Chapter 530 - 434: Your Majesty, It’s Time to Blow Out the Candles
Chapter 530: Chapter 434: Your Majesty, It’s Time to Blow Out the Candles
The wedding ceremony was over. From this day forward, the harem of the Zhou Kingdom was no longer without a mistress.
However, the position of Empress of the Zhou Kingdom was still undecided.
Would the daughter of the Yan Clan win favor and become Empress, or would the Princess of Qin be the first to give birth to a Prince?
Only time would tell.
However, for some ministers loyal to the Royal Family of the Zhou Kingdom, they felt this might be a good thing.
The Qin Kingdom’s current strength could not be underestimated, and the Eldest Princess of Qin, as the Sovereign of Qin’s only sister, was deeply favored by him.
If anyone else had entered the palace, they would most likely have met a violent end.
But this Eldest Princess of Qin was different. No one dared to touch her.
Perhaps this was an opening. His Majesty might be able to use the power of the Qin Kingdom to reclaim imperial authority.
But what the Qin Kingdom was truly thinking, and whether the Zhou Kingdom was letting a wolf in the door, still required careful consideration.
But in any case.
It was feared the harem would not see peace for a long time to come.
Following custom, Yan Ruxue and Qin Siyao were led by their Maids to their respective bedchambers to await His Majesty, who would lift their red veils and drink the ceremonial cross-cupped wine with them.
Xiao Mo, however, did not return to the harem so quickly.
After the ceremony and all its proceedings were complete, dusk had already fallen.
The wedding banquet began.
Amid the congratulations of the various ministers, Xiao Mo downed a few cups of wine. By the time he had attended to the honored guests from afar, as well as the Deacons and Elders from the mountain Sects within the Zhou Kingdom, the sky had already grown dim.
The hour growing late, Xiao Mo left the banquet, leaving the Empress Dowager, Yan Zhen, and Yan Shanao to help entertain the guests.
However, Xiao Mo did not immediately head to either Imperial Consort’s palace.
Xiao Mo first returned to his own bedchamber, where he bathed to wash away the stench of alcohol.
"I wonder which Imperial Consort’s bedchamber Your Majesty will be visiting tonight?"
Si Li asked softly.
"Which one indeed..."
Xiao Mo sighed softly to himself, unable to help feeling conflicted.
He knew that not just the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court, but even the common people in the Imperial City, were waiting to see which Consort he would favor first.
An official from the Ministry of Rites had previously proposed that the two Imperial Consorts serve Xiao Mo together on the wedding night.
But this proposal was not only rejected by the Yan Clan, it was also vehemently condemned by the ambassador from the Qin Kingdom.
The reason was simple.
In the eyes of both the Yan Clan and the Qin Kingdom, Xiao Mo could favor Yan Ruxue, or he could favor Qin Mujiu. What sense did it make for both women to serve him at once?
When would two women serve together?
Only in the case of a dowry maid and her mistress!
So?
Who would be the mistress, and who the maid? Who would be serving whom?
Therefore, the decision of whose bedchamber to visit tonight could only be made by Xiao Mo himself.
And his decision would be seen as a sign of whether he favored the Qin Kingdom or the Yan Clan.
But in Si Li’s eyes, it made no difference whether Xiao Mo went to the bedchamber of the Yan Clan’s daughter or the Eldest Princess of Qin. The result would be the same.
’I will absolutely not allow these two mortal women to be the first to obtain Master’s Primordial Yang!’
"Forget it... I’ll leave it to fate..."
After a long moment of contemplation, Xiao Mo shook his head, deciding to leave it up to heaven.
"Si Li, do you have any copper coins on you?" Xiao Mo turned his head to look at Si Li.
Si Li immediately understood his intention. She drew a Jade Pendant from her lapels and handed it to Xiao Mo, the jade still warm from her body.
"Your Majesty, this servant carries no copper coins, but this Round Pendant is the same size as one, and its weight is perfectly balanced."
"Mm."
Xiao Mo took Si Li’s Jade Pendant, untied its thin cord, and tossed it into the air.
The Jade Pendant spun over and over in the air before landing on the back of Xiao Mo’s hand.
...
「Hanjiu Hall.」
It was a mere ten-minute walk from Xiao Mo’s Yangxin Palace.
Inside the bedchamber, candlelight flickered gently, casting faint shadows that danced upon the woman’s bright red wedding gown.
In the candlelight, the wedding gown seemed all the more vibrant, all the more beautiful.
Qin Siyao sat perfectly poised on the wedding bed, her legs together and her lovely, jade-like hands resting on her thighs beneath her red sleeves. The wedding gown clung to her graceful figure, making her look like a red peony.
Beneath her red veil, her long, curved eyelashes fluttered. She blinked, her eyes full of joy and anticipation.
Qin Siyao had already been waiting in the bedchamber for a long time.
She knew that even if the wedding banquet in the front hall of the Imperial Palace had not yet ended, the hour was late, and her husband must have already taken his leave.
’Is my husband struggling to decide whether to come to my Hanjiu Hall, or to go to Bai Ruxue’s Ningxue Hall?’
’Or... has he already gone to Ningxue Hall?’
Just as Qin Siyao’s thoughts began to wander, she sensed footsteps outside the door.
Immediately after, she heard the sound of the door opening.
The corners of Qin Siyao’s lips curved up slightly, her eyes forming gentle crescents. The joy radiating from them was even more captivating than the crimson of her lips.
Xiao Mo closed the door and picked up the jade rod, shaped like a ruyi scepter, from the table.
Looking at his wife sitting on the bed, Xiao Mo felt his heart begin to beat faster.
He had long since prepared himself mentally, and he had met Qin Mujiu many times before.
But now, before him, was his proper and lawful wife.
They were no longer strangers, but husband and wife.
Xiao Mo extended the jade rod and slowly hooked the edge of Qin Siyao’s red veil.
As the red veil was slowly lifted, the first thing Xiao Mo saw was her long, slender, pale neck.
Further up, her snow-white chin.
Then came her delicate, crimson lips; her fine, elegant nose; her closed eyes; and her long, curved eyelashes.
When the red veil was completely removed, Qin Siyao’s face was revealed before Xiao Mo’s eyes, flawless and perfect.
For a moment, Xiao Mo was stunned.
Qin Siyao had always been exquisitely beautiful, a rare sight in the world.
But now, dressed in her wedding gown with light makeup, she had less of her usual playfulness and more of a mature charm.
Her innate purity, combined with the crimson bridal makeup, and the blush on her cheeks illuminated by the red candles, made her all the more captivating.
Her bashfulness was like a fine, mellow wine, tempting one to take a drink.
Tonight, she was like a peony bud, waiting for him to pluck her.
Qin Siyao slowly opened her eyes. She gave Xiao Mo a shy glance before lowering her head again, her crimson lips slightly parted. Her voice was laced with nervousness as she spoke, "Your Majesty, please stop staring at me... It’s time... It’s time to drink the cross-cupped wine..."
"Indeed it is."
Xiao Mo snapped out of his daze and nodded.
He set down the jade rod, poured two cups of wine, and sat beside Qin Siyao, handing one of the cups to her.
Qin Siyao took the cup. They linked arms, their cups passing through the crooks of their elbows. They were so close they could feel each other’s breath.
After they both drained their cups, Qin Siyao lowered her head, her small hands clutching the skirt on her lap. Her voice was filled with both nervousness and anticipation:
"Your Majesty... it’s... it’s time to blow out the candles..."