Chapter 25 Welcoming the World is a Huge Makeshift Team (River...)
Winter dusks always come exceptionally early, so the Li family's wedding procession set off at 1:00 PM.
The sunlight wasn't dazzling, but it had an unusually lively and playful quality. Fragments of gold seemed like fish that had been swimming for a long time and were finally leaping out of the water, frolicking and twirling happily in the Li family's wedding procession.
The clear air rippled with golden light, resonating with the sounds of bells, pipa, and konghou. The melodious notes echoed in the hearts of everyone in the wedding procession.
As the nephew-in-law of Dou Kang, the matchmaker, the groom's personally chosen person to welcome the bride, and the most reliable elder brother among the Li clan members recognized by Li Yuan and his wife, Li Xiaogong had never been so agitated.
“You can give me the pair of geese you’re holding. They’re already tied up tightly, they’re guaranteed not to escape. Now you’re holding the reins with one hand and gripping the geese tightly with the other, you’re practically strangling them. These two geese probably won’t last long before they’re released, they’ll be suffocated!” He tried to patiently persuade his cousin, who was struggling with the clothes, the geese, and the others.
"This ceremonial robe is uncomfortable. Lady Liu must have mistakenly given last year's measurements to the tailor..." The groom, Li Shimin, complained as he shifted his body, and even his mount neighed impatiently.
"My head feels heavy," Li Shimin complained as he asked, "Brother, is my hairpin crooked?"
Li Xiaogong felt that half of his life's patience had been used up at his own wedding, and the other half was probably used up at his cousin's wedding: "Nothing's wrong. No nonsense on such a joyous occasion. The dress fits perfectly; it's just that you haven't worn many of the wide-sleeved robes. You'll get used to it after walking a few steps once you get to the Gao residence. Don't be suspicious!"
"Brother, what's the first line of the poem urging you to get married? I clearly memorized it last night, but I've forgotten it now." Before Li Xiaogong could answer, Li Daoxuan, who was riding at the very front of the group, gave a mischievous whistle and made a face.
"Someone's already so flustered before even seeing the bride; I wonder how terrified he'll be when he sees her!" The eleven or twelve-year-old boy was astonished to see his usually admired older brother acting so awkwardly and awkwardly, and found it all quite comical, so he asked incredulously.
"I'm not flustered. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you up!" Li Shimin pulled out a bamboo tablet from his waist to scare Li Daoxuan.
His rebuttal was so agitated that the goose in his arms, bound by the colorful ribbons, continued to struggle. He had no choice but to abandon his bluffing threat to his younger brother and hold the goose tightly in his arms.
"No, he just arrived in Daxing yesterday and got completely drunk on a whim. I barely spoke a few words to him. My mother said that Brother Xiaogong is more reliable than Bishamon, and Daozong and Daoxuan are more handsome than the three Hu brothers. So whether they come back or not won't affect our wedding." This frank statement made Li Xiaogong laugh heartily.
Just as Li Shimin received the love ring, opened the hidden compartment, and recited the poem urging him to get ready, Li Daoxuan hurriedly dismounted, approached the white-hoofed hawk, and snatched the goose in one swift motion.
The goose, its beak, wings, and legs tightly bound, twisted its neck, the only free part of its body, and felt grateful that it was still alive. It then lay comfortably in the young man's arms, awaiting its tortuous fate of being thrown away and then released.
Li Shimin seemed to have calmed down this time, and he no longer used his official tablet to scare his cousin, whom he had personally chosen to accompany him to the wedding. He simply gave him a series of instructions: "Daoxuan, take good care of the wild geese for me, and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Marriage is terrifying! But I can't abandon my brother!" The naive and clever little boy consoled himself, "When we get to the Gao family, the bride's cousins will surely have bamboo canes ready to give us a hard time. My brother is wearing this long-sleeved ceremonial cap, and all he has in his hand is a bamboo tablet. He won't have the upper hand if they gang up on him. It will be the perfect opportunity for me to show off my skills! I will definitely not let the bride's family see the true nature of the Li family's men."
The thought of fighting for the family honor in a legitimate way made the eleven-year-old boy inexplicably excited. He scratched the goose's neck, then put it into the openwork box and placed it on the saddle. His mood instantly soared from the bottom to the top.
Li Xiaogong's head continued to buzz from the barrage of tedious questions.
"Brother, when you married Sister Da Shi, what did my cousins from the Dou family ask you to do besides waving bamboo canes around?" Li Shimin indeed began to inquire about the elders' wedding experiences.
The brothers who were welcoming the bride laughed together.
“However, the Gao family is a refined family, they wouldn’t force you to drink…” Li Xiaogong was afraid that he would frighten his cousin into not knowing how to deal with the tricks of the new bride’s family as a “son-in-law”, so he quickly stopped talking.
After a few rounds of laughter and banter, Li Shimin felt a sense of relief in his chest, and his auspicious robes no longer felt so tight: "Good, then the son-in-law doesn't seem too difficult to handle. When we return to the manor to arrange the bride, I hope my brothers will be lenient and not make things difficult for Lady Changsun."
"Brothers, your promises don't count. Winning over the bride is a specialty of our elder sister and sisters-in-law. How can we gentlemen possibly control them?" Li Daozong, who had stepped forward, suddenly burst into laughter. "Your true colors are finally showing, aren't they? All you've got is a reluctance to let the bride suffer! Why don't you take away her bamboo cane formation first, and then plead for her?"
"I didn't plead for her!" The drummer and pipa player, who were originally at the front of the procession, felt that the procession was moving too slowly, so they quickened their pace and stomped through the procession to urge everyone to catch up.
"Trying to cover it up only makes it more obvious! Dare you say you didn't secretly stroll around Metropolitan City and Liren City with her, and also check out Hesheng and the dance halls?" Li Daozong joked with his cousin, which wasn't exactly malicious.
The pipa player twirled around, and the humorous melody of "Magpie on a Branch" echoed among the young men.
Li Shimin, however, was somewhat wary. He wondered if Wang Wude had revealed some secrets to Emperor Daozong, and also suspected that distant relatives and elders in his family were privately discussing the matter of Changsun Qingjing's escape, so he couldn't help but defend himself.
"In the few times I met her, her uncle and brother were always present! I never had a secret rendezvous with her. My marriage to her was arranged by our parents, and all six rites were performed. I will not allow you to make baseless accusations against Lady Changsun!"
The curved-neck pipa and the vertical-headed konghou burst forth with a restless sound, playfully responding to Li Shimin's raised tone. Li Daozong's heart tightened, and he hurriedly apologized, "A lady who can be praised by your aunt must have her extraordinary qualities. It was I who was disrespectful. Your elder brother is right to reprimand me!"
One had no intention of pursuing the matter, and the other knew he was in the wrong. Li Daoxuan chased after the musicians, shouting loudly, "This 'Magpie on a Branch' is too jarring! You musicians, quickly use your best skills and play a piece of music from the Western Kingdom of Kucha to liven things up!"
"You're the youngest, but you have the most to do!" everyone teased. The brothers finally relaxed and smiled at each other.
Li Shimin discovered that he was also quite adept at lying through his teeth, though he did have unspeakable reasons for it. If Changsun Qingjing were a man, he wouldn't care about others' criticism of his association with the son of a disgraced official; on the contrary, he would be proud of it. Introducing this fallen nobleman into his strange social circle, a mix of nobles, literati, and street ruffians, would be no problem at all.
But since Changsun Qingjing is a woman, the situation is different. The fewer people who know about their premarital acquaintance, the better. Even when mentioning Qingjing to his mother, he only speaks vaguely, trying his best to appear as a reckless, one-sided lover, lest his mother think Qingjing is frivolous and eccentric. As for his diverse social circle, he can find a way to integrate her later.
What he found most offensive at that moment was the gossip among his relatives and friends about their secret affair. He was indifferent at first, but when he thought about how someone had implied to his parents that Qingjing had gone to great lengths to deceive the young man into a marriage that would bring him nothing but harm, he naturally felt indignant.
So when Li Daozong casually made a common joke between young people, his words were somewhat excessive. A young girl, when he was penniless and in danger, listened to his arrogant dreams and melancholy ramblings in his letters. There was no perfunctory response, no pretentious advice. She worried about his situation, empathized with his distress, stubbornly planted the flower seeds he gave her, and earnestly advised him to eat more.
Even if she had some moral flaws, it was understandable, and in his eyes, even endearing. Of course, he wouldn't allow anyone to talk about his fiancée casually.
He subconsciously touched the edge of his lips, hoping that a light mustache would grow there to make him look less childish and more mature.
The echo of the cymbals reverberated in the air for a long time. The golden wheel in the west scattered a shower of fine crystal particles, which floated and danced before his eyes like a few scratching cat claws, before disappearing in an instant.
Author's Note: On the way to the wedding
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