Chapter 2275: Wedding
Chapter 2275: Wedding
Zu An slapped his forehead. He'd almost forgotten about the wedding because he was so engrossed in understanding the Myriad Transformations skill. He asked, “Has Linglong already gone?”
Zhang Zitong was already used to the way he spoke about people and replied, “Her highness was worried that you could miss the occasion because of your secluded cultivation, so she left to represent the court in your place first. That way, the Chu clan wouldn’t lose face in the capital.”
“She really thought of everything.” Zu An chuckled. “Let’s go to the Chu manor, then!” Chuyan was still suffering under the Bridge of Helplessness, so how could he let her family suffer in the capital?
“Understood!” Zhang Zitong’s spirits immediately improved. Even though she was really happy staying at sir’s side, the Imperial Palace was still quite boring, especially since sir hadn’t left for the past few days.
Shortly after, a group of people left for the Chu manor.
As holders of a dukedom, the Chu clan had a manor in the capital that matched their noble status. However, since their main industries were in Brightmoon City, few of their people normally stayed in their residence. Chu Youzhao spent most of her time at the Qin manor; meanwhile, Qin Wanru hadn’t returned to her parental home in a long time, and she and Huanzhao also stayed in the Qin manor, making it a livelier place. But since this was a wedding celebration, they naturally couldn't continue to hold it in the Qin manor.
Zu An had been planning to head to the Chu manor comfortably in a small carriage, but Zhang Zitong advised him that because of his special status now, every word he spoke and every movement he made would be judged. If he was too casual, people would think that he didn’t treat the Chu clan with much importance. Zu An thought that what she said made sense, so he had her prepare a proper procession before heading to the Chu manor in a grandiose fashion.
Along the way, Zu An sighed deeply. He preferred to do as he pleased much more than this. He was glad that he hadn’t taken the position of emperor, or else life would have been even more complicated.
“The regent has arrived!”
By the time Zu An arrived at the Chu manor, everyone in the Chu clan had already received the news, and came out to greet the procession. The empress dowager, the empress, and other high officials also came out.
In reality, with the empress dowager and empress’ status, it didn’t match proper etiquette for them to come out and welcome him. But no one present felt that it was wrong at all.
The person standing in front of the Chu manor had upright features that made him scholarly and handsome. Zu An quickly got off the carriage and supported him to his feet, saying, “Elder, please hurry and rise.”
This was the Brightmoon Duke, Chu Zhongtian. Zu An’s status was now special, and because of his divorce from Chu Chuyan, he couldn't continue to call the duke 'father-in-law'. Now that he thought about it, his situation when he first transmigrated had been quite difficult, but Chu Zhongtian had treated him quite well back then.
“Thank you, regent!” Chu Zhongtian replied. He looked at the handsome and heroic-looking young man in front of him and sighed deeply too. Who would have thought that a sorry-looking young man from Brightmoon City could one day grow to this extent?
It seems no one else's judgment could come close to Chuyan’s. It was she who stood her ground and chose Zu An. Everyone else thought that she had gone crazy, and even I found it a bit hard to understand. Only now do I realize just how horribly wrong everyone was back then.
“When did elder arrive at the capital?” Zu An asked.
“I arrived two days ago. How could I not be present when Youzhao is getting married?” Chu Zhongtian answered, smiling happily.
He'd actually wanted to come to the capital to see his daughter and old friends for some time, but with the emperor and King Qi’s factions in conflict, the situation had previously been quite tense. He'd been worried that he wouldn’t be able to return if he left his fiefdom.
But King Qi and Zhao Han had died one after the other, and the court had fallen under Zu An’s management. Naturally, he'd had no misgivings left. Between that and Youzhao’s wedding, he had already left a few months earlier to head to the capital.
However, midway there, he'd learned that a coup had taken place in the capital. He'd hesitated for a bit, but out of worry for his wife and daughters’ safety, he still continued to hurry over. Fortunately, Zu An had been able to completely stabilize the situation.
“Brother-in-law!” Chu Youzhao and Chu Huanzhao both greeted Zu An.
Zu An stroked Chu Huanzhao’s head. Then, his gaze quickly shifted toward Chu Youzhao. He had to admit that the cross-dressing Chu Youzhao looked like an extremely handsome pretty boy. Her wedding clothes made her look even more dashing.
“Youzhao, you look really good today!”
“Thank you, brother-in-law.”
Chu Huanzhao curled her lips from the side. But today was Chu Youzhao’s important day, so she decided not to fight with her sister today.
Hmph, as the big sister, I really am considerate.
After he greeted the people of the Chu clan, Zu An followed Bi Linglong, Liu Ning, and Yun Yuqing into the Chu manor.
“Are you alright?” Bi Linglong asked worriedly. Zu An had suddenly entered secluded cultivation for a few days, so it was hard for others to not worry.
“It’s fine, just some small problem I had to take care of. It’s already dealt with.” Zu An chuckled as he exchanged some words with her. Then, he asked Liu Ning, “How are the empress dowager’s injuries?”
“The recovery process is a bit slow. When is the regent going to help this poor widow heal?” Liu Ning replied with an ambiguous smile.
Zu An felt himself become a bit worked up. He hadn’t expected her to be so daring and talk about that in front of so many people! He could only say in return, “Let’s schedule it for another day. Today isn’t a convenient date.”
“I will remember these words.” Liu Ning’s eyes were starting to curve from her smile as she replied.
Many high officials saw this scene and sighed inwardly. They called her the empress dowager, but she still looked young and beautiful. That intoxicating charm she carried really wasn’t something young ladies could possess. Several of them began to recall the past. Back then, the empress dowager had been a woman an entire generation of men dreamed of!
Bi Linglong and Yun Yuqing exchanged a look. Even though Zu An and Liu Ning's conversation sounded normal on the surface, the two of them just found it a bit strange for some reason.
…
Then, the wedding ceremonies began. Whether it was the the Chu, Qin, or Murong clan, everyone was incredibly happy. After all, the regent, empress dowager, and empress had personally come to offer their congratulations. This was truly an incomparable honor! The envious looks of all of the other clans already made that very apparent.
When it was the bride’s turn to appear, she walked out in front of the manor. Because of her red veil, no one could see Murong Qinghe’s face. However, judging from her tall and slender figure, along with her pretty wedding clothes, everyone present could tell that she was a beauty. The upper-class women of the different clans whispered to themselves, complimenting the Chu heir’s handsomeness and Murong daughter’s beauty. They felt it was an excellent match.
The bride stepped over a brazier before entering the main hall; this was a tradition that symbolized burning away all things bad and ominous, so the newlywed couple could live a future life that blazed a fiery red. So as to prevent her wedding dress being burned, a middle-aged female servant next to her raised the corners of her dress, revealing her beautiful, slim, and well-proportioned legs.
Many people couldn't help but look toward Jiang Luofu and Zhang Zitong. Murong Qinghe’s legs weren’t inferior to theirs! They seemed to be a bit closer to Zhang Zitong’s style. Perhaps due to her youth, however, her legs seemed even more fair and slender. But because Murong Qinghe always trained in the spear, she didn’t seem too skinny either. That and her tanned skin added a hint of unruly appeal to her.
Zhang Zitong blushed under the crowd's stares.
I really want to dig out all of their eyes.
But sir seems to have glanced at me too. Yeah, everyone except for him…
Then, it was time for the wedding couple to perform ritual bows toward each other.
In all these years, this was the first complete wedding Zu An had witnessed. When hr transmigrated to Brightmoon City, he had also been a groom. However, he had already completed the ritual kneeling by then. When he remembered the past, he couldn't help but think of Chu Chuyan again. A hint of sorrow filled him.
After the ritual kneeling concluded, the bride was sent into the bridal room. Meanwhile, the groom had to keep everyone else company with drinks.
Bi Linglong and Liu Ning had special statuses and couldn't stay for too long. Since they had already participated in the wedding to show their favor, their objective had been met, so they took their leave. Their subjects all understood that, and all respectfully saw them out.
Yun Yuqing used the chance to follow them back to the palace as well. She wasn’t too fond of this kind of lively gathering, especially since it was too easy for others to remember what had happened to her recently. She felt it would be much better for her to return to the palace and chat with her sisters.
Zu An didn’t leave; instead, he continued to drink with Chu Zhongtian and some other good friends. Several members of the great clans and high officials of the court came to toast with him; he didn’t refuse anyone.
Later, however, many people also proposed a toast for the groom. Zu An knew that Chu Youzhao was a woman and was worried that she would drink too much, so he also helped her drink.
When she saw him drink one cup after another, Zhang Zitong couldn't help but secretly remind Zu An, “Sir, you drank too much today.”
“It’s fine, I’ve been too tense all this time. It’s a rare chance to completely relax.” Zu An chuckled, then returned to drink with the other subjects.
Zhang Zitong thought to herself, Even though sir is smiling really happily today, he seems to be feeling a bit broken-hearted.
She figured he would be fine no matter how much he drank, so she decided to stop advising him otherwise.
However, she didn’t know that Zu An hadn’t used his cultivation to get rid of the alcohol today. He needed to experience drunkenness. If he used his cultivation to force out the alcohol, where was the fun in drinking?
…
The drinking continued until late into the evening, when the guests gradually dispersed.
Seeing Zu An and Chu Youzhao lying across the table, Zhang Zitong found it rather amusing.
Sir could clearly use his cultivation to easily get rid of his drunkenness, and yet he just had to drink himself into a stupor.
And the Chu clan’s young master really is a lightweight. Sir already helped him drink most of the alcohol, and yet he's still drunk.
Zhang Zitong was about to bring Zu An away when Qin Wanru said with a smile, “Ah Zu is already so drunk. He should just stay the night here.”