After rebirth, I cried and criticized the prince

Chapter 123 The Royal Wedding

Helan Xuenuo was particularly looking forward to the wedding of Gu Shicheng and Princess Mengnan.

As soon as she recovered from her illness, she came with General Helan and others to participate.

The entire palace was festooned with lights, red lanterns hung everywhere, and wedding characters were posted everywhere. Maids came and went, carrying all sorts of festive gifts. Countless tables were set up in the courtyard, and drinks and food were being served in and out until they were numb.

Almost all the high-ranking officials from the aristocratic families in the capital had come. The gifts they brought were more and more magnificent than the last. Not to mention the countless gold bracelets, gold earrings, agate bracelets, and jade pendants, the dozens of gemstone headpieces alone made Helan Xuenuo dizzy.

Some people also sprinkle a lot of peanuts and dates on it to please the audience.

The gift from the Helan Mansion wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either. It was a hanging screen with a painting of a hundred children, a set of gilded tea sets with floral patterns, and a pair of agate bracelets that Madam Helan had searched the storeroom for.

The steward in charge of receiving gifts wrote them down one by one.

After waiting for half a day, they still hadn't seen the bride and groom. General Helan and his wife were already chatting with other ministers. Helan Xuenuo sat aside and began to drink tea, sighing that she was indeed valued by the old princess, and even the tea she served was so good.

In comparison, she was so shabby in her previous life, not even as good as a concubine, and was just carried into the palace.

The good days lasted for a while. When she was diagnosed with pregnancy, the old princess and her family did not dare to treat her harshly. Her life was better, at least there was no shortage of charcoal for the fire.

After the child was gone, all the abuse came back...

The real excitement only began when the Prime Minister arrived. The old princess was also helped out by Aunt Cui and was smiling as she accepted the Prime Minister's gift, a huge night-shining pearl. Helan Xuenuo measured it with her eyes and found it was bigger than her head.

It was no surprise that 70% to 80% of the court officials were present. His Majesty's decree for the wedding of Gu Shicheng and Princess Mengnan was already hinting to everyone that Gu Shicheng was special in his heart and could even become the heir to the throne.

Now Gu Shicheng not only has military power and holds great authority, but he has also married Princess Mengnan. He is a person who cannot be underestimated.

It's no wonder that both the Empress and the Second Prince wanted to take him into their lap. If Gu Shicheng also had ambitions for the throne, the conflict between the two factions would become a three-way struggle. Once the Empress and the Second Prince united, Gu Shicheng would be doomed to be torn apart.

Helan Xuenuo thought about it and smiled smugly. If Gu Shicheng knew she had tricked him into marrying Princess Mengnan, wouldn't he go crazy? And she knew Gu Shicheng too well; he didn't even want to be emperor. Now this was perfect, killing someone with a borrowed knife...

"What are you thinking about?" Huang Jiuyuan appeared beside Helan Xuenuo without anyone noticing. "Do you like that... night-shining pearl? If you like it, I'll give you one someday."

Helan Xue chuckled and her eyes stayed on Qi Didi who was sitting in a secluded place. Qi Didi's face was a mixture of green and yellow, and a smile was forced at the corner of her mouth. No one paid attention to her, and she sat quietly on the side.

For some reason, Qi Didi could always catch the look Helan gave her at the first moment. She stopped smiling, straightened her back, and glanced at Helan Xuenuo. Helan Xuenuo didn't care and looked away.

Today's wedding was too grand. The day when Qi Didi married into the palace was not a grand occasion at all. Now thinking about it, it seemed like a hasty marriage. The betrothal gifts were just so-so, and the dowry was the best thing that the Helan Mansion could offer.

How could Qi Didi not be angry? How could she sit still with her vanity?

Huang Jiuyuan sat down next to Helan Xuenuo. The maid poured him a cup of tea. He drank it and followed Helan Xuenuo's gaze, looking around. He asked, "What are you looking at?" Then he said unconvincedly, "You don't believe I can get you a night-shining pearl, right?"

Helan evaded the question, "I believe...I believe...I believe." She recalled the night she fell into the water and Huang Jiuyuan had jumped in to save her. Seeing Huang Jiuyuan so dejected when she left that day, she felt it was not right to be too perfunctory. So she turned and looked at Huang Jiuyuan. His face was flushed, extremely white and tender, and his lips were rosy and plump. Every time she saw this face, she couldn't help but sigh how beautiful Huang Jiuyuan would be if he were a woman. She asked with concern, "After you returned that day, the Prime Minister didn't punish you, did he?"

If she hadn't experienced so much in the palace in her previous life, how would she have known the little tricks and schemes in the backyards of the aristocratic families? Fortunately, her parents only had her, and they had her at a late age, so they loved her very much.

Qi Didi, an adopted daughter, had already caused such misery for the Helan Mansion in her previous life; she had been schemed against and spun around in circles. Thinking about the Prime Minister's three wives and four concubines, and Huang Jiuyuan's group of brothers and sisters, it was a headache.

Huang Jiuyuan seemed to be used to it and smiled, "You care about me?"

"You're so frivolous, just pretend I didn't ask."

"Well...he and his aunt are in solitary confinement."

"Just shut it tightly?"

"Yes." Huang Jiuyuan smiled helplessly. "I've long been used to it. One of them loves a concubine, and the other is a filial son. How could my father bear to punish him? If my father wasn't in such a high position and had so many eyes watching him, he wouldn't have dared to bear the stigma of favoring a concubine over his wife. I guess Qiao would have been promoted to the main wife by now. I feel so sorry for my mother. If my father hadn't relied on my mother's family for support, he wouldn't have made it this far. But my heartless father even despised my mother for being born into a merchant family and forbade me from contacting my maternal grandparents."

Helan Xuenuo felt a surge of pity. Huang Weiming's rogue behavior that day alone had already disgusted her, not to mention the concubine who raised him. Huang Jiuyuan had lost his mother since childhood, and now his sister was married, thankfully to the prince. Otherwise... with Huang Jiuyuan's character, it was hard to say whether he could survive.

She had some impression of Huang Jiuyuan's biological mother. She was from the Suzhou Huang family, a wealthy family that owned most of Suzhou's industries. Given Huang Jiuyuan's lavish spending, she doubted he had any contact with his maternal grandfather.

"Is your mother from Suzhou Huang family?"

"you know?"

"How could I not know? The Huang family of Suzhou is incredibly wealthy." She picked up a piece of lotus cake and ate it. "You really have no connection with your maternal grandfather?"

Huang Jiuyuan looked as if he'd been seen through. "No one knows me better than you," he lowered his voice. He followed Helan Xuenuo in picking up a piece of lotus cake and eating it. "Actually, I've been exchanging letters with them all the time, and I've even sneaked off to Suzhou a few times. My father and the others don't know whether I'm there or not, they just think I'm getting drunk at Yunxiang Pavilion. So... I just said I could get you a night-shining pearl. My grandmother bought me a lot of real estate and land. I'll never spend all the money from the rent alone in my lifetime."

He made another gesture to silence her, "This matter cannot be spread outside."

Helan Xuenuo would never tell anyone about this. She nodded and continued, "Why don't you pursue a career in government? With the Prime Minister being so... you can't just rely on the Third Prince's wife. You're so smart, you should plan for yourself sooner rather than relying on the Prime Minister's Mansion for your life and death."

Relying on the Prime Minister's Mansion for life and death? Huang Jiuyuan dropped his playful demeanor and became more serious. It seemed... everyone else could see the current situation clearly. He was also accustomed to disappointment, so he decided not to try anything and rely on the Prime Minister's Mansion. If he died, he would die.

At this moment, he seemed to not want to die... not at all.

Helan Xuenuo drank tea, occasionally stopping to smile and respond to those who smiled at her.

Huang Jiuyuan recalled the first time he saw her. Since then... she had changed a lot. Her nose was straighter, her eyebrows and eyes more delicate, no longer so thin. With some powder on her cheeks, she looked like a red rose, really eye-catching.

It’s just like the hibiscus cake in his hand, it’s sweet and fragrant when you take a bite of it.

Suddenly... she smiled, her rosy cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyes were fixed on the end of the corridor.

At one end of the corridor, Yuan Xu and General Yuan were delivering gifts. The steward was taking notes while Yuan Xu was searching the courtyard.

He lowered his head and his smile stopped... He felt confused and uncomfortable.

It seems... he should think carefully about himself