Misty Rain of the Old Times

Mr. Yushan had no intention of beating Chen Xuan; he smiled broadly and said, "Go on, go on, business is more important."

As an elder, he certainly wouldn't go, especially since he has difficulty walking. He can just wait to receive the wedding money and drink the wedding wine.

Actually, he found it a little funny. Back then, Chen Xuan wasn't exactly timid and submissive, but he was still quite well-behaved and dutiful. How did he end up becoming such a lively and cheerful character?
Chen Xuan stood up and asked, "Where should I change my clothes?" Then, looking at Gao Jingming, he said with a sigh, "Young Master, why are you wearing so many big red flowers today?"

It's normal for the groom to wear a big red flower, but Gao Jingming had seven or eight on his chest, practically a whole bunch hanging on his body.

Gao Jingming explained, "The family prepared one flower, each of my married sisters received one, and then there were flowers for my uncles, aunts, and maternal aunts. That's all for now."

Chen Xuan suddenly realized that it was a relative who had been injured.

This wasn't the derogatory "wearing red flowers" he understood; rather, it was a way of celebrating with red flowers, a blessing only given by close relatives. It also reflected the prosperity of a family, and the more red flowers a family had, the more glorious it was.

At this moment, a young man dressed in a blue and red robe, with a red silk sash around his waist and a red flower in his hair hurried over. After greeting Gao Jingming, he asked, "Brother, the time is almost here. Steward He asked how the preparations are going?"

The person who came was Gao Jinghao, Gao Jingming's younger brother. He was a year or two older than Chen Xuan and had already started his own family. Since his older brother was getting married, the younger brother naturally had to help out.

"It'll be done soon," Gao Jingming said, then urged, "Ah Xuan, I'm counting on you guys from now on."

"Jingming, what are you saying? Don't worry, leave it to us. We'll make sure you get your bride back safely and smoothly," Zhou Lin said, standing up.

Chen Xuan asked, "Is Young Master Jinghao going too? There will be five of us?"

The five people he referred to were the main representatives who went to the Lü family to fetch the bride, not just the five of them.

Mr. Yushan knew what he meant, and to prevent him from making a common-sense mistake, he immediately said, "The five of you are enough. The Lü family will also send five women to escort the bride, so that makes a double blessing. And then there will be ten people, which also symbolizes perfection."

Chen Xuan understood again; so that's how it's said. He had thought it was five odd-numbered boys going to pick up the bride.

Then again, isn't this just like being a best man and maid of honor, only the terminology is different?

Then he looked at the little princess and asked, "Qianning, would you like to come along or wait here?"

"Brother Xuan, you guys go ahead, I won't go," she said, shaking her head. Chen Xuan and the others were going to pick up the bride, it was important business, and she didn't want to cause any trouble.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan didn't dwell on it. Xia Mei was with him, so he wasn't worried about her safety at the Gao family's place. He nodded and went to change his clothes.

In the private room, Su Roujia helped him change into the same style as Gao Jinghao. Afterwards, he looked at himself in the bronze mirror and hesitated, saying, "Roujia, do you think it's okay if I don't wear the red flower in my hair?"

Wearing a big red flower in his hair, Chen Xuan, who had never experienced anything like this before, felt a little awkward.

The little girl laughed and said, "We're all the same. Master can't just take it off, can he? Besides, Master actually looks quite handsome with a flower on."

What kind of aesthetic sense is this? Chen Xuan was both amused and exasperated. However, it was quite normal for men to wear flowers in this era. Handsome men, of course they would dress themselves up beautifully. Ugh, disgusting.

Oh well, it's Xiao Gao's wedding, I'll just have to bear with it.

After leaving the house, Chen Xuan looked at Luo Taiyun, who was dressed the same way, coming out of the next room and immediately said with a smile, "Taiyun, you need to lose weight. Look how stretched your clothes are, they're about to burst."

He patted his round belly smugly and said, "Why should I lose weight? It's not like I can't afford to eat. People are envious of me."

However, in this era, being fat is a symbol of wealth. People usually don't think fat people are ugly; on the contrary, they think it's a sign of good fortune.

Soon Deng Lingfeng and the others finished getting ready. The brothers chatted and laughed as they went to meet up with Butler He and the others. On the way, they bumped into the little princess, who commented that Chen Xuan looked good wearing a flower and should wear it more often in the future, which made Chen Xuan flee in a panic.

At the entrance of the Gao family's house, a long wedding procession had already formed, with everyone dressed in red and green, looking very festive.

After they met up, Butler He briefly explained the process. Chen Xuan and the others were mainly there to distribute some celebratory money to deal with any potential difficulties from the Lü family. They didn't need to worry about anything else; frankly, it was just a formality.

The auspicious hour had arrived, and Steward He announced the departure in a loud voice. Music and ceremonial rites led the way, and the procession paraded through the city. Even though there was no sound of firecrackers, there were opera troupes and acrobatic performances along the way, and a band of a dozen or twenty people followed to play music, making it extremely festive.

Chen Xuan noticed that there was an eight-bearer sedan chair in the procession. Normally, only princes and nobles were entitled to such a privilege and would be punished. However, for a wedding, the etiquette was relaxed and the court would not care about such things, provided that one had the means to afford it.

The Lü family lived in the capital, less than twenty miles from the Gao family's residence there. When Chen Xuan and his group arrived, the place was already brightly decorated, with hundreds of people eagerly waiting at the gate. If the wedding procession didn't arrive on their wedding day, the Lü family would be utterly disgraced.

When the two sides met, Steward He first went forward to negotiate with the representatives of the Lü family, saying some auspicious words. After that, the wedding procession was welcomed into the Lü family without even encountering any serious difficulties, which was surprisingly smooth.

Normally, the bride is subjected to all sorts of difficulties when she is picked up from the house. Getting her into the house is like overcoming numerous obstacles. It's no exaggeration to say that people have even died because of this kind of thing.

However, when Chen Xuan and his group arrived, that didn't happen. The biggest challenge was a few cups of wine to block their way and an entrance poem. A few cups of wine weren't enough to get their mouths wet, and the entrance poem was the kind that was widely known and loved. Tian Xueyu and Zhou Lin handled it with ease.

This isn't making things difficult; it's clearly just going easy on them and making a token effort to get it over with.

Actually, this is the best way to celebrate a joyous occasion; it would be unpleasant to make things complicated.

After entering the house, the wedding procession was invited to take their seats, where they ate and drank while waiting for the formalities to begin. In any case, Chen Xuan and his family had nothing to do; it was all Butler He who was busy arranging things. It was a little different from what Chen Xuan had imagined, but he understood that this was normal.

After lunch, it was already afternoon, and it was Chen Xuan and his group's turn to snatch the bride, while the large entourage that accompanied them was there to pack and move the dowry items from the Lü family.

The guys were all fired up, but when they arrived at the bride's building, after handing out dozens of red envelopes, the five bridesmaids who had been trying to stop them let them through, and the bride was successfully won over and brought out to her new home.

Wearing a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, with a red veil covering her face, Lü Qingrong, supported by her bridesmaids, went to the main hall to bid farewell to her relatives.

On the way there, Deng Lingfeng whispered enviously to Chen Xuan, "Xuan, I think it's all your doing that you snatched the bride so easily. Didn't you see those young ladies blushing when they saw you? Their eyes never left you, they were practically drooling. They're all young, beautiful, and single. I reckon if you gave them one look, they would have fallen for you. They wouldn't have been in the mood to make things difficult for you. So, what do you think?"

"It's not as exaggerated as you say. It must have been arranged by the Lü family," Chen Xuan said, shaking his head.

Deng Lingfeng naturally didn't think it was arranged by the Lü family. It was definitely because those young ladies softened when they saw Chen Xuan. Come to think of it, Chen Xuan's fiancée Zhou Qianning was so beautiful. Although those young ladies were also outstanding, the difference was too great. How could Chen Xuan have any feelings for her? He was just envious.

Upon arriving at the hall, witnessed by countless people, Lü Qingrong bid farewell to her family.

"I am an unfilial daughter. I will not be able to be by my parents' side to fulfill my filial duties in the future. Please do not blame me, and please take care of yourselves." Lu Qingrong cried her heart out as she knelt to bid farewell to her parents.

Her parents' eyes were red, but they helped her up and forced smiles, saying, "Silly child, it's your happy day, don't cry, you should be happy. Remember to come home often, and always be a good wife and mother, and respect your parents-in-law."

The sight of families being torn apart brought tears to the eyes of the guests, and many turned away silently, unable to bear the view.

After saying goodbye, Lü Qingrong's younger brother handed her a pair of chopsticks with his back to her. Lü Qingrong tossed them behind her to say goodbye, and then her brother carried her to the front door.

At the main entrance, a red umbrella was opened, and a graceful middle-aged woman led Lü Qingrong by the hand toward the bridal sedan chair.

The person who leads the bride out of the house is also very particular. I don't know where the Gao family found him. Chen Xuan heard that the woman is very capable. She is only thirty-five years old and has already given birth to eight sons!
Needless to say, it's for good luck. Hopefully, Lü Qingrong will marry him and have a bunch of children.

The bride gets into the sedan chair; the auspicious time has arrived, and the sedan chair is lifted.

The sedan chair carried by eight men would not be put down during the journey. The sedan chair bearers were given red envelopes, and the bride was not shaken or disturbed during the journey.

Amidst the sounds of ceremonial music, Chen Xuan and his companions, along with the five brides accompanying the bride, stood on either side of the bridal sedan chair. They scattered prepared wedding candies and red envelopes along the way as if they were free, garnering blessings and attracting countless people to scramble for them.

That's exactly what they came here for—to create an atmosphere.

The Lu family's dowry was truly substantial, with over a dozen carts filled with dowry items wrapped in red silk, not counting the items carried by over a hundred people. They definitely spared no expense.

There couldn't possibly be that much gold and silver jewelry; there were plenty of furniture and other items.

After parading through the streets in style, Lü Qingrong's mood calmed down a bit when she arrived at the Gao family's gate. With the announcement of the bride's arrival, the atmosphere reached its peak.

Gao Jingming stepped forward and presented the bride with a large red silk flower. He then led her out of the sedan chair, with a red umbrella providing shade. The newlyweds walked towards the main gate in the presence of their relatives and friends.

Stepping over a brazier upon entering the house is a gesture of welcoming the newlyweds into the main room.

Madam Gao was also at the door welcoming her daughter-in-law in. Having already met her daughter-in-law before, she couldn't help but feel a little worried. She was concerned about her son's health, given her daughter-in-law's appearance and figure.

As a mother, she naturally cared about her children. At this moment, a thought quietly popped into her mind: why not find some time to subtly remind Xiao Xuan to get some Xiaoyao pills for Ming'er?
Dusk had fallen, and the newlyweds ascended the hall to pay homage to heaven and earth… (End of Chapter)