Chapter 279 The night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber

When Li Xuan was returning from welcoming his bride, even more people from Chang'an came to see him off.

He prepared more than a dozen carts of treasures and money.

Anyway, they were all rewards from Li Longji. If they were distributed to the people in Chang'an, they could buy more rice.

By the time we arrived at Daozhengfang, most of the money for more than ten carts had been delivered.

Before Li Xuan arrived at the Tianshui Palace, the Yulin Army had already filled the Dao Zheng Square.

Some Yulin Lang also entered the Tianshui Palace.

This posture clearly shows that a saint has arrived!

The civil and military officials did not know that the saint was coming, and were very surprised that the saint would attend the wedding of his ministers.

This is the first time since the Saint ascended the throne.

Normally, saints would only attend the weddings of princes and princesses.

Even the saint might not go to the emperor's grandson's wedding.

This shows the saint's trust and favor for Li Xuan.

This was a huge blow to conservatives.

The current Li Xuan is basically like Li Linfu in the first year of Tianbao. No matter what policy Li Xuan proposes, Li Longji will agree to it.

A month ago, Li Linfu proposed a policy, but Li Longji asked Li Linfu to discuss it with Li Xuan.

The chief prime minister actually had to discuss the matter with the third prime minister.

This means that the chief prime minister's reputation is "dead in name only".

There is no doubt that the decree drafted by Li Linfu was rejected by Pei Kuan's Menxia Province.

It was drafted by the Secretariat and reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel.

If the head of the Menxia Province, the Zuo Xiang, does not sign, the decree will not be passed.

What's more, there is Li Xuan's support!

Although Li Linfu's decree was not completely denied, Li Linfu was asked to revise it, which was like a thorn in his throat.

"The Saint has arrived..."

"The Imperial Concubine has arrived..."

Li Xuan had not returned yet, and Li Longji's dragon chariot arrived outside the Tianshui Palace.

The eunuch entered the palace first and conveyed the order.

Li Shizhi, Li Linfu, Pei Kuan and others, led by the three officials, immediately went out to greet them.

The other guests were waiting in the front yard.

"Greetings to the Saint...Greetings to the Imperial Concubine..."

Li Shizhi, Li Linfu and others paid their respects in front of the imperial carriage.

Li Longji was wearing a black straight-hem robe today, which was casual wear for him.

The meaning is obvious, to attend Li Xuan's wedding as a guest.

Yang Yuhuan wore a green tube-top skirt, with her chest exposed to white, which was also a relatively common outfit.

"No need to be polite! I am here to congratulate the groom today, so you don't need to be polite. Qilang is the protagonist, so you must not interfere with Qilang's return to pick up the bride."

Li Longji asked the ministers to exempt themselves from the formalities.

Under the protection of civil and military ministers, Li Longji entered the Tianshui Palace, but he did not go directly to the main hall.

Instead, accompanied by Li Shizhi, he visited the back garden of Tianshui Palace.

Although the Tianshui Palace was very large, Li Longji still felt it was too small.

However, the Tianshui Palace is already the largest ownerless house in Chang'an.

When Yang Yuhuan saw the layout of the Tianshui Palace, she thought it was very elegant.

She saw the piano platform in front of the pavilion, and vaguely saw Li Xuan gently stroking the Nine Heavens Rings and playing "Song of Water Melody".

There is also the old-looking pear tree, which is now full of small fruits.

There is no such big pear tree in Xingqing Palace. It must be very beautiful when it blooms.

The lotus in the small pond is pure and untainted by the mud.

"There are so many guests, it's more lively than a banquet."

Li Longji saw people everywhere and was quite curious as it was his first time attending such a wedding.

The reason why it felt more lively than the banquet was because there were so many children in the Tianshui Palace.

For example, in the bamboo forest west of the pond, dozens of children were chasing and playing, making sounds like silver bells.

The oldest of them is only ten years old, and the youngest is three or five years old. The others will restrain themselves because of the arrival of the saint and the imperial concubine, but these children remain the same.

Of course, Li Longji would not care about them, but felt very happy.

It was Yang Yuhuan who said that weddings were fun and persuaded him to attend Li Xuan's wedding.

Li Longji also had an idea for Li Xuan's sake.

Unlike a prince's wedding with a princess, which had complete rituals, Li Xuan's wedding still retained many folk traditions.

"It will be more lively when the red men and women arrive later."

When Yang Yuhuan was a child, she often watched folk weddings.

However, when mentioning "young men and green women", a trace of sadness flashed in Yang Yuhuan's eyes.

"Okay, I also want to see what Qilang looks like when he becomes a groom."

Li Longji stroked his beard and said.

"The saint and his wife will watch from the attic later. As there are so many guests, the wedding will be held in the back garden."

Li Shizhi said to Li Longji from the side.

The place he pointed to was the small attic on the south side of the pond.

The saint's concubine is on high, which fits the scene.

When Li Shizhi learned that Li Longji was coming to attend the wedding, he immediately changed his strategy.

If the saint is in the main hall, when the bride and groom pay their respects, should they bow to the saint and the concubine?
So Li Shizhi made this arrangement.

At the same time, this was also for Li Longji's safety. The number of Yulin troops entering the Tianshui Palace was not as large as before.

It is inevitable that some people with bad intentions will sneak in.

"Alright!"

Li Longji nodded. If the wedding is held in the back garden.

He also thought the attic was the best location.

"My husband has returned to welcome the bride..."

Someone was shouting in the front yard, and the voice soon spread to the back garden.

Li Shizhi personally sent Li Longji and the concubine to the attic south of the pond.

Although this attic is small, it is extremely exquisite.

It was built for viewing the scenery of the back garden.

In addition to the piano room, study and bedroom upstairs, the outer corridor is the "observation platform".

There are jade tables and seats on it.

There were many fruits, snacks and fine wines on the jade table.

"Mr. Gao, thank you for your help. If you need anything, just tell me."

Before going downstairs, Li Shizhi patted Gao Lishi's hand.

"Even if Duke Song is busy, I'm here."

Gao Lishi was also quite polite to Li Shizhi. As Li Shizhi was the head of the family at the wedding, he could not accompany Li Longji.

In front of the gate of Tianshui Palace.

When the children learned that the bride had arrived, they all rushed to the door, wanting to see what she looked like.

The children who were able to attend Li Xuan's wedding were either Li Xuan's younger relatives or officials who had a good relationship with Li Xuan and were brought there to join in the fun.

They are carefree and just like this kind of scene.

Outside the door, the seven-fragrance carriage was parked right in front of the main entrance.

The servants spread the prepared red carpet in front of the carriage.

The red carpet was ten feet long.

According to the wedding rules of the Tang Dynasty, when a bride arrives at her husband's house, her feet cannot touch the ground, otherwise it will offend the gods and ghosts. She must walk on the red carpet into the house.

Ordinary families need to "turn the mat", and the bride moves the carpet every time she takes a step.

But wealthy families would directly roll out the red carpet from the door to the carriage.

Li Xuan dismounted and walked to the front of the Seven Fragrance Carriage, but he was unable to help Pei Lingxi get off the carriage.

The sister who was driving the passenger car with Pei Lingxi got out and gently helped Pei Lingxi out of the car.

She still covered her face with the fan.

Her sisters were needed to guide her out of the car.

Pei Lingxi, wearing green embroidered shoes, stepped on the couch and landed carefully.

She also knew that she had arrived at her husband's residence.

She had never been here, but she heard from her father that it was very big.

There was no need for a "red string" at this time. Li Xuan was polite and walked into the palace along the red carpet with Pei Lingxi, who was supported by two women.

When they reached the threshold, the two women instructed Pei Lingxi to step over the saddle, which meant peace and safety.

In this way, Pei Lingxi officially entered the sect.

"My young husband... My young husband..."

A group of children were making a fuss in front of the door.

They may not know the meaning of "little husband", they only know that today is the little husband's wedding.

They couldn't see what the bride looked like, but just looked at Pei Lingxi's outfit, and they were very happy.

At Li Xuan's suggestion, Luo Xing gave some magic bags to these children.

When the children saw that there was money inside, they made way with smiles on their faces.

The Tianshui Palace is very large, and you need to walk through the front yard, the middle yard, and then to the back garden.

Along the way, many people came to watch the newlyweds march.

No matter who you are, you should say blessings verbally at this time.

Since Pei Lingxi walked very slowly, Li Xuan could only follow slowly.

He saw Pei Lingxi covering her face with the fan and thought her arms must be sore.

In fact, Pei Lingxi was very nervous and didn't feel his hands sore at all.

She could feel countless eyes focused on her.

"Yueyao, my new sister-in-law is very beautiful, isn't she? As beautiful as you."

Pei Lingxi and Jiang Yueyao followed Li Xuan's steps on both sides.

"She must be prettier than me!"

Jiang Yueyao said subconsciously.

"A newlywed bride will naturally attract everyone's attention. When Yueyao gets married in the future, she will dress up like she does today."

Li Yuying said with a smile.

"I'm waiting for Yuying to get married!"

Jiang Yueyao didn't agree, but just looked at Li Yuying.

She knew she had no chance, as taking a concubine would not be a great gift.

She didn't know how to talk to Li Yuying for a moment.

Perhaps when I meet Li Yuying next time, she will have become my husband's concubine.

She knew that her cousin had a purpose in asking her to marry her husband.

She was in a dilemma. If her cousin asked her to monitor her husband, she didn't know what to do.

People's eyes were on Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi.

Now we have arrived at the temporary Qinglu in the back garden.

There are people everywhere here, and the huge back garden seems to be filled up.

They were waiting for the newlyweds to get married.

In this era, when a bride gets married, she does not need to worship her ancestors, but only needs to worship her parents and the couple.

Li Xuan had already seen Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan in the attic out of the corner of his eye.

He did not salute.

Although he had always been "fawning on his superiors", it was a bit too much to suddenly bow to Li Longji at such a grand wedding ceremony. After all, Li Longji was also a guest.

"Qi Lang is in a good mood, and his spirit and energy are different..."

Li Longji took a sip of the wine and said to Yang Yuhuan with a smile in the attic.

The wine here is all imperial wine awarded by the court, and Li Longji can get used to it.

"No way, hasn't Qilang always been like this?"

When Yang Yuhuan saw Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi wearing gorgeous clothes and showing affection, she felt very uncomfortable.

"That seems to be right. It should be set off by the festive atmosphere."

Li Longji thought that Li Xuan always seemed to be in high spirits, as if he had endless energy.

As expected of a fierce general.

"Sanlang, don't forget to make Pei's daughter the Princess of the County!"

Yang Yuhuan reminded Li Longji.

Becoming Li Xuan's wife does not mean that she will be a princess of a county directly. She also needs to be conferred by Li Longji before she can receive the salary of a princess of a county.

Although these salaries are insignificant to Li Xuan, they are very important to Pei Lingxi's identity.

Yang Yuhuan envied Pei Lingxi, but she was not jealous at all. She heard that Li Xuan had been "working day and night" recently and never took a vacation. He needed his wife to take care of him and could not let himself get tired.

Even for such a major event as marriage, Li Xuan only took three days off.

"That's natural!"

Li Longji nodded.

"The daughter of the Pei family is quite pretty..."

After meeting Li Shi, Pei Lingxi had already put away the fan, and Yang Yuhuan saw Pei Lingxi's face.

Although she was wearing heavy makeup, it couldn't conceal her clear temperament.

Pei Lingxi is actually slim, while Yang Yuhuan is petite and plump, exuding a mature charm. They are completely different types.

This made Yang Yuhuan wonder whether Li Xuan liked a woman like Pei Lingxi.

Pei Lingxi showed his face, which made the guests around him talk happily.

Li Xuan pulled Pei Lingxi together, knelt on the mat, and bowed to heaven and earth.

Then he bowed to Li Shizhi and his second wife Wang, which was to pay homage to his parents.

Li Shizhi couldn't stop smiling when he saw his last son complete his lifelong event.

Wang, the second wife, was also proud of Li Xuan. Although she was the stepmother, Li Xuan had never been disrespectful to her.

Finally, Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi looked at each other with affection, and bowed to each other as husband and wife.

It means that their marriage is verified.

The ceremony is not over yet.

Li Xuan's brothers carried a low table in front of the table.

Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi sat opposite each other at the table.

Then the meat was placed on the table.

In front of the guests, Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi ate the same portion of meat.

This is called tonglao, where the newlyweds eat from the same livestock, symbolizing the beginning of their life together.

Naturally they couldn't eat it to their heart's content, so Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi only took a symbolic bite.

They will eat together like this from now on.

After the low table was removed, Li Xuan's sister-in-law came to the table with two gourds connected by red strings.

This is called the Heqin ceremony. A gourd is broken into two ladles, connected with a red thread, and the couple drinks the hehuan wine together.

Amid the cheers, Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi moved closer and drank up the wine.

Although Pei Lingxi was not good at drinking, there was actually not much wine in the gourd. In this atmosphere, she drank it all with a smile.

Then, a pair of scissors and a red string were presented in front of the table.

Li Xuan took the initiative to cut off a strand of her black hair, and Pei Lingxi followed Li Xuan and did the same.

Li Xuan tied two strands of hair together with a red thread and put them into a bag, symbolizing unity of purpose and eternal love.

At this moment, the sky and the earth were already dark. Li Xuan helped Pei Lingxi up and was about to send her to the bridal chamber.

At the same time, it was greeted with applause from the guests.

Li Shizhi, Li Qian and others hosted the banquet for the guests.

……

The place where Li Xuan lived was the main room, which was the largest place in the entire Tianshui Palace.

The place is decorated with lights and is as bright as day.

"Lingxi, are you tired?"

When Li Xuan sent Pei Lingxi into the bridal chamber, he whispered to her.

"Not tired!"

Pei Lingxi shook his head slightly.

Li Xuan smiled and brought Pei Lingxi into the bridal chamber.

When Shuang'er saw Pei Lingxi and her husband come in, she immediately replaced the candles with new ones.

There was originally a session of "viewing the flowers and candles", but the guests came from various districts and would be leaving soon.

Li Xuan didn't like that either.

"She is Shuang'er, and she is Changli. They will help you remove your makeup. Stay in the bridal chamber first. I will see the guests off."

Li Xuan introduced to Pei Lingxi.

"Don't worry about me, sir."

Pei Lingxi said in a considerate manner.

"Don't call me sir, call me husband."

Li Xuan said to Pei Lingxi.

"Husband..."

After Pei Lingxi groaned softly, Li Xuan nodded and left.

"Madam, let me help you remove your makeup."

Changli whispered to Pei Lingxi that it was the first time she saw the hostess, and she looked very fragile.

"it is good!"

Before the wedding night, you must remove your makeup.

But Pei Lingxi suddenly found Changli very beautiful, but...

……

"Greetings to the Saint! Greetings to the Lady!"

Only then did Li Xuan go to the back garden to meet Li Longji.

"Qi Lang, no need to be so polite!"

Li Longji raised his hand and asked again: "Seventh Brother, won't you go to accompany your new bride?"

“Guests need to be satisfied and have a great time.”

Li Xuan replied to Li Longji.

"Okay! I wish you a son soon. When Qilang's son is born, I will directly make him a fourth-rank official."

Li Longji extended his blessing to Li Xuan.

In the past, the favorite minister Wang Maozhong was only granted the fifth rank when his son was born.

Each additional level is very noble.

"I thank the Saint!"

Li Xuan bowed again.

"I won't disturb Qilang anymore, Li Shi, please go back to the palace."

Li Longji gave an order to Gao Lishi.

There was no way he could stay here for the party.

The wedding was a great experience and well worth the trip.

Li Xuan and his son Li Shizhi personally escorted Li Longji out the door and saw Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan getting on the dragon chariot.

Before leaving, Yang Yuhuan inadvertently looked back at Li Xuan. The solemn scene at the wedding made her feel speechless.

She could only wish Li Xuan the best in her heart.

……

After Li Longji left, ministers who had a bad relationship with Li Xuan left one after another.

The wedding is over and the banquet has been going on for half a day, so it’s no big deal to leave now.

"Right Prime Minister, walk slowly..."

On the happy day, Li Xuan saw Li Linfu off from the Tianshui Palace.

"Within a month, my cousin will marry into your family. There will be no need for a banquet. Treat her well."

Li Linfu left after saying this.

Jiang Yueyao followed behind, biting her red lips with her pearly teeth.

Li Xuan returned to several banquet venues and drank with his friends and ministers.

We drank till late at night.

Li Xuan ordered the guests to leave through the gate.

Li Shizhi and Wang stayed in the palace so that Pei Lingxi could meet them tomorrow.

Leave Tianshui Palace in a few days.

Although Li Xuan was the prime minister, some etiquette still had to be observed.

Although Li Xuan drank a lot of wine, he was not drunk. He controlled his alcohol intake and would not get drunk easily.

At this time, the new candle in the bridal chamber had burned more than half.

Pei Lingxi also took off her makeup and hair crown and sat in front of the bed waiting.

Li Xuan entered the bridal chamber, and Changli and Shuang'er bowed and left.

Tonight belongs to my husband and my wife.

They must not disturb.

At this time, Pei Lingxi was not wearing any makeup, but her hair was tied with a red tassel.

As Li Xuan approached, Pei Lingxi's heart began to pound.

Li Xuan gently stroked Pei Lingxi's face, then untied the red tassel tied on Pei Lingxi's hair.

"Lingxi, we are husband and wife. I will treat you well no matter what."

Li Xuan held Pei Lingxi's hand and said, "Hold your hand and grow old with you."

"From now on, Lingxi will put her husband first in everything."

Pei Lingxi held Li Xuan's hand with a loving look in his eyes.

"Then let's go to the bridal chamber!"

Li Xuan said to Pei Lingxi.

"Um……"

Pei Lingxi nodded in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

Li Xuan looked at Pei Lingxi's clear face and kissed her subconsciously.

"Husband, candles..."

When Pei Lingxi was kissed, she suddenly remembered that the candle had not been extinguished yet, which was not in accordance with the etiquette of Zhougong.

Li Xuan came forward and extinguished the red candle.

Then he returned to the bed and slowly took off Pei Lingxi's clothes...

The bright moonlight shines into the bed.

At the same time, moonlight fell into the pond in the mansion.

Under the lotus, a fish quickly jumped out of the water, and suddenly, water splashed everywhere.

The lotus looks even more charming...

[It’s broken, gone, and a few hundred words were deleted. 】

(End of this chapter)