Chapter 118: Wedding Joy
The Ninth Princess' wedding was held as scheduled, followed by the Crown Prince Ceremony, the Crown Grandson's Consort, and then the princes' enfeoffment and marriage. In just half a year, the Ministry of Works was busy with repairs and construction; the Ministry of Rites was busy with the ceremony and individual wedding ceremonies; and the Ministry of Revenue was still able to operate despite the absence of a Shangshu and an Shilang, and it never stopped paying money to the emperor.
Half a year passed very quickly for the people in the imperial city.
Concubine Wan's son and daughter both got married, but neither was happy.
During the first month after his marriage, Prince Zhao was quite well behaved. He was willing to humble himself to appease the Ninth Princess, and was willing to accompany her everywhere. He was also able to respond to the Ninth Princess's bad temper with a smile - after all, she was a new daughter-in-law, and he was still somewhat warm to her.
The next month, after seeing off the King of Nanyue, she entered the Imperial Academy to study. Although she never lived in the dormitory and returned home every morning and evening, her social circle expanded and she had more and more social engagements with her classmates. The Ninth Princess had no feelings for the Prince of Zhao, so when he came back late, she spoke coldly to him and sent him to sleep in the study.
Zhao Ji was also raised by the King of Nanyue with pampering since childhood. One month was already his limit. Although he was unwilling to quarrel with the Ninth Princess, he refused to stay for a moment to argue with her and just turned around and left.
Yuan Shu was so angry that she went back to the palace and cried, "He was willing to coax me at first, but I don't know what he has been doing outside these days. He has no patience with me at all. Mother, you must make the decision for your daughter!"
Noble Concubine Wan sent someone to invite Prince Zhao to the palace. He was very polite and answered questions fluently: "Your Majesty, I have never said a harsh word to the princess. It was the princess who drove me to sleep in the study, and I couldn't go against her wishes. If you don't believe me, why not call the servants around the princess to ask when I was disrespectful to her?" The implication was that your daughter drove me to sleep in the study, but I didn't intend to neglect the princess.
"Mother, look at him!" Princess Yuan Shu became even angrier after hearing his explanation. She didn't know what she was angry about, and cried even harder: "How could he treat me like this?"
Prince Zhao compromised and said, "Your Majesty, I know very well that the princess doesn't like me, but I fell in love with her at first sight. I am not afraid that she has someone else in her heart, and I also want to marry her, so I asked for marriage. But I was not the one the princess liked, and what I did was not what the princess wanted, so I made her unhappy. It's all my fault."
Concubine Wan knew her daughter's temper very well. What's more, what Prince Zhao said was reasonable and logical, which made Yuan Shu feel even more worried about other people's unreasonable troubles towards her husband after marriage. Even though she was a princess, it was not conducive to building a harmonious and happy marriage. Not only did she not scold Prince Zhao, she also comforted him with kind words and sent him out of the palace to attend classes at the Imperial College.
She turned around and scolded Yuan Shu: "Your marriage with Prince Zhao is related to the relationship between Southern Qi and Southern Yue. Your father does not want the war in the southern border to rekindle, so he wants the loyalty of the Zhao family father and son, so he married you there. Don't forget that after , her husband is her God. How can you yell at her husband casually? No matter how young Prince Zhao is, he is the future monarch of Southern Yue. If you can't get along with him in the capital, you will be ignored if you go back to Southern Yue with him, and your mother will not be able to help you. Think about it carefully."
Princess Yuan Shu was terrified at the thought of having to stay in South Vietnam for the rest of her life. She said stubbornly, "He dares?!"
Imperial Concubine Wan sighed deeply, "Why would he not dare? Your father wants his loyalty, and he has something to ask of the country. He is using marriage to show his loyalty to your father. As for whether he treats you like a pearl or a treasure, it is not a big deal."
Yuan Shu seemed to have seen the truth behind the curtain that had been pulled back for a long time. She was speechless and said, "How...how could this be?" Then she screamed in pain, "Then what am I? What am I?"
As a princess, she had no choice in her marriage, not to mention marrying far away. The saddest thing was that throughout her marriage, both her father's family and her husband's family wanted the two parties to conclude a solid covenant, and her happiness was precisely the most insignificant thing in this marriage, which was dispensable.
Realizing this, Princess Yuan Shu collapsed.
Not only did his daughter cry and try to commit suicide all day long, but his daughter-in-law also had a sad face all day long. When she went to the palace to pay her respects, it was as if someone was forcing her head to complete a task. Concubine Wan was almost suffering from a heart attack, which was in stark contrast to the wives married by the third and fourth princes later.
The second prince was named King of Xiang and his fief was rich. On the surface, the Emperor of Southern Qi still maintained his love for the second prince. At least the third and fourth princes could not compare with the second prince in this respect.
The third prince was named King of Liao, and his wife was the daughter of the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. She was from a noble family of scholars, and was careful in her words and deeds. She never made any mistakes when she went to the palace to pay her respects. It was just that her fiefdom was cold, and there were several states between it and the second prince's fiefdom. Accustomed to being the second prince's tail, he seemed to have his backbone pulled out. After his marriage, he lingered in the second prince's mansion for many days, and said tearfully: "I am so sad that I won't be able to see you in the future. My heart is broken at the thought of parting with you. You can't forget me just because you are far away."
The second prince also repeatedly comforted him: No, no, our brotherly love is stronger than gold, and brother will never forget you no matter what.
Although this younger brother didn't have any great abilities, he was skilled in flattery and was loyal to him. In his previous life, he led people to force the crown prince to abdicate and ascended to the supreme throne, which was criticized. The third prince was the example of brotherly love that he showed to the court officials and people, proving that he was not a murderous and cruel person, but a kind and loving brother.
The wives of the second prince and the third prince were both ladies from prominent families in the capital, and their married lives were peaceful and stable. At least the princesses knew good manners. But the fourth prince's wife was... a little out of line.
Sometimes, Imperial Concubine Wan would feel lucky that she had ruined the marriage with Yang's daughter. Now it seemed like it was God's will, and she couldn't help but feel lucky that her son did not marry Yang.
The fourth prince was named Prince of Qing, which happened to be the cold and bitter place of Qingzhou where Yang Wei was stationed. It was not known whether the Emperor of Southern Qi thought his son was too honest and was afraid that he would not be able to adapt and be bullied when he went to the local area, so he found a father-in-law to support him, or whether he wanted Prince of Qing to take over the military power in Yang Wei's hands in the future and protect the Southern Qi country for the crown prince. In short, Prince of Qing Yuanjian's fiefdom was closely related to his marriage, which was different from the previous two princes.
Yang Yinjun had met the Fourth Prince several times before her marriage, mostly in the company of Tang Ying. At least with the reminder of her childhood friend, she knew how to restrain her behavior, for fear of scaring away the weak Fourth Prince. To the Fourth Prince, she was just an ordinary-looking but courageous girl.
On the wedding night, after all the guests had left, the Fourth Prince entered the bridal chamber and picked up the veil. When the two of them were drinking the wedding wine together, Yang Yinjun revealed her true colors.
The royal wine aroused her appetite as soon as it entered her throat. After Yang Yinjun finished drinking the wine in the cup, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Good wine!" She picked up the small silver pot and gulped it down. After drinking it, she was still not satisfied and asked the maidservant beside her: "Can you bring another jar of wine?"
Yuan Jian: Do you think this is a restaurant?!
Yang Yinjun's motto in life is to never let anyone down, so she picked up her chopsticks and started eating, calling out to Yuan Jian, "Your Highness, eat, eat." She was very satisfied with the food at the Fourth Prince's Mansion, "This dish is well cooked, but there's not enough meat. It's either shredded or diced. It would be even better if they could serve a piece of roasted lamb."
She was very excited to talk, and she couldn't help drooling when she mentioned roasted lamb: "Your Highness, you don't know that the roasted whole lamb from Gyeongju is the most delicious. Just add a little salt and roast it until it's golden brown, and your mouth will be full of oil. It doesn't smell like mutton at all. If you add some spices, it's even better. If the roasted lamb from Gyeongju is added with the royal wine from the palace, I don't know how delicious it will be."
Yuan Jian: ...It sounds like Gyeongju isn't so cold and remote after all.
He was granted the title of Prince of Qing, and his fief was far away in the bitterly cold northwest. Even though Concubine Rong was promoted to Consort Rong, she almost cried her heart out when she heard the news, as if the mother and son would be separated forever in a few days. Yuan Jian didn't know how to persuade her.
But now, after the two of them had eaten and drunk their fill and the palace servants had helped them wash up, Yang Yinjun looked at the frail Fourth Prince, bent down and picked up Yuan Jian by the waist, with a passionate and unrestrained expression: "Your Highness, it's time for us to get down to business."
Yuan Jian was originally a weak and handsome boy. Not only was he picked up by his wife, but... she was the one who took the initiative on the wedding night. His self-esteem as a man was crushed to pieces. He cried in his heart: Father, what kind of wife have you found for me?
The next day, three couples entered the palace to pay homage to the emperor and empress. The first two behaved very well and answered whatever was asked. When it was Yang Yinjun's turn, the emperor of Southern Qi asked about Qingzhou, and she suggested to the emperor: Your Majesty, the wine in your palace is delicious, and the roasted lamb in Qingzhou is delicious. If these two are paired together, I'm afraid that even the gods in heaven cannot match it.
The Emperor of Southern Qi was so amused by her that he did not think she was rude or impolite. He even gave her two carts of imperial wine on the spot and asked her to take it back with the roasted lamb when she returned to Prince Qing's fiefdom.
Other princesses were very careful with their words and actions when they entered the palace, but she was different. On her first day in the palace, she asked His Majesty for wine. After the news spread in the palace, many people treated it as a joke and spread it around. This made Concubine Rong cry bitterly, and she called her daughter-in-law to the palace for a lecture.
Yang Yinjun was not a person who would listen to a lecture obediently. Seeing her mother-in-law crying, she did not reflect on her own behavior, but asked in confusion: "Could it be that mother is greedy for my imperial wine?" She showed a painful expression: "How about I give you half of the car?"
Concubine Rong cried even harder.
Yang Yinjun: "How about I give you a car? No more than that. I will take the remaining car back to share with my father."
After hearing the scene of her comforting Concubine Rong, Tang Ying almost laughed out loud.
"You won't give up until Concubine Rong is pissed off to death, right ?" She had also seen that Concubine before. She was a timid and tolerant person, so it was not surprising that she gave birth to a child like the Fourth Prince. The worst thing was that she happened to meet the extremely bold Yang Huniu, who not only did not take her mother-in-law's tears seriously, but also comforted her in a strange way, which sounded like she was deliberately doing something bad.
