Chapter 7: The Ugly Goose
August 12th is an auspicious day.
The general's mansion invited four married women to lead the way to the Jiang family to deliver the betrothal gifts, the engagement letter, the gift letter and the betrothal gift to Jiang Si.
The marriage between the Xie and Jiang families was talked about a lot by outsiders in the capital.
On the day of presenting the betrothal gifts, many guests came to the Jiang family, including not only relatives of the Jiang family, but also colleagues of Jiang's father, friends of Jiang's mother, and Jiang Si's own friends.
The Jiang family did not split up, but the uncles and aunts lived in the same alley, and each household had a simple small door separating their courtyards.
Jiang Si's family lived in a large courtyard with four entrances and a running water pool.
She has her own separate courtyard, named Luo Yingxuan.
When the Xie family came to visit, three good friends were already accompanying Jiang Si in her room.
Hearing that it was getting lively outside, everyone wanted to go out and see what was happening.
Jiang Si didn't want to show up, so she sent her personal maid You Lu along.
This marriage between the Xie and Jiang families had to be carried out urgently because General Xie Jun was going to war.
There was no more than a month between Naji and Nazheng, and everyone was waiting to see how the Xie family would treat this marriage.
Especially the woman’s relatives and friends.
Seeing today that the betrothal gifts sent by the Xie family almost filled up the Jiang family's yard, the picky heart finally calmed down.
Fortunately, the general's mansion understood etiquette, and things were done hastily but not hastily.
The servants of the Xie family who were in charge of selecting the betrothal gifts all wore uniform red-collared shirts. The people they selected were all clean-looking and looked neat.
The wooden boxes, trays, and baskets used to hold the betrothal gifts are all made of auspicious pine wood, commonly used in weddings, and the red silk flowers hanging on them are tied firmly and firmly.
Just looking at these most obvious aspects, they are all worthy of praise.
Looking at the betrothal gifts, in addition to all the necessary items according to the rules, there was also a row of treasures presented by pairs of maids.
The treasure was adorned with red silk flowers, and the gold workmanship was elaborate, with a surface as shiny as oil.
There are large jade pieces carved into Buddha statues, magpies climbing branches carved from jade, a complete and lush red coral, and turquoise mountain pine ornaments.
Those who have seen many weddings and have experience have seen that if the betrothal gift of the Xie family is included, it will not be inferior to anyone else.
It was even more grand than the wedding reception at the Marquis' Mansion.
Not only did the Xie family devote their entire family's resources to marrying Jiang Si, but they also put in a lot of effort and effort.
Xiao Qiangyue and the others walked around, looking at the Xie family with their eyes wide open and sharp eyes, trying to find out what the Xie family did wrong, fearing that they would mistreat Jiang Si, neglect some small matters, and lose face for her.
Unexpectedly, after watching it from beginning to end, it was quite good. Their faces eased a little, and then they walked to a wooden cage with a pair of wild geese in it.
Now, I finally found something that I was not satisfied with.
Xiao Qiangyue crossed her arms and said critically, "These two geese are so skinny and slender, and their feathers aren't thick at all. Where did they get them? I heard that if a man is serious about his relationship, he'll usually go to the lake and shoot two geese himself. Xie Yunshuo is a military commander, so could it be that he didn't shoot these two geese himself?"
You Lu whispered to her, "Miss Xiao, there are no wild geese this season. They have all flown south and are no longer catching them."
Xiao Qiangyue's complaints of dissatisfaction came to an abrupt end, but she soon became harsh again.
"If we can't hunt them, then we should at least buy two plump geese. Who are we showing off to if we pick two ugly geese? Geese symbolize loyalty and faithfulness, and they symbolize newlyweds. How can this ugly goose be worthy of our Ah Si?"
Qin Zhiyi also nodded and said: "This wild goose is indeed not good-looking."
They were all Jiang Si's close friends, and therefore knew everything that happened between Xie Yunshuo and Jiang Si.
Because they knew that the two of them didn't get along, they were always dissatisfied with Xie Yunshuo.
You Qi also knew that he and Jiang Si had an old grudge and they did not get along.
Knowing that he had no choice but to marry her, she became more sensitive to these details.
At this time, Xie Yunshuo had just finished talking with his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and had just come out of the main room and exchanged a few words with the guests in the outer courtyard.
After he finished speaking, he turned around and saw Jiang Si's friend and maid standing in front of the pair of wild geese, pointing and talking with angry expressions.
Based on his understanding of them, he guessed that they were probably complaining that the wild geese they bought were not of good quality.
Jiang Si's friends had nothing to do with him, but they had argued a few times in the past and these people were present.
Inexplicably, Xie Yunshuo was more familiar with them than with other noble ladies with whom he was only an acquaintance.
He knew that Jiang Si's friends were as sharp-tongued and unyielding as she was.
After taking a look, he turned and left. Today is a special day, if you can't afford to offend, you can afford to avoid it.
But after that, Xie Yunshuo's friends noticed that he seemed to be in a bad mood.
Originally, all the ceremonies were being carried out step by step, but for some reason, he suddenly became silent as if he had suffered some injustice and swallowed some bitter water.
He Chengzhang, who had practiced martial arts and archery with him since childhood, asked him, "What happened to Yun Shuo?"
Xie Yunshuo shook his head.
He would not tell these little things to others, and would just say that he had just drunk too much.
In fact, He Chengzhang was not wrong, he was indeed feeling aggrieved.
Because the wedding was hasty and it was autumn, which was about to turn into winter, there were no wild geese near the capital.
He bought the two gift geese from the peddler.
Among the six geese, I could barely pick out two that were good-looking.
The peddler said that these wild geese were tired from the long journey and had fought on the way to the capital, so they lost some feathers and did not look very good.
If there were better looking ones, Xie Yunshuo would not have used these two to make up the number for this marriage that could not be taken lightly. He would have been caught with a handle, and was scolded and despised by Jiang Si's friends, and then he would have to tell her about this matter.
This incident further confirmed that the two of them were incompatible.
If it were a different season, even if the marriage was urgent, going to the riverside in the suburbs to shoot a few wild geese would be a piece of cake.
Unfortunately, due to seasonal weather restrictions, I could only go and buy it, and I almost didn't buy it.
Therefore, he felt a sense of misfortune and frustration, which he could not change or control, so he could only accept it.
He slowly closed his eyes, suppressed the churning in his heart, and stopped thinking about it.
Let them scold him if they want, they didn't like him anyway.
Xiao Qiangyue and the others didn't know that Xie Yunshuo had guessed it right. They just saw her rolling her eyes, pointing, and talking from afar, and they knew what she was talking about.
After watching the excitement, Xiao Qiangyue and the others returned to Jiang Si's yard and brought her some festive fruits, red dates and peanuts to eat.
Jiang Si was peeling peanuts and looking at her sisters' expressions, she knew something was going to happen.
She asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the Xie family's betrothal gift?"
Xiao Qiangyue crossed her arms and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "It's not a big deal. This marriage is so special, how could the Xie family dare to let anything go wrong? It's just that the pair of geese are really ugly. When I looked closely, I saw that one of them had two bald feathers on its wings."
You Lu was afraid that his daughter would be unhappy, so although he also thought the wild goose was not pretty, he still said a few words to comfort her.
"During this season, the wild geese are probably sent here from the south by merchants."
Jiang Si nodded to show that she understood.
As long as the Xie family is polite, she doesn't care much about this.
One reason is that there are no wild geese at this time of year. Even if there were wild geese, Xie Yunshuo would not go hunting himself.
Furthermore, the wild geese symbolize the loyalty and devotion of the newlyweds, as well as the harmony of yin and yang. It's already good enough that she and Xie Yunshuo can sit together without quarreling. There's no need for these meanings that don't exist at all.
Because she didn't care, she didn't feel anything.
Xiao Qiangyue was angry, purely out of spite.
He was dissatisfied with Xie Yunshuo.
So anything she doesn't like will be magnified infinitely.
Jiang Si put the peeled peanuts on a small porcelain plate and handed it to her: "Eat it, these peanuts are quite crispy."
After paying the betrothal fee, he soon asked for another marriage.
The two families finally set the wedding date on the auspicious day of September 7th.
This marriage took only one and a half months from the time of the wedding to the wedding. If the two families had not tried their best to arrange the wedding ceremony, neglecting the etiquette, the betrothal gifts stretched all the way to the whole street, and the dowry was also complete and in place, there would have been no gossip about the hasty nature of the marriage.
After the betrothal gift was paid, he saw the betrothal gift from the Xie family and shut Youyou up.
However, those in the capital who knew that Jiang Si and Xie Yunshuo had never gotten along were all waiting to see what would happen after they got married.
Those who wanted to watch the fun were looking forward to it, but Jiang Si herself didn't have any special feelings, and was more reluctant to leave home.
I also felt that getting married was boring. I couldn't go anywhere and could only stay at home and prepare for the wedding.
She hadn't been out for a month or two and she felt like she was getting fatter.
Counting the days on my fingers, I always feel that time is passing slower and slower. But when I think that my days in the boudoir will be gone forever, I am reluctant to let go and I don’t think about that day for a long time.
During this period, Jiang Si visited her parents at least twice a day, and the whole family sat around the table to eat together.
Jiang's father did not take a concubine, and he and his wife had three children.
Jiang Si is the eldest daughter, and she has a second younger sister and a third younger brother.
The family was simple, but Jiang Suian spoiled his wife and children. Each of them had many servants around him, and there were many slaves in the house.
There were ten people in Feng Qingzhi's yard, and six people in Jiang Si's own yard.
My daily life is very comfortable and leisurely.
This time when she married into the Xie family, everyone in the yard, except for a maid who was responsible for sweeping the house, would follow her to the Xie family.
Feng Qingzhi gave her Nanny Shi, who was by her side, and asked her to go with her and help her make decisions.
In addition, there was Jiang Si's wet nurse Zhen, two older maids, and two younger maids.
Jiang Si had her own ideas and liked bright and beautiful things. The two maids around her were both good-looking.
One is called Youlu and the other is called Wuchan.
The two little maids were as pretty as water chestnuts, and they were both beauties since they were young.
Before getting married, Feng Qingzhi was worried, so he pulled Jiang Si away, leaving only the mother and daughter in the room, and talked a lot of intimate words.
"You and General Xie Xiao don't get along. If you and your spouse are not on good terms, be very careful not to let him take your two maids in too soon. Many of the maids that come with a bride's dowry will become concubines for the new son-in-law. Even if he asks you for someone, he should wait until you are pregnant and give birth to your first son."
Jiang Si snorted coldly.
"If you dare to attack my maid, I will break his fingers."
Feng Qingzhi laughed, then put his arm around his daughter's shoulders and coaxed her with soft words.
"Although we can't stand being wronged, we shouldn't be too stubborn. If things get chaotic..." After thinking it over, she changed her tune, "Forget it. As long as my daughter isn't wronged, that's all that matters."
Anyway, the Xie family could not afford to offend the new bride Jiang Si. If outsiders knew that the Xie family treated Jiang Si badly, it would definitely be spread that the Xie family was dissatisfied with the emperor.
They dare not act rashly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
