Suzaku Palace, Chunxi Palace.

The red candles in the hall are shining, the golden wall is shining, the Xuan Xuan is light, the guests are laughing, and there is a festive color.

Although it is only a gift to marry a side concubine, Mu Chen, as the eldest son of Emperor Chaoyan and the first time to accept a concubine, cannot be too vague in the ceremony. Second, the bride's family, the An family, is one of the wealthy families in Lingxiao City, and in terms of financial resources alone, it can even be compared with the four major families in the Eastern Continent. At that time, when the only daughter of the patriarch got married, of course, it was inevitable to show her strength and do her best to do extravagant.

The patriarch of the An clan is frail and sickly, and now the big and small affairs in the clan are all handled by the third prince An Huaixin. An Huaixin is shrewd and sociable, and took the opportunity of his sister's marriage to invite all the famous people in Lingxiao City. Therefore, although it was wartime and the wedding was held in a hurry, the festive and lively atmosphere in the palace was impossible to fault.

On the high seat of the hall are the queen of Fangshan, the patriarch of the An clan, the emperor of Shu Yan and other elders, and the second prince Yu Jun sat at the bottom, and Ah Jing and Mo Nan Shiyin, who came from Fuyang. The two young princes, Youning and Zhecheng, also sat at the banquet with their mothers.

The ceremony of accepting a concubine is much simpler than marrying a concubine. There is no need to worship on the top of the sun and the moon, and there is no cumbersome wedding regulations to complete, and the whole process is mainly based on drinking and feasting and receiving congratulations and blessings.

Mu Chen and An Huaiyu were both dressed in crimson wedding dresses, and after saluting the elders, they went to each seat in turn to greet the other guests.

The princes made many auspicious words of congratulations and toasted the bride and groom. When it was Ajing's turn, she also held the wine cup with a smile, "Brother Wang, sister-in-law, I wish you happiness and old age forever!" ”

An Huaiyu has also had contact with A Jing before, but A Jing is proud, and she has always been picky about choosing friends, so she has never put An Huaiyu in her eyes at all, and now she is so affectionately called "sister-in-law", An Huaiyu's emotions that were already shy, and her uneasy emotions became more and more chaotic, and she blushed and said softly: "Thank you Emperor Ji." ”

Mu Chen drank the wine in the cup, thoughtfully took the wine cup in An Huaiyu's hand, drank it for her, and smiled at Ah Jing: "I accept the blessing." You also drink less. ”

He has maintained a proper smile tonight, and his crimson wedding dress is as white as jade and his eyebrows are picturesque. An Huaiyu occasionally raised his eyes and peeked at it, only to feel that his heart was beating like a drum and his mind was in a trance.

Mo Nan Shiyin, who was next to Ajing, also stood up.

She stroked the lamp with her fingers, her demeanor was as elegant as ever, and her voice was as soft as the first chirp of a young warbler, "Your Highness, Huaiyu, congratulations." ”

Looking at the facial features alone, Shiyin is not a beauty who captivates the country and the city, but her words and deeds are generous, gentle and polite, and there is a kind of elegance and leisure in her temperament, which makes any woman of the same age who has been in contact with her unconsciously envious and sighs to herself.

An Huaiyu remembered his brother's advice - "Mo Nan Shiyin's marriage contract with the eldest prince has never been officially dissolved, and none of us know what will happen in the future." Therefore you have to be respectful with her. Mo said that she is very likely to become the concubine of the eldest prince in the future, just because she is the concubine of the Mo Nan clan, she can overpower you in terms of identity. Although our family is rich, it is only called a nouveau riche behind it, and it is not as good as the glory that the four families have inherited from ancient times. You can marry into the royal family, which is already a high climb. ”

An Huaiyu has a weak temperament and does not like to be competitive, and after listening to his brother's warning, even though he was a little uncomfortable in his heart, he did not dwell on this issue.

So at this moment, he also smiled and returned the salute to Shiyin, "Thank you, Sister Shiyin." ”

Shiyin's gaze stayed on Mu Chen's face for a moment, and they drank each other's heads, all of them casually and generously.

After Mu Chen left with An Huaiyu, Shiyin sat down again. Ah Jing turned her head sideways and glanced at Shiyin, "Are you okay?" ”

Shiyin held the pot to add wine to herself, and said with a light smile: "What's wrong?" If I really care about him, I want him well. He has made a favorable family business, and I sincerely congratulate him. ”

Ah Jing pursed her lips, and said secretly in her heart, you don't mind, it's because Brother Wang is just a side concubine, if he marries a concubine now, you are afraid that you will also be crazy!

But when it comes to being in a hurry, I can't help but think of the various emotions that have arisen because of Qingling's engagement these days, and the mood that has finally eased up a little bit has become dull again.

Fang Shanyuan, who was punished back to Lingxiao City, also came to the wedding banquet, and was drinking and laughing with Chun Yuyan and An Huaixin, when he saw Mu Chen and An Huaiyu coming, he hurriedly got up and toasted.

Chun Yuyan and An Huaixin are also sociable people, and when they get together with Fang Shanyuan, the scene is naturally lively and lively, and the jokes are endless.

Fang Shanyuan saw that Mu Chen had been helping An Huaiyu drink, so he shouted, "Your Highness can't do this!" If you get drunk, what if you spend a candle in the cave later? Snatched the cup and stuffed it to An Huaixin, "You, as an elder brother, don't think about the happiness of your sister's wedding night." Come! For you to drink! ”

An Huaixin laughed, took the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

An Huaiyu on the side lowered his eyes shyly, his face was as red as a braised cloud, and he couldn't say a word.

An Huaixin saw the embarrassment of his sister-in-law, for fear that Fang Shanyuan's kid would make fun of him again, so he hurriedly changed the topic and asked Mu Chen: "Why didn't Emperor Qingling go back to Lingxiao City with His Highness?" ”

Mu Chen smiled indifferently, "If she is allowed to come back for this purpose, she will inevitably have to invite Hao Zhan and Mu Han together." After all, it was wartime, and it was inappropriate for too many people to retreat from the battle. ”

Before An Huaixin could speak, Fang Shanyuan beside him took over with a smile, "I said An Laosan, why are you okay to inquire about Emperor Qingling?" She's a member of the Osawa family now! If someone wants to be talented and good-looking, just with your face, you dare to rob a woman with him? Anyway, I didn't even grab my eldest brother if he wanted to, you kid, don't be delusional! ”

Fang Shan Yuan has been wandering for a long time, and at this moment, he is drinking happy wine, and his words are becoming more and more wanton. In addition, he is usually very familiar with An Huaixin, and it is common to joke and sarcastic, so he doesn't think there is anything wrong.

However, Chun Yuyan quickly glanced at Mu Chen, and struck Yuan's chest with a fist, "You kid don't have anything to say." If this word reaches your eldest brother's ears, it will inevitably make you suffer. ”

Fang Shanyuan smacked Chun Yuyan, "I'm squeezing An Laosan, what are you helping with?" Or are they not brothers? ”

Chun Yuyan tugged at his sleeve, "What kind of ability is just playing tricks?" There is a kind of fighting wine again, and I can't pour you if I don't believe it! ”

With that, he pulled Yuan back to his seat and went to drink.

An Huaixin saw that although Mu Chen still had a smile on his face, he was obviously silent, only saying that he was from a respectful background, and he was extremely gentle and elegant, and he was afraid that he was very disgusted with Fang Shanyuan's foul language, so he said in a round field: "That kid is like this, and he will make noise after drinking some wine." Later, Chun Yuyan and I will join forces to pour him, and we must not let him talk nonsense again! ”

The wedding lasted until midnight, when the guests dispersed.

After the bride had finished toasting, she was served by the maid and withdrew to the dormitory. Mu Chen stayed in the outer hall and personally sent the guests away one by one.

Shiyin stood at the foot of the palace steps, put on the snow feather purple kite brocade cloak handed over by the maid, and saw Mu Chen send away the last few guests from a distance, before she stepped forward.

Acquaintance since childhood, childhood sweetheart, countless times together to talk about poetry, enjoy flowers and tea, to later make a marriage contract, he has always been the object of her life's entrustment, the only one that must not be missing in this life. However, Monan's defection finally pushed the two to an awkward opposite, ruthlessly shattering the sweet expectations and longings she once had.

After Mu Chen was reinstated, the two also met several times.

On the surface, Mu Chen was still as gentle and elegant as before, and politely accepted Shiyin's eager explanations and apologies.

He has always been sensible, so naturally he will not blame Patriarch Monan's decision on his granddaughter.

However, in his deep eyes, Shiyin captured a kind of darkness that was completely different from the past, which could not be seen through, guessed, and the strangeness frightened her.

She intuitively realized that Mu Chen was no longer the man she was familiar with......

Shiyin Yingying saluted and raised her head, "When will Your Highness return to Fanye?" ”

Mu Chen said: "I'll leave tomorrow afternoon." ”

Shiyin nodded, and motioned to the maid behind her to present a box, "I was ordered to accompany Ajing to Fuyang before, but I didn't have time to congratulate Qingling in person. In a few days, it will be her birthday again. Therefore, I specially prepared a thin gift, and asked His Highness to transfer it to her. ”

As the daughter of a family, Shiyin is more precocious than the noble girls of her generation because she lost her father since she was a child, and she has always known how to deal with all kinds of interpersonal relationships. Now that Qingling and Mu Chen are brother and sister in an open alliance, no matter how much Shiyin cares about Ajing's face, she must treat Qingling with a more intimate attitude.

Mu Chen asked the attendant to accept the gift, "It's bothered." ”

Shiyin got closer a little hesitantly, lowered her eyes and whispered: "Also, I heard my grandfather mention the matter of Yinzhou Zhudingtai last time. My eldest brother he ...... He didn't mean to hurt Qing Ling. ”

Mu Chen nodded lightly and said, "Patriarch Mo Nan saw me a few days ago and explained to me. After a pause, he looked at Shiyin, "Ning Hao's affairs have nothing to do with you." You don't always have to blame yourself for what your family has done. ”

Shiyin also looked up at him, and saw that his eyebrows were picturesque and his expression was gentle in the night, and he didn't feel that his heart was full of tastes, both a little bitter and a little faintly sweet.

She remembered what her grandfather said in the letter, and suddenly had a little courage, and said in a low voice: "But my fate is tied to the Monan clan after all." What did Grandpa propose to you...... I hope you can think about it. ”

After finishing speaking, his face flushed slightly.

Mu Chen was silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "Do you think I can trust him again?" ”

Shiyin raised her eyes, her eyes contained a touch of anxiety, but her tone was resolute, "Yes, you can trust him." After a pause, "Even if you don't want to believe him, believe me." I was careless in the past, and I will never let the same thing happen again! ”

Mu Chen stared at her for a moment, then looked away and said softly, "What Patriarch Mo Nan said, I will consider it." It's getting late at night, so you'd better hurry home. ”

With that, he turned around and wanted to climb the stairs.

Shiyin's mind was in a mess, and she couldn't tell whether it was relief or relief, so she couldn't help but reach out and grab Mu Chen's sleeve, and then quickly let go.

The bright red wedding dress that slid through her fingertips reflected a pale sheen in the moonlight, which made her mouth suddenly bitter.

Say you don't mind, but in fact, how can you not mind?

It's just that I knew early on that he couldn't belong to himself alone.

In the middle of the night, Shiyin heard her own voice sounding low,

"Okay, I'll wait for you."