Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

On the next day, the wedding day, Zhang Shikang was called up early in the morning.

Although the wedding formalities have been simplified time and again, the entire process from picking up the bride to entering the bridal chamber still takes more than an hour.

Since the eight concubines had no parents or clan elders, according to the advice of the clan leader, Chen Yuanyuan, Liu Rushi and the other eight concubines were sent to a restaurant near Polubor's residence in the capital.

The entire Duke of England's mansion, from top to bottom, was busy preparing for the wedding, and everyone already knew that the emperor would attend the wedding.

This is a matter of great honor even for the Duke of the current dynasty.

On the contrary, Zhang Shikang seemed the most relaxed. After having a delicious meal, he strolled around for a while, looking at the people busying around, and even opened his mouth to give some pointers.

It was not until Sun came to urge him that he changed into the bright red wedding dress with the help of his maid.

Unlike the bright red wedding dresses worn by ordinary people, this robe was bestowed by Emperor Chongzhen on Zhang Shikang when he arranged a marriage for him.

There was still a four-clawed giant python embroidered on the dress, and it was a python dress that had been transformed into a wedding dress.

The wedding procession had been prepared long ago, with all of them riding tall and strong horses, and all of them were war horses that had been on the battlefield.

However, these war horses now do not look wild at all. Not only do they have big red flowers hanging on their chests, but they also have a "囍" character on their foreheads.

Especially Ergou, who was at the front of the line. Maybe he realized that his master was going to get married today, but he seemed particularly excited because his horse hooves kept hitting the ground.

As it approached the hour of Si, Zhang Shikang, Xu Wenyuan, Sun Dasheng and others mounted their horses one after another, and the entire wedding procession looked particularly spectacular.

The groom was the current military marshal and hereditary Duke of Zhenguo, and the groomsmen behind him were equally luxurious, including Sun Dasheng, hereditary Earl of Jinglu, Xu Wenyuan, hereditary Earl of Bazhou, Wang Jingduo, hereditary Earl of Nanpi, Zheng Chong, hereditary Earl of Wuyi, Chen Tao, hereditary Earl of Mancheng, and Song Liangzu, hereditary Earl of Dong'an.

Oh, there is also Li Dingguo who was conscripted into the army. This guy still hasn't figured out why Zhang Shikang trusted him so much that he even let him participate in such an important event as the wedding.

After all, he was a bandit before, or to put it bluntly, a traitor.

You know, I heard that the emperor will also be here today. It sounds weird for the emperor and a rebel to participate in a wedding at the same time.

However, over the past three months, Li Dingguo had indeed gained a new understanding of the Ming Dynasty court, especially the excellent armaments and high morale of the Guards.

In addition to training in the Xishan camp, he would also wander around the capital during his holidays, or ride a horse to go outside the city. What he saw and heard were the people who were full of expectations for the future, and their gratitude to the court, the emperor, and the current Duke of Zhenguo.

In comparison, the ten years that he and his adoptive father spent in the Ming Dynasty were really absurd.

"Dingguo, let's go and pick up the bride!" Manchengbo Chen Tao patted Li Dingguo on the shoulder and said.

Chen Tao was the oldest in the Second Sons' Regiment, four or five years older than Li Dingguo. The entire Imperial Guard had no doubt about their trust in Zhang Shikang.

In the military camp, the guards treated Li Dingguo and his subordinates as comrades, which made them quickly feel a sense of identity.

"Yeah, okay." Li Dingguo withdrew his thoughts in a trance and suddenly smiled.

He never thought that one day he would be able to walk openly on the streets of the capital as a general of the Ming Dynasty.

He has never cherished everything he has now as much as he does now.

Zhang Shikang mounted Ergou, and his brothers also mounted their mounts one after another. The "guard of honor" behind them immediately started beating drums and gongs and setting off firecrackers.

As the imperial court had made full preparations for the wedding, the capital city once again saw the streets being deserted. From the Duke of Ying's Mansion to Ma Xianglin's residence, both sides of the streets were filled with people who came to join in the fun.

Of course, it was unknown how many Jinyiwei and Dongchang guards were among these people who came to join in the fun. Zhang Shikang only knew that the Liu Wenbing brothers had mobilized back 40% of the Jinyiwei's men.

The people around also happily congratulated their hero, and Zhang Shikang grabbed a handful of wedding candies from Ergou's back and threw them to where there were many children.

The entire wedding process was unremarkable. Zhang Shikang arrived at Ma Xianglin's mansion with a group of good friends. After some kneeling and bowing, he met Ma Lingqi, who had already been covered with a red veil.

Then the wedding procession turned a corner and arrived at the restaurant where Liu Rushi, Chen Yuanyuan and other women were.

After some fanfare, the eight concubines also boarded their own sedan chairs.

Women like Liu Rushi even had tears in their eyes when they boarded their sedan chairs. Women like them, even if they were lucky enough to marry as concubines, were basically taken away quietly at night.

It is not like it is now. Although she is a concubine, all the etiquette is performed with grand gifts, and even the sedan chair is carried by eight people.

It happened in broad daylight, in front of the entire city's citizens. This was an unforgettable experience for them.

When the wedding procession left the restaurant, the people around began to cheer. The scene of marrying nine people at once in a nine-carriage, eight-man sedan chair was quite spectacular.

According to the procedure, Zhang Shikang led the wedding procession around Chang'an Avenue. Wherever they went, people lined the streets to cheer.

When the time was almost up, Zhang Shikang led the wedding procession back to the Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion. When they arrived at the Duke of Yingzhou's Mansion, Emperor Chongzhen, dressed in casual clothes, was already waiting at the gate.

In addition to Emperor Chongzhen, there were two familiar figures that surprised Zhang Shikang, one was Lu Xiangsheng and the other was Sun Chuanting.

During this matter, Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were talking to Emperor Chongzhen. They seemed to be discussing something, but Emperor Chongzhen's expression was relatively calm.

When he saw Zhang Shikang coming back on a tall horse, Emperor Chongzhen just waved to Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, then nodded and smiled at Zhang Shikang.

The ceremony was held in the living room of the British Duke's Mansion. Due to the large number of people, a dramatic scene ensued.

As the master of ceremonies, Emperor Chongzhen had to give his blessings to the newlyweds. At first, everything went smoothly. Every time Zhang Shikang brought home a new wife, Emperor Chongzhen would say a few words with a smile.

But since nine were too many at once, when Zhang Shikang brought the eighth one to pay his respects to his parents, Emperor Chongzhen was so confused that he almost called the wrong name. Fortunately, Wang Chengen reminded him.

I went through the process nine times and still couldn't come up with the same words. It was really embarrassing.

After the wedding ceremony was finally completed and the nine wives were sent to the bridal chamber, the banquet officially began.

Emperor Chongzhen was naturally the guest of honor. He sat at the same table with Duke Yingguo, Duke Dingguo, Duke Huaiguo and other nobles. Next to them was Lady Sun, who was entertaining the wife of Duke Dingguo and other female relatives.

The groom still sat at the same table with his peers including Sun Dasheng, Xu Wenyuan, and Li Dingguo. Everyone had a happy look on their faces except Sun Dasheng, who seemed a little absent-minded. He kept stealing glances at the table of female relatives whenever he had no reason.

"Dasheng, what are you worried about?" Zheng Chong asked puzzledly.

"I didn't even look at you." Sun Dasheng glared at Zheng Chong.

Everyone thought that Sun Dasheng was still angry about what happened yesterday, so no one said anything. But Sun Dasheng was still unhappy, and when he turned his head to Zhang Shikang, his expression immediately changed.

"Brother." Sun Dasheng, smiling, held the wine jug and poured wine for Zhang Shikang.

"Hmm?" Zhang Shikang vaguely felt that something was wrong.

If someone shows kindness to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief!

"Is your little sister... married?"

……

PS: I’m a bit out of shape today. I’ll organize the outline and update it tomorrow.