Chapter 192 Bridal Chamber Flowers and Candles
After listening to her father's admonitions and instructions, Zhang Guifen returned the greeting and bowed again, thus completing the ritual.
Around noon, the Minister of Rites Tang Qi arrived at Zhang's house with the wedding procession.
The Duke of England and the entire palace were waiting at the door to greet them.
Arriving at the main hall, Zhang Guifen covered her face with a round fan.
Tang Qi personally read out the imperial edict of enthronement and presented the golden book and golden seal.
Then Zhang Feng carried her out and put her into the bridal sedan.
Sixteen bearers lifted the bridal sedan, and amidst the blaring of drums and music and the blast of firecrackers, the wedding procession headed towards the imperial city.
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"Your Highness, the wedding procession has arrived. Your Highness should go to the Xuande Gate to welcome them." Sanshui reminded.
"Let's go!"
Zhao Xing stood up, dragging his heavy crown and robes, and walked out.
Eight palace maids followed behind him, holding up his clothes.
Zhao Xing arrived outside the Xuande Gate and waited for a while, then he saw the wedding procession approaching from afar.
After a while, the bridal sedan landed at the palace gate. After it was lowered, the maid helped Zhang Guifen out of the sedan.
Zhao Xing stepped forward and smiled at Zhang Guifen.
Zhang Guifen looked at Zhao Xing with a bit of shyness and joy in her eyes and lowered her head slightly.
Zhao Xing turned around and stood side by side with Zhang Guifen. The palace maid presented them with a red flower made of red cloth, which was connected in the middle with red cloth, and asked the two of them to hold one end each.
"Relax, don't be nervous."
Zhao Xing whispered as Tang Qi read out the congratulatory message.
"Ah."
Zhang Guifen didn't say anything, just hummed inaudibly.
The red carpet stretched from Xuande Gate all the way to Daqing Hall, the main hall of the imperial palace.
After Tang Qi finished his congratulatory speech, the two of them walked side by side on the red carpet and entered the palace.
The palace gate is quite a distance away from the Daqing Hall, so it is impossible to reach there on foot.
If they were to walk, they would have no idea how long they would have walked because of their heavy clothes and long skirts.
After entering the palace, the two of them boarded the sedan chair.
After riding on a sedan chair to the outside of the Daqing Hall, the two of them walked into the hall.
Inside the hall, civil and military officials stood on both sides, while the emperor and Empress Cao sat high on the imperial platform.
After Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen entered the main hall, they completed a complex set of rituals under the witness of all officials and under the auspices of Tang Qi.
After the ceremony, the emperor and Empress Cao gave some instructions, and the wedding was finally completed.
Zhang Guifen was sent back to the Eastern Palace, while Zhao Xing had to wait until the banquet was over before he could return to the Eastern Palace.
As the crown prince, no one dared to force him to drink, and by the end of the banquet, Zhao Xing was only slightly tipsy.
After bidding farewell to his father and mother, Zhao Xing returned to the Eastern Palace.
…………
Chunhe Palace is the pure palace of the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace.
At this time, in the bedroom of Chunhe Palace, Zhang Guifen was sitting on the bed, listening absent-mindedly to Cui'e talking about the gossip she had heard.
Something like that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very fond of the two noble ladies, and that Noble Lady Sheng is already pregnant.
Cui'e found out about the fact that King Yan had given two divorced women to Zhao Xing.
After all, Zhang Guifen would be the mistress of the Eastern Palace in the future, and Cui'e was her personal maid, so many people wanted to curry favor with her.
Things like these were no secret in the East Palace, so naturally someone told her.
"Okay, Cui'e." Zhang Guifen interrupted Cui'e as she continued to talk, saying, "I'm a little hungry. Go get someone to bring me some food."
She also knew about Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan's affair. The news of her pregnancy had spread throughout Bian Jing, so naturally she couldn't hide it from her.
As for the fact that Prince Yan gave women to Zhao Xing, she didn't know about it.
But even if she knew, she wouldn't care.
Which man doesn't have several wives before getting married?
As the crown prince, Zhao Xing only favored Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan. According to Cui'e, Zhao Xing never favored the two sent by Prince Yan.
But in this regard, Zhao Xing is already considered a good man of this era.
Of course, Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan cannot be regarded as people in the room.
Once the wife enters the room, she can send away ordinary people at will.
Zhang Guifen couldn't send Yu Yanran and the others away.
On the contrary, as she enters the door, Yu Yanran and the others will be canonized immediately.
"Miss, I'll go right away." Cui'e replied.
"It's time to call you Crown Princess. I've reminded you so many times." Nanny Qian scolded.
"I know I was wrong." Cui'e stuck out her tongue and hurried away.
I have been calling her "girl" for more than ten years, so it is inevitable that I feel a little uncomfortable if I suddenly change my name.
Madam Qian shook her head and whispered, "Crown Princess, I heard that Concubine Sheng is pregnant. The Emperor and the Empress came here after hearing the news. The Crown Prince has been resting at her place for the past few nights. With such pampering, I am worried that Concubine Sheng will become spoiled. Crown Princess, you should be careful."
Zhang Guifen shook her head and said, "Mother Qian, the prince is now in his prime, so even if she gives birth to a grandson, it won't have much impact. I'm the queen, so there's nothing to be afraid of. You should stop saying such things in the future."
"I understand." Madam Qian opened her mouth and finally sighed. Zhang Guifen smiled and said, "Madam Qian watched me grow up and was thinking about me. I understand. But now that you have entered the East Palace, your every word and action represents me, so you need to be careful in what you say and do."
"I was wrong about what I said." Nanny Qian felt a little ashamed when she heard this.
Zhang Guifen smiled and said a few soothing words, then said nothing more.
After waiting for a while, the palace maid brought the food and Zhang Guifen started eating.
After it got dark, Zhang Guifen bathed and changed her clothes with the help of her maids and palace maids, waiting for Zhao Xing's arrival.
Zhang Guifen sat on the bed, her mind unconsciously thinking about what the nanny had taught her, and a blush appeared on her face.
It looks even more beautiful under the light of red candles.
I don’t know how long it was before a palace maid came to report that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had come to Chunhe Palace.
Zhang Guifen took a deep breath and went to the door to greet him.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
When Zhao Xing walked into the house, Zhang Guifen bowed together with the palace maids in the house.
Zhao Xing stepped forward and helped Zhang Guifen up. When his hand touched Zhang Guifen's arm, he felt her whole body tense.
"Relax, don't be so nervous." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
“Your concubine…your concubine…” Zhang Guifen didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Zhao Xing took Zhang Guifen to the inner room, sat down in front of the bed, looked at her and said with a smile: "This is not the Zhang Guifen I know. The Zhang Guifen I know is so free and unrestrained on the polo field, how come she is so shy now?"
Zhang Guifen opened her mouth and said, how can they be the same?
The two are getting married today, and now is the time for their wedding night.
As an unmarried girl, no matter how cheerful she is, she can't help being nervous.
However, Zhao Xing's words made her feel a little more relaxed.
Zhao Xing held her hand and could feel the subtle changes. He asked, "Have you eaten?"
"I ate it." Zhang Guifen nodded.
"Then let's have a drink." Zhao Xing said.
"Yeah." Zhang Guifen nodded again.
Zhao Xing asked someone to bring some wine. After a few drinks, he felt that Zhang Guifen had relaxed a little, so he said, "Let's take a rest."
"Yeah." Zhang Guifen had relaxed a little, but became nervous again after hearing that. She responded in an inaudible voice and lowered her head.
"You all go down."
After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Guifen. Zhang Guifen was not particularly pretty.
In fact, in ancient times, in most cases, legitimate daughters were not as pretty as illegitimate daughters.
The ancients paid attention to marrying virtuous women and taking concubines who were beautiful.
It doesn’t matter whether your wife is beautiful or ugly, but your concubine must be pretty.
From a genetic point of view, a concubine's daughter has a greater chance of giving birth to a beautiful woman.
However, although Zhang Guifen was not absolutely beautiful, there was a heroic air between her eyebrows, which added a lot of beauty to her.
Her face was blushing at this moment, which made her look extremely attractive.
Feeling Zhao Xing's gaze, Zhang Guifen lowered her head even lower.
When Zhao Xing heard the door closing, he reached out and supported Zhang Guifen's chin, allowing her to raise her head.
Zhang Guifen, however, closed her eyes tightly, looking as if she was ready to be picked.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly. He didn't expect that Zhang Guifen, who was usually outgoing, would be even more shy than the shy Yu Yanran at this moment.
Seeing that Zhao Xing was not moving for a long time, Zhang Guifen opened her eyes with some confusion.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Zhao Xing's face enlarged and getting closer and closer to her.
"Well…"
…………
The next morning, when it was just light, Zhang Guifen opened her eyes.
I felt myself being held tightly by a pair of strong arms, and my confused mind instantly became clear.
Thinking of the scene last night, Zhang Guifen's face turned red.
Suddenly, Zhang Guifen thought of something, her face changed, and she pushed Zhao Xing.
"Don't move, sleep a little longer." Zhao Xing held Zhang Guifen's hand a little tighter and muttered.
"Your Highness, it's time to get up. You have to pay a visit to the palace today, and you can't be impolite." There was a hint of pleading in Zhang Guifen's tone.
Zhao Xing opened his eyes, looked at the pretty face so close to him, and said with a smile: "Father is anxious for me to have children. He won't blame me even if I go late. Let's sleep for a while."
As Zhao Xing spoke, his hands started to get naughty again.
Although he already had two women, Zhang Guifen gave him a very different feeling.
Zhang Guifen held her hand to her chest and looked at Zhao Xing pleadingly: "Your Highness, I will be too ashamed to see anyone like this in the future."
On the second day of his wedding, he slept until noon. Even though the emperor and the empress didn't care, no one dared to talk about it.
But Zhang Guifen always felt ashamed to face people.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore." Zhao Xing smiled, let go of Zhang Guifen, lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
(End of this chapter)