In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Chapter 239 The Grand Wedding

The next evening.

Red silk was laid out along the ten-mile-long street, and every household in the city received a love knot issued by the imperial court. People hung it by their windows, praying that it would bring blessings to their families.

Copper coins and wedding candies were scattered throughout the streets, and people gathered to try their luck. Someone who managed to grab one shouted: "This humble subject kowtows to congratulate the Emperor and Empress on their wedding!"

But as soon as she finished speaking, she was refuted by the surrounding crowd, "Hey! How can you say it's the Emperor and Empress's wedding? Didn't you see the notices on the street? The Imperial Preceptor's title is 'Empress Nuwa'!"

"What? Even with all that power, Imperial Preceptor Tao can't become Empress?"

What does "Diwa" mean?

"Is today an official appointment? I thought it was a wedding." "Are you crazy? Who gives out wedding candy when an official is appointed?"

Seeing the momentum building, the old man beside him, dressed in white robes, with a white beard and white hair, stroked his beard with an air of mystery and muttered to himself, "Empress Diwa, it really is Empress Diwa..."

Seeing his extraordinary bearing, someone asked, "May I ask, venerable scholar, what is the meaning behind using the character 'Emperor' in your name?"

His eyes gleamed with reminiscence. "When I was young, I heard a story like this. Legend has it that 'Huang' refers to the emperor on earth, and 'Di' refers to the supreme deity of heaven."

"The 'Emperor' in the heavens?" The two little girls, arm in arm, whispered to each other. "That suits the Imperial Advisor perfectly. Old Master, what about the character 'Nuwa'?"

“‘Wu,’ she is truly different.” The old man’s eyes gleamed. “Ancient books record that she is the creator goddess, superior to all mortals!”

The crowd erupted in uproar.

......

A warm breeze rustled the peach branches, and the lamplight bathed the entire long street in an amber hue.

The Imperial Guards in golden armor and the Supervisory Council members in black robes stood on either side, their figures intersecting to the beat of drums until they met head to tail. Their silver boots trod on the blue bricks, their postures upright, facing each other.

The protagonists of this marriage, each holding a red ribbon, stood facing each other across the long street.

Li Chengze's fingers, gripping the red silk, turned white with tension. He then wrapped the silk around his wrist twice more.

The skin was red from being pulled.

Tao Jingyang, also dressed in bright red, imitated him by wrapping the red silk around her wrist and secretly tightening it.

One step, two steps.

So far, so long.

At first, she tried to maintain her composure and walked slowly, but this composure couldn't last more than ten steps. Li Chengze, holding the red silk ribbon, couldn't wait any longer and abandoned the officials behind him, running towards her.

"Your Majesty! Please slow down!"

Li Chengze was still slightly out of breath, but he couldn't suppress a smile on his face. "If a subject takes a few more steps, then the Empress Diwa will take a few fewer steps."

She looked down at people with bright eyes, her words were not very serious, but her eyes were red for some reason.

"Stop teasing me." She was about to raise her hand to stroke him when she was stopped by a voice beside her saying, "The auspicious time has arrived."

Before she could react, Li Chengze grabbed her frozen hand, blinked, and intertwined their fingers.

Holding Hong's hand in his other hand, Li Chengze gestured for her to enter and walked towards the steps of the palace gate.

Two figures ascended the steps under the moonlight, their golden dragons and phoenixes swaying and fluttering in the night breeze.

"Two hearts, one thread, never to be separated—" Fan Xian shouted from the top of the steps, followed by cheers of congratulations from the crowd.

"Two hearts, one thread, never to be separated —"

Heaven and earth should be respected, and parents should be honored. Marriage is all about celebration, and kneeling to heaven, earth, and parents is a matter of course. Tao Jingyang didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

When she tried to kneel and kowtow, Li Chengze grabbed her arm and refused, saying,

"I may kneel."

In his view, she didn't need to worship the gods of heaven and earth; his parents and elders belonged only to him, so he didn't need to worship them either.

One bow, two bows. Between each bow, Li Chengze had to stand up and change direction. Until the third bow, he pressed his forehead tightly against the back of his hand. When he raised his head, he saw the same hairy head on the opposite side.

Tao Jingyang pressed his forehead against his knuckles, noticed his gaze, and looked up to peek at him.

Their eyes met, and they were filled with joy.

As Li Chengru announced, "The ceremony is complete," Li Chengze pulled a wooden box from his sleeve.

This was a detail unprecedented in this era. Li Chengze, with his keen eyes, noticed early on that Fan Xian had multiple rings on his hands after the marriage.

After making several inquiries, I learned that this was a local custom.

While everyone was still stunned and speculating about the contents of the wooden box, Fan Xian, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself,

"I knew it! People who ask me about rings every day are just stealing my ideas."

Li Chengru, with his sharp ears, overheard this and quietly leaned closer to ask, "What kind of idea?"

"The rings exchanged on our wedding day, once worn, will never be taken off for the rest of our lives." He gestured with his left hand, "Men wear it on the left, women on the right, on the ring finger."

Li Chengru nodded as he looked at Fan Xian's ring finger, thinking that he would get one for Pianpian when he got back.

Right in the center, Tao Jingyang stared blankly at the two matching rings.

Then he took out a wooden box from his sleeve, and when he opened it, there were two wedding rings inside.

Fan Xian stood by with the others and watched, and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

Seeing that no one around was prompting them to follow the procedure, they even took on the role of emcee themselves.

"Please exchange rings, newlyweds!"

Before long, a new trend became popular in the Qing Kingdom—

Wearing rings in stacks.

..........

Logically speaking, no one should be willing to force the emperor to drink wine.

Unless they are brothers.

Li Chengru and Fan Xian were both ruthless, urging each other to drink, and in the blink of an eye, Li Chengze had gone through three new cups.

Tao Jingyang tiptoed away, lifting her skirt as she tried to run, but before she could reach the back hall, she was found and brought back by the late-arriving Haitang Duoduo.

She brought a large jar of wine, and there was still yellow mud standing on it in the wind; you could tell at a glance that it was from that jar.

This is definitely a vintage wine.

"Hey, where's the bride?" Haitang looked around and pulled her into the front hall after finding her. "On such a joyous occasion, our emperor can't come, so I'm here in her place. Everyone, please have a taste. This is a special brew from Northern Qi. This jar has been buried underground for thirty years, and I brought it here today."

She pulled Tao Jingyang along, insisting that he had to try a cup.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Tao Jingyang took a small sip of wine and then left without further incident.

He happily drank another cup, and then slowly collapsed within three minutes, falling into a coma.

Taking advantage of everyone's surprise, Li Chengze took Tao Jingyang's body and carried him horizontally.

"My wife has had too much to drink, so I'll go inside and take care of her. You all drink slowly and enjoy yourselves."

With a "click," the door closed and the lock clicked shut. Tao Jingyang immediately opened his eyes and said in a low voice with a smile, "You're quite clever; you even know I was faking it."

Li Chengze removed the outer robe and hairpins from the person with meticulous, gentle, and methodical movements.

He snorted and ruffled Tao Jingyang's hair, "I can tell you're up to no good just by looking at you."

She was displeased, thinking to herself, "Is this considered having bad intentions?"

She then reached out to admire the ring on her finger, saying, "Did you make this ring yourself? It's so beautiful."

Li Chengze poured some wine, handed one of the glasses to her, and drank it with his arms crossed, saying, "I won't drink other people's wine, but I must drink the Hehuan wine."

Once they drink the nuptial wine, they are truly husband and wife.