Ning Chen dropped to his knees with a thump, face to face with the Eldest Prince.

"It's no good knocking your head on the floor. Don't think you're getting silver out of me. Marrying your sister has scraped my whole household bare."

"I'll kneel to you once and skip the red envelope, and we'll call it square!"

The corner of the Eldest Prince's mouth twitched. Mortification was written all over his face, and he would have liked nothing better than to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.

Ning Chen could not help laughing. "That constitution of yours really is on the feeble side. It looks as though I'll have to talk to His Majesty about replacing everyone in your household with men. I won't leave you so much as a female mosquito."

The Eldest Prince: "......"

His face turned serious. "Ning Chen, it hasn't been easy for you and Huai'an to get this far. Today I hand her to you. May the two of you live in harmony and grow old loving each other."

Ning Chen stood up. "Many thanks to the Eldest Prince... Though you could have said that standing up. There's no need to humble yourself like this. The Ninth Princess is my woman. Whether you kneel and beg me or not, I'll protect her all her life."

Mouths twitched all around. Ning Chen's tongue really was vicious.

The Eldest Prince glared at him, took the hand Ning Chen held out, and got up.

Ning Chen's eyes came to rest on the Ninth Princess.

The Ninth Princess was in the phoenix coronet and rosy cape, (TL Note: 鳳冠霞帔 — the full bridal regalia of a woman of rank: a crown worked with phoenixes and a long embroidered shoulder-cape.) though the red veil hid her face and nothing of her expression showed. She had to be ravishing.

In her left hand she held a silk fan, and in her right she cradled an apple, which stood for peace and safety.

"My lord prince, it's nearly the hour!"

Eunuch Quan reminded him.

Ning Chen nodded and…