Chapter 97
The Ministry of Rites had been frantically busy for more than half a month and had finally managed to get almost everything ready. Before they could even catch their breath, the emperor threw another wrench into the works: he had decided to leave the palace and personally escort the empress to the wedding.
The empress was a woman of supreme rank, yet even before the Son of Heaven she was technically the inferior party. In all the dynasties, no emperor had ever personally gone to receive his bride on his wedding day.
Moreover, the imperial procession would pass through streets lined with onlookers. If someone used the crowds as cover to harm the emperor, it would be nearly impossible to guard against.
Several grand secretaries and high ministers from the various ministries took turns trying to dissuade him. Nothing else seemed to work, but whenever they mentioned the danger of an attack, the emperor would take a few chess pieces from his sleeve and idly roll them between his fingers. Remembering the force with which those pieces could strike holes in the ground, everyone fell silent.
This emperor was not like the emperors of old. Others feared attacks and assassinations; he not only had nothing to fear, but would likely punch holes through anyone who came for him.
He was the only one capable of hurting others. No one else could so much as touch him.
Besides, there were the Dark Qilin Guards. The moment anyone with ill intentions showed their head, the Dark Qilin Guards would probably intercept and kill them. There would be no need for the emperor to act at all.
In the end, they had no choice but to comply with his wishes.
Prince Jing and Grand Secretary Zheng had already been chosen as the principal and deputy wedding envoys, and the two of them had even rehearsed for two days. Now that the emperor intended to go personally to receive the empress, everything had to be rearranged.
The emperor was quite accommodating this time, saying that the principal and deputy envoys should simply accompany him and act according to the circumstances.
Minister Gu thought that made sense. There were so many formal rites to carry out, and the emperor would never have the patience to deal with all of them. The two envoys would still be necessary.
After working through the night, everything in the palace had been arranged.
At the beginning of the mao hour, the emperor donned a red imperial robe embroidered with the Twelve Symbols. In the central hall of Yanhua Palace, he received the kowtows of the civil and military officials. He then led the principal and deputy wedding envoys, the matchmaker, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites, accompanied by the full imperial procession, out through Fengtian Gate and Duan Gate, heading west to the Cui residence.
The eastern side gate was too narrow for the procession, and it would also be improper for the empress to leave through a side gate. After the two branches of the Cui family discussed the matter, they decided to hold the ceremony in the main hall of the second branch’s residence.
A red carpet had been laid from the main gate all the way to the hall. The main gate, inner gate, hall, and covered walkways along the route had all been decorated with red silk. Large red lanterns hung beneath the eaves and from the trees lining the path. Inside and out, everything radiated festivity.
After Cui Lanyin returned home to stay, the women of various families began bringing gifts to supplement her trousseau.
At Cui Lanyin’s instruction, Lady Jiang and Cui Lanzhi accepted gifts only from a select few—the Prince Jing’s residence, Prince An’s residence, Prince Duan’s residence, Princess Yongjia, Grand Secretary Shen’s family, Minister Gu’s family, the Yao family, and a handful of others. Everything else was politely declined.
Before Cui Lanyin left the palace, Empress Dowager Xu, Consort Dowager Shu, Consort Dowager Ru, Dowager Concubine Wan, and the others had also given her gifts for her trousseau.
Cui Mian thought of the first branch’s family finances. Even if they took the profits from six months of the pastry shop and restaurant, it would still be far from enough to prepare a respectable dowry.
When Empress Cao of Emperor Taizong and Empress Chen of Emperor Gaozong had entered the palace, each had brought a dowry of one hundred and twenty-eight loads—and at that time, both had merely been crown princesses. Cui Lanyin was the first woman in the dynasty to marry as empress. If her dowry were too shabby, the noblewomen would gossip about it for the rest of her life.
Because of this, Cui Mian went to discuss the matter with Cui Sheng and Cui Fang. He thought that the three branches should pool their resources and put together a dowry that would do Cui Lanyin justice.
Cui Sheng accepted their good intentions but told them there was no need for the family to worry about Cui Lanyin’s dowry. She had made all the arrangements herself.
Cui Mian sighed anxiously. “The empress has never had to deal with these matters before. How could she know that a dowry concerns a woman’s dignity for her entire life? His Majesty is a man, so he understands even less. You must ask her clearly whether the dowry is truly complete or whether she simply hasn’t taken it seriously.”
Cui Sheng replied, “Lanyin has managed the household for so many years. How could she not know? If she says it is taken care of, then it must be properly arranged.”
Hong Ji added, “Her Majesty stands higher and sees farther than we do. The only thing the family can do is follow her instructions and refrain from adding unnecessary complications.”
Clearly, the father-in-law and son-in-law had already reached an agreement. Cui Fang had always sided with Cui Sheng as well, so Cui Mian had no choice but to let the matter drop.
Yet once Cui Lanyin returned home and all the supplementary gifts from the various families had arrived, there was still no sign of her dowry. Cui Mian began pacing anxiously again.
Knowing he would never persuade such straightforward people as Cui Sheng and Lady Jiang, Cui Mian sought out Lady Jiang’s elder brother, Jiang Cong’an. He had forgotten that birds of a feather flocked together. Jiang Cong’an was just as inflexible, dismissing him with a single sentence: “Since Her Majesty has given an order, we should simply wait in peace.”
On the twenty-sixth, when Qi An arrived with the wedding gifts that Grand Empress Dowager Chen had prepared for Cui Lanyin, there were a neat one hundred and twenty-eight loads. They were far more impressive than the one hundred and twenty-eight loads that the Chen family had originally provided for Grand Empress Dowager Chen.
In addition to the one hundred and twenty-eight loads of dowry, there were also twenty thousand taels in banknotes to place at the bottom of the trunks.
Such a dowry would have been considered first-rate wherever it went. It provided both substance and prestige.
Cui Sheng and Lady Jiang still took out the profits from the pastry shop and restaurant for the past several months—two thousand five hundred taels in silver. Hong Ji and Cui Lanzhi contributed another five hundred. Together, they exchanged the money for banknotes amounting to three thousand taels to give Cui Lanyin as money to place in her trunks.
Cui Lanyin knew that if she refused, her family would feel uneasy for the rest of their lives, so she accepted it for the time being, intending to find a way to return it later.
Jiang Cong’an and Madam Gu also took out banknotes worth one thousand taels. The Jiang family was no wealthier than the former first branch of the Cui family. Cui Lanyin was about to refuse, but when she saw the embarrassment in their eyes at having been able to give less than the others, she sincerely thanked her uncle and aunt and accepted the gift.
The emperor intended to keep Jiang Cong’an in Yingcheng. In time, he would naturally be able to help the Jiang family build a better life as well.
Cui Mian and Cui Fang each sent another thousand taels of silver. They were her uncles within the same clan, and refusing such a gift would have been improper. Cui Sheng accepted the money and handed it over to Cui Lanyin.
Since furniture, bedding, and the like had to be arranged in the bridal chamber, a bride’s dowry was normally sent to the groom’s home one day in advance.
But since the empress was marrying into the palace, everything there was made by the imperial workshops, and furniture and bedding from her dowry would be of no use. With the schedule so tight, the Ministry of Rites had come to discuss the matter with them, and it was decided that the dowry would enter the palace together with the empress’s procession.
On the twenty-eighth, Cui Lanyin rose before dawn. Aunt Xia led several female palace officials in dressing and arranging her hair.
The empress’s wedding robes were elaborate and magnificent: a red, wide-sleeved, full-front ceremonial robe of patterned brocade woven with gold, paired with a crown adorned with nine dragons and four phoenixes, and a ceremonial shoulder stole draped over it. Once Cui Lanyin was fully dressed, her bearing was so noble and imposing that everyone around her instinctively held their breath and dared not make any unnecessary movement.
Amid the tense bustle, the auspicious hour soon approached.
Suddenly, a great burst of drums and music sounded outside.
The emperor had arrived to receive his bride.
The women of the second branch and Madam Gu had never seen the emperor before. Thinking of all the rumors surrounding him, they could not help feeling curious. Today, they finally had the chance to look at him openly and aboveboard.
Madam Hong followed beside Cui Lanzhi, smiling broadly as she kept pestering her with pointless small talk. Seeing this, Madam Gu feared she would embarrass herself in front of the guests and came over to pull her back, preventing her from crowding to the front.
Only then was Cui Lanzhi able to free herself and return to Cui Lanyin’s side.
Cui Su and Cui Jian had very much wanted to carry Cui Lanyin out of the house on their backs, as brothers in other families did when a woman married.
But now that Cui Lanyin had become empress, everything had to follow the wedding rites strictly, and they could only let go of that wish.
They still felt regretful, however, and privately mentioned it to Cui Lanyin a few times.
The Emperor had always told her not to let herself be constrained by ritual. Cui Lanyin thought that this was her wedding—a once-in-a-lifetime occasion—and that outside the bounds of ritual, her wishes ought to be respected as well. She wanted to leave her family with a beautiful memory.
So she wrote down her thoughts and sent a message to the Emperor using one of the messenger pigeons in Geng Dayou’s care.
Just as she had expected, the Emperor wrote back, telling her that she could make any other requests she had. This was their wedding, after all, and naturally it should be conducted in whatever way pleased them both.
Thus, aside from the ceremonies that could not be omitted, all the wedding customs on the Cui family’s side followed those of ordinary households.
The two brothers had discussed it among themselves. Cui Su would carry Cui Lanyin on his back and take her to the carriage, while Cui Jian would carry her from her chambers to the main hall where the rites would be performed.
At that moment, Cui Jian stepped forward. “Second Sister, let me carry you.”
It was an utterly ordinary sentence, yet both siblings’ eyes reddened. Cui Lanzhi and Cui Su were little better.
With female officials leading the way, Cui Lanyin and her brothers made their way to the main hall.
The Emperor and the court officials who had come to welcome her were already waiting there. His crimson ceremonial robes, embroidered with the Twelve Imperial Symbols, set off his handsome features, making him look like a celestial being and radiating an awe-inspiring dignity.
Lady Chang and the others only dared to steal glances from the corners of their eyes, astonished by the Emperor’s handsomeness and youth. No matter how they looked at him, he hardly seemed twenty-six.
The Emperor and Empress standing together made it clear that he was somewhat older than she was, but they were still exceptionally well matched—a pair of jade ornaments made by Heaven itself.
When it came time for the Empress to kneel and receive the golden investiture scroll and seal, the Emperor reached out and took her hand. “There is no need to kneel.” He accepted the scroll and seal from Prince Jing and Grand Secretary Zheng, then personally presented them to Cui Lanyin.
After all the ceremonies were completed, Cui Sheng and Lady Jiang were invited to take their seats. The Emperor took Cui Lanyin by the hand, and together they bowed deeply in farewell to her parents.
The Emperor had broken convention time and again, and all the relatives who had come to witness the ceremony were deeply moved. He truly regarded himself as the Cui family’s son-in-law. He was unwilling to put on even the slightest airs of an emperor.
But when Cui Su tried to carry Cui Lanyin to the carriage, the Emperor stopped him. He rolled up his broad sleeves, placed one hand around the Empress’s waist, and actually intended to carry her to the carriage himself.
Cui Su no longer acted like an imperial brother-in-law. He pulled a long face and said, “Your Majesty, just this once—let me see Second Sister out of the house, will you?”
The Emperor still refused to yield. “You can come along.”
Cui Su looked as though he had a toothache. “Your Majesty, that isn’t the point!”
The court officials and relatives stared in astonishment at this side of the Emperor. So he wasn’t completely silent when he was alone with the Empress, after all?
Cui Mian hurriedly said to Cui Sheng, “Quickly, make Su’er step aside. How can he block His Majesty’s path?”
Cui Sheng was already in a bad enough mood at having to marry off his daughter. How could he care about anything else? “Let him be. I wish I could keep Lanyin here a little longer.”
Beside him, Lady Jiang gazed at the Empress without blinking, wiping away her tears again and again. “Exactly.”
The emperor and his brother-in-law were locked in a standoff. The scene was so comical that everyone who had been too intimidated by the Emperor to laugh could no longer hold back. Laughter broke out all around them, and the atmosphere instantly became relaxed and festive.
Cui Lanyin had no desire to let the Emperor carry her out. If he did, she feared that she would remain a topic of conversation among the people of Yingcheng for years to come.
She reached out and pried the Emperor’s hand away from her waist. “Let Su’er do it. He’s practiced and won’t wrinkle my wedding robes. You can’t manage it.”
The Empress had actually addressed the Emperor as “you” in such an informal manner, and the Emperor’s expression remained perfectly composed. He did not seem to think she had been disrespectful in the slightest. That was yet another unexpected sight.
After she said this, the Emperor withdrew his hand and allowed Cui Su to carry the Empress out of the Cui residence. He boarded the carriage first, then took the Empress from her brother and pulled her inside to sit beside him.
The imperial carriage bearing the Emperor and Empress moved away amid the farewells, followed by wagon after wagon of dowry gifts.
Everyone had already seen the dowry laid out before, but so many rare and precious things—jewelry, silks and brocades, furs, felt and feathers, antiques, paintings and calligraphy—still dazzled the eye. Surely this was comparable to what the Li family had prepared for Li Yixin?
Even so, people could not help taking another close look, clicking their tongues in admiration.
When the last carriage arrived, everyone already knew that it contained twenty-six thousand taels of silver for the bride’s trunks. The families of high-born young ladies generally sent twenty thousand taels as such a sum, so twenty-six thousand was neither excessive nor insufficient—it was exactly right.
But when the silver was being carried past, the amount announced was not twenty-six thousand taels, but one hundred and twenty-six thousand.
Everyone assumed there had been a mistake and kindly reminded the Ministry of Rites official reading out the dowry list.
The official smiled and said, “There is no mistake. It is one hundred and twenty-six thousand taels of silver. These were funds His Majesty earned in his early years while he was still outside the palace. He entrusted them all to the Empress long ago, and now they have become part of the Empress’s dowry.”
So the Emperor had handed all his private savings over to the Empress back when he was still living outside the palace? When had the two of them fallen in love? People were simply dying to know!
Though the Emperor and Empress were seated inside the carriage, and not even their shadows could be seen, the people of Yingcheng still felt they had feasted their eyes.
After all, a wedding in which the Emperor personally welcomed his Empress was not merely unprecedented—it was unlikely to happen again for many years to come. That alone made the spectacle worthwhile.
Then, when the people saw the Empress’s one hundred and twenty-eight carts of dowry following behind the imperial procession, each one more dazzling than the last, they hardly knew where to look.
When they heard that the final cart held one hundred and twenty-six thousand taels of silver for the bride’s trunks, they cried out that they had truly witnessed something extraordinary. They felt that, for many years to come, no one would be able to surpass such a dowry.
After all, she was the Empress destined to usher in an age of prosperity. Only a dowry of such magnificent extravagance could possibly suit her.
Here I am~ [kiss]
