A eunuch’s high voice announced the arrival of the emperor, empress, and Princesses Ainuan and Ruzhen. All the guests rose and most of them knelt and put their heads to the floor. Yuelan performed a salute down to her knees as she’d been taught to do by Granny Mei and the princes performed a similar salute, but intended solely for men. Everyone maintained their positions until the emperor, empress, and two princesses had taken their seats, when the emperor waved his hand and announced, “You may all rise. The bridal sedan will be here shortly.”

Yuelan rose gracefully to her feet, unlike the first time she’d tried to perform such a salute and ended up tripping over her own feet in front of Guangfeng. She sat down and gave a polite smile to each of the two princesses, who were sitting to her right. The only one who returned the smile was the younger princess, Ruzhen.

The sound of bells and drums announced the arrival of the bridal sedan and Yuelan turned her attention back to the gates of the General’s estate. She watched General Chang Biming help his bride out of the sedan and hand her one end of a silk ribbon, which they each held in their right hands as they walked toward the emperor side by side. Liling’s red gown was embroidered with phoenixes outlined in gold and her veil covered her face, making it impossible for anyone to see her face or, most likely, for her to see where she was going, but Yuelan could see the young general carefully guiding her so she wouldn’t fall.

Yuelan smiled and watched as the couple performed the required bows to the statue of the marriage goddess that had been placed in a prominent place near the emperor, then to both parents before finally bowing to each other. After that, General Chang Biming lifted the princess’ veil and each of them was handed a glass of wine. They crossed their arms at the elbows and each took a sip to complete the ceremony.

Curious, Yuelan studied Liling’s makeup as best she could from where she was sitting. It was a bit heavier than normal and a red flower had been painted between her eyebrows. Her cheeks were more pink than usual, though a lot of that could have been from blushing rather than blush.

The couple walked around to each table and saluted the guests and when they reached Yuelan’s table the two princesses to her right gave congratulations to Liling and then fell silent. Yuelan smiled at Liling. “Congratulations, Liling,” she said happily. “You look very happy and beautiful.”

Liling’s cheeks turned a little more pink and she smiled. “Thank you, Yuelan. When is it going to be your turn?” The first princess’ eyes sparkled as she teased her friend.

Yuelan smiled and shook her head. “Not yet, I think. I’m not ready to make such a decision. And I want to speak with my father about it as well.”

“Well, don’t make my brothers and father wait for too long or they’ll start to get impatient,” Liling continued to tease.

“You should go and greet your other guests,” Yuelan replied, changing the subject to avoid having to continue the discussion in a public setting.

“I will, but I’m looking forward to the day I get to call you sister, Yuelan.” Liling smiled at Yuelan and her new husband gave a polite bow before walking to the next table.

“Hmph. I don’t know what Father Emperor sees in riffraff like you,” Princess Ainuan snorted in disdain. “And how could he possibly put the fate of the entire kingdom in the hands of a woman nobody even knows, whether Lord He approves of you or not.”

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Yuelan looked over at the second princess. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but I don’t think such words are fitting for such an important celebration. This is an auspicious day and we wouldn’t want to bring bad luck to the bride and groom.”

“I think she’s right, second sister,” Princess Ruzhen agreed. “Don’t ruin eldest sister’s special day with your poor attitude. You’d be furious if she said something similar at your own wedding, which will be just after the mid-autumn banquet.”

“None of you will be attending my wedding,” Princess Ainuan snorted and turned her head away, ignoring both of them.

The third princess turned to Yuelan and gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about second sister’s attitude. She’s always like this,” she said gently. “Her imperial mother is the empress and she is the only daughter of an empress, so she has to be sent to Zhongshu to marry a prince from their imperial family and she’s upset because she doesn’t want to travel so far.”

“I remember Prince Guangfeng mentioning Zhongshu once. His mother was from there, correct?” Yuelan asked curiously.

“She was. It’s to the west,” Princess Ruzhen answered. “To the east is the sea, the south has Lanzhou, and the north is Kitakuni. Kitakuni speaks a different language, so their country’s name is quite strange.”

“It means ‘north country,’ right?” Yuelan asked, smiling a little.

Princess Ruzhen looked a bit startled. “Well...yes, I think so. I’m not familiar with the language myself, so I couldn’t tell you for certain. Fourth brother or fifth brother might be able to, though. How did you know?”

“I learned a bit of that language back home in Kilin,” Yuelan answered. “I’m not as skilled in it as I would like to be, but I can understand and speak a little.”

“Even a little is rather impressive. Father Emperor always has a translator when he’s speaking with their representatives,” the third princess praised.

The first princess let out a snort. “It’s just one language. What’s the big deal?”

Yuelan smiled. “I speak three other languages nearly as fluently as I speak our language as well,” she answered. “It’s just that the language of Kitakuni is a little difficult for me.”

Princess Ruzhen’s large eyes widened even more. “Miss Long is quite impressive!” she exclaimed. 

“What need is there to know so many languages?” Princess Ainuan scoffed. “Is she a man who will participate in politics? No. She’s a woman who will remain in the harem to be pampered and rarely seen. It’s not as though those languages will ever come in handy.”

The third princess’ cheeks puffed out in an adorable manner and she glared at her sister, but Yuelan put a hand on Ruzhen’s shoulder and smiled.

“It’s alright,” Yuelan assured her. “I’m not offended. She’s wrong, anyway. I’m not the kind to be hidden away and pampered. I prefer to assist in any way that I can.”

A cheer broke out among some of the younger men attending the banquet, drawing the attention of the three girls. The bride and groom had greeted the last of the tables and were making their way toward a courtyard that had been decorated and set up as the bridal chambers.

General Chang Taikang stood, thanked the guests for coming, and announced that they were welcome to stay longer, but the official banquet had ended. The members of the imperial family all rose and started to leave, though the third prince stopped in front of Yuelan.

“May I have the pleasure of escorting you home, Miss Long?” Guangfeng asked her. “There is...something I wish to speak to you about in private.”

Yuelan considered the request for a moment, then nodded and rose to her feet. “I suppose I should accept, in that case,” she replied.

The third prince looked a bit relieved and he smiled at her. “Thank you.” He held his arm out to Yuelan to help her walk once she had come out from around the table and Yuelan placed her hand on his forearm where it was covered by his sleeve and let him lead her out of the general’s manor and toward his carriage. “I’ll have someone inform your carriage to follow mine.”