Cheng Yujin stretched out her hand. Her movements were visibly hesitant, but when her fingers touched Li Seung-kyung's hand, he immediately grabbed her hand. Li Seung-kyung's palm was warm and strong. As Cheng Yujin was led out of the phoenix sedan chair by him, she felt an indescribable sense of security.
It was as if no matter how much hesitation she had, as long as she was willing to take the first step, Li Seung-kyung would finish the remaining ninety-nine steps and travel thousands of li to hold her hand.
The female officials standing by the side looked at each other. They could see that helping Cheng Yujin out of the sedan chair was their duty, but now it was taken away by the Crown Prince. Logically speaking, the ceremony had not yet been completed, so the Crown Prince's actions were not appropriate.
But the female officials quietly looked at Li Seung-kyung's expression. None of them dared to remind him at this time. Clearly, the Crown Prince did not need their reminder. He knew the steps of the wedding, what to do and what not to do at each step.
They were already in the palace, so there were no outsiders to observe the ceremony. The female officials could only close one eye and pretend they did not see anything. After Cheng Yujin walked out of the sedan chair, she quietly struggled out of Li Seung-kyung's hand. The journey from Dongshun Gate to Ciqing Palace was very long. Cheng Yujin had to hold the jade tablet in her hand. It was not good for Li Seung-kyung to occupy one hand the entire time.
Cheng Yujin moved slightly, and Li Seung-kyung took the opportunity to let go of her hand. Soon, the carriage from the palace arrived. The two of them changed into the sedan chair, and the two of them, one in front and one behind, walked towards the Eastern Palace.
This time, they stopped again and arrived at the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace was not the name of a palace. It was just a name for the palace where the Crown Prince lived. It had always been built to the east of the palace garden, so it was called the Eastern Palace. The palace where the Crown Prince lived had changed many times, and the name had changed many times. The previous Emperor had named it Ciqing Palace, and it had been used ever since.
When Cheng Yujin heard the long song of the 'descending palanquin', she suddenly had an indescribable feeling in her heart. This was the Palace of Ci Qing, the famous Eastern Palace, the place where she would live for many years to come.
The door of the sedan chair lowered. Cheng Yujin slowly got out of the sedan chair and stepped on the clean stone floor. Once she took this step, there was no turning back. Whether she lived or died, whether she was down or glory, it all belonged to these red walls and blue tiles..
From the moment Cheng Yujin got off the sedan, the female official used a curtain to create a space and protected Cheng Yujin as she entered the door, not allowing outsiders to see her figure. .... the Crown prince's's's'..... When they entered the room, they followed the internal official's guidance, bowed and sat. They went back and forth several times, and after many steps, they finally finished drinking the nuptial wine. Cheng Yujin and Li Seung-kyung bowed to each other, and then palace eunuchs stopped beside them to guide them to change their clothes.
After an entire day, Cheng Yujin finally let out a sigh of relief.
Dugeaux and Lian Qiao were just accompanying them, but they were already exhausted. Cheng Yujin still had to support the heavy dress and crown. The two of them hurried to Cheng Yujin's side and asked in a low voice, "Crown Princess, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Cheng Yujin no longer had the strength to speak. She gestured to the crown on her head and said, "Let's remove the makeup first."
This crown was extremely gorgeous. It was made of solid gold and decorated with jadeite, gemstones, and pearls. There were four wings at the back, only two less than the Empress's crown. It was glorious. Cheng Yujin did a rough count. Just this crown alone had more than a hundred gemstones and more than four thousand pearls.
Don't ask Cheng Yujin why she knew how to count. She didn't know either.
Although it was beautiful, it was also very heavy. If it wasn't for its value, Cheng Yujin wouldn't have been willing to carry it for the whole day.
Dugeaux, Lian Qiao, and the palace maids worked together to remove the crown. The moment the crown was lifted, her neck suddenly relaxed. Cheng Yujin couldn't help but reach out to rub her neck. She massaged the stiff muscles on both sides of her neck. She almost suspected that her neck was being pressed down.
Lian Qiao's hands were sore just from carrying the crown. She thought about how the young lady had held it up for the whole day and sincerely admired her. Dugeaux had already come forward to massage Cheng Yujin's shoulders and neck. Her strength was neither light nor heavy. Every massage was just right for the stiff and sore areas. Cheng Yujin couldn't help but exhale. She relaxed and enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.
Lian Qiao was also very perceptive. She came forward to massage Cheng Yujin's legs and said, "The Crown Princess woke up in the middle of the night. You must be exhausted after the whole day. Let this servant help you loosen your legs. "
Cheng Yujin said, "Don't talk nonsense. The internal officials are still outside. Why aren't you going to give the maids and eunuchs a thank-you gift?"
Lian Qiao suddenly understood and immediately ran back into the room. She took the brocade pouch that she had prepared at the Marquis of Yichun and walked out. Cheng Yujin had rested enough. She stood up and let the palace maids take off her clothes. Di clothes were complicated. Without other people's help, she really couldn't put them on and take them off herself.
Cheng Yujin spread her arms and stood still. The palace maids on both sides were well-trained. They knelt beside her and methodically took off jade pendants, knee coverings, ribbons, and other accessories. Another group of people carried a red tray and came forward to take the accessories. They moved in and out like flowing water. They were busy but not disorderly.
Cheng Yujin put away all the di clothes. She was wearing a light inner garment. Dugeaux helped her with her hair and gently combed it. At this time, Lian Qiao came back and scurried to Cheng Yujin's side. She lowered her voice and said, "Crown Prince Consort, according to your orders, this servant went out to reward the eunuchs and maids attending the ceremony. Guess what happened?"
Cheng Yujin held a comb in her hand. She held a lock of hair and gently combed it to the end. She asked, "What happened?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince has already sent people to reward them. He even used your name. This servant didn't dare to be careless and gave them another set. Counting it this way, the maids who came to the Eastern Palace today received three sets of rewards. His Highness the Crown Prince received one set, His Highness received one set in your name, and this servant just sent out one set. "
Lian Qiao counted with her fingers. She was extremely envious. Cheng Yujin glanced at her indifferently. "His Highness the Crown Prince is rich. Why would he care about a mere reward? What the Crown Prince does is the Crown Prince's business. We can't skimp on the rewards that we should give. "
"This servant understands." Lian Qiao nodded repeatedly. Dugeaux was at the side holding Cheng Yujin's long hair. When she heard this, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Crown Princess, Lian Qiao isn't saying that His Highness is generous. She clearly wants to say that His Highness is very attentive to the Crown Princess."
Lian Qiao also laughed. She winked mischievously. "That's right. The Crown Princess is smart and decisive. How can you not guess this servant's true meaning?"
"Still talking nonsense." Cheng Yujin pretended to be angry. She glared at Lian Qiao. "We still have important matters to attend to tomorrow. Why aren't you going to see if the water is ready?"
Lian Qiao didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. She sighed and quickly slipped away.
By the time Cheng Yujin finished bathing and came out in casual clothes, a long time had already passed. When Cheng Yujin came out, Li Seung-kyung had already finished half of the book in his hand.
Hearing the sound, Li Seung-kyung put down the book and sighed. "So long?"
Cheng Yujin's hair was still wet. After bathing, the washroom was filled with water vapor. It was obviously inconvenient to dry her hair in there, so Cheng Yujin only roughly wiped the water off her hair and came out first.
Of course, the Eastern Palace had more than one washroom. Cheng Yujin and Li Seung-kyung each tidied up separately. No one disturbed the other. Cheng Yujin had always lived alone for as long as she could remember. When she was bathing, no one disturbed her. She was also served by familiar people, so Cheng Yujin subconsciously thought that she was still in her own home. After she finished bathing, she walked out with her hair still wet. It wasn't until she heard another man's voice that she suddenly reacted.
She was startled at first, thinking that a man had entered her room. Then, she slowly remembered that she was married. Right now, she wasn't in Marquis of Yichun's Jinning Courtyard. She was in the Eastern Palace.
It wasn't that someone had entered her room, but that she had entered another person's space.
When Cheng Yujin reacted, she froze in place. She didn't know whether to advance or retreat. She was inwardly angry at the Dugeaux and Lian Qiao for not reminding her, causing her to come out in such a disheveled state. However, Cheng Yujin's eyes swept around the hall. In such a large palace, there was no sign of the servant girls.
All the palace servants, including Cheng Yujin's dowry servant girls, had been chased out.
And the instigator was Li Seung-kyung.
Cheng Yujin was very embarrassed. Even if she just went out for a walk, she would always carefully dress up and carefully choose her clothes and accessories. She had never appeared in front of others with her hair down and wearing loose clothes. Especially since her hair was still dripping with water.
Cheng Yujin was embarrassed for a while. She turned around and wanted to walk to the cleansing room. At this time, Li Seung-kyung had already walked to her side. Sensing her movements, he pulled her back. "What are you doing?"
The strength he used now was completely different from when they were in front of the palace gates in the afternoon. Cheng Yujin couldn't pull her hand away and wanted to cover her face. "Your Highness, let go first. I'll go back and tidy up my appearance before coming out."
Li Seung-kyung didn't seem to expect this reason. He raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but laugh. "Look at the color of the sky outside. What time is it? Why are you tidying up your appearance?"
Cheng Yujin followed his movements and glanced outside. The palace was deep in the courtyard. After the sun set, the curtain of night quickly pressed down. Everywhere was gloomy, dignified, oppressive, and eerie. Just looking at it made one unable to breathe.
Cheng Yujin also realized that her words were a bit funny. If it was in her original home, she wouldn't have tidied up after taking a bath in the middle of the night. It wasn't like she was sick. But … … now there was Li Seung-kyung. How could it be the same?
Cheng Yujin wanted to say something but stopped. Li Seung-kyung didn't care. He pulled Cheng Yujin to his previous seat and indicated for Cheng Yujin to sit down. Then he took a clean towel from the clothes rack. Li Seung-kyung turned around and saw that Cheng Yujin was still standing there. Her eyes were round as if she saw something she couldn't believe.
Li Seung-kyung could only say to her, "Sit first. I'm just drying your hair. I'm not going to do anything else. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Cheng Yujin's lips moved. In the end, she restrained herself and said, "Your Highness, this … … How can I trouble you?"
"Call me by my name, don't use 'Your Highness'." This sentence seemed to have hit Li Seung-kyung's nerve. His expression didn't look too good. Seeing that Cheng Yujin still didn't want to move, he simply stretched out his long arms and pulled her to his side. Cheng Yujin couldn't compete with Li Seung-kyung's strength. She was violently pulled to the side of the bed. Just as she was about to hit the bed, she was firmly supported by a hand.
Li Seung-kyung held Cheng Yujin's elbow with one hand. Now that they were so close to each other, he realized that Cheng Yujin was very thin. He could almost completely hold her with one hand. After putting her down, Li Seung-kyung didn't take his hand back. Instead, he went around to her back and smoothed her wet hair into his palm, wrapping it with a clean towel.
Li Seung-kyung rubbed her hair as he said, "I am indeed older than you, but I'm only five years old. There's no need to call me 'Your Highness', right?"
This was purposely bickering. Li Seung-kyung was younger than many of the court officials, but in front of him, would these officials dare to say 'Your Highness' to the Crown Prince?
Cheng Yujin vaguely remembered that once before, Li Seung-kyung had asked her what she thought of men being older. At that time, Cheng Yujin thought that he was referring to Zhai Yanlin, so she used all her strength to scold him as an old man. Looking at him now, he was still brooding. Could it be that he was referring to himself?
Cheng Yujin was speechless. She didn't think that the Crown Prince would be so senseless. In her opinion, the one who cared the most about age should be Li Seung-kyung himself!
Cheng Yujin calmly said, "After all, I've called you 'Ninth Uncle' for a long time. It's normal that I haven't been able to change it."
Li Seung-kyung's hands paused. He raised his head to look at her. That kind of gaze made Cheng Yujin instinctively tense. Cheng Yujin thought that she had said something wrong and immediately became alert, "Your Highness had His Majesty announce to the world that you were brought back from the Cheng Family. It seems that he doesn't deny Cheng Yuanjing's identity. You were indeed my Ninth Uncle before. I just casually mentioned it. Your Highness won't be angry, right? "
"Cheng Yuanjing is also me. What is there to be angry about?" Li Seung-kyung's tone was indifferent, but his eyes glanced behind him. Cheng Yujin was curious and looked back. She found that other than a pair of bright red dragon and phoenix candles, there was nothing special.
Cheng Yujin didn't understand. She thought that she had missed something and was still looking carefully. At this time, Li Seung-kyung held Cheng Yujin's long hair in his hand and said, "Long hair is this hard to wring?"
Cheng Yujin quickly turned around and snatched her hair back. She looked at it with heartache. She angrily glared at Li Seung-kyung and said, "I just wanted to say that long hair needs to be taken care of carefully. You can't rub it too hard, and you can't wring it! Let go, I'll do it myself. "
Fine. Li Seung-kyung grew up with either men or eunuchs. He didn't understand women, so he could only listen to Cheng Yujin's words and let go. He turned sideways and saw Cheng Yujin carefully wrapping her hair. She grabbed it and used a cloth to absorb the water from her hair, but she didn't rub it. He thought that this was what she meant when she said that long hair needed to be taken care of carefully.
This kind of technique, a layman wouldn't be able to learn in a short time.
Li Seung-kyung looked at her with interest for a while and couldn't help but look at the burning red candles. Calculating the time of the candles, it was now a quarter to nine.
Did Cheng Yujin realize that today was their wedding night?
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