At three o'clock in the morning, Master Zhao was called up by his uncle. Zhao Shouye was still the Shangbaoqing of the Honglu Temple in Nanjing, but he was not seen all year round. If it weren't for his nephew's marriage, he would not have returned to Nanjing this year.

Wang Xijue, Hua Bozheng and others also came, as well as a group of students in Nanjing and the group's senior executives all came to join in the fun and help decorate the house with lights and flowers, making it more festive than the Chinese New Year.

The disciples first helped the master bathe with pomelo leaves, which were said to wash away bad luck. After washing his whole body, they helped him change into bright red shorts and bright red wedding clothes. Then they pressed him in front of the mirror and prepared to put on the hair.

The so-called "head-up" is a coming-of-age ceremony. In the words of later generations, it means combing hair into an adult-like appearance. In ancient times, women were married at the age of 15 and 20, and men were married at the age of 20. They all changed their hairstyles to represent that they had reached the age of marriage. But in the Ming Dynasty, few people would deliberately follow the ancient rituals. People chose to have a head-up ceremony before the wedding. One is to comb hair for the wedding, and the other is the coming-of-age ceremony for the newlyweds.

~~

Therefore, at this time, Caijia Lane, Fang's house and Yu's house were also holding their own head-raising ceremonies for Qiaoqiao and Ma Xianglan. This was a great ceremony for adults, and all relatives and friends would come to watch.

The ceremony is presided over by a "good luck man" or "good luck woman", that is, a person who has both parents and a partner, as well as children and a harmonious marriage. If the mother of the newlyweds meets this condition, she will usually serve as the "good luck woman".

Qiaoqiao's mother wanted to perform the ritual herself. But she had to follow the request of the good fortune woman... her parents were still alive, and she and Fang De had been together through thick and thin, their love was stronger than gold; but unfortunately, she only had a daughter, Qiaoqiao, and no son. So she could only ask a neighbor who was blessed with all the five fortunes to perform the ritual for her daughter.

Who knew that yesterday, someone suddenly came to the door and said that he was her son, Qiaoqiao's younger brother. Qiaoqiao's mother was shocked, and then she remembered that she did have a son. She and Fang De cried with joy. The old Fang family finally had an heir...

She finally fulfilled her long-cherished wish and was able to personally perform a haircut on her daughter.

Qiaoqiao was wearing a bright red wedding dress, sitting in front of the window where she could see the moon. Gossiping women were surrounding her, saying flattering and auspicious words.

On the table beside were a mirror, a round comb, scissors, a ruler, a red hairband, needles and thread, and other headgear, as well as three bowls of roast pork, chicken and dumplings. One bowl had six lotus seeds, one bowl had six red dates, and one bowl had six dumplings.

When the auspicious time arrived, Qiaoqiao's mother lit a pair of dragon and phoenix candles, and then took her daughter to worship the moon.

After getting up, Qiaoqiao's mother untied Qiaoqiao's double buns, letting her daughter's long hair fall down like a waterfall. Then she combed her hair carefully, chanting as she combed: "Comb to the end with one comb, comb to the white hair with two combs, comb to the eyebrows with three combs, comb to the children and grandchildren all over the ground, comb to the four silver bamboo shoots all in line..."

Normally, she should have been singing while crying, but Qiaoqiao's mother just couldn't cry.

Of course she couldn't cry anymore. If she hadn't wanted to knock Baoyou unconscious, Qiaoqiao, who was shy, wouldn't have taken the initiative to take care of Zhao Hao's life...

Qiaoqiao was a little reluctant at first, but when she saw her mother was smiling from ear to ear, she could only smile helplessly.

Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable?

~~

In the spacious and elegant Yu residence.

Yu Jiachang's daughter-in-law also sang a hair-combing song, and she tied up Ma Xianglan's long hair, who was wearing a bright red wedding dress, and combed it into a bride's style. She also tied cypress and a red hairband to her hair.

Qi Jingyun, as Ma Xianglan's god sister, used two red and white eggs to make noodles for her. Afterwards, Yu Jiachang's wife took the three bowls on the table and let Ma Xianglan eat lotus seeds, red dates and glutinous rice balls, which meant that she would have a son soon and a happy marriage.

Unlike the joyous scene at Qiaoqiao's house, Sister Ma here was fine at first, but when she was eating lotus seeds and red dates, she couldn't help but started crying, and her eyes were red from crying.

The women were moved to tears, thinking that Miss Ma was thinking of her lonely life. They all advised her to get married, so she would have a family, and would have children and grandchildren in the future, and would be happy.

Unexpectedly, Ma Xianglan cried even harder and couldn't be stopped no matter how people tried to persuade her.

Only Qi Jingyun, who was standing by, knew why she was crying. He held Ma Xianglan's hand and cried with her silently.

~~

Zhao Mansion.

As a "lucky man", Wang Xijue combed Zhao Hao's hair, put it in a bun and put on a crown for him.

Chef Wang was mumbling something, but when he combed Zhao Hao's hair, it started to fall out... it fell out...

Wang Xijue opened his mouth wide and looked at the hair stuck in the comb, then looked at Zhao Hao's bald head.

"You're bald so early too? It's so obvious..." Wang Xijue said happily, "It seems that smart heads don't grow hair, this saying is absolutely true."

"Don't talk nonsense, I'm not bald." Zhao Hao calmly took the wig off the comb, put it back on his head and said, "It's too hot in the south, so I just shaved my head."

"I see, I thought I had company..." Chef Wang muttered quietly, then quickly covered up, "I mean, is this hair still combed?"

"Comb it." Zhao Hao held his temples with both hands and said, "This way it won't fall off..."

After tying up his hair and putting on the crown, by the fifth watch, Zhao Shouye had already prepared five sacrificial animals and fruits, and offered sacrifices to the ancestor portraits in the hall, which is the so-called "Xiangxian" or "Fengxian".

Zhao Hao followed his uncle in worshipping the black-faced fat man in the portrait, burning incense, and then having Xianxian soup and fruit for breakfast.

After breakfast, Master Zhao, helped by his disciples, dressed in red and decorated with colorful ribbons, and went out to welcome his bride with eight groomsmen riding nine white horses, amid the crackling sound of firecrackers.

The wedding procession was a mile long with dragon and lion dances, music and drums, attracting countless people to watch along the street. The Zhao family also threw out countless silver coins, sharing the joy and attracting the onlookers to follow them, and the procession went to Caijia Lane in the north of the city. For a time, the streets were empty, and men and women in Jinling competed to watch Master Zhao’s wedding.

When we arrived at Caijia Lane, fireworks were set off and the air was filled with fragrant mist. Firecrackers, shooting stars, sky rockets... the sound echoed through the streets like water splashing for free. On the street, colorful pavilions were connected one after another. They were the families in Caijia Lane who spontaneously tied up to celebrate the wedding of their beloved Master Zhao!

Caijiaxiang is not the only place in the city. The seven streets and five neighborhoods nearby have all benefited from Mr. Zhao's kindness. Some of them have jobs at Jiangnan Group, some have become employees at Xiaocangshan, or have made fortunes by doing business with these high-income people. Caijiaxiang has become the highest-income neighborhood in the entire city of Nanjing. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Zhao came from Caijiaxiang, so the neighbors naturally support Mr. Zhao enthusiastically.

In order to catch a glimpse of Young Master Zhao, they followed the team and squeezed in, crowding over, cheering loudly and wildly!

When the team arrived at the wealthy house with a plaque reading "Fang's House" hanging on it at the east end of Caijia Lane, Manager Fang had already been waiting at the door for a long time.

"Oh, my father-in-law has killed my son-in-law." Seeing this, Zhao Hao quickly jumped off the horse and knelt directly in front of Manager Fang.

"Oh, sir, you can't do this!" Shopkeeper Fang was stunned, and hurried to help Zhao Hao at a loss.

According to custom, the newlyweds do not need to kneel down and pay respect to the bride's parents before arriving at the groom's house. Zhao Hao did this to give the shopkeeper Fang enough face and to stop the gossip. He prevented people from gossiping about Qiaoqiao marrying in to be a concubine or something like that...

"Father-in-law, please call me Zhao Hao." Zhao Hao stood up with a smile on his face, took the wild goose handed to him by his disciple, and presented it with both hands, saying: "I, your son-in-law, have the audacity to come and ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. Please, father-in-law, give me your love!"

"Cut it, I will definitely cut it." Fang De hurriedly took the wild goose with both hands, and said with joy: "Sir...oh no, my dear son-in-law, please come in and have some tea."

"It's the son-in-law offering tea to his father-in-law." Zhao Hao smiled and bowed, "Please."

"Please, please." Shopkeeper Fang had to let Zhao Hao in first no matter what. He had not forgotten how he got here today, and he would not act like a father-in-law in front of Zhao Hao.

Shopkeeper Fang believed that doing so would not only harm his entire family, but also his daughter.

After entering the hall and going through a complicated ceremony, Qiaoqiao's mother led the bride, who was wearing a bright red veil, out from the back house. After giving her many instructions and showing great reluctance, she could not wait to let go of her hand.

After Zhao Hao and Qiaoqiao served tea to Fang De and his wife, they were carried on someone's back, walked out of the main hall, crossed the yard, and were escorted to the large sedan chair carried by eight people.

The crowds of people watching the ceremony were talking about it. Some envied Qiaoqiao's good fortune; some talked about the past when Qiaoqiao was selling buns at the bridge and Mr. Zhao was so poor that he couldn't eat, so she secretly gave him buns to eat. It was really sad. Good people are rewarded, and doing good deeds is the best life...

Many people were talking to each other, asking who was the man carrying Qiaoqiao on his back? Why had they never seen him before?

Since the person who carried her to the sedan chair must be her brother, but I don't remember that Shopkeeper Fang has a son...

Could it be that he was just adopted?

When the sedan chair carried by eight people went away amid music and drums, people stopped talking about it, as if that person had never appeared.

~~

Yu Jiachang's house is still at the west end of Caijia Lane, but it is very different from the original cramped and shabby two-courtyard house. The current Yu residence covers an area of ​​5 mu, with five courtyards in front and back, and a large garden. In Caijia Lane, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, it can be called the most luxurious house.

As Zhao Hao's first partner, Yu Jiachang had shares in Wei Ji Xian and Xiao Cang Shan, and his annual dividends were tens of thousands of taels of silver. He also opened a labor store with dozens of branches, specializing in recruiting basic labor from the north for the Jiangnan Group, as well as various craftsmen, scholars who could not go to school, young doctors and other technical talents. This income alone was 20,000 to 30,000 taels a year, and he really had the strength to build a large garden.

Yu Jiachang knew very well how all this came to be for him. Moreover, he was old now and his descendants still had to rely on the young master for support. He did not dare to neglect Zhao Hao and was waiting for him at the door.

Although he was only Ma Xianglan's adoptive father, Zhao Hao still knelt down in a serious manner and called him father-in-law, which really gave Yu Jiachang enough face.

This made Qi Jingyun, who was helping Ma Xianglan out, sigh secretly. It seemed that Miss Ma was very important to Master Zhao. This kneeling was not for Yu Jiachang, but purely to give Miss Ma face...

After the tea was served, Yu Jiachang's second son Yu E was supposed to carry Ma Xianglan to the sedan chair.

However, Zhao Hao waved his hand, signaling Yu E to step back, and he stepped forward and picked up his sister Ma horizontally.

Ma Xianglan exclaimed at first, but then she heard a familiar voice.

Zhao Hao said softly, "The veil and sedan are ready. Will you marry me, my lady?"

"Hmm..." Her body softened and she hugged his neck tightly, shyly leaning in his arms, allowing Zhao Hao to carry her out of Yu's house.

The bridesmaid lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and Zhao Hao gently placed Sister Ma in the eight-man sedan chair. When the curtain fell, Hua Bozhen shouted, "Lift the sedan chair!"

ps.Write one more update.