Misty Rain of the Old Times

The third day of the third lunar month is the most beautiful day of the year, auspicious for weddings, long journeys, starting construction, raising roof beams, and more.

Before dawn, Chen Xuan's door was pounded on repeatedly, as if demanding his life.

Chen Xuan, who was sleeping soundly with his head covered by the blanket, couldn't stand the noise any longer. Still half asleep, he couldn't help but throw off the blanket and said speechlessly, "Who is it so early in the morning? It's still dark. Don't you want to sleep or does anyone else want to sleep?"

As was his habit, Chen Xuan would get up before sunrise, but this was a bit too early.

Although the noise was unbearable, only a few people dared to knock on his door like they were tearing down his house. He was both amused and exasperated, but there was no need to get upset.

Immediately afterward, Gao Jingming's urging voice rang out from outside the door: "Ah Xuan, today is your wedding day! What time is it? How could you sleep? Get up and get ready! The guests will be arriving at dawn. How old are you? Do I have to remind you? Don't you feel ashamed? Hurry up!"

As Gao Jingming worried that Chen Xuan would stay in bed, he banged on the door twice more, determined not to let the noise die down until he woke him up.

Chen Xuan sighed deeply, wondering what he had done to deserve this. He couldn't even sleep well, and the wedding ceremony was at dusk! Did it have to be so rushed? However, this was not the time to be depressed, so he had to pull himself together and say, "Okay, okay, I'll get up right away."

"Hurry up, Mom and the others will be here soon. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You want to sleep in after I leave, right? Ah Xuan, don't force me to come in and pour cold water on your bed," Gao Jingming threatened, knocking on the door a few more times. He didn't intend to leave until he saw Chen Xuan come out. He knew Chen Xuan's personality too well. Even on days like this, he dared to stay in bed. However, with Chen Xuan's cultivation level, if anything happened, he would be dressed and full of energy in the blink of an eye.

Having his little scheme exposed, Chen Xuan had no choice but to get up and say, "Fine, fine, I give up. If we weren't such good friends, I would have stood there guarding the door from behind it."

After quickly getting dressed, Chen Xuan saw Gao Jingming at the door looking even more eager than himself and immediately laughed, "Young Master, you weren't this impatient even at your wedding last time!"

“That’s different. Today I’m going to pick up your bride, so I have to be serious. Stop grinning and get ready,” Gao Jingming said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t have the air of a top scholar when the two of them were together.

As he spoke, he looked Chen Xuan up and down, speechless and pursing his lips, "Hey Xuan, what day is it today? Why are you still wearing this suit? Go and change into your groom's attire."

"Wear it now?" Chen Xuan blinked. Wasn't it a bit too early?
Xiao Gao shook his head and turned around, saying, "Otherwise what? You're only wearing this today, okay? Would you feel comfortable wearing it tomorrow? Hurry up, I'm going to discuss the wedding arrangements with Lin Zi and the others. If you dare to turn around and lie down again, I'll have my mother deal with you."

"Okay, okay," Chen Xuan could only nod. He really wanted to say that the wedding was in the afternoon, there was no need to rush, and everything was already arranged.

When they got engaged, Old Deng said he only needed to provide one person. So why is he working like a dog for the past few days now? It's highly likely that when Old Deng said that, he thought of himself as a son-in-law... a prince consort.

In just a short while, Du Juan and Su Roujia were alerted and quickly tidied themselves up and came to Chen Xuan's door. As his personal maids, they knew what to do at the slightest sound.

"Sir, let me get you some toiletries so you can tidy up."

"Sir, I'll go fetch the groom's attire right away. You'll look very handsome in it..."

They responded and were about to get to work, but Chen Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need to rush. Don't let the young master's urging fool you; he's just worried I'll be late and embarrass myself. We're already up, take your time."

After washing up, Chen Xuan practiced his Qigong exercises in the courtyard to relax his muscles and bones, as he always did. He also had breakfast before changing into his wedding attire and getting dressed, thanks to their permission.

Just as Chen Xuan said, Xiao Gao did not bother him again after he got up.

The style of the bright red groom's suit is not much different from that of the top scholar's suit. It has a hat and two small wings on the left and right that sway when walking. These are used to correct one's posture. When walking in a square gait, the upper body does not move. The more upright the posture, the more stable the small wings will be.

However, there are still some differences in the details. Chen Xuan's wedding dress is embroidered with dragon and cloud patterns in gold and silver thread. It is obvious that the little princess's wedding dress will be embroidered with phoenix patterns, symbolizing auspiciousness.

It's not that they received any special treatment; it's just that traditional etiquette dictates that marriage is the most important event in life, and special privileges are granted for all folk weddings on this particular day. On other days, anyone without the status to wear clothing with dragon and phoenix patterns is practically courting death.

"You look so handsome in this outfit, sir," Du Juan said sincerely to Chen Xuan after tidying up, her beautiful eyes shining.

Chen Xuan replied matter-of-factly, "That's right, don't you even know how handsome and dashing I am?"

Du Juan and the others didn't refute this, since it was the truth.

However, Chen Xuan smiled to himself. The clothes were indeed festive, but they were a bit too flashy. Moreover, he didn't know how many steps were involved in making this outfit. It was worth at least a thousand gold pieces, if not a fortune. It was a real waste to go through all that trouble to wear it only once.

The sun gradually rose, the sky was clear and cloudless, the weather was perfect.

On this day, Dujuan and the little girl were also dressed very festively, in custom-made red dresses that perfectly highlighted their features.

Seeing that it was almost time, the little maid said with great joy, "Master, let's go to the front. The guests should be arriving soon."

Nodding, Chen Xuan stepped forward, having already noticed Du Juan's hesitant expression. He said quietly, "Sister Juan, please speak freely."

After a slight hesitation, Du Juan said nervously, "Master, the matter you asked me to arrange was originally foolproof, but just now, someone came to tell me that there was a slight accident earlier. Although it doesn't affect your arrangements, it's still a bit lacking. I was planning to go and discuss it later, but you said you wanted to give me a surprise, so I'm a little hesitant, afraid of affecting your mood today."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan paused, but he wasn't angry. He just shook his head and chuckled, "Sister Juan, you always want to do everything I asked you to do by yourself. I've said before that we're family, so there's no need for formalities. You should have communicated with me beforehand. Now tell me, where did things go wrong? Was what I asked for not enough? Did those people change their minds? Or are there other factors?"

Hearing this, Du Juan secretly blamed herself for not handling the matter her husband had entrusted to her properly, and quickly said, "The preparations are more than enough, how could those people dare to change their minds? The problem isn't on our side, but... but on His Majesty's side, there's a conflict with our arrangements."

"Specifically?" Chen Xuan nodded and asked.

Dujuan was so conflicted because of the conflict with His Majesty's arrangements. Of course, she dared not shift the blame to His Majesty, and said helplessly, "The wedding route from the Princess's residence to Master's place was blocked off and placed under martial law in the middle of the night. The people we arranged couldn't get within a hundred feet of us. Actually, it would have been fine if the two sides had just communicated a bit, but Master said he wanted a surprise, and the people we arranged were a mixed bag. They probably wouldn't feel comfortable letting so many people get close at the last minute, so..."

Chen Xuan immediately understood; the problem lay here. After a moment's thought, he smiled and said, "Is that so? No problem, are all the people and things arranged already in place?"

Nodding, Du Juan said, "Everything is in place, but since we can't get close to that street, we're afraid we can't get everything in place properly. Acting rashly could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

Waving his hand, Chen Xuan continued walking and said, "It's a small matter. As long as the items arrive, just have them keep an eye on them. Leave the rest to me, and then they won't have to do anything else."

Chen Xuan made the decision in one sentence, but Du Juan felt extremely guilty and uneasy, saying, "I'm sorry, Master, I didn't handle things well. If you handle the rest yourself, won't it cause you trouble?" "Sister Juan, please don't say that. There are no such things in the world that go smoothly. You're being too optimistic. It's just a small matter for me. In fact, it would be more meaningful for me to do it myself. It's a good thing, and it's also a twist of fate," Chen Xuan waved his hand and smiled.

Knowing her husband's personality, Dujuan stopped worrying. It wasn't that she hadn't done a good job the first time; there were just some uncontrollable factors that had occurred. But she still told herself that she would have to be more careful in the future and communicate with her husband in advance.

When Chen Xuan arrived at the gate, Gao Jingming and the others had already gathered. Seeing Chen Xuan's brand-new festive attire, they all offered their heartfelt blessings.

After exchanging pleasantries, they waited for the guests to arrive. However, before the first guest arrived, Madam Gao found Chen Xuan first.

Looking at Chen Xuan, she felt a pang of emotion. In the blink of an eye, the little boy from back then had grown up so much, and was already at the age of starting a family and establishing a career.

Soon, with a loving expression, she took a large red flower tied with red silk from the tray held by the maid beside her and personally put it on Chen Xuan.

Standing still with his arms outstretched, letting her do as she pleased, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam, but shall we leave it at that?"

After tidying him up, with the big red flower right in front of his chest, Madam Gao took a step back to look him over, nodded in satisfaction, and then gently patted his shoulder, saying in an annoyed tone, "I know you don't usually like these fancy things, but today is different. It's a joyous occasion, this is called adding color. You've grown up, and you'll be the head of the household from now on. I hope your future will be prosperous and successful. You can't refuse, understand?"

“Yes, madam, I will wear it all day,” Chen Xuan said earnestly, not daring to refuse.

Madam Gao nodded, then said with satisfaction, "That's good. You all go ahead with your work. I'll go check if there's anything else that needs to be added to the wedding arrangements."

After turning around, Madam Gao felt a pang of sadness. Chen Xuan was all alone on this joyous day, without even a single person to wear red ribbons and decorations. The only red flower she had pinned on his chest was a solitary one. On other people's weddings, wouldn't they all have a bunch of red ribbons on their chests?

Chen Xuan naturally didn't care about any of that. A moment later, guests arrived, and he put on a smile to welcome them inside.

From the very first customer, a steady stream of people arrived, more than the previous two days, but there were very few new faces; most of those who came today had been there in the previous two days.

Various prominent families and renowned martial arts sects, including Ling Yun Xiang Qi, Zhao Qing Luan, Zheng Wan Qian, Wang Le, Jiang He Chuan, Zhang Lan Lan, Qing He Qing Yu...

They came before with gifts to offer their congratulations, but today they are here to witness Chen Xuan's wedding. Many of them will help with the wedding procession and join in the fun.

Once things got busy, it never stopped. The banquet started when the sun was high in the sky, and the feasts went on and on. However, this day was the day Chen Xuan was to be married. He had already toasted the guests two days earlier, so even though Chen Xuan was wandering around the banquet, he didn't drink any alcohol.

More and more guests gathered, and most of them stayed even after eating. There were people everywhere, and the opera troupe performed with even more enthusiasm. The festive music never stopped, and one act after another took the stage.

The hustle and bustle continued until noon. As Mr. Yushan announced in a loud voice that the auspicious time had arrived, Chen Xuan set off in a sedan chair to fetch his bride.

The wedding procession was already prepared outside the gate, taking up half the street.

As the sound of the sedan chair being sent off rang out, amidst the joyous sounds of gongs and drums, the procession set off in a grand procession toward the princess's residence. The most eye-catching of the processions was the magnificent eight-bearer sedan chair, which paraded through the streets, envied by countless women.

It wasn't that Chen Xuan couldn't afford a better sedan chair; let alone eight bearers, eight hundred bearers would be nothing. It was just that an eight-bearer sedan chair was already the highest standard for a wedding. Any more would be meaningless and would only add to the absurdity.

As the wedding procession set off in a grand procession, most of the guests who came to offer their congratulations went off to join in the festivities, leaving Chen Xuan's large mansion somewhat empty.

Mr. Yushan went there; Chen Xuan solemnly invited him to officiate the wedding, as he was going to coordinate with the Princess's residence.

Madam Gao went there; she was going to help Chen Xuan escort his bride.

Gao Jingming and the others also went to deal with the princess's 'difficulties' and help Chen Xuan snatch the bride.

As the wedding procession departed in a grand procession, Chen Xuan found himself almost without any familiar faces. Even He Hongyi and Zhou Xiaomiao had gone off to join the fun, leaving only Erdan diligently working in the kitchen.

However, Chen Xuan, the groom and one of the main characters of the wedding, did not attend. It was not that he did not want to go, but that there was no precedent in the Jing Kingdom for the groom to personally go to pick up the bride. Instead, he stayed at home with the guests and waited for relatives and friends to bring the bride back for the wedding ceremony.

Chen Xuan only found out about this when Gao Jingming got married. In his memory, the groom running to pick up the bride was something that happened in his hometown in his previous life.

What could Chen Xuan do? No matter how much he wanted to personally lead his wife onto the bridal sedan chair, he had to restrain himself. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The wedding ceremony wasn't held at noon, but rather at dusk, since after the ceremony, the bride would be led to the bridal chamber.

After the wedding procession left, Chen Xuan stayed behind to continue entertaining the guests. He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was extremely anxious, wondering why they hadn't returned yet. It felt like an eternity, and his thoughts had already drifted to the distant Princess's residence.

Although they were both in the capital, they were dozens of miles apart. Even though Chen Xuan had powerful senses and could concentrate enough to know what was happening over there, he ultimately didn't have the ability to see a thousand miles and couldn't see the specific scene with his own eyes, let alone the details.

When Gao Jingming and his entourage went to fetch the bride, they inevitably encountered some "difficulties." To put it bluntly, it was just a formality, a way to make everyone happy, and they wouldn't really cause any trouble.

all the best.

As the sun began to set, under Chen Xuan's watchful eye, Madam Gao led the little princess out of her boudoir, kneeling to bid farewell to the old man with tears streaming down her face. As the old man looked up, struggling to hold back his tears for his daughter's marriage, His Highness the Crown Prince carried the little princess onto the bridal sedan chair. Madam Gao stood by, holding a red umbrella, as they left.

Amidst repeated admonitions from behind to "keep moving forward and don't look back, live a good life," the little princess, now seated in the bridal sedan chair, wept bitterly. She had been looking forward to her wedding and thought she would be happy, but she didn't know why she was so heartbroken.

As the sound of a sedan chair being lifted rang out from the grand procession at the Princess's residence, Chen Xuan, who was dozens of miles away at home, immediately sprang into action.

If you promise me that we'll stay together until we grow old, I'll marry you amidst ten miles of peach blossoms.

The arrangements that Du Juan had made, running around and overseeing things repeatedly, were all for this moment… (End of Chapter)