Shen Yuning thought that perhaps getting married was not a fun thing. Her elder brother carried her out and put her into the sedan chair. All the way, it swayed so much that it made her feel dizzy. She didn't know why. The road from the Xue Mansion to the Prince's Mansion wasn't supposed to be that long, but it actually took half an hour.
She didn't know how she got into the Prince's Mansion. She even couldn't remember what the wedding ceremony was like. She only knew that in a daze, she was sent into the bridal chamber. And the red veil couldn't be lifted. She had to wait for Xuanzhi to lift it, though she didn't know when.
Everyone in the room left, leaving only her two maidservants in the room. They carefully stuffed a small piece of pastry into her hand.
It was the begonia cake she liked.
Shen Yuning thought that the capital city was really good. Even out of season, she could still eat delicious begonia cakes. In Xitian Town before, she had to wait for the right season, and then Xuanzhi would go all the way to buy it for her.
A thought flashed through her mind. Did Xuanzhi like her that early?
Immediately afterwards, she laughed at herself. How could it be? Xuanzhi was just a child at that time.
Shen Yuning's expression froze. Yes, Xuanzhi was just a child at that time. So when did Xuanzhi start to like her? Maybe even Xuanzhi himself didn't know.
Just like she didn't know when she started to like Xuanzhi.
If Xuanzhi had liked her before, how could he have changed his name and surname without letting her know? How could he have pretended to be Zidu and lied to her that he was dead?
At that time, Xuanzhi probably didn't want to recognize her.
Why later? Why did he save her and like her?
Seeing that she didn't eat for a long time, the maid Lütao asked curiously, "Miss, why don't you eat? There's no one here now. If it gets later and someone comes, you won't be able to eat. Miss, you haven't eaten all day. Please eat quickly. If it's not enough, I'll get you some more."
Shen Yuning didn't want to eat. Her throat was very dry. Even looking at the cakes she usually liked, she didn't have an appetite.
"Pour me a cup of tea."
But Lütao hesitated, "Miss, you can't drink tea. Today's wedding dress is too complicated. If you drink tea and then want to go to the toilet later, it will be very inconvenient."
Shen Yuning handed the begonia cake in her hand to Lütao and didn't ask for it anymore.
She didn't know how much longer she waited. Xuanzhi came in, followed by a noisy crowd. Before, Shen Yuning had thought that when Xuanzhi lifted the veil and their eyes met, they could have a good moment of tenderness.
But when the veil was lifted and Shen Yuning looked up, she saw a room full of people laughing and making a ruckus.
So the noisy sound wasn't coming from outside.
Shen Yuning didn't even know how to be shy. She just stared blankly at the crowd in front of her.
Then someone pushed Xuanzhi, and he fed her a dumpling. Shen Yuning was hungry and thirsty, and her mind was in a mess. She immediately took a bite of the dumpling.
It was raw.
The wedding attendant laughed the most happily and quickly asked, "Is it raw?"
Only then did Shen Yuning realize that this was her task. She should be shy and coy. But at this moment, she didn't have the slightest thought of being shy.
She lowered her head and tried to look shy. Her voice softened a bit, "Yes, it's raw."
The people in the room burst into laughter.
Xuanzhi lifted the veil, but it was only for a moment. Then he was pushed out by the crowd.
Shen Yuning blinked her eyes. She hadn't even seen clearly. Today she had thick makeup on her face. Xuanzhi probably didn't need much decoration, but he must have dressed up. She hadn't even seen how he was dressed.
Bihuan and Lütao came over happily and helped her remove the ornaments on her head.
Shen Yuning remembered that her mother had told her yesterday not to take off her clothes and ornaments first. So she held Lütao's hand, "Don't take them off. I have to wait..."
Lütao laughed even more happily, "Miss, don't be afraid. The prince said that the phoenix crown is very heavy. Just looking at it makes people feel tired. He told us to take it off for you first."
Bihuan also laughed, "The prince also said that the wedding dress is too complicated. He told the princess to take it off first. If you're too tired, you can wash up, eat something and rest first. You don't have to wait for him."
Although so, Shen Yuning just took off her clothes and ornaments, went to the table and drank several cups of tea. She finally understood what Shen Fugui meant when he said that such small teacups couldn't quench one's thirst.
But when she wanted to drink more, Lütao came to hold her hand again, "Miss, you can't drink anymore. If you drink more, your eyes will be swollen when you get up tomorrow morning."
Bihuan came over, took the teacup from Shen Yuning's hand, and glared at Lütao, "Why can't you learn? Call her princess, princess. How can you still call her miss?"
Lütao laughed, turned around and went out. After a while, she came in with some hot food, "The kitchen maids had it all prepared. When they saw me, they gave me the food. They said it was still hot. It was what the prince had told them to do in advance."
Bihuan leaned over to take a look and frowned slightly, "Why are they all meat dishes? Isn't there any vegetarian dish? The kitchen staff is still not careful enough. They only think about making it look good."
Shen Yuning knew that it wasn't the kitchen's problem. Xuanzhi knew that she liked meat. But usually she was very particular about a balanced diet of meat and vegetables. He just brought all the big meat dishes up at once.
She was really tired. Shen Yuning ate a little and then stopped. After washing up, she didn't go to bed first. She just leaned against the head of the bed with her eyes closed.
Her mother said that on the wedding day, one had to wait for one's husband to come to bed together so that one could have a peaceful and smooth life.
Shen Yuning actually didn't believe these things. But today, she just felt that she should believe and wait.
It was late at night and quiet. Lütao and Bihuan had already dozed off on the chairs with their hands propped up. The noisy sounds from outside still came in from time to time.
She didn't know how much longer it was. Lütao woke up and asked sleepily, "What time is it?"
Bihuan opened her eyes, looked at the sky, went out to ask the maid waiting outside in the Prince's Mansion, and then came back and replied, "It's already the end of the Hai hour."
Shen Yuning also opened her eyes curiously and asked, "It's the Hai hour? Why haven't the guests gone back yet? If the curfew time is over, how can they go back?"
Lütao couldn't help laughing, "The princess is still worried about the guests? The prince has already thought of a way. There will be no curfew tonight. The guests who attend the banquet today won't be unable to go back."
Shen Yuning blushed and glared at Lütao. She got up and put on her clothes.
"I don't know how much the prince has drunk."
Lütao continued, "There were so many guests today. Of course, he drank a lot. Alas, he's so drunk that he can't even enjoy the wedding night properly."
Hearing that what she said was out of line, Bihuan pretended to hit her, "I'll let you off today. In a few days, I'll tell Mama Shuang. I'll let Mama Shuang teach you a good lesson. How dare you talk nonsense in front of the princess."
Lütao was naughty. She stuck out her tongue and didn't admit defeat. She just pestered Bihuan.
While they were playing around like this, the door was pushed open with a creak. Two attendants supported Yin Zidu and walked in.
Shen Yuning woke up completely and asked, "Is the prince drunk?"
The attendants nodded embarrassedly, but didn't let Lütao and Bihuan get close. They just explained, "Princess, the prince is very fierce when he's drunk. If he sees a strange woman, he might get angry. So... it's better for us to help the prince in."
Shen Yuning nodded blankly and asked again, "Have all the guests left?"
The attendant replied, "Not yet. But Lord Jiang is in charge of the wedding banquet. He told us to send the prince back first."
Shen Yuning nodded again. She helped Yin Zidu to the bed and let him lie down. Then she let the two attendants leave.
A maid led two eunuchs in with water. They helped Yin Zidu wash up simply and then left.
When leaving, the maid glanced at Lütao and Bihuan. With a smile and an apologetic look, she bowed to Shen Yuning and said, "Princess, the prince usually likes to be clean and doesn't like strangers to get close to him. I'm afraid the princess will have to trouble herself tonight."
Before Shen Yuning could figure it out, she saw Lütao and Bihuan salute and follow the maid out. Then she understood that this meant to drive her two maids away.
She went back to the bedside and looked at Yin Zidu's sleeping face. Even when he was drunk, he didn't act like others who would talk nonsense, scold or even beat people after drinking. He just lay obediently on the bed.
Her Xuanzhi.
Shen Yuning stretched out her hand, wanting to trace Xuanzhi's face. But she was afraid of disturbing his sleep. So she just carefully held her hand a little away from his face and then slowly put it down. Just stroking like this in the air, it seemed that she could get closer to him.
What did he like about her?
He, he liked her, right?
Just as she was in a daze, the man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes, which really gave Shen Yuning a big fright.
She was originally sitting on the bedside, propping herself up on Yin Zidu's side. One of her hands was hanging in the air, so she wasn't very steady. Being so startled, she wanted to sit up straight and dodge.
But Yin Zidu reacted faster. He had already pulled her into his arms. Shen Yuning couldn't dodge in time. Being rolled up by him, she even didn't take off her shoes and was rolled onto the bed.
Shen Yuning let out a soft cry and asked, "You... weren't you drunk?"
At this moment, Shen Yuning was lying on the bed, and Yin Zidu was propping himself up above her.
Shen Yuning blushed shyly. She saw that his ears were also completely red.
Yes, when Xuanzhi was shy, his face didn't turn red, but his ears always turned red first. Probably today, he was also shy.
Yin Zidu didn't look as sharp as usual today. His eyes were full of tenderness. He gently leaned over and was about to kiss her. But when he was just a little bit away from her lips, he stopped and turned over to get out of bed.
After all, he had drunk too much. He didn't have enough strength and fell back onto the bed.
This made Shen Yuning beside him feel restless. Her heart was pounding.
Shen Yuning got up and stared blankly at him. She wanted to ask, but she was really too embarrassed to speak. She couldn't just ask him why he didn't kiss her.
Actually, her mother did show her such a booklet yesterday. And she had traveled a lot in the folk. She wasn't completely ignorant of the affairs between men and women. But when facing her own man, she still felt a little nervous and shy.
Yin Zidu's voice seemed especially deep and gentle after drinking.
"Sorry. I was so happy for a moment that I drank a bit too much."