Chapter 23: The Wedding Night

As the Prince of Jin and a legitimate son of the Emperor, Xia Qiqi was served by a retinue of palace officials and maids after the ancestral rites, helping her change into attire befitting a Princess Consort.

Red lanterns glowed, and firecrackers erupted in a deafening chorus. Following the guidance of the ritual master, Xia Qiqi stepped over the saddle and the golden scales, performed the formal bows to Heaven and Earth, and then to the Emperor and Empress in the direction of the capital. Finally, the imperial marriage decree was placed into her hands.

"The ceremony is complete!"

After a series of complex rituals similar to those in palace dramas, Xia Qiqi finally sat upon the bridal bed. Once the room fell silent, she gently lowered the round fan in her hand and began to inspect the bedchamber.

The floor was covered with a thick, soft rug that looked remarkably warm. Incense was burning nearby; though not the ebony scent she preferred, it was passable. The bridal bed itself was crafted from fine mahogany, its posts carved with dragons and phoenixes and inlaid with countless pearls and gemstones. She wondered how many "small goals" of wealth this bed would fetch in the modern world. Running her fingers over the Shu-embroidered bedding—depicting a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix—the texture was so delicate and smooth that she nearly teared up.

Was this the bed she would be sleeping in for the next seven months? It was incredibly comfortable—far superior to the bed in her Peony Pavilion. It seemed that while Chu Hanxiao was forced into this marriage with Liu Mingyu, he had certainly spared no effort in keeping up appearances.

"Get out of my way!"

A sharp, haughty reprimand from outside the chamber snapped Xia Qiqi out of her wandering thoughts. She dared not move, quickly raising her fan to mask her face.

"Without the Prince of Jin’s token, no one is permitted to enter!"

What was this? Chu Hanxiao had actually stationed guards outside the bridal chamber? He wouldn't allow anyone to enter before the wedding night had even begun? No wonder it had been so quiet earlier.

"Open your dog eyes and look clearly—do you think I am just 'anyone'?"

Who was this? Judging by the voice, she was young, and only Princess Zhaoyang would dare to be so arrogant at the Prince of Jin’s wedding.

Realizing this, Xia Qiqi hurried to the door, adjusting the candlelight so that her silhouette was cast clearly upon the paper screen of the door. She then called out in Liu Mingyu’s voice, "Shuangshuang."

She had practiced Liu Mingyu’s voice—which was sharper and brighter than her own—repeatedly at the Peony Pavilion. Even Liu Yuanqing and the steward could not tell the difference. Fortunately, her maid, Xiao Ai, had once accompanied Liu Mingyu to meet Princess Zhaoyang, and in private, Liu Mingyu often called the princess by her nickname, Shuangshuang.

Xia Qiqi was determined not to let the princess enter. While she was confident in her makeup, Princess Zhaoyang was a close confidante of the real Liu Mingyu, and she feared that closer proximity might reveal details she didn't know.

She moved closer to the door, her side profile clearly projected onto the translucent window gauze, the pearls in her hair ornament swaying slightly, mimicking an attempt to control a burst of excitement.

"Is it really you? Xiaoyu?" Hearing this, Princess Zhaoyang’s tone clearly softened. "I thought you were..."

"Zhaoyang, why are you here?" Chu Hanxiao’s voice came from the doorway.

"Zhaoyang pays her respects to the Second Imperial Brother." Despite her arrogance, the princess acted quite demurely in front of him. Judging by his tone, he didn't seem particularly close to her. It appeared she would have to rely on Chu Hanxiao to keep the princess at bay.

"Zhaoyang and Xiaoyu have always been close. I promised that if she were to marry, I would certainly attend the ceremony," the princess insisted. "Who would have thought that on the way to Jin City, my carriage would break down for no reason again and again, causing me to miss the rites... Please, Second Imperial Brother, let me go in and see her."

Chu Hanxiao’s voice remained cold. "Zhaoyang, this is not according to protocol."

"Protocol! Protocol! That’s all Father and Mother ever talk about!" the princess retorted. "Why do these so-called rules always seem tailor-made to bind women?"

Xia Qiqi, listening from inside, couldn't help but nod vigorously. The princess’s ideology was quite progressive, and she had a point!

"Zhaoyang, watch your tongue!" Chu Hanxiao warned.

"Regardless of whether I should or shouldn't, I’ve already said it. Please, for the sake of the years of friendship between Xiaoyu and me, let me in to see her!"

Chu Hanxiao, you must hold your ground! Do not let her in!

Chu Hanxiao’s voice was as cold as the snowy night: "I have said, it is against the rules."

Enraged, Princess Zhaoyang blurted out, "If men can be intimate with men, why can’t women do the same?"

Xia Qiqi was so shocked by this revelation that she nearly fainted, stepping back several paces in alarm. So, the princess and Liu Mingyu were that close? But that couldn't be right—whose child was Liu Mingyu carrying, then?

*Shuangshuang?* Xia Qiqi felt goosebumps rise all over her skin. She steadied her emotions, walked to the door, and said softly, "Princess Zhaoyang, it is a great honor that you came to witness the ceremony." She made her tone deliberately distant so the princess would understand this was a choice made after careful consideration. "I have already accepted the Emperor's decree. From today on, I am only your Imperial Sister-in-law, the Princess of Jin."

The princess was clearly stunned by the finality in Xia Qiqi’s words. Though she held affection for Liu Mingyu, she could not abandon her royal dignity to demand an explanation. After a long silence, she muttered, "You will regret this."

The sound of hurried footsteps followed. Xia Qiqi let out a sigh of relief. The crisis was averted!

She patted her chest and returned to the bridal bed to sit. Chu Hanxiao hadn't left. As she raised the fan to cover her face, the door pushed open. Through the cicada-wing-thin fan, she saw Chu Hanxiao enter. He paused briefly at the threshold before striding toward the bed.

Xia Qiqi bit her lip and closed her eyes. Chu Hanxiao’s broad silhouette blocked the flickering red candles. He leaned over, his long fingers gently untying the red silk ribbon at her waist. As her robes loosened, the fan dropped from her hand. Her heart hammered against her ribs as if it might leap out. Trembling slightly, she looked up at him, breathless.

"Your Highness."