good every day.”

 

“The newlyweds pass through the door. May their bond last forever.”

 

As they stepped inside Qilin Palace, Chen Wang saw the brazier set before them, bent down and picked up Jiuzhu horizontally, carrying her over the brazier.

 

The speechless eight mingfu accompanying them: “……”

 

Crossing a brazier like this was not something meant for men.

 

Forget it, forget it; everything had gone awry since Chen Wang insisted on fetching the bride from the Ming family.

 

Jiuzhu hadn’t even registered what was happening before she was picked up and set down by Chen Wang. She wanted to look back, but remembering the rule that a bride must not turn back on her wedding day, she tried hard to resist the urge. “Your Highness, what was there on the ground just now?”

 

“Nothing,” Chen Wang replied, bending down to adjust the hem of Jiuzhu’s wedding dress. “Anyway, you crossed over with me.”

 

“Oh.” Jiuzhu followed him as they continued forward, walking onto the soft red carpet and up the stairs into the main hall of Qilin Palace, which was already filled with guests.

 

All the most esteemed individuals from the court were present there; the only ones missing were Jiuzhu’s natal family.

 

The continuous sound of firecrackers could be heard outside. Jiuzhu saw the Emperor and Empress sitting on the seats of honour. Many of the guests on either side bowed to her and Chen Wang.

 

A ceremonial official stepped forward to read out a lengthy and flattering scroll.

 

The central idea was to praise her, to proclaim that she and Chen Wang were a match made in heaven and wishing them a happy and lasting marriage. 

 

Once the official finished reading and stepped back, Chen Wang whispered to Jiuzhu, “This was personally composed by Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”

 

Jiuzhu blinked in surprise. Really?

 

Chen Wang nodded.

 

He had noticed them go through several ancient books for some sentences.

 

“Now perform the bowing ceremony.”

 

“First, bow to heaven and earth.”

 

“Second, bow to the parents.”

 

Jiuzhu turned around and knelt down before Emperor Longfeng and Empress Su.

 

Several princes looked at Chen Wang and Chen Wangfei kneeling before their Father Emperor, their feelings complicated and hard to distinguish. They had married in their prince residence, and since their Mother Consorts could not leave the Palace, during the bowing ceremony to the parents, they could only kowtow to the personal imperial seal representing their Father Emperor.

 

Yun Yanze glanced at his three older brothers who entered with Yun Duqing, suppressing his doubts.

 

Why did they all come to the wedding hall together? Moreover, they arrived so late but he could not discern the least bit of displeasure from their Father Emperor. 

 

This feeling of being completely in the dark, while others were in the know, was not pleasant at all. He lowered his eyelids, coldly watching the smiling Yun Duqing. When he saw him help Ming Jiuzhu up, his gaze fell on their clasped hands.

 

“Husband and wife bow to each other.”

 

Jiuzhu and Chen Wang turned toward each other, looked into each other’s eyes and smiled.

 

Chen Wang couldn’t see the corners of Jiuzhu’s mouth rise, but he knew she was smiling because her eyes were extremely bright and beautiful.

 

He raised both hands, pressed his left hand on his right, lifted it to the tip of his brows and bowed down.

 

Their heads bumped. Chen Wang chuckled softly and adjusted the dragon and phoenix crown on Jiuzhu’s head before helping her stand upright.

 

Emperor Longfeng and Empress Su watched the pair stealing glances at each other, unable to hide their smiles.

 

Liu Zhongbao stepped forward and announced in a cheerful tone, “Send the newlyweds into the bridal chamber.”

 

Chen Wang bowed to his Father Emperor and Mother Empress and held Jiuzhu’s hand as they walked toward the back hall.

 

Emperor Longfeng knew that with him and Meidai present, the guests wouldn’t dare to make too much noise. A wedding ah, should be lively. That was considered auspicious.

 

“Zhen and the Empress will return first,” Emperor Longfeng said, looking at Huai Wang. “Lao da, you are the eldest prince. Entertain the guests with the officials from the Ministry of Rites.”

 

“Erchen will follow your order,” Huai Wang quickly replied, his feigned smile now holding a bit more sincerity.

 

In situations like this, Father Emperor still trusted him the most among his sons.

 

Empress Su slightly nodded to Huai Wang, “Thank you, Your Highness Huai Wang.”

 

“Mother Empress[mfn]T/N: For those who are new to historical C-novels: Legitimate wives were considered the mother of all the children of her husband, be it her own children (legitimate ones) or her husband’s concubines (illegitimate ones). Thus, by becoming the legitimate wife of the Emperor, Empress Su has become the legitimate or di mother of all children of Emperor Longfeng.[/mfn] is being too polite; as the eldest son, it is erchen’s duty to help his younger brothers entertain guests,” Huai Wang replied respectfully, not daring to show the least bit of disrespect.

 

He could afford to be less formal with his Father Emperor, but he didn’t dare treat Empress Su with anything less than respect.

 

“Your Highness,” Jiuzhu said as she and Chen Wang passed through several winding corridors before finally reaching their wedding chamber. “The Qilin Palace is so big.”

 

“Tired?” Chen Wang helped her sit down. “Have something to cushion your belly first.”

 

“Your Highness,” the eight mingfu and women of good fortune could no longer hold back, “you haven’t had the nuptial wine yet.”

 

Well, letting the bride sit down first after entering the bridal chamber, according to the customs of the common folks, indicated that after marriage, it would be the bride who would call the shots.

 

The mingfu at the forefront glanced at the delicate and lovely Chen Wangfei; she certainly did not look like a strong-willed woman. Folk customs could indeed be misleading.

 

“Your Highness, please take the bride’s fan first.”

 

Jiuzhu held the handle of the fan with her right hand and supported the fan’s surface with her left, placing the fan in Chen Wang’s hands.

 

Under the candlelight, she looked as delicate as a flower.

 

Chen Wang placed the fan into a wooden box and took two cups of wine from the mingfu, handing one to Jiuzhu. “Have you ever drunk wine before?”

 

“Never,” Jiuzhu shook her head. “Master said that wine harms the spirit and is not suitable for drinking.”

 

Chen Wang chuckled lightly, intertwining his arm with hers. “Today, for my sake, you must endure and drink one cup.”

 

After gulping down the cup of warm wine, two red clouds quickly crept up on Jiuzhu’s cheeks, and she frowned, finding the wine quite unpleasant.

 

“Your master is right; wine can be harmful.” Chen Wang took the cup from her fingertips. “From now on, we won’t drink.”

 

He raised his hand, signaling the mingfu-s and women of good fortune to retreat.

 

The mingfu-s and the other ladies were unable to hold themselves back and left eagerly; this wedding had been quite worrisome. Chen Wang’s unexpected actions were a bit too much for them to bear.

 

“Your Highness,” Jiuzhu pointed to the heavy dragon and phoenix wedding crown on her head. “Quickly help me take this off; my neck hurts.”

 

“Wait a moment.” Chen Wang stood up and walked behind Jiuzhu. He examined the crown for a long time before figuring out how to take that thing off.

 

“It’s quite heavy.” After placing the crown on the table, Chen Wang called for the eunuchs to bring a table full of steaming dishes. “Let’s eat something first.”

 

The room fell a bit silent as Jiuzhu looked at him with her watery eyes. “Your Highness.”

 

“En?” Chen Wang placed clipped some food with his chopsticks and placed them in her bowl. “What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m a bit dizzy,” Jiuzhu rested her chin on her hands. “Does Your Highness still have to go out to entertain the guests?”

 

“Just a quick round.” He reached out to touch her cheek, which felt a bit warm, and smiled. “Is your alcohol tolerance so poor?”

 

“My mind is clear, just a little dizzy,” Jiuzhu said as she picked up her bowl to eat. Chen Wang ladled a bowl of porridge for her, and even after she finished it, he didn’t get up to leave the room.

 

It wasn’t until the ceremonial eunuch-in-charge urged him several times that he ruffled Jiuzhu’s hair. “Sit on the bed and rest for a bit. I’ll be back soon. There are palace maids and eunuchs outside; call them if you need anything.”

 

“Oh.” Jiuzhu nodded in a daze. After Chen Wang left, she got up and sat on the bed. Doing so, she discovered some things under the blankets.

 

When she lifted the blankets, she found longan, red dates, peanuts and walnuts.

 

With her bare hands, Jiuzhu crushed a walnut, took out the kernel and tossed it into her mouth. Curious, she continued to rummage through the bed and discovered a book under the pillow.

 

Book?

 

Jiuzhu picked up the book and glanced at it, quickly losing interest and tossing it aside. She sat cross-legged on the quilt, crushing walnut after walnut and gathering the kernels.

 

As soon as Chen Wang stepped out, everyone gathered around enthusiastically. Especially those imperial dandies[mfn]T/N: Language tidbits for those who are interested hehe— The term used for ‘dandies’ here is ‘纨绔’ (wán kù or literally, white silk pants). It originally referred to the luxurious silk pants worn by aristocratic children. Later, it became a term for spoiled, idle and arrogant children of those in power who relied on their family’s power and wealth to act up and do nothing.[/mfn] who used to follow Chen Wang closely; they held up their wine cups and approached him. “Rest assured, Your Highness, we have already prepared the things you instructed us to do. We’ll send the items over in the next few days.”

 

Chen Wang looked at them silently, seriously trying to recall what he had actually instructed them to do.

 

“I never expected rare and ancient texts to be so expensive. To buy these things, we brothers have emptied our pockets,” the imperial dandies felt bitter. Those headache-inducing books were actually costlier than crickets and cockfights.

 

Being a good person was truly difficult.

 

“En.” Chen Wang nodded with an inscrutable expression. “Very good.”

 

In any case, it was better to talk about books than cockfights.

 

There were a few bolder ones who wanted to go and enliven the bridal chamber, but Chen Wang coldly refused them.

 

“My family’s Wangfei is timid and thin-skinned. You all should act more cultured in front of her; don’t scare her.”

 

Could the imperial dandies dare to refuse this request?

 

They didn’t. So, they could only agree with bitter faces.

 

But what exactly did ‘more cultured’ mean?

 

It meant that if they said they would take a stroll around once, they mustn’t do it twice[mfn]T/N: Basically means that they shouldn’t push their luck.[/mfn]. Chen Wang quickly toasted everyone and headed to the backyard.

 

Since everyone knew that today was his wedding night, no one was tactless enough to stop him.

 

When Chen Wang pushed the door open, he saw Jiuzhu using two fingers to crush a walnut.

 

“You’re back, Your Highness?” Jiuzhu recalled the book she had tossed aside and leaned over on the bed to pick it up. “Your Highness, there is a children’s picture book here!”

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