Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1102 seems to have some important things left to do.

Suddenly, everything went quiet. He Yucheng frowned slightly, got up, and walked to the window. The moonlight was beautiful tonight, its gentle glow pouring into the room. He Yucheng stared blankly at the moonlight until Aunt Cui came to invite him to take a bath. Only then did he come to his senses and turn around to see Duan Chaopei sitting on the couch in her undergarments, without any makeup.

He Yucheng admitted that his Crown Princess was extremely beautiful. She was neither too plump nor too thin. Her eyebrows and eyes were lively and lively yet dignified. Her smile was like a spring breeze, and when she frowned, she had a cool and beautiful look. The title of the number one noble lady in the capital circle of the Great Zhou Dynasty was never just an empty name.

But he felt a little guilty; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to consummate the marriage tonight.

He went into the inner room, dismissed the palace servants who were attending to him, and took a bath alone until the water was almost cold before getting up and returning to his room.

She thought Duan Chaopei would be too tired to sleep, but to her surprise, he was still awake, staring at her expectantly.

He Yucheng clenched his fist, walked over, and was about to lie down when he heard Duan Chaopei say, "Your Highness, it seems there are still important things to do."

He Yucheng was taken aback, and he couldn't quite bring himself to say "let's not consummate the marriage for now."

A box was handed to me.

"what is this?"

Duan Chaopei smiled gently: "I can't sleep because of the dowry and betrothal gift lists. How about... we check our assets?"

And so, on their wedding night, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess did not consummate their marriage. Instead, they calculated their assets until midnight. The dragon and phoenix candlesticks burned until dawn. The next day, they both slept in late, leaving Aunt Cui and two palace maids waiting outside the door looking at each other in bewilderment.

"The Crown Prince didn't call for water last night, so how come he slept for so long?"

"Auntie, we should probably go in and call someone, lest we miss the time to pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress." The little palace maid Cui Cui tugged at Aunt Cui's sleeve.

Aunt Cui blushed: "Her Majesty the Empress said not to rush the newlyweds to get up early in the morning." She looked at the sky again, but it was already an hour late. If she didn't go to Chang Le Palace soon, it would probably be lunchtime.

Although the Empress only mentioned it briefly, the Crown Princess was, after all, a new bride, so how could she not follow the rules?

With a determined heart, Aunt Cui raised her hand and knocked on the door.

Duan Chaopei, who was half asleep, heard the sound and tried to turn over, but found that she couldn't. She then woke up with a start and looked up to see the Crown Prince rubbing his eyes.

He Yucheng was woken up by the knocking on the door. He was in a bad mood in bed, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize that he was holding someone, so he quickly let go.

Duan Chaopei quickly got out of bed and fled into the inner room to wash up.

Hearing a sound from inside, Aunt Cui came in with two palace maids to help her mistress wash and change.

"Your Highness, we must go and pay our respects to the Empress. We need to hurry." Aunt Cui said as she went to tidy the bed, only to find that the bridal veil was still white, without any trace of blood. Undeterred, she searched the bed again but found nothing, and was instantly exasperated.

"They've been sleeping together until now and haven't even consummated their marriage?" Aunt Cui's suspicions deepened as she looked at the Crown Prince.

He Yucheng was already dressed in his new clothes. Today was the latest he had gotten up in years. He was thinking about how to explain things to his mother later, but he didn't notice Aunt Cui's complicated expression.

Inside the room, Duan Chaopei was also extremely anxious. Last night, she sensed the Crown Prince's reluctance, so she used the excuse of sorting out her assets to keep him occupied for half the night, avoiding too much embarrassment. Otherwise, if her husband refused to consummate the marriage on their wedding night, where would she put her face? She wasn't someone who didn't care about saving face.

She finished dressing, exhaled, and thought to herself, "There's plenty of time. I refuse to believe that the Crown Prince will remain unmoved by me."

The two hurriedly ate some breakfast and rushed to Chang Le Palace. The palace was already full of people. Consort Xian led the concubines who had arrived early in the morning. It had been many years since they had seen so many people gathered. Everyone wanted to see how the Empress would set rules for the Crown Princess.

Today is also the first time that the Crown Princess, as a newcomer to the harem, has met these seniors and needs to get to know them.

When the two main characters finally arrived, everyone looked at them simultaneously, their faces beaming with gossip.

He Yucheng and Duan Chaopei looked like two pitiful little devils with nowhere to hide, enduring the scrutinizing gazes of the concubines. He Yucheng, usually so serious, was now blushing and his ears were turning red. Duan Chaopei tried to put on what she thought was a dignified smile, unaware that her face was already as red as a peach.

"Someone, bring a bowl of longan sweet soup to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess." The sweet soup, made this morning, contains fermented rice wine and longan, and also has an egg poached in it. It's piping hot and comforting.

Consort Xian smiled and said, "Young people need to sleep a lot, so it's normal for them to wake up late. You two don't need to be so shy."

Consort Xu joked, "Well... after all, they're newlyweds, so it's only natural for them to be a little clingy. At least it shows that the young couple is getting along well."

Consort Zhou felt a pang of emotion upon seeing the Duan family's daughter finally enter the palace gates. She recalled her niece's three years of effort, constantly seeking opportunities to bump into the Crown Prince, yet never managing to see him or exchange a single word with him. A soft sigh escaped her lips. After all the twists and turns, the position of Crown Princess had ultimately fallen into the hands of the Duan family.

“The proper etiquette cannot be disregarded. The two newlyweds were too sleepy, so the head maid should have reminded them. Otherwise, what use is she? How can newlyweds come to pay their respects to their mothers-in-law so late on their first day? The Crown Princess should learn more about palace etiquette. The palace is not like home.” Consort Liang spoke, and the originally relaxed atmosphere turned somewhat cold.

Tao Yanyan glanced at Consort Liang: "It's alright. I don't usually have that many rules, and besides, I told Aunt Cui not to rush them to get up early. We've all been through this before. What's the big deal if they get up a little late in the first few days of their marriage?" After saying that, she saw that Duan Chaopei had finished his sweet soup, so she asked Xianglan to bring a box.

"The jade bracelet in this box was specially prepared for you. Wear it if you like, or keep it if you don't. It's top-quality pink jade. Yu Nuo and the others all have some."

Duan Chaopei quickly accepted it and bowed in thanks.

Consort Liang smiled and said, "Pink jade is nice, but its meaning is not as good as the heirloom jade that the Empress Dowager bestowed upon Your Highness... Oh, I almost forgot, Your Highness already bestowed that heirloom jade upon Prince Jin's wife when he got married."

Consort Xian frowned and coughed lightly: "Consort Liang has been ill for many days, saying she has a headache. I'm afraid the pain has also damaged her memory. We should ask the imperial physician to prescribe more medicine."

Consort Liang said awkwardly, "Yes, Your Majesty, I really do have a bad memory. I hope Your Majesty won't take it to heart. Crown Princess, please don't worry about it either. Any kind of jade is fine, since it was all bestowed by Your Majesty. The color doesn't matter."

Duan Chaopei glanced at the Empress and, seeing no anger on her face, smiled and said, "Sister-in-law Jin, who married into the family first, is naturally entitled to the family heirloom jade. I don't have much to think about. Besides, my sisters all have pink jade, and so do I. I know that Mother Empress dotes on me like her own daughter, and I am very happy!"

With just a few words, Tao Yanyan turned the atmosphere around after Liang Fei's instigation. She looked at Duan Chaopei with loving eyes, quite satisfied.

He Yucheng glanced at the person next to him, his eyes filled with approval.