Chapter 355 Wedding Atmosphere in Five Kilometers, Married Off
Once the thing in Mo Manor spread, people from and outside the court were all stunned. It was already not a simple case where the children fought for the inheritance. Instead, it was intentioned framing. Immediately, officials from the Ministry of Justice went to inquire about it in Mingguo Manor. However, all of the conclusions led to the fact that the concubine-born son coveted the dowries of Mo Manor’s second miss. Therefore, he disgraced himself by personally carrying the dowries and then caused trouble.
After all, he didn’t personally touch the brochure with his own hands. Everything started with Mo Xueyan, so he pushed all the blame onto Mo Xueyan.
Later, before people figured out what had happened, news that Mo Xueyan committed suicide in jail came. Then, You Yuelian followed to kill himself as well. Both of them died. Emperor Zongwen became furious and demanded a thorough investigation into it. However, even after a thorough investigation, people only found the improper love affair between Mo Xueyan and You Yuelian which started a long time ago. They had secretly met each other more than once.
Actually, Mo Xueyan put the brochure among those dowries.
When people rushed into Mo Manor to make a scene, she snuck into the Old Madam’s yard to put it there. However, Mo Xuetong’s lead maidservant saw Mo Xueyan and then replaced it with the dowry list she had written for her master in her inner pockets.
In this case, You Yuelian only seemed indecent. Mingguo Manor would at most be blamed for not having properly educated their children. Furthermore, he was just a concubine-son, which was not a big deal. Since the two sinners had already died, it would be useless to keep detaining Mo Manor’s old madam any longer; therefore they asked Mo Huayan to take her home.
The old madam had been startled and shocked in jail and finally died from illness just a few days after returning home.
The incident had caused quite a stir; however, it resulted in no serious consequence. In the end, only two obscure people died, which really didn’t matter. However, many people did not think so in their hearts. Mo Manor was King Xuan’s wife’s family, and Mingguo Manor was King Yan’s wife’s family. King Xuan was injured, while King Yan received punishment. People needed to clearly figure out the twists and turns inside this. They didn’t want to both lose their opportunities and lives once taking the wrong side.
Therefore, though so many disputes took place in the two families, no one pursued it. Even those hard-headed censors who were known as being men of integrity also obediently stayed quiet. They just watched the cases slip away before their eyes and lost the opportunity to make their names remembered in history.
It was inside You Yuecheng’s study.
Dark-faced, You Yuecheng tossed the file in his hand onto the ground, iciness deep in his eyes.
It never occurred to that in the end, he failed again, and she escaped at the eleventh hour again! The delicate and gorgeous little woman made him miss the target again and again. With his personality, how could he not grow angry?
By the door, a manservant gently knocked on the door and timidly said, “Your Excellency, she’s here.”
“Send her in!” Suppressing the anger in depths of his eyes, he only kept his eyes cold. Still, he was the distant Marquess Mingguo who people found hard to get close to.
The manservant left. “Yes.”
Soon, a maidservant-looking girl showed up by the door. She blinked and then walked into the room to courteously curtsy, saying, “I bow in respect before Your Excellency.”
The manservant obediently left the door slightly ajar and then sat at the yard door to bask in the sun.
You Yuecheng’s eyes carried traces of coldness. He snorted, displeased, and then coldly said, “Tell your miss that I can’t do it. Please find someone else.” He picked up a cup of tea on the table, drank it and dropped it back down. He looked down and his eyes appeared icy and sharp.
The maidservant unconsciously shrank back, but thinking of her miss’ order, she suppressed her shock and fear, looked up and said, “Your Excellency, this will benefit us both. Does Your Excellency really want to see her marry into King Xuan’s Manor? Don’t you want to take her? If you do that, she’ll be Your Excellency’s woman from then on!”
You Yuecheng’s blank face showed a trace of coldness. He slammed on the table and shouted, looking proud and cruel. “Audacious. How dare a little maidservant to say such things? If I hear such things again, even your master won’t get married. Go tell your miss that I don’t want to meddle with your things. What she wants has nothing to do with our Mingguo Manor. Since she told me, I won’t make things difficult for you on purpose. But I won’t help either. So please tell her to behave herself.”
Finishing his words, he couldn’t be bothered to talk with the maidservant anymore and asked the manservant to directly take her away.
How dared a woman to want to set him up? She really wanted to meet her maker! However, that woman was really crazy because she even had done such things. She looked smart in the usual days. However, when something really happened, she was not only conceited but also then became fodder for gossip. That was fine because he could just use part of this.
He might as well see if she could succeed and then planned accordingly.
Seeing You Yuecheng in a rage, the maidservant was terrified and paled. She didn’t dare to talk anymore and hurriedly followed he manservant to the backyard.
Time passed quickly. Soon, more than 10 days had passed. It was Mo Xuetong’s wedding day.
On the day, the entire capital was stirred.
Because it was the wedding day for three princes, who were all Emperor Zongwen’s sons. Furthermore, he only had these three sons. Common people really couldn’t comprehend the message behind this with just a few thoughts.
Choosing which prince’s manor to visit the ceremony was a big thing on the officials’ minds.
It was not a thing to be taken lightly. With the order of their visiting the manor, some people might attack them with that, making them become fodder for gossip. In the end, most people decided to first visit King Chu’s manor to watch the ceremony, then King Yan’s Manor to greet the couple, and finally King Xuan’s Manor for the wedding banquet.
This order was in accordance with their ages, and no one could find fault with that.
Of course, officials from the brides’ families only needed to send wedding gifts to the other two families.
Ding General Manor had the grandest ceremony. The empress came from Ding General Manor and they had always been aristocratic. Their daughter, the first beauty in Great Qin, now was marrying the current First Prince, King Chu. Therefore, no matter in what aspect, Ding General Manor should be the best. In terms of dowry, they prepared 128 chests of them, which was equivalent to a princess’.
Mingguo Manor wasn’t left behind either. In terms of dowry, they prepared as many as Ding General Manor’s. After, Mingguo Manor’s eldest wife-born daughter was much nobler than Second Miss Ling. In the 128 chests of dowries, what was placed in the front was a pair of jade Ruyi bestowed by the Empress, which implied blessings.
Mo Manor’s third miss was neither a wife-born nor the eldest daughter. Her family hadn’t been aristocratic either. However, her status was nobler than the other two. Being the Princess Anping promoted by the Emperor, no matter how people saw it, she was rather prestigious. Plus, her maiden home was Fu General Manor. Fu General Manor treasured her the most and would never disgrace her; therefore, they also prepared 128 chests of dowries. Plus, her marriage was deemed as an auspicious event for King Xuan. The Emperor personally bestowed a set of redbird flowers and they were put in the first chest.
On the redbird flowers, beautiful jade and pearls were hung. They were transparent and shiny. With one look, people could tell they were worth a lot, much more precious than the jade Ruyi bestowed by the Empress.
Mo Xuetong followed the Blessed Lady’s every instruction like a puppet. Princess Royal invited the Blessed Lady, a well-raised marchioness from a meritorious family, who had parents-in-law, sons, daughters, and a good husband. She was indeed a real blessed woman. Looking at Mo Xuetong’s delicate face, she kept praising. “Your Highness is really pretty. I’ve been a Blessed Lady for so many years and haven’t seen a bride as pretty as you.”
It was the first time that Mo Xuetong had been stared at and praised by someone. She lowered her face and couldn’t speak a word with a blushing face.
Princess Royal sat by the side and looked at Mo Xuetong’s beautiful face. She seemed to see another beautiful face and her eyes darkened with indescribable sorrow. Though they didn’t have the same social status, their sisterhood was still clear on her mind. Only, now, they had been separated by death.
Instead, Xu Yan didn’t have so many thoughts on her mind. She just smiled. “Our Tong’er is smart and beautiful. I really can’t see you marry away just like this.”
Beside her, Luo Mingzhu, who had worn makeup, glanced at Mo Xuetong. Her eyes were slightly moist. She reached out to hold Mo Xuetong’s hands and lingered for quite a while.
With so many eyes on her, even Mo Xuetong was a calm person. Now, she was sweating in the palm. For some unknown reason, she felt intense. Lowering her head, she couldn’t tell if she felt happy, worried, or even excited…
The imperial groom’s procession arrived strictly at the auspicious time, without those rituals such as knocking and shouting at the door. When it was the auspicious time, the bride would be sent out. After all, the groom was the prince, whose family’s prestige shouldn’t be underestimated. A woman’s marrying into their family already meant a great connection for her family; how could her family ask them to take her home as common people did?
King Xuan’s Manor had already sent people last night, informing the bride’s family that though the prince regained consciousness, he still couldn’t get back on his feet. Therefore, the prince’s lead guard Feng Yue would receive the bride on behalf of him.
Outside, firecrackers were already crackling. People’s hooting rang and someone shouted out loud. “Now it’s the auspicious time. Let the bride in the sedan chair!”
The matron of honor pulled the bridal veil over Mo Xuetong’s head. She could only see red in front of her eyes. Someone stuffed a big apple into her hands and then she just held it. Mo Xuetong didn’t dare to move because she couldn’t see anything in front of her. She could only support herself on the matron of honor, who was chirping merrily.
“Be careful. There’s a threshold in front of you. Walk to the…” When she walked outside, she felt the entire space boisterous. There were so many voices that she couldn’t tell anyone from the crowd.
Mo Yufeng had long been released and carried Mo Xuetong on his back into the bridal sedan chair.
It was spacious in the sedan chair and the padded mat was also very soft. After she sat down, before she said anything, suddenly, a nearby hand reached out to her. She heard Mo Ye say in a lowered voice. “Miss, I’ll fasten the band on your hand.”
From under the red bridal veil, Mo Xuetong reached out a white and delicate hand. Mo Ye quickly fastened a red band on her wrist and decorated it with a butterfly-shaped jade ornament. On the jade ornament, a small pure gold bell was hung. The butterfly-shaped ornament on the white and delicate hand made the hand look as pure as snow.
“Miss, I’m done!”
Mo Xuetong drew back her hand and kept holding the apple with both hands, which implied safety and blessing.
During the time when the bride wore the bridal veil, she couldn’t talk. Now, she could only obediently sit inside. She could only saw red shadows flashing in front of her eyes and hear the matron of honor shout at the outside. “Lift the sedan chair!”
The sedan chair was steadily lifted and then carried away.
Outside the bridal sedan chair, Feng Yue sat on top of a high horse. Without the groom’s gown, he was only clad in a red satin robe. People could easily tell that he was filling in for the groom, which was something usual in Great Qin. His gaze calmly swept beside the bridal sedan chair. Mo Ye, who had been accompanying the sedan chair, nodded to him to signal him to feel rest assured. Then, he turned around and rode forward with a smile.
The wedding decoration had lasted for five kilometers, and it was a princess marrying a prince. How many times would people see something like this in their lives? On the way, citizens kept coming to watch the groom’s procession. In the front, the ritual was set up in a way that suited a prince’s wife. Then, there was the bridal sedan chair, and then there came the 128 chests of dowries. The red carpet was laid wherever the procession went. Beside, people from the administrations were maintaining order.
The crack of firecrackers rang in the sky. It was something that the Imperial Household Department would do. On the streets, firecrackers kept cracking.
King Xuan’s Manor, King Yan’s Manor, and King Chu’s Manor all sat at the busiest streets in the capital. From Mo Manor to King Xuan’s Manor, from Ding General Manor to King Yan’s Manor, and from Mingguo Manor to King Chu’s Manor, processions marched on every route. Plus, their bridal sedan chair set off during the same period, so they were bound to meet on the way. People from the Imperial Household Department had long decided that if they really met, they would proceed according to their masters’ ages in case the processions got into chaos. They couldn’t afford to recklessly stop any one of those bridal sedan chairs.
As expected, the three manors’ bridal sedan chairs met at an intersection.
Mo Manor came from the east and was heading south.
Ding General Manor’s bridal sedan chair came from the north and was heading west.
Mingguo Manor’s bridal sedan chair came from the south and was heading west.
As discussed, Ding General Manor’s bridal sedan chair would go first, while the others should stop and wait. The sedan carrier kept lifting the bridal sedan chair, keeping it above the ground. Ding General Manor’s sedan chair was ready to march forward. The guard of honor walked past and the bridal sedan chair was turning around. Suddenly, a few strings of firecrackers were tossed here out of nowhere. They were flung above the bridal sedan chairs. On the rooftops on both sides, some men in black clothing and masks suddenly appeared.
With sabers and swords in hand, they suddenly pounced on King Chu and King Yan on those high horses.