APPIC — Chapter 73.2

Update (2/3)

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Ming Cunfu looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before speaking, “Son feels that His Highness Chen Wang is quite good; not only did he come to our Ming family to fetch the bride in person, but he also brought the other princes with him as groomsmen. This clearly shows how greatly he values Jiuzhu.”

 

“It is only right that he values Jiuzhu.” In the eyes of the bride’s elder, the girl was a precious jadeite cabbage[mfn]T/N: The term ‘jadeite cabbage’ (翡翠白菜 / fěicuì báicài) is used to refer to an invaluable treasure.[/mfn] while the sons of others were mere pigs who were trying to steal that jadeite cabbage.

 

“But I don’t seem to see the Fourth Prince.” Ming Cunfu asked in a low voice: “Could it be that the Fourth Prince holds a grudge against you and third Uncle for exposing the Zheng family and Zheng-shi? Is that why he did not wish to come?”

 

“We should have positive thoughts,” Ming Jinghai said, wiping his tears from the corners of his eyes. “Perhaps the Fourth Prince’s injury hasn’t gotten better yet so he wasn’t able to ride a horse?”

 

Ming Cunfu: “……”

 

This should not be anything positive for the Fourth Prince, should it? 

 

The musicians of the bridal litter dressed in red played spirited tunes, attracting countless commoners to stand and watch the festivities.

 

“The groom is really handsome.”

 

“Did you see the ‘dragon holding a pearl in mouth’ guan[mfn]T/N: A guan is a headdress; kind of like a hat worn especially by males. I have attached the picture of the ‘two dragons chasing a pearl’ guan below. I imagine this guan is similar to the one mentioned here. [/mfn] he’s wearing? Only princes and imperial descendants dare to wear such a guan.”

 

“Woah, no wonder the streets are lined with red light lanterns; the bride must be very pretty.”

 

“Why would you say that?”

 

“Three months ago, another prince got married but the wedding ceremony wasn’t as grand as this one.”

 

“How can those princes compare to this one? He is the master of pen and sword, Chen Wang. Do you see the three handsome young men following him? They are Chen Wang’s elder brothers.”

 

“So the story of the overbearing prince and the beautiful Xianzhu is true…” A woman carrying a basket of vegetables looked excitedly at the bridal sedan. Her voice trembled as she spoke: “The storyteller mentioned that the overbearing prince swore to the beautiful Xianzhu that he would marry her in the grandest way. He definitely kept his word!”

 

The scholar standing closest to her countered, “Storytellers just tell stories; those are all fake.”

 

“If it’s fake, then how did this grand wedding come about?” The woman cast a disdainful glance at the scholar. “You heartless, fickle scholars wouldn’t understand the overbearing prince’s infatuation with the Xianzhu, hmph!”

 

She swung her waist and chased after the bridal sedan to join the other women to brag about this wedding that countless women envied.

 

“I think you just don’t want to spend money on your own wife so you’re purposely here to vent your frustration.” Another young woman sarcastically threw out, “Still jealous that His Highness became the zhuangyuan[mfn]T/N: A reminder, zhuangyuan refers to the top scorer of the imperial examinations.[/mfn] while you couldn’t?”

 

Scholar: “……”

 

What kind of an outlandish rumor is this? 

 

He wanted to refute, but looking at the fierce gazes of the women around him, he feared they might gang up on him and beat him. Thus, he could only leave with his tail tuck between his legs. 

 

It was just that he felt an inexplicable bitterness towards Chen Wang and Chen Wangfei. Now, he just wanted to see what kind of expression these women would make when Chen Wang took a concubine.

 

As the bridal litter was about to reach the Zhuque Gate, the imperial clan’s elders were still arguing over which door the sedan should enter through.

 

“Although Chen Wang is a legitimate son, he is still just a qinwang. It’s already an exception for him to marry inside the palace; how can the Wangfei’s bridal sedan enter through a main gate?”

 

“Since he is a legitimate son, passing through the Zhuque Gate isn’t such a big deal…”

 

“Bah! I think you just want to curry favor with Empress Su and disregard the ancestral rules!”

 

“Enough arguing. The bridal litter has arrived.”

 

Before the clan elders could react, a row of Dragon Guards approached the main gate. Then they parted to the sides and knelt down on one knee.

 

“Congratulations to Chen Wang on your wedding. By His Majesty’s decree, open the Zhongzheng Gate!”

 

The clan elders, who had been arguing just moments ago, were instantly dumbfounded. They never expected the usually respectful and amiable emperor to bypass their opinions and forcefully have the Dragon Guards open the Zhongzheng Gate.

 

Glancing at the swords hanging at the other party’s waists, the clan elders wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.

 

These old men had safely survived the reign of two emperors whilst maintaining their status and lives. Their greatest strength was not the imperial blood flowing in their veins— it was their proficiency at knowing when to yield. 

 

The Emperor, as the master of the imperial palace, did not mind Chen Wangfei’s bridal sedan entering  through the Zhongzheng Gate. On what ground could they possibly oppose then? 

 

The Zhongzheng Gate slowly opened under everyone’s watchful gazes.

 

Huai Wang’s smiling expression immediately turned into something more unsightly than crying.

 

Zhongzheng Gate!

 

The only person who could be carried in through the Zhongzheng Gate was the Empress[mfn]T/N: Means that only the Empress’s bridal sedan could enter through this gate when marrying the Emperor, none of the other women of the Emperor had this privilege.[/mfn]!

 

Father Emperor doted on Fifth Brother to such an extent? He gritted his teeth. When he raised his head afterwards, he tried to make his smile look bright and natural.

 

He was not jealous. He was not jealous at all! 

 

An Wang saw the Zhongzheng Gate opening before him and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally thought of a way to appease his own Wangfei.

 

If she asked him why he hadn’t gone to her natal family to fetch her during their wedding, he would tell her that his fifth brother’s wedding was an exception as everything was done at his Father Emperor’s behest.

 

A prince personally fetching the bride, a hundred and eight boxes of dowry, bridal sedan with twelve bearers—all of these paled in comparison to the grandeur of the bride entering through the Zhongzheng Gate.

 

As long as he shifted all the responsibility to his Father Emperor, his Wangfei wouldn’t chase him off to sleep in the study.

 

Chen Wang looked at the wide-open Zhongzheng Gate and turned to glance at the bridal sedan. He patted the horse and it stepped inside the gate.

 

“Congratulations to Your Highness and the Wangfei on your wedding!”

 

The Imperial Guards, Dragon Guards and Golden Armored Guards knelt in unison: “Wishing Your Highness and the Wangfei a happy marriage. May you two live a long and happy life together.”

 

A long and seemingly endless red carpet lay on their way inside from the gate.

 

Flower petals fell from the high palace walls. A few of them drifted inside the sedan. Bending down and picking the petals that had landed on her, Jiuzhu realized that it was not even the time of the year for these flowers to bloom.

 

She had heard her brother mention that some families would build greenhouses to grow new varieties of flowers in an attempt to ensure that those flowers bloomed all year round. For this reason, they would also spend a large amount of silver.

 

How much silver had His Majesty and niangniang spent on her wedding to His Highness?

 

Holding the tuanshan fan in front of her face, she lifted the curtain of the sedan slightly and peeked outside.

 

On either side of the path stood palace maids and eunuchs, each holding lanterns with auspicious characters. Countless petals fluttered in the air, red silk was draped everywhere, joyous music filled the atmosphere; everything felt like a dream.

 

As the bridal sedan passed through one gate after another, the night grew darker. In the night, the brightly lit auspicious lanterns in the hands of the palace maids and eunuchs glowed, forming a long dragon and illuminating the entire palace with its brilliance.

 

“Keep the sedan chair down!”

 

Chen Wang dismounted and walked to the sedan. 

 

“Your Highness, please tap the sedan chair with your foot.”

 

Tapping the sedan chair door with the foot symbolized that after marriage, the man would be the superior one while the woman would be inferior and also that the husband would become the wife’s heaven[mfn]T/N: Meaning that the wife would have to obey her husband’s every word and respect him.[/mfn].

 

Chen Wang raised his foot but then put it back down. He bent down and, amidst the astonished gazes of the mingfu, gently tapped the sedan three times with his hand: “Ming Xiaozhu, Ben Wang welcomes you into the family.”

 

Lifting the sedan curtain, he saw Jiuzhu’s smiling eyes peeking out from behind her tuanshan fan.

 

He smiled and extended a hand toward her, using the other to take the ruyi from her lap. “Come, walk with me.”

 

Jiuzhu placed her hand in his palm.

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