Tiange’s Wedding
Amongst the sisters, Feng Yuheng was the first to get married, but because she was marrying Xuan Tianming, even though there were tears and laughs before the wedding ceremony, it did not feel as sad as Xuan Tiange’s wedding today.
Even Bai Furong made the effort to rush back from Ji An Prefecture, Bai Ze even sent an eagle letter for the guards over there to accompany her back. She returned in the middle of the night and entered the capital at night. The next day was the Princess’ marriage.
The entourage who came with Fan Tianli to the capital became the marriage procession. He was wearing a bright red robe, and many elements from Gu Shu were added on the groom’s red robe, making it look exotic. Gu Shu was in the south, so they stood outside of the city’s south gate to wait for the bride’s wedding carriage, this was the rule of Da Shun. When a princess was marrying far away, the son-in-law could not go to the manor to fetch her, the Princess had to personally sit in the palanquin to leave, and when she was about to meet the groom, her own older brother would carry her out of the bridal palanquin, and without her feet touching the ground, she will be carried to the groom, with the groom receiving her. In this whole process, her feet could not touch the ground, and when she boarded the carriage belonging to the groom, this ritual was considered complete.
Because it was a marriage to a faraway place, the formal marriage rituals could only be carried out when they arrived at the groom’s place, therefore, this process of the Princess’ marriage was the grandest ritual which Da Shun could give her.
This day, the Emperor also left the imperial palace, standing next to King Wenxuan, he personally saw off the niece he doted on the most.
The Emperor’s nose had been prickling the whole time, not only him, everyone’s mood was not that good. Because the capital had just settled down, no one dared to travel far away at this time, therefore, Xuan Tiange was going to marry to Gu Shu on her own, the one accompanying her was only the husband she had chosen.
Making her own choice, Xuan Tiange chose to have her Ninth Brother, Xuan Tianming, carry her out of the city, so Xuan Tianming was not standing with Feng Yuheng now, but was travelling together with the wedding procession. Feng Yuheng, Feng Tianyu, Bai Furong and Xiangrong were walking together, feeling very bad, Feng Yuheng said: “When I got married, all of you travelled far to Da Mo to congratulate me. But with Tiange’s turn to get married now, we cannot even send her out of the city’s gates, once I think about this, I feel uncomfortable.”
Feng Tianyu also said: “That’s right! We used to be so close, even if she is a Princess, she had never put up any princess airs in front of us. But it’s still alright, we can still follow her and send her to the city’s south gate. Xifeng is in Ji An Prefecture and cannot come back.”
Bai Furong continued the topic: “I received Bai Ze’s letter and took action throughout the night, I looked for Xifeng, but she was not in the prefecture, it was said that she followed Brother Ren to the mountains to hunt. I left a letter for her, but when she finishes her hunt and rushes back here, she will definitely not make it in time. In the end, us sisters were unable to gather in full, it’s regretful.”
Xiangrong said: “But it’s not as if we cannot met again, right? Didn’t she say that she can still come back to visit family? And in the future, we can also go to Da Mo!”
Feng Yuheng smiled, “Silly sister, they said that she can come back to visit family, and can stay for as long as she like, but when it comes to actual implementation, would it be that easy? After Tiange marries over, she will be Gu Shu’s Empress. No matter how small Gu Shu is, that is still a country, as the Empress of a country, how can she just leave whenever she wants? If it is really like this, wouldn’t Gu Shu be messed up? However, it is possible for us to visit over there in the future, and Xuan Tianming and I have prepared a valuable gift for her in Da Mo.”
As they spoke, the procession sending off the bride reached the city’s south gate. In a spontaneous manner, the people in the capital lined the sides of the streets with fresh flowers. These flowers came from the mountains outside the city and were plucked by the citizens. They started to line the streets with them since last night, not only were both sides of the streets filled with them, there were also many flower petals scattered in the middle of the road, looking very beautiful.
It was just that the emotions of the people were the same as the imperial family. All of them were not that excited, everyone could not bear to see the Princess marry far away. Especially since the citizens heard that because the Gu Shu ruler saved the Emperor, this was the reason why Tiange had to marry below her status. So their hearts felt pained for their Princess. Da Shun only had this one Princess, and they will no longer have one after she married. Once they thought of this, many women started to wipe their tears.
However, even though there were no smiling faces, the people did bring their blessings, because someone said: “The Gu Shu ruler does not look like a bad person, for more than one month, he would always accompany Princess Wuyang, we have seen them on the streets many times. That ruler is young and handsome, he is a good match for the Princess.”
“That’s right, that’s right! I have seen him hold an umbrella over the Princess’ head, there was one time he even helped the Princess lift the hem of her skirt, he is a good man.”
When this was said, some people who had met the pair on the streets also added on, with one sentence after another, they talked about how well Fan Tianli treated Xuan Tiange.
For these matters, Feng Yuheng, as well as Feng Tianyu and Xiangrong who were in the capital, they naturally knew about this, but Bai Furong did not know. After listening to the people saying this, she felt slightly reassured. Thinking about Tiange’s temperament as well, she believed that Tiange would not be taken advantage of when she reached Gu Shu. In addition, Yao Shu was still in Da Mo, and there was also Da Shun’s army, and that army was also under the command of Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng. With this kind of power, if that Gu Shu ruler was not stupid, he would not bully Tiange.
The procession stopped, the bridal palanquin was set on the ground, Xuan Tianming got off his horse and approached the palanquin, lightly lifting up the palanquin curtain, speaking inside with a soft voice: “Tiange, Ninth Brother will carry you to get married.”
The woman inside did not move, but her shoulders were shuddering constantly, making it obvious that she was sobbing.
Xuan Tianming also felt sad, he had a cold exterior and warm interior. On the surface, it looked like he did not care about anything, looking evil and sinister, but towards his only younger sister, his heart was truly in pain. This was Xuan family’s only girl, she was mature and intelligent, close with all of them. From the Emperor on top to these princes at the bottom, which one of them did not grow up while cradling Xuan Tiange in their arms? Even that Old Eighth had never harmed this younger sister.
He stood in front of the palanquin, not rushing her, just quietly looking at this younger sister, half a beat later, he suddenly smiled. He said: “You’re a grown woman, yet you’re still crying from your nose. Do not worry, Gu Shu is said to be far, yet it is not, so what if it’s in the desert? Ninth Brother still attacked and obtained a few of their cities. The capital of Gu Shu is very far from the centre of Da Shun, but it is very close from those cities which are being protected by Yao Shu now. If you miss home, then head over there, Yao Shu is Ah-Heng’s older cousin, so we are also considered relatives. Come! Ninth Brother will carry you out of the city, Ah-Heng and I have prepared a generous present for you over there, guaranteeing that you will have a stable life in Gu Shu which is free from worry.”
Xuan Tiange did not know what the generous gift was, but thinking about it, the things given by her Ninth Brother and Ninth Sister-in-law would definitely not be normal.
She slumped on Xuan Tianming’s back, and her tears flowed down Xuan Tianming’s neck. She wanted to look back at those familiar people, look at her Father King and Imperial Consort Mother, look at Uncle Emperor, look at Ah-Heng and those good sisters, and also look at the prosperity of the capital, even those servants in Wenxuan Palace, she missed them a lot.
But the wedding granny said: “Princess, you cannot look back! The biggest taboo on the wedding day is looking back, and more so, you cannot pull your wedding handkerchief aside. You must look ahead, the good days are in the future!”
She nodded, remembering that sentence seriously, the good days are in the future! Her arms wrapped around Xuan Tianming’s neck tightened slightly, she told Xuan Tianming: “Ninth Brother, if Fan Tianli bullies me, you must seek justice for me.”
“Do not worry.” Xuan Tianming said with a smile, “With the generous present given by Ninth Brother and your Ninth Sister-in-law, even if Fan Tianli grows ten brains, he will not dare to bully you.”
Finally, the bride left the city. Because it rained last night, the road outside was a little muddy. Fan Tianli did not wait for Xuan Tianming to walk in his direction, he actually stepped into the muddy water and approached with large strides. Then he reached out, steadily carrying his bride in his arms.
The bride under the wedding handkerchief blushed, but she felt this hug was abnormally dependable and warm. Her hand reached out in Xuan Tianming’s direction, and when she grabbed the hand which Xuan Tianming held out, she said: “Ninth Brother, when you go back, help me tell First Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother, I will always think about them.”
Xuan Tianming said: “Do not worry, we will always think of you as well. Your First Brother prepared a generous wedding dowry for you, it is more than the amount given by Wenxuan Palace and the imperial palace combined.”
Xuan Tiange laughed, “First Brother is the richest, and would always give me good things in the past. Unfortunately, my nephews and nieces have not grown up, I am unsure if they can still recognise their aunt when they see me in the future.” As she spoke, she felt like crying again.
Fan Tianli hurriedly continued the topic: “Did we not agree to come back every year? Do not worry, This Monarch will keep my word, in the future, on mid-autumn festival every year, we will come back to Da Shun to celebrate it, isn’t that good?”
(Translator’s note: In China, the Mid-Autumn festival symbolizes the family reunion, which is probably why the author picked this date.)
Xuan Tiange nodded rather forcefully and her wedding handkerchief almost got dislodged by her, scaring the wedding granny, who quickly adjusted it back into position.
Fan Tianli looked towards Xuan Tianming, speaking solemnly: “Please rest assured, Your Highness the Ninth Prince, This Monarch will protect Her Highness the Princess well and will definitely not allow her to suffer any grievances.” After saying this, a troubled smile even surfaced on his face, and he said: “Actually, with Tiange’s temper, if she does not bully This Monarch, it is already considered rather good.” He really learned his lesson during this period, this Princess of Da Shun really had an abnormal level of unruliness and stubbornness! And she had backing, with such a large birth country, with such amazing older brothers, putting aside the Ninth Prince’s army for now, just the First Prince’s trade was enough for him to choke on. Too many industrial chains within Gu Shu were developed by Da Shun’s First Prince, just based on their sibling relationship, as long as Xuan Tiange said something, the First Prince could greatly cripple his trades and industries in Gu Shu.
Actually, Xuan Tianming did not worry, he believed his own eyes, Fan Tianli was a good person. Of course, he placed more trust in Da Shun’s ability, with Da Shun’s protection, Gu Shu did not dare to offend this future Empress.
Finally, Fan Tianli carried Xuan Tiange onto the wedding carriage and represented Xuan Tiange in bowing deeply to the Emperor and King Wenxuan who left the city to see her off. Then Da Shun lit wedding firecrackers, amongst the sound of these firecrackers, the wedding procession set off, moving slowly towards the south.
Everyone watched the procession proceed, and when they could no longer see the procession, they returned to the city.
Feng Tianyu was curious about that generous gift, Feng Yuheng told her in an airy voice: “For me, I gave fifty divine archers and fifty divine troops.”
She said it lightly, but everyone who heard it breathed in sharply, feeling cold.
Fifty divine archers and fifty divine troops!
That was Da Shun’s most secret and most terrifying force, carrying that legendary thunder and becoming Xuan Tiange’s suicide warriors, they would enter Gu Shu together with her, providing her with comprehensive protection.
What did this mean? It meant that if Gu Shu really betrayed them one day, with just these one hundred people, they could flatten the whole of Gu Shu!
The Ninth Prince and Princess Yu were so extravagant when giving gifts!
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