The Prince's Mansion has always been efficient. When Gu Yanxi came back after running around, almost everything that needed to be prepared had been prepared. The only thing missing was one thing - the wedding dress.
Wedding dresses were not sold in Daqing. Even the poorest families would buy a few feet of red cloth to make them themselves. It goes without saying that wealthy families would start preparing when they reached a certain age, even if a marriage had not been decided yet. Girls who were good at needlework would make them themselves, and those who were not so good would have maids and embroiderers to help them. After all, there was no need to buy clothes from outside.
Wang Rong glanced at his master and reminded him quietly, "The eldest lady was engaged before..."
Yes, Azhi had been engaged to the Shen family, so she should have been prepared. Gu Yanxi took the wedding dress, changed into it quickly and walked out. The nanny hurriedly called him, picked up a big red flower made of red silk and ran over to tie it on him.
Gu Yanxi rode his horse at full speed again, parading through the streets in his wedding gown. Those who recognized him watched him go in silence. Everyone knew that the Grand Tutor was in danger, so the Regent must be doing this to bring him good luck. Hopefully it would work.
The people in the Hua family were also stunned by his outfit. They had been following him since he entered the gate. They all thought of something but couldn't believe it. To put it bluntly, it was unknown whether their eldest daughter could survive. Even if the Regent was deeply in love, how long could he hold on
If you get married, some things will be completely different.
Hua Yi was looking at Gu Yanxi, who had suddenly become half a head shorter than him and forgot to avoid him. He repeated what she had said, "Marry Zhi'er?"
"Yes, please hand Ah Zhi over to me."
Hua Yizheng could naturally think of what the servants could think of. He swallowed to ease the tension in his throat and asked, "Have you thought it through?"
"It has never been so clear. I want to stay with Azhi in the most legitimate way."
"You should know that given Zhi'er's current situation, I can't let her leave the Hua family."
"I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with Azhi."
Hua Yi's beard was trembling. The only benefit the Hua family got from this disaster was probably that Zhi'er met the prince and was treated affectionately by him.
"Okay, this old man... If you agree, this old man will hand over the eldest granddaughter of the Hua family to you."
Gu Yanxi kowtowed neatly. He performed this ceremony on behalf of Azhi.
Hua Pingyang stepped forward and helped the man up, his smile uglier than crying, "I buried a lot of daughter's red wine, and I heard from the servants that Zhi'er dug them out and put them in the house over there. I'll have someone drag them back, and we'll have a good drink together."
"Not now. When Ah Zhi gets better, I will give her a grand wedding, and then I will accompany Fourth Uncle to drink daughter's wine."
Gu Yanxi's eyes were scorchingly bright, and the obsession in them almost overflowed. Hua Pingyang suddenly turned around and covered his face, tears pouring down. His niece was so unfortunate, yet so happy. If she could wake up, she would definitely be the happiest girl in the world, as long as she could wake up!
Gu Yanxi looked at Hua Pingyu, "Azhi was engaged back then, so the wedding dress should have been prepared..."
Hua Pingyu couldn't answer him. He didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the inner house back then. As a father, all he could do for his daughter was to discipline her fiancé more and let him grow up so that he could become her support in the future.
"Yes." Hua Pingyang wiped her tears and looked over, her voice still choking, "Yes, I've heard her talk about it before."
At that time, she said that the phoenix crown was too heavy and that her neck would definitely hurt if she wore it for a whole day. She also said that the wedding dress was too troublesome to put on and she didn't want to wear it a second time after trying it on once. That lazy girl found even this troublesome back then, but in the past two years, she has silently carried the entire family and taken on responsibilities that should not have been hers.
Tears kept falling down, Hua Pingyang wiped his face vigorously and walked out, "I'll ask someone to find it."
Gu Yanxi lowered her eyes, clenched her hands into fists in her sleeves, and calmed down after a moment. She continued, "There will be no banquet today. I have only notified the Anguo Mansion and the Zhu family. The Empress Dowager will officiate the wedding. The things needed for the wedding have been prepared in the Prince's Mansion. Please send someone to arrange them."
"Butler, go and ask the fourth son's wife to help you get it done."
Butler Xu wiped his eyes and left quickly.
"As for the betrothal gifts, I have been preparing them over the past two years. Please believe me, when Ah Zhi wakes up, I will definitely bring her home in a sedan chair with ten people carrying her."
"I trust Zhier's judgment."
"Thank you for your help." Gu Yanxi bowed, thanking him for not stopping her for any reason at this time, and also thanking him for all the concessions he had made in order to save Azhi. Some things are simply not something an ordinary head of the family can do, so Azhi would try her best for the Hua family.
The Hua family's efficiency was equally good. The courtyard that was once inconspicuous, then abandoned, but now attracts everyone's attention was hung with red silk, and there was even a wedding character posted on the door. The maids all changed into festive clothes, and all the masters of the Hua family, big and small, also put on new clothes, put on their best jewelry, drew their eyebrows and put on makeup, just like they should look like they were going to attend a wedding.
The people from the Zhu family arrived, and they were also accompanied by people from the Anguo Mansion. Then came the uninvited Grand Tutor, Old Master Qin, the young and old from the Jiang family, all the six ministers, General Zhou Jing, and so on. Even Old Madam Sun came wearing purple clothes. She stood quietly at the farthest place, fearing that her mourning clothes would disturb the eldest girl.
No one cared about the red tape at this time. The civil officials and military generals were in unprecedented harmony, filling the small courtyard.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Following the singing of “hello”, everyone knelt down to greet him.
The emperor exempted everyone from the formalities and helped the grandmother to the central hall to sit down. Hua Yizheng led the male members of the Hua family to come forward to pay their respects again.
"After today, we will be in-laws. No need to be polite." The Empress Dowager forced a smile. "I was thinking as I was walking along the way. No matter how the outside world changes, the Hua family has not changed. Nothing has changed. It is the same today as it was decades ago. It is us who have changed. We are all old. Wan Niang is no longer here. Things are different and people are no longer the same."
Hua Yizhen bowed deeply. The empress dowager had come to the Hua family once many years ago. That was not long after he and Wan Niang got married. He didn't understand at that time, but later he realized that she came to support Wan Niang. When the Hua family was in trouble, it was the empress dowager who lent a hand in time. Regardless of whether the emperor would really punish the female relatives at that time, the empress dowager's attitude was the greatest protection for the Hua family. The Hua family really benefited from it. This was a favor.
No one knew how long Hua Zhi could hold on, so she didn't wait for the wedding ceremony, which started as soon as the master of ceremonies and guests arrived.
The door that had been tightly closed opened, and four maids came out in pairs and stood on both sides. Behind them, Gu Yanxi walked out slowly holding Hua Zhi.
The tall man was in a wedding gown, his hair tied up with a jade crown, the scars on his face were exposed, but no one found him scary at this moment. The woman in his arms was also in a red wedding dress, with only a small ball left of her body. The fluttering hem of her wedding dress made her look even lighter. She did not wear a heavy phoenix crown, and her hair was loosely tied up with red silk. Because the young lady had been losing a lot of hair recently, the maids did not dare to tie it too tightly.
PS: I know I broke my promise, but it’s not that I didn’t write it. I finished writing this chapter yesterday, but I just don’t want to release it because I’m not satisfied with it. I actually want to stop updating, really. No matter how I revise it, I’m not satisfied.