The carriage moved in the direction of the palace followed by her dowry which was no less than the gifts in the procession.
[Grand Prince's Residence]
The carriage finally stopped in front of the grand prince's mansion. Lingxi opened the curtain slightly to view the magnificent mansion that held the famous grand prince. Her eyes caught He Yu approaching and she sat back down.
"Your highness, please receive the bride", the eunuch from the ministry of rites said.
He Yu, dressed in matching attire stretched his hand to help Lingxi down. Lingxi stared at the hand before her for a while, probably a long while.
"May the husband grant all his wife's requests and take good care of her. Your highness, receive the bride", the eunuch said.
He Yu patiently waited as he stretched his hand again. The curtain swayed sideways as a gentle breeze passed and their eyes met. He Yu's calm and patient eyes met with Lingxi's steady gaze. The curtains closed and slowly her hand reached to accept He Yu's outstretched hand. Before their hands could touch, Lingxi paused again. She knew that once she accepted his hand, there would be no turning back.
"May the wife care for her husband and the husband love and cherish his wife", the eunuch sounded.
Lingxi placed her hand on his palm. From the moment she had stepped into the carriage, she knew that there was no going back and hesitating would only bring unnecessary delay. A faint smile appeared in He Yu's eyes as he helped her down the carriage.
They proceeded to the main ancestral hall. Most guests had already arrived. The guests were those close to He Yu and Lingxi. A few high officials, Minister Liu, Liu ying, He Xuan and his mother, Minister Li amongst others were present. A few minutes later, Mo Qinshan, Qin Yan, and Mu Qingzhou arrived.
The ceremony officially began. "Today is the formal wedding between the grand prince and grand prince's consort. First bow to the heavens and the earth!" the eunuch sounded.
They both knelt down and bowed.
"May your marriage be filled with everlasting happiness. Second bow to the ancestors and parents!"
With no parents, they both bowed to the ancestral tablets.
"Third bow to each other. May your marriage last a lifetime!"
They faced each other and bowed sealing the union.
"Congratulations on the union of the grand prince and his consort"
"Congratulations", everyone knelt down.
******
The wedding ceremony concluded and Lingxi was led to He Yu's room.
It was large with few decorations but each decoration could cost a fortune. Two maids came in with another set of clothes that were less formal.
The emperor had ordered a banquet to celebrate the union between He Yu and Lingxi.
The outfit was also red but a lighter and less formal.
[The Palace]
He Jingcheng was seated on the throne with Shen Ruihua and Gu Wenlan by his sides. Lingxi sat next to He Yu in his seat of honor.
"Today is a very special occasion. I would like to propose a toast to Imperial uncle and Imperial aunt", He Jingcheng said lifting up his wine glass for a toast.
Everyone stood up and accepted the toast.The banquet was livelier as there were more people present than in the wedding.
After the toast, Shen Ruihua spoke first, "Grand Prince, you must truly value Consort Mo" She gave Li Min a glance.
Li Min understood what she meant, "the phoenix carriage belonged to the late empress. For Her Highness to use it is truly a great honor", she said but everyone in the room understood the underlying meaning.
He Yu did not respond but sipped his wine slowly. Li Min looked back at Shen Ruihua who acknowledged her performance with a nod. Lingxi, on the other hand was tapping her wine glass slowly as if thinking of something.
"The phoenix carriage is the late empress's belonging. Of course, it is a great honor for her son's wife to use it", Gu Zhi responded to Li Min countering Li Min's words.
Li Min looked slightly annoyed while Shen Ruihua's hand tightened around her wine glass. He Jingcheng was no different as he began to also think deeply. Meanwhile, Lingxi's eyes met with Gu Zhi and she wondered why she spoke up for her. Lingxi acknowledged her and Gu Zhi accepted it with a nod. The atmosphere went quiet. Then, someone's presence was announced.
"The Heir to the Marquis of Shanxi has arrived!"
Everyone except the royals, of course, stood up to pay respects to the young man entering the hall. The young man in question was the son of the late marquis, Wu Huan.
He gave a bow to He Jingcheng, "I apologize for my late arrival".
"The heir to the marquis of Shanxi graced the occasion today, which is enough. Rise", He Jingcheng responded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty", he rose. He turned to He Yu and Lingxi. Lingxi's and his eyes met but they immediately withdrew their gaze.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Grand Prince and Grand Consort", he said.
"Thank you", He Yu responded.
Wu Huan turned to He Jingcheng, "today, I have prepared a grand gift for His Highness. I wonder if Your Majesty would allow me to present it", he asked.
"Go ahead", He Jingcheng gave his permission.
"Thank you, Your Majesty", he said and brought out a token from beneath his sleeve.
It was the token controlling the Wu army which belonged to the Marquis of Shanxi. He lifted it up and the whole room gasped. There was murmuring and whispers in the crowd between officials.
"Wu Huan, what is the meaning of this?" He Jingcheng asked, his face had been completely drained of all colors.
"Your Majesty, I am young and unrestrained. I value my life and that of freedom. Therefore, I am not worthy of leading such an important army. Before my father died, he instructed that I pass this token down to the Grand Prince being that he was my father's only disciple and the Wu family values trust above all else", Wu Huan gave a clear explanation leaving no loopholes for others to loop against him.
He turned to He Yu and bowed, "I hope Your Highness will not reject my gift"
He Yu stood up and Lingxi followed.
"This gift is too grand. I dare not accept it", he said.
"Why not? This is not just any gift. This is your master's last gift to you. How can you reject it?"
He Yu did not respond as though in thought.
"Anyways, it's not that I have much of a choice. I want to be a wanderer and the Wu army would not easily submit to anyone. You are my father's disciple raised in the Wu army. They trust you", Wu Huan said stretching his hand with the token towards He Yu.
A long while of silence passed through and He Yu reached out and accepted the token, "then I shall carry on Master's legacy", he said and just like that, he wielded another 40 percent of Daxia's army.
The entire room was shaken as if lightning had just struck the earth. Both their eyes met and Wu Huan turned to He Jingcheng.
He gave a bow, "since this settled, I will not bother this joyous occasion with my presence", he said.
"As you please", He Jingcheng already had enough headaches to deal with.
Wu Huan turned to leave but paused and shared a long look of familiarity and surprise with Lingxi. He walked up to their table and poured himself a glass of wine. Even though he couldn't partake in the celebration, he should at least have a taste of the fine wine. He drank the wine in a full gulp.
"Good wine," he complimented, and he went straight for the door.
The silence that followed was deafening.
To everyone, He Yu's power had just increased and was not to be trifled with so the banquet ended with flattery, compliments, and caution.