Chapter 065 Chapter 65

"Bow to heaven and earth."

"Bow to your parents."

"The couple bows to each other."

When Mrs. Liu saw that the ceremony was completed, she learned that weddings in the Jiangnan area were complicated. The bride and groom had to go to the bridal chamber to perform the fanning ceremony, and then after drinking the wedding wine, they had to come out again to meet relatives and friends for tea and toasts.

This was also her last step, so she looked very happy.

Yao Niang had been covering her face with a fan, and was afraid of making mistakes in the etiquette, so she was extremely nervous. When she was helped out, she felt hot and almost fainted. She only drank a glass of water and ate two rice cakes that day.

When he walked, he was completely like a puppet, but Shen Linfeng's feet were full of wind and his peach blossom eyes were full of smiles.

The mansion of the Shen family is slightly different from that of the Yan family. The mansion of the Yan family was purchased by the eldest and third old grandfathers together, and it is located in Anrenfang, a place where people are either rich or noble. However, the Shen family is even better. There are pavilions and terraces, not to mention the rockery, strange rocks, flying pavilions and flowing red. It can be seen that even every blade of grass and every tree is carefully cultivated. No wonder Wuxing Shen family is said to be a wealthy family.

I remember when my elder sister got engaged to the Shen family, someone once said that the Shen family was not only a noble family, but also extremely wealthy. Therefore, for a period of time, my elder sister did not show any resistance at all, and even looked forward to it. This time, many members of the Yan family came to Beijing. Yao Niang heard from two female relatives who had been to the family temple that Yan Ningxin regretted running away from the marriage. This time, Yao Niang did not let the news of her marriage to Shen Linfeng reach her ears.

"Bride, watch your step." Hearing Mrs. Liu's reminder, Yao Niang concentrated.

After passing two winding corridors, they came to a main courtyard at the back. Because Yao Niang's veil was covered with a light gauze, she could vaguely see the situation outside. After entering the courtyard gate and walking straight ahead, she saw three small side rooms. She couldn't see clearly how many main rooms there were at the back. She was helped in and walked around a screen. The inner room was brightly lit.

The bed was filled with longans, lotus seeds, lilies and other things. Yao Niang was very familiar with them. She had seen her brother's wedding bed, and it was exactly the same.

After she sat down, she heard Mrs. Liu's voice beside her: "Please ask the groom to lift the veil, and everything will be fine from now on."

Then, the red veil on the crown was taken off, but the fan was still in her hand. Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "Groom, you must recite a poem to urge the bride to put on her makeup so that she can take off the fan."

Shen Linfeng nodded heavily: "Okay."

Mrs. Liu couldn't bear to look at it, but fortunately Shen Linfeng was indeed a good poet, so the bride slowly took off the Hehuan fan.

After Yao Niang took the fan, she felt a little embarrassed when she saw Shen Linfeng staring at her. She had never seen Shen Linfeng look so happy before. Then she saw him in a bright red wedding dress, with an upright figure and bright peach blossom eyes. She couldn't help but feel her heart pounding. As for Shen Linfeng, he was rarely speechless because of beauty. He found her shy and very cute.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Liu had to hurry up and complete the process because she was really afraid that something might happen to her as a fully-fledged wife. So she smiled and said, "The bride and groom, please drink the wedding wine, and then life will be sweet and happy."

The maids brought two cups of wine tied with a red string, but the red string was very short and they had to hold it close. Yao Niang was so hungry that she felt dizzy and almost staggered, but Shen Linfeng supported her directly.

"Are you okay?" Even though he always mentioned his sister the Divine Concubine, he didn't dare to call her that in front of Yao Niang.

Yao Niang shook her head: "Nothing."

Getting married was supposed to be a sweet and romantic thing, but now someone was urging them to meet the guests, so after drinking the wedding wine, they didn't have time to say a few words, and they had to change their clothes.

Yao Niang took off her thick crown, and Aunt Wang replaced it with a small crown with a golden flower pattern and a bridge of clouds. She also changed her formal dress into another wedding dress with a skirt embroidered with swastika tassels, which looked much lighter. Shen Linfeng was also dressed in red, and took off her flowered hat and tied her hair up with a golden crown. She looked much more refreshed than before.

When she came out again, night had fallen. The maids were lighting candles. A night breeze blew and Yao Niang felt a little cold. Soon a cloak was put on her. She looked up and saw that it was Shen Linfeng.

Yao Niang felt warm in her heart: "Thank you very much."

Shen Linfeng wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth he didn't know what to say, so he just smiled faintly.

They returned to the main hall where they had just held the wedding ceremony. It was already crowded. Being from a big family like the Yan family, Yao Niang did not feel timid in front of such a large group of relatives from the Shen family. Instead, she followed Shen Linfeng into the hall with ease.

Madam Zhou, who was standing beside Madam Shen, recognized them. She was already waiting at the door and said to them, "Madam, please ask the eldest master and the eldest mistress to come over here."

Yao Niang smiled at Mother Zhou and said that they would meet with relatives and friends first today, and Mother Zhou would be the recommender.

"This is our second master and second lady."

Yao Niang looked at him with a smile. The second old man had a square face and looked like a scholar, but he had a murderous aura. The second wife had met him before when they were talking about marriage. She was an extremely decent and noble woman. To be honest, Mrs. Shen looked older than her.

The second room was gifted with a pair of lacquer boxes. The lacquerware had a strong ancient Chu style and the craftsmanship was elegant, which was definitely not something that ordinary people could appreciate.

Besides, Shen Xunfu from the third room is currently serving in another post. His eldest daughter-in-law sent him a set of Ru kiln teacups. Ru porcelain has a simple and elegant shape, and is glazed with precious agate. The color is unique, and it has the beauty of "agate glaze has been passed down from ancient times". It is said that the glaze color can change with the light, and people who appreciate it use metaphors such as "the sky clears after the rain and the clouds break", "the green waves of thousands of peaks come".

In the generation of Shen Linfeng's father, the Shen family had three brothers, three sisters, and three aunts, each of whom received rewards. Yao Niang accepted these rewards with grace and grace, and her eyes were full of smiles. She didn't even need to flirt with others. Just standing there, it was easy to understand what it meant to fall in love at first sight.

These relatives flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern. The only one she had some impression of was Aunt Gan with triangular eyes. She heard that she was Mrs. Shen's biological sister.

After the ceremony, Second Madam Shen smiled and said to Madam Shen, "Sister-in-law, let the young couple go about their business. The relatives are all here anyway, and it won't be too late to meet and talk tomorrow."

Mrs. Shen was about to nod, but she saw the second aunt came forward and grabbed Yao Niang's hand: "Good child, I think you are a lovely person, but don't learn from your sister."

Before Yao Niang got married, she had thought about the influence Yan Ningxin would bring, so she also summed up a set of words at home, so she reacted quickly, so she smiled and said: "I wonder which sister of mine you are talking about?"

Shen Linfeng also felt that something was wrong and was ready to think of a proper excuse, but Yao Niang said it directly. The second aunt was about to speak, but then she remembered that the eldest daughter of the Yan family ran away from marriage, which would bring shame to the Shen family, and she felt embarrassed.

Upon seeing this, Yao Niang pulled her hand out from hers, thinking to herself, you are just trying to intimidate me, maybe in the next life.

As a human being, once you start to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens, you will be stepped on in the face by others.

Of course, she couldn't show off her power, so Yao Niang just smiled and spoke without getting angry.

"The second aunt is really drunk. My dear bride, I'll see you tomorrow." Mrs. Shen stood up calmly and pulled the second aunt aside.

Mrs. Shen was naturally unhappy, but she couldn't show it now. She just said to Shen Linfeng, "There are guests ahead. You stay and entertain them. Let the bride go back to her room and rest first."

"Yes, son, I understand." Shen Linfeng's peers, classmates, and teachers had all come, so naturally he had to entertain them.

But he was worried about Yao Niang, so he turned around and looked at her. Yao Niang smiled and said, "I'm fine. You go ahead. I'll go back to my room first."

She and Shen Linfeng knew each other before marriage and had played together before, so naturally they didn't have to go through the process of getting to know each other like ordinary newlyweds. Shen Linfeng smiled and left. Yao Niang also took the servants back to the main courtyard first. She was not an ignorant woman who had never been out of the house. Even in the Shen family, she could handle herself.

Although Madam Shen felt that her daughter-in-law had too much influence on her son, she still told Madam Zhou: "Send some food to Grandma. I'm going to go to the front to greet the imperial edicts."

Mother Zhou replied yes.

Neither the Yan family nor the Shen family were small and medium-sized families. How could a family on the rise openly mistreat the new bride? If the news got out and people in the capital knew about it, the Yan family would not let it go.

Yao Niang was also aware of this, which was why she agreed later on. Her husband was a recognized good man, had no concubines, and treated her well. Why would she not want such a marriage?

Almost all the furniture in the new house were her dowry beds, cabinets, and even the screens were from her own home. In this dynasty, there was a custom of lavish dowries, and it was said that many men often ate their wives' dowries. Even after Shen Linfeng passed the imperial examination, the Yan family gave him money to pay for the land.

However, seeing the familiar objects, Yao Niang felt relieved.

Not long after they sat down, Mother Zhou brought the meal over. Qingdai helped Yao Niang take off her hairpins and washed her hands before she started eating.

"Have you eaten?" Yao Niang asked Mama Gu and the others.

Mother Gu smiled and said, "Girl, no, Grandma, please eat quickly. We all had a full meal at noon. If it's inconvenient for you to eat, we all brought snacks with us."

Yao Niang then began to concentrate on eating. The dishes sent by the Shen family were not those muddy and greasy ones. There were four side dishes, two pickled vegetables, and a bowl of egg custard.

When she was halfway through her meal, she saw Shen Linfeng personally coming over with a tray. She was about to stand up, but she saw Shen Linfeng smiling and said, "I know you must be very tired today, so I asked the kitchen to stew a nourishing chicken soup early in the morning. Don't worry, I specially asked them to skim off the excess oil."

I didn't expect Shen Linfeng to be so considerate. When Yao Niang was at home, apart from her mother who cared about her so much, she had never seen a man so considerate. Even her own brother had never been so considerate to a girl.

“多謝。”窈娘笑着，又邀請他道：“你也陪我一起吃吧，我們也說說話。”

這也是沈臨風所想，他一揮手下人們也都下去了，沈臨風其實心裏歡喜到發麻，但是又不知道怎麽表達出來。窈娘并不知道沈臨風到底對她如何，只知道他的确有把她放在心上，但她是個非常會找話題的人：“你知道嗎？今日咱們禮成的時候，我看到劉夫人狠狠地松了一口氣。”

沈臨風記起上次他的婚事也是劉夫人做全福太太，聽窈娘調侃，見她一點兒也不介意，就失笑：“是，其實我也發現了。”

“是吧？所以你姑姑說我的時候，其實我早就想好了你們家肯定會有人這麽說的。這樣的傷疤，為我們好的人肯定是盼着咱們好，不會提這樣的晦氣，可那些起哄架秧子的人就愛如此，但是我又怕真的厲害了，人家到時候把咱們都孤立了。”窈娘還是得和沈臨風說心裏話，尤其是她們家裏的人的态度其實也是很重要的。

沈臨風見窈娘說完，又等着他的意見，他低頭道：“其實方才你不說，我是準備讓人扶二姑媽下去的。”

“我就知道你不是那種任由老婆被人欺負的人，可我不願意你人前太過為我出頭。”窈娘微笑的看着沈臨風。

沈臨風也正看過來，他一把握住窈娘的手：“你放心，日後有人欺負你，只管同我說。”

“我年紀又小，孤身一人嫁到你們家來，能夠依靠之人也只有你了，你可千萬別背棄我。”窈娘眼眸含淚，認真的道。

沈臨風很是心疼：“神妃妹妹，我絕對不會負你的。”

窈娘拿出帕子點了點淚水，低頭把雞湯都喝完了，不得不說沈家的雞湯還是很好喝的。飯畢，就要沐浴了，下人們用屏風隔開，讓窈娘和沈臨風分別沐浴。

沈臨風今日吃了酒水，怕薰到窈娘，沐浴漱口之後，還含了一片薄荷糖在口中。

但見他洗好了，窈娘才從屏風後出來，發梢還帶着些水汽的濕潤，頭發早已不是之前那樣盤着，而是全部放了下來，她的頭發很長，烏黑發亮，皮膚似梨花一樣粉白，笑着朝自己走過來。

兩個人雖然比常人要熟悉些，可若是說真的同床共枕，想想還有點害羞。

可是沈臨風每日到點就要睡覺，今日已經熬的很晚了，可他又怕窈娘覺得自己冷落了她，也只好強撐着。

還好窈娘看了一下床上的被褥，一共有六床，她看着他道：“那我們一人兩床被子分着睡吧，明日還得早起呢。”

沈臨風沒什麽意見，“好，那你先上到床上去，我睡外面，你睡裏面。”

其實窈娘就很喜歡沈臨風這樣，沒有任何一點淫邪，真的很尊重她的感覺，她順勢就到床上去，拿了兩床被子蓋在身上，不愧是家裏陪送來的鵝毛被，蓋着就是舒服，躺下去時，她還打了個哈欠。

旁邊的人也窸窸窣窣上到床上來了，他平躺着閉上眼睛，已經是困到極致，等窈娘看他時，發現他竟然睡着了，窈娘也松了一口氣，她自己累了一日了，現在松散下來，竟然也昏昏沉沉的進入了夢鄉。

誰也沒料到她們睡的這麽快，別的人倒是都沒睡下。

沈夫人和沈老爺剛剛送完客人，沈夫人忍不住捶着自己的腰：“人年紀大了，稍微熬一會兒就忍不住腰酸背痛，我這脖子都不像自己的了。”

“婚事進展的順利就好，三弟跟我寫信一直誇顏家這位三姑娘，說她不僅才貌雙全，孝順至極，還機敏聰慧，乃是一個奇女子。有這樣的女子才配得上咱們家臨風，你往後就少操心，正所謂不聾不啞不做家翁。”沈老爺近來總覺得妻子也變了許多，她不像之前那樣喜愛莳花弄草，而是總控制不住脾氣，還特別喜歡喝濃茶，半夜常常驚醒。

其實他這話，也有一等勸解之意，但至親志疏夫妻，他也不好說的太透。

沈夫人強自辯駁：“我也喜歡這姑娘，她現在是我們臨風的媳婦兒，那我自然就更要對她好了，只不過她姐姐曾經那般沒規矩，鬧出了那種事情，我也得多教她一些規矩，若是等再做出什麽醜事來，到時候可是連累家裏。”

沈老爺點頭：“這話倒也有理，你雖然教她規矩，卻也不能太嚴厲，到底她年紀還小。”

沈夫人笑道：“老爺也太小看人了，我怎麽可能作踐兒媳婦？我們這樣的家世，又不是那等小門小戶的婆媳，我只疼她還來不及。”

老夫妻二人說完話就睡下了，沈夫人卻噩夢連連，她夢到了一直久未露面的長子，他眼圈烏黑，整個人衣衫不整，看着她一直伸着手。

……

沈陌也睡不着覺，她年歲不算小了，親事一直沒定下來，原本母親想讓她嫁給顏景昭，她雖然沒有十分的意思，也有五六分意，可顏家選擇了李氏。要再選這樣一個出衆的士族子弟，實在是太難了。

今日好幾個親戚們都在問她有沒有許婆家，沈陌不願意人家多提起，如果不能嫁一個好人，還不如做在室女。

可正如娘說的，在室女日後是要看哥哥嫂子的臉色，哥哥倒好說，嫂子若是不好相處，她在家中也待不住。所以，她也要觀察一下她的這位新嫂子如何？自己要如何應對。

比起沈夫人和沈陌對自身處境的擔心，二姑太太今日卻是出了醜，三姑太太和她姊妹倆一起睡，不免道：“你也是，今兒你這說的是什麽話，這不是讓大嫂和臨風下不了臺。”

“我也是覺得顏家臉皮太厚了，之前害的咱們家出了那麽大的醜，姐姐不成了，又把妹子嫁過來，就咱們侄兒脾性好，樂呵呵的，我這是看着心酸。”二姑太太不忿。

三姑太太嘆了口氣：“二姐，你還是這麽個性子，顏家雖然上杆子嫁女兒，可到底顏家也不是普通人家，若是做的太過了，顏家可能會針對你的，這位顏侍郎絕對不是善茬。前首輔的親信，可是被他用京察全部趕走了。”

二姑太太則道：“我也不想大嫂二嫂将來還受她一個年輕的媳婦子欺負，所以也是告誡一二，難道作為長輩，這還不成了？”

她可是聽二嫂說起上次鬧的沸沸揚揚，沈臨風在翰林院都被流言蜚語困擾，以至于去河南躲了那麽久，若非制科中了，前程盡毀，現在還要她們對顏家女兒好言相向，那是做夢。再者，她也是有一等為難之意，新婦若是吃了下馬威，自然會變得柔順，将來也會更親近婆家，這些是常理。

顏家的姑娘都是出了名的驕矜，愛擺架子，她也是為了沈家好。

舉凡這些背後人如何想，窈娘也是自小在顏家這樣的大家族長大的，形形色色的人都見過，哪裏懼怕這些人，她就知曉現在她夫君是沈家的宗子，她是未來宗婦，這些人日後都要看她臉色，現在為難她不過是想離間她們關系罷了。

有些人就專門靠着離間別人夫妻關系，雙邊讨好的，她怎麽可能會怕？

早上醒來見沈臨風還在睡，她不忍喊他起來，自己倒是先喊了下人進來服侍，梳妝打扮都需要功夫的。

“大奶奶，大爺那裏要不要喊起來？”顧媽媽擔心。

“不必，他又不用像我這般梳妝，讓他多睡會兒吧。”其實窈娘那次和他一起同行，就發現他的小秘密了，若是哪日他晚些時候過來，必定神采奕奕的，若是早點起床就神情恹恹的。

其實沈臨風已經聽到窈娘的話了，他悄悄閉着眼睛眯了一會兒，才裝作剛剛醒來的樣子，他一起來，就見窈娘轉過身來歪着頭那樣暖洋洋的看着他。

“你先起床梳洗吧，咱們今日還要給長輩敬茶。”窈娘原本以為像沈臨風這樣的人，她大抵和自己嫂子一樣，溫柔順從些就好，沒想到她和沈臨風完全是翻轉了個個兒，反而是她事事主導。

她本來以為男人穿衣服應該是很快的，沒想到沈臨風真的是非常的講究，每一件衣裳怎麽搭配，配什麽樣的頭冠，什麽樣的首飾，甚至身上薰香不對，都要重新弄。

真的要這麽複雜嗎？

但窈娘是個非常尊重別人的人，她不會擅自改變別人的生活習慣，畢竟，她嫁進來之前，沈臨風都這麽多了二十年了，怎麽改都改不了的。

所以，她就坐在桌前托腮笑眯眯的看着他，也并不催他。

沈臨風換好衣裳後，還站在她面前道：“如何？”

銀紅這樣的顏色，穿在他身上一點都沒有脂粉氣，反而更有一種邪魅來，配上他的桃花眼，窈娘嬌聲道：“好看。”

沈臨風還有些不好意思了：“神妃妹妹今日也恍若神妃仙子一般。”

“好哥哥，我們就別互相誇下去了，都要去請安了。”窈娘提醒道。

So the couple went out to Madam Shen's place. Yesterday it was dark and everyone saw the bride's only vague beauty, but today they saw her appearance in person and suddenly felt that their promise of watching Luofu was not just empty talk.

Yao Niang just stood up after bowing, Madam Shen and Old Master Shen nodded secretly, and Old Master Shen went out first. The couple accompanied Madam Shen to have breakfast. Yao Niang hadn't decided what to eat yet, and she saw Shen Linfeng smiled and said, "Have peanut porridge, I'll serve it to you."

"Ahem." Yao Niang originally stood up to serve the dishes, but Shen Linfeng helped her serve the dishes. She winked at him, signaling him not to do that.

Unexpectedly, Shen Linfeng, who has always been quite smart, said: "Do you want to eat shrimp dumplings? Unfortunately, in winter, there are only frozen shrimps in the ice cellar, which are not very fresh. It is better to eat sugar lotus root, which is very fresh."

Yao Niang almost fainted. It's not good to be too masculine!