It was the hour of Shen*, and the guests had already arrived at the He Manor, even Qi Xiao had come.

*T/N: Shen hour is 3-5pm.

However, the wedding procession was still nowhere to be seen. Old Madam He was getting extremely anxious and kept sending people to urge them. Princess Dunsu joked with a smile, "My dear sister-in-law, everyone knows you are eager to welcome your daughter-in-law, but it won't make much difference waiting a little longer."

Madam He frowned with a smile, "It's just that I'm anxious. They've been gone for a while now. Could it be that we have neglected some etiquette that the Prince's Manor is picking on? It's all my fault... I forgot to send a few reliable people to accompany Zichen. Those groomsmen are all young and unfamiliar with the old customs."

Princess Dunsu shook her head with a smile, "No, the crown prince is not a reckless and deceitful person. I reckon the reason they haven't arrived yet is probably because the dowry is blocking the road. Sister-in-law, don't you know? The young prince has prepared a whole 128 sedan chairs of dowry for the princess. Just getting all this dowry out would take some effort, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing how abundant Roujia's dowry was, the titled ladies in the hall couldn't help but admire it. Even the madams who previously looked down on Roujia, thinking she was not favored by the King of Lingnan, now let go of their contempt. No matter what, having the young prince as her own younger brother still valuing her so much was indeed rare.

Madam He kept waving her hand with a smile, "Dowry or no dowry, I don't really care about that. What's rare is the princess's character. She is truly exceptional. Despite her noble status, she has no airs at all. She speaks gently and softly, yet there is an underlying persistence in her bones. Ah... our Chenchen is really fortunate."

Princess Dunsu smiled, "Zichen also has a good temper. The two of them are truly a match made in heaven."

Just as they were talking, someone outside announced that the procession had arrived. Everyone hurried out to welcome them.

Qi Xiao was in front and was the first to see the wedding procession enter. After Roujia's sedan chair was carried in, it only stopped briefly in the main courtyard. The sedan bearers retreated out the second gate, and then the older women carried the bridal sedan into the inner courtyard.

He Zichen was the first to come and pay respects to Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao rarely showed a good face in front of others, but he smiled and said, "Today is your big day. There's no need for formalities. Just treat me as an ordinary guest."

He Zichen kept saying he wouldn't dare and instructed the groomsmen to take good care of things. He himself went inside. Bairen also got off the sedan chair and entered the main courtyard. Qi Xiao had sharp eyes and could see from afar that Bairen had been crying. With so many people around it was inconvenient to call him over and ask, so he had to hold back.

The auspicious hour had arrived. Inside, the two newlyweds held the ends of a large red ribbon, bowing to heaven and earth, to their elders, and to each other. After the ceremony was completed, firecrackers started going off outside. The bridesmaids laughingly sent the newlyweds into the bridal chamber. Once in the bridal chamber, there were still the ceremonies of scattering on the bed and tying the hair. It was not convenient for the crowd to go in, so the groomsmen hurriedly ushered everyone to the inner banquet hall to feast and watch the opera.

The banquet lasted from the hour of You* until dark. Qi Xiao knew that with him there, the others wouldn't be at ease, so he only sat for half an hour before getting up to leave. The others didn't dare to make him stay. Only He Zichen came out to try to persuade him to stay a bit longer.

*T/N: The hour of You is 5-7pm.

Qi Xiao smiled and gave him a few kind words of advice. Then he glanced at Jiang Deqing. Jiang Deqing understood and didn't follow Qi Xiao out, but turned and went inside.

Qi Xiao returned to the crown prince's residence. He had just changed into casual clothes and washed up when Bairen returned with Jiang Deqing. Qi Xiao let them in. By the candlelight, he carefully examined Bairen's face and asked, "How many cups did you drink?"

Bairen smiled, "I only drank three cups. Everyone said I was young and couldn't drink much. But I heard Your Highness graced the occasion for a long time today and drank quite a few more cups."

Qi Xiao smiled, "It's your sister's big happy day, naturally it's different from others." Qi Xiao swept a glance at the people in the room. The maids understood and bowed out. Qi Xiao pulled Bairen to sit down and squeezed his hand, saying, "Today when I saw you had just arrived at the He Manor, your eyes were red. Did you cry?"

Bairen felt extremely embarrassed. Knowing he couldn't hide it, he had to say, "Roujia got married. I... I don't know what to say. When she cried, I couldn't bear it."

Qi Xiao had no siblings and couldn't understand this bond of blood. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, the He family are good people. They won't mistreat your sister."

Bairen nodded with a smile, "Yes, Your Highness truly has good judgment. When He Zichen came to receive the bride today, he promised me in front of everyone that in the future he would not take concubines and would spend his days wholeheartedly devoted to Roujia alone. Although he had said this to me before, it was behind people's backs after all. Now that he has said it in front of all these people, it shows his sincerity. With this, I have no more worries."

Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow, "Not taking concubines is considered good? Worthy of you praising him like this."

Bairen laughed, "Of course. Your Highness, look around for yourself. Among families with any status, which man doesn't have a bunch of concubines and maids in his household? Being able to not take concubines is really rare."

Qi Xiao smiled lazily, "In that case, you siblings are both quite lucky."

Bairen was stunned for a moment before understanding what Qi Xiao meant. His face instantly turned red. Qi Xiao chuckled, "What's the matter? Feeling shy?"

Bairen's heart felt warm. He shook his head without saying anything. But Qi Xiao wouldn't let it go and sighed softly, "Praising another man so much in front of your own husband, crown princess, where is your conscience? Hmm?"

In his own residence and his own room, Qi Xiao spoke more and more unrestrained. Bairen was thin-skinned and couldn't withstand this teasing. He turned to walk to the inner room. Qi Xiao grabbed him and said, "Where are you going? I'm asking you a question. What's so good about that He Zichen? Why do you like him so much?"

Qi Xiao pinched Bairen's chin lightly but firmly and gently scolded, "You are getting more and more improper. I was talking, but you dared to walk away. Think about it yourself, who else would dare to be so presumptuous in front of me, hmm?"

Hearing these words, Bairen's heart felt sweet. Thinking about how everyone at the banquet looked at Qi Xiao with trepidation, his heart was filled with tenderness. He pleaded softly, "I'm going to change my clothes... I beg Your Highness, seeing as I'm tired from the whole day, let me relax a little, alright?"

This was exactly what Qi Xiao wanted to hear. Qi Xiao smiled, "Alright... you don't need to move at all. I'll change your clothes for you and let you relax properly."

Qi Xiao's "relaxation" lasted until midnight. Bairen felt even more tired, but his spirits were high. He lazily lay on Qi Xiao, chattering on and on, "Roujia didn't bring many maids with her. I don't trust the ones hired from outside, so I thought of sending the maids who serve me to accompany her as part of her dowry. But she wouldn't agree and only took those few people with her. I don't know if it will be enough..."

Qi Xiao gently stroked Bairen's smooth back and said indifferently, "The He Manor only has three masters in total. How many people do they need to serve them? It's not about having many servants, but about them being honest and loyal. Sometimes having too many is not good instead."

Bairen nodded: "That's true... I'm just afraid that she will bring too few servants from her family home and won't be able to establish herself after entering the manor..."

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly: "Your brother-in-law is so good, how could he let your sister not establish herself?"

Bairen didn't expect Qi Xiao to still remember the previous topic. Upon hearing this, he laughed: "I spoke inappropriately. Please forgive me for my young and ignorant remarks, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Qi Xiao smiled and gently comforted: "When one cares, one gets flustered. Madam He is not that formidable mother-in-law. I heard from my aunt that Madam He had long planned that as soon as Roujia enters the door, she will immediately hand over the household accounts and all the income, as well as the rights of the housekeeper, to Roujia. She herself will just wait to dote on her grandchildren. Your sister will be the mistress of the house as soon as she enters the door, so how can she not establish herself?"

Bairen was stunned upon hearing this and blinked: "Really?"

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly: "Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, ask your sister yourself when she returns home on the third day after the wedding. Do you think when I chose a marriage for your sister, I only looked at the man's character? When a woman marries, the quality of her husband's family depends not only on the husband, but in the first ten years of marriage, the time the bride spends with her mother-in-law is probably even longer than with her husband.

"Moreover, the mother-in-law is an elder, so it's too easy for her to mold the daughter-in-law with just the excuse of filial piety. Madam He is an easygoing person, and your sister is marrying beneath her status. With you and me backing her up in the capital, she won't suffer any grievances."

Bairen never thought that Qi Xiao had considered all of this. He was endlessly grateful.

Qi Xiao smiled faintly. Last month, in order to scheme against Kangtai and Empress Feng, he had deliberately spread ambiguous rumors about Kangtai and Qi Hua, harming the enemy by a thousand but also hurting himself by eight hundred, causing Roujia to also suffer quite a bit from the gossip. Like this, it could be considered compensation for her.

Qi Xiao felt no guilt in his heart. If it weren't for Bairen, he probably would have made the rumors sound even worse. What did it matter to him whether Roujia lived or died?

But of course he couldn't say these things to Bairen. Qi Xiao gently pinched Bairen's face and said softly with a smile: "Roujia is your own sister, so naturally I also sincerely treat her as family. You can rest assured, your sister is blessed."

Bairen nodded, feeling very grateful in his heart. He couldn't help but snuggle into Qi Xiao's embrace, rubbing back and forth, unconsciously acting spoiled. Qi Xiao felt warmth in his heart and deliberately teased him: "It's just a pity that I've misplaced my sincere feelings. Just promising not to take concubines has you utterly enchanted..."

Bairen couldn't help but laugh: "Still talking about this, Your Highness already has people in your manor. Just the ones I know of, there are three, right? The ones given by others before, bestowed by the Emperor and Empress, who knows how many more there are."

Qi Xiao paused and shook his head with a smile: "Your Highness the Young Prince, do you have a conscience? Those few merely occupy a title in name, not even considered concubines. After keeping them for two or three years, I'll just find them husbands. If you don't believe me, go ask Jiang Deqing. Last year when you first came to the capital, my manor had just married off two maids. Those were the ones the Emperor placed in my room when I was young. Later, I found excuses to send them away."

Bairen naturally knew about these things. For all these "maids" sent by others, Qi Xiao would uniformly send them to the row of inverted houses in the back courtyard. He never stinted on their food and clothing, and they even had young maids to serve them. He just never let them wander around freely and kept them under very strict watch.

After Bairen started frequently staying here since the beginning of the year, Qi Xiao didn't even see them once.

Seeing Bairen taking advantage and putting on airs, Qi Xiao deliberately teased him: "Since you don't believe me, I can't bear this reputation for nothing. I'll go find them now and have some fun..."

As Qi Xiao made a move to get up, Bairen anxiously hugged his head and frowned: "Headache..."

Qi Xiao couldn't bear it anymore and said with exasperation: "Can't you pretend to have a different illness? Suffering from headaches every day, even an idiot could see through it! If you're this perfunctory in fighting for favor, what else can you do?"

Bairen was overjoyed in his heart. He carefully thought for a moment, and a devilish idea popped into his mind. He just felt embarrassed and couldn't say it.

Bairen looked at Qi Xiao with a red face, steeled his resolve, and thought, this man usually dotes on me so much, he just likes to hear me say soft words. What's the harm in going along with his intentions? It's just embarrassing myself, and it's not even in front of others, just letting him see...

Bairen endured his shyness, snuggled up to Qi Xiao's side, leaned on Qi Xiao's shoulder, hesitated for a moment, then pulled Qi Xiao's hand and placed it on his own buttocks. With a flushed face, he said in a low voice, "Your Highness... it hurts here..."

The fire in Qi Xiao's eyes nearly blazed out of control. He flipped over and pressed down on Bairen's body, gritting his teeth: "Alright, husband will rub it for you..."