Chapter 1328: In the Bridal Chamber (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Weddings in the Ming imperial family were not only grand but also exceedingly elaborate — especially the grand weddings of an emperor or a crown prince, which were grand to the point of extravagance and so costly that even the national treasury found them hard to bear. However, after Zhu Cilang, that enlightened sovereign, took the throne, he began enforcing strict frugality. He himself had never held a grand wedding — Wu Sanmei, Zheng Chagu, and the others had all entered the palace under the title of Selected Attendant, and only afterward were they enfeoffed as Empress, Imperial Noble Consort, and Noble Consort, so there had been no grand weddings at all.

But this time Ding Yuying was entering the palace under the title of Crown Princess — a proper, formal marriage with all due ceremony, entering as the principal consort from the very first day — so it was necessary to go through the whole elaborate affair.

Setting aside the earlier rites of betrothal, the sending of betrothal gifts, the fixing of the wedding date, and the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and reports to the ancestors — all of which were arranged by the Ministry of Rites and the Duke for Perpetuating the Sage's mansion — everything was to be made as frugal as possible according to the Zhu Emperor's requirements. They were still at war! After the Crown Prince's grand wedding, he would have to follow the Emperor on the western campaign to Sichuan, so it would not do to be too extravagant, nor could the proceedings be dragged out too slowly.

The people of Sichuan were still waiting for the Zhu Emperor and the "Lucky Crown Prince" to come and save them!

The tedious formalities before the grand wedding could be economized, but the rites on the day of the grand wedding itself could not be cut too much. And by the way, the "day" of the grand wedding was not one day — it was five consecutive days of grand celebration.

The first day was busy from early morning until midnight. First came the fetching of the bride, with Kong Yinzheng and Shi Kefa jointly officiating, escorting Ding Yuying to the gates of East Lake Palace. Then, at the palace gates, the imperial decree was read aloud — that is, the edict enfeoffing Ding Yuying as Crown Princess.

Only after the reading was complete did the formal welcoming ceremony begin.

After the Crown Princess was escorted into East Lake Palace, she first changed her clothes, putting on the phoenix crown and ceremonial robes of a Crown Princess along with the red bridal veil, and went before the incense table to bow and receive the imperial mandate. Then she followed the Crown Prince, Zhu Hexing, to pay homage and give thanks to the Emperor and Empress.

After the obeisance was done, they went to the imperial ancestral temple within East Lake Palace to worship the ancestors. Only after worshipping the ancestors could they return to the palace to hold the formal wedding ceremony. The worship at the ancestral temple was a very solemn affair, and by the time it was finished it was nearly afternoon. At this time, Zhu Cilang and Empress Wu also returned from Luo Kedi's residence, and the Retired Emperor Chongzhen and the Retired Empress Zhou also returned to East Lake Palace from the rented prince's mansion.

The second stage of the wedding now formally began. They bowed to Heaven and Earth, bowed to the parents, bowed to the grandparents, bowed to each other, and performed the nuptial cup rite — drinking the cross-cupped wine, and also eating a meal together. According to the rites, after drinking the wine and eating the meal, the two of them still had to bathe and change clothes, and only then were they finally escorted into the bridal chamber!

Once in the bridal chamber, well, of course they held hands and slept. The second day, third day, fourth day, and fifth day still had all sorts of ceremonies for the two of them to get through, so they had to conserve their strength.

And Zhu Cilang would leave after the Crown Prince and Ding Yuying drank their first cup of cross-cupped wine, heading off to the Red Fort to attend his own wedding. This was truly a busy day!

Watching Ding Yuying, still covered by her red bridal veil, drinking the cross-cupped wine with that big simpleton, the Lucky Crown Prince Zhu Hexing, under the attendance of the matronly palace maids, the Zhu Emperor rose from his imperial seat and first bowed to the Retired Emperor Chongzhen and the Retired Empress Zhou, who were grinning from ear to ear: "Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, your son still has matters to attend to and takes his leave first."

The Retired Emperor Chongzhen said with a laugh, "Chun'ger, We have heard that Princess Nisha of the Tianzhu country brought twenty foreign dancing girls into the palace with her, every one of them bewitching and alluring. How do you plan to deal with them?"

At these words, the Retired Empress Zhou's face darkened beside him.

Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "These foreign dancing girls are all Princess Nisha's people, so We cannot dispose of them arbitrarily. We will discuss it with Princess Nisha later. If Imperial Father is fond of them, your son will pick out one or two who are skilled in song and dance and send them to you?"

"This..." The Retired Emperor Chongzhen stole a glance at Empress Zhou, saw that his wife's face was livid, and immediately changed his tune: "How could We be fond of foreign dancing girls? We have been cultivating Our mind and character lately — We intend to be a virtuous Retired Emperor!"

What was going on? Zhu Cilang was taken aback for a moment. Chongzhen was afraid of his wife? Right! His investments in Luzon had lost so badly he couldn't find his way back. The titles of nobility in the Kingdom of Luzon were not selling, and prices had fallen again and again!

The immigrants sent over had a very high mortality rate from tropical diseases, and the four brothers Zhu Ciyi, Zhu Cifeng, Zhu Cideng, and Zhu Cihun, whom Chongzhen had sent to Luzon, were not exactly skilled managers either. First they took the Retired Emperor Chongzhen's investment and squandered it recklessly, building great palaces around the Santiago Fortress in Manila, and even sending people to Japan and the island of Temasek to purchase beautiful women. When the money was nearly spent, they forced the local natives to work for them for nothing, which drove the natives to revolt, and they came to blows with the guards of the four "foolish kings" all over Luzon.

Fortunately, these natives were not united, had no good weapons, and were not very numerous, so it was utterly impossible for them to drive out the four "foolish kings."

But the "Four Foolish Kings" were so inept at warfare that for a time they could do nothing about the natives either. So they thought of the Japanese mercenaries of Prince Jiaqing, and sent people to Nagasaki to recruit mercenaries. The problem was that recruiting soldiers required money! And the four of them had almost no money left.

So they had no choice but to ask Chongzhen for a new round of investment. But where was Chongzhen supposed to get money? His sons were growing up one after another, and his daughters were reaching marriageable age. The annual gold-flower silver of one million taels simply could not hold out, so he had to ask Empress Zhou for money — the economic power was in his wife's hands, so it was impossible not to fear his wife!

Seeing Chongzhen's henpecked, pathetic appearance, Zhu Cilang glanced again at Ding Yuying, whose head was still covered by the red bridal veil, and thought to himself: Your husband has never known how to manage money since he was a child. If you can manage money well, sooner or later you'll have him completely under your thumb! But for these next two years you'll have to put up with a bit of grievance and coax the Lucky Boy along nicely. This is called being a slave first, and a master later!

Zhu Cilang left the Eastern Palace, mounted his horse with Huang Dabao, several matronly palace maids, and the imperial guards, and while the sky was still light, galloped off toward the Red Fort at the foot of Mo Mountain.

Inside the Red Fort, a wedding full of exotic atmosphere had long been prepared for him. Although Princess Nisha believed in the Tianfang faith, her wedding with Zhu Cilang was a "Bollywood"-style affair of song and dance — the Timurid dynasty of Tianzhu was just such a "mash-up," and even Aurangzeb could not completely change it. Although he had brought over a hundred thousand elite troops from Central Asia, his empire was too vast and his enemies too many, so he could not do without the Brahmin armies, led by the Rajputs, who had served his family loyally for over a hundred years.

At the same time, Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying, who had been busy all day, had finished bathing and changing, each putting on the festive wedding-night robes, and entered the bridal chamber together.

Inside the bridal chamber, apart from the two newlyweds, there was Kou Baimen, serving as the bridal attendant — she had already instructed Ding Yuying. If Ding Yuying could serve Zhu Hexing well and make him comfortable, then there would be nothing for her to do. But if this little girl messed things up, she would have her hands full.

After handing the ruyi scepter for lifting the bridal veil to the Crown Prince, Kou Baimen performed a curtsy and said with a beaming smile, "This humble one will be waiting just outside. If you need anything, just call."

Zhu Hexing was quite courteous to Kou Baimen, and said to her with a smile, "Sister Baimen, you may withdraw for now. We will call if We need anything."

"Very well, then this sister wishes you an early birth of a noble son!" With that, Kou Baimen smiled and withdrew, then listened at the wall outside — she had to report back to Zhu Cilang and Wu Sanmei, after all!

Although the Crown Prince had not thought much of Ding Yuying during the matchmaking meeting, he was quite satisfied with Ding Yuying's face and figure — he had only wanted to make her a secondary consort.

So now he could only make do. Holding the ruyi scepter with a beaming smile, he lifted the red bridal veil from Ding Yuying's head, and then saw an exquisitely made-up face of peerless beauty — the owner of the face was certainly still Ding Yuying, but her appearance was far more beautiful than at the interview! Her eyebrows were long and curved, her nose bridge high and straight, her eyelashes curved and upturned, her eyes large and bright, the pupils clearly black and white, flashing with an alluring light. Her lip line was soft, alluring, and sensual, the corners of her lips turned up, carrying a trace of coquettish, inscrutable smile.

The Crown Prince Zhu Hexing, who knew little of the wonders of makeup, stared in a daze, his mouth hanging open, unable to speak, on the verge of drooling.

At that moment, Ding Yuying's sweet, coquettish voice rang out: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, it is getting late. Allow this lowly concubine to help you undress. Sister Baimen taught this lowly concubine a few tricks, and tonight they will be put to use in serving Your Highness."

(End of Chapter)