“I don’t know, Master!” Xiqi said as he stood behind and looked at the departing sedan chair.
When a prince got married, his wedding parade would walk by the gate of the palace, which could be regarded as showing his respect and filial piety to the Emperor.
But Chu Liuchen’s status was out of the ordinary so that other people couldn’t help thinking whether his parade had ulterior motives.
And Prince Cheng was one of them. “He marries the granddaughter of Rui’an Great Elder Princess…” Prince Cheng murmured to himself with his face darkening. He was about to attend the wedding held in Prince Chen’s Mansion, but he came from the palace instead of his mansion.
It was quite surprising that both the Emperor and Empress Dowager were satisfied with this marriage. Could it be possible that they were very fond of the Fifth Miss Shao whom Chu Liuchen married? So could it be because the Emperor and Empress Dowager liked her that Chu Liuchen was satisfied with Fifth Miss Shao?
If that was the case, Chu Liuchen must have a big plot! Moreover, Chu Liuchen was getting better and better in health now. He was no longer as delicate and vulnerable as before!
“Your Highness!” Seeing Prince Cheng looking at the bridal sedan chair with a gloomy face, Xiqi reminded him.
They were still at the gate of the palace. And it was Prince Chen’s wedding day today, so all the members of the royal family had to look happy.
Prince Cheng coughed hard and then showed a kind smile on his face. His smile looked peaceful, but people could feel that he was truly happy, possibly because he had stayed in the temple for a long time.
“It’s great that Prince Chen is married now!” Prince Cheng muttered to himself. He seemed to think of something and sighed softly, then got on his carriage outside the gate of the palace.
He was Chu Liuchen’s uncle. It seemed that he did feel sorry for Chu Liuchen. As for the reason, it should be Chu Liuchen’s family background. Then that could explain why his face darkened before.
It was normal that he would remember his elder brother who had passed away on his nephew’s wedding day. If someone was suspected to covet the throne, Chu Liuchen must be the first one coming into others’ minds.
Although it was rarely mentioned that Prince Chen was the legitimate son of the former Emperor, it did not mean that no one cared about it, especially the one in the palace. Prince Cheng did not believe that the Emperor didn’t care about Chu Liuchen’s identity…
Shao Wanru’s bridal sedan chair was going forward, followed by a line of 128 boxes of dowries, each of which was full. Those at the front were presented by Empress Dowager, in the middle by the Emperor, and at the rear by the Empress. This lineup was more prominent than that of Infanta Qinghua when she married into Duke Xing’s Mansion.
How enviable it was that Shao Wanru had “ten miles” of dowries for her marriage. In addition, The man she married was Chu Liuchen who was handsome and promising. Everyone in the capital city sighed that how lucky the Fifth Miss of Marquis Xing’s Mansion was to marry such a good man.
After going along more than half of the capital city, the bridal sedan chair finally stopped at the gate of Prince Chen’s Mansion. It was very lively in front of the gate! It had always been deserted. The Emperor specially mentioned Chu Liuchen’s marriage in front of those ministers and invited them to attend the wedding banquet as the elders of the groom. Since it was the Emperor’s invitation, no one dared to refuse.
Of course, those of low status could send gifts but couldn’t enter the mansion. Those who were allowed to enter were all noble family members or high-ranking officials.
There was no hostess in Prince Chen’s Mansion. It was Empress Dowager’s grace that her two nannies were specially sent to serve the madams and Misses who came to congratulate.
With Empress Dowager’s servants’ management, everything in the inner court was going on in order.
When the bridal sedan chair arrived at Prince Chen’s Mansion, it waited outside for a while, during which Shao Wanru sat in the sedan chair uneasily. She didn’t understand why Chu Liuchen didn’t wait for her at the gate. “Why do we have to wait for such a long time?”
While she was thinking of it, the bridal sedan chair suddenly shook. She immediately steadied herself by holding the handrail inside the sedan chair.
Then there were two more shakes, and the crowd outside was cheering loudly. It should be the three shots at the door from Chu Liuchen.
The curtain of the sedan chair was lifted. One end of a red ribbon was put into her hand, and the other into Chu Liuchen’s. Chu Liuchen led Shao Wanru across the brazier and they both went to the wedding hall.
In the wedding hall, the Lucky Lady was waiting for them. When they just arrived, it was just the auspicious time for the couple to perform the formal ceremony.
Hearing the noise around, Shao Wanru felt inexplicably uneasy. In her last life, on the wedding day when she married Wen Xichi, he had been too sick to get up from bed. So the wedding ceremony was performed by his elder brother for him. At that time, it was also as noisy as now in the ceremony hall.
She felt flustered so that she moved with uneasy steps.
Suddenly, her hand with the red ribbon in it was covered by a bigger hand, and then Chu Liuchen’s elegant voice came into her ears. “Don’t panic!”
She stopped and took a deep breath. The warm touch in her hand told her that this life was different from the last one. No one bowed on behalf of her husband, and Chu Liuchen was here with her.
She looked down and saw a pair of thin-base boots with dragon patterns sewed with golden thread. The pattern of waves was inlaid with gold. They were not the boots that an ordinary person could afford to wear.
“So, it was me who was getting married!”
The Lucky Lady was shouting, “First bow to heaven and earth!”
Shao Wanru reacted a little slowly. She could sense that the two big hands were gently leading her. She lowered her head, and heard some people in the crowd laughing.
“It seems that Prince Chen really likes his bride!”
“Of course he likes her, otherwise he wouldn’t go to welcome her in person!”
“She is quite lucky…”
Their voices were not loud. It must be because Chu Liuchen had just gently set a direction for her. Under the veil, her cheeks turned light red. She bit her lips, with her eyes becoming mistier and a smile gradually appearing on her face.
Wen Xichi stood behind the crowd, watching Chu Liuchen and Shao Wanru bow with the groom’s hands guiding the direction for the bride. Although his hands only moved a little, he could lead Shao Wanru to the right position. Wen Xichi frowned and felt uncomfortable.
It seemed that something was pressing his heart. It was so heavy that he could hardly breathe!
Such a scene had never appeared in his dream, but he felt that there should be one! But why was there not? Why?
The bride, with the red veil covering her head, finished the wedding ceremony under the groom’s guidance. Wen Xichi could sense her silent trust in Chu Liuchen even though her expression was covered by the red veil. He felt the red dazzling and glaring. The complexity in his eyes finally condensed into a strong sense of sadness.
No matter whether the girl in his dream was Shao Wanru or not, he seemed to have lost her!
If there was the last life, did it mean that he had missed the chance to marry Shao Wanru in this life? He clenched his fists tightly and his lips became pale. If his dream in the past had been as clear as it was in the last few days, would he be desperate to marry Shao Wanru? Then would she be his bride at this moment?
It could be said that he had never had such an idea in his mind before, but at this time, it was so strong that he could not ignore it.
He couldn’t control himself to think about her. He even had an impulse of kidnapping the bride! He had never been so confirmed that he wanted Shao Wanru. Either the one in his dream or the one in front of him should belong to him!
He believed in the theory of last life!
But he also realized that it was too late!
He hated the feeling, but he felt it.
“Yuanqing, are you feeling uncomfortable?” Chu Liuyue’s voice came into his ears. Wen Xichi suppressed the tumbling regret in his heart and slowly loosened his clenched hand. “No, I’m fine. I just feel a little tired. Maybe it’s because there are too many people around me.”
“Then let’s go out for a walk,” Chu Liuxin said calmly.
Though he said it with a smile, Wen Xichi looked up at him and immediately noticed that it was not a sincere smile. They had known each other for a long time, so how could Wen Xichi not see the stiffness in Chu Liuyue’s smile? He calmly gave a glance at Chu Liuchen who was saluting. Then he nodded to Chu Liuyue and strode out with him.
At this moment, everyone was paying attention to Chu Liuchen’s wedding ceremony, so they didn’t see the two of them walking out. It didn’t take long for them to walk out of the wedding hall.
“Yuanqing, let’s go there for a walk. There are fewer people, so it’s quieter!” Chu Liuyue smiled and pointed to a door on the right, which led to the inner court. Chu Liuyue had been there several times, so he was very familiar with it.
There was no hostess in Prince Chen’s Mansion now, and Chu Liuchen lived in the so-called inner court alone. So they wouldn’t offend anyone if they went into the inner court.
Wen Xichi nodded. The two turned and walked in the door of the Moon Cave.
“Yuanqing, what do you think of my third brother’s health?” Both of them seemed to be thinking of something in their minds. After walking quietly for a while, Chu Liuxin broke the silence.
“Prince Chen seems to be in good health!” Wen Xichi said calmly.
“I have the same opinion as you, but Third Brother… he is infected with the congenital poison of the fetus. Can it be cured so easily?” Chu Liuyue asked in disbelief.
Chu Liuchen was in good spirits and he looked healthy in all aspects, which confused Chu Liuyue a lot. Before, he was so sick that many people were bothered to visit him. However, he seemed to be in a full recovery now. How could it happen? The imperial physicians had once declared at that time that he had been dying.
“Your Highness, have you looked up any medical cases?” Wen Xichi said lightly.
“Yes, I have. But… I can’t figure out…” Chu Liuyue now regarded Wen Xichi as his henchman, so he didn’t hide anything from Wen.
Since Wen Xichi helped him deal with Shao Wanru, he had taken Chu Liuyue’s side.
The superstition of scourge almost killed Shao Wanru. At that time, Chu Liuyue was also regretful that he failed to help Shao Yanru. Now he thought of it, and he felt relieved.
Fortunately, Shao Wanru was fine!
This feeling also made him uncomfortable with the joyfulness in the ceremony hall, but he had to hide the discomfort in the bottom of his heart. When he took the position of Prince Chen in the future, it would be very easy for him to deal with Shao Wanru. And it should not be a difficult thing that Chu Liuchen died of illness.
But now he had doubts about Chu Liuchen’s health condition, so he asked Wen Xichi out for a walk and to give him some advice…