Chapter 8: Visiting to Marry

In a blink of an eye, it was the 15th day of the eighth month. The moon was full and bright, like a pearl hanging in the sky. The moonlight was truly as beautiful as water.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was also the last birthday that Xiaoyue from the Shen family spent at home.

The family had dinner early and the yard was decorated with red silk, double happiness patterns and colorful flowers hanging everywhere. The refreshments for tomorrow's guests were also arranged. Everything was in order and very festive.

The father of the Shen family was still worried, so he took his son to check over and over again, including the dowry, tables and chairs, brocade stools, wine, fruit plates, firecrackers...

In Chen Qi's room, Zhang was crying to her daughter.

"I've raised my daughter for eighteen years, and now she's become someone else's daughter-in-law. How can I not be sad?"

Her sister-in-law patted her back gently to comfort her.

"Mother, that's not the case. Even if I become someone else's daughter-in-law, I will always be your daughter. Even if we are at the ends of the earth, it won't change. Besides, Pingshan County is not far away. Look at the tall and majestic horses of the Xie family. If we harness them to the carriage, we can be back in an hour."

"That's right. From now on, when I eat breakfast and go out, I can still have lunch made by my mother."

Chen Qi snuggled in her mother's arms, deliberately acting coquettishly to make her mother laugh.

After hearing this, Zhang tapped Chen Qi's forehead with her finger, and she really felt a little relieved. She then pulled her daughter aside and said a lot of things, and Chen Qi agreed to all of them.

They talked until they were exhausted. Zhang asked her daughter-in-law to go and settle down first. After the people left, she quietly took out a roll of drawing paper wrapped in red cloth from the bottom of her box.

"Mom, what is this?"

Shen Qi was curious, having never seen this before.

"Silly boy, take a good look at this tonight. Tomorrow night, you'll know what husband and wife are all about."

This sentence made it clear that Chen Qi immediately realized what this thing was, and her face turned red.

Having grown up, she vaguely knew that there were some things between men and women that could not be told to outsiders, but she couldn't say what they were.

After Zhang left, Chen Qi closed the door, got into bed, and looked carefully in the light of the lamp.

Although the album has been around for a long time and the edges of the paper have turned yellow and the lines are a little blurry, the details on the paintings are still very clear.

Chen Qi stared for a long while, her heart beating loudly. She felt scared at one moment and a little expectant at another. She tossed and turned until she fell into a light sleep at three o'clock in the morning.

Before going to bed, I naturally looked at it carefully again, and then solemnly put it back in its place, pretending that nothing had happened.

At daybreak, Chen Qi was already dressed. Zhang and Qiao had already come over and gave her instructions one by one.

"Once the veil is put on, it cannot be taken off. When we get to the bridal chamber, the groom can only take it off after everyone is present."

"It's a long journey, and the sedan chair is bound to be bumpy. Just sit still inside and don't move. If you have anything to say, tell Matchmaker Xue quietly. She's been following us all the way."

"The Xie family's residence is on Yinshi Street in Pingshan County. That street is the busiest, and there must be many people coming to see the bridal sedan today. Don't be nervous."

"His family is not like ours. They are originally a wealthy family in the county. If there are any differences between them and ours, just look at how the girls and sisters-in-law in their family act and learn from them."

"If the son-in-law is not a good person, don't make trouble at his house first, and tell me when you come back in three days."

Chen Qi found it a little funny after hearing this. She was already eighteen years old. Did she still need her mother to teach her about such things?

But she looked at her mother's serious expression and nodded quickly.

I didn't sleep well last night because of the little picture book, and I woke up early today. I was too sleepy, but I felt more energetic.

Xie Yuduo was riding a tall horse with snow-white fur today, wearing a carefully tailored red wedding dress, a red silk embroidered on his body, and a red silk tied around his waist, which made him look even more broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted. His eyebrows were as sharp as swords, and his eyes were bright.

The groom walked at the front of the procession with a smile on his face and his head held high, attracting the attention of many onlookers along the way.

The custom here is that the bride and groom must start worshiping heaven and earth before noon, because Pingshan County is thirty miles away from here, and the sedan chair cannot be as fast as a carriage. There will be music and music along the way, and it will take about an hour and a half to get there. It also needs to leave enough time for the groom to greet the bride at the bride's house, block the door, and pay respects to his parents.

For this reason, just after breakfast time, the Xie family's team came over with music and drums.

Along the way, people stopped to watch and talk about it.

"What a remarkable young man! He outshines even the eldest son of the Shen family! When the new son-in-law comes, he won't be the most handsome man in Baihe Town anymore!"

"From behind, they look about the same, but from the front, the groom is more handsome."

"That's what they call, if you're not from the same family, you won't enter the same door, hahaha."

"Look at our Xiaoyue'er's appearance and figure. If he wasn't such a talented person, how could he be worthy of her!"

Although everyone was just a neighbor watching the fun, they consciously considered themselves to be part of Chen Qi's family.

When the sedan chair arrived at the door of the Shen family, the sound of firecrackers popped continuously.

The sister-in-law hurriedly helped Chen Qi cover herself with a red veil embroidered with mandarin ducks and decorated with colorful beads, and carefully told her that she must not lift it up under any circumstances before entering the bridal chamber.

Chen Qi had already been dizzy from her mother's endless stream of instructions about what not to do and what not to do, so now she just nodded and sat obediently on the bed.

There are a set of rules for the groom to dismount, enter the house, pass through the courtyard, and block the door, which has always been the highlight of weddings.

When she was little, Chen Qi loved watching the groom come in to pick up the bride. Now it was her turn. Her mother and sister-in-law went out to entertain the guests, and everyone went out to see the groom. For a moment, she was the only one left in the room.

The voices were getting closer, and I guess they were blocking the door.

Once inside, the bride will follow the groom.

Chen Qi listened to the sounds of firecrackers, talking, and suona outside. Louder than these sounds was the sound of her own heartbeat.

With a bang, the door was pushed open by the crowd, and the noise became noisy.

"Here comes the groom!"

"Here, here, push slower!"

"Where is the bride?"

There were many people watching the fun, and the young people who came with the Xie family were afraid that they couldn't squeeze in, so they desperately threw out handfuls of copper coins.

Seeing the yellow new copper coins scattered all over the yard, all the neighbors rushed to grab the copper coins, but the groom found the opportunity, took a step with his long legs, stepped over the crowd, and successfully entered the house.

Following the groom, matchmaker Xue also squeezed in.

Perhaps because she had seen many situations and was experienced, she was even quicker than the groom.

He walked to the window in two steps, stuffed a red satin embroidered ball into Chen Qi's arms, and handed the other side to Xie Yuduo who was striding towards him, and then announced loudly to the crowd -

"The auspicious time has arrived, and the bride is leaving!"

After paying farewell to Shen's parents, matchmaker Xue helped the bride into the bridal sedan, and Xie Yuduo rode on the white horse. The wedding procession started playing music and marched slowly out of the street among the crowd.

Seeing her daughter wearing a bright red wedding dress, getting into a bright red sedan chair, and leaving home in the blink of an eye, Zhang cried so hard that her eyes were blurred with tears.

Father Shen looked at his wife crying and patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"He's back in just two days. What's there to be afraid of? Seeing how my son-in-law protected Xiaoyue all the way when he went out, he's a good candidate for a good ending..."

Having said that, there was also sadness in his eyes.

Only after the sedan chair disappeared did the old couple reluctantly return home.

Matchmaker Xue was indeed experienced. The wedding procession played music and danced all the way, and arrived at the gate of the Xie family just before noon.