Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 481 Bridal Chamber Flowers and Candles
The wedding was attended by a large number of high-ranking officials from the imperial court and leaders of top-tier sects such as Lingtian Pavilion.

Upon seeing this scene, all the guests turned their heads away.

The three brides, all with their veils covering their faces, jumped out of the sedan chair and pointed at the Imperial Advisor, asking him what he was doing there. The scene was truly indescribable.

The image of the Imperial Preceptor, who had always given people the impression of being an ethereal immortal, was almost completely shattered in an instant, but she seemed not to care at all, and instead smiled and said: "Where is the official in charge of rites? It is the one presiding over the ceremony."

The wedding officiant was no ordinary officiant; he was a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Rites, in charge of grand and solemn ceremonies. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he quickly recovered and said with a forced smile, "Bride and groom, please come to the hall."

Lu Xingzhou tugged at the hems of the three women's clothes, and the three brides were reluctantly helped into the hall by the two bridesmaids.

With such a large number of bridesmaids, the two bridesmaids were sandwiched between the three brides. If it weren't for their obviously different attire, judging from their positions alone, it would seem as if the two brides were the real brides.

The little white-haired boy stared intently at the Imperial Advisor in the hall, seemingly even more indignant than the bride.

Jiang Duxu sat in the guest section, looking at his granddaughter who seemed out of place, and covered his forehead.

The bride and groom stood facing each other, and the absurd difference in their numbers left the officiant momentarily at a loss for words. The usual practice was to use parallel prose, praising the couple's perfect harmony, but with this disparity in numbers, how could they possibly be paired? What kind of monster has one wing on each side and three on each?

Or are they all your wings?

Fortunately, the master of ceremonies had been working on this special etiquette countless times over the past two days, deliberately omitting any words related to one-on-one conversations, and was able to recite it with great energy and intonation.

All the guests listened with smiles on their faces.

After the wedding rites were read, Hai Ruyuan's voice came from outside the door at just the right moment: "His Majesty has bestowed upon us three bushels of pearls, one hundred bolts of brocade, and one thousand taels of gold to congratulate Marquis Dingyuan on his wedding."

The timing was perfect, giving the wedding face and highlighting its status and class.

Lu Xingzhou also bowed politely: "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Eunuch Hai."

A strange bird call came from mid-air: "His Majesty the Demon Emperor presents one red date, one peanut, one longan, and one lotus seed each to congratulate Physician Lu on his marriage. May your days be prosperous and thriving."

A jujube and a cassia seed fell from the sky with a crackling sound.

Before the bride could react, the Imperial Advisor snatched the four objects from mid-air and crushed them to pieces: "Why is the Demon Emperor so stingy?"

The demon bird's voice said, "His Majesty the Demon Emperor knew the Grand Preceptor was about to make a fool of himself, so he gave him three words, saying they were written in a letter before, and that you understand. Oh dear..."

His divine sense soared to the heavens, and the demon bird let out a miserable cry. A feather fell from its body, and it desperately flapped its wings and fled.

guests:"……"

"The King of Tianshuang Kingdom presents a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Crystal, ten catties of Ice Profound Star Iron, a box of various special alchemy ingredients such as Frost Fruit, wishing the newlyweds a long and happy marriage."

Fortunately, Si Han's gift list eased the awkwardness. Lu Xingzhou bowed to the envoy with a stiff face and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty Si."

The continent isn't just home to the three kingdoms of the Great Qian, Heavenly Frost, and Demon Realm; it's just that other kingdoms are more remote and lack interaction, so these three are the most well-known. The emperors of all three kingdoms sent envoys to offer their blessings for this wedding, making it undoubtedly the highest-level gift list in the continent's history.

Even Gu Zhanting's wedding wasn't this extravagant; at least Long Qinghuang wouldn't have given him a gift.

Well, although the gift Long Qinghuang gave this time was also outrageous... Anyway, all she had to do was send a verbal blessing, which was enough to shock everyone present, completely humiliate Gu Yiheng who had not yet established his authority, and also make the faces of the Imperial Advisor and the three brides under their veils turn dark.

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly at Hai Ruyuan: "Please take your seat, Father-in-law."

Hai Ruyuan took his seat with a stiff face. The master of ceremonies smiled and said, "As expected of the Marquis, the simultaneous offering of blessings from three kingdoms is unprecedented in history."

The guests all added in their minds: marrying three women at the same time is unprecedented.

The master of ceremonies knew what everyone was thinking and quickly coughed, "The auspicious time has arrived, let's begin the ceremony."

"Bow to Heaven and Earth~"

They're here! The guests craned their necks.

What's so interesting about the traditional wedding ceremony? The important thing is what happens next.

"Two bows to the parents~"

The bride and groom turned to the hall, where Ye Tinglan sat comfortably, looking relaxed.

Shen Tang finally transmitted her thoughts: "You really won't get married in the future, right? You really dare to accept gifts under the guise of your parents."

Ye Tinglan replied, "The future is a matter for the future. Right now, I'm going to make you all unhappy, and that makes me very happy."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

The Ye sisters are becoming more and more alike; their mischievousness is exactly the same.

Anyway, she was mischievous, and the bride and groom were thick-skinned. She wasn't afraid of not being able to get married in the future. Shen Tang, Pei Chuyun, and Sheng Yuanyao didn't care if she died. They actually bowed to each other.

Ye Tinglan felt quite pleased to see the three vixens behaving so obediently.

In the alley outside the Lu residence, Yuan Muyu rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Mentally retarded.

"Couple greeting~"

Yuan Muyu's expression turned dejected, and he stared blankly at the sky.

Several children ran past, stopping with a hint of sympathy as they passed Yuan Muyu's wheelchair. A little girl sweetly offered a piece of candy: "Sister, would you like some candy? It's from the Lu family, and it's so sweet."

Yuan Muyu intended to refuse, but inexplicably accepted the candy: "Thank you."

The children ran off happily again. Yuan Muyu, in her mind, saw the scene of the couple bowing to each other in the Lu mansion, and silently stuffed the candy into her mouth.

Liar, it's not sweet at all.

"The ceremony is complete!"

The crackling sound of firecrackers drowned out the sounds of "being led into the bridal chamber" inside the house.

The normal way to escort the bride to the bridal chamber is for her to wait inside, while the groom has to stay outside drinking and entertaining guests, which can go on until very late.

But this time, the guests were all very sensible. No one dared to leave the princess waiting alone in the bridal chamber, especially since the groom had quite a few rooms to fill that day…

Lu Xingzhou simply dealt with everyone briefly, then handed the situation over to Yang Dechang and slipped away.

No matter how many women marry at the same time, in the hearts of the brides, this night belongs to Shen Tang.

It's not that they've accepted her as their older sister, but rather that she's the only newborn here.

Pei Chuyun and Sheng Yuanyao were no longer going to sit in their respective rooms waiting foolishly. They had already lifted their veils. Sheng Yuanyao ran off to find Pei Chuyun, and the two brides tiptoed to Shen Tang's courtyard to eavesdrop.

Shen Tang had no idea that the other two brides could have such a wicked sense of humor. She was sitting on the bed, a little nervous, waiting for her husband.

A woman sat alone on the bed, her head covered by a veil, waiting for the banquet to end in who knows how long. Shen Tang suddenly felt sorry for the bride. Could they be meditating and cultivating themselves while waiting for their husbands?
Anyway, Shen Tang couldn't meditate. Her mind was filled with anxiety, shyness, and a little annoyance. Her thoughts were all over the place, making it impossible for her to calm down and cultivate. She could only sit there in vain and wait.

Fortunately, Lu Xingzhou didn't keep her waiting for long.

Not long after, the door creaked open. Shen Tang knew it was Lu Xingzhou just from the sound of footsteps, but her heart was pounding faster than if a thief had broken in.

Lu Xingzhou sat down beside him with a smile: "Why are you being so honest? I bet Ayi and Agua have already lifted their veils and started playing around."

The two eavesdroppers clenched their fists.

We didn't just lift the veil, we also ran out to drink the wind.

But Shen Tang said, "I don't care, I'm going to wait for you to lift it."

The two shivered. This was supposed to be the leader of the Swordsman Sect? He usually seemed so bright and dignified, but now he was acting all coquettish.

The lid isn't lifted by hand, but by a scale rod, called a "lucky scale," which implies "satisfaction" when opening a blind box. That's why wealthy people also use jade ruyi (a type of scepter).

There was a jade ruyi on the table, but Lu Xingzhou didn't even glance at it and directly lifted the veil with both hands.

The red candlelight was warm, and Shen Tang's face was flushed and burning hot.

"Why not use Ruyi?" Shen Tang's voice was barely audible.

“That kind of bad habit feels like weighing goods.” Lu Xingzhou gently kissed her burning cheek: “You and I don’t need those things, and we’ve always been happy.”

Shen Tang's eyes were brimming with tears, like spring water.

Lu Xingzhou got up and poured two glasses of wine, handing one to Shen Tang. Shen Tang took it, and without saying a word, the two looked at each other for a moment, then tacitly intertwined their arms and drank from the same glass.

Lu Xingzhou whispered in his ear, "Shouldn't you call me 'husband' now?"

Shen Tang blushed and whispered, "Husband."

Lu Xingzhou kissed her cheek again: "I left the Tianxing Sword Sect for the capital for this day. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon... Now I can say that I have fulfilled my mission."

Shen Tang looked at him with gentle eyes. Back then, Lu Xingzhou's trip to Beijing was truly for this day.

At least at that time, given their strength, revenge was merely a distant dream, at most a minor, albeit risky, endeavor. Everything else they did was so that one day they could openly ask Gu Zhanting for Shen Tang's hand in marriage.

He did it perfectly.

In the process, she did nothing at all... She just kept working hard to cultivate and develop the sect, trying to be of any help, but when she looked back, she realized that he had already done it.

Shen Tang felt a surge of tenderness in her heart and gently leaned against Lu Xingzhou's chest: "How fortunate I am to have you as my confidant."

"That is actually my good fortune. Without Shen Tang, I don't know what Lu Xingzhou would be like today."

"Without Lu Xingzhou, Shen Tang doesn't know what he would look like."

As they looked at each other, memories of sitting together in wheelchairs, looking at each other like reflections in a mirror, flashed through their minds, and they chuckled softly.

In just over a year, everything has changed dramatically, it all seems like a dream.

"Kiss me," Shen Tang said.

Lu Xingzhou readily agreed and kissed Shen Tang, who responded passionately.

Shen Tang never wears makeup, but today she applied some extra rouge, making her kisses sweet, like candy.

The candlelight flickered, casting the intertwined shadows of the two on the wall, as the wedding dresses were peeled off piece by piece and scattered on the floor.

"Put out the candle..." As her bodice was undone, Shen Tang covered her body in shame and pleaded softly.

Even though I've done everything except the last step, I'm still incredibly shy today.

Perhaps the concept of "wedding night" can directly penetrate a woman's heart.

"Never stop." Lu Xingzhou whispered in his ear, "I want to see."

Shen Tang bit her lower lip and slowly released her arms, letting him lean in and begin kissing and caressing her.

She lowered her head, looking at the man's greedy expression, and murmured softly, "My husband..."

"Hmm?" In the flickering candlelight, the man pressed down on her.

Shen Tang closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered, "I'm ready."

Lu Xingzhou himself was also feeling restless. He had been busy with serious matters lately and hadn't tasted meat for quite a while, especially for Shen Tang, who had been holding back for over a year.

Now I finally don't have to hold it in anymore.

He finally covered her, and after a short while, Shen Tang let out a muffled groan as her nails dug into his shoulder.

Lu Xingzhou paused, gently kissing and comforting her. Shen Tang was slightly out of breath, but smiled with relief, her eyes full of tenderness: "I've finally...married you."

Outside, Sheng Yuanyao felt like she was out of her mind.

Why should I listen if no one is binding me?
(End of this chapter)