Chapter 34 Marriage 2
At this moment, a bony hand reached out. Xia Yanjing put his hand on Shengxia's hand. The moment they touched, Xia Yanjing subconsciously held Shengxia's hand.
Xia Yanjing couldn't help but rub it twice. It was warm to the touch. His palm was not as delicate and soft as that of an ordinary boy, but it had the symmetrical and bony texture unique to a boy.
Shengxia's hand trembled slightly, and he seemed a little surprised, but he did not pull his hand back. He had to complete the process smoothly.
Surrounded and guided by the crowd, the two of them stepped steadily through the sedan door. Xia Yanjing looked at their tightly clasped hands and felt very happy.
"Jump over the fire basin, it will be prosperous and ward off evil spirits!" A small charcoal fire basin with burning pine branches and cypress leaves, symbolizing good luck, was placed at the door.
As soon as Xifu finished speaking, the two of them held hands and walked steadily over the brazier with jumping warm flames. There was not a single spark flying, only wisps of green smoke bringing a refreshing fragrance.
"Good! Good!" The crowd burst into even more enthusiastic cheers.
Next comes the "crossing the saddle" ceremony. An exquisitely carved saddle is placed on the threshold. The groom says, "The newlyweds cross the saddle, and may you live a safe life!" The two stand side by side in tacit understanding.
The two of them took a step at the same time and crossed over easily and neatly with an elegant posture, which caused the crowd to cheer again.
Xifu stuffed red silk into the hands of the two. The moment their hands separated, Xia Yanjing felt the remaining warmth in his palms and felt very reluctant to let go.
They walked all the way to the main hall, worshipped heaven and earth, worshipped their parents, and husbands worshipped each other. Each ceremony was carried out in an orderly, solemn and festive manner.
Since both husband and wife of the Sheng family were gone, it was Sheng Yuan who was sitting in the hall. Even though Sheng Xia tried to dissuade him many times, she could not stop Sheng Yuan from watching his younger brother get married in person.
"The ceremony is over! Send her to the bridal chamber!" With the last announcement, the atmosphere reached its climax.
Amidst the crowd's cheers and laughter, Shengxia took one end of the red silk tied with a big red flower, while the other end was held tightly in Xia Yanjing's hand. The red silk connected the two of them, and seemed to connect their future destiny.
Escorted by the crowd's playful presence, they walked towards the newly decorated room. Along the way, there were lights and decorations, and wedding characters were pasted all over the doors and windows. The air was filled with an overwhelming sense of joy.
A huge double happiness character was pasted on the door of the room. In the new house, red candles with dragon and phoenix patterns were burning brightly. The dancing candlelight made the red color in the room even warmer and more festive.
There was a bright red tent with a hundred children and a thousand grandchildren, and a brocade quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. On the table were wedding wine and red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds that symbolized the early birth of a son.
Xifu followed closely behind, saying many auspicious words and completing the rituals of spreading the tent. When all the outsiders had tactfully left, leaving only the servant waiting outside the door, the bridal chamber finally became quiet, with only the subtle crackling of the burning red candles and the slightly nervous heartbeats of the two.
"Mr. Xia, we don't need to drink the wedding wine." Now that there were only two people left in the room, Shengxia asked uncertainly.
"Of course you have to drink it. This is a very important process in getting married." Xia Yanjing said without thinking. This is a good opportunity for him and Shengxia to have close contact.
"Okay." Although Shengxia felt that there was no need for the two of them to go through this process, he didn't want to offend Xia Yanjing. After all, Shengxia felt guilty towards Xia Yanjing for everything that happened today.
Xia Yanjing stepped forward, picked up the wine pot on the table, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one of them to Shengxia. Xia Yanjing smiled and looked at Shengxia, a little shy, "Xia Xia, let's drink the wedding wine."
After saying that, Xia Yanjing leaned in slightly, and drank with Shengxia. The warm wine flowed down his throat, bringing a hint of spicy stimulation, but Xia Yanjing felt that the wine was particularly sweet, just because the person next to him was Shengxia.
This was the first time that Shengxia was so close to a man. After drinking a glass of wine, Shengxia couldn't help but blush and her heart beat faster.
"I'll go to the front hall to entertain the guests. I'll ask the servant to bring you food later." Shengxia said and left as if escaping.
After leaving the room, Shengxia secretly despised herself. Her performance just now was so embarrassing. It's not like she had never seen a man before. The accelerated heartbeat must be due to drinking, Shengxia comforted herself.
The clamor in the front hall hit me in the face as if it were real. The air was filled with the rich aroma of wine, the heat of dishes, and the complex scent of precious incense. The sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras were endless, and the actors' graceful singing voices appeared and disappeared among the noisy crowd.
"General Sheng, come here, today is your big day, come and have a drink." A young man from a noble family dressed in a brocade robe, holding a glass of wine, stuffed it into Sheng Xia's hand without saying a word.
The person who came was Zhao Qiang, the husband of the third prince. Shengxia looked up and knew that Zhao Qiang was drunk. Shengxia didn't want to pay any attention to a drunkard, especially the son of Prime Minister Zhao.
Shengxia held the wine glass but didn't drink. Zhao Qiang felt that Shengxia had lost his face and was unhappy when he saw Shengxia not drinking. "How dare you, a brother, refuse my wine? Even if you are a general, do you know who my father is?"
The noisy sounds around drowned out Zhao Qiang's voice, and Shengxia was some distance away from the banquet. The servants in the mansion had all gone to the front hall to help. Zhao Qiang must have been drunk before he came here.
Sheng Yuan, who was about to come look for his brother, saw this scene and said with anger, "Mr. Zhao, you've had too much to drink. I'll have someone help you down to rest."
Sheng Yuan didn't want to affect his brother's wedding banquet, so he planned to let Zhao Qiang leave.
"I'm not drunk. I'm very sober. If you don't drink this glass of wine, believe it or not, my father will make you pay for it." Zhao Qiang threatened.
The looks in Shengxia and Shengyuan's eyes became dangerous. Shengxia clenched her fists, wishing she could punch Zhao Qiang.
The man and the boy sat at separate tables. Wei Yang came to the wedding banquet with Zhao Qiang. He was ordered by his father-in-law to keep a close eye on Zhao Qiang, so Wei Yang saw Zhao Qiang walking towards the backyard.
Zhao Qiang did not come out for a long time after entering the backyard, and he was afraid that Zhao Qiang would drink and cause trouble in Sheng Mansion, so he could no longer bear it and got up and walked over.
Wei Yang, who was approaching, soon heard Zhao Qiang's dirty words. Until Wei Yang heard Zhao Qiang say, "You, a cripple, dare to order me around," Wei Yang could no longer bear it and rushed over.
"Husband, be careful with your words." Wei Yang said angrily.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you control me? I'm giving you face, right?" Zhao Qiang said in a very aggressive tone when he heard Wei Yang's voice.
"Husband, my father-in-law asked me to find you. Let's go quickly." Wei Yang didn't dare to look into Sheng Yuan's eyes. At this moment, he just wanted to escape from here as soon as possible.
Seeing that Zhao Qiang didn't respond and was still acting crazy while drunk, Wei Yang insisted that Shengxia drink the wine in his hand. He suppressed his fear and walked forward to pull Zhao Qiang away.
"Get out." Zhao Qiang felt humiliated by the two Sheng brothers and was already very unhappy. Wei Yang's action of pulling him gave him a place to vent his anger, and he raised his hand and slapped Wei Yang.
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