The young general and the prince, who was to be married off, fell in love at first sight!

After leaving the Fengxian Hall, the investiture ceremony was considered complete.

Since Lin Shiming was a man, there was no formal ceremony of escorting him to the bridal chamber. Instead, the two of them went to the Zhonghe Hall to entertain the guests.

When they arrived, the hall was already packed with guests.

Lin Shiming naturally had to entertain the male guests with Lu Yuxi, while the Empress specially invited Princess Heyou to help with the female guests.

Toasting is of course necessary, but only to highly respected members of the royal family are required to be toasted.

Therefore, before an incense stick had burned, Lu Yuxi had already led Lin Shiming to finish offering the toasts.

"Are you hungry? Eat something." After the toast, it was already past midnight. "Didn't you eat properly today?"

"That's right, my mother said there wouldn't be much of a chance on the wedding day... well, so she's only let me eat a few pastries this morning. If it weren't for my strong inner strength, I would have starved to death." Lin Shiming took the chopsticks that the eunuch brought him and ate with relish. "You haven't eaten either, have you? Come on, eat some too."

Lu Yuxi was indeed hungry after a day, so he sat down next to Lin Shiming and started eating. The eunuchs behind them noticed and came up to serve the two of them food.

"His Royal Highness."

Lu Yuxi looked up and saw several princes walking towards them together.

"Royal brother, imperial younger brother."

This time, it was the Sixth Prince who stepped forward first, "Crown Prince, on your wedding day, I wish you a happy marriage!"

Lu Yuxi put down her chopsticks and smiled gently, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

“Hey, what’s the point of just offering blessings?” Prince An jumped in again. “Won’t the Crown Prince have a drink with us brothers?”

“Of course it is my duty.” Lu Yuxi accepted the wine cup offered by the eunuch. “Please, Your Majesty.”

After saying that, he downed it in one gulp.

Lin Shiming wasn't too worried at first, but seeing him down a glass of wine without even trying to refuse, he suddenly became anxious. He immediately put down his chopsticks and prepared to get up, but Lu Yuxi noticed him out of the corner of her eye and pressed him back down.

"I'll drink, you eat yours."

Lu Yuxi winked at him discreetly and squeezed Lin Shiming's shoulder with her hand. Lin Shiming raised an eyebrow and continued eating with his head down.

Prince An and Prince Ping exchanged a glance, and for once, they united on the same side.

"Your Highness is truly generous! Come, have another cup!"

"Come again!"

 …

"Crown Princess... Sister-in-law!" The Sixth Prince moved closer to Lin Shiming again. "Aren't you worried about your brother, the Crown Prince?"

Lin Shiming continued eating with his chopsticks, "I believe him!"

Sixth Prince: "... ..."

Sixth Prince: "Then, shall I have a few drinks with my sister-in-law?"

Lin Shiming glanced at him in surprise, then stopped eating.

"What's wrong?" The Sixth Prince, Lu Yuyang, looked down at himself and saw that there was nothing wrong with him.

"I remember you're getting married in three months, right? You came to ask me out for drinks, aren't you afraid I'll retaliate later?"

The sixth prince's eyes widened, and he quickly pushed the wine glass in his hand away a little, "...I'd better have dinner with my sister-in-law."

Lin Shiming chuckled and picked up his chopsticks again. However, he had already eaten quite a bit, so he wasn't in a hurry. He watched as Prince An and Prince Ping relentlessly poured wine down Lu Yuxi's throat while he picked out some of his favorite dishes to eat slowly.

By the time he had eaten his fill, the once ambitious Prince An and Prince Ping were already passed out from drinking. Lu Yuxi, on the other hand, was only flushed and looked somewhat unsteady.

Lin Shiming smiled, stood up and helped Lu Yuxi up, then said to the Sixth Prince, "Sixth Brother, His Highness the Crown Prince is drunk. I need to help him back and take care of him. Would you mind helping your sister-in-law continue entertaining the guests?"

"Ah?" The Sixth Prince quickly stood up. "Me?"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Shiming gestured with his chin towards the two who were already asleep. "Let them do it?"

The sixth prince was silent for a moment, then said, "Your subject will listen to the Crown Princess."

"Thank you!" Lin Shiming pulled Lu Yuxi closer to him. "Someone come here."

"The slave is here."

"Lead the way back to the East Palace."

"Yes."

*

Lin Shiming helped Lu Yuxi out of the Zhonghe Hall. He was about to put her on the imperial carriage when Lu Yuxi, who was leaning on his shoulder, suddenly straightened up.

Lin Shiming was not surprised at all. He stayed where he was and watched Lu Yuxi pinch her temples.

"You're already giving up before we've even gone back?"

"I'm not pretending anymore. They've all fallen, so what's the point of me pretending? Besides, these are people from our Eastern Palace, so naturally they won't say anything out of line." Although Lu Yuxi had drunk watered-down wine, she had still drunk quite a bit, and now she felt extremely bloated.

"Let's not ride in the imperial carriage anymore, let's walk back. It'll also help you digest your food."

Lin Shiming naturally had no objections.

The eunuch beside him hurried forward, holding a lantern to light the way ahead.

The wind was still biting in February, and the redness on Lu Yuxi's face quickly faded.

The two walked side by side toward the East Palace, with countless stars shining overhead.

"Speaking of which, after you first came to my house to see me, I even asked my brother what kind of person you were. He told me that you were the most proper and polite person. I believed him. But only today did I discover that our proper and polite Crown Prince can also play these deceptive tricks."

"How can a person be completely summarized in just a few words? I am indeed as your brother described in my daily life, but that doesn't mean I don't use some methods. A gentleman is upright, but he is not inflexible."

"Besides, as you saw today, my two royal brothers were planning to get me drunk to death, hoping to ruin my wedding night. How could I let them have their way?"

"...Are you flirting with me?"

Lu Yuxi suppressed a laugh, "Where did I tease you?"

"you..."

How am I supposed to put it? Lin Shiming was unusually shy, blushing more than Lu Yuxi, who had been drinking, even though he hadn't been drinking.

The eunuchs nearby, hearing the increasingly inappropriate conversation between the two masters, wisely moved away.

"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything? Where did I tease you?" Lu Yuxi's eyes and brows were full of smiles, which made Lin Shiming momentarily dazed.

"I, you," Lin Shiming stammered for a long time before finally regaining his senses and realizing something was wrong. "Oh, I didn't expect you to be like this when you're drunk? You really are... true to your nature!"

Lin Shiming finally realized that this person was still drunk! Seeing that he was walking steadily and his mind was clear, if he hadn't accidentally noticed that Lu Yuxi's eyes were a little dazed just now, he probably would have thought that this person was not drunk at all!

"Since you're drunk, shut up!" Lin Shiming grabbed Lu Yuxi's arm fiercely and pulled him forward quickly, afraid that this man would flirt with him again in front of a group of eunuchs and guards on the way, otherwise how could he face people tomorrow!

"Slow down, slow down," Lu Yuxi said with a smile, her usual gentle and polite demeanor making it hard to believe that this man was already somewhat intoxicated and disoriented. "Shiming, walk slowly, the road is slippery. If you accidentally fall, I..."

"Shut up! It stopped snowing more than ten days ago, how come the roads are so slippery..."

As night deepened, the group walked back to the East Palace.

*

Zhao Lei, the chief eunuch of the East Palace, was already waiting at the gate to greet his two masters. So when Lin Shiming and his party appeared near the East Palace, Zhao Lei saw their lanterns from afar.

"Quickly, come upstairs and serve us!"

"Yes."

Eunuch Zhao headed straight for the group of people and immediately saw Lin Shiming aggressively pulling Lu Yuxi forward.

"Your humble servant, Zhao Lei, the Grand Steward of the Eastern Palace, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess!"

Lin Shiming stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected this "aesthetically peculiar" chief steward to be such a clever man! But that's to be expected; how could someone without brains become the Crown Prince's most important eunuch?

"Eunuch Zhao?"

"Your Highness, this servant is here!" Zhao Lei bowed deeply. "Your Highness, Princess Consort, shall this servant guide you and His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Lin Shiming nodded. "Okay."

Zhao Lei immediately took a brighter lantern and pushed aside the eunuch who had been holding the lantern.

You're quite good at it!

It wasn't long before they entered the East Palace, which was only a few steps away from here.

Before entering, Lin Shiming took a special look at the decorations of the East Palace today. Very good, festive and joyous, yet tasteful. Lin Shiming nodded in satisfaction and stepped through the gate.

After passing through the brightly lit courtyard, Zhao Lei led the people directly to the inner chamber of the main hall of the East Palace.

As soon as she entered, Lu Yuxi, who had been behaving herself the whole way, told everyone to leave.

"You may all leave now. I will call you if I need anything."

Lin Shiming stared dumbfounded at Lu Yuxi, whose eyes were clear. "No, when did you..."

Oh! So you sobered up halfway there and were just pretending with me!

Lin Shiming laughed in anger, "I've really seen something new today. You've fooled me twice from beginning to end!" Forget about your proper manners and gentlemanly demeanor!

Lu Yuxi wasn't in a hurry. "Don't be angry, we haven't drunk the nuptial wine yet!"

He looked around and sure enough, he found a pot of wine, two cups, and two bowls of steaming hangover soup on a table not far away. He could tell from the smell that there was a lot of ginger in it.

"You're such a thoughtful steward!"

As Lu Yuxi stepped over and poured two glasses of wine, he suddenly heard Lin Shiming's voice behind him. He turned around and saw Lin Shiming standing in front of the bench by the bed, fiddling with two carved flower candles.

He brought the wine closer, both of them carved with dragons.

"Stop looking, let's drink the nuptial wine first, and then we'll light the candles after we finish drinking."

Lin Shiming was still angry, and now, hearing Lu Yuxi's suggestive words, he was reminded of how Lu Yuxi had teased him on the way here, which made him even angrier. He had never been teased in either of his lives!

Lin Shiming snorted, turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, but he didn't respond to Lu Yuxi's words.

"I didn't mean to lie to you." Lu Yuxi sat down next to him and explained gently, "I was indeed still drunk at that time, and I couldn't control myself. Later, as I walked along, the cold wind did wake me up, but I didn't want to just tell you 'I'm sober,' so I only told you after I got back."

It is true.

"Then you adjust..." Never mind, it wasn't something he could control, and besides, it was just a slip of the tongue at the time. "Fine, I'll let you off the hook for today."

“However!” Lin Shiming’s expression turned serious. “Now that the marriage is settled, I hope we can be more honest with each other. I won’t lie to you, and I hope you won’t lie to me either. Besides, what I dislike most is deceiving people’s feelings.”

Deceiving people's feelings deserves to be struck by lightning!

"Okay, I will never lie to you."

Seeing Lu Yuxi's serious expression, Lin Shiming finally calmed down. He reached out and took the glass of wine from Lu Yuxi's hand. "Come on. If you drink this early, you'll need to drink some hangover soup, or you'll have a headache tomorrow."

Lu Yuxi smiled, reached out and slipped her hand through Lin Shiming's arm, and the two of them drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.