sbdcsierra Chapter 306 If only I could get a little closer to His Highness!
Chapter 306 If only I could get a little closer to His Highness!
Lu Yangyang was exhausted after several days. After talking with Lan Yin, she quickly washed and bathed, and then fell asleep peacefully.
Lan Yin was worried. When she saw Lu Yangyang fall asleep so quickly, she paused for a moment, and seemed to understand something.
Throughout history, few deposed crown princes have had a good ending.
For Lu Yangyang to marry into the family at this time was tantamount to entering a fire pit.
As a mother, no matter how much she understands, she cannot convince herself not to worry.
But Lu Yangyang's unwavering determination made her realize that for Lu Yangyang, no matter what lay ahead—whether it was a den of dragons and tigers or a boiling oil hell—she had never been afraid.
This is the path she wants to take, the future she wants to forge.
She looked at her daughter's sleeping face, gently brushed the strands of hair from her cheek, her eyes filled with reluctance and love.
……
Lu Yangyang was woken up early the next morning.
After the palace maids had washed and dressed her, she quietly waited for the appointed time to ride in the palace carriage into the palace.
The Crown Prince's wedding required a grand ceremony to be held in the palace first, so there was no bride-fetching ceremony.
Lu Yangyang's close friends were all not in the capital, and now that the Crown Prince's identity was so sensitive, Lu Yangyang asked Lan Yin to help her refuse all the people who planned to come to escort her to the wedding, not wanting to cause any trouble at this time.
The only sound in the entire princess's mansion was the movement of the palace servants who came to escort Lu Yangyang to the palace.
But just before the auspicious hour arrived, Grand Tutor Lan arrived at the Princess's residence with his family. He sat in the main seat with a solemn expression and said, "Since ancient times, when a woman gets married, she must bid farewell to her elders and relatives. You are of the Lan family bloodline, how can you not have the wedding ceremony? The Crown Prince still sits in charge of the Eastern Palace, so who would dare to be disrespectful to you? Remember, as long as His Majesty does not depose the Crown Prince, you will be the Crown Prince's principal wife, and not a single bit of the ceremony can be omitted."
The official in charge of ceremonies waiting nearby hurriedly and respectfully replied, "The Grand Tutor is absolutely right. The auspicious time has arrived. The Crown Princess shall perform the farewell ceremony."
Lu Yangyang's eyes welled up with tears, and she hurriedly and respectfully followed the nanny's instructions, preparing to step forward and pay her respects.
For her, the significance of this marriage to the Crown Prince and going to his side was greater than the significance of actually getting married.
Therefore, she didn't have many ideas about how the wedding would be.
She never expected that Grand Tutor Lan would come so solemnly with his family to escort her to her wedding.
At this moment, she felt a little dazed; she was really going to get married.
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose outside, and someone shouted, "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
Everyone turned around in surprise, and even Grand Tutor Lan stood up.
Pei Ji pushed the Crown Prince, who had changed into his formal attire, into the room.
The wedding attire of the Zhao royal family is black. Since Lu Yangyang met the Crown Prince, he had always been dressed in casual clothes. This was the first time she had seen him in his crown prince uniform. The black palace robes made him look exceptionally noble and dignified, like a god.
His long, slender fingers were folded in front of him, holding a red silk ribbon. When he stopped beside Lu Yangyang, he offered her one end of the ribbon.
"I'm late."
Lu Yangyang's heart suddenly pounded. She took the red silk and smiled, "Not too late, just right."
The moment they looked at each other, they exchanged a smile that was almost electrifying.
Upon seeing this, the master of ceremonies hurriedly announced, "The Crown Prince and Crown Princess bid farewell to their elders."
Grand Tutor Lan sat down, and the usually stern-faced man smiled slightly and said, "One of you is my disciple, and the other is my own granddaughter. I am very pleased that you have become such a perfect match today."
As the master of ceremonies chanted in response, the two bowed and completed the ritual.
Then Lu Yangyang bowed to Lan Yin and bid farewell to her mother.
After the ceremony, the Crown Prince reached out and took Lu Yangyang's hand. The two went out together, boarded the palace carriage, and followed the palace procession to the palace for the wedding ceremony.
As the ceremonial guard left the neighborhood where the princess's mansion was located, a carriage discreetly stopped at a street corner. The curtains were gently lifted with a folding fan and remained drawn for a long time.
Cheng Ruoxue handed a glass of wine to Sheng Junyi: "Since you want to go, why not see him off?"
Sheng Junyi took the wine glass, raised it slightly, and then drank it all in one gulp.
"Offering help in times of need is a matter of kindness, while judging the situation is about self-interest. From the day she came home, I never considered her family. If I were to fawn over her now, would I be telling her that I regret it?"
Cheng Ruoxue asked with great interest, "So, do you regret it?"
"Regret what?" Sheng Junyi poured himself another cup of wine. "If it weren't for the Crown Prince's accident, everything she has today would be earned through her own hard work. But if we consider another scenario, if she were just a useless peasant girl, returning to a place like the Duke's mansion, apart from my elder brother, who is inherently kind and would consider her interests, he would be too far away to help her and could barely protect himself. Alone in the Duke's mansion, how much pity do you think she would receive? Would she be devoured until not even bones and scraps are left?"
Cheng Ruoxue looked at him thoughtfully.
Sheng Junyi scoffed: "I can see her now because she made me see her. Otherwise, if I were acting in my father's best interest, I would probably only be thinking about how to use her. Since there's no sincerity in her, why bother pretending?"
"Alright, let's go. The situation in the capital is about to change drastically. I should also think about what move to make." Sheng Junyi leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes.
Cheng Ruoxue hooked her fingers around his, her fingertips gently rubbing every inch of his joints.
A slight upturn at the corners of her lips betrayed her true feelings.
……
After the wedding ceremony, Lu Yangyang returned to the Eastern Palace with the Crown Prince.
Lu Yangyang first followed the palace maid to bathe and change clothes. After removing her cumbersome palace attire, she changed into casual clothes, stretched out from exhaustion, and casually took a silver hairpin from her makeup box to fasten her freshly wrung-out hair.
When she arrived at the palace, the Crown Prince had also changed into casual clothes and was sitting in a wheelchair, casually flipping through a book.
As Lu Yangyang gazed at the Crown Prince from afar, she couldn't help but think, "If the Crown Prince weren't the Crown Prince, but truly her husband, it wouldn't be so bad."
She raised her hand to rub her slightly flushed face. Was she overthinking things?
Hearing the noise, the crown prince put down the book and waved to her.
Lu Yangyang instinctively ran over, just like countless times before, squatted down beside him, placed her hands on his knees, and looked up at him, "Your Highness?"
The crown prince looked at her gently: "Did I frighten you?"
Lu Yangyang was confused: "Huh?"
"Did the news of your marriage frighten you?" the Crown Prince asked.
“Ah, this,” Lu Yangyang paused for a moment, then shook her head. “I wasn’t scared, but I was a little surprised. But I think if it were Your Highness, I would be looking forward to it.”
"Why?" The prince's eyes darkened.
"Because it allows me to be closer to His Highness."