Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Three bows to wish for marital harmony, the continuation of the family line, and peace and prosperity for the nation."

"Bye~"

Under the gaze of many complex eyes, some blessing, some envious, some excited, Qian Yingying, a woman who was unknown and had no background in the Tang Dynasty, was under the watchful eyes of many.

Now, however, she has married the most powerful and influential Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

As the Crown Prince's principal wife, only she could hold such a ceremony in the Taiji Hall today. Even Wu Shun, the Crown Prince's concubine, did not have such an honor.

As the officiant finished chanting, Li Chengqian and Qian Yingying slowly rose to their feet.

From this moment on, they were already husband and wife in the true sense of the law of the Tang Dynasty.

Those around, including Prince Li Ke of Han and Prince Li Tai of Wei, applauded upon seeing this, while Princess Chang Le and the others let out joyful, bell-like laughter.

"Brother, brother, quickly take your sister-in-law to the bridal chamber!"

"Hahaha, my brother is finally married! Doesn't that mean I can become an aunt next year?" Gao Yang's little brain worked the fastest, and her words made Qian Yingying, who was covered with a red veil, blush.

Li Chengqian, a newlywed, couldn't help but look somewhat embarrassed.

"What wedding night? Who's a good man having a wedding night at noon?!" Li Chengqian glared at his younger siblings who were making a fuss, and bowed again to his father, Emperor Li Shimin, and his mother, Empress Zhangsun, on the high platform.

After the group nodded and smiled, they were led by the master of ceremonies, holding Qian Yingying's hand, and headed towards the side hall.

As the crown prince, the so-called bridal chamber would naturally be in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.

The afternoon was filled with celebrations throughout Chang'an. The imperial palace hosted a grand banquet for all the officials and ministers, while outside the palace, banquets continued non-stop throughout Chang'an. There were also various theatrical performances, making it a truly lively event.

As for Crown Prince Li Chengqian, he spent the entire afternoon busy with the tedious rituals of a wedding.

It would be fine if he only married Qian Yingying as his principal wife.

But today, it wasn't just Qian Yingying who was welcomed in. According to the Ministry of Rites officials, "the principal consort should be honored with proper etiquette, while the secondary consort, Yingpin, should be treated with the same rites."

The practice of welcoming the principal wife first during the wedding procession was for show, indicating recognition of her dominant position in the Eastern Palace and the inner palace.

As for the various tedious formalities that took up the afternoon, they were just for show, for the benefit of one's own family.

This was meant to warn the other concubines to distinguish between primary and secondary roles.

Although Li Chengqian didn't believe that anyone would dare to stir up trouble in his harem, he had already taken the first step, and even though it was a bit tedious, there was no reason for him to give up halfway.

After the wedding ceremony was over, Li Chengqian was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed.

Startled, Samaga, dressed in red and kneeling on the bed, looked nervous.

"Your Highness, are you... are you alright?"

Li Chengqian didn't want to speak, so he waved his hand.

He looked listlessly at the female official who was now wearing a reserved smile: "Is it over? If there's anything else, then I'll have to have a good talk with that old bastard Tang Jian!"

The female official bowed and said, "Your Highness, it's all over. You only need to perform the marital ceremony with the Crown Princess after the grand court assembly tonight. There will be people waiting outside to assist you..."

"No, no, no! Get rid of all those eavesdroppers, or don't blame me for turning against you!" Li Chengqian's face, which had looked tired just a moment ago, suddenly tightened.

The lady-in-waiting hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, matters within the palace have always been recorded. If Your Highness or any of the concubines has a health problem, the imperial physicians can easily diagnose and treat them..."

"You think you're so great?! Get lost!"

Looking at the officials of ceremonies rushing out of the hall in a panic, Li Chengqian let out another cold snort.

With a flick of his sleeve, he lay down directly on Samaga's bed.

"Give me a massage. This afternoon's troubles are more tiring than leading troops against the Turks... I still need to go to the Crown Princess's place later. As my principal wife, she also needs to attend the grand court assembly tonight..."

Samaga obediently did as he was told, but dared not respond to Li Chengqian's exaggerated claims.

And the other side.

When the Empress learned of the lady-in-waiting's report, she simply waved her hand.

"Alright, since this is the Crown Prince's own wish, let's do as the Crown Prince wishes. Remove everyone tonight, and tomorrow, after the Crown Princess wakes up, send the imperial physician to inquire about her condition."

Empress Zhangsun dismissed the officials in charge of ceremonies, then looked at Emperor Li Shimin beside her with a face full of helplessness.

"Your Majesty, when did you become so concerned about the affairs of your grandson? Chengqian and the others just got married today, and you..."

Li Shimin, who was flipping through a pile of books as if preparing a name for his future grandson, looked up when he heard this, his face serious.

"Guanyinbi, now that you're married, how far are you from having a child? Chengqian isn't sick. Just you wait and see, that boy has restrained himself for so many years. Once he gets a taste of it, tsk tsk tsk..."

Li Shimin's expression was wistful, prompting Empress Zhangsun to shake her head helplessly.

Do you really think Chengqian is just like you...?

however.

Empress Zhangsun never expected that the people who were eager for the birth of the imperial grandson were not only her own husband, the emperor, and her father-in-law, the retired emperor.

This is the palace of the Crown Prince and his consorts in the Eastern Palace.

With the veil-wearing and various rituals completed, the concubines, including Zheng Lizhen and Wang Yuyan, were free to move about in the inner palace.

The maids who were brought into the palace with them and would become their personal attendants had already begun whispering and plotting about how to serve the emperor in the next few days.

“Miss, oh no... Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince will probably stay with the Crown Princess for the next few days, but there will come a day when he will choose someone else to serve him. Besides, the Crown Princess can't keep the Crown Prince all to herself forever..."

Wang Yuyan looked at herself in the dressing mirror, listening to the muttering words of her personal maid beside her.

However, he seemed dazed.

For some reason, she recalled the question the Crown Prince had asked her when she shared a carriage with him and expressed her feelings of admiration.

Why choose to be a caged canary when you can choose to live a better life?

Canary... Now, I've truly locked myself in a cage.

She shook her head: "Alright! Stop talking!"

The maid was taken aback, but then noticed a hint of coldness in Wang Yuyan's expression.

"Could it be that you want to experience the taste of being flogged on your very first day in the palace?"

Seeing that she was so frightened that her face turned pale and she knelt down on the ground with a thud, Wang Yuyan let out a soft snort.

"Never again shall you utter a single word of what Father and Mother said in front of me. If you gossip and it reaches the ears of others, even His Highness the Crown Prince... whether you end up in the Imperial Guard's prison or in the deep well of the palace, that will be up to your fate!"

"Don't expect me to come and get you!"

She stepped onto the steps outside the hall.

You can't see the direction of the Taiji Hall from here, but you can hear the magnificent palace music full of the grandeur of a great nation coming from there.

"Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da!"

A cacophony of instruments, including the guzheng, erhu, sanxian, bamboo flute, guqin, hulusi, xiao, xun, and yangqin, filled the air, and among the court musicians were many blond-haired, blue-eyed Arabs.

The moment this piece of music, which Li Chengqian had taken from later generations, was played in the magnificent Taiji Hall of the Tang Dynasty.

Following the established etiquette, the powerful officials and nobles of the Tang Dynasty, who entered the main hall and took their seats in order, all instinctively held their heads high and chests out.

That pride, already surging in his blood and heartbeat, was revealed even more fully at this moment.

The foreign envoys who were seated at the end of the main hall all looked around in astonishment, shock, or doubt and surprise.

He shrank back, as if afraid of bumping into someone present.

However, when the Tang Dynasty officials saw the scene on the high seat in the Taiji Hall today, they were all taken aback.

Three dragon thrones, placed side by side at the same height, were placed on the dragon platform.

Made of pure gold and inlaid with various precious gems, the backrest is clearly engraved with a map of the Tang Dynasty's land and state.

Bathed in the bright lights around it, it appeared sacred and magnificent.

however.

The officials who witnessed this scene couldn't help but exchange glances.

Changsun Wuji, the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commissioner who had rushed back from Longyou Road, was now sitting in a row with Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who had also been stripped of their titles, because he had been stripped of his title as Duke of Zhao.

The three exchanged a glance, and when they looked back at the three dragon thrones, they all chuckled and stroked their beards.

None of the three chose to discuss this matter.

They exchanged polite greetings and bowed to each other.

"Hehe, Brother Fuji, it's been a year since we last met. You seem to be in much better health than before. I've heard you've made quite a splash in Longyou Road recently... Your name will surely be etched in history soon!"

Changsun Wuji's face, which had become much thinner, wore a restrained, smug smile.

"Not at all, not at all. It was all for His Highness the Crown Prince, for the eternal peace of our Great Tang Dynasty. How could I dare to take credit? But you two, now that you've returned to Chang'an, His Highness the Crown Prince will likely entrust you with important responsibilities."

"congratulations......"

Several people looked at each other.

If there was any conflict between them in the past...

Now, we're practically in the same boat, or rather, comrades-in-arms.

They all serve His Highness the Crown Prince.

They were chatting enthusiastically, looking like they wanted to become sworn brothers on the spot.

Not far away, Duke Ying, Wu Shihuo, Duke Lu, Hou Junji, and Prince Rencheng, Li Daozong, were also in a harmonious atmosphere. Under normal circumstances, Wang Ming of the Taiyuan Wang Clan and Zheng Jiang of the Xingyang Zheng Clan would definitely have joined them for a chat.

But nowadays, their willingness to approach her seems like a joke no matter how you look at it...

Wang Ming's expression was calm, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Hmph! Keep gloating. I won't make such a low-level mistake again. As for you..."

The Tang Dynasty officials whispered amongst themselves, while some of the foreign envoys, unaware of the situation, also discussed in hushed tones why there were three dragon thrones on the Dragon Platform.

Just then.

The chief eunuch, Fan Qi, rang out in a loud voice.

"His Majesty the Retired Emperor Wude has arrived!"

The officials hurriedly stood up.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan, dressed in the dragon robe of the retired emperor, walked out with a kind smile on his face, looking like an elderly neighbor.

Fan Qi spoke again.

"His Majesty the Zhenguan Emperor has arrived!"

"The Empress has arrived!"

Reading the year title?

The court officials felt that today's grand court assembly was full of strangeness, and could be described as bizarre in any dynasty.

However, Li Shimin, accompanied by Empress Zhangsun, walked out from behind.

Everyone looked at the three dragon thrones again, and even those who were previously unaware of the situation now understood their meaning.

Sure enough, the next moment Li Yuan sat directly on the central dragon throne.

Just when everyone thought that Li Shimin and the Empress would sit on the dragon throne on the left.

But then he pulled the Empress aside and sat down on the right side.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

"The Crown Princess has arrived!"

Fan Qi's voice unconsciously became a few decibels higher than before.

The assembled officials were instantly roused.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a gleaming golden dragon robe, with a jade-like face and a crown, appeared before everyone with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, instantly becoming the focus of the grand court assembly.

When Changsun Wuji saw the Crown Prince's nephew appear, his eyes lit up.

Suddenly, he stepped forward and loudly bowed in greeting to Li Chengqian.

"Your subject, Changsun Wuji, congratulates His Highness the Crown Prince on his marriage!"