Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Your Highness, you are attracted to Lady Tingyu...
The red veil was lifted slightly, and Yuan Wangshu walked down with the groom. The onlookers smiled softly, their eyes full of blessings.
With a clang, the saddle was placed on the threshold.
The groom held a phoenix-patterned fan in his hand, bowed to everyone, and then lightly lifted his clothes and stepped over the saddle.
The master of ceremonies sang in unison: "The new groom straddles the saddle, riding safely together."
After the gong sounded three times, another sound was heard: "The willow dew spreads blessings, and a happy marriage lasts a hundred years——"
Yuan Fuxue slowly emerged from the crowd, holding a jade vase and gently tapping a willow branch. She first sprinkled morning dew on Yuan Wangshu's shoulders, then moved to the groom's front, gently brushing the willow branch, causing the water droplets to shimmer.
Ji Lian saw Yuan Fuxue walking up to Xie Tingyu and offering him a willow branch with a smile on his face. Xie Tingyu gently returned the gesture with a cross-hand salute.
Although it was a common wedding ritual and both the newlyweds and the best man had to receive this blessing, this scene felt like a thorn in Ji Lian's side.
He suddenly turned his head away, his five fingers dug deep into his palms under his wide sleeves, using the sharp pain to suppress the surging sorrow in his eyes.
Everyone followed the newlyweds tacitly.
The corridor was crowded with people, and Xie Tingyu had unknowingly reached Ji Lian's side. Their sleeves brushed against each other, but neither of them offered to hold hands.
When Xie Tingyu tilted his head to speak, Ji Lian had already turned her face away, leaving her with only a cold profile.
When everyone moved into the hall, Yuan Zhaoyun was already seated in the high seat. The emcee nodded at her and sang loudly, "Pray to Heaven and Earth—"
The newlyweds bowed facing north, then to their parents, and finally to each other. A ceremonial officer, waiting nearby, held a five-colored silk ribbon and gently tied the sleeves of the two together.
The master of ceremonies recited again, "When yin and yang are in harmony, the world will prosper for generations to come."
Two waiters came forward with a sandalwood tray, each of which contained half a gourd.
The cool wine is poured into a gourd. The newlyweds drink half a gourd each and then drink up the wine. The gourd is then wrapped with silk thread.
"The ceremony is over!"
The guests cheered and took their seats, each with a table set with lacquerware and silver chopsticks. Waiters filed in, presenting the delicacies one after another.
Xie Tingyu and Ji Lian were close to each other, so when she saw him sit down, she naturally sat down next to him.
Cui Yuanying, who was squatting in a small corner and watching everything silently, saw that the two men had no communication, especially the emperor who always turned his face to the side, with an aloof look, and immediately gave up his previous idea.
She had said that there was no way Xie Er could possibly have hidden Ji Lian in the villa. It seemed that she had really thought too much. This prince looked down on Xie Er completely.
Thinking that the usually suave Xie Tingyu would also have a day when he would be humiliated, Cui Yuanying almost laughed out loud.
The first dish served was the golden minced carp, which was made by shredding carp and adding golden minced carp to the dish. It was refreshing and appetizing.
Wang Lanzhi and Wang Qiwu sat down opposite Xie Tingyu. Seeing his brother busy fiddling with the shredded minced meat on the plate with his silver chopsticks, he couldn't help but sigh, "I brought you here today not only to taste this delicacy, but also to show you the beautiful ladies of Jiankang."
As she spoke, she glanced at Xie Tingyu meaningfully, "Although you always say you won't marry anyone but Aunt Xuanji, but brother, the dead are gone. Perhaps your true love is just around the corner."
Wang Qiwu swallowed the shredded minced meat in his mouth, drank a cup of tea, and flatly refused, "I don't want it." Then he lowered his head and concentrated on dealing with the roasted venison on the plate.
Wang Lanzhi was already accustomed to his reactions like this, but she still tried to persuade him earnestly, "You are so stubborn, and your father is worried, and your grandmother is worried. If Aunt Xuanji were still alive, would she be relieved?"
Seeing Wang Qiwu pause with his silver chopsticks, he took the opportunity to say, "If Aunt knew, she would definitely hope you could let go of the past. Do you really want to be stuck in a stalemate with your elders for the rest of your life?"
Wang Qiwu's ears twitched slightly, and he silently tore the venison into strips.
Seeing this, Wang Lanzhi stopped talking and started drinking.
Seeing Yuan Wangshu, who had left the table, return, Xie Tingyu gave her a look and stood up to follow him. The noise caused Ji Lian to pause slightly with her spoon. As he sipped his soup, he caught a glimpse of Xie Tingyu quietly leaving the table. When he looked up again, the seat beside her was occupied by Yuan Fuxue.
Yuan Wangshu glanced into the hall, his brow furrowed. "Since you're the best man, why don't you look after my third brother for me, so that those ignorant people won't come to bother me."
Xie Tingyu followed her gaze and saw a woman holding a wine jug, walking through the crowd and sitting directly next to Yuan Fuxue. She leaned over and whispered, smiling broadly, but Yuan Fuxue kept her head down, concentrating on savoring the steamed pork in front of her.
"My third brother is so cold, how can this Zhao girl be so tactless?"
Yuan Wangshu gnashed his teeth and glanced at Xie Tingyu's bright and shining peach blossom eyes, becoming even more indignant. "With her eyes as small as green beans, how dare she covet my third brother?"
"So your criterion for choosing your brother's wife is the size of her eyes?" Xie Tingyu was partly puzzled and partly curious.
Yuan Wangshu said with a stern face, "Why do you care so much about me? Anyway, Third Brother has no interest in her. Whether it's a drinking contest or a competition today, you have to beat her. It's best to make her give up."
"I didn't know that the best man also had to be the flower protector. Well, since Wangshu's mother said so, I will reluctantly be the bad guy." After saying that, Xie Tingyu walked inside.
Zhao Yan suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder twice. She looked up and saw Xie Tingyu's smiling face. She sat down beside her leisurely and said gently, "Miss Zhao, if you have any advice, please tell me. Why bother to disturb Mr. Yuan's meal?"
"Xie Tingyu?" Zhao Yan said coldly, brushing Xie Tingyu's hand away. "I'm talking to Yuan Lang, what does it have to do with you?"
Xie Tingyu adjusted his sleeves slowly and said, "I have to be loyal to the person who entrusted me with the task. Today, I have to act as the flower protector."
With a crisp clang, the spoon in Ji Lian's hand fell into the bowl. He slowly took out a silk handkerchief to wipe his lips, his eyes glancing coldly towards Xie Tingyu.
"What do you want to compete in? It's up to you. Archery? Pitch-pot?"
Zhao Yan's expression froze. She had personally witnessed Xie Tingyu's dazzling performances in the Lotus Heart Piercing Fish competition at Qingliang Mountain Villa and the Cuju Piercing the Yang competition at the martial arts arena. Since childhood, she had neglected martial arts, so naturally, she wouldn't use her weaknesses to compete with others' strengths.
How about poetry and songs?
But Zhao Yan only had a superficial understanding of this art. Moreover, everyone in Jiankang knew that the Xie family of Chen County was a century-old family of scholars, renowned for their ability to discuss profound theories. Comparing herself to Xie Tingyu, she would be insane.
Zhao Yan thought about it over and over again, and counted all the 72 skills, but couldn't think of a single one that Xie Tingyu was not proficient in. In the end, they had to draw lots and decide on the counting sticks.
Seeing the bamboo sticks, Zhao Yan's face lit up with joy. While she wasn't an expert, she had never lost in childhood competitions at the academy. She preemptively asked, "There are pheasants and rabbits in a cage. There are thirty-five pheasants and rabbits in the cage, and ninety-four legs below. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"
Xie Tingyu was listening and making inferences in his mind. As soon as Zhao Yan finished speaking, he replied, "Pheasant twenty-three, rabbit twelve."
Seeing her answering so fluently, Zhao Yan felt a chill in her heart.
Xie Tingyu pondered for a moment and then asked, "One hundred steamed buns for one hundred monks. Each senior monk gets three, and three junior monks get one. How many buns does each senior monk get?"
Zhao Yan hurriedly dipped the tea in the water and calculated on the small table. After about dozens of breaths, she hesitated and said, "Twenty-five big monks... small monks... seventy-five small monks." After that, she calculated again in her mind. After confirming that it was correct, she repeated the answer with a lack of confidence.
"Mrs. Zhao is very calculating."
"Thank you very much." Although Zhao Yan responded, her subordinates had already taken out a handkerchief and quietly wiped away the cold sweat on her palms.
"Please ask Madam Zhao for the questions."
Zhao Yan saw Yuan Fuxue staring at Xie Tingyu, and caught a glimpse of Ji Lian's gaze from behind. Even Wang Lanzhi's sister and brother opposite raised their heads to look, and she suddenly felt as if there were thorns at her back and she was sitting on pins and needles.
She gritted her teeth, determined to ask a tricky question, "One old rooster is worth five coins, one hen is worth three coins, and three chicks are worth one coin. If I buy one hundred chickens for one hundred coins, how many old ones, hens, and chicks are there?"
The difficulty of this question lies not in the solution, but in the fact that all three solutions must be given.
Zhao Yan was about to wait for Xie Tingyu to reveal his explanation so she could retort, but Xie Tingyu didn't even bother with counting sticks. He simply closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before recounting, "One: four old cocks, eighteen hens, and seventy-eight chicks. Two: eight old cocks, eleven hens, and eighty-one chicks. Three: twelve old cocks, four hens, and eighty-four chicks."
Well, what else can we compare?
Before Xie Tingyu finished speaking, Zhao Yan stood up, sweating profusely, and hurriedly bowed to take her leave.
Wang Lanzhi took the opportunity to tap the table and whispered to his brother, "Look, there are so many talented people in Jiankang. We, the Wang family of Langya, and the Xie family of Chenjun, have lived side by side for many years. Why not take a closer look at the people around us?"
Wang Qiwu remained silent, lowered his head and cut the fish sashimi into a few more pieces.
"I never thought you were so good at arithmetic." Yuan Fuxue personally poured a glass of sake and handed it to him, "Thank you very much for what you did."
"I learned a little mathematics in my early years."
Xie Tingyu shamelessly began to cheat people. In fact, when she was hanging around in gambling houses, she had to work hard to practice algorithms to avoid being cheated.
She stood up and returned to Ji Lian's side. As soon as she sat down, she heard a burst of sneers from the people beside her, "Master Xie is really very busy. He got up in the morning to be the best man to welcome the bride, and in the blink of an eye, he is also the flower protector. Is the next step to be the bride himself and take the beauty home?"
Xie Tingyu paused holding his chopsticks and looked at Ji Lian in confusion, "Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Is the food not to your liking?"
God knows what's wrong with Lianlian? He really has a lot of little thoughts, so hard to understand.
Ji Lian sneered, "You're so mad at me that I don't want to eat."
"Then I'll feed you, do you want to eat it?" Xie Tingyu lowered his voice.
A few scattered words from the conversation between the two drifted into Yuan Fuxue's ears. He tapped the table with his fingertips thoughtfully, and his eyes swept over the other room inconspicuously.
Although I couldn't hear it all and couldn't make out what they were saying, it seemed like they were quite close.
Ji Lian's ears turned slightly red, and she lowered her voice and said angrily, "Okay, if you have the guts, feed me in public, and I will definitely open my mouth and eat it. Do you dare?" Her heart was beating like a drum, and she saw Xie Tingyu really pick up the porcelain bowl, scoop up a spoonful of soup and lean over.
He clutched the tassels of the cushion tightly and swore to himself that if Xie Tingyu dared to feed it to him, he would open his mouth and eat it, and make their affair public.
At that moment, a loud crash was heard from the corner. Cui Yuanying fell across the table, his eyes half-drowsy, and overturned the entire table, leaving the cups and plates in disarray.
Cui Yuanying waved at Xie Tingyu and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Xie Er, come here quickly! They lost a thousand strings of cash to me in a finger-guessing game and they still refuse to admit it."
Xie Tingyu pretended not to see it.
Cui Yuanying slammed the table and shouted again, "Xie Er, come and save me—no, come and help me!"
Xie Tingyu put down his bowl with regret, stood up and walked towards Cui Yuanying.
Ji Lian stared blankly at the bowl of soup that had been left behind, not knowing whether to feel relieved or disappointed. When she came to her senses, Yuan Fuxue had quietly sat down beside her and asked in a gentle voice, "Your Highness seems dissatisfied with today's delicacies?"
Ji Lian glanced at him and replied calmly, "It's okay."
"So, he has some complaints about thanking you for helping me?"
Ji Lian's eyes flashed as she met Yuan Fuxue's. Invisible sparks seemed to fly in the air.
Yuan Fuxue pressed the issue, his eyes clear and penetrating, "Your Highness, are you attracted to Madam Tingyu?"
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The author has something to say: There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are thirty-five heads on top and ninety-four legs on the bottom. Ask how many pheasants and rabbits there are. - Sun Zi Suan Jing
There are 100 steamed buns for 100 monks. Each senior monk gets three, and each junior monk gets one. How many buns are there for each senior monk? -- Algorithm Tongzong
One old rooster is worth five coins, one hen is worth three coins, and three chicks are worth one coin. If I buy one hundred chickens for one hundred coins, how many old roosters, hens, and chicks are there? -- Zhang Qiujian Suanjing
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I just looked at the list data. If I can update it tomorrow, then I will have only not updated for 6 days on July 31. Even if I am so busy, I can only take 6 days off. It seems that I still have to get up at 5:00 to write.
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