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1. The phrase used here is ‘to poop’, but I’m not sure we need to get that explicit here lol.
Chapter 415: Grand Wedding (III)
Didn’t that mean to let Pang Xiao do whatever he wanted?
At this moment, the joyous sounds of gongs clanging and drums beating travelled in from outside the door, immediately followed by the pops and bangs of firecrackers.
Bingtang ran in and stopped at the door. “Madame, the prince’s escort procession has arrived at the front doors. First Master Yu and Second Master Han are blocking him at the entrance. But this maid circled from the back to sneak a peek at the street—His Highness’ procession is really too magnificent! A whole slew of elite soldiers are riding a ton of tall and strong horses!!”
The girl was patently awed by the impressive procession. Her cheeks flushed red with excitement and she jabbered at a fast pace.
The report stunned née Sun. “Bringing soldiers to escort the bride? He’s simply too brutish. Is he here to fetch the bride or carry her off?”
The madame even suspected that if Qin Yu and Qin Han’s questions at the door were too difficult, Pang Xiao might just charge straight into the manor with his men.
Although the prince had shown Qin Yining a high level of care before, and the madame had personally witnessed how he had courted her daughter back in Great Yan, he’d still acted frivolously towards the fourth miss.
When it came down to things, this was a complicated mess that no clear lines could be delineated in.
But since the emperor had bestowed marriage, no one had the right to decline.
As née Sun sat in a fog of worries, Bingtang ran out again to peek at the festivities.
Madame Miao and Jiyun helped Qin Yining up, tidied her marital robes, and prepared the precious vase to be held within the bridal sedan. They also readied the auspicious veil of dragons and phoenixes that was to cover her head.
Qin Yining compressed her carmine-red lips and rubbed her hands clean of sweat on the sleeves that she was gripping. Now that it was finally time for her wedding, she was very nervous.
Née Sun carefully placed the golden phoenix hairpin in the girl’s hair and stabilized the phoenix coronet. She took her daughter’s hand and looked carefully at the bride before she nodded. “Good, good. Nothing’s been overlooked. My daughter, I’ll head out now. They’ll help you to the old dowager’s house in a moment for you to make your farewell kowtow.”
“Understood.” Qin Yining nodded.
Née Sun turned and headed for the door, using her sleeve to wipe away the tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes.
“Miss, miss!” Bingtang flew in again with a smile. “The prince is too amazing! He answered the questions that the young masters asked and passed their test. They opened the door, and the prince awarded all of the servants a silver ingot worth one tael!”
Qin Yining’s heart pounded at the latest update. Seen through the swaying tassels, everything in the room shone with a surreal glow.
The sound of firecrackers approached at this time, and the music to fetch the bride picked up pace.
A bridesmaid called from outside the door, “We welcome the bride to bid farewell to her parents!”
“Miss Qin.” Madame Miao took the bride’s hand to help her up and adjusted the hem of her skirt. “Let’s go, we should head to the main house now.”
The two trod on red carpet laid out beneath the covered hallway as they left Qin Yining’s room. A quick turn brought them to the old dowager’s house.
Many people stood inside, and the old dowager occupied the head seat. Qin Huaiyuan and née Sun flanked the Qin matriarch, and her second aunt and uncle, third uncle and others stood off to the side. Around them stood the womenfolk of the guests.
When Qin Yining’s figured appeared at the door, a hush fell over the scene.
Dots of lantern light formed a background against the backdrop of the night sky. She outshone the multi-hued clad womenfolk on the premises.
As she slowly made her way in, her swaying skirt hem flared as if a red lotus. Dangling gems of the golden phoenix hairpin trembled slightly, like it was ready to take flight. Tassels of ruby beads sparkled brilliantly in the radiance of the candlelight.
However, such opulence did nothing to hide her looks. Hardly robbed of the spotlight because of the precious gems, the jewels only further enhanced her appearance and nobility.
While everyone’s attention was on the bride, Qin Yining was focused on a dashing and perfectly handsome figure dressed in a scarlet python robe.
A small crown of pure gold sat in his flawlessly upset hair, a pair of normally sharp and cutting phoenix-eyes were placed beneath his energetic brows. Today, the eyes brimmed with tenderness and a smile within. The thin lips beneath his tall nose bridge were faintly upturned. The smile clinging to them wasn’t over-the-top, but still imparted his good mood.
The scarlet robes depicted him as a sharp sword drawn from a scabbard.
But the crowd could sense that in the moment he saw Qin Yining, the edge of this veritable ferocious war god immediately dulled.
Bride and groom’s eyes met, and they smiled faintly at each other.
Qin Yining lifted her hem and knelt upon the sateen cushion that Qin-mama laid out for her. She kowtowed first to the old dowager, then looked to Qin Huaiyuan and née Sun. “Father, mother, this unfilial daughter bids you farewell.”
The Qin patriarch was in a rare purple robe. Having paid close attention to his looks today, he looked five years younger and ever more handsome, as if an immortal from the heavens.
Love flowed from his eyes when he looked as his daughter, and he responded gently, “My daughter, you will be a wife of the Pang household when you exit our doors today. You must be filial to your elders and be good-naturedly biddable. You must serve your husband well and be a kind wife. Do you understand?”
“Your daughter understands.”
Qin Huaiyuan nodded. According to custom, the bride’s brothers would carry her on their backs to the sedan after the father delivered his lecture. However, he rose and personally helped Qin Yining up.
“Remember, although you are a wife of the Pangs, you are still a daughter of the Qins. You are the only apple of my eye. No matter what happens, remember that I, Qin Meng, and the Qins are your strongest support.”
Qin Yining lifted her head incredulously, unable to express the stunned state of her heart.
Née Sun’s tears fell wordlessly when she heard this, but she too rose and nodded emphatically.
“Father…” Qin Yining found her voice hoarse and hastily cleared it. “Your daughter understands.”
The guests that’d been invited to witness the ceremony were speechless. Was this lecturing his daughter or provoking the Faithful Prince of the First Rank?
With unspoken accord, the crowd shifted to look at Pang Xiao’s face, only to be met with a smile on the handsome countenance. They all commended the prince for being a loyal subject and being able to adjust to any situation.
“As your daughter cannot fulfill my filial duties to mother and father, and cannot enjoy the old dowager’s company in the future, I pray that my elders take care of their health well,” reminded Qin Yining solemnly.
Qin Huaiyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he nodded silently.
In this scene, even the sulking old dowager wiped tears away from her eyes. “Granddaughter, live well your married life with your husband. That will be the greatest display of filial piety to your grandmother.”
Qin Yining nodded with a faint smile. “Understood, your granddaughter will commit this to heart.”
“The auspicious hour has arrived!”
The bridesmaid’s charged voice sounded from outside, a cue for the music to begin anew and firecrackers to be set off.
Pang Xiao bowed and exited first. When he passed by Qin Yining and noted the tears glistening in her eyes, his heart tightened painfully. I must accompany my dar
ling back home often. She left home when young and didn’t get to enjoy many days of familial warmth before marrying. No wonder she’s sad.
Chapter 416: Ten Miles of Beauty
Madame Miao took the scarlet veil covering and enshrouded Qin Yining’s head with it.Qin Yu was already standing at attention by the door, his back facing the room. “Fourth sister, come, this elder brother will carry you.”
The Qin fourth miss placed her hand into that of Madame Miao and the bridesmaid’s for support. She stepped over the door threshold and climbed onto Qin Yu’s back.
Qin Yu steadily carried his sister down the steps, treading the red carpet to head to the outer residence.
The bride heard her brother’s loving reminders amid the racket of the wedding music.
“Fear nothing if they bully you at the prince’s manor. The prince may be a high-ranking official and powerful, but the Qins are no easy pickings either. Three stooges can outwit Zhuge Liang, not to mention the fact that we have a capable and shrewd senior uncle on our side. Don’t ever suffer silently and allow yourself to be pushed around. Keep your family in the know if need be. We’ll settle the score for you.”
Qin Yining felt as if her heart was soaking in a luxurious hot spring bath in the coldest of winter months.
The Qin family had been bludgeoned by harsh realities and a myriad of afflictions. Indeed, some in the family nursed their own petty schemes. Yet overall, the family wasn’t lacking in warmth. Its members were also nice to her.
“My thanks, big brother. I’ll keep that in mind. You have to take good care of yourself too. I’ll come home as often as I’m able to. Please keep me in the loop about anything that happens. You could come and tell me even if my father doesn’t..”
“Ai, rest assured, sister. I’ll come to you for sure if there’s a need to. I was a little concerned at first, but the way the prince looks at you grants me peace of mind.”
The pair made it to the bridal sedan as they conversed.
Flanking the bride on right and left, the bridesmaid and madame of all-encompassing fortune supported Qin Yining onto the bridal sedan, then handed a precious vase to her. “Hold this carefully, miss. Don’t drop it at any cost.”
Qin Yining assented, and the sedan curtain closed.
Her scope of vision was overwhelmed by a sea of bright red. Though curious about what was transpiring outside, she wasn’t allowed to raise the curtain for a look.
Bingtang, Qiulu, Xianyun, Jiyun, and Xiaozhou followed on both sides of the sedan. They were all part of Qin Yining’s dowry gifts and would follow their mistress to the prince’s manor. Holding Xiaozhou’s hands in hers, Bingtang gawked at the spectacle around her, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Miss, it’s not peanuts nor jujubes that the prince is showering the spectators with, it’s copper coins! Showers and showers of copper coins! Listen to the cheers of the people! They’ve all had their fill and are congratulating His Highness!” “That’s right, miss!” Jiyun looked over her shoulder and gaped at a sight some distance afar.
Flabbergasted, she proclaimed, “Our sedan is trailed by a parade of musicians, then tracked by a procession of dowry bearers! Miss, milord has prepared 120 litters of dowry, that’s in addition to 210 litters of betrothal gifts from His Highness! That’s 390 total! The lord’s hired elite troops to deliver the dowry. A pair of two carries a litter, and the carriers have formed a long tail behind us in a wash of red! We’ve taken two turns, and I reckon that the dowry carriers in the very back are still stuck in the manor!”
“Isn’t that Prince Consort Ji?” Xianyun craned her neck and declared with surprise. “Miss, the prince consort’s in the lead of the Valiant Tigers, escorting us in a convoy!”……
The bride, in the bridal sedan with eight bearers, listened to the surprised and overjoyed chatter of the maids. She felt just a tiny bit sorry that she was to miss out on the spectacle and fanfare. The bittersweetness of bidding farewell to her parents and the sense at being uprooted from her past washed away, thanks to the cheery atmosphere. What lay before her was a different identity and new life. She was to become Pang Xiao’s princess consort, and he her husband. They would support each other and share in their joys and troubles. They’d be by each other’s side until they were old and gray.
Her mood lifted, Qin Yining chuckled with delight. She was again convinced that the ordeals she suffered in her decade of life were just a trade-off for future happiness.
If time turned back to when she was seven, she’d never anticipate that the ‘Brother Beauty’ who helped her in that time of need would also be her future husband.
The citizens of the capital hadn't witnessed a pageantry with this much pomp in a long while; the wedding of the eldest princess last year paled in comparison.
The dapper bridegroom radiated high spirits atop his gallant steed. A procession of dowry carriers trailed behind the bridal palanquin with eight carriers. Troops and horses in the cavalcade escorting the paraders and the strikingly handsome general at their head pinnacled in an idiomatic expression: ten miles of beauty.
The wedding music picked up again in mirth when the prince’s manor was almost within reach. Firecrackers by the prince’s manor popped deafeningly in succession. The bridal procession halted, and Pang Xiao dismounted with a flourish. He accepted a bow and arrow, and casually drew back on the bowstring to release three arrows at the sedan’s upper frame.
The three arrows neatly embedded themselves in a row and at the same angle, eliciting excited hurrahs from the guests. The Valiant Tigers and Elite Tigers in particular cheered boisterously, having personally witnessed their idol, their god of war, in such a valorous and sprightly bearing.
The carriers lowered the sedan and kept it steady as Qin Yining alighted with the bridesmaid’s support. She stepped over a lit stove to cross the threshold, handed the vase to the bridesmaid, and accepted one end of a red silk cord. She could see the large silk flower in the center of the cord, the hem of the groom’s scarlet python robe, and his tall, official’s boots.
It was her husband on the other end of the cord, the one who’d usher her into every aspect of his life.
The bride entered the front gate of the prince’s manor and walked the length of the red carpet to the front hall amid the loud cheer. Loud pops and claps of firecrackers came to an end, seamlessly followed by the whistles of fireworks rocketing into the skies, and the continued, thunderous boom of fireworks blossoming in the heavens.
The glorious celestial radiance illuminated their brocade outfits and the courtyard of the prince’s manor.
The procession of people arrived in the great hall. Grand-Lord Yao Chenggu, Grand-Madame née Ma, and Old Madame née Yao had taken up head seats as dictated by their standings in the family. The front hall was so jam-packed with guests that not a trickle of water could drip through.
The master of ceremonies cried out shrilly, “The first bow to heaven and earth!” The bridesmaid supported the bride in making a turn and taking a bow.
“The second bow to…”
“Announcing His Majesty!”The master of ceremonies had yet to finish his second prompt when a eunuch’s shrill pronouncement drowned out his voice.
Alarmed, the masses looked out to spot a golden figure clad stride right in, surrounded by numerous guards. “Everlasting health and fortune to Your Majesty!” The guests greeted the arrival of the imperial majesty with bows, curtsies and salutations in unison.
The groom and the bride also greeted the emperor.
Li Qitian had already made his way to the couple. He wrapped an arm around Pang Xiao’s shoulder with a smile. “Good brother, you’re looking fine today! We are tardy, but not too late, We hope?”
“Your Majesty, how did you leave the palace, what about your safety…”
“Ai, not to worry at all. It is Our sworn brother’s big day. As an elder brother, how could We not put in an appearance and join the feast?”
The emperor smiled as he eyed Y
ao Chenggu, née Ma and née Yao. He paused briefly at the absence of the groom’s birth mother, but his expression gave nothing away.
Yao Chenggu hurried to his feet and guided his wife and daughter to greet their liege.
But how would Li Qitian accept the courtesies? He raised the three back to their feet and took the main seat at their behest.The emperor smiled. “Well then, do go on. Don’t miss the auspicious hour on account of Us.”
The master of ceremonies had gone tongue-tied at the sight of the emperor; head eunuch Li Guanwen was quick-witted enough to save the day. “The second bow to father and mother!” Qin Yining turned around with her groom and bowed to his parents.
“Husband and wife bow to each other!” Supported by the bridesmaid, the Qin fourth miss made another turn and another bow.
“See the newlyweds off to the nuptial chambers! The ceremony is thus concluded!”
No sooner had Li Guanwen’s declaration sounded than firecrackers outside the manor picked up in intensity.
Tugged along by the red silk cord, Qin Yining headed to the back of the manor and soon arrived at the nuptial chambers.
Chapter 417: Wedding Night (I)
Vision blocked by the head covering, Qin Yining could only look down at her feet. She was helped to the edge of the bed frame and immediately felt the blankets next to her sink down.
A strong person with an extremely pronounced sense of presence took a seat next to her. Shifting her eyes over, she could see the scarlet robes and long legs that belonged to Pang Xiao.
The madame of all-encompassing fortune approached with a smile and placed Qin Yining’s skirt hem on Pang Xiao’s robes. She then reached for a tray that had a wedding steelyard lying on it, a brilliant-red true love’s knot tied on the instrument.
“Will the groom lift the head covering so that the newlyweds will be happily ever after?”
Pang Xiao compressed his lips, his handsome features completely expressionless. Only he himself knew that his hands, ones that had taken the heads of many an enemy and never hesitated, shook when holding the steelyard!
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