The Red Mansion

Chapter 113: The Wedding (Part 3)
It is said that the retired Emperor Jingning had spent the winter in the imperial palace. In early February, the spring chill had not yet subsided, so he took the Empress Dowager and Emperor Taishun and moved to Changchun Garden in the western suburbs.

Compared with the imperial palace, Emperor Jingning obviously preferred Changchun Garden, and so did the Empress Dowager and Emperor Taishun.

On the evening of Jiang Nian's wedding, as dusk fell, Emperor Taishun personally visited Wuyi Zhai to inspect the princes' studies, then returned to Danning Residence. Unexpectedly, upon entering, he dismissed his attendants and began drinking alone, much to the surprise of the eunuchs present. Emperor Taishun was known for his diligence, not fond of drinking, and rarely drank alone. This was a rare sight.

Emperor Taishun frowned slightly, with a thoughtful look in his eyes. He held an old handkerchief in his hand and looked at it carefully. This handkerchief was presented to him by Jiang Nian when he first met him last year. It was something he left in Jiangning many years ago and was treasured by Jiang Xuelian for many years. When Jiang Xuelian was dying, she wrote Li Shangyin's "Untitled" on it, and there were bloodstains on it.

At this moment, slightly tipsy, Emperor Taishun stared at the old handkerchief and murmured:
"It's hard to meet and hard to leave, the east wind is weak and the flowers are withered.

When the silkworm is dead, the silk will be exhausted, and the torch will turn into gray and tears will begin to dry.

Xiao Jing, but the clouds change, Ye Yin should feel the moonlight cold.

There are not many roads to Pengshan, and the blue bird is eager to visit.

After reciting the poem, Emperor Taishun sighed deeply, slowly put away his old handkerchief, and continued drinking alone.

As the wine filled his heart with sorrow, he could not help but recall the times when he had summoned Jiang Nian, and the times when Jiang Nian had offered advice and made contributions...

Thinking about it, Emperor Taishun sighed sadly: "It's hard for this child. Today is his wedding, but there are no parents or relatives present. Alas!"

Outside the window, dusk is falling and the spring breeze is chilly.

The flickering candlelight in front of the desk made the wrinkles of the emperor stand out more clearly.

……

……

The Jiang family in the eastern suburbs built a new house for the third time.

As the banquet went on till late, the guests gradually dispersed.

There was a full moon in the sky, shining brightly, slanting in the southeast.

Although the banquet was over, the ceremony was not yet complete and there was still a lot of excitement in the bridal chamber.

Jiang Nian drank a few cups of wedding wine, his face slightly flushed, but his steps were still steady.

When he stepped into the bridal chamber, he saw it filled with gorgeous decorations, flickering candlelight, and a group of female relatives waiting there - there were women from the Jiang family, as well as women from Yuanchun's dowry, including the four maids Baoqin, Xi Que, Jin Chuan, and Yu Chuan.

The female members of the family all stood there with smiles on their faces, their eyes burning.

Yuanchun sat on the edge of the bed with her red veil covering her head, her white fingertips gently twisting the veil, and she had been waiting for a long time.

Jiang Nian picked up the jade-inlaid scale, taking the auspicious omen of "satisfaction and fulfillment", and gently lifted Yuanchun's red veil. The other women congratulated him, saying, "You have lifted the lotus flower to bloom, and good fortune and luck will come from heaven!"

As soon as the veil fell, their eyes met and they were both startled. Yuanchun hurriedly lowered her almond-shaped eyes, her cheeks flushed.

All the women laughed, some covered their mouths and giggled, some laughed out loud, and Yuanchun was so embarrassed that she almost buried her face in her collar.

Then, the newlyweds took the corners of their clothes and tied them together, and the female relatives congratulated them by saying, "Silk and silk are tied together, and the zither and harp sound in harmony."

After the ceremony was over, everyone left.

In an instant, the voices disappeared, and the red candles in the bridal chamber were burning brightly, with occasional popping of lamp sparks.

Jiang Nian and Yuanchun sat opposite each other, speechless for a moment.

The moonlight is bright outside the window, and the breeze blows across the peony pond in front of the courtyard, making a rustling sound.

Jiang Nian looked closely and saw that Yuanchun's eyebrows were like distant green mountains, her eyes were like rippling autumn water, her cheeks were as white and rosy as new lychees, and her nose was as delicate and exquisite as goose fat.

Jiang Nian once again felt that Yuanchun and Xue Baochai were somewhat similar. Both had skin as smooth as mutton-fat jade, dignified manners like those of a noble family, and a natural grace and elegance.

In fact, Yuanchun and Xue Baochai are cousins. Yuanchun's mother, Lady Wang, and Xue Baochai's mother, Aunt Xue, are sisters from the same mother.

Yuanchun and Xue Baochai are also serious and polite.

In the original novel, Yuanchun, while visiting her family, comments on the poems of her sisters, expressing particular admiration for Xue Baochai's style. Xue Baochai's poems implicitly praise the emperor, demonstrating her reverence for imperial power, a stance shared by Yuanchun. During her Dragon Boat Festival gifts, Yuanchun also bestows upon Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai the same gift—a red musk bead. This has been interpreted as Yuanchun's support for the marriage between Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai.

At this moment, Yuanchun saw Jiang Nian staring at her for a long time without saying anything, and she became more and more embarrassed, but she still looked up at Jiang Nian.

While Jiang Nian was thinking, he suddenly saw Yuanchun looking up at him, and their eyes met.

Yuanchun was surprised that Jiang Nian's first words were, "Have you eaten today? Are you hungry now?"

Yuanchun laughed when she heard this, lowered her head and whispered, "I had some dates and lotus seed soup... I'm not very hungry now." As she spoke, her slender fingers unconsciously twisted the corner of her clothes.

In Daqing, when daughters of wealthy and powerful families get married, they usually only eat a little soup made with dates, chestnuts and lotus seeds on the wedding day. Because the ceremony is complicated and it is inconvenient to go to the toilet, some strict scholar-official families will ask the bride to avoid eating meat to show her physical and mental purity.

Jiang Nian reached out and gently lifted Yuanchun's chin. He looked at Yuanchun again and said with a smile, "I'm a little hungry. How about we have some snacks first?"

He suddenly leaned close to Yuanchun's ear and said with a smile, "If you don't have a full stomach, how can you have the energy to spend this night?"

Yuanchun was terribly embarrassed, yet a warm feeling welled up in her heart. Being intelligent, she knew Jiang Nian was concerned about her and wanted her to eat something to fill her stomach. So she nodded slightly, uttering a whispered "hmm."

There was a L-shaped Arhat bed in the bridal chamber. The three sides of the bed were carved with patterns, the bed was covered with a bright red mattress, and there was a lacquered table in the middle.

On the table sat a red lacquer box with a lotus pattern, containing four exquisite pastries: yam cake with jujube paste, goose fat rolls with pine filling, rose bean paste pastries, and fried dough fruit with butter. There was also a pair of gold-engraved silver cups and a gilded wine pot filled with the finest wine.

Jiang Nian took Yuanchun's hand, and they sat facing each other on the curved Arhat bed. He picked up a piece of rose bean paste pastry and offered it to Yuanchun. Yuanchun took it with her delicate fingers, but held it motionless. Jiang Nian understood and took a piece of pine-filled goose fat roll himself. Yuanchun then covered her face with her sleeve and sipped the rose bean paste pastry.

Jiang Nian took a silver cup engraved with gold and placed it in front of Yuanchun, and then took another one and placed it in front of himself. Just as he was about to take the gilded wine pot to pour wine, Yuanchun hurriedly said, "I will serve you."

As she spoke, Yuanchun took the gilded wine pot, first filled a glass for Jiang Nian, then poured herself a half-cup. As she raised the glass, the gold bracelet on her wrist jingled. Her eyes flickered across Jiang Nian's face, and she said softly, "Please, sir!"

Jiang Nian raised his glass and said with a smile, "Madam, please!"

After three rounds of drinking, Yuanchun's cheeks were flushed, exactly:
"Spend the night in the red gauze tent, the golden cup full of wine reflects the beautiful flowers."

Yuanchun said softly to Jiang Nian, "Master, I'm full and have had enough wine. Tonight... I shouldn't have eaten and drunk so much."

Jiang Nian smiled knowingly: "In that case, let's go to bed?"

Yuanchun felt embarrassed again, but she still said dignifiedly, "You still need to clean your mouth and wash your hands."

Jiang Nian nodded and prepared to call the maid to come in and serve him. He stood up and opened the door himself. Suddenly, he heard a "ouch" sound outside the door, and a little maid fell down at the door.

It turned out that a little maid in a red silk jacket was eavesdropping at the door. When Jiang Nian suddenly opened the door, she was so frightened that she fell to the ground and screamed.

Jiang Nian looked at the little maid and saw that she was very pretty, with a slender waist and shoulders as thin as a willow swaying in the wind.

Xiangling and Baoqin hurried over to support the little maid, but the little maid nimbly got up from the ground by herself, lowered her head and twisted her belt, without saying a word.

Yuanchun was startled and came to Jiang Nian. She looked at the little maid who lowered her head and asked Baoqin, "What happened to Xi Que?"

Baoqin felt embarrassed and amused, and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "This little maid is eavesdropping by the door. I might as well open the door suddenly and startle her and throw her to the ground."

Upon hearing this, Yuanchun smiled and said, "She is a magpie, and she is a bit naughty. Please don't be offended, sir."

When Jiang Nian heard that the little maid was called "Magpie", his eyebrows twitched slightly, and he thought to himself, "Could it be Qingwen?"

Some speculate that before Qingwen joined Jia Baoyu, when she was a maidservant at Jia's mother's side, her maidservant name was "Xi Que." It was only after she joined Jia Baoyu that he changed her name to the elegant "Qingwen." One reason for this speculation is the line from the poem, "The scent of flowers infuses one with the sudden warmth; the cry of magpies through the trees brings joy at the new clear sky."

Thinking of this, Jiang Nian asked Yuanchun, "What is the origin of this little maid?"

Yuanchun was slightly startled, thinking to herself, "On this wedding night, he's actually concerned about this little maid of mine."

She didn't think much of it for a moment, thinking it was just a casual expression of concern from Jiang Nian, so she said calmly and softly, "This time when I'm...getting married, I've brought four maids with me, and she's one of them. She used to serve the old lady, and she gave her to me as a gift to accompany me on my wedding." Jiang Nian then asked, "Is she a born child in the mansion? Or was she bought from outside?"

Yuanchun became increasingly surprised and thought to herself, "Why are you so meticulous?"

She still answered softly, "It was bought by Madam Lai. The old lady saw that she was very smart and pretty, and she liked her very much, so Madam Lai gave it to her as a gift."

Jiang Nian nodded, understanding in his heart: "This little maid is indeed Qingwen! Qingwen actually came to me like this, it was even easier than it was for me to get Xiangling back then."

"A clear moon is hard to come by, and colorful clouds are easy to disperse. My heart is as high as the sky, but my body is lowly. My romantic and clever ways attract resentment. My life is often cut short by slander, and the affectionate young man's thoughts are in vain."

Oh, now that Qingwen has come so early, there is no need for the sentimental young man Jia Baoyu to worry about her.

Tonight was a good night and an auspicious time. Although Jiang Nian was pleasantly surprised by Qingwen's arrival, he put the matter aside and turned to Xiangling, saying, "My wife and I need to wash our mouths and face the toilet. Please come in and serve us."

Xiangling quickly replied "yes" and went to make arrangements.

Yuanchun also ordered Baoqin, "You will also serve together."

Baoqin also responded respectfully and followed to make arrangements.

The magpie blinked and asked Yuanchun, "Miss, what about me? Do I need to go in and serve you?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "You don't need to come in and serve. Just continue to stick to the door and eavesdrop."

Magpie: “…”

Yuanchun couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

In the end, Xi Que followed Xiangling and Baoqin into the bridal chamber to serve.

Served by three maids, Jiang Nian and Yuanchun washed their mouths and faces. When they were about to wash their feet, Jiang Nian suddenly grasped Yuanchun's hand and said with a smile, "Madam and I will wash our feet in the same basin."

Xiangling smiled secretly, thinking to herself, "Master actually has such a strange hobby!"

Her uncle would occasionally wash feet with her, and she had even witnessed her uncle washing feet with Miss Xue.

Yuanchun lowered her head quickly, her face flushed, and naturally she would not refuse.

So, Jiang Nian and Yuanchun put their feet into a foot basin together, and Xiangling and Baoqin squatted beside the basin to serve them.

Jiang Nian looked down at Yuanchun's feet. Seeing that they were as white as jade and her toes were slender, he thought to himself, "Even her feet are similar to Baochai's!"

After washing up, Xiangling, Baoqin and Xique packed up their things and left, closing the door behind them.

Jiang Nian and Yuanchun sat side by side on the edge of the bed again. They saw that the four pillars were carved with exquisite patterns, a red gauze curtain hung on the top frame, and the red brocade quilt was embroidered with the word "囍".

Jiang Nian lifted the crimson quilt and saw a plain white handkerchief neatly spread across the mattress cover. Yuanchun glanced at it and turned her head away in shock, her neck seemingly flushed with rouge.

The two of them understood each other tacitly that this was the Yuanpa that could verify one's chastity.

Seeing the beauty was shy and timid, Jiang Nian could no longer control himself, so he stretched out his arms and took her soft and fragrant body into his arms.

Yuanchun moaned "Master" and fell into the red silk tent.

Suddenly, I heard her cry out "Ah!"

Jiang Nian was puzzled: "I haven't even started yet, why are you yelling?"

But Yuanchun took out a red date from under her body with a red face.

Jiang Nian finally understood that it was the lucky fruit that had fallen when the tent was being spread that had hit her delicate body, but she didn't know where it had hit her...

Jiang Nian laughed and said, "The maids must have been careless and left a red date here when they were spreading the tent."

Yuanchun hummed softly.

Jiang Nian took the red dates from Yuanchun's hand and played with them, saying with a smile, "This is a good omen. It means we're destined to have a son soon. I just wonder if we can get pregnant tonight?"

As soon as the words fell, Yuanchun was so embarrassed that she tried to grab the red dates: "Don't talk nonsense!"

He didn't get the red dates, but was instead held by Jiang Nian, and he moaned "Uncle" again.

The red candles in the room crackled and burst into twin lamp flowers.

Outside the window, a wild cat came from nowhere and jumped onto the wall with a "meow", calling for spring.

The moonlight shines through the flowing clouds and flows on the green tiles of Jiang's house.

It is:

"Under the red gauze tent, mandarin ducks lie down; on the jade pillow, a gauze cabinet, I spend the night."

……

……

The next day, the sky in the east was just beginning to turn pale. Although Yuanchun felt weak and uncomfortable, she forced herself to get up and help Jiang Nian change his clothes personally.

Jiang Nian hurriedly said, "Madam, you were exhausted last night. Why do you need to wait on me?"

Yuanchun went to open the door and led two maids in.

Yuanchun instructed a maid with two buns on her head, "Jinchuan, help the master change his clothes and wash up."

Then he instructed another maid who also had her hair tied up in a double bun, "Yuchuan, come here."

The three maids, Xiangling, Baoqin and Xique, all stayed up very late last night and were catching up on their sleep.

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, then asked Yuanchun, "What are the names of these two maids?"

Yuanchun paused for a moment, thinking to herself, "Why is Master so concerned about us maids?"

Without waiting for Yuanchun to respond, the maid who was helping Jiang Nian change her clothes took the initiative to say with a smile, "My name is Jinchuan." She pointed to the maid who was serving Yuanchun and said, "Her name is Yuchuan, she is my biological sister."

The sound is as crisp as a yellow oriole singing in a valley.

Jiang Nian heard this and thought to herself, "So Baoqin, Qingwen, Jinchuan, and Yuchuan all came with Yuanchun as her dowry."

Grandmother Jia is so generous!
As they were talking, they suddenly heard Mrs. Meng coughing outside the door. She hesitated at the threshold and looked at Jiang Nian, looking a little embarrassed: "Master... Mrs. Quanfu is here to check the Yuanpa..."

According to etiquette, the bride's Yuanpa will be checked by her mother-in-law or Quanfu woman the next morning and handed over to the female elders of the family for safekeeping.

A blessed woman refers to a woman whose parents-in-law are still alive, whose husband and wife are in harmony, and who has both sons and daughters. She often participates in wedding ceremonies.

Jiang Nian's family didn't have any married women; neither Meng, Feng, nor Dong Liang's wife counted; Dong Liang's wife's parents-in-law were no longer around. For this wedding, they had invited a married woman from outside.

Yuanchun blushed immediately, Jinchuan lowered her head quickly, and only Yuchuan was confused, blinking her big eyes and looking left and right.

Seeing Yuanchun about to crawl into a crevice of the ground with embarrassment, Jiang Nian smiled and said to her, "No need to check. I've already checked it. You can keep it yourself, Madam."

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuanchun wanted to bury her face in her dressing box.

Meng understood and responded with an "ah", with smile wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes.

It is:

"Spring is hidden under the eyebrow pencil, and rouge is stained on the handkerchief."

(End of this chapter)