110 Chapter 110
◎Seeking marriage◎
On the 30th day of the winter month, the weather was fine.
Xiaoliu counted the red bean purses he had made, unfolded a piece of cloth, and tied them into a bundle.
The mute woman fed Cheng Mu some hot water and stuffed it into a cotton bag.
Huaihua put gloves and earmuffs on Xiaoqi, and hung a windproof towel on his face. Xiaoqi pulled the towel off and said, "I don't need it in the carriage."
Gui'er came to urge them, and the carriage had already arrived at the gate of the house.
Xiaoliu rushed out, running very fast with his bag on his shoulder.
Outside the door, Rong Zhaohua was riding handsomely on his horse, and in front of the carriage stood a young man with broad shoulders and long arms, tall, strong and healthy.
Xiaoliu jumped onto the carriage with one quick step.
The vermilion lacquer railings were inlaid with mother-of-pearl flowers, and the brass corners gleamed in the sun. Xiaoliu turned and called out, "Come up quickly! It's very spacious inside, and it's surrounded by cotton aprons and covered with cotton cushions!"
Gui'er bowed to Rong Zhaohua and others, and Cheng Mu took Xiaoqi's hand and walked out of the door.
Rong Zhaohua dismounted and introduced the young man, "Madam Cheng, Zhao Guier." He then introduced them, "An Cui, Escort An, will be your coachman today."
Wanli said from behind: "Then what should I do?"
Rong Zhaohua said, "I've hired a driver today, so you can take a day off!"
Wanli didn't listen to her. He was asking about Cheng Mu. No matter how big the carriage was, it was already crowded with three or four people. As a man from outside, he naturally couldn't squeeze in.
Guier also asked, "Which horse should I ride?"
Rong Zhaohua said, "This horse pulls the cart, and we take turns riding mine."
Gui'er was a little disappointed. This was not what she expected.
Rong Zhaohua explained, "There are only two of us, Escort An and I, and we can't drive three horses. Besides, the carriages and clothing are different, so we can't harness two horses to pull the carriage. We'd have to drive along the streets all the way, which would attract too much attention."
You don't even have the skills to ride or chase a horse. I can only say that you are too bad. Gui'er curled her lips, but she didn't say it out loud.
"That's it." She was the first to climb onto the horse, and she would take the horse first, and decide whether to change it or not later.
Rong Zhaohua was the last to get on the carriage and said goodbye to Wanli who was standing at the door with a smile.
The horse-drawn carriage was much faster than the ox-drawn carriage. Even if there was a leak, Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi would pull back the cotton fringes, open the windows, and look out onto the street.
The roads inside the city were easier to navigate, the main streets swept clean, with only snow visible at the base of the walls. The roads outside the city were not smooth, with puddles of snow and mud, but fortunately the carriages had tall wheels, so they could pass even at a slow pace.
After walking for half an hour, we arrived at Wufu Temple.
There are ninety-nine steps to climb from the foot of the mountain. The area at the foot of the mountain is spacious and many vehicles are parked there, including horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carriages, and donkey-drawn carriages.
Escort An stayed behind to watch the carriage while he tied the horses to the post.
In the distance, in the magnificent carriage, the driver fed the horses a specially prepared feed. Cheng Mu thought for a moment and placed a cloth bag on the shaft. "This is roasted soybeans. The escorts and horses can have this as a snack to pass the time." Half a bushel of cooked soybeans, just as a travel fee.
Escort Master An's eyes were blazing. "Madam Cheng, you are too polite."
Cheng Mu's heart trembled, and she quickly caught up with Gui'er and the others.
After paying homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the main hall, they took a walk around the temple. There was a plum tree in bloom, and many people gathered around it. Cheng Mu and the others looked at it from afar. Rong Zhaohua said that they wanted to go to the Yue Lao Temple to pay homage to Yue Lao. Xiao Liu pulled Cheng Mu's clothes and wanted to find a monk to consecrate the purse.
Cheng Mu brought the money for the ritual, and was afraid that it would take too long, so she wanted to act separately from Rong Zhaohua. However, Rong Zhaohua gave a handful of candy to Xiaoliu and discussed with her to go to Yue Lao Temple first and then find a monk to chant sutras.
So the group went to Yue Lao Temple first. Gui'er didn't need to pray for marriage, and neither did the two children. Everyone thought that Rong Zhaohua only needed to pray, but she insisted on dragging Cheng Mu along.
Rong Zhaohua bought some red thread in advance and gave one to Cheng Mu. He also took some incense and lit it, then gave Cheng Mu three sticks.
First, worship the Tiangong furnace, hold the burning incense and enter the main hall, and kneel in front of the Yue Lao statue.
"The believer Rong Zhaohua, a native of Puyang, was born in the year of Guimao and the month of Wuwu..." Rong Zhaohua muttered to herself, and Cheng Mu's mind was blank.
Asking for marriage, perhaps she also had a hidden hope in her heart, otherwise how could she be pulled in and kneeled here by Rong Zhaohua when she could not let others make the decision for her.
But the reality is, how can one find someone with a heart like hers in this world? Modern people pursue consistency in their values, while ancient people only cared about matching one's social status. She has created an image of a widow for herself, so she can probably only be matched with a widower.
She even felt that Huang Nian'an, who also came from the future, was not suitable for her, so who else could she find?
Amidst the sadness, Rong Zhaohua suddenly said, "...I'm looking for a handsome man of my age, better at martial arts than me, whose family wouldn't mind me practicing martial arts and escorting, or interacting with men outside the family. It would be best if his family owns an escort agency..."
Cheng Mu thought to herself, you might as well just say Mu Yun’s name.
To be honest, she was also worried about Mu Yun reaching the age to get married. Secretly, she always hoped that she could live like this. She and Mu Yun had already developed a stable relationship, and she felt much more at ease with Mu Yun around.
But children always have to grow up.
In terms of identity, he has returned to where he came from, and he will also have a place to go in his daily life.
After paying homage to the gods in the side hall, they returned to the Tiangong stove, lit the incense, wrapped the red thread around the stove, and finally put it in their purses.
Rong Zhaohua's eyes sparkled, and he couldn't help but say happily, "I hope Yue Lao can lend me a hand. I will definitely fulfill my wish."
Cheng Mu was speechless. Rong Zhaohua had pulled her out today just to ask her to be the matchmaker.
After paying homage to Yue Lao, Rong Zhaohua fulfilled his promise and took the initiative to help find a monk and arrange the consecration ceremony.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi were extremely pious and serious, and they did whatever the monks did.
After the ceremony, Xiaoliu asked the monk what scripture he had just chanted, and asked if he could also consecrate objects after learning it, and asked if the effect would be the same.
The monks gave them a lecture and explained their doubts. Cheng Mu donated money for incense offerings.
When we left the temple, it was already noon.
The sun finally gave off a slight warmth, and the distant snow shimmered with tiny golden glints under the sunlight. Rong Zhaohua went to prepare the carriage, while Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi skipped ahead. Guier hurried over and whispered to Cheng Mu that she had just seen Li Lan, who had also come to burn incense.
"How did she get here? Alone? Does she want to go back with us?"
Cheng Mu figured there would still be room for people to sit in the carriage if they squeezed in.
Gui'er said, "I told her that Madam Rong had sent a carriage to invite us here, but she said forget it and would go back on her own."
It's not good for them to use other people's favors as a favor. Cheng Xi thought about the reason for this trip and looked at Gui Er with dismay: "You, you, if we want to come to Wufu Temple, we can rent a carriage and horses ourselves. Why should we repay Madam Rong's favor?"
She wanted to match her up with Mu Yun.
"She came here on her own initiative..."
“One never visits a temple unless one has a purpose. If one visits again and again, he or she must be seeking something.”
"What did she ask?" Gui'er asked in a daze. "She asked me to teach her Kung Fu?"
"Use your brain to think carefully about why she had to go to Yue Lao Temple just now."
Gui Er forced a smile of realization, "She's like me, she's attracted to Mu Yun?" Gui Er patted her head, "She's smarter than me, she knows how to follow your path."
Cheng Mu rolled her eyes at her.
"Madam Cheng?"
Someone among the pedestrians behind called out hesitantly. Cheng Mu turned her head and saw the other person smiling, "Oh, it's really you!"
The other person was tall and slender, wearing a white fox fur cloak, and had dimples at the corners of his lips when he smiled.
It took Cheng Mu a long while to realize who she was. "Mrs. Zhou?"
Gao's eyes darted towards Gui'er, sizing her up and down. "I thought this was your husband, but it turns out you're a dashing lady."
Didn’t the Zhou family move to the capital? Why did Gao appear here?
As if she had guessed the question in her mind, Gao said, "My father passed away, and I came back to attend the funeral. I haven't been home for many years, and my mother missed me very much. I will stay a little longer this time and go back after the New Year."
Only then did Cheng Mu see a white silk flower stuck in her hair.
"This is my old friend, Madam Liu from the Liu Mansion." Gao affectionately took the plump woman beside her and said, "She's holding a flower-viewing banquet on the fifth day of the first lunar month. We haven't seen each other for years, and I'd like to meet you but don't have anywhere to go. Madam Liu, could you please send an invitation to Madam Cheng so she can help us?"
Gao was very skilled in acting coquettishly towards Grandma Liu, and it was obvious that they had a good relationship since childhood. Grandma Liu responded without hesitation and asked about Cheng Mu's current residence.
Cheng Mu was also curious about what would happen to Gao and Zhou Mao later, so she agreed without hesitation, adding, "I have some fresh flowers and trees on hand, and I'll show them to Grandma Liu when the time comes."
"Yes, I used to grow taro flowers, and she even asked me to give them back." Gao sighed. "They used to be a delicacy in the palace, a rising star among flowers, but now they've become common people's homes and are everywhere. Alas."
Cheng Mu smiled secretly in her heart, thinking that this was also my contribution.
Grandma Liu advised, "You are invited by Yuping, so just come and there is no need to prepare gifts."
The group walked down the steps and said goodbye. On the wide ground, they saw the luxurious carriage that Cheng Mu had noticed earlier, which turned out to be from the Liu Mansion.
Rong Zhaohua and An Biaoshi were already prepared. After everyone got on the carriage, they did not leave immediately. They waited until the Liu Mansion's carriage had gone some distance before they cracked the whip.
After walking for a while, Rong Zhaohua asked Gui'er and the two children outside if they wanted to exchange them.
Guier stretched out her arms, grabbed one on each side, and jumped off the carriage, but she didn't expect something unexpected to happen at this moment.
Rong Zhaohua's horse suddenly neighed and raised its front hooves, almost throwing the person off its back. Rong Zhaohua grabbed the reins tightly, bent down, and tried to control the frightened horse, but everything happened too fast and the horse raised its hooves and galloped away.
Guier protected the two children and jumped away.
Just as Escort An was about to go to the rescue, and Cheng Mi was about to stick her head out to take a look, the horses pulling the carriage were frightened and started running away, perhaps because they were infected by the other horse's emotions.
"Mother!" "Mother!"
The carriage swayed from side to side on the uneven road. Cheng Mu couldn't find a fixed point to hold on to in the carriage and was thrown to this side and that side.
Escort An lifted the carriage curtain and said, "I'm sorry!"
He hugged Cheng Mu and jumped out of the car decisively.
After rolling several times on the slope, Master An used himself as a cushion to protect Cheng Mu.
The snow on the ground was cold, but Escort An's body was warm.
He asked from above his head: "Madam Cheng, are you hurt anywhere?"
Cheng Xi hurriedly got up in a panic.
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