Chương 254: Discussing with the girls, discussing with my father-in-law

As for the rules? Rules are made by people! He's a time traveler, and the Prince of Yan at that, so what's wrong with changing some wedding rules?

He climbed out of the bathtub, dried himself off, and immediately changed his clothes before heading to the backyard.

We need to consult with the ladies first, mainly to get Cai Yan's opinion.

After all, she is the legal wife, so this matter requires her approval.

It was just getting dark, and the backyard was brightly lit.

Ten women—Cai Yan, Zhang Ning, Ren Hongchang, the five Zhen sisters, Zou Yu, and Du Xiuniang—were sitting around a table chatting.

"Ahem." Liu Ce stood at the door and cleared his throat.

The girls all looked up, their eyes lighting up.

"My husband," Cai Yan spoke first, her eyes gentle.

"Husband!" the other women echoed.

Liu Ce waved for them to sit down, then pulled up a stool and squeezed in among them.

"There's something I want to discuss with you," he said, getting straight to the point.

All the women looked at him.

Liu Ce cleared his throat and said, "I plan to marry all ten of you together on the fifteenth of next month."

After he finished speaking, the pavilion fell silent for a moment.

"Huh?" Zhang Ning was stunned.

Ren Hongchang covered his mouth.

The five Zhen sisters looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zou Yu and Du Xiuniang stared wide-eyed.

Liu Ce explained, "According to the old rules, I should marry Yan'er first, and then take you as my concubines after some time, but I think that's too much trouble."

He paused, then looked at Cai Yan and said, "So I've come up with a plan: marry them together! Yan'er will be the principal wife, and you will be concubines. Holding the wedding together will be lively, convenient, and show that we are all family. What do you think?"

The girls reacted in various ways after hearing this.

Zhang Ning blushed and clenched her small fists—she was Zhang Jiao's daughter, with a special status, and originally thought she would have to wait a long time, but she didn't expect her husband to be so considerate of her.

Ren Hongchang covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving into crescents—she was originally a maid picked up by Zhao Yun and Dian Wei, and being able to marry Liu Ce was already a great blessing. How could she dare to hope to enter the house on the same day as the main wife?

The five Zhen sisters reacted differently: Zhen Jiang was more composed and simply smiled; Zhen Tuo and Zhen Dao exchanged glances, their eyes filled with joy; Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi lowered their heads, their ears turning red.

Zou Yu and Du Xiuniang were the most sentimental, and their eyes immediately reddened. They came from the poorest backgrounds and were already very fortunate to be taken in by Liu Ce. Now they were able to officially marry him, and he even "married them all at once," which meant that Liu Ce truly regarded them as his own people, without any distinction of order.

Liu Ce looked at Cai Yan with particular emphasis and said, "Yan'er, this matter requires your approval. You are the legal wife. If you feel it's not in accordance with the rules, we'll follow the old rules—I'll marry you first, and then take the others in later."

All eyes were on Cai Yan.

Cai Yan looked at Liu Ce, then at her other sisters, and suddenly smiled.

That smile was gentle as water, filled with understanding and tolerance.

She reached out and took Liu Ce's arm, saying:

"Whatever my husband says goes! It's my blessing to marry you along with my sisters, and I have no complaints."

She paused, then added, "We're all family anyway, why worry about the order? Let's do it all together, it'll be more lively."

These words were spoken with great composure, revealing the magnanimity of the legal wife.

"Really?" Liu Ce's eyes lit up.

"Hmm!" Cai Yan nodded, then turned to look at her other sisters.

"Sisters, what do you think?"

"We'll listen to our sister!" the nine girls said in unison.

Liu Ce was overjoyed, cupped Cai Yan's face and kissed her, saying, "Yan'er is so sensible!"

Then, like a string of candied hawthorns, he kissed each of them on the face.

"Smack," "Smack," "Smack"...

A series of loud kisses.

The girls were all stunned.

"Husband! What are you doing?!"

"So many people are watching!"

"How embarrassing..."

The girls blushed as red as ripe apples and playfully punched him.

Liu Ce laughed heartily, "What's there to be afraid of! We're all family! Come on, give me another kiss!"

The room immediately erupted in laughter and chatter.

A moment later, Liu Ce looked at them, grinning from ear to ear:

"It's settled then! On the fifteenth of next month, I, Liu Bolue, will marry ten beauties at once!"

"You are all my treasures, I can't bear to lose a single one!"

...

A few days later, in the council hall of the Prince of Yan's residence.

Liu Ce invited Cai Yong and Zhen Yi—these two were his main fathers-in-law, so he had to win them over first.

The three sat around a table, and a maid served tea.

The two old men sat at the lower end of the table, drinking tea, wondering what their son-in-law was up to.

Liu Ce took a sip of tea and got straight to the point:

"Father-in-law, I've called you here today to discuss something important..."

Cai Yong took a sip of tea and smiled, "Bo Lue, you speak."

"I plan to marry ten girls at once: Yan'er, Jiang'er, Ning'er, Hongchang, Tuo'er, Dao'er, Rong'er, Mi'er, Yu'er, and Xiuniang!" Liu Ce said bluntly.

"puff!"

Cai Yong spat out a mouthful of tea, frantically wiping his beard as he said, "W-what? Marry them both?"

Zhen Yi was also stunned, but then his eyes lit up, and he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Liu Ce nodded and said, "Yes, we'll marry them all at once. We'll pick an auspicious day, and ten bridal sedan chairs will enter the house together."

Cai Yong put down his teacup, his brow furrowing.

"Bo Lue," he said, "this is against the rules! According to ancient custom, one must first marry Yan'er as the principal wife before taking concubines. How can you marry her at the same time?"

He looked at Zhen Yi, hoping that this "in-law" could speak up for him.

To everyone's surprise, Zhen Yi's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter:

"I think it's a good idea!"

Cai Yong: "..."

Zhen Yi comes from a business background and isn't so rigid, besides...

"Bo Lue is the King of Yan, and rules are made by people! As long as the children are willing, it would be more lively to marry them all at once, saving us the trouble of going back and forth! Besides, holding the wedding all at once can save a lot of expenses."

The last sentence was a joke, but the point is valid.

Liu Ce slammed his hand on the table and said, "Father-in-law, what you said really resonates with me! The process doesn't matter; the result is that Yan'er will be the principal wife, and the others will be concubines. As long as they all agree, that's enough! Why should we be bound by those old rules of etiquette?"

He looked at Cai Yong and said, "The system of rites and ceremonies should be changed if possible! Think about it, didn't Emperor Guangwu reform many old systems back then?"

Cai Yong tried to persuade him further, saying, "But..."

"Don't worry, father-in-law!" Liu Ce interrupted him directly.

"I've asked Yan'er, and she has no objections! She said it's a blessing to be able to marry along with her sisters."

Cai Yong wanted to advise further, "But Bo Lue, if this gets out, people might gossip..."

"Who dares to gossip?" Liu Ce glared and said, "Just say it was my idea! I want to see who's so bold as to discuss the Prince of Yan's marriage!"

He paused, then softened his tone and said, "Father-in-law, don't worry. I've asked Yan'er, and she has no objections. The other girls are all willing too. Think about it, if we follow the old custom and Yan'er marries first, how long will the other girls have to wait? How can they feel good about it?"