Chapter 319 Husband, you are so handsome!
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As the sun sets, it paints the sky with a crimson glow.
Li Shiyue, along with her mother, Zheng Meiniang, and Shitou, sat at home waiting for Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian to return from their wedding.
Meanwhile, at the threshing ground, Wang Cuihua's father and elder brother were already prepared. As soon as the sound of gongs and drums reached the village entrance, someone would come to the threshing ground to announce the news.
Once the news was received, the king's father could wave his hand and start cooking over a roaring fire!
Once the wedding ceremony is complete, the banquet will be ready to be set up and served, and the whole village can then enjoy the feast together!
Because it was her own elder sister's wedding, Li Shiyue even went so far as to hire an opera troupe from the prefectural city to come back to Lijiatun.
The stage on the threshing ground was all set up, and the troupe leader, a rather handsome middle-aged man of medium height, was leading his troupe in sitting in the shed built behind the curtain.
"...You must put your heart into it!"
They paid them plenty of money!
Just show me what you've got!
"If we sing well, Lieutenant Li might be pleased and we could even get a reward!"
Hearing the men and women of the opera troupe below, some squatting, some sitting, and some standing, cheering in response, the troupe leader raised his hand to press down, and after it quieted down, he continued to say to the crowd: "Let me tell you, if we sing well this time, maybe other villages will invite us to perform."
This isn't just a one-off money-making venture; you all better put yourselves into it!
As evening fell, Li Xiatian and his family, who had returned from picking up their bride in Sanshan County, finally arrived at Lijiatun.
The guards on the watchtower had already spotted the long procession on the official road in the distance, and they fired their arrows early so that the people waiting below the watchtower could see them. They then immediately sent a messenger named Gouzi to deliver the message.
Sitting inside the carriage, dressed in red, Jiang Huai listened to the music playing around the carriage outside and felt a little dazed.
"I...I'm getting married today!"
The carriage entered the village and headed towards Li Shiyue's house, attracting a large crowd of onlookers.
The first person to look at was Li Xiatian, since it was rare for a woman to marry a man.
The second person to look at was Jiang Huai inside the carriage. Even though there was a curtain blocking his view, Jiang Huai still felt many eyes staring at him.
Feeling a little awkward, Jiang Huai smoothed the hem of his clothes and suddenly let out a laugh.
"Haha, I've actually become a live-in son-in-law!"
The wedding ceremony is actually no different from the traditional marriage ceremony, except that the roles are reversed and the woman is given the honor.
Even though Li Shiyue was the officiant at the wedding, she still felt like rolling her eyes at her mother and Zheng Meiniang, who had tears in their eyes.
"This isn't a wedding, it's the groom moving in as a son-in-law, what's there to cry about?"
After paying respects to Heaven and Earth and to their parents, it's time for the couple to bow to each other.
Looking at Li Xiatian, whose face was flushed, eyes were full of joy, lips were upturned, and eyes were fixed on him without blinking, Jiang Huai's heart, which had been as calm as an ancient well, finally stirred with a ripple at this moment.
But who is Jiang Huai?
It was only for a fleeting moment, a tiny bit of guilt towards the sincere Li Xiatian.
If this guilt were graded out of ten, it would probably only get one and a half points, no more.
However, a moment later, Jiang Huai came to his senses, smiled and looked back, his face showing no sign of displeasure.
Li Shiyue was a woman of her word. She had already transferred the land deed and house deed for the courtyard where Jiang Huai had been living to Li Xiatian.
After going through the proper ceremonies at the Li family home, Jiang Huai was taken to the house where he had been living since he arrived in Lijiatun.
Meanwhile, Li Shiyue and the others carried lanterns and torches and headed towards the threshing ground.
The banquet was ready, and the opera troupe was full of confidence, just waiting for the troupe leader's order.
Standing on the high platform, Li Shiyue was the first to bow to everyone.
After bowing, she used her inner strength to loudly address the people from Lijiatun who had come to the tables to celebrate her sister's wedding: "Today is my sister's big day. Thank you all for coming to support me and have a good time. I, Li Shiyue, am extremely grateful!"
Come on, tonight, let's eat and drink to our hearts' content!
Here, I only wish that my elder sister, Li Xiatian, may live a peaceful and joyful life!
Raising his glass, Li Shiyue shouted to the crowd below, "I toast to everyone! Today, let's drink until we drop!"
After drinking his wine to the brim, Li Shiyue bowed again and stepped down from the stage. He gave a wink to the troupe leader who had been waiting below, and the troupe leader quickly ordered someone to strike the gong.
Accompanied by the melodious singing and a cool breeze drifting down from Daheishan Mountain, the people of Lijiatun laughed as they ate and watched.
The drying ground was full of people from Lijiatun, ah, no, there were also a few people from other villages among them.
Aside from the Wang family members who were hosting the banquet, Jiang Qi and his eldest son, who were sitting at a table in the center with Li Youfu and his eighth uncle, both looked rather grim.
Yes, people came from Jiangjia Village. Jiang Qi and his eldest son came together.
These two were invited by Jiang Huai, so they could be considered Jiang Huai's "family members".
Actually, when she officiated at Li Xiatian and Jiang Huai's wedding at Li Shiyue's house, Jiang Qi and his son were also present.
The reason why the two looked unwell was actually because they couldn't adjust to their new identities.
You know, as the saying goes, it's really rare to see a man become a live-in son-in-law at his wife's house.
A wedding ceremony where the woman is superior to the man is even more uncommon.
Because many families who take in sons-in-law don't really care about the wedding, and some even keep the wedding simple to accommodate the son-in-law's feelings, just so that the son-in-law can have some "face".
But Li Shiyue, who officiated at the wedding, didn't give Jiang Huai, the son-in-law, any face whatsoever; she did whatever she wanted.
This displeased Jiang Qi and his son, which was evident on their faces.
Li Youfu, who was sitting at the same table, glanced at Jiang Qi and his son's expressions, lowered his head, and muttered a soft "tsk" before picking up his chopsticks and heading straight for the delicious dishes on the table.
With the moon high in the sky, only torches and lamps were left to illuminate the threshing ground, and the opera troupe finally got to eat the meal that had been prepared for them long ago.
The guests who came to the banquet naturally went home.
As for the Wang family members and opera troupe who prepared the banquet, as well as Jiang Qi and his son, those arrangements had been made long ago, as Lijiatun had no shortage of housing.
Having drunk quite a bit and reeking of alcohol, but still quite lucid, Li Xiatian entered the room and saw Jiang Huai sitting at the table in a red dress.
"My wife, you're back."
When Jiang Huai called her "wife," Li Xiatian's cheeks flushed red instantly.
Under the lamplight, everyone looks beautiful.
Li Xiatian stared at Jiang Huai, and couldn't help but think of the fire-avoidance diagram that Zheng Meiniang had shown her when she called her to her room alone.
Thinking about it this way, her eyes lit up.
"My husband, you are so handsome!"
The two interlocking wine glasses drew the two men closer, and they could clearly hear each other's breathing.
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