One hundred and fourteen
On the day of the emperor and empress's wedding, the weather happened to be warmer. At dawn, a bright red sun rose in the east, foreshadowing a happy event that would take place that day.
You Shu almost didn't sleep all night. Although the Ministry of Rites had sent people to explain to him several times the day before the process that he needed to remember from beginning to end, he was still worried that he would forget it. By that time, all the civil and military officials would be there, and the royal family would also be present. Any slight mistake would bring shame to Xiao Weixin.
Hua Chun pursed her lips and smiled softly. She took the wedding dress next to her and put it on him, saying jokingly, "Don't worry, my lord. The emperor has made all the arrangements. Even if something goes wrong, it doesn't matter."
"You look more like you're going to be executed than getting married."
Her words made the maids around her cover their mouths and laugh. Even Xiaoyue laughed, "Sister Huachun is right. Brother You, you are too nervous!"
You Shu was a little shy, but he still obediently put on his wedding dress with their help. The wedding dress was very complicated with many layers, and he couldn't do it by himself, so he had to let Hua Chun and the others control him. He just treated himself as a dummy.
The wedding dress was made by the Ministry of Rites after working overtime. It fit his body shape perfectly. And because he was a man, he didn't need head ornaments such as phoenix coronet and bridal robe, so it was made in a male style, without embroidered phoenixes or flowers. It was simple, clean and neat.
It was the first time in You Shu's life that he wore such a festive bright red. When he was a shadow guard, he mostly wore dark black, and occasionally wore ordinary linen clothes when performing official duties. Even in his previous life, he had never worn such bright colors, so when he saw his appearance in front of the floor-length mirror, he was still a little uncomfortable.
Although men don't need to draw eyebrows or wear makeup, Hua Chun still carefully trimmed his eyebrows and applied some very light lipstick on his lips, saying that it would make him look better. "Young Master, you haven't slept all night, so your complexion is a little worse. Let me apply some powder on you."
Then, she opened a red box, used the small brush inside to sweep and gently apply a layer of lotion on You Shu's face to cover up the dark circles under his eyes.
After a while, You Shu's face turned rosy again. Under Hua Chun's skillful hands, he looked radiant, gentle and handsome, with no trace of his original cold temperament.
Xiao Yue couldn't help but praise him: "Brother You looks so good today! When we meet the emperor later, he will definitely like it too!"
You Shu coughed awkwardly, took a quick look at his face in the mirror, and then looked away.
Xiaoyue is worthy of being the girl I recognized. She has good taste.
I am so damn handsome.
When everything was ready, there was a rustling sound outside the palace. It was the people from the Ministry of Rites coming to pick him up. Hua Chun hurriedly put a jade ruyi into You Shu's hand and said softly, "Go, young master."
You Shu bowed deeply to her, then gently touched Xiao Yue'er's head, turned around and walked out with firm steps.
Xiaoyue watched his back as he left, suddenly sniffled and couldn't help crying.
"It's a happy day, why are you crying?" Hua Chun saw her crying and took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. "The young master and the emperor are about to get married, you should be happy."
Xiao Yue nodded, but her tears were still falling. "I know, but when I think of the hardships Brother You went through in the past, I feel happy and sad at the same time when I think of the good life that will come in the future."
Hua Chun understood her thoughts and stood side by side with her inside the door, watching him walk away.
Those difficult days are finally over.
Led by the ceremonial officer, You Shu sat on the phoenix sedan chair that only the queen could sit on and walked all the way to the Temple of Heaven. All the palace people he met along the way knelt down before him and kept calling him "Your Highness". The respect shown to him made him feel confused.
As a modern man, over the years, he has become accustomed to kneeling to others, but he is still not used to others kneeling to him.
As he was thinking this along the way, the sky gradually brightened. The warm sunlight shone on You Shu's body. He felt that his whole body was warmed up, and all his worries and tensions seemed to disappear in the sunlight.
When passing by a palace wall, You Shu suddenly looked up and saw a white plum tree sticking out from the top of the high vermilion wall. The small white flower and the red wall complemented each other very beautifully. He couldn't take his eyes off it for a while.
The carriage was going farther and farther away, and he subconsciously wanted to look back, but he heard the ceremonial officer beside him remind him in a low voice.
"Your Highness, please don't look back."
“Look ahead.”
This sound reminded You Shu and he remembered his current identity.
By the way, the ceremonial officer reminded us yesterday that no matter what happens on the wedding day, we must not look back. That means breaking away from the past. Look up and forward, good days are ahead.
You Shu warned himself silently in his heart,
Keep moving forward and don't look back.
After walking for about half an hour, the phoenix sedan chair finally stopped. Some palace maids wanted to come forward to support him, but You Shu was not a woman and had neither a veil nor a phoenix crown to restrain him, so she skipped this step. He walked to the bottom of the steps alone and looked up.
Xiao Weixin was also dressed in red, and was standing on the ninth step, looking down at him. There were only nine steps between the two of them, a very close distance.
He stretched out a hand, lowered his head and said gently to You Shu who was still looking up at him from below: "Xiao Shu, come here."
You Shu came to his senses, took a deep breath, and then walked up the stairs.
One step at a time, exactly nine steps.
He reached out and held Xiao Weixin's hand, and finally walked to his side. The two of them suddenly smiled at each other on the stage, as if all the hardships they had experienced had disappeared in this smile.
Although the court officials watching the ceremony had different thoughts, they could not make the emperor unhappy on such a happy day as the new emperor was getting married. Therefore, no matter what, everyone had a happy look on their faces, and even the old stubborn ones who had originally opposed it had to admit it.
The new emperor has a very good vision. The future empress is a dragon and phoenix among the real people. Even if she is a man, she is not inferior to the emperor when standing next to her. Although her appearance is not stunning, it seems that she can make the world dim.
Xiao Weixin held You Shu's hand, and they burned incense together openly, informing the heavens and the earth and all the relatives in the world.
You Shu seemed to have lost the ability to hear what the ceremonial officials around him were saying. He just followed Xiao Weixin based on his intuition, without taking a wrong step.
The man beside him brought him supreme status and glory. No matter what the people below him thought, his name would always be listed in the history books of future generations.
The ceremony of crowning the empress lasted about an hour before it was over. After that, the emperor and empress went up to the city wall together to celebrate with the people.
You Shu stood on the high wall and looked down. The people below were bustling with people from the capital who came to watch the ceremony. Some of them were curious about what the male queen looked like, while others simply wanted to feel the joy of the wedding of the emperor and empress. Everyone looked very happy.
You Shu was dressed in red and stood tall and graceful. Just by standing on the city wall, she could attract countless people's attention. She was even more eye-catching than Xiao Weixin, who was once the most handsome man in the capital. The people below were all impressed.
No wonder the emperor was willing to risk everything for him, he is as handsome as a god.
There were too many people below, but You Shu still saw many familiar people.
Several of his brothers from the Shadow Guard Battalion had changed into regular clothes and were squatting on the eaves of a distant house looking at this side. The distance was quite far, but he still saw it.
The older boys gathered together and waved to him desperately, afraid that he couldn't see them. They were all so happy as if they were going to be the queen.
You Shu's eyes couldn't help but become moist again. He even saw Lord Shadowshou, crossing his arms and nodding at him.
Even though he couldn't see clearly whether they were laughing or not, he was so sure.
He married the person he loved and had the blessings of his brothers and elders. This life is worth it.
If my parents who are far away in another world could see this, they would probably be very happy too.
Perhaps his emotions infected Xiao Weixin, who turned around and said to him with a smile: "Look, Xiaoshu, this is the kingdom I built for you."
You Shu was about to cry, but when she heard him say some cheesy love words, she couldn't help laughing again.
"That's right, this is indeed your kingdom."
The two of them stood side by side on the city wall and celebrated with the people below, but their other hands were hidden in their wide sleeves, with their fingers tightly clasped together.
You Shu listened to the people below shouting "Long live the emperor, a thousand years live his highness", and felt that all this happiness seemed fake.
Only the warmth from the palms of the people around him told him that all this was real.
The wedding day of the emperor and empress was recorded by historians.
"The Emperor and Empress knew each other since childhood. On the day of their wedding, the sky was filled with rosy clouds and purple mist was coming from the east. This was a sign of great good fortune for heaven and earth. The whole world should celebrate and all the people should be happy."
After a busy whole day, Xiao Weixin had to entertain all the ministers in the evening. You Shu was almost drunk and drank quite a lot before being helped back to his room. After all the palace people had left, he lay on the bed for a while and then got up again.
He hasn't written a diary since he revealed his identity in front of Xiao Weixin, but today is really special and he should write it down.
You Shu opened the diary, picked up the pen and wrote carefully stroke by stroke in the light of the red candles used for the wedding.
'Today, I got married.'
'No one would have thought that I would actually become the queen.'
"I was just trying to build my career at first, but now it seems I went a little off track, but I can still be considered to have managed to get promoted."
"It is a very happy thing to marry someone you truly love. Perhaps not everyone can be as lucky as I am."
'This is probably the last time I will write a diary. In the past, it was to prevent myself from being lost in the long river of history and forgotten, but now it is different.'
'I have someone by my side who will always accompany me. I don't have to worry about being forgotten by anyone anymore. I can live in the sunshine.'
'Let me stop here. It starts with a diary and ends with a diary. It's perfect.'
'I will keep moving forward and never look back.'
After writing this, You Shu quietly locked the diary into a small box and kept it away.
When he turned around, the door was pushed open and Xiao Weixin, dressed in red, walked in.
You Shu smiled slightly, stood up and went to greet him.
The bridal chamber is filled with flowers and the years are peaceful and quiet.
—End of text—