The path of the villain is not easy

Chapter 61 Before Marriage
It was drizzling all day long in Yanjing City, and the whole sky was also gray, as if it was covered with a big hood.The air is filled with water vapor, which makes people feel damp everywhere.

At this time, the maids and eunuchs in the two places in the palace, Xian'an Palace and Ningqing Palace, didn't care about the drizzle.They were walking, rushing their feet, like a group of ants busy carrying food, they came in and out of the palace and courtyard buildings, listened to the commander's command, kept decorating the palace, loading and unloading things.

Xian'an Palace and Ningqing Palace are where Princess Taiping and the Eighth Prince lived.This Ningqing Palace was originally the palace where Princess Taiping's mother and concubine lived. Later, after her mother and concubine died, she lived in the Compassionate Ning Palace since she was young and was raised by the queen.It was not until today that Emperor Yan issued a decree to move back to Ningqing Palace and use it as a wedding room.

Although this Ningqing Palace has not been inhabited for a long time, eunuchs and palace maids come in to clean it every now and then, and the rooms are not dirty at all, and they can be occupied with a simple cleaning.

At this moment, Princess Taiping was sitting beside the bronze mirror in the back room, and her personal maid, Qing Lan, was helping her comb her hair. After finishing combing her hair.Qinglan took out a crested hairpin from the wooden cabinet beside her, and pinned it on Princess Taiping's hair.

Princess Taiping gently supported the tiara with her hand, looked at herself in the mirror, and asked worriedly: "Qing Lan, do you think my hairstyle and clothes match this hairpin? Should I change another set of clothes before Let's see the effect."

"Princess, you have changed sixteen sets of clothes in the past two hours. The weather is cool, so you should be more concerned. If you want me to say that your clothes match your headgear very well, you don't need to change any more."

"However, I always feel that something is not perfect."

"This is your illusion. Besides, there will be a special wedding dress the day after tomorrow, and the wedding dress will definitely match your crested hairpin. The most important thing is that our princess is beautiful, no matter what clothes she wears, she will be beautiful with any headgear." Heavenly Immortal, I will definitely fascinate the son-in-law by then."

"really?"

Princess Taiping looked at herself in the bronze mirror, touched her face, and then remembered her grandson Ji who was about to marry her, and blushed involuntarily.

…………

Putting aside the conversation between Princess Taiping's master and servant, let's talk about Xian'an Palace, which is the residence of the eighth prince's biological mother, Concubine Ka, one of the four imperial concubines in the harem.She is not from the country of Yan, but when Emperor Yan regained the Western Regions a few years ago, a subsidiary country outside the Western Regions paid her tribute to Emperor Yan.

However, this woman also has some skills, relying on her appearance and Emperor Yan's love for her, she climbed from a Jieyu to the position of imperial concubine in just a few years.

This time, her birth son and the Xingfu became in-laws, which gave her foreign support in the court and secured her position as imperial concubine.

At this time, the concubine coffee, who was only twenty years old, was looking at the son who was surrounding him with a doting expression.What can a five-year-old child know? To him, the so-called starting a family is just a game similar to playing house.

Seeing that everyone was busy with him, he also wanted to make a fuss, pulling his mother and concubine carelessly.

Originally, the princes of Dayan mostly got married after the age of 16, but at the age of 16, Emperor Yan would give him a palace in the capital, and then move out of the palace.When they got married, the couple just went to the palace to meet Emperor Yan and the concubines, and then went back to the palace to spend the night in the bridal chamber.

It's just that this time because of the flood, the Eighth Prince's wedding date was brought forward.The eighth prince was young, so he used his biological mother's palace as the wedding room for his marriage.

At this time, the Xian'an Palace and the Ningqing Palace in the imperial palace were bustling with activity.The Xing Mansion and Changsun Hou Mansion were also crowded with slaves, coming in and out.

The Xingfu is just marrying his daughter, so he is not too busy, just preparing the dowry.Many things, such as the cabinets needed for pear wood and rosewood, curtains and curtains, etc., many of them need to be customized, but there is no time.Finished products can only be purchased directly.

It's just that it is raining now, most of the shops are closed and there is nowhere to buy things, so the servants can only wade in the rain and knock on the door to ask.

Compared with the Xingfu, the servants of the Changsunhou's mansion are even more busy at this time.From the eldest son Lianyi's return to the mansion, he told the matter to Mr. Hou.The servants and maidservants in the entire Hou Mansion began to operate at high speed, but they were still short of manpower. It was Gao Niangao who borrowed some manpower from the Gao Mansion to make up for the shortage.

The entire Hou Mansion was hung with the word Xi, Xilian from the inside to the outside.The main hall was hung with bright red silk and satin, and on the table were two candlesticks inlaid with gold and jade, on which were inserted two big red candles about the thickness of three fingers.

In front of the table is a rolled red blanket, and next to the table are two kneeling cushions wrapped in red cloth.

The pillars supporting the house on both sides of the house have already been lowered, and red brocade silk and red flowers woven with it have been hung, and several sachets are hung on the side.

Going out of the main hall, let's talk about the road of the Hou's Mansion, from the gate of the Hou's Mansion to the middle hall, and then to Pengyuan, the corridors and avenues along the way are abruptly raised by three floors, for relatives, friends, and guests to walk.

In Pengyuan, all the rooms have been cleaned inside and out by Zizhu and his servants.A double-layer tent made of red gauze was hung, and spices were piled or hung in the corner or on the tent.The room is covered with red silk brocade.

Even the quilts on the couch were taken by the women sent by Gao Niangao to measure the size, thinking of making a new set before the bridal chamber.A series of wedding items such as auspicious clothes and sedan chairs used for marriage have already sent people to call craftsmen to make them overnight.

In the kitchen, the lights were brightly lit all night, and food and drinks were prepared for the relatives and friends who came to the door one after another tomorrow.

By the second day, the wedding shed had been built in the front yard, and the accountant of the Hou Mansion had set up a table under the wedding shed.Although it's not the right day, some relatives and friends have come to congratulate.

Regardless of the relationship above the court, being an official in the same dynasty, funerals and marriages in colleagues' families, etc., the relationship between each other is always indispensable.There are not many people who come to give gifts today, and most of them are unable to be there tomorrow, so they send servants to deliver the gifts one day earlier.It lasted until noon, and some people gave gifts intermittently.

After an early lunch.Just use the servants of the Hou's mansion in new clothes to report letters all the way from the palace to the Changsunhou's mansion.According to etiquette, today is the time for the woman to send the dowry to the man.This dowry generally includes three parts, one is the dowry that the woman's family has bought since her daughter was a child, the other is the dowry added by relatives and friends, and the third is a partial dowry gift from the man.

At that time, when the emperor granted the marriage, the Changsunhou's mansion gave the royal family a betrothal gift.There are many kinds of them, including jade, treasures, calligraphy and paintings, clothes for spring, summer, autumn and winter, and jewelry, etc., with a total of sixty loads.

To be continued......

(End of this chapter)