Chapter 234: Before the Wedding
Jin Sui was originally looking for something to give as a return gift in her space, but after searching for a long time, she found that there was nothing suitable to give Yan Jiu as a New Year’s gift. So, she decided to make a set of glazed glass tea ware herself.
The rotating teapot and the self-watering kettle were simple tricks that were easy to make in her space. She spent a whole day making it on the second day of the new year, and on the third day, she had Jin An deliver it as a New Year’s greeting.
Of course, there was also a New Year’s gift for Yan Shiyi, which was much more ordinary: a brand new set of polo equipment. In addition, there were nutritional supplements for Steward Yan and others. When Grandpa and Jin An stayed at the Yan family’s house before, they had caused them a lot of trouble.
There weren’t many families Jin An had to personally visit for New Year’s greetings. Besides the Yan family, there was Cheng Yu’s family. Li Heng’s family was visited by Jin An after Li Heng had already paid his respects to Grandpa Ling. He didn’t stay for dinner and left early in the afternoon.
Grandpa Ling had not left his residence since visiting the refugee camp on the first day of the new year, as the Taoist temple was bustling with people every day.
Only Jin Sui had the most leisure time. She studied etiquette with a matron from the Ministry of Rites for an hour each day. Apart from not being able to go out, she had nothing else to do.
Actually, no one could stop her if she insisted on going out. If necessary, she could disguise herself as a man again, and no one would recognize her.
She simply wanted to be lazy, as there would be no more leisurely days of sleeping in after getting married.
On the fourth day, she received a letter from Gu Changxiao, which was quite exasperating. Gu Changxiao actually asked her where the tea set for Yan Jiu came from, as he had never seen it before.
He also wanted a New Year’s gift.
Jin Sui replied to him, saying that the Yan family would soon be mass-producing them, and then Yan Jiu could offer them as tribute.
She couldn’t understand why he would be jealous about this. Men are strange creatures; sometimes they are very generous, so generous that they can give anything away, and so generous that they can disregard their own lives for a mission.
Sometimes they are exceptionally petty, especially when it concerns the person they love; they will fuss over the smallest of matters.
Jin Sui genuinely believed that the Yan family would soon mass-produce this type of tea set. After all, for tea lovers, a set of beautiful and exquisite tea ware, costing dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver, would be bought without hesitation.
The Yan family’s porcelain kilns, whether producing porcelain or glazed glass, would become bestsellers. However, she heard that Yan Jiu had treasured this tea set and had no intention of producing it.
Well, that was another thing she didn’t understand. It was too strange not to make money. Jin Sui felt that even though she had disguised herself as a man for so long, she still couldn’t understand men’s thoughts.
They say women’s minds are hard to guess, but men are the same.
Actually, Jin Sui had prepared a New Year’s gift for Gu Changxiao, but if this gift wasn’t delivered by her own hands and explained by her, Gu Changxiao would probably be confused upon receiving it.
However, the two of them couldn’t meet now, and if this New Year’s gift was given, she would have to think of another wedding gift for their wedding on the Lantern Festival.
Giving gifts is so troublesome! Especially giving gifts to an Emperor who has seen everything. For all the remaining years of his life, she would have to think of a gift for his birthday every year, so it’s best to give one less.
Jin Sui decided to treat this gift as both a New Year’s and a wedding gift, and give it on their wedding night. She would keep it a secret for now to give Gu Changxiao a surprise.
The New Year was celebrated very lively in the border city. After all, it was the Capital City. Even though it was still under construction, it did not diminish the grand and lively atmosphere of the Capital City.
Although Jin An was a child, he was treated as an adult during the New Year. He was in charge of sacrifices, New Year’s greetings, and receiving guests. He sat at the head of the table at any banquet he attended, and he was not allowed to drink alcohol. The host would also specially prepare a glass of fruit juice for their future maternal uncle.
Every time he returned from a New Year’s greeting, he would tell Jin Sui about his experiences. However, this child was not one to chatter incessantly; Jin Sui had to guide him and ask questions for him to speak.
After visiting the palace on the first day of the new year, he first checked if the matron from the Ministry of Rites was present. When he found no one, he spoke freely: “Sister, the palace rules are so strict. I think you would be very uncomfortable in the palace.”
Jin Sui, who was leaning on a rocking chair and gnawing on an iced pear, asked in surprise: “Why would I be uncomfortable? Your sister has a very strong ability to adapt.”
Jin An frowned like an old man and looked at her, saying: “It’s fine for you to be like this now, but there are censors and etiquette matrons in the palace. If you were to sit like this, someone would immediately come to remind you.
You can’t eat too much, you can’t let your footsteps make noise when walking, and your hair ornaments can’t sway. It’s too troublesome, how can you stand it?”
Jin Sui smiled and said: “It’s alright, rules are made by people, and they can be changed!”
She would follow the normal palace rules, but she wouldn’t care about the ones that were tormenting. She was a living person, not made of rubber. Under the constraints of rules and regulations, even good people would be driven to madness.
Seeing Jin An hesitate to speak, Jin Sui smiled and asked: “Did you hear someone whispering something? It’s alright, tell me, I won’t take anything to heart, no matter what it is.”
“Yes, I heard them privately saying that after you and His Majesty get married, His Majesty will select concubines.”
Jin Sui scoffed: “They deliberately said that for you to hear, and likely for you to relay to me.
His Majesty is unwilling to select concubines, and they can’t see me, so they are forced to use this method. Did they also say that only when the Empress organizes the selection of concubines is she considered virtuous and magnanimous?”
Jin An’s eyes widened: “Yes! Sister, how did you know?”
Jin Sui snorted: “They want to morally blackmail me. I don’t want to be a virtuous Empress! A virtuous Empress is paired with a wise ruler. Our Emperor wants to be a tyrant, so what kind of virtuous Empress would I be?
Little An, remember this, never let others morally blackmail you!”
Jin An seemed to understand but not fully: “Then what should I do?”
Jin Sui smiled: “If you have no morals, you won’t be blackmailed! I’m already prepared to be called a demon empress, a poisonous empress, or a jealous empress by the powerful gentry!”
As long as the common people of the world don’t curse me, that’s fine! With the experience of being the Li King before, Jin Sui had already understood a principle.
To win over one group of powerful people, you are bound to offend another. It’s better to offend everyone and not care. I will only care about the people under my command. Once I become strong, those powerful people will immediately try to win me over.
What’s so good about being a virtuous Empress? Is it more important for me to put on a show by picking wheat or harvesting rice, than for me to develop high-yield grain varieties?
If I provide the Emperor with enough consorts for his harem, and manage the consorts to procreate for the royal family, and engage in deadly palace infighting, is that more important than me earning money for the Emperor, building the Navy, promoting sea merchants, and destroying Japan?
If I wear a skirt that exposes my ankles and advocate for frugality, is that more important than ensuring all the common people in the world are warm?
If I write rules and books to restrain women, is that more important than ensuring all children in the world can read and enlighten themselves?
During natural disasters and plagues, I come forward to mourn for the deceased common people. Is that more important than me developing medical care, creating medicines, and saving the disaster-stricken people?
…
Therefore, Jin Sui didn’t want to be a virtuous Empress praised by all officials. She didn’t care how she would be written in historical records either. At worst, she would be a tyrant and an even more brutal Empress alongside Gu Changxiao.
On the second day of the new year, Jin An visited Cheng Yu’s house, and then went to the family area of the Tuntian Camp to inquire about the old military families on behalf of Jin Sui.
He came back and told a few more amusing stories. The new houses built in the military family area and the new clothes for the children in the Youth Camp were trivial matters.
One funny story was that he and a group of children went horseback riding to watch a hot air balloon flight. None of the children had ridden in a hot air balloon because children were not allowed to.
The only one who had ridden in one was Li Heng’s youngest son, which made everyone very envious. Jin An had repeatedly requested to ride in a hot air balloon, and Jin Sui planned to fulfill his wish on his birthday.
Uh, back to the main topic, they went to see the hot air balloon today. Coincidentally, Yan Shiyi was taking a group of young masters for a ride. As a result, one of the hot air balloons malfunctioned, the rope broke, and it flew far away.
Jin Sui immediately sat up straight: “Are the people alright?”
Jin An smiled and said: “They are fine. It flew over the pass to the pasture area and was caught by a group of herdsmen on horseback who pulled the rope. However, the four people on board were terrified and shivering from the cold.”
Jin Sui frowned: “Then will anyone dare to ride in a hot air balloon again?”
Jin An was surprised: “Why wouldn’t they? Everyone is now asking for the ropes to be released so they can fly on their own, and land wherever they please.”
Jin Sui chuckled. As expected, in any era, those who dared to play extreme sports were a group of rich and idle young masters with too much time on their hands.
“They are still asking when the flying wings will be made. They want to use those to fly.”
Jin Sui smiled: “Dream on! Those things will be made for military use, how could they be given to them for recreational flying!”
On the third day, Jin An went to the Yan family for New Year’s greetings, and also visited a few gentry families in Yanzhou City. Yan Jiu prepared a very grand banquet to entertain Jin An, and the prominent gentry of Yanzhou came to accompany him.
Jin Sui found the scene amusing, thinking about a group of young masters or uncles and grandfathers acting as escorts for a ten-year-old child.
My Jin An is also someone who has seen grand occasions!
“What did they ask you?”
“They asked a lot, but I generally answered ‘I don’t know,’ ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘I don’t understand.'”
“Very good, you’ve mastered the essence of attending banquets.”
“They asked if I had heard when Yanzhou would be incorporated into the Capital City? Would there be a tram track built? Would His Majesty order some gentry to migrate? When would the sea merchant laws be promulgated? His Majesty has been recruiting new soldiers, where is he preparing to attack?…”
“These people are really strange. They don’t even think about how I could possibly know these things? It made me not even eat enough. It was only when Brother Shiyi quietly took me to a small hall, and we both ate fish ball soup noodles, that we were full.”
On the fifth day, Gu Changxiao took the powerful people on a long trip to Jieshi to “gaze at the sea” where Qin Shi Huang made his eastern tour. At this time, the stone carvings at Jieshi were still quite well preserved. Jin Sui had told Gu Changxiao in advance to make sure to preserve those stone tablets.
A thousand years later, they would be national treasures. Gu Changxiao asked why. How is the value of cultural relics distinguished?
Jin Sui smiled and said: “By inscriptions. Even a piece of stone with many inscriptions is a national treasure. No matter how magnificent gold, silver, or jade objects are, without inscriptions, they are not considered national treasures.”
Gu Changxiao was lost in thought. He didn’t tell Jin Sui at the time.
It wasn’t until they returned from Jieshi that Jin Sui learned Gu Changxiao had specifically ordered the Ministry of Works to carve multiple stone tablets next to the Emperor Qin’s carvings, recording the events of the current dynasty.
He also specifically inscribed that in the current year, Emperor Jun Yanqing would get married, and Ling Jin Sui would be established as Empress.
Jin Sui quickly asked: “Do the officials have any objections to leaving my name?” Yes, historical records rarely mention the given names of women; they are usually referred to as “Madam So-and-so” or by a bestowed name.
Gu Changxiao smiled and said: “I want to have your name and mine inscribed on the stone together. If the stone endures for a thousand years, my love for Sui Sui will also endure for a thousand years.”
After returning from Jieshi, the wedding was about to begin. The city was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners. Even the common people’s homes hung red lanterns, and all the street lamps were filled with gas, for fear that any lamp might not be lit when the wedding procession passed by.
Since the wedding procession was in the evening, they would arrive at the Imperial Palace around seven in the evening. The Emperor would attend the wedding banquet and then return to the bridal chamber, just in time for bed.
Uh, the wedding time set by the ancients was truly meticulously planned! Was it to prevent either party from regretting it if the veil was lifted too early, and they could still escape on the same day?
On the thirteenth, Grandpa held a wedding banquet for his daughter, or rather, his granddaughter. It was held at the Taoist temple, but the noblewomen went to the Academy to give Jin Sui wedding gifts.
Even for an Empress, the wedding procedures were the same, and giving wedding gifts was an important part. Chen Yunniang acted as both mother and elder sister, handling the female guests and arranging for the auspicious matron to comb the bride’s hair.
Jin Sui originally asked Chen Yunniang to comb her hair, but Chen Yunniang refused, insisting that she was a person with incomplete blessings and that it was unlucky to comb the bride’s hair.
She said she was an orphan, her in-laws disliked her, and she had no children, so she had to find a woman with complete blessings to comb her hair.
In the end, they found an old Princess Consort from the royal clan. Anyone from the royal clan who could travel from Chang’an to the border city was definitely trusted by Gu Changxiao.
If there was even a slight lack of trust, they would have been kept in Chang’an under Han Xing’s strict surveillance.
Although called an old Princess Consort, she was only in her forties. She was very polite and had no airs. She sang, “May the comb go all the way, and may your hair be as white as your eyebrows; may the second comb go all the way, and may you have many descendants…”
She did Jin Sui’s makeup and hair, said some auspicious words, and left with the jade Ruyi gifted by Chen Yunniang.
Jin Sui sighed in her heart, it was really worthwhile to be a woman with complete blessings. In the future, I will also comb a bride’s hair and give her a jade Ruyi!
Fortunately, she didn’t say it out loud, or Chen Yunniang would have laughed at her.
The funniest part was that night, Chen Yunniang, with a blushing face, even more shy than Jin Sui, the bride, asked: “Sui Sui, did the matron teach you about marital relations?”
Jin Sui quickly pulled out an album from the side: “Conjugal relations? She did teach us, but not much, as neither of them had experience. Sister Chen, take a look, are these useful?”
Chen Yunniang leaned over to look, and saw a set of lifelike “Bikun Tu” (pictures of sexual intercourse). It made her face blush crimson. As for our soon-to-be bride, she was unfazed and spoke casually:
“The matron said there would be palace servants waiting outside the dragon bed to bring water and help with changing clothes. Hiss, I must change this rule when I enter the palace!”
Chen Yunniang fled in disarray: “The matron taught very well, I don’t need to teach you.”
Jin Sui laughed. She knew why Chen Yunniang specifically mentioned this to her. It was because that silly girl, Miss Yan, had written to Chen Yunniang about the embarrassing incident on her wedding night.
She specifically mentioned that Sui Sui, like her, had no mother and no elder female relatives around. This matter could only be taught to her by Chen Yunniang.
Who knew that the palace matrons attached great importance to this matter, treating it as a formal lesson. Jin Sui was so shy when she first heard it.
She found it even stranger. The matrons were all old palace maids who had lived in the palace their whole lives and had never experienced this. How could they know so much?
After listening for a long time, she got used to it. Doing this with Gu Changxiao should be quite enjoyable! After all, he has a good physique and strong stamina from years of martial arts training.
