The sixth prince's Mansion was already in the stage of completion.
There was a large lake in the backyard. An eight-pointed pavilion was built in the middle of the lake, and the Nine Winding Bridge stretched out towards the shore. On the shore, there were two rows of willow trees and a row of poplars.
Next to the backyard was a moonlit door. Inside the door was a cobblestone path that led into the depths. Looking up, under the cover of the leaves of the parasol tree, one could faintly make out the signboard of the courtyard — Spring Blossom Castle.
This was the small courtyard that Yan Yu had instructed the steward to specially construct. The furnishings inside were the same as the Xie family's Spring Blossom Castle in Qing Zhou.
Xie Liqing created a small courtyard for Xie Zhen and Xie Xun, which was decorated in their favorite style, with a vine swing and a brook.
On his memory, Yan Yu made people build identical courtyards.
He walked out into the yard and looked. The wisteria flowers on the flower racks had failed, and the swings had changed from two to one. The rest was the same.
For a moment, he thought that he was still in Qing Zhou.
He stood on the arched bridge and looked down at the carp in the pond. Suddenly, he remembered something and said to the steward, "Go get two turtles and put them in the pond."
The steward didn't think much of it. He thought that he liked it, so he record it down.
Not that Yan Yu liked them. He done it only because he recalled thelittle QianSui and thebig QianSui of young Xie Zhen and wanted to impress her.
Other than the Spring Blossom Castle, the other areas had also been built extremely well.
Especially between the side room and the inner room of the main room, according to Yan Yu's instructions, there was a cabinet with virid yarns. There was no lock, and if one wanted, he could enter and leave at any time.
After seeing it, Yan Yu was very satisfied. When the beds and wardrobes were ready, it would be really like a home.
The steward had hired a dozen carpenters to make furniture, such as tables, chairs, beds, and tables in a small courtyard. In just one month, they had all been done.
Not only did they worked quickly, they were also very meticulous. The steward led his men to take a look around, but he didn't find any flaws at all.
The steward paid off the carpenters and carried the furniture to the courtyards, arranging them one by one.
All that remained were some minor details.
Originally, letting the steward handle all of it would be fine, but every day, Yan Yu would take the time to come over and see if there was anything he needed to improve.
He cared more than the steward, and even the colors of the bed sheets had been chosen by himself …
The steward was shocked at first, but gradually got used to it, so he let him go.
The bridal chamber was more elaborate than anywhere else, with two palisander chairs and a square table, on which were white glazed vases and pine potted plants, and large blue and white porcelain vases on either side.
In the inner room, there was a carved cabinet with a dresser beside it. On the other side, there was a bed made of yellow pears. The bed was draped with curtains, and on top of the bed was a quilt with a big red embroidered pattern of fish. It was the most festive place in the room.
The steward led Yan Yu around to take a look, "Is Your Highness satisfied?"
Yan Yu nodded, "That's all right."
All that was left was to set up the wedding room and prepare for the wedding.
The steward would go out to the street and get some jade and put it in the house for decoration.
As Yan Yu was free today, he went out with him.
The Jade Artifact Market was quite a distance from the Beining Street, and the carriage took about an hour.
The man's purchasing efficiency was very good. In just a quarter of an hour, Yan Yu and the steward chose several kinds of porcelain and, after paying the bill, carried them to their carriage and prepared to return home.
As Yan Yu was riding on the horse, he turned his gaze and saw the two sisters who had walked out of Linlang shop not far away.
Although they were both wearing curtain hat, he recognized Xie Zhen of them at a glance.
He stopped and looked in that direction.
When Xie Zhen and Xie Xun got into the carriage, they didn't seem to want to go home, instead, they came to the other direction.
That direction was the opposite of where he should return. The steward saw that he didn't move for a long time and followed his line of sight, only to discover that there was nothing there. "Your Highness, should we return?"
He tightened his grip on the reins and rode after her. "Not yet."
Without turning his head, he caught up with the Xie Family's carriage, following behind them without batting an eyelid.
The steward didn't quite understand his actions, but since his master had already ordered, how could they servants dare to disobey? They could only follow him in the carriage.
After walking for a while, Yan Yu came to the window on his horse. Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the wall, he heard the conversation inside and put his hand back.
Xie Zhen stayed at home for two months, and Madam Leng didn't allow her to go out of the house. She was allowed to marry properly and learn some manners, but she could not afford to be idle.
With great difficulty, she managed to persuade Madam Leng to make a trip today. Then, she took Xie Xun and a few servant maids along with her to take a stroll around the streets.
After going to Linlang shop, she picked out a pair of earrings with jade lanterns and gold inlay for herself, preparing to take Xie Xun to the Babao building for dessert.
Babao building's snacks were well-known, especially the jujube cake, which made many people envious.
Xie Xun was one of them. She had wanted to eat it for a long time, but now she finally had the chance to taste it.
Sitting in the wagon, Xie Xun counting on her fingers. Xie Zhen was puzzled, "What are you doing?"
She muttered, "I'm counting the days until my sister gets married."
"…"
Xie Zhen puffed out her cheeks and said, "Have you finished counting?"
She nodded. "Fifty-one days."
When Xie Zhen didn't say anything, she asked, " sis, do you want to marry sixth prince?"
Xie Zhen hid her head in the pillow. "So what if I don't want to," she said in a low voice. "The imperial edict has passed down, and it's not for me to decide."
That was true. Xie Xun tilted her head and suddenly said, "I think big brother Gao Xun is pretty good too. If we had known this would happen, sister would have gotten engaged with him in Qing Zhou."
"He has liked you for so many years, he would be very sad to hear the news of your marriage."
When she mentioned it, it occurred to Xie Zhen that Gao Xun had gone to join the army before they returned to the capital, so he hadn't been informed.
If he knew, he would definitely blame her.
She wondered what sort of reaction he would have when he heard that she was going to be married off.
Xie Zhen thought of his persistence and it made her feel guilty for no reason, but fortunately he hadn't known it, otherwise she wouldn't know how to face him.
Xie Zhen was thinking about it and didn't respond to Xie Xun, but in the other's ears, it became a tacit agreement.
Yan Yu's hand clenched into a fist as he prepared to knock on the wall of the carriage, thought angrily that she had been always with Gao Xun during the years since he had been gone.
That Gao Xun…
He had been infatuated with Xie Zhen since he was young and praised her as a little fairy in his ear every day, but he never thought that he would still be so superficial when he grew up!
He grunted silently, clenched his teeth, and turned away on his horse.
As the days went by, it grew colder and colder. People took off their summer clothes and changed into their autumn clothes. Soon, it was the third day of the tenth month.
The whole Duke Dingguo's Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, full of jubilation.
There was red all over the place, and Xie Zhen didn't know why. Every time she saw the color, it made her nervous lately, so she shut the door, staying in the room.
However, escaping was useless. In the blink of an eye, it was already the fifth night and tomorrow she would get married. However, she seemed to have not prepared anything yet.
When she thought of marrying away to another place tomorrow, leaving her parents and siblings, she could not help but feel sad and secretly wiped her tears on the pillow. Before she finished crying, Madam Leng came in from outside.
It was already dark, and the moon was misty outside the courtyard. The lanterns under the veranda were flickering in the wind.
Light filtered in through the window and shone on Xie Zhen, enveloping her small body in a hazy halo and casting a huge shadow on the wall.
Madam Leng sat beside her, helped her up, and wiped her red eyes with a handkerchief. "Why are you crying?"
"Tomorrow is the day of the wedding. If your eyes are swollen, you will probably be laughed at by others."
She whined and swallowed, no longer caring about anything else. She laid her head on her shoulder and cried out, "I can't bear to part with my mother and father …"
"And Ah Xun and brother. I don't want to be married. "
Hearing this, Madam Leng's heart ached. How could she and Xie Liqing bear to let her marry?
At this point, it was useless to retreat.
She gently stroked the top of her head, her voice gentler than ever. "Silly girl, even if you marry someone, you will still be the Little Lamb to me and your father."
"If you miss us, you can come back to visit us anytime. "
Xie Zhen could not listen to it. She thought it was Yan Yu who made her part with her family. "I hate Brother Xiao Yuu. How could I have liked him when I was a kid?"
When Madam Leng heard this, her sadness was swept away. She asked in amusement, "Did you forget?"
"You pestered him every day when you are young, and you didn't know how tired you are at all. You just wanted to play with him every day."
"You were upset for a long time after he moved away with the Li family. "
She had the impression that this was indeed the case. She said gloomily, "That's because I don't understand …"
"Do you understand now?" asked Madam Leng.
She said, "Of course!"
Madam Leng straightened her and knocked on her forehead. Smiling, she said, "Then don't cry. Quickly wash up and go to bed. Tomorrow you will be married off."
With a withering sound, she climbed down from the bed and let the Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan help her change her clothes.
After washing up, she turned her head and discovered that Madam Leng was still sitting on her lady couch.
"Mother, why haven't you left yet?"
Madam Leng withdrew servant maids, and called her over. She then took out a booklet from her sleeve and placed it in her hands. "Before you go to sleep, you can casually flip through it."
Xie Zhen was confused ,"What's it?"
Madam Leng did not explain further. She patted the top of her head, stood up and walked out of the room.
When Xie Zhen went to bed, she had a light left on. She lay in bed and opened the booklet that Madam Leng had given her.
She immediately saw the two persons entangled on the back of the horse …
She choked on her saliva and coughed until her face was red. She could not help but glance at it curiously, then quickly closed the booklet and hid it under her pillow, not daring to open it again.
Thanks to this booklet, a horse came out in her dream and it carried two persons, one was her and the other was Yan Yu.
She opened her eyes in alarm and discovered that it was already the day. The servant maids were busily pacing back and forth outside, and everyone's faces were filled with joy.
She's getting married today.