The emperor instinctively looked at the empress and stood up in surprise, his whole body trembling.
The empress quickly reached out to support the emperor. Her face was also beaming with joy as she asked the eunuch, "Who?"
"The Prince of Liang..."
Lu Jinchen turned his head and saw the guards supporting the Prince of Liang walking in.
The Prince of Liang looked travel - worn. He had lost one leg, and most of his walking stick was missing. His right leg was intact, but he limped and had great difficulty walking.
Lu Jinchen opened his mouth, then subconsciously closed it.
The emperor, however, had already walked over excitedly. His hands trembling, he tried to hug the Prince of Liang.
The Prince of Liang quickly took a step back. "Your Majesty, I... haven't washed myself on the way. I'm afraid I'll soil Your Majesty's body."
He wanted to kneel down to pay his respects, but due to his fatigue and physical discomfort, he couldn't kneel down for a long time.
The emperor was already sobbing. He seriously helped the Prince of Liang up. "A Heng, we are brothers. There's no need to be so particular. Someone, quickly take the Prince of Liang to wash up."
The Prince of Liang still shook his head. "I rushed back hoping to catch Chen'er's wedding. Now that I've finally made it, don't miss the auspicious time. Let the newlyweds perform the ceremony first."
Lu Jinchen was slightly stunned. Looking at the haggard appearance of the Prince of Liang, he bit his lip and didn't move for a long time.
The empress then gave her seat to the Prince of Liang, walked around to the side, and sat down with a smile, looking at the newlyweds.
Lu Jinchen's eyes were slightly red. He bowed and then stood up. He went back to the bridal chamber with Gu Liyue. Just as he was about to leave, he couldn't help but look back and saw the Prince of Liang collapse.
The emperor exclaimed, "A Heng!"
Lu Jinchen let go of Gu Liyue's hand and ran over in three big steps. He picked up the Prince of Liang. "Father..."
He had called the Prince of Liang that for twelve years. Now, when he called him father again, he was so unfamiliar with the word that he was a bit dazed. Tears welled up in his eyes.
The Prince of Liang barely opened his eyes. There was a glint of excitement on his pale and aged face. "You... what did you call me?"
Lu Jinchen hugged the Prince of Liang and choked out, "Father... Father..."
The Prince of Liang reached out and touched his face. "You... don't blame me?"
Lu Jinchen shook his head. "In the past, I was just a child who didn't understand. I couldn't appreciate your good intentions."
The Prince of Liang smiled weakly. "No, in the past, I wasn't worthy of being a good father either. Chen'er, thank you for forgiving your father..."
He struggled to get up. Unable to stand, he half - knelt in front of Gu Liyue.
Gu Liyue quickly knelt down, still covering her face with a fan. "Father - in - law."
The Prince of Liang reached out his hand, picked up the other end of the red silk in her hand, and placed it in Lu Jinchen's hand. "You two... be happy... then I'll be at ease."
Lu Jinchen held the red silk and nodded forcefully. "Father, now that you're back, everything will be fine."
The Prince of Liang was very weak. It was not easy for him to hold on for so long. The empress immediately asked the concubine of the prince's mansion to send the Prince of Liang into the room and ordered someone to summon the imperial physician.
Lu Jinchen managed to hold back and didn't look back again. He sent Gu Liyue into the bridal chamber and waited for the wedding maid to come in and continue the wedding ceremony.
After the ceremony was over, the bridegroom could accompany the bride for a while. Later, he would have to go out to toast the guests.
Gu Liyue knew what Lu Jinchen was thinking. She just smiled and said, "Go and see your father."
Lu Jinchen paused for a moment and shook his head. "Today is our wedding day. I should accompany you."
Gu Liyue said gently, "But you're going to accompany me for a lifetime."
Lu Jinchen looked at Gu Liyue. Gu Liyue smiled. "Go. Your father didn't have any money or anything to prove his identity. He was so injured. We don't even know how he managed to rush back. In the past six months, he must have suffered a lot. He came back in such a hurry for you."
Her words comforted Lu Jinchen a little. He got up and went to the main courtyard.
The emperor and the empress didn't need to accompany the guests. They were both there. Seeing Lu Jinchen come, the emperor waved to him. "Don't worry. Your father is fine. Except for his leg, all his other external injuries have been treated. His internal injuries are more complicated. Since he hasn't had a good rest, it may take some time for him to recover."
Lu Jinchen nodded. "But why did he faint?"
The emperor said, "He must have rushed on the road day and night these days..."
Lu Jinchen felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He slowly walked to the bedside. The Prince of Liang had taken some medicine and had a little light porridge. He was sleeping soundly.
He reached out his hand, wanting to touch the Prince of Liang's hand, but was afraid of waking him up. So he curled his hand and didn't take it back.
He carefully looked at the Prince of Liang. He remembered that every time he entered the palace to see the empress dowager, the empress dowager always told him to be more understanding of his father, but he never listened. In his impression, his father was a violent man who easily got angry. He either beat or scolded him and always thought he wasn't hard - working enough. But at the same time, his father was also a man full of energy and always full of drive.
He had never seen his father idle, whether in the palace or in the prince's mansion. There were always stacks of thick memorials on his father's desk. His father always supervised the studies of the crown prince and the second prince and scolded them severely for their mistakes with a scowling face.
Today was probably the first time he had seriously looked at his father.
Different from the embarrassment when he first came back, his father was now very clean after washing. It seemed that what the empress dowager had said was right. His father's hair was already completely gray. His hair was loose, and he didn't have his usual vigor. Wrinkles had covered his face.
They were the wrinkles of time.
The empress stood up and motioned for the imperial physician, maids, and attendants in the room to leave. She also took the concubine out.
Lu Jinchen knelt in front of the bed. It took him a long time to say in a low voice, "In the past, I was so unfilial."
The emperor sighed helplessly. "Actually, you're very much like him. You're both stubborn and reluctant to change your minds. If he had listened to me back then, your mother... Forget it. Don't mention the past anymore, Chen'er. Your father is already very old. He has been busy for most of his life because of my health."
With just the two of them, the emperor opened his heart. He regarded Lu Jinchen as a family member, not a subject.
...
Gu Liyue sat nervously in the room.
Tangyuan secretly brought some food over and whispered, "This is the food prepared by the concubine. She said that if the young mistress is hungry, she can have something to eat first."
That concubine, Lady Peng, was the maid of the former princess.
Gu Liyue was still not used to being called the young mistress.
Tangyuan smiled merrily. "The guests outside haven't left yet. The fourth young master is drunk. He dragged the third young master of the prince's mansion to play finger - guessing games. He even scared the third young master into vomiting."
Gu Liyue raised her eyebrows and looked outside. She whispered, "Then... where's the young master?"
Tangyuan covered her mouth and snickered. Her laughter made Gu Liyue blush. Gu Liyue gave her a stern look.
"The young master is accompanying His Majesty. We don't know when he'll be back. Does the young mistress want to wait?"
The wet - nurse heard this, grabbed Tangyuan's ear, and drove her out. Then she came back to serve Gu Liyue with some food. She then said, "Young mistress, you can do whatever you want in the future, but today is your big wedding day. You mustn't be careless. Don't listen to Tangyuan's nonsense. How can a bride go to bed first without waiting for the bridegroom?"