On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The capital city is already very warm in April. People no longer need to wear several layers of thick clothes when going out, and children can boldly stretch out their hands to play without worrying about frostbite.

The wool-gathering machine that Chu Xiling has been working on has basically taken shape, and she is now having her embroiderers weave the first wool coat. If successful, it will be promoted nationwide.

In the inner courtyard of the palace, Lin Zhen put on a dress that he hadn't worn for a long time with the help of Huanbi.

This was not the one he wore on his wedding day, but the old clothes Lin Zhen wore when he returned victoriously and received the highest ceremony.

Huanbi stood before him, arranging her clothes while smiling and saying, "My husband looks best in this dress."

Qingxia was pregnant with a big belly and a motherly expression on her face.

"Bi'er is right. My husband's clothes are indeed smart, but they seem to be missing something."

Yue Wu said, "I'm missing a fan."

"Yes! Without a fan, you wouldn't be like a scholar." Qingxia agreed.

Huanbi took a few steps back and felt that what her two sisters said made sense, so she turned around and rummaged through the drawers to look for the fan.

Lin Zhen had a dull expression and looked half dead.

In order to attend the Yangzhou Shouma sales meeting in the evening, he had been changing clothes here for an hour and a half, and his legs were numb.

"Bi'er, stop looking. What kind of fan do you need in April?"

Huanbi refused to listen and took out a fan that she had painted last year from the cabinet. She stood on tiptoe and was about to hit Lin Zhen on the back of his neck.

Lin Zhen quickly stopped her: "Okay, okay, I can hold it with my hands, right?"

"Hehe, our husband is definitely the most handsome man in the capital!"

"You're so conceited! Hurry up, we should go out."

After saying that, Lin Zhen hugged Huanbi and prepared to leave.

Qingxia was feeling uncomfortable because of her big belly, so Yuewu said she would stay and take care of Qingxia and Qingwen.

Wan'er said that women should not enter the brothel, as this goes against family traditions and goes against tradition, so she refused to go no matter what.

As for Gu Zhen...she is a dead fish. If you don't speak first, she will never talk.

Lin Zhen nodded, said nothing, and took Huanbi into the car and left the palace.

The bluestone slabs of Zhuque Street were worn shiny by horse hooves.

The soldiers of the Bingmasi stood upright at the intersection, their arms constantly moving to direct traffic.

There is nothing we can do about it, after all, there are no traffic lights.

But every one of them is very dedicated and proud of their profession.

Because whether it was a carriage or ordinary people passing by, they all smiled at him very friendly, expressing a respect from the bottom of their hearts.

No one doesn't like to be respected by others. It is an exciting mentality.

The carriage moved on and night fell.

When Lin Zhen opened the curtain of the carriage, the gilded eaves of the newly built Royal Theatre came into view.

The three-story dome is covered with peacock blue glazed tiles. Twelve marble columns that can be hugged by two people are arranged around the building. Each column is carved with a relief of ancient mythology, and the sleeves outlined in gold foil shine brightly in the twilight.

A plaque made of a whole piece of glazed glass hangs above the main entrance. The five golden characters "Royal Grand Theatre" glow warm red in the setting sun, as if the sunset glow in the sky has been condensed on the plaque.

The carriage stopped in front of the white jade arch bridge. There were many people around, including officials, merchants, men, women, young and old, all of whom bowed slightly to Lin Zhen's carriage.

Lin Zhen stepped on the carved pedals and landed in full view of everyone. The sound of the soles of his boots hitting the white marble startled the koi in the pond.

Officials immediately came over and exchanged greetings with each other.

"My Lord, you are here early."

"Sir, you have so many maids in your house, are you going to compete with me for them?"

"Prince, please show some mercy. Hahahaha."

"The Royal Theatre Manager Jin Zihan welcomes the Crown Prince." The speaker was the head of the theatre, and also the top manager personally selected by Murong Yan in the company of Zhang Li.

Jin Zihan was very famous in the capital. He had been the manager of many businesses and even the chief clerk of a pawnshop. He had a deep understanding of management, economics, and finance.

Later, because all the industries in the capital were acquired by Zhang Li, it was natural for him to become Zhang Li's disciple and was in charge of the Yingxiong Restaurant.

I'd like to mention this here.

Originally, the Yangzhou skinny horse sale was to be held in the Yingxiong Restaurant. Later, because the skinny horses had received particularly good response in the capital during this period, everyone was scrambling to get them, so many skinny horse businesses in Yangzhou came and promoted the event extensively in the capital.

As there were too many people, the restaurant could not accommodate them. As the Royal Theatre was about to be completed, they simply decided to hold the event here.

At first, Murong Yan was a little reluctant, thinking that this was a royal restaurant after all, and it was not worth it to engage in human trafficking right after opening.

But Lin Zhen agreed, because whether it is the Royal Theatre or the Royal Academy, they ultimately belong to the public, not the royal collective.

But Murong Yan insisted on setting too high a standard, saying that ordinary people, slaves, and people from the lower classes of society could not enter the party. Only officials, wealthy businessmen, celebrities, and people from wealthy families could enter.

Lin Zhen thought that this was not a very high request. Ordinary people could not afford the ticket fee anyway, so he simply agreed.

Lin Zhen did not follow Jin Zihan, but waited outside.

She was waiting for Zhang Li and Sima Chunlei.

When I entered the palace yesterday, Sima Chunlei also heard about the skinny horse in Yangzhou and clamored to come and see it, and Murong Yan agreed.

Zhang Li went to pick him up in person, so he should be here by now.

Sure enough, the sound of carriage bells was heard in the distance. Lin Zhen looked back and saw a luxurious chestnut carriage slowly approaching and stopping in front of Lin Zhen.

"Hey!!"

The eunuch driving the car was not the same person as last time. He was probably dealt with by Sima Chunlei.

The young eunuch was very smart. He turned around and got out of the car to salute Lin Zhen.

"Your servant greets the prince."

Lin Zhen nodded, ran back, and lay down beside the carriage.

Zhang Li lifted the curtain of the carriage, Sima Chunlei walked out, and stepped on the eunuch's body to get out of the carriage.

Zhang Li thought about it and felt that it was inappropriate for her to step on the eunuch. Fortunately, a clever maid brought a stool and placed it on the other side of the carriage.

Zhang Li got out of the car with a smile, and walked towards Lin Zhen with Sima Chunlei, one in front and one behind.

"Husband." They both said in unison.

Lin Zhen nodded: "Why is it so slow?"

Zhang Li said: "Oh, there's a traffic jam today."

"That's right. Suzaku Street was almost completely blocked, so we deliberately took a detour via Qinglong Street."

Traffic jam...

Such a strange yet familiar word.

"Lead the way." Lin Zhen gave an order, and Jin Zihan turned around and began to lead everyone into the Royal Theatre.

After entering the door, you will see a foyer with a ceiling height of five meters. Twenty crystal lotus lamps hang from the dome. Each piece of crystal has been precisely cut, breaking the twilight into a flowing river of stars.

The ground was covered with a gold-thread carpet tributed from Persia. On the indigo background were embroidered hundreds of galloping horses, with rice-sized pearls adorning the horse manes. Every step they took emitted a fine silver light.

"Fuck, this is really luxurious."

Like Lin Zhen, every guest who came in was filled with incomparable amazement.

"Oh my god, this is too luxurious!"

“It’s worthy of being the Royal Theatre!”

"This is Dongzhu! Oh my god, how much money must it cost to build!"

"This theater alone is enough to demonstrate the prosperity of our Daqian!"

Jin Zihan brought Lin Zhen and the others to the stairs and said, "Prince, please use the private room on the third floor. I have other guests to entertain, so I'll send you here."

"Yeah." Lin Zhen nodded, and then saw another servant coming over.

"Your Majesty, please."

The lotus pattern embroidered on the servant's cuffs complements the caisson pattern on the dome.

As everyone walked through the spiral staircase, Lin Zhen's fingertips brushed across the rosewood carvings on the handrail. The delicate lines were inlaid with tiny mother-of-pearl inlays, and the light and shadows appeared like a mirage under the reflection of the wall lamp.

This is the unique craft of the Daqian craftsmen. Each pattern corresponds to the eight trigrams and is said to be able to gather energy and attract wealth.

I still remember that I just mentioned it to Zhang Li at the beginning, saying that I wanted to build the most luxurious, awesome and high-end opera house in the country.

I didn’t expect that it would be completed in just one year and it would be so prosperous.

When the door to the third-floor box opened, Sima Chunlei, dressed in palace attire, exclaimed first: "Oh my god, this chair is even more comfortable than my couch!"

After saying that, she took the first step to sit down, and her whole body instantly sank into the velvet sofa. The bright yellow satin chaise longue made her skin look whiter than snow, and the three strings of oriental pearl bracelets on her wrists jingled.

Lin Zhen glanced at the furnishings in the box: the floor-to-ceiling window was two meters high, and the window frame was carved with a whole piece of Burmese jade into a lotus pattern. When the window was opened, the entire circular stage could be seen. On the agate table in front of the sofa, there was iced sour plum soup, and the ice cubes in the crystal pot tinkled. It was actually made of cold jade from the Western Regions. A trace of cool air oozes out from the hollow body of the pot, isolating the April heat outside the window.

"Please look, my lord." The servant pointed to the circular groove in the center of the stage. "There's a hidden mechanism here. It can be raised and lowered three feet. In winter, it's filled with hot water for circulation, and in summer, it's filled with ice water for cooling."

He stepped back half a step and stood beside the velvet curtain with his hands hanging down. "Tonight, there are seventy-two skinny horses for sale. The top girl will descend from the lotus pedestal on the dome. The lotus pedestal is made of pure silver and inlaid with night-shining pearls tributed from Persia."

Lin Zhen leaned against the windowsill and looked out. Most of the circular seats on the first floor were already occupied. Each chair was walnut-edged, with a seat covered in goose yellow satin, and the backs were embroidered with different floral and bird patterns, with no repetition.

The wall lamps around the stage lit up one after another. The lamp bases were in the shape of a phoenix with its wings spread, and the tail feathers were inlaid with glass pieces. The light passed through and cast a sky full of rosy feathers on the dome, which complemented the crystal chandelier in the center.

He suddenly remembered the rumors.

The skinny horse sale is a moving feast of gold.

At this moment, the luxury of this golden banquet far exceeded imagination.

"Look, my dear!" Sima Chunlei suddenly grabbed his sleeve and pointed towards the east side of the first floor. "Are those women in dark green clothes matchmakers from Yangzhou? I heard that each of them has three or five skinny horses, and even their gait takes them three years to practice."

"Your Majesty, you don't know." Zhang Li suddenly spoke, the pearl necklace at the collar of her moon-white cheongsam swaying slightly with her movements. "The lotus pattern embroidered on the matchmaker's sleeves is the symbol of the Chen family, the richest family in Yangzhou."

She traced her fingertips along the edge of the agate table and said quietly, "Tonight's top-selling skinny horse is from the Chen family. The starting price is probably over a thousand taels."

Huanbi silently poured sour plum soup for Lin Zhen.

It was her first time seeing such a luxurious occasion, and she was still a little uncomfortable with it.

However, she is no longer the little maid she used to be, but a prince's wife who has truly seen the world. Even if she is not used to it, she will not show her timidity, and will not do anything that is against the rules.

Lin Zhen's eyes swept over the crowd of people downstairs when he suddenly heard Sima Chunlei muttering beside him, "I heard that this skinny horse is proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Why not buy a skinny horse who can play chess this time and bring him back to play chess with me every day!"

When Lin Zhen turned around, he happened to see the jade hairpin in her hair swaying gently, so he smiled and said, "Then I'll take one back for you, but let's be clear, this girl has suffered a lot, you can't bully her anymore."

"How could that be? When have I ever bullied anyone?"

"You? You're not bullying people?"

"I didn't! They were disobedient themselves, and disobedience is a good thing!"

Sima Chunlei manages the harem, and everyone is afraid of her. Some even say in private that she is an old hen that doesn't lay eggs but pretends to wake people up at dawn.

Of course, some people spread such words, but no one dared to say them out loud, otherwise Sima Chunlei would definitely pull out her tongue.

If you take a picture of a skinny horse that can play chess, don’t complain that the horse is too good at chess.

The light of the crystal chandelier flowed across the dome, and soon the Royal Theatre closed its huge doors.

The host walked onto the stage via the carved steps.

He was wearing a moon-white satin robe with a thumb-thick coral bead necklace hanging from his waist. He could silence the entire audience with just a wave of his hand.

This is the recognized "golden mouth" of Yangzhou Shoumahang. He once used his eloquence to make half of the "Xuan Ji Tu" sell at a sky-high price.

"Dear guests, distinguished guests!" The host's voice echoed like honey-soaked butter under the dome of Wanchun Pavilion. "Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend tonight's Yangzhou Skinny Horse. Once again, I, Bi, feel incredibly honored. First, let me introduce tonight's distinguished guest! The Prince of the Regent Palace!"