Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Hairstyle Ceremony
The wedding customs of the Great Zhou Dynasty were complex, with the betrothal ceremony alone involving three steps.
After a month of back-and-forth, the first step finally came to an end when the May winds blew across the branches of Shengjing.
Inside Rongshou Hall, Old Madam Pei looked at her granddaughter, who had finished washing and dressing, and then at the empty seat below her, and couldn't help but feel sad.
"After today, our Ah Ning will be a grown woman..."
Sitting to one side, the two elderly ladies, Cheng Shuwen, quickly offered words of comfort.
“A-Ning has come of age. When the Marquis gets married next year, we’ll have the groom and his wife come back from Lin’an and bring a few more little children to keep Jing-ge company. Our Marquis’s mansion will definitely become more and more lively!”
Upon hearing Cheng Shuwen's words, Pei Ning also stepped forward and took Old Madam Pei's hand, "Father and Mother loved Aning the most. Now that they are not here, Aning will stay with Grandmother!"
Grandma Pei smiled and sighed, reaching out to touch Pei Ning's neatly styled hair. "Can you stay with your grandmother forever? You've come of age; it's time to start looking for a husband!"
Unexpectedly, Old Madam Pei brought up this matter herself. Pei Ning's expression stiffened, and she waved her hands repeatedly, "Grandmother! I'm still young..."
"She's already of marriageable age, and she's still young?" Old Madam Pei chuckled, then turned to Cheng Shuwen, "Look at this girl's unruly behavior! I wonder what kind of husband I'll have to find for her in the future!"
Seeing that Old Madam Pei took those words as a joke, Pei Ning breathed a sigh of relief, but when she thought of her own marriage, she couldn't help but feel saddened.
Fortunately, Granny Chang happened to lift the curtain and come in, which diverted Old Madam Pei's attention.
"Grandma, Second Madam, Miss Wen has arrived."
"A-Zheng!" Pei Ning's heart leaped with joy, and she quickly turned to look at Old Madam Pei, "Grandmother..."
Feigning disdain, Old Madam Pei patted Pei Ning's hand and scolded, "Look at this girl! She had the nerve to laugh at her second brother not long ago! She's already half-hearted!"
Pei Ning blushed slightly, looking a little embarrassed and annoyed. Fortunately, she decided to go all the way and sat down on a chair nearby. "Then I won't go! I'll stay here and keep Grandma company!"
It was just a joke, but seeing Pei Ning sit down like a child, Old Madam Pei chuckled, "Go on! I've heard you talking about her every day for the past month, my ears are practically calloused."
"It'll be so fast, next year Miss Wen will truly be Ning'er's sister-in-law." Cheng Shuwen laughed, "Aren't you worried about not having time to chat?"
For the past month, Wen Lingzheng has been so busy that she hasn't had a moment to spare. Pei Ning tried to find her several times, but it was always in the wrong place, so she could only write letters.
Extremely embarrassed, Pei Ning only said, "Thank you, Grandmother!" and then disappeared in a flash.
Old Madam Pei was taken aback, then laughed and scolded, "Look at her! She doesn't look like a girl at all! I'm afraid she'll never be able to get married in the future!"
Cheng Shuwen picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and concealed the sharp glint in her eyes.
"Grandma, you're overthinking it! Why would our Marquis's daughters have trouble finding husbands?"
"Moreover, the future mistress of the Marquis's mansion will be not only Ning'er's sister-in-law, but also her best friend. How could she not care about Ning'er?"
"That's true!" Old Madam Pei smiled, sighed for a while, and said that children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Then she turned to talk to Cheng Shuwen about other things.
It's only the beginning of May, and the first sounds of cicadas can already be heard on the green branches.
Ice had been prepared in advance inside the Cloud Pavilion. Although no incense was burned, the room was filled with fresh flowers. The windows were half-open, and a gentle breeze carried their fragrance.
Wen Lingzheng quickened her pace and arrived before Pei Ning had returned.
Feiyue brought her a book. The place where she sat was in front of a crescent-shaped window, with graceful tree shadows swaying and hanging down.
Pei Ning's courtyard had two first-class maids named Fei Yue and Fei Xing, and the rest were young girls who were currently gathered together, playfully catching crickets in the courtyard.
Beside them was a small, shimmering pond.
— Several koi carp live inside, swimming carefree.
Seeing Wen Lingzheng watching them with great interest from the window, Fei Yue remained silent and let the little girls play around.
As the sunlight intensified, it outlined lively and charming shadows under the eaves. Laughter and cheerful voices drifted through the gaps in the dappled shadows of the trees, causing Wen Lingzheng's thoughts to begin to wander.
Returning to a familiar place inevitably evokes many thoughts.
The shimmering ripples were so striking that they reminded her of the harsh winter of the eleventh year of Xuanren's reign.
That year, she and Pei Lin had been married for just over a year. Although they spent little time together, their love was deep and they lived in harmony. They had even made a vow to grow old together and to be united in marriage.
—But it was also in that year that Pei Jing, who had just turned eight, was found drowned in the garden pond by the servants…
All the evidence points to her.
At that time, she was still young and did not understand that behind the noble and powerful families lay filth and corruption.
She wanted to defend herself and clear her name, but at that time, Old Madam Pei was seriously ill and unable to get out of bed. The two old ladies were busy taking care of her, and all the Pei family relatives wanted to kill her to pay for her life.
They didn't want to hear a single word from her.
Or perhaps they simply don't care about the truth!
In her hazy memory, there was Yao Guang's pale face, the blood soaked in the earth, and the arms that held her up with all their might at the last moment before she sank to the bottom of the lake.
The general, who had traveled day and night to return to Shengjing, held his wife, who was soaked to the bone and on the verge of death.
He shielded her from all the malicious stares and became the only person who believed in her during those bleak days.
But did he truly trust her completely?
She wasn't sure.
She narrowly escaped death that year, and out of fear, she fell ill for a whole month.
The dim light and shadows swayed before her eyes, but she didn't have the strength to open her eyelids.
She felt wronged, scared, and anxious; all she longed for was his embrace, a chance to explain herself.
But he didn't even wait for her to wake up; after dealing with everything, he rushed back to the Northern Border overnight...
Does he not believe her?
Doubt sprouts like a seed in the heart, and the inferiority complex and sensitivity hidden deep inside also make a comeback.
At that time, Wen Lingzheng didn't have the courage to get to the bottom of things, which led to deeper and deeper doubts between the couple, and she no longer dared to trust him.
Silently lowering her head, a rare hint of timidity flashed in Wen Lingzheng's fleeting eyes.
"Ah Zheng!—"
Pei Ning's voice pulled Wen Lingzheng's thoughts out of her memories.
Pushing aside her thoughts, she looked up into the courtyard. Under the long corridor, the girl was wearing a wide-sleeved dress, a rare sight for her. The pearl and jade tassels at her temples swayed gently with her light and graceful steps.
The branches hanging down from the corridor swayed in the wind, seemingly blending the girl's figure with the background scenery, creating the illusion of an ancient painting of a lady.
Lifting her skirt, Pei Ning strode confidently across the threshold and sat down next to Wen Lingzheng with a smile. "Oh! What are you looking at?"
Upon noticing it was a book, he couldn't help but tease, "Tell me quickly, which teahouse or tavern has this storybook from? Does it tell the tale of starting a relationship and ending in abandonment?"
Setting down her book unhurriedly, Wen Lingzheng laughed and scolded, "Making fun of people for no reason! Are you thinking of some 'Zhang Sheng'? Just tell me, I promise I won't let you know!"
"You're really sharp-tongued! I can't argue with you at all." Pei Ning snorted in annoyance, took the sweet porridge that Fei Yue brought, and handed it to her. "You've come at the right time. Come and try this eight-treasure porridge with me."
The aroma of congee, a light and sweet fragrance, rises with the steam, while the thick porridge flows meandering along the white porcelain spoon.
Perhaps due to her poor health as a child, and the numerous times she was forced to drink medicine, she has never been able to endure hardship since childhood. Even when eating lotus seed porridge with the core removed, she would only take a couple of bites at most.
"Did you add something bitter to it?" Wen Lingzheng looked at Pei Ning suspiciously.
"No way!"
Seeing the girl's slightly guilty look, she already knew what was going on, but she still picked up the spoon and obediently took a bite.
Pei Ning drank slowly, glancing at Wen Lingzheng's expression from time to time. Seeing Wen Lingzheng frown, she smiled and said, "I finally won this time!"
With a helpless smile, Wen Lingzheng said, "Yes, yes, you win. You're about to have your coming-of-age ceremony, yet you're becoming more and more childish."
The laughter of the little maids in the courtyard suddenly stopped. Before Pei Ning could speak, three beautiful figures came hand in hand.
Xiao Shanghua was the most unconventional; she had barely walked halfway down the corridor when her voice reached inside the Cloud Pavilion.
"What are you two talking about behind our backs again?"
"You're talking badly about us!" Pei Ning pulled Wen Lingzheng towards the door, and upon seeing Chen Lingwen, she was overjoyed. "Mingzhu? You haven't come out in ages!"
Following the Spring Banquet, two weddings that were the talk of the town were announced almost simultaneously in Shengjing.
Firstly, there's the already decided marriage between Wen Lingzheng and Pei Lin.
— Noble families and civil officials alike, and even more so, the honor of being granted a marriage by the emperor.
As the saying goes, "Let all the flowers be jealous; even if I have no intention of vying for spring's favor, what does it matter?"
Some people simply envied the girl's good fortune in marrying into a noble family overnight, while others were jealous of her luck and went so far as to distort the facts, claiming that the girl had schemed and plotted to climb the social ladder.
Secondly, there was the news that the Yongqing Grand Princess's Mansion would be related to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion by marriage.
Unlike another marriage that received positive feedback, this news, though not yet confirmed by either family, has already garnered many blessings.
Everyone in the capital city knew that the third son of the Gu family had studied at the private school of the Yongqing Grand Princess's mansion since childhood, and he and Princess Mingzhu were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were little.
Furthermore, the Gu family were also founding nobles. Even if Gu Sanlang and the princess were engaged, people would only say that they were a good match and that it was a natural progression.
"How could I not come to your coming-of-age ceremony?" Chen Lingwen snapped out of his daze, smiled, and hugged Wen Lingzheng's arm. "However, Ah Zheng was the first to arrive!"
Caught off guard by the faint dark circles under her eyes, Wen Lingzheng's heart skipped a beat. Before she could figure it out, she heard—
"We can't compare to her. Just think how many times that matchmaker has come and gone this past month? She's probably heard so much about it that she could walk around with her eyes closed!"
Of the three, Xiao Shanghua was the most cunning. In the past, Wen Lingzheng was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, so she couldn't find an opportunity to tease her. Now, she naturally wouldn't let go of this good chance to make fun of her.
"You little rascal, Ah Shang! You've even learned to make fun of me!"
The girl was very ticklish, and Wen Lingzheng had a knack for teasing her. All the maids in the courtyard watched their mistress chasing and playing around, and couldn't help but lower their heads and chuckle.
Watching this scene, Zhao Rushao felt a mix of helplessness and resentment. "Look at those two! My older brother always says I'm hard to manage! But there are even more mischievous ones than me!"
Even Pei Ning couldn't help but interject, shouting at the two of them, "It's fine if it's just in my Cloud Pavilion, but you two better not cause trouble outside!"
After the two of them had been arguing for a while, they finally stopped. Then Granny Chang came to call them. Except for Pei Ning, who went to the east room first, the others tidied themselves up and headed to the front hall.
As the only daughter of the Dingbei Marquis's generation, Pei Ning's coming-of-age ceremony attracted the attention of the entire capital. Even the chief guest was invited to be Madam Zou of the Ningguo Duke's Mansion, who was Zhao Rushao's grandmother.
Zhao Rushao: "Look, there's Second Brother Pei over there! Do you think he's looking at A-Zheng?"
Xiao Shanghua: "He really knows how to hide! With just one glance, he's included all of us! Look at those girls down there, it's like they're going to devour us! The real culprit is this wicked A-Zheng!"
The two of them were of the same temperament, and they couldn't help but push Wen Lingzheng forward together.
"ah!"
Unaware for a moment, the two wicked girls succeeded. Wen Lingzheng glared at them but didn't dodge, instead giving Pei Lin a generous smile.
The hall was brightly lit, and the person I hadn't seen for over a month was unusually dressed in a brightly colored brocade robe.
The flickering light and shadow blurred his outline, making him appear even more radiant, like a jade mountain about to collapse, and as bright as the sun and moon entering one's embrace.
He noticed her smile, but he hadn't expected her boldness. A hint of surprise flashed across his calm face, followed by a faint blush creeping up to his ears.
He dared not look any longer and stiffly withdrew his gaze, but what lingered in his heart was still her beautiful makeup under the half-sunlight.
"Huh?" Halfway through the ceremony, Xiao Shanghua suddenly leaned close to Wen Lingzheng and poked her lower back. "Ah Zheng, look!"
Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and the girl was a little annoyed. "In public! What are you doing now? If Young Master Xiao sees this, he'll scold you again!"
"Never mind him for now, look to your right! It's the one following behind Old Madam Cheng!"
Wen Lingzheng looked in the direction Xiao Shanghua indicated.
She was a young woman in the prime of her life, yet there seemed to be a hint of sorrow in her eyes.
She stood quietly behind Cheng Shuwen, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her ethereal figure resembling a beautiful flower reflected in water.
"who is she?"
"That's the third daughter of the Cheng family, Cheng Qiuru."
Xiao Shanghua lowered her voice and whispered in Wen Lingzheng's ear, "I heard that Madam Cheng has always wanted to marry off Third Miss Cheng to Second Brother Pei! But she gave up because of the official marriage arrangement."
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