This was a wedding and funeral ceremony, intended to be held at dusk.
Zheng Xiu had been waiting from noon until dusk, and not only did her back ache from sitting, but her neck also felt like it was about to be broken by the phoenix crown.
Fortunately, Old Lady Zheng and Aunt Qian took turns to come in and stand beside her for her to lean on, which made her feel much better.
At dusk, Aunt Qian led Zheng Xiu out to pay her respects.
Zheng Xiu walked out of the house under the veil, and there was a burst of cheers as soon as she left the house.
A piece of soft red silk was stuffed into her hand.
She held the silk and stood beside Xue Zhi. After paying homage to her parents and the heaven and earth, Xue Zhi held her with one hand and supported her wrist with the other, helping her to stand up.
This was the first time Zheng Xiu held Xue Zhi's hand. It was warm and dry, with a thin layer of silk on the palm.
The third bow, the husband and wife bowed to each other.
Zheng Xiu leaned forward slowly.
"The ceremony is over!" the singer shouted, "Send her to the bridal chamber!"
Amid the applause of the guests, Zheng Xiu was helped back to the bridal chamber by Old Lady Zheng and Aunt Qian, one on each side.
It was only a few steps from the house to the main room, and the ceremony only took a few breaths, but Zheng Xiu was so tired that she couldn't even lift her head.
After entering the house, Zheng Xiu couldn't help asking: "Grandma, when will Xue Zhi enter the bridal chamber?" She thought that if he came in soon, she could take off the bridal crown and bridal robe that was weighing her down.
Old Lady Zheng couldn't help laughing and said, "How can a bride ask this?"
Zheng Xiu said helplessly, "This phoenix crown is too heavy, my neck is so sore."
Aunt Qian said, "Miss, please be patient. No matter how fast your aunt is, you have to have a drink outside."
Zheng Xiu sighed. She didn't expect getting married to be so tiring. This is still a simple rural etiquette in her family. If it were a noble family, who knows how much more tiring it would be.
"Then bring me another bowl of porridge. I'm starving."
Aunt Qian was about to move, but Old Lady Zheng stopped her, "Don't eat the porridge. You still have to sit in the room for a while. If you want to go to the toilet later, it will be troublesome. Grandma will take two pieces of cake and break them for you to eat." Then she left the room. Although there were cakes and pastries in the room, they could not be moved before the groom entered the bridal chamber.
Soon, Mrs. Zheng brought in a small dish of sweet-scented osmanthus cake.
Zheng Xiu's marriage was hastily arranged, and the chef was invited back from the town to take charge of the cooking. The cakes and pastries were bought directly. Zheng Ren felt guilty about his daughter, so he bought the best and most expensive things possible.
The sweet-scented osmanthus cake melted in the mouth, sweet but not greasy.
Zheng Xiu ate a few pieces and finally felt much better in her stomach. She also asked Mrs. Zheng, "Grandma, this cake tastes good. Isn't it from the town?" She had moved to the town for some time, but she had never eaten such good cakes.
Old Lady Zheng said, "Your father went to the county to order it. If the pastry shop had not refused to lend out the pastry chef, your father would have wanted to invite him directly to his home. But he was in a hurry and didn't have time to handle many things in detail."
"That's good." Zheng Xiu said. Her father gave her sixty taels of dowry. When she saw the dowry list, Zheng Xiu was shocked. Her father's annual dowry was only a few hundred taels. After deducting the family's daily necessities and social interactions, it would be good if he could have seventy or eighty taels left a year. She pretended, so she had at least a thousand taels. Although her father said that her mother had helped save the money when she was little, and it had been saved for many years, many things had to be prepared recently. With the wedding expenses, her father might have used up all the money he had saved for nearly ten years.
After eating, Aunt Qian took a small cup and poured some water, and asked her to take a sip.
Zheng Xiu urged them, saying, "Grandma and Aunt Qian have been with me for a whole day, let's go to the front and eat something first."
Old Lady Zheng asked Aunt Qian to go, saying that she was not hungry yet.
Aunt Qian also declined.
Zheng Xiu had no choice but to say, "You two are elders, and I feel bad if you are hungry."
The bride must not feel bad, otherwise it would be unlucky.
God and Aunt Qian had no choice but to eat at the banquet in front.
Zheng Ren was leading Xue Zhi to drink at the banquet. Although all the guests were from the Zheng family, there were still ten tables. There was no room in the house, so they were set up in the yard.
Xue Zhi didn't know most of these people, but he didn't show any stage fright. He just called people according to Zheng Ren's introductions, and then toasted them openly. He had been drunk once at noon, and now he drank again, but he didn't show any sign of being drunk.
Many relatives and friends present praised Zheng Ren as a son-in-law who was quite presentable.
After the toast, Xue Zhi didn't stay at the banquet and prepared to enter the bridal chamber. When he was walking around Zheng's house, he once secretly looked at Zheng Xiu's wedding dress. The phoenix crown looked very heavy. He was afraid that it would crush his little girl, so he wanted to go into the house early.
There were naturally those who loved to joke at the banquet, and they said, "The groom hasn't eaten yet, why do you want to go into the house to see the bride?"
Xue Zhi smiled and didn't respond, just said, "I've been drinking all day, and I'm a little drunk."
Zheng Ren was naturally worried about his daughter, so he said, "Well, Ah Zhi, you should go into the house and rest early, I'll entertain you here."
The host had spoken, and naturally no one dared to stop him.
Xue Zhi bowed to everyone, said "sorry", and entered the bridal chamber.
Zheng Yu and Xue Zhi were also at the banquet. When they heard that they were going to enter the bridal chamber, the two children jumped off the bench faster than the other, saying in unison, "I'll go too!"
Zheng Ren held one of them with one hand, "What are you doing here?"
The door was gently opened and then closed.
Zheng Xiu thought it was Grandma and Aunt Qian who came in again, and said, "Didn't I tell you to eat something in front and then come to accompany me?"
Xue Zhi was about to say something when he suddenly burped loudly. He was teased by those people he had never met before, but he blushed immediately.
Zheng Xiu naturally knew who the visitor was. She tried hard to hold back her laughter, her body swayed slightly, and her red veil trembled.
Xue Zhi laughed too.
Old Lady Zheng and Aunt Qian followed closely, took the scale tied with red silk, and asked Xue Zhi to remove the veil.
Xue Zhi was also a little nervous, his hands holding the scale trembled slightly, and he lifted Zheng Xiu's veil.
After the red veil was lifted, Zheng Xiu's eyes finally became bright. Red candles as thick as arms were burning on the table, and Xue Zhi stood in front of him, while Old Lady Zheng and Aunt Qian stood beside him, smiling.
Seeing Xue Zhi, who was still a little dazed, she smiled slightly.
Xue Zhi felt that all the blood in his body rushed to his head. He knew that she was beautiful, but he didn't expect that she could be so beautiful.
Aunt Qian took two cups of wine and let them drink the wedding wine. She also took peanuts and longans and threw them on the kang. She said many auspicious words, and then followed Mrs. Zheng out.
They were the only ones left in the room. In the countryside, there was a custom of making trouble in the bridal chamber, but Zheng Ren's status as a groom was suppressing it, and Xue Zhi, a tall and strong groom with a majestic aura, was there, so no one dared to act rashly.
After a moment of silence, Xue Zhi said, "You, are you hungry? I'll go outside and get you some food."
Zheng Xiu nodded, "Bring something light, I can't eat greasy food."
Xue Zhi left and soon came back with a large tray filled with a dish of mushroom fried meat, a dish of emerald shrimp, a dish of four-happiness meatball soup and a bowl of white rice.
Zheng Xiu really felt hungry when she smelled the aroma of the food.
Xue Zhi put the food on the table and asked awkwardly, "Is the phoenix crown on your head very heavy? Let me help you take it off."
Zheng Xiu then sat down in front of the dressing table. She was a little worried that Xue Zhi, with his rough hands and feet, would not be able to do it well. Hurting her was a small matter, but damaging the phoenix crown left by her mother would be a big problem.
Unexpectedly, Xue Zhi's movements were surprisingly gentle and he was very patient. He did whatever she instructed. After the phoenix crown was taken off, not only was nothing damaged, but not a single strand
of Zheng Xiu's hair fell out. Her hair was also very good, black, shiny, and glossy. Xue Zhi couldn't help but touch it for personal gain, and felt that it was smoother than the satin at home.
After taking off the heavy thing, Zheng Xiu moved her neck, sighed comfortably, and then sat down at the dining table.
The food Xue Zhi brought was delicious, and the chef of the restaurant in Zhenshang personally prepared it, so the taste was beyond reproach. Zheng Xiu first drank two sips of soup, and then quickly finished half a bowl of rice with the dishes.
After she finished eating, she realized that she seemed to be too hungry and didn't pay much attention to her eating manners. Xue Zhi was still watching her.
She couldn't help but blush and asked Xue Zhi, "Didn't you eat much?"
Xue Zhi said, "It's okay, you eat."
Zheng Xiu put down her bowl and chopsticks, drank two more sips of soup, "I'm full."
"Really full?"
Zheng Xiu nodded.
Xue Zhi took her bowl and chopsticks and started eating, eating the leftovers of her meal in big mouthfuls.
... Why did he eat his own leftovers? !
Zheng Xiu's face was red all the way to her ears.
Xue Zhi ate even faster, and in a blink of an eye he had cleared up all the food that Zheng Xiu had eaten, leaving the bowls and plates as clean as if they had just been washed. After eating, Xue Zhi consciously put away the empty plates and bowls and put them on the stove.
Zheng Xiu touched her scalded cheeks, sat in front of the dressing table, and changed out of her wedding dress. Under the wedding dress was a thick white undershirt. She changed into her casual clothes outside and took off her heavy bridal makeup.
Xue Zhi deliberately left time for her. He didn't ask through the door until she had finished her work, "Can I come in?" Hearing Zheng Xiu's response from inside, he entered the room holding a basin of warm water.
After Zheng Xiu washed her face and hands, Xue Zhi also washed them in the basin, and then took the water out to pour it.
Zheng Xiu packed two quilts and put them on the kang.
After pouring the water, Xue Zhi came back and said, "You sleep on the kang, and I'll sleep on the floor."
The floor of the Zheng family's house was paved with blue bricks, which would easily make people sick if exposed to moisture. Zheng Xiu naturally refused, "The kang is so big, why do you sleep on the floor? What if you get sick the next day, what will others say?"
Xue Zhi scratched his head. Zheng Xiu looked at him with amusement, "You've been tired all day, go to bed early."
Xue Zhi had eaten and had been outside for a while. He was busy and a little drunk, so he didn't refuse and sat on the kang to take off his shoes. He took off one shoe and put it on again. "My feet stink. I'm going to wash them." Then he ran out like a gust of wind .
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