So sweet! She's pampered like a precious gem in her little world.

Time flies, and before we know it, it's late spring, April.

The weather was exceptionally good on the day chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for the wedding; the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle.

Chu Yu was coaxed out of bed early by the palace servants to wash and dress up.

With the help of the palace servants, she changed into a dark blue robe with pheasant patterns. The robe had wide sleeves and was trimmed with red edges and decorated with gold-woven cloud and dragon patterns.

This is the ceremonial dress worn by the Empress of this dynasty on important ceremonial occasions. This is the first time Chu Yu has ever seen this dress.

She had originally thought her wedding dress would be bright red, but it turned out to be dark blue, which looked more elegant and noble than bright red.

"Princess, there are many ceremonies to come, and His Majesty has instructed you to eat something beforehand."

Yingqi brought over a food platter with fragrant wontons, sweet osmanthus yogurt, and her favorite jasmine milk tea.

Chu Yu had already changed into her full dress, except for her lipstick and phoenix crown.

Jingyin did not stay overnight at Penglai Palace last night. According to etiquette, they should wait until today's investiture ceremony to meet.

However, Emperor Jingyin repeatedly instructed and emphasized to the palace maids who served him closely how to take good care of the future Empress.

The water temperature and duration of bathing, dietary habits and preferences, the etiquette of burning incense during rest, and even any possible emergencies—nothing is too small to mention.

It is said that His Majesty summoned several palace maids to the Imperial Study yesterday afternoon for more than an hour, and they even recorded all the important points.

When it comes to taking care of his precious child, Jingyin naturally wants to do everything himself, but there will inevitably be times when he is too busy to attend to everything. He can only feel at ease if the senior palace maids around him can master these skills as soon as possible.

Chu Yu got up too early and didn't have much of an appetite. She ate a few bites and then refused to eat anymore.

Yingqi coaxed her a bit, and once she was sure she really couldn't eat anymore, she didn't force her. Anyway, His Majesty had already instructed them to carry the princess's favorite snacks in their embroidered pouches, so they could secretly give them to her whenever they wanted.

After the lip rouge was applied, the two palace maids presented the most "important" part of the entire dress—the phoenix crown.

A crown adorned with pearls, jade, gold filigree, cat's-eye inlay, blue, red, yellow gemstones, pearls, twelve dragons, and nine phoenixes; gold dragon-shaped lip ornaments; sideburns; gold-inlaid gemstone hairpins; and a ruyi hook.

The phoenix crown is decorated with twelve jade dragons and nine gold phoenixes. In the center, a dragon holds a large pearl in its mouth, with a jade canopy above it and a pearl knot hanging down. The others all hold pearls in their mouths.

The front features twelve golden dragons on the upper level, eight jade phoenixes in the middle level, and nine large pearl-flowered trees on the lower level, each tree adorned with three pieces of ruby ​​and sapphire, surrounded by strings of pearls. A jade phoenix stands on the upper part of the back.

Everyone present was seeing this crown for the first time, and they were all deeply impressed.

According to ancestral rules, the empress's ceremonial robes should be a nine-dragon, four-phoenix crown, but the crown in front of us clearly does not conform to the rules at all.

The room was completely silent until Chu Yu broke the silence first, asking timidly, "How heavy... is this?"

Shadow Seven: "?"

Palace servants: "??"

Is this the main point?

Clearly, the empress who was about to become the first to wear the Twelve Dragons and Nine Phoenixes Crown did not know what the crown in front of her meant.

Chu Yu really didn't understand the complicated etiquette, and at this moment she was crying her heart out.

Based on her experience, this phoenix crown, adorned with gems and pearls and inlaid with gold and jade, must weigh at least seven or eight pounds!

If this were placed on her head...

Word Mom...

Didn't Jingyin promise her that everything would be kept simple within the bounds of propriety?

Simplify the process and make her a phoenix crown weighing seven or eight pounds?

What she didn't know was that the man understood the spirit of her stories and believed that girls placed great importance on their wedding attire.

After all, this is the most important day of your life, and who wouldn't want to be the most beautiful bride?

Therefore, what men ultimately simplify are those tedious rituals and procedures.

However, she put a lot of effort into her dress, which can be described as extremely luxurious.

Yingqi and three other palace maids worked together to put the phoenix crown on Chuyu. The weight of the crown made her dare not even breathe, and she could only try her best to keep her body upright to maintain her balance.

Although the phoenix crown was heavy, it was absolutely magnificent, making her look stunningly beautiful and elegant.

At this time, the imperial envoy had already arrived at the main gate of Penglai Palace.

With the help of palace maids, Chu Yu walked to the main gate. She was supposed to kneel to receive the order, but the official spoke first: "Your Majesty does not need to kneel. His Majesty has ordered that Your Majesty need not kneel."

She secretly rejoiced; if she had really been forced to kneel, with that huge thing pressing down on her head, she might not have been able to get up.

After the official finished announcing the decree, the imperial edict, the imperial seal, and the imperial token were handed over to the palace servants behind him.

Next, we will go to visit the temple.

Chu Yu thought she would have to walk there, but unexpectedly, Jing Yin sent his imperial carriage to pick her up.

Everyone was already used to it. After all the extraordinary and unconventional things His Majesty had done for Princess Yuanjia, what difference would one more make?

Before she even reached Hanyuan Hall, she spotted a man standing alone in front of the hall from afar.

Jingyin was dressed in a black imperial robe and wore a twelve-tassel crown, which made him look handsome and dashing.

The entire court of civil and military officials stood below the high platform, while she rode in the emperor's imperial carriage through the central imperial road until she reached the top of the steps, standing before Jingyin.

Even though the man had prepared her mentally many times beforehand, she still couldn't help but feel nervous in such a situation.

Chu Yu was worried that she would make a mistake, so she kept a straight face and looked quite imposing.

It was also Jingyin's request that the imperial carriage be carried up the high steps, as the young girl's dress was very heavy and he was extremely reluctant to let her walk so far.

Before the imperial carriage even touched the ground, the man rushed forward to help the person off.

Li Zhi, standing beside him, couldn't help but lower his head even further.

Didn't see it.

In front of the ancestors and the entire court, His Majesty did not restrain his worthless attitude in the slightest.

Chu Yu stared, slightly taken aback, at the man standing beside the imperial carriage who had reached his hand inside. "Your Majesty..."

She slowly raised her eyes and saw the man's dark eyes, as dark as a deity under the moon. She felt a little shy and slowly and solemnly placed her hand in his palm.

The two were dressed in loose robes, and onlookers only saw His Majesty personally helping the Empress down from the imperial carriage, unaware that Chu Yu was actually carried down by him.

It was all because of that soft, coquettish sentence she just whispered, "Brother, I'm so tired~"

What should have been the Emperor and Empress walking hand in hand turned into an embrace, with Jingyin's arm around her waist, trying to share her burden as much as possible.

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Note: The wedding attire for the first time was modeled after that of the Ming Dynasty empresses. The complete set included: a black silk forehead ornament and phoenix crown; a face adorned with pearl and jade ornaments, and pearl earrings; an inner robe with a fu collar, and an outer robe with a zai design; a secondary belt, a large belt, and a leather belt at the waist; a knee-covering tied in the center of the front, and a large sash at the back; jade pendants and small sashes hanging on either side; socks and shoes; and a jade tablet in the hand. (See attached image for Duan's commentary)

十二龙九凤冠是定陵博物馆藏品，图片我放在段评。史料记载九龙九凤冠冠上共嵌宝石115块（红宝石57、蓝宝石58）、珍珠4414颗。共重2320克。

——oo——

This chapter was written rather slowly because I researched a lot of materials. There's more information about the clothing worn during the imperial weddings of emperors and empresses from the Qing Dynasty, but I decided to use the Ming Dynasty style, since Ming Dynasty clothing is authentic Hanfu.

I hadn't originally planned to write in so many details, but I was so impressed while researching that I wanted to share it with everyone.

Also, Xiao Jing's story is about to end~

Double updates will resume tomorrow!

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