"The ceremony is complete! Now escort them to the bridal chamber!"
The wedding hall erupted in even louder cheers and applause.
"Spread the veils! Spread them to the east, and the hibiscus tent will be warm with the spring breeze! Spread them to the west, and the phoenix and dragon will sing in harmony for a hundred years! Spread them to the south, and the unicorn will bring a son to the whole house! Spread them to the north, and wealth and glory will follow you forever!" The matchmaker sang auspicious words loudly while scattering red dates, peanuts, longans, lotus seeds and other auspicious fruits to the newlyweds and guests.
"Ouch! That hit me!" Xiao An covered her head, but grinned as she picked up the peanuts that had fallen at her feet.
"I want longan! Longan is sweet!" Ningning jumped up and down to reach it.
"Kang Kang, catch!" Shen Huaijin caught a lotus seed with quick eyes and hands and tossed it to Kang Kang with a smile.
Inside and outside the wedding hall, laughter and joy filled the air. Shen Rui, protecting Pei Qingyun, walked towards the bridal chamber amidst the cheers and merriment of the crowd. As they passed the elders' table, Xiao Chengjing patted Shen Rui on the shoulder with a smile: "Good lad! You finally married Qingyun! You'd better treat her well from now on!"
Shen Ruijun blushed slightly, but solemnly replied, "Yes! Uncle! Your nephew will certainly not let Qingyun down!"
Shen Yuewei, holding Madam Pei's hand, looked at the perfect couple with a smile in her eyes: "Madam Pei, look at these two children, how well-matched they are! Qingyun has been raised by us since she was little, and now she has become a daughter-in-law of our Shen family. My heart is sweeter than honey!"
Madam Pei beamed with joy: "Indeed! Yuewei, it's Qingyun's good fortune to marry into the Shen family and marry Ruier! Ruier is steady and reliable, so we parents can't be more at ease!"
The entrance to the new house was bustling with activity. A group of young people blocked the door, demanding red envelopes and posing difficult questions.
"Brother Shen Rui! If you want to pick up your bride, first match this line of poetry with mine: 'My body has no colorful phoenix wings to fly with you!'"
"We are of one mind!" Shen Rui responded loudly, drawing cheers from the crowd.
"Not enough! The bride says she wants to know what gift her cousin Rui gave her the first time they met?"
Shen Rui spoke softly and clearly through the door: "It's...it's the little rabbit lantern we won together during the Lantern Festival that year when we solved riddles."
A shy, smiling Pei Qingyun responded softly from inside the room. Finally, thanks to Shen Rui's quick wit and generous red envelope offer, the door opened. Amidst good-natured laughter and blessings, Shen Rui finally took the hand of his beloved bride.
The wedding banquet began, with toasts and music filling the air. Several children from the Prince Jing's residence, along with Shen Huaiyu and Shen Huaijin, sat together, excitedly enjoying the delicious food and discussing the wedding that had just taken place.
"Cousin Rui was amazing at reciting poetry!" Kang Kang said admiringly.
"Cousin Qingyun's wedding dress is so beautiful!" Ningning exclaimed with envy.
"I managed to snag three longans from that tent!" Yan Ge'er boasted proudly.
Shen Huaiyu smiled and put some food on Ningning's plate: "Eat slowly, don't choke."
Shen Huaijin and Kang Kang discussed whether the groom's posture of shooting at the sedan chair door was impressive enough.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com