The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

The plum blossoms in the courtyard are almost gone.

But these past few days, the courtyard has been unusually lively, with many people coming to help tidy it up.

A large red "double happiness" character was pasted on the door frame, lanterns were hung under the eaves, and wooden chairs were placed under the eaves, which was where they would perform the ceremony.

Qi Yunli wore a bright red wedding dress with delicate twin orchids embroidered on the neckline, and the hairpin in her hair was a gift from Wei Ruowei.

"So beautiful." Wei Ruowei sighed, "I've finally been looking forward to your wedding day, but in the end you still married my brother."

"Yes," Qi Yunli said with a smile, "He just wouldn't let go, and I was tormented to the point where I had no choice but to marry him to avoid the inner turmoil I was going through."

Tingyue was so happy that snot bubbles almost came out of her nose.

"I knew all along that you and Miss were a perfect match."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have appeared sooner and taken you away," Wei Ruowei snorted.

"Xie Dongpo must have me beheaded."

Qi Yunli put her index finger to her lips, signaling her to shut up quickly.

The Empress Dowager entered; she was only there today as the groom's grandmother.

"Ah Li, we owe you so much, but today is a joyous occasion, and the only way I can make it up to you is with money."

"Grandmother, I want money too!" Wei Ruowei pleaded pitifully.

Silver can solve so many problems; it's much better than other empty royal rewards.

Most of the valuable gifts from the royal family cannot be pawned or sold; they are beautiful but impractical.

"Don't ask me for money, I have no money left."

The Empress Dowager sighed, "Speaking of which, it's all your brother's fault. As soon as he came to power, he talked about thrift and frugality, and my allowance was reduced. It's no use for you to act cute in front of me, so you went to act cute with the Emperor instead."

The Empress Dowager's eyes darted around. "Unless you give me a great-grandson, then you can empty my treasury without any problem."

Wei Ruowei twitched her lips. "Then forget it."

The Empress Dowager got excited when it came to urging Wei Ruowei to have a child. She wouldn't let go of Wei Ruowei and asked her what she was still dissatisfied with and why she was so reluctant to have a child.

"If you are willing to give birth, I will have no regrets in this life."

"Really? Then after I give birth, Ah Li doesn't have to give birth again?"

The Empress Dowager felt a lump in her throat. "You unfilial son!"

The two realized that it was inappropriate to argue in front of Qi Yunli, so they went to the courtyard to debate.

Tingyue secretly covered her mouth and chuckled, "This servant observes that the Empress Dowager's health is becoming increasingly robust!"

Qi Yunli pondered for a moment and then agreed.

With supreme power, the previously cautious old lady was finally able to live her own life without worrying about being punished, and thus became more free.

When the auspicious time arrived, footsteps and knocking could be heard outside the courtyard gate.

Wei Jun was wearing a red mandarin jacket, with a fresh plum blossom tucked behind his ear.

When he saw that all the people who opened the door were surnamed Wei, he was puzzled and asked:

"I remember I was getting married, so why is my whole family waiting for me inside?"

Xie Dongpo, who accompanied the groom all the way, joked:

"When you get married, the wife lives in the groom's courtyard. Now, whose courtyard do you live in?"

"Ah Li's."

"That's settled then. The bride can earn money and provide you with a big house to live in. You can settle down and move in with her without any worries."

Wei Jun blinked, and upon reflection, realized it made perfect sense.

The Empress Dowager did not deny it: "In the future, you must never make Ah Li angry. If you are kicked out, your grandmother will not have time to stand up for you."

Fu Chong listened from behind, his laughter growing louder and louder.

Xie Dongpo remembered something else, and quietly slipped to the back, put his arm around his arm, and said:

"Are you finally giving up?"

Fu Chong raised an eyebrow: "I haven't given up. I'm ready anytime, anywhere. If he treats A-Li badly, I'll be the first to take her back. I hold an important position in the court, while he's already a retired official. Apart from not being as good-looking as me, he can control everything else."

"If you're so capable, say those words aloud again."

Fu Chong glared at him.

Everyone was making fun of him, so Wei Jun had no choice but to clasp his hands in response.

"From now on, if my wife says one, I will never say two."

Qi Yunli heard these words as soon as she stepped out the door. They looked at each other across the crowd, smiling broadly.

Suddenly, several eunuchs appeared outside the courtyard gate. Without announcing their arrival, three or four of them carried two or three boxes to the courtyard gate, intending to slip away quietly.

"This, this is?" Qi Yunli asked.

Upon being discovered, the eunuch said, "This is a congratulatory gift sent by His Majesty to celebrate your marriage."

Xie Dongpo, standing nearby, curiously opened the box, and lo and behold, there were two boxes filled with gold!

"That's so thoughtful of them to send someone on this special trip," Wei Jun remarked.

With the new emperor enthroned and busy with many affairs, the fact that he still remembered his elder brother's marriage and was willing to spend money on it shows that he put thought into it.

Upon seeing this, Wei Ruowei remarked, "No wonder he eats so frugally every day; it turns out he's trying to save money for A-Li's wedding gift."

"I thank Your Majesty, but gold is precious. My wife and I live in a small courtyard and don't need so much. Please use it to provide relief to disaster victims or to subsidize the border defenses."

"I told you, if you don't accept this gift, it means you think he's stingy and don't acknowledge him as your brother. You've stabilized the country for three years, so this gold is well-deserved."

The Empress Dowager chimed in, "Take it. Now that you're not in the palace, you don't need to think about the world's suffering all the time. Taking care of your own family is the right thing to do. He just wants you to have a comfortable life in the future."

The lanterns under the eaves swayed gracefully, and Qi Yunli's whole family was crammed into the small courtyard, looking very happy and warm.

The auspicious time had arrived, and Xie Dongpo cleared his throat.

"The gifts have been delivered, and everyone is here. It's time to begin the ceremony."

The couple slowly bowed and paid their respects to each other.

They fell in love with each other, stayed together, and grew old together.

"Wait a minute." Wei Ruowei suddenly remembered, "Brother, everyone says there should be three letters and six betrothal gifts, where are your betrothal gifts?"

Qi Yunli looked at him blankly.

At this time, he held no important position, and even if he had the original wealth of the Marquis's mansion, he should have invested most of it in the three years of serving the country.

But with so many people watching, she didn't want to embarrass him.

Wei Jun was willing to give up his throne for her; what could be more precious than this dowry?

Wei Jun smiled:

"Gold and silver have already been sent; what I'm sending is the Plum Garden in the capital."

"Plum Garden? You, you bought it?" Qi Yunli exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, the reason I took you to see it last time was to find out if you liked it."

"If I don't want to marry you, will you still buy it?"

"It's alright, it's just that we have a big celebration today, so I'm telling you this."

The Empress Dowager sat in the very center and shook her head:

"I thought my grandson was a blockhead, incapable of falling in love. But he just hadn't met anyone he liked. Look, now that he's met someone he likes, he doesn't care about anything else."

She's getting old; all she needs is to see her grandchildren happy and content.

Wei Jun was willing to do so much for Qi Yunli; any attempt to stop him would be futile.

"You two shouldn't have so many obstacles between you. It's me, your grandmother, who's creating these obstacles between you because of our social standing."

The newlyweds held hands and kowtowed to the Empress Dowager.

They didn't complain; as long as they could share every meal and season for the rest of their lives, that was enough.