Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 852 Side Story: Main Story (Part Two)
The Wang family was filled with joy; the entire courtyard was decorated with red curtains and various red lanterns adorned with the character for "happiness".

For the past two weeks, Madam Lin's room has been occupied by people constantly. Master Wang had long been sent to sleep in the study, and the main house was occupied by the female relatives of the Lin and Wang families.

Their daily conversations naturally revolved around the marriage of Wang Yan and Xie Yuyan.

"This screen is beautifully embroidered." Madam Lin looked around at the many items as if she were selecting merchandise, trying to choose the best set of furniture to send to the bridal chamber.

“I like those pomegranates,” He Tan’s mother, Lin Xiangwan, said with a smile. “Isn’t it good to have many children and many blessings?”

Mrs. Lin naturally liked it too, but...

"Isn't placing it there implying that Ayan should give birth to the child soon?"

Lin Xiangwan blinked. "Is it not good?"
Madam Lin said, "I think we should let nature take its course... It mainly depends on what A-Yan thinks."

Lin Xiangwan couldn't help but sigh.

Madam Lin hurriedly said, "Ayan is different from others..."

"I know," Lin Xiangwan said. "You've said it so many times, I can recite it by heart. Ayan has too many things to do, and she needs to take better care of her health."

Madam Lin smiled and said, "When Tan'er gets married in the future, how about I go to help you a month in advance?"

Lin Xiangwan thought of her clueless son, whose mind was filled with nothing but war.

Tan Ge'er made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion, and she wanted to take this opportunity to ask the Empress Dowager for a marriage decree, but Tan Ge'er refused no matter what.

Madam Lin said, "What? You still haven't convinced Tan'er?"

Lin Xiangwan shook her head: "I took a liking to the young lady from Scholar Han's family at first sight. I wrote to Tan Ge'er several times, asking him to come home, but he refused. If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid he'll have to be betrothed to someone else."

Lin Xiangwan had experienced this kind of thing many times before. She used to think that He Tan was still young and hadn't figured things out yet, but now that Yan Ge'er was married, He Tan was still the same.

You can't spend your whole life in the military, can you?
“These past two days, many female relatives have come to visit our home,” Madam Lin said. “When Tan’er comes back, he might just find a good match.”

Lin Xiangwan also hoped for the same.

After the two finished talking, they went to choose other items and then had the steward move them to the new house.

With everything prepared, Madam Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then a smile returned to her face. Ah Yan was about to enter the Wang family, how could she not be happy?

"Hasn't Yan-ge'er come to see us yet?" Lin Xiangwan asked. "Why haven't we seen him all day?"

When the King of Qin rebelled, he killed too many people. Wang Yan took full responsibility for the crime and protected the officials around Wang Bingchen.

As a result, Wang Yan successfully submitted his memorial requesting retirement. Although the emperor temporarily withheld the document, the matter was essentially settled once Wang Yan got married.

Because of the treason case, the officials realized that if they had to choose between the Wang family father and son to continue controlling the Secretariat... then it would be better to choose Prime Minister Wang.

Wang Yan was young and impetuous, and taking over power at such a young age was not a good thing for the Liang court and its officials.

Most importantly, this person is ruthless; he needs to be tempered and have his rough edges smoothed out over a few years.

Madam Lin said, "I haven't had time to think about it yet; I'm still listening to the master of ceremonies explain the rules for welcoming the bride."

Lin Xiangwan was somewhat surprised: "Yan-ge'er still hasn't figured it out? Logically speaking, he shouldn't be like this. Isn't Yan-ge'er very concerned about this marriage? He should have made preparations long ago."

“It’s because we care too much,” Madam Lin said, “that’s why we had the master of ceremonies revise it again and again.”

Even the bridal sedan chair that Ayan rode in was decorated by Wang Yan and his men.

Hearing this, Lin Xiangwan suddenly wanted to see for herself just how nervous her nephew was.

……

Inside Wang Yan's room.

The master of ceremonies stood to the side, his smile almost stiff.

Wang Yan, dressed in his red official robes, looked at himself carefully, as if worried that something might be amiss. Then he turned to the official in charge of ceremonies and asked, "Is this alright?"

The master of ceremonies repeatedly said, "Good, very good, there are no problems at all."

"And what about during the wedding procession?" Wang Yan asked. "Tell me again what needs to be done."

The master of ceremonies pursed his dry lips and began to recount the entire process for the twentieth time.

……

In the courtyard of Nancheng Wharf.

Xie Yuyan was holding Ali while reviewing the accounts, while Zhou Guangyuan, Wu Tieshan, and Shanqing waited outside for news. The three of them had been extremely busy these past few months.

Even if we're not busy, it's still not an option. The main problem is that after the war, we did the math and realized we owed other merchants too much money.

Damaged merchant ships needed repair, those killed or wounded needed compensation, and there were too many things for them to handle.

Before the war, the old lady had spent a lot of money to buy ships, so after the war... she really didn't have many copper coins left in her pocket.

Fortunately, the merchants were not in a hurry to collect their debts, giving them time to raise the money slowly.

Just as they were racking their brains for ideas, Puhara brought over several large boxes of silver ingots. Zhou Guangyuan found it strange. Logically speaking, after this incident, Puhara should have been avoiding Madam in fear. He didn't know what had triggered him, but he suddenly became wholeheartedly concerned for Madam, looking as if he had recognized Madam as his master.

Then Abbess Jingyuan sent another thousand taels of silver, saying it was money earned from the dye shop.

Whether it was money from the dye shop or not, the three of them didn't know, nor dared to know. Zhou Guangyuan secretly guessed that the money was probably just sent over through Abbess Jingyuan.

"Here are your accounts," Yang Xiaoshan said with a smile, handing the accounts back to the three men. "Have you asked about everything? If you have something to do tomorrow..."

“We know,” Zhou Guangyuan said immediately. “If we weren’t really in a hurry, we wouldn’t be here at this time.”

The real reason was... they felt that after Madam Wang went to the Wang family, they wouldn't be able to see her for a month.

It's not that they can't visit, but considering that Wang Langjun is the door god... they'd better be sensible.

"We'll come over first thing tomorrow morning to help."

"We'll arrive before dawn."

Yang Xiaoshan smiled and said, "No need to be so early."

“That won’t do,” Zhou Guangyuan said. “What if there are too many people coming to fetch the bride and we don’t have enough manpower?”

Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Yang Xiaoshan had no choice but to agree.

How could there be a shortage of manpower? The Yang family alone sent more than thirty people, along with villagers from the local association, merchants who did business with Madam, porcelain kiln craftsmen, hired laborers... and even members of Madam Xu's family, her birth mother's clan.

In addition to Cao Yu, Zhou Lanqi and others from Quanzhou, the inns at Nancheng Wharf were already full half a month ago.

Even if everyone does nothing but gather around to watch the ceremony, it will still be quite a spectacle.

……

Yang Qin and Yan Sui huddled together to discuss the issue of blocking the door.

The two children had furrowed brows, as if they had aged eighty years in an instant.

"Actually, I went to seek your guidance today," Yan Sui said to Yang Qin in a low voice.

Yang Qin excitedly patted Yan Sui on the shoulder: "Good brother, your question has solved a major problem." At least one question is now answered.

Who knew Yan Sui would sigh and say, "I did ask, but I was afraid the master wouldn't teach me, so I even gave him some amulets from the temple: peace charms, good luck charms, house-protecting charms, evil-repelling charms, wealth-attracting charms, and pregnancy-safe charms..."

Hearing this, Yang Qin slightly opened his mouth: "We've already given you the pregnancy-preserving talisman, surely you'll agree now, sir?"

Yan Sui shook his head: "No, the teacher said that he would accompany the Imperial Academy and some classmates to Wang Langjun to welcome the bride. He can't just come up with the questions and solve them himself."

Yang Qin's heart sank completely. He had almost forgotten that the groom was the top scholar in the eyes of the Liang Dynasty's intellectuals. To set a question for the top scholar—wasn't that just inviting humiliation?
"What about martial arts?" Yang Qin was at his wit's end and wanted to find another way.

"Have you forgotten?" Yan Sui said, "General He will be coming tomorrow, and besides... Young Master Wang is the one who beheaded our master!"

Even their archery skills were taught by Wang Yan, and they're testing Wang Yan on this? Isn't that even more ridiculous?

Yang Qin asked, "Then what should we do?"

Yan Sui reached out and patted Yang Qin: "I don't think you can hold this gate anymore."

"It's beyond human power... so we can only pray to the Bodhisattva. Or should I ask my master to draw a talisman when I get back tonight?"

Yang Qin asked earnestly, "Do you have a gate-guarding talisman?"

Yan Sui shook his head: "Not now." But he and his apprentice had drawn all sorts of talismans to make a living, so drawing one on the spot wasn't out of the question.

"Forget it," Yang Qin pulled Yan Sui back, "You'd better not go. I'm afraid you'll take the opportunity to run away." Knowing he couldn't guard the gate, he might as well escape, leaving him alone to face that important scene.

Yan Sui blushed immediately after his thoughts were read.

……

The next day, while it was still dark, Xie Yuyan got up to dress. As dawn approached, there was already a commotion outside.

Zhang appeared extremely nervous and immediately stood up to ask, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just some merchants giving candy to the children along the street."

Only then did Zhang sit down comfortably.

The merchants who came to witness the ceremony not only brought candy, but also dates and longans. The children in the southern part of the city were even happier than during the Lunar New Year. Whenever they saw people from their side, they would open their mouths to offer their congratulations.

After Zhou Guangyuan and others carried the bridal sedan chair to the Wang family, they prepared several portions of colorful fruits to be scattered.

Although Xie Yuyan's wedding in her previous life was a lively affair, in Xie Yuyan's eyes it was nothing more than a formality. She was already drowsy while sitting in the sedan chair.

This time was clearly different. She was curious about what was happening outside and also looked forward to seeing how the groom would look today.

Finally, the sound of ceremonial music rang out from outside.

Chen Shangjun, who was in the courtyard, relayed the message into the house: "They're here, they're here, they're going through three trials!"

The women in the house all went out to watch the excitement, but before they could even get to the door, the groom had already finished composing his "bridal poem" and "fan-removing poem," and they were already paving the way and scattering money.

Yang Qin and Yan Sui slid down the wall dejectedly, thinking that no one could stop them faster than them.

Yan Sui tugged at Yang Qin's sleeve, deliberately changing the subject: "The bridal sedan chair they brought was really beautiful, did you see it?"

Yang Qin had been extremely nervous and hadn't paid attention to anything else. Hearing Yan Sui's words, he immediately climbed back onto the wall and peered out. He saw a jeweled bridal sedan chair parked at the entrance.

The bridal sedan chair was surrounded by strings of pearls, and the golden roof was dazzlingly bright, inlaid with gemstones, carved with many flowers and birds, and layers of blooming lotus flowers. Various tassels hung from the four corners of the sedan chair... Yang Qin was stunned.

By the time he came to his senses, Wang Yan had already stepped into the courtyard and headed straight for Xie Yuyan's residence.

Wang Yan bowed to Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi tried to dodge, but was firmly held down by Mama Yu. She whispered, "This is also Madam's wish."

With tears in her eyes, Zhang kept nodding, "Get up, get up." How could she have imagined that after her sixth son was gone, she would have another pair of children?

"Go quickly," Zhang said with a smile, "Ayan is waiting for you."

Wang Yan responded and lifted his robe to walk into the inner room.

The bright red curtains were drawn back, and a figure in a wedding dress sat there.

Wang Yan stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on her, unwilling to look away for even a moment. He walked forward step by step until he finally came to her side.

Wang Yan seemed not to hear anything the matchmaker was saying; he was only anxious to reach out and pull Xie Yuyan.

The two ladies, all blessed with good fortune, stared in disbelief at the scene. One of them was holding a handkerchief, as they hadn't expected the groom to take the bride's hand directly without it.

The fan was finally moved aside, and Xie Yuyan raised her eyes.

A different face, but those bright and spirited eyes were already etched in his heart.

"Ayan," Wang Yan called softly, "I'm here."

Xie Yuyan and Wang Yan looked at each other, and she finally said what she had kept in her heart: "My lord, you have been waiting for me for a long time."

After so many years, this day has finally come.

Before Xie Yuyan stepped into the sedan chair, the two ladies finally managed to hand the sash to Wang Yan. Today, this top scholar was bewitched as if he had lost his mind.

Fortunately... it turned out well in the end.

Xie Yuyan sat in the sedan chair, and Lady Quanfu was about to present the bride with a treasure vase, which symbolized peace and safety, and the bride should carry it all the way to her husband's home.

Just as Lady Quanfu opened her mouth to speak, her vision suddenly blurred, and a raccoon dog nimbly leaped into Xie Yuyan's arms.

　I can't finish writing, I'll continue tomorrow.
　　(End of this chapter)