Chapter 111: Wedding Ceremony
Three days later, Wen Yu's grand wedding took place.
This time, the Chen royal palace refrained from causing any further complications. The ceremony to welcome the new queen proceeded entirely according to ritual protocols.
The wedding attire Wen Yu wore was no longer the set she had departed from Pingzhou in, but rather one prepared by the Chen royal palace's internal affairs office, designed as a matching set with King Chen's own wedding robes.
Back when the Chen Kingdom was situated within the Central Plains, the textile industry in the Jianghuai region was not yet highly developed. The nobility of the royal palace predominantly favored vermilion and black, hence even after several generations of exile beyond the frontier, Chen still adhered to these old traditions.
Wen Yu's ceremonial robes were primarily black, accented only at the collar, cuffs, and inner garments with cinnabar-red hues. Compared to the opulent grandeur of Liang-style ceremonial attire, Chen's adherence to ancestral customs conveyed a more solemn and imposing aura.
The officials lining both sides of the grand courtyard outside the main hall all wore court robes in vermilion and black, creating an overwhelming sea of dark hues throughout the Chen royal palace at first glance.
This wedding ceremony resembled more an ritual of power recognition than a celebration, devoid of any festive atmosphere.
A crimson carpet stretched from outside the Chen royal palace all the way to the end of the square beneath the white marble steps.
Over her black wedding robes, Wen Yu wore a layer of dark red sheer gauze embroidered with subtle golden patterns that shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight. A peacock feather fan partially obscured her face as she slowly ascended the red carpet toward the Chen royal palace atop the white marble steps, followed by Zhao Bai, Tong Que, and other female guards of Qingyun who had also changed into vermilion and black ceremonial attire.
Some officials, curious about the reputation of the Liang Kingdom's foremost beauty, stole glances while bowing and awaiting the new queen's passage. The moment they did, they momentarily forgot to breathe.
—The noble daughter of Liang advancing slowly toward the palace under the bright sun possessed jade-like profile, with eyes beneath raven-black lashes cool as clear moonlight, maintaining an expressionless gaze straight ahead from beginning to end.
The scene resembled not a wedding, but rather a goddess descending upon their Southern Chen.
The assembled officials completely forgot all the constraints between Liang and their own kingdom, feeling only sacred solemnity in that moment.
King Chen awaited Wen Yu outside the palace with his close court ministers, but his sunken cheeks accentuated his cheekbones, his entire demeanor particularly gloomy. His gaze toward Wen Yu was dark and intense, making him appear even less like a joyful groom.
After ascending the white marble steps, Wen Yu performed a ritual bow toward King Chen following the master of ceremony's prompts. The king stared at her for a long moment before letting out a strange, derisive snort, then offered a perfunctory bow in return.
Zhao Bai immediately darkened her expression behind Wen Yu. A eunuch standing nearest to King Chen noticed the tension and murmured something with evident discomfort.
King Chen's gaze toward Wen Yu grew increasingly peculiar and mocking.
The quick-witted master of ceremony hastily continued the ritual proceedings, while the palace matrons receiving them smiled obsequiously and gestured for Wen Yu and King Chen to enter the palace together, temporarily diffusing the escalating conflict.
Someone must have immediately informed Empress Dowager Jiang, who was waiting inside the ceremony hall, about the external events. When Wen Yu and King Chen entered, her stern, warning gaze first fell upon the king before shifting to scrutinize Wen Yu with appraising intensity.The ceremonial official loudly called for Wen Yu to lower her fan. Wen Yu slowly moved aside the peacock feather fan, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty—as lush as a lotus in a pond, yet as cool and pristine as jade moonlight over snow-capped mountains—that instantly captured everyone’s gaze. Even Empress Dowager Jiang, accustomed to the beauties of the inner palace, unconsciously widened her eyes for a moment.
Among the officials in the hall, those standing close enough to catch a clear glimpse of Wen Yu’s true appearance even drew sharp breaths.
When King Chen’s mocking and sarcastic gaze fell upon Wen Yu’s face, it froze for an instant before being replaced by even deeper malice and hatred.
Wen Yu had maintained a calm, detached expression, gazing straight ahead. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed King Chen’s rapidly shifting expressions and quietly took note, though her face revealed nothing.
When her eyes met the Empress Dowager’s, her gaze, unlike the Empress Dowager’s overt dominance, showed not the slightest hint of retreat.
In those brief moments of silent confrontation, the Empress Dowager resembled a crimson bird soaring through the sky, its wings spread wide as flames erupted around it, exuding palpable battle intent. Wen Yu, however, was like a phoenix resting upon a vast azure expanse, her phoenix eyes half-closed, utterly ignoring the provocation from above. Yet with every breath, the azure feathers around her seemed to ripple, and the boundless blue waters beneath her feet bloomed with emerald waves like lotus flowers.
Some contests, when fought in silence, only deepen the mystery of their depths.
When the ceremonial official called for the newlyweds to bow to Empress Dowager Jiang, Wen Yu finally broke her gaze with the Empress Dowager. Standing at a distance from King Chen that could still accommodate another person, she bowed toward the Empress Dowager.
Empress Dowager Jiang, unsettled by the silent exchange with Wen Yu, felt an inexplicable anger rise within her. Distracted, she delayed in allowing the newlyweds to rise, only snapping back to reality when a eunuch beside her cautiously called her name.
Realizing she had been discourteous in public, the Empress Dowager grew even more irritated. But remembering the solemnity of the ceremony, she knew she must not lose composure again.
Sitting up straighter, Empress Dowager Jiang looked authoritatively at King Chen and Wen Yu and said, “Rise.”
Soon after, two palace maids from King Chen’s court approached with bronze basins of clear water, one for Wen Yu and one for King Chen. Zhao Bai, as Wen Yu’s personal martial maid, stepped forward to wring out the cloth from the basin and assist her in washing her hands.
For King Chen, it was a eunuch in his entourage who performed the task.
Once the maids retreated with the basins, eunuchs came forward bearing trays of dried meat from an unspecified animal. This was the “Shared Confinement Ritual,” a tradition passed down from Chen Kingdom’s ancestors, requiring the newlyweds to partake of the same sacrificial animal.
Next came the Nuptial Wine Ceremony and the Tying of Hair Ritual. These ancient customs were still preserved in the Central Plains, though no longer performed publicly; instead, the couple completed them privately after entering the bridal chamber.
The eunuch serving King Chen placed a slice of dried meat on a small plate and respectfully presented it to him. King Chen picked it up with chopsticks and swallowed it, his already sinister face twisting into a vicious sneer. In front of all the civil and military officials, he said to Wen Yu, “This niu huanxi has excellent chewiness. Would the Queen care to try some?”
Zhao Bai glared sharply, one hand already reaching for the dagger concealed in her sleeve.
For today’s ceremony, attendants were forbidden to carry any bladed weapons, so Zhao Bai had reluctantly set aside her ever-present sword and hidden a dagger in her sleeve instead.
Tong Que and the other Qingyun female guards could no longer conceal their anger.
The ministers of the Chen Kingdom exchanged uneasy glances, clearly unaware that such a scene had been planned for the ceremony.Wen Yu faced such humiliation, yet no emotion could be discerned on her face. She merely lifted her gaze to Empress Dowager Jiang seated at the highest position and asked, "May I ask what Your Majesty means by this?"
Empress Dowager Jiang's face was ashen as she stared at King Chen, who was causing an absurd scene during the ceremony, and sternly rebuked, "Your Majesty, how could you make such crude jokes with the princess?"
King Chen responded with an odd smile and carelessly admitted his fault: "It was my mistake to jest with the princess and utter such indecent words."
A eunuch approached Wen Yu with a tray, gesturing for her to eat a piece of the dried meat on it.
But Wen Yu remained motionless, and Zhao Bai, who should have served the meat to her plate, did not move either.
Seeing this, King Chen sneered and said, "Princess, rest assured, this is premium beef spine, not cow's delight."
Hearing these three words again, Zhao Bai's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Wen Yu did not even glance at King Chen and instead turned to the ministers of Chen: "All of you have witnessed today how I, Han Yang, traveled thousands of miles from within the passes to your royal court to fulfill the alliance. How has your state of Chen treated me?"
With a graceful wave of her hand, she overturned the tray in the eunuch's hands. The pearl hairpins in her bun swayed with the motion as she coldly declared, "This marriage alliance shall not proceed."
The ministers were thrown into panic, and the Empress Dowager, her face flushed with anger, said to Wen Yu, "Your actions are far too frivolous."
Wen Yu met the Empress Dowager's gaze coldly: "Then what would Your Majesty call King Chen's behavior?"
Not a single minister dared to speak. Suppressing her fury, the Empress Dowager commanded King Chen: "Your Majesty, why do you not apologize to the princess at once?"
King Chen maintained his indifferent attitude, offering a casual bow to Wen Yu as he drawled, "I have been discourteous and offer my apologies to the princess."
Wen Yu remained silent, while the maids behind her glared fiercely at the people of King Chen's palace like tigers and wolves.
The elder statesmen of Chen, likely feeling their king had acted too outrageously today, took the lead in bowing to Wen Yu: "We beg Your Highness to calm your anger—"
Seeing all the ministers bowing to Wen Yu, Empress Dowager Jiang felt increasingly uncomfortable. However, having experienced Wen Yu's temperament, she knew that any further disrespect today would surely cause Wen Yu to abandon the ceremony and leave immediately. Swallowing her anger, she instructed the protocol officer beside her: "Let the ceremony continue."
A eunuch quickly brought another tray of sacrificial meat from outside the hall, but Wen Yu showed no intention of picking up her chopsticks. Without looking at Empress Dowager Jiang or King Chen, she fixed her gaze on the ministers and declared: "The marriage alliance between Chen and Liang was personally sought by King Chen from my late father when he visited our land of Liang. At that time, your state of Chen was beset by internal and external troubles, and it was my father who lent troops to help you repel Western Mausoleum. After my father's passing, when your envoys came to Pingzhou to receive the bride with disrespect, I sent a Letter of Marital Dissolution back to your royal court. It was your state of Chen that dispatched another envoy to apologize and offered an additional two prefectures and one million dan of grain as betrothal gifts. I believed you were sincere in forming this marriage alliance, which is why I came to this land of Chen."
The Chen ministers hung their heads even lower at Wen Yu's words. The Liang officials who had accompanied the bride and temporarily remained in Chen were filled with indignation—the martial generals flushed red with anger, while the civil officials had tears in their eyes, grieving over the treatment Wen Yu had received.
Wen Yu's eyes gleamed with coldness, devoid of any trace of anger, yet her words fell like shards of ice rolling across a jade plate, each syllable clear and piercing: "But all that your state of Chen has done today, even if recorded in history, would be enough to draw ridicule from future generations."With that, he flicked his sleeve and left directly.
The ceremonial official stood frozen in place for a moment before hurriedly looking toward Empress Dowager Jiang. After receiving her meaningful glance, he no longer cared about formalities and dragged out his voice to announce loudly: "The rites are complete—"
All the court officials whispered among themselves, discussing in low voices.
Empress Dowager Jiang had no desire to deal with this mess either. Leaving behind the words "Since the rites are completed, all may retire from court," she departed the main hall supported by her trusted palace attendants.
As the new queen of Chen, Wen Yu's residence was Zhaohua Palace, which had been occupied by successive queens of Chen throughout history. After King Chen ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Jiang had already moved to Lingxi Palace, so Zhaohua Palace had been vacant for some time.
It was only before Wen Yu's royal carriage arrived at the royal court that Empress Dowager Jiang ordered Zhaohua Palace to be cleaned.
After the auspicious wedding date was set, Wen Yu needed to reside in the Chen royal palace following the wedding ceremony. Zhao Bai personally went to Zhaohua Palace before the wedding with attendants to oversee its preparation, supervising the servants as they moved all of Wen Yu's belongings inside.
Thus, although today's wedding ceremony ended abruptly without completing all rituals, Wen Yu's residence was still changed from the guesthouse to Zhaohua Palace.
The servants assigned to Zhaohua Palace by Empress Dowager Jiang were all arranged to work in the outer courtyard, performing insignificant tasks.
Both inside and outside Zhaohua Palace remained tightly guarded by the Azure Guard.
As dusk fell, Wen Yu had already bathed and changed into ordinary clothing, sitting at her desk as usual to handle official documents.
Tong Que, who had sent people to gather information, appeared to be holding back some emotion as she dusted nonexistent particles from vases with a feather duster.
Without looking at her, yet seemingly aware of her every movement, Wen Yu asked while turning a page of the memorial in her hand: "What's wrong?"
Gripping the feather duster, Tong Que spoke as if finding the words difficult to utter: "I heard that after the ceremony, King Chen went to... to Xinyu Palace."
As if worried Wen Yu might not know who resided in Xinyu Palace, Tong Que gritted her teeth and added: "They say that palace houses a woman King Chen brought from an outside brothel, who has enjoyed his favor in the royal palace for a long time."
Her anger clearly wasn't about where King Chen had gone, but rather that after deliberately humiliating Wen Yu during the ceremony, he immediately visited the palace of a brothel favorite. To anyone observing, this showed he held no regard for Wen Yu.
Wen Yu clearly paid no mind to this matter. She calmly lifted her gaze and said: "If he entered my Zhaohua Palace, I would consider it defiled."
Tong Que worriedly asked: "Princess, how shall we conduct ourselves from now on?"
Wen Yu gazed at the row of long-necked palace lanterns being lit in the distance: "Though the Empress Dowager and King Chen lack clarity, there are plenty of clear-minded people in the Chen court. For every insult they deal me, I have sufficient justification to reclaim equivalent standing in the court."
When night deepened and all grew quiet, the only companion accompanying her sleep in the bedchamber draped with red silks remained the carp wood carving she kept beneath her pillow.
The next day, the Liang officials who had accompanied the bride to Chen territory needed to begin their return journey inside the passes. Wen Yu prepared carriages and personally went outside the city to see them off.
The three thousand personnel who had come now numbered only several hundred returning to Liang territory.
The martial general responsible for accompanying the bride, Tan Yi, clasped his hands toward Wen Yu from horseback and said: "Princess, we shall take our leave now."
Although Wen Yu had nominally become the queen of Chen, in the hearts of Liang officials, she remained their Princess of Great Liang.
Wen Yu nodded toward the officials before the carriage and said: "When you return to Pingzhou, no matter who asks, simply say that I am doing well in the royal court."Tan Yi felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Aside from Chen Wei and Li Xun, only Li Yao would inquire about Wen Yu's recent circumstances.
But Li Xun had already followed Fan Yuan to the front lines, leaving only Chen Wei and Li Yao in Pingzhou. The "whoever" Wen Yu mentioned was likely to avoid worrying Li Yao about her.
These teacher and student had not seen each other again until Wen Yu emerged from seclusion. As Fan Yuan's trusted aide, Tan Yi knew the rift between them had been caused by Xiao Li. Though he lamented Xiao Li's fate, he also understood that throughout history, wise rulers always had a few loyal ministers who served the emperor's interests above all else.
With a sigh, Tan Yi cupped his hands toward Wen Yu once more: "This general understands."
After the Liang envoys' carriages departed into the distance, Wen Yu returned to her carriage, which headed back toward King Chen's royal palace.
Reining in his horse at the sand dune, Tan Yi looked back at the Chen capital with mixed emotions and murmured: "The princess remains burdened with guilt over Brother Xiao's death. May Brother Xiao rest peacefully in the afterlife."
Tongzhou.
The sun beat down fiercely, cicadas chirping noisily in the scorching heat. Xiao Li stood before the sand table, supporting himself with his arms as he intently studied the undulating terrain.
"Second Brother! Second Brother!" Zheng Hu hurried into the command tent, his face and neck sunburned crimson, radiating summer heat.
Interrupted from his thoughts, Xiao Li raised his handsome yet fiercely wild face from the sand table, his eyes questioning Zheng Hu.
Somehow, he had developed an aura of authority even without showing anger.
Under his gaze, Zheng Hu unconsciously straightened his slouching posture, though he couldn't suppress his excited grin: "Second Brother! Following your orders, Big Brother and the others have wiped out the bandits' stronghold in Ping'an County while Bandit Pei's forces from Jinzhou were tangled up with the Southern Liang coalition! Now the entire Tongzhou belongs to us!"
Hearing this good news, Xiao Li showed little surprise, merely nodding before returning his gaze to the sand table: "Tell Big Brother to continue according to plan. Use the Ping'an County bandits as our public banner. Report immediately at any sign of movement."
Zheng Hu thumped his chest: "Understood! Better safe than sorry! Those Pei lackeys from Jinzhou might still be watching us. With the Ping'an County bandits serving as our public front, the Pei dogs in Jinzhou will feel more at ease no matter what!"
Xiao Li glanced at Zheng Hu: "You've improved, Tiger."
Zheng Hu complained: "The strategist keeps drilling the Thirty-Six Stratagems and seventy-two other tactics all day. If I didn't learn something, I'd end up like that fool Tao Kui, only fit to guard your tent door!"
A Niu, standing guard outside, immediately poked his head in to protest: "A Niu isn't stupid!"
Tao Kui was the formal name Doctor Tao had asked Xiao Li to give his son.
Knowing the stubborn boy possessed ox-like strength and would pester him all day if provoked, Zheng Hu waved him off: "Shoo, shoo! Grown-ups are talking, no interrupting from kids!"
Just as Tao Kui prepared to retort, a young woman's inquiry came from outside the tent: "Guard Tao, is the Governor in his tent?"
Tao Kui reacted as if facing a flood beast, instantly withdrawing his head and using his burly frame to block the tent flap completely, replying gruffly: "He's not here."Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me with special votes or supported me with nutrient solutions between 2024-07-19 23:59:06 and 2024-07-21 23:59:21~
Special thanks to the angels who cast landmines: jenniferCA, 南野的貓 - 1 each;
Gratitude to the angels who provided nutrient solutions: 寄詩書 - 20 bottles; 流沙 - 10 bottles; kfpy_L - 7 bottles; 太陽暖洋洋 - 5 bottles; ll - 3 bottles; Stella, 顧幽, 小趙, 明昀 - 1 bottle each;
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