On the night of the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, goose - feather snow began to fall. Wei Dongling slept very restlessly. In the middle of the night, the maids dragged her up to start dressing and making up.
An elderly gray - haired maid carefully combed her long black hair with a comb, which made Wei Dongling's scalp ache terribly. But she could only grit her teeth and bear it.
The heavy headdresses were piled on top of one another, weighing down her neck so much that it felt like it was about to break.
La Mei was afraid that she would get hungry later, so she had someone cook a bowl of glutinous rice balls in rice wine in advance and fed her spoonful by spoonful.
Wei Dongling glanced at the boxes that filled the bedroom floor. Inside were numerous rewards given by the emperor and the empress dowager as an attempt to make up for things. La Mei and the maids had stayed up all night to carefully sort and pack these precious items into the boxes without even a wink of sleep.
Wei Dongling was extremely sleepy, but she still forced her eyes open and ate some glutinous rice balls from La Mei's hand. She murmured, "Aunt La Mei, thank you for your company these days. From now on, we'll be far apart. I hope you'll take good care of yourself!"
These words brought tears to La Mei's eyes. Although she was the head maid of Yaoguang Pavilion, since she was a trusted aide of Noble Consort Rong, it was impossible for her to accompany the Fifth Princess on her marriage.
Even though she had only served the Fifth Princess for less than a month, she had truly come to like this princess who was never affected. Thinking that their farewell was approaching, La Mei felt deeply reluctant to part. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her hand holding the small golden spoon trembled involuntarily. Then she remembered that today was a joyous occasion, and she couldn't let people laugh at her. La Mei put down the spoon, wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, and admonished, "I heard that it's very cold in Xiliang. Your Highness, don't get cold on the way. Wrap up tightly! Make sure not to catch a cold or overwork yourself." The more she talked, the sadder she became, and she couldn't help sobbing softly.
Wei Dongling nodded and agreed one by one, allowing the maid to draw delicate flower ornaments on her forehead with a brush.
The servants from the Ministry of Rites came to invite her several times. It wasn't until dawn that the Fifth Princess' makeup was finally completed. Her bright red wedding dress embroidered with golden phoenixes outlined her slender figure strikingly. The golden and jade crown was so heavy that she couldn't hold her head up, and the jade - inlaid high - heeled shoes made walking extremely difficult. Wei Dongling had to grit her teeth and straighten her back, then followed the servants from the Ministry of Rites to the Taiji Palace.
The emperor, the empress dowager, and a group of concubines were waiting in the palace early.
After paying her respects, Wei Dongling was led to stand in the middle and listen to the officials from the Ministry of Rites reciting various auspicious prayers.
Those obscure blessing words made people drowsy. But the concubines in the harem listened attentively and pretended to be reluctant to part. Wei Dongling covered her mouth with her hand and yawned repeatedly. She was even too lazy to roll her eyes at them.
Finally, the auspicious time arrived. The official from the Ministry of Rites ended his long - winded speech after a whole morning, and it was Wei Dongling's turn to bid farewell to her parents. Seeing that the Fifth Princess stood still on the spot, the old guiding maid beside her pinched her hard on the back. Only then did Wei Dongling open her eyes and look at the maid blankly.
The maid coughed softly and whispered a reminder. Wei Dongling then lifted her skirt and went up to bid farewell to her parents.
She first knelt down to pay respects to the empress dowager. The empress dowager reached out her hands repeatedly to help her up, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Then she knelt down to pay respects to her father and mother. The emperor and Noble Consort Rong were sitting upright on the upper seats. Seeing Wei Dongling struggling to pull up her dress and come up to kneel, they quickly came to help her up, with looks of reluctance on their faces as they gave her earnest admonitions.
Wei Dongling then walked up to the concubines, bowed her head to bid farewell. The concubines pretended to be tearful and quickly came to help her up. Wei Dongling smiled and nodded one by one. She looked up and glanced at Concubine Shu, who stood silently in the back.
The two of them looked at each other across the crowd, nodded, and smiled slightly. They didn't even have time to say goodbye.
When Wei Dongling was leaving after bidding farewell to everyone, as she stepped over the high threshold at the door, she saw Prince Ten, Murong Yunqian, standing in his magnificent clothes outside the corridor.
When Murong Yunqian saw Wei Dongling looking over, he nodded and said with a smile, "Today, my Fifth Sister is getting married. I'm late, please forgive me."
Wei Dongling sneered in her heart, but on the surface, she said generously, "It's very kind of you, Brother Ten, to come and see me off." With all the elders watching inside the door, of course, she had to be gentle and elegant.
Murong Yunqian understood her meaning tacitly. In front of everyone, he said loudly, "I wish my elder sister and brother - in - law a loving and harmonious marriage for a hundred years!"
Knowing that she didn't like this marriage, he still came here deliberately to annoy her. Wei Dongling just wanted to curse in her heart. But on the surface, she still smiled gracefully and said, "Naturally! We don't know when we'll meet again after today's farewell. I wish my younger brother good health and smooth sailing, and may his madness never flare up again! Don't cause trouble for our father."
Everyone behind Wei Dongling was stunned. What was the Fifth Princess talking about? Murong Yunqian was also choked speechless on the spot.
Wei Dongling nodded and smiled, then lifted her skirt and walked away.
Captain Fang carefully selected two teams of imperial guards to escort the Fifth Princess on her marriage. Wei Dongling didn't expect that the leader waiting at the door would be the young prince, Murong Xuan! He was wearing silver armor and waiting for her at the palace gate with a group of imperial guards. When he saw Wei Dongling in her wedding dress slowly coming out with the support of others, the amazement in Murong Xuan's eyes couldn't be hidden. He stepped forward, bowed, and said with a bitter smile, "I came here especially to see my younger sister off. You look really beautiful today, Sister."
Wei Dongling nodded and said with a smile, "I'm extremely grateful that you could come to see me off, Brother Xuan."
Seeing her forced smile, Murong Xuan felt very sad. When they first met at the racecourse, she was unrestrained and full of wits. But now, after entering the palace, she was completely restricted. It was obvious that she didn't like this marriage of alliance! This could be clearly seen from the smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. But what could he do?
Even though Murong Xuan was extremely reluctant to part with her in his heart, he was powerless. He could only come to see her off and hoped that she would be well in a foreign land.
Li Mingyang, the prince of Xiliang, was waiting outside the palace gate with a group of his followers. From afar, when he saw the Fifth Princess in her bright red wedding dress walking gracefully towards him, a faint smile curled up on his lips.
He originally thought that with the Fifth Princess' personality, she would surely make a big fuss and refuse to marry for the alliance. But now, seeing her docile and submissive appearance, he felt extremely pleased.
Li Mingyang walked quickly over, took the red silk ribbon from the old maid's hand, and led Wei Dongling with a flirtatious smile, "This way, Your Highness."
Behind him, the bright red curtain on the carriage was eye - catching. Wei Dongling glanced at Li Mingyang and slowly sat into the carriage with Ruan Niang's support.
Ruan Niang got into the carriage and sat down, then lowered the curtain. She gently held Wei Dongling's cold and slightly trembling hands.
The goose - feather snow was floating down, and the grand wedding procession of ten miles long had caused a sensation among the whole city's people.
Wei Dongling lifted the curtain and looked out all the way. When the common people outside saw the real face of the princess, they cheered and bowed respectfully.
Wei Dongling nodded and smiled in return. She waved to call Cheng Hao over and told him to exchange all the precious items in her dowry into silver notes for the convenience of their journey westward.