March 28, the spring breeze was gentle, and it was an auspicious day for marriage.

  Qiao Jinniang got up before dawn.

  The women who came to dress her up today were all female officials from the Shanggong Bureau, and those who accompanied her were also old consorts and female officials in the imperial palace. When Qiao Jinniang left the Duke Mansion, it was very dark and silent on the road.

  When they arrived at the ancestral temple of the royal family, it was just dawn, but the officials, the female members of the royal family and wives of high-ranking officials were already standing neatly on both sides.

  Old Madam Qiao and Old Madam Zhou were at the front, and behind them stood hundreds of women. Further forward, the princesses and consorts were also standing respectfully and motionless.

  A sense of solemnity arose spontaneously.

  When Qiao Jinniang walked to the steps, Lu Chen came to her. Today, he was wearing a python robe. He held Qiao Jinniang’s hand and walked up the steps of the ancestral temple step by step together with her.

  Qiao Jinniang could only hear the voice of the ceremonial officer on the side. She did what the ceremonial officer asked her to do, saluting and kowtowing.

  When she bowed down, the golden phoenix hairpin on her head was trembling slightly.

  After kneeling and toasting, they walked outside and saluted Emperor Huilin.

  Emperor Huilin said, “Go, take your wife’s hand, take care of the family together with her, and help her be a good wife.”


  Lu Chen nodded and said, “I respectfully follow your order, Father.”


  After that, after Qiao Jinniang and Lu Chen kneeled down and saluted on the steps again, they both went to change clothes, and then went to salute Emperor Huilin and Queen Zhou in front of all the ministers.

  The ceremonial officer recited the imperial decree, and Queen Zhou handed Qiao Jinniang her seal again.

  After the ceremony, Qiao Jinniang almost couldn’t stand up in the seven or eight layers of clothes she had on. Luckily, Lu Chen noticed it and reached out to support her.

  The two turned to face the ministers, and everyone down below knelt down and recited, “May Your Royal Highness live a thousand years, and may Your Highness live a thousand years.”


  All the ministers knelt at their feet, shouting “Long Live Your Royal Highness and Your Highness”.

  This scene was extremely shocking for Qiao Jinniang.

  But soon she got on the chariot and went back to the Duke Mansion, waiting for Lu Chen to come to pick her up.

  She didn’t sleep well yesterday, so she was a bit drowsy.

  Fortunately, the ceremonial officer followed by her side, and she only needed to do what he told her to do.

  When Lu Chen’s chariot arrived, the honks of a wild goose rang out at the door of the room, and when Qiao Jinniang walked out covering her face with a fan, she felt a bit sad to leave her natal home.

  When she walked out of the Jin Garden, Nuomi trotted over and shouted, “Master.”


  Nuomi held back her tears and said, “Master, if you are wronged, don’t bear it. We will always be waiting for you outside the imperial palace.”


  Lu Chen frowned and glared at Nuomi.

  Qiao Jinniang said, “Silly Nuomi, you have to take good care of yourself in the future. If you miss me, you can send a post to the East Palace.”


  When going out of the gate, Qiao Jinniang saw Zheng Xiao standing on the steps supported by Mammy An, with a smile on her lips, but tears in her eyes.

  Duke Anyuan stood aside and said, “Do remember, respect your husband, abide by your husband, and don’t disobey him.”


  Zheng Xiao’s words were filled with joy, but Qiao Jinniang could sense a touch of sadness in her words. “Do remember, respect your husband, abide by your husband, and don’t disobey him.”


  Qiao Jinniang saluted and went out the door.

  What awaited her outside was not a sedan chair but a chariot of eight horses.

  Qiao Jinniang got into the chariot and didn’t want to put down the curtain. Although she hadn’t lived in the Duke Mansion for long, she felt very sad when she left it.

  When the procession passed through the main street, the people on the street all knelt down on both sides and saluted, shouting “Long Live Your Royal Highness and Your Highness”.

  They were all here to watch the grand wedding of the Crown Prince.

  Seeing the boxes of dowries that almost extended ten miles, everyone was amazed. There were a total of 188 boxes of dowries.

  For ordinary people, no matter how rich the bride’s family was, according to the rules, the number of dowry boxes couldn’t be more than 180.

  After entering the East Palace, they had the Tonglao ceremony.

  After finishing all the ceremonies, Qiao Jinniang finally entered her bedroom and could take a rest.

  Everything in the bedroom was new and luxurious. Qiao Jinniang took off her bright red wedding dress and put on a palace dress after bathing.

  She counted it carefully, and there were a total of twelve pieces from the inside to the outside, each of which was very delicate.

  After putting on makeup again, she followed Lu Chen to the Taiji Palace to meet Emperor Huilin and the Queen and then returned to the East Palace.

  When she left the Taiji Palace, she saw the ministers and their wives entering the imperial palace. They must have come to the imperial palace to attend the wedding banquet.

  Back in the East Palace, Qiao Jinniang took off the golden crown on her head. Civil weddings were already tiring enough, but royal weddings were probably a hundred times more tiring than civil weddings.

  Qiao Jinniang couldn’t remember how many sets of clothes she had changed today. She only remembered that each set of clothes had at least ten layers.

  Fortunately, it was cool at the end of March. An imperial maid from the Shanggong Bureau was whispering in Qiao Jinniang’s ear about the rules of the bed.

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  Qiao Jinniang tried to perk up to listen to her, but she could hardly keep her eyes open.

  Lu Chen didn’t stay at the palace banquet for long and came back early.

  Seeing that Qiao Jinniang was struggling to keep her eyes open, he almost laughed. Lu Chen said to the female officials, “You all leave now!”


  A female official saluted. “Your Royal Highness, you haven’t drunk the ‘cross-cupped wine’ and the hair-tying ceremony hasn’t been done…”


  Lu Chen said, “These are unnecessary. Just leave.”


  They had already held the hair-tying ceremony and had drunk the ‘cross-cupped wine’ in Lin’an.

  When they were drinking the ‘cross-cupped wine’, according to the rules, the man’s cup had to be placed upside down after the drink was finished, symbolizing the yin and the yang were in harmony and the husband would dominate.

  Qiao Jinniang was not a good drinker, but she tried to finish the drink one step ahead of him so that she could place her cup upside down, which only led to getting herself drunk in the end.

  After the female officials and imperial maids all left, Lu Chen walked to Qiao Jinniang and said, “If you are sleepy, go to sleep.” “No, I want Xi’er. I haven’t seen him for a long time. This is my first day in the East Palace. How can I not see him!” Seeing her already exhausted, Lu Chen didn’t want to touch her today. “If Xi’er is here, you won’t be able to go to sleep!”


  Qiao Jinniang said sleepily, “I don’t mind.” Lu Chen had an imperial maid bring Lu Xi over. When Little Lu Xi saw Qiao Jinniang, he threw himself into her arms. “Mommy, can I see you every day in the future?” Qiao Jinniang smiled and hugged Lu Xi tightly. “Yes, Mommy can accompany Xi’er every day from now on.”


  Lu Xi rubbed Qiao Jinniang’s neck and said, “Great!”


  After seeing Xi’er, Qiao Jinniang could no longer hold on and finally closed her eyes…


  Lu Chen looked at Qiao Jinniang and sighed heavily. The wedding had finally been held, but he still couldn’t touch his dear wife. If he was in the same bed with Qiao Jinniang tonight, he wouldn’t be able to hold it back.

  But she was so exhausted and he didn’t want to disturb her, so he went back to his own bedroom.

  At the door, seeing the Crown Prince leave, the female officials and imperial maids all frowned.

  A new imperial maid whispered to a female official, “There were rumors some time ago that the Crown Princess was dating a man in the Duke Mansion. The Crown Prince didn’t drink the ‘cross-cupped wine’ or hold the hair-tying ceremony with the Crown Princess today. And now he isn’t even sleeping in the same room with the Crown Princess. Is it because he dislikes the Crown Princess?”


  “If you don’t want to die, keep your mouth shut,” the female official said sternly.

  But it was really inappropriate for the Crown Prince not to sleep in the same room with the Crown Princess on the wedding night!