That night, Xie Yao also stayed awake for a long time.
The moon shone brightly amid sparse stars. Dressed in her sleeping robes, she stood by the window. The night of the sixth day of the third month was clear and pleasant, a world away from the stormy night more than half a month ago.
Large red lanterns hung throughout the Xie residence, and crimson silk decorations covered every corner. Even though it was nearly the Hour of Hai, the old steward was still bustling about, busy preparing for the wedding the next day.
“To keep Miss from feeling unfamiliar and constrained when she enters the Eastern Palace tomorrow, the Crown Prince has sent two matrons. They both served in the Eastern Palace for many years. This servant has already arranged for them to sleep in the side rooms.”
After delivering her report, Qingyu couldn’t help but mutter, “Miss, do you truly want to marry into the Eastern Palace?”
The question made Xie Yao laugh. She reached out and lightly tapped Qingyu on the forehead with her fingertip. “You’re becoming bolder with every passing day. You dare say anything now.”
“It’s only because this servant worries about you.” Qingyu stuck out her tongue playfully.
Although the events at Shanglin Garden had convinced Qingyu that the Crown Prince was blessed with extraordinary luck and resilience, she still wished Xie Yao could marry someone she truly loved. She looked at her expectantly, but Xie Yao refused to say anything more. Gathering her robe around herself, she turned and walked back inside.
The procedures for a royal wedding were complicated. Xie Yao had just been about to go to bed and rest when hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Steward Hong knocked on the door. “Miss, have you already retired?
Young Master Xiao has sent word. He has awakened and wishes to see you.”
Xie Yao’s eyes flew open at once. All traces of sleep vanished. It was already the Hour of Zi. The moon hung high overhead, and the chilly early-spring wind made people shiver.
Jiang Zhen stood beside Gu Changze, watching the elegant figure at the highest level of Linyue Tower, hands clasped behind his back. Expressionless, he had been standing there for two full hours.
Linyue Tower was adorned with carved balustrades and jade ornamentation, magnificent and resplendent. His pale fingers lightly held a white jade wine cup. From a distance, he looked like a living painting, impossible not to admire.
But because Jiang Zhen knew the purpose of his master’s presence here tonight, he found the “painting” rather difficult to appreciate.
“Your Highness, it’s already midnight. The capital has long since entered curfew. On such a cold night, what fool would risk their life running around outside?”
As Jiang Zhen grumbled inwardly, he realized he was one of those fools. On the eve of the Crown Prince’s wedding, after receiving a reward, he should have been happily curled up asleep in his own room, not accompanying Gu Changze out in the middle of the night to catch someone in an illicit rendezvous.
Gu Changze did not respond. His gaze remained fixed on a spot below, plainly telling Jiang Zhen: There really was such a fool.
On the deserted, dark avenue, two figures stood in the cold wind holding lanterns. The taller of the two kept looking around anxiously. As time passed, impatience increasingly showed on his face.
“She’ll come.” Xiao Min clutched the lantern tightly, repeating the words to himself over and over. “She exchanged a token of love with me. We’ve been childhood sweethearts for more than ten years. Everyone in the capital knows she’s supposed to be my wife. How is it that after I’ve been unconscious for only a few days, that sickly Crown Prince is suddenly worthy of her?” His tone grew increasingly agitated.
Xiao Min’s eyes were bloodshot. The mere thought that his obedient, gentle Yao’er would marry into the Eastern Palace tomorrow and become another man’s wife filled him with an almost uncontrollable violent impulse. His Yao’er had always been softhearted. Once she read his letter, she would never bear to let him wait in the cold wind for so long.
She would come. She definitely would.
One hour passed. Then two.
The moon hung high in the sky, yet no one else appeared on the long street.
“Could someone have stopped her? Or perhaps the servants never delivered my letter? No, I have to go to the Xie residence and find her!” Xiao Min gripped the lantern tightly and started striding forward.
“Young Master, you mustn’t!” His servant turned pale and rushed to stop him.
“Get out of my way!” With bloodshot eyes, Xiao Min kicked the servant aside and staggered onward.
Seeing that he could not stop him, the servant shut his eyes and blurted everything out: “Young Master, don’t go. It won’t do any good. The Chancellor has already accepted the Eastern Palace’s invitation. Tomorrow, you’re supposed to accompany him to the Eastern Palace to attend the wedding ceremony. Miss Xie marrying into the Eastern Palace is already a settled fact!”
With a loud bang, Xiao Min slammed his fist into the wall beside him, then turned back and glared at the servant. “What did you say?”
“The names on that invitation are those of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. That means Miss Xie sent it to you personally. No matter how long you wait tonight, she isn’t coming. Miss Xie…”
She no longer wanted him.
Before the servant could finish speaking, Xiao Min suddenly felt his blood surge upward. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before collapsing unconscious again.
At last, the figure atop Linyue Tower set down his wine cup in obvious satisfaction.
“Let’s go.”
“Your Highness, you’re not waiting for Miss Xie anymore?”
Watching Xiao Min literally faint from anger after receiving a single wedding invitation, Jiang Zhen could not help but have the corner of his mouth twitch.
“I knew from the beginning that she wouldn’t come.”
“Then why have you been standing out here in the cold wind?” Jiang Zhen’s voice rose despite himself.
“Don’t you think watching Young Master Xiao make a fool of himself was worth standing in the wind for two hours?”
Unmistakable pleasure laced Gu Changze’s voice. The long streets outside Linyue Tower were festooned with lanterns and decorations, awash in festive crimson. Step by step, he descended the stairs.
The seventh day of the third month.
The Eastern Palace was taking a bride. Royal weddings had always begun well before dawn. As the Crown Prince, Gu Changze first had to pay respects to his ancestors and worship at the imperial ancestral temple before proceeding to the main gate to receive his Crown Princess. For that reason, he rose during the second quarter of the Hour of Yin.
Clad in brilliant red wedding robes, he looked quite different from his usual self. The festive attire muted some of his customary refinement and gentleness, revealing a strikingly handsome, radiant figure instead. Today, Gu Changze seemed to have shed the distant, mild exterior he normally presented to the world. Like a flawless jade emerging from darkness, he was filled from head to toe with confidence and youthful vigor.
From the Hour of Mao onward, ministers and members of the imperial clan gathered before the main hall. The Crown Prince entered alongside the Emperor to perform the ancestral rites, while the assembled officials waited outside.
Beyond the palace walls, preparations elsewhere were proceeding smoothly as well.
As this was a royal wedding, and because the bride was the daughter of a loyal minister, yet the Xie household had no elders left to oversee the ceremony, Emperor Yan, wishing to demonstrate imperial favor, discussed the matter with the Empress Dowager and arranged for the Grand Princess to preside over all affairs at the Xie residence.
Xie Yao was awakened at the Hour of Chen by the servants. They attended her bath first, helping her soak in fragrant water. She remained in the bath for a full hour, until her fair skin had taken on a faint rosy hue, before several maids carefully helped her out. Afterward came the meticulous process of dressing and arranging her hair.
The Crown Princess’s wedding attire was extraordinarily elaborate, and the maids worked with utmost care. Dressing her alone took nearly half an hour before everything was finally in place.
Fresh from her bath, Xie Yao’s exquisitely beautiful face still carried a delicate flush. The brilliant red wedding robes draped her slender figure, while her long black hair cascaded behind her. Even without a trace of makeup, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
The wedding matron studied her reflection in the mirror, gazing at the face as lovely as a lotus blossom. Carefully gathering her hair, she smiled and recited the traditional bridal blessing: “One stroke of the comb, from beginning to end.
Two strokes of the comb, may husband and wife remain together until their hair turns white…”
“…”
The wooden comb, dampened with clear water, gently gathered her silky hair. The wedding matron bent down with a smile and said: “The Crown Princess is truly blessed. This humble woman offers her congratulations in advance and wishes Your Highness great joy on this auspicious day.”
“Congratulations to the Crown Princess!”
The servants throughout the courtyard echoed the blessing in unison.
Listening to their joyful wishes, the flush on Xie Yao’s face deepened. She curved her lips into a smile. After her hair was dressed, came the makeup. Rouge and powder were applied, her brows were carefully drawn, and golden hairpins and jade ornaments were arranged in place. A crowd of attendants busied themselves around her. By the time the final phoenix crown settled on her head, strands of jade and tassels hung gracefully, partially veiling her breathtaking beauty.
The Grand Princess stepped forward and looked her over with satisfaction. “Excellent. A-Yao looks exceptionally beautiful today.”
Praised by everyone around her, Xie Yao couldn’t help glancing at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her gaze fell upon the crimson wedding robes, and she instinctively thought of Gu Changze. She wondered whether he looked different today as well, dressed in his wedding attire.
Before long, the appointed hour arrived.
Outside the gates of the Xie residence, the ceremonial procession had arrived to escort Xie Yao to the palace.
The servants carefully supported her as she walked outside. A gentle spring breeze stirred the tassels of her crown and set the jade earrings beside her cheeks swaying softly. The movement only enhanced her beauty, making her appear delicate as carved jade and incomparable in elegance.
Today’s streets were livelier than ever before.
To mark the Crown Prince’s wedding, the realm had proclaimed a general amnesty. Red silk decorations stretched from the east to the west of the capital. Everywhere was filled with festive crimson. Music, drums, and congratulations blended into one continuous celebration.
In accordance with royal custom, the imperial family presented one hundred and eighty-eight trunks of betrothal gifts, while the Xie residence contributed one hundred and twenty trunks of dowry. Behind the ceremonial procession, countless bearers carried gift chests. The line stretched around the main streets, seemingly without end. Ten miles of red adornments testified to the grandeur and splendor of the Crown Prince’s wedding.
Seated within her carriage, Xie Yao listened to the lively commotion outside. Lowering her gaze, she saw only the festive red of her wedding attire. The robe’s cuffs were edged in gold and embroidered with exquisite golden thread, and the phoenix designs were stunningly beautiful. She had long known how much care the Eastern Palace had taken. This was not the wedding dress the Ministry of Rites had originally prepared.
The procession slowly made its way from the Xie residence to the main gate of the imperial palace. Gradually, the music and ceremonial fanfare died away.
Quietly, Xie Yao lifted a corner of her bridal veil with her fingertips and peered through the swaying tassels toward the palace gates.
The Emperor and Empress had not come out personally to receive the bride, but the ministers and members of the imperial clan were gathered outside the main gate.
At the very front stood a man clad in red. His features were as beautiful as a painting. His gaze remained fixed on the direction the procession was approaching from. As though he had somehow sensed her covert glance from within the carriage, Gu Changze suddenly stepped toward it.
“Your Highness, don’t be so impatient. The carriage hasn’t even reached you yet.”
Gu Changze seemed not to hear him. He continued walking forward step by step.
Watching him draw nearer and nearer, Xie Yao panicked slightly. She quickly let the corner of her veil fall back into place.
By the time Gu Changze reached the carriage, the procession had gradually halted as well.
Sunlight spilled across the wedding robes. Through the limited view beneath her veil, she saw a fair, elegant hand lift the curtain and extend itself toward her.
“Crown Princess, let me take you home.”
Xie Yao’s heart suddenly began pounding. The emotions she had deliberately suppressed since the night before rose once more. Filled with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation she could not quite describe, she placed her hand in Gu Changze’s. Their fingers intertwined.
With a gentle pull, Gu Changze helped her down from the carriage.
At once, cheers, teasing, and congratulations erupted from all around them.
The distance from the main palace gate to the Eastern Palace was not short. The journey took nearly a quarter of an hour.
Dressed in full ceremonial attire, Xie Yao wore a heavy phoenix crown, making it hard not to walk slowly.
But Gu Changze was in no hurry. He held her hand and led her forward at an unhurried pace, step by step, toward the Eastern Palace.
The setting sun cast the couple’s shadows side by side, creating a scene so beautiful that no one wished to disturb it.
The Emperor and Empress were already seated before the main hall of the Eastern Palace. The Empress Dowager sat beside the Emperor, smiling as she watched Gu Changze lead Xie Yao forward step by step.
At last, they stopped before the hall. Evening sunlight fell on their wedding robes, bathing them in a radiant golden glow.
Gradually, the hall grew quiet.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed upon the newlyweds standing at its center.
Then the Master of Ceremonies raised his voice and announced: “The auspicious hour has arrived. First bow, to Heaven and Earth—”