Zhao Jingyu did not delay his work. In the red tent, he almost tore Xie Nanjia apart.
Seeing that she was really tired and feeling sorry for how hard she had been through the day, Zhao Jingyu gave up and ordered people to prepare hot water for her to bathe.
After a while, the hot water was prepared, and Zhao Jingyu personally picked up the drowsy Xie Nanjia and carried her into the bathroom, putting her in a large bathtub filled with flower petals.
Xie Nanjia didn't know how she fell asleep. She only knew that when she woke up, she was hugging Zhao Jingyu, and the autumn sun was shining brightly in.
It is undeniable that on this slightly cool autumn day, the feeling of being close to the warm body of a loved one is simply wonderful. For a moment, she felt that she could completely understand those kings who did not attend the court early in the morning.
But today is different, they still have to pay their respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and offer them tea. If they go too late, others will surely guess the reason, and they will be completely embarrassed.
"Zhao Jingyu, get up." She gently patted Zhao Jingyu's exposed shoulders.
Zhao Jingyu dazedly opened one eye and hugged her in his arms: "Why are you still calling me by my full name, huh?"
The man's voice, just after waking up, was a little hoarse and lazy, but also contained some residual passion and full of doting. Xie Nanjia couldn't help but blush and her heart beat fast, and she couldn't help but kiss him on the face.
"What should I call you then?" she asked softly.
Zhao Jingyu was completely awakened by this good morning kiss. He supported the bed with one hand and gently stroked her cheek with the other hand: "Call me husband."
Xie Nanjia felt a chill for some reason and thought the name was so corny.
She tried to call out and asked Zhao Jingyu: "Do you feel awkward?"
Zhao Jingyu thought about it carefully and nodded: "It's a bit awkward, but it's more comfortable to call me by my name. How about this, from now on you can call me Your Highness when you are outside, call me by my name at home, and call me Husband in bed."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
The two talked for a while, then got up, washed, changed clothes, and prepared to pay their respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
The maid who had been in service for a long time came in to collect the wedding handkerchief. Looking at the bright red spots on the wrinkled handkerchief, a smile blossomed on her kind face. She happily congratulated Zhao Jingyu, and then took the handkerchief to the Cining Palace.
Watching the nanny leave, Xie Nanjia suddenly felt embarrassed. When she thought about having to present the handkerchief to the empress dowager for inspection and having someone record it in a book, she was too embarrassed to go out.
In contrast, Zhao Jingyu was not shy at all, but was proud of his own prowess.
Zhao Jingyu packed up first and waited for Xie Nanjia to put on makeup. Seeing Liusu and Biluo applying rouge and powder on Xie Nanjia's face, she also became interested and insisted on putting on flowers and ornaments for Xie Nanjia herself.
Xie Nanjia couldn't persuade him, so she let him stick a plum blossom between his eyebrows.
Zhao Jingyu was very satisfied with his craftsmanship and told Xie Nanjia that he would be responsible for pasting the flower ornaments from now on.
After everything was packed up and thinking that it was time for the Emperor to attend the morning court, the two of them went to the Cining Palace together, where the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would be there to receive tea from the newlyweds.
There was no queen in the palace, so four virtuous concubines completed the ceremony on behalf of the queen.
In the folks, tea is served with a red envelope, and the palace had one as well. If it was not presentable, it would be embarrassing. After Xie Nanjia served tea to everyone, she received a red envelope worth two thousand taels, plus a set of gold and kingfisher feather head ornaments, and a gold-inlaid glazed dressing mirror inlaid with eight treasures from a foreign country, as well as various gifts from the concubines who watched the ceremony.
The colored glass mirror was a reward from the emperor. Unlike ordinary bronze mirrors, this mirror could reflect people very clearly, even the tiny pores could be seen, making all the concubines extremely envious.
The Queen Mother explained, "There are two sides of this mirror. When Concubine Shu gave birth to the little prince, the Emperor gave her one. He had long been determined to leave the other one to you. I am so embarrassed that I didn't get it!"
She said this, firstly to let Xie Nanjia know that she was valued, and secondly to make the other concubines feel more balanced. Since the Empress Dowager didn't have it, it was normal for them not to have it either.
Zhao Jingyu said, "I didn't get anything either. I kowtowed for nothing. Why did they reward her but not me?"
The concubines all laughed.
The Queen Mother teased him, "Look how wronged you are to my grandson. Come, tell me whether you want a golden hairpin or a jade bracelet. I will give it to you."
Everyone was delighted.
After chatting and laughing for a while, the empress dowager felt tired, so everyone left. Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia returned to the East Palace together.
After returning to the palace with nothing to do, Zhao Jingyu was eager to try to pull Xie Nanjia into the bedroom. Xie Nanjia didn't fall for his trick and said that the dowry was brought in yesterday and had not been sorted and stored yet. She begged Zhao Jingyu to go with her to count and store it.
Zhao Jingyu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll go and see how rich the Crown Princess's family is."
Seeing that he was still speaking in the same frivolous manner as usual, Xie Nanjia felt helpless but also relieved.
She likes this kind of husband and this way of getting along between husband and wife, which makes her feel relaxed.
She felt relieved, but Zhao Jingyu was not relieved at all after seeing her dowry. He cried out that he had been fooled by her. There was so much dowry that he could not finish counting it even after dark, and it was a waste of his work.
Fortunately, the maids and servants brought by Xie Nanjia were very capable. They sorted the dowry into categories and put them into the warehouse before dark, and handed the thick dowry book to Xie Nanjia for safekeeping.
Zhao Jingyu was so shocked that he said, "We don't lack money. What are we going to do with all these things?"
"Just leave it there if you don't need it." Xie Nanjia blurted out without thinking, "When my daughter gets married in the future, I'll give it to her as a dowry."
Zhao Jingyu immediately smiled happily: "You are right, but you have to have a daughter first, right?"
Xie Nanjia was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"It means that we have to hurry up and give birth to our daughter!" Zhao Jingyu picked her up and ran towards the bedroom.
Xie Nanjia: “…”
Liusu and Biluo were laughing so hard in the back.
Biluo said, "At this rate, the young lady will probably have good news soon. Do you think the first baby will be a boy or a girl?"
"Who can guess? Maybe they are twins, a boy and a girl!" Liusu said.
Another night of lovemaking, the next day was the day to go back to her parents' home. Xie Nanjia got up early despite the soreness all over her body, packed up, had breakfast, and went to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion with Zhao Jingyu, taking the return gifts that Concubine Shu had carefully prepared for them.
In order to see her, Xie Zhanting and his family of three arrived at the Duke's Mansion early and waited for the two to return home with everyone else.
When she left, she wore a phoenix coronet and a bridal robe. When she came back, she had changed into the attire of the Crown Princess, an apricot-yellow phoenix robe, and a golden phoenix coronet. She rode in a four-horse chariot with Zhao Jingyu, who wore a dragon robe of the same color. Behind them followed the solemn and majestic crown prince's ceremonial guard, with canopies fluttering, colorful banners waving, and melodious music. Wherever she went, passers-by knelt and shouted "Long live the crown prince."
When they arrived at the gate of the mansion, the team stopped and everyone in the Duke's Mansion knelt on the ground and kowtowed, respectfully inviting the Prince and Princess to get off the sedan chair.
Seeing his parents and grandparents bowing to him, Xie Nanjia was not used to it for a moment, so he hurriedly got off the sedan chair and helped his relatives up one by one.
With tears in their eyes, Sheng Qingluan and her sister each held one of her hands, and couldn't wait to look her over from head to toe, asking her if she was getting used to living in the East Palace and how she was doing these days.
"We are fine, we are fine!" Zhao Jingyu said at the side, "Don't worry, mothers-in-law, I will take good care of Xiu'er."
Seeing that he still spoke as casually as before, everyone relaxed their attitude and happily surrounded the two of them as they entered the house.
Zhao Jingyu was welcomed by the men into the front hall to drink tea, while Xie Nanjia followed the women to the old lady's courtyard to talk.
Everyone was very concerned about Xie Nanjia's married life, and they couldn't help but ask her all sorts of questions, asking her about her diet and daily life in the past three days in great detail, which made Xie Nanjia very shy.
Everyone present had been through this before, and from her shy and smiling expression, one could tell that she was very satisfied with her newlywed life. After a few days of worrying about her life, she finally put it to rest and started talking to her about having children.
Although it’s a bit early to talk about having a baby now, we will have fewer opportunities to meet in the future, so I still need to remind her in advance so that she won’t be flustered when the time comes.
At noon, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion held a banquet to entertain the new son-in-law. After the banquet, after sitting for a while, Zhao Jingyu stood up and said goodbye, saying that he wanted to take this opportunity to visit the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
On the day of his wedding, in order not to steal the emperor's limelight, Marquis Dingyuan did not attend. Therefore, he and Xie Nanjia agreed early in the morning to go back to the Marquis' Mansion when he returned to his parents' home.
Everyone felt that this was the right thing to do, so they didn't keep him any longer and respectfully escorted the couple out the door.
Xie Nanjia said that since they would pass by the General's Mansion on the way to Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, he asked his parents and younger brother to go with them and stop by the General's Mansion for a visit.
Zhao Jingyu understood what she was thinking, so he allowed her to stay at the general's mansion for another half an hour. When they arrived at Dingyuan Marquis's mansion, Dingyuan Marquis, who had received the news in advance, was already waiting at the gate with his entire family.
Zhao Jingyu helped Xie Nanjia get out of the car, strode forward, walked to the kneeling Dingyuan Hou, lifted his skirt and knelt down, bowed three times to Dingyuan Hou, and said loudly: "Father, your son and his wife are back to see you!"
Marquis Dingyuan instantly lost control of his emotions, hugged him and tears fell down.
Everyone was sighing and praising His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his loyalty and righteousness.
At this time, a small figure in red clothes and red pants stumbled over from behind the crowd and stood in front of Xie Nanjia. He raised his chubby little face and looked at her curiously with a pair of black phoenix eyes.
Xie Nanjia's heart suddenly softened.
Xiu'er Niang followed closely behind and was startled by the majestic procession of the Crown Prince. She hurriedly explained to Xie Nanjia, "The young master was sleeping just now, so he was unable to come out in time to greet the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. As soon as he woke up, I brought him here."
"It's okay." Xie Nanjia resisted the urge to hug her son and said with a smile.
Xiu'er's mother bent down and whispered to the child: "Kangkang, say hello to your uncle and aunt."
The child glanced at Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia, and then said in a baby voice, "Uncle and aunt are doing well!"
Xie Nanjia almost cried.
Zhao Jingyu noticed her emotional fluctuations, stepped forward, picked up the child, and kissed the child on the face: "Kang Kang is so good, go to the palace with your uncle and meet your grandfather later."
Xie Nanjia looked at him with a startled look, asking him with her eyes whether it was true or false.
Zhao Jingyu directly told Xiu'er's mother to pack up and bring Kang Kang back to the palace with them later.
Xiu'er Niang was completely stunned and stood there at a loss. Finally, the old lady spoke up, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sincerely invites you, so you can take the young master out to play!"
Only then did Xiu'er's mother wake up from her dream. She hurriedly agreed and went back to Sijinyuan to pack her things.
After staying in the mansion for an hour, the couple took their child and returned to the palace before the sun set.
That night, a family dinner was held in the palace to welcome the couple back to the palace. It also meant that after tonight, Xie Nanjia would officially become a member of the royal family.
Compared to the one-week-old little prince Jiujin, Kang Kang, who is over two years old, is at the most playful age. Song Wanji simply can't let go of this godson. He plays with him all night and asks Xie Nanjia to keep the child in the palace for a few more days.
"This child is a lucky one. He was born to me during the Zhou-Zhua Ceremony. If I let him live in the palace, maybe he can give me another grandson!" said Song Wanji.
The Queen Mother agreed with his statement very much, saying that there has always been such a custom among the people. If a daughter-in-law of a family cannot get pregnant, they will adopt a daughter-in-law from outside as an inducement, and the daughter-in-law will get pregnant soon.
It was understandable that the two old people wanted to hold their grandson, but Zhao Jingyu thought that this was a lack of trust in his ability, so he tortured Xie Nanjia several times that night.
(End of this chapter)