Chapter 219 Marriage
On September 12, the Lu Mansion was overjoyed. They decorated the place with lanterns and held a grand banquet.
Hundreds of tables were set up for the buffet for the people, and the wedding procession scattered thousands of taels of silver in copper coins alone on the street.
The Lu Mansion was filled with guests and the lights were brightly lit.
Madam Lu sat at the main table, grinning from ear to ear, watching Shen Zhao coming and going to greet guests and toast.
A man suddenly came into the corridor, looking a little panicked. He ran behind Mrs. Lu, bowed and whispered a few words.
Madam Lu still smiled, and she stood up and said to the guests, "Everyone, enjoy your meal. I'll be back soon."
Chen Yu sat in the female guest seat, and after a long time, Madam Lu did not come back.
After waiting for a while, a maid came over and said, "Miss, the old lady wants you to go to the ancestral hall."
Chen Yu was puzzled and got up to go there. At the gate of the courtyard, she ran into Xie Tingzhou who was coming from the men's seat.
"Why are you here too?"
Xie Tingzhou said: "Madam Lu asked someone to ask me to come here."
Both of them walked into the ancestral hall with doubts, and saw that the door of the ancestral hall, which was usually closed, was now wide open, and their doubts became even stronger.
The middle door of the ancestral hall is usually closed. People usually go through the side door or the back door for cleaning and burning incense. The middle door will only be opened when there are very important or solemn matters to be dealt with.
Old Madam Lu stood in front of the incense table with her back to the central door. After bowing three times, she inserted the incense into the incense burner, then turned around and looked at Xie Tingzhou.
"Kneel down."
Chen Yu asked in surprise: "Grandmother?"
Xie Tingzhou did not say anything, but he lifted his robe and knelt down while Shen Yu was talking.
Madam Lu looked at Chen Yu again, "You kneel down too."
Chen Yu didn't dare to say more. She bent her knees and knelt down, her back straight.
Madam Lu's eyes lingered on the two of them and she said, "The proclamation has arrived at the government office of Hezhou Prefecture."
Shen Yu was startled, remembering that she did not see the Hezhou prefect at the banquet at Lu Mansion today.
The Lu family's main family is in Hezhou, and there is a lot of business traffic here. The officials in the provincial government also make a lot of money. So, the Hezhou prefect and the Lu family have some financial relationship.
Shen Yu looked up at Madam Lu and said, "We will leave overnight and will not burden the Lu Mansion."
"Silly child." Madam Lu's eyes were slightly red. "Grandma has never been afraid of being implicated by you. If I can protect you, I will fight them with my old bones. What does it matter?"
Tears instantly filled Chen Yu's eyes.
Xie Tingzhou turned his head to look at her. He could not do anything beyond the rules in the ancestral hall. He could only look at her and comfort her silently.
Madam Lu took two steps towards the two of them. "The governor of Hezhou and I have a superficial relationship. He sent someone to report the news. His meaning is very clear. He wants you to leave Hezhou as soon as possible. He can only delay until tomorrow morning at most."
Chen Yu asked, "Is he using this as a threat to ask for some benefit from you? If he dares to threaten you, I will kill him."
"Don't worry." Madam Lu said, "He didn't mention anything. I guess he just wanted to ask for a favor."
Shen Yu thought for a moment. Xie Tingzhou only brought thirty people into the city, and the six thousand Qingyun Guards were stationed outside the city and hidden in the mountains, but it was impossible for the Hezhou prefect not to have received any news.
The situation is tense now, and he would never believe that Xie Tingzhou would dare to come with only so many people, so the Hezhou prefect was in a dilemma.
As the governor of Hezhou, he should attack Shen Yu, but he was afraid of Beilin and did not dare to take any action.
Moreover, Shengjing, Beilin and Luzhou have now formed a three-way balance of power, with the three parties restraining each other, and no one can predict who will be the final winner.
The governor of Hezhou did not want to offend anyone and wanted to be a fence-sitter.
"I understand." Shen Yu nodded.
Madam Lu looked at the two people kneeling in front of her, stepped aside, and said, "You two, kowtow to your ancestors, and also kowtow to your grandfather and mother."
Xie Tingzhou's eyes moved, and he understood everything clearly.
After bowing three times respectfully, the two men raised their heads and heard footsteps at the door.
Shen Zhao and Yu Wanqiu came side by side, wearing bright red wedding dresses. Shen Zhao held a tray in his hand and walked forward and said, "Grandma."
Madam Lu nodded slightly, "Today, you two kowtowed in front of the ancestors, which means you have been recognized by the ancestors. In the future, you must be united as husband and wife, loving and harmonious."
At the end, Madam Lu's voice was trembling slightly, "Xie Tingzhou, I will hand over my A-yu to you."
Xie Tingzhou kowtowed solemnly to Old Madam Lu, "Grandma, please rest assured. I will protect her with my life."
Madam Lu picked up the two jade pendants from the tray and gave one to each of them.
"Ayu." Madam Lu wiped away the tears from her eyes, "Time is short, and grandma can't give you the biggest wedding. Wait until you return to the river next time.
Zhou, grandma will make it up to you."
Chen Yu nodded repeatedly. She couldn't see her grandmother clearly through her tearful eyes, and she blinked away the tears.
Xie Tingzhou said solemnly, "Please rest assured, I will make up for what she lacks today tomorrow."
"Everyone, get up." Madam Lu raised her hand upwards. "You must leave tonight. I'll have someone escort you out of the city."
Shen Yu stood up, stared at Madam Lu for a while, and then looked at Shen Zhao.
"Don't look at me like that." Chen Zhao said quickly, "We'll meet soon. What's the point of crying?"
Shen Yu glared at him through her tears, causing Shen Zhao to laugh.
Chen Zhao pulled up his sleeve and tried to wipe it for her like he did before. As soon as he raised his hand, he caught a glimpse of Xie Tingzhou's gaze.
"Okay, okay." Chen Zhao took his hand back, "She will be your wife from now on, you can coax her yourself."
Yu Wanqiu gently tugged at his sleeve and said softly, "Ayu, Prince, have a safe journey."
Xie Tingzhou: "Thank you very much."
He quietly held Shen Yu's hand under his sleeve and squeezed her palm soothingly.
The front yard was full of guests, toasting each other, but the back door of Lu's mansion was quietly opened.
Torches lit up the alley.
Xifeng stood at the door, Changliu sat in the carriage with a newly acquired jar in his arms, and there were thirty Qingyun Guards around the carriage.
Green Medicine cried and hiccuped, and asked in a low voice: "Why can't you take me with you?"
Chen Yu said: "It will be inconvenient to stay in the army in the future. I will send someone to pick you up after I settle down. My sister-in-law has just arrived at the Lu Mansion and is unfamiliar with the place. You have to protect her for me."
"I promise..." Green Medicine burped, "I promise to protect her."
"Let's go." Xie Tingzhou took the cloak and put it on her shoulders.
Shen Yu looked at Madam Lu on the steps, "I'm leaving."
"Well, go ahead." Mrs. Lu nodded.
"I'll be back to see you soon, you have to wait for me."
Madam Lu smiled and said, "I will wait for you. I will definitely wait for you. I will wait for our A-Yu to come back."
Shen Yu climbed onto the horse, and glanced at everyone in front of the door one by one, and finally met the eyes of Madam Lu.
"drive--"
Chen Yu squeezed the horse's belly and leaped forward.
The team left like a tide, and when they looked back, the lights of the Lu Mansion had disappeared in the dust.
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