Vol 8 Chapter 269 – Hot potato

chocolily

XH 269 - Hot potato

The wedding sedan headed out of the palace and towards the Third Prince's manor in a steady flow with guards steering the crowd out of the path.

Instead of having the wedding ceremony in the palace, it will be held in the groom's manor, decided by the Third Prince himself.

And so, the 20th Emperor and the Empress Dowager were already waiting at their third son's manor, ready for the bride to arrive.

The Third Prince in his dashing wedding attire was waiting in front of the gate for his bride without a hint of impatience. The crowd knew better than to approach him or stick too close, and choose to stand further away just enough not to block the way but still able to watch the occasion.

The crowd heard the festive music and gongs first before the red sedan arrived, lifted by eight strong eunuchs. The first to appear in their view was their youngest Guilin Emperor in history, riding a horse that leads the bride marching!

"Why is the Emperor there?!" The crowd asked in shock and no one provided them any answer. But their heart told them that the young Emperor must value this sister-in-law very much!

Grandma Su, the most sought after marriage broker in the kingdom, was walking beside the red sedan with an unpretentious, cheerful smile. Today might not be the most auspicious date for a marriage, but the weather was good, the progression going smooth and the bride obedient and not willful. Why would she not be happy?

This was the second service she was hired by the royal family, the first being the previous Second Prince, Long Shan. His bride was arrogant, just like her other aristocracy clients. None of them paid Grandma Su much attention, treating her like a hired servant.

Despite offering her service to the royal family would bring her good fortune, she was reluctant to accept the Third Prince as her client. Grandma Su had wanted to retire and help out with taking care of her grandchildren, living the rest of her life peacefully.

That thought stayed until the moment the Third Prince visited her humble home personally! Not even the heroic Long Shan had asked for her service personally! The Third Prince had offered her the best service price to hire her and in return, demanded the best she should do as her job obliged her to and does not need to go over the top.

Grandma Su finally agreed to take on the Third Prince as her last client before retirement. It was because of his sincerity that Grandma Su's words and gestures towards Xiao Hua were much more approachable than she was towards her previous proud clients.

Seeing the bright, handsome smile on the Third Prince's face, Grandma Su could see that the prince was sincerely eager and thrilled to marry his bride. He even stepped forward without needing her to invite him and not wasting time to kick the side of the sedan as per custom. He shocked everyone when he grabbed the bride that barely leaned forward out of the sedan and transferred her onto his back.

"Huh?" The bride was confused at the speed of the events and allowed her groom to take control of her body. The crowd that wished to look at how beautiful the bride was blocked by her red veil that had done a good job by firmly sticking onto her head.

Soon, half of the crowd was instantly distracted by the boxes of dowries at the back of the march.

"Huh? Did I count wrongly yesterday? It's much more than yesterday!"

"I've counted! It's a hundred boxes!"

"Yesterday was only forty-three, why would there be so much today?"

The rebelled Second Princess Consort had more dowries, but they understood that the Second Prince was wealthy after receiving numerous rewards from his victories on the battlefield. Speaking of the previous Second Princess Consort, she was known to have a few profitable shops under her name and they contributed to her dowries as well.

On the other hand, their Third Prince was a leisurely prince, and his salary as an official would not allow him to spend his wealth mindlessly. But when one saw how easy going their Third Prince was, they could, to a certain extent, perceive the scene of their affectionate prince giving out almost all his wealth to his bride just to avoid her being embarrassed.

No one believes that the humble Doctor Bai would have this much treasure in hand! Especially when the bride was just an adopted daughter and naturally would not give special care in handling her dowries!

"It must be the bride price!" If that was the case, it was still acceptable, because the rumor said their Third Prince adores his fiancée very much.

"Doctor Bai could not have given all the bride price to his daughter...?" Bride price was usually given to the parents, but some parents would give a portion of the bride price to their daughter.

Someone sighed. "What a generous father!"

Even if Doctor Bai had kept some bridal price for himself, it would not amount to much seeing the dazzling row of dowry boxes!

While outside the manor was noisy with discussion, the inside was serene, with only Grandma Su's voice could be heard.

Xiao Hua only came to herself when Grandma Su told her to kowtow to worship heaven, parents, and spouse. The entire process was completed smoothly, the atmosphere full of joy and celebration. Not a single guest has a dark, unhappy face that would sour the atmosphere.

Grandma Su was a little surprised, but attributed it to the newlyweds with a pleasant personality that does not invite criticism from anyone and have good relations with others!

Xiao Hua was sent to the bridal chamber, with a huge double happiness symbol on every wall and window in the room. There were two candles lit, a dragon and a phoenix, and the room glowed with warm orange light.

"Princess Consort, all you have to do is wait for the Third Prince to arrive and drink the exchange wine with arms locking together. The groom will enter the bridal chamber after the fireworks set off," Grandma Su advised the nervous young bride.

Xiao Hua does not like being unable to look at people while talking, especially now when she regained her eyesight. She raised her veil until she could see Grandma Su but also careful as to not overthrow the veil away.

It was supposed to be her husband's duty.

"Thank you, Grandma Su. Without your guidance, I don't know how many mistakes I would have made." Xiao Hua knew she was slow and unprepared with the ritual, which had Grandma Su keep on telling her to do this and that. But her tone was warm and patient, which made Xiao Hua feel thankful and mortified of her own incompetence.

Xiao Hua's sincerity had Grandma Su's smile become wider. As an elder past her seventies, she does not have much stamina compared to her younger days and had to struggle to remain vigilant throughout the wedding ceremony. But this young bride's words rejuvenated her to some extent.

Matching couples, guiding their marriage ceremony, and witnessing their happy smiles, were why Grandma Su persists to be a marriage broker.

"I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. For now, please rest until the groom arrives."

"I will. Grandma Su, please join the feast and have a meal before leaving. And please accept this small token from me." Xiao Hua passed her a small red packet with a small amount of money.

There was no need for the young bride to brush up feelings to her when their paths would not intersect again. This was merely an act of goodwill, so Grandma Su did not reject it.

Grandma Su told Xiao Hua a few good wishes before leaving with a smile. It was pleasant to have her last client to be so thoughtful and let her retire with agreeable memory.

Xiao Hua was alone in the room, but Duan XiYing was right outside the door, able to hear Xiao Hua's call if needed. It reassured her that she was not alone. As for Da Bei, he had gone somewhere, likely being with his twin.

The wedding had passed rather quickly as if she had just ridden a bullet train, but it actually took most of the day to end. It was tiring, but Xiao Hua was content to experience it!

The feast was going on and the groom had to entertain the guest, much to Le XiaoTing the introvert's relief. For she was currently the bride, she does not need to show her face, accept congratulatory wine, and entertain guests. As for her newlywed husband, he had to bear it all with a smile.

Xiao Hua wondered if Long Zhu would be drunk by the time he entered the bridal chamber. That thought made her nervous, especially when she saw the sky turning dark. Soon Long Zhu will be joining her after the feast concluded...

Her face turned as red as a ripe chili.

She took out the crystal shrimp dumplings from earlier and ate them to sustain her stomach, careful not to touch her lips. After eating, she chewed on lemongrass to clean her breath.

It was just in time for the fireworks to go off and it was joined by loud merriment.

Xiao Hua quickly sat on the bed with embroidered quilts laid neatly on it. Unable to admire it with the black and white vision, she could only appreciate the dragon and phoenix embroidered, which was done rather realistically. Below it was another quilt, but this one was embroidered with pictures of cute babies.

She blushed, for how could she not understand the intention of these quilts being made? Was it not to hope for babies from the newlyweds?

It felt as if she had just sat on hot potatoes that she could not get off from.

Wanting to distract herself, she took out the gift that Long Lian had given her as her birthday present. Long Lian said she can only open it after she gets married, so right now was considered to be the right time.

Opening the box, it revealed small bottles and boxes, similar to cosmetics. Xiao Hua thought they were just ordinary cosmetics, right until she read the labels.

Xiao Hua found that there was an even bigger hot potato in her hands! ＼(º □ º l|l)/