The two were escorted into the house and sat on the wedding bed.
The wedding bed was no longer the one Xu Jiang had slept on before. It was a newly made one and was much larger than the original one.
A hundred-child canopy was hung on the wedding bed, and a wedding quilt and pillow were placed on the lower bunk, making the newlyweds look bright and dignified in the red.
Xu Jiang sat next to Lou Yunchun and felt her body getting hot. She couldn't sit still and always wanted to jump up.
Ever since the two of them sat down, Lou Yunchun's expression had never been straight. Seeing Xu Jiang's neck red with shame, he felt as if there were hundreds of magpies locked up in his heart, pecking at him and making him restless all over.
The matchmaker looked at the two of them with a smile, and then asked Liu Mei to distribute the dates, peanuts, millet, beans, as well as wedding money, wedding fruits and other items that she had brought to everyone.
Then everyone is asked to say a lucky word to the bride and groom, and then scatter these auspicious items into the curtain behind them.
"I wish the bride and groom a happy marriage and a harmonious life."
"I wish the bride and groom a happy marriage and a long line of descendants."
"I wish the bride and groom a long and happy marriage."
Blessings and colorful fruits fell on the newlyweds and scattered in the mandarin duck tent.
Xu Jiang looked at Lou Yunchun, and was so burned by his eager eyes that she lowered her head, revealing a rare hint of shyness.
Lou Yunchun couldn't suppress the emotions in his heart, but he had to endure it, holding his breath so hard that his ears and face turned red.
After the tent was spread, Yin Yin presented mutton and wedding wine.
To share the same meat and drink the same wine means to eat the meat of the same animal together.
The gourd is split into two halves, tied with a red string, and used as a wine vessel for the wedding ceremony.
Gourd tastes bitter and is used to hold sweet wine. The newlyweds are asked to take half a gourd each and drink together. Then the two wine vessels are put together into one, which is called the Heqin Ceremony.
Tonglao Heqin means that the husband and wife will share the joys and sorrows and never leave each other in the future.
The matchmaker first let Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun eat a piece of mutton each, and then each took half a gourd of wedding wine. In the presence of everyone, they ate and drank together.
Then, put the two halves of the wine vessel together and tie them with a connecting red thread.
As the matchmaker was entwining the bride, she sang: "Drinking from the wedding cup together, we are filled with joy and may we be together forever."
The wedding wine was brewed from rice wine. Xu Jiang tasted it to be peach blossom rice wine. It was sweet and refreshing with a hint of bitterness from gourd. The aftertaste was long, making people want to drink another ladle.
The meal she had eaten earlier was salty, and she was a little thirsty now.
As Lou Yunchun drank a ladle of wine, his face became redder and redder.
Xu Jiang glanced at him stealthily, thinking that he would have to attend a banquet later, and wondered if he would come back drunk.
Lou Yunchun caught his glance again, and a quarrel broke out between the two of them, which made Wu Zhi sigh.
Take this Xu family Ajiang, for example. He's a womanizer. How many times has he looked at her on the way here? He's really impatient.
But look at the eldest son of the Lou family, he is not much inferior. If there were no one around, Xu Jiang would probably not be enough to fill his teeth.
After drinking from the same cup and drinking from the same wine cup, they become husband and wife.
The matchmaker leaned over, untied the red ropes that were tied around the feet of the bride and groom when they got engaged, and then twisted off a strand of their hair, wrapped it with the red rope, and stuffed it under their bedding.
"When young, they are husband and wife; when old, they are companions."
After stuffing her hair, the matchmaker's face wrinkled with smile, and she clapped her hands and said, "The ceremony is complete!"
Then he blessed the two: "I, the matchmaker, wish the bride and groom a happy marriage and a son soon."
Everyone also congratulated him.
Lying outside the door, Lou Yunchun's colleagues and classmates glanced at each other and shouted in unison: "Groom, don't you want to see what your bride looks like?"
Everyone in the room echoed the sentiment, clamoring to see the bride.
This is the last part of the bridal chamber prank, seeing the bride.
But the bride cannot put down the fan easily in order to let the groom and everyone else see it. She can only show her face after the groom writes a "fan-rejecting poem".
Xu Jiang was not a girl who lived in the boudoir. She thought it would be no big deal to watch and have a lively and festive occasion, so she waited for Lou Yunchun to write a "Fan-Rejecting Poem". However, no matter how long she waited, Lou Yunchun did not move.
Everyone was getting impatient, and a colleague joked, "Master Xiaolou has won the third place in the imperial examination, so he can't be unable to write a poem like this, right?"
Lou Yunchun stared at the happy fan in Xu Jiang's hand for a moment and said, "It's not that I can't do it, but I only want to do it for one person."
The classmates and colleagues present were stunned when they heard this, and then they began to shiver and rub their arms with their hands.
Oh my god, is this still that elm tree? This must be a spirit of the Sichuan pepper tree. It's so numb it gives me goosebumps.
"Oh~ Just for one person to hear, look at what you said, how beautiful it is." The women in the room all laughed and clapped their hands, and many of them couldn't help blushing.
Xu Jiang was so embarrassed that she couldn't help but kick Lou Yunchun.
I dare not put down this fan, I am too embarrassed.
The colleagues didn't force him and waved to Lou Yunchun, saying, "Since you're not going to see the bride, what are you still doing sitting here for? Why don't you come out and treat us to a glass of wedding wine?"
"Yes, once you sit down at the table you have to drink three cups as punishment. This is so disgusting to us. This is not a prank in the bridal chamber, this is the bridal chamber pranking us."
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. It was a happy day and no one was afraid of him.
The matchmaker also laughed and said, "I am also an old hand in this kind of wedding, but I have never seen a groom as considerate and sweet-talking as you." Then he said to the male guests outside the door, "Men in this capital should all learn to find wives."
This person has completely forgotten how much she worried about this Mr. Lou in the past.
Lou Yunchun leaned close to Xu Jiang's ear and whispered to her, "I might be back late. I'll ask Yinyin to bring you some food later. Don't go hungry."
"Yeah." Xu Jiang felt warm in her heart, "Don't drink too much."
"I know my limits." Lou Yunchun glanced at her reluctantly, "Wait for me."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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