The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 47: Ten Miles of Red Makeup
Yu Xiaowu runs a restaurant and is fascinated by cooking. He believes that Wu Chengyu and he absolutely share the same interests and must be a foodie, so he kept talking all the way, talking about the famous dishes and snacks in the prefectures and counties of Zhejiang.

Wu Chengyu also loves to eat, but he can't stand the buzzing in his ears. The most important thing is that it was so thrilling in the ruined temple that he completely forgot to eat. Now he and A Ku are already starving, and someone is poisoning them through the curtain.

They were about to arrive in Ningbo. Under the temptation of Yu Xiaowu, Wu Chengyu couldn't help but yearn for Ningbo's delicious food and couldn't wait to go into the city to fill his stomach.

Unfortunately, it was very close to Ningbo, which is today's Qingyuan Prefecture. Wu Chengyu could even see the mole on the face of the guard at the Qingyuan Prefecture gate, but he couldn't enter the city gate.

A group of people, wearing red clothes, with flowers in their hair and happy faces, who were beating drums and gongs, first carried a four-person sedan chair through the city gate. Behind them was a continuous team, some pushing carts, some carrying loads on their shoulders. There were so many people that Wu Chengyu could not even see the end of the team.

Yu Xiaowu was also fascinated by the scene and murmured, "Brother Chengyu, it seems that there is a wealthy family in Qingyuan Prefecture getting married today. Look, this is a rare and beautiful wedding."

After he finished speaking, he tutted his tongue twice and swallowed his saliva: "I imagine the wedding banquet must be full of delicious food. It's a pity that we won't be able to attend and feast on it."

Wu Chengyu ignored Yu Xiaowu's last words, but her attention was also drawn to the four words "Ten Miles of Red Makeup." It was rare to see such a thing in ancient times, let alone in modern times. It was truly an eye-opener. Even Ah Ku and He Zhiyu lifted the curtain to take a closer look.

'A thousand acres of fertile land, ten miles of red flowers.'

"When my hair grows down to my waist, will you marry me? When your hair is straightened, will you be willing to spend ten miles on your wedding dress?"

When you think of these words, you can experience the romance between men and women in ancient times. Of course, the premise of a ten-mile red makeup is thousands of acres of fertile land, and romance is also built on an economic foundation. For ordinary families to marry off their daughters, it is considered good enough to have a wooden box as a dowry.

But the scene before them was truly shocking. When Wu Chengyu and the others arrived, the bridal sedan had already entered the city, and they did not see the legendary top-notch bridal sedan that represented the pinnacle of ancient Chinese craftsmanship.

Wu Chengyu had seen a bridal sedan with gold foil stickers in the Zhejiang Museum. It was made of precious wood and a vermilion lacquer floor, decorated with pure gold foil, and had hundreds of auspicious patterns carved using techniques such as round carving and openwork carving.

The sedan chairs used by wealthy young men from Jiangsu and Zhejiang for their weddings are all of this specification. Top craftsmen have spent years of painstaking effort on these creations, and they are even known as the "Wangong sedan chair."

Isn't such a dowry more prestigious than the luxury car that the bride brings as a dowry in later generations? When it comes to style and luxury, we still have to look up to our ancestors.

Although the sedan chair could not be seen, the dowries in front of them were still amazing. Large pieces of furniture were carried by two people, a set of red-footed buckets were carried by one person at each end, and small wooden items such as buckets and small items such as porcelain bottles were placed in a red carrying box and carried by two people.

All the boxes were painted with red lacquer and gold, and were filled with a wide variety of items, including beds, tables, utensils, boxes, cages, and bedding, covering everything needed for daily life.

The red makeup team stretches for miles from the bride's home to the husband's home, like a fluttering red ribbon or a golden dragon in a red robe.

As Wu Chengyu watched, she even forgot that she was hungry and nodded continuously. Ancient men were really good. They didn't have to spend all their money to marry a wife and take out a mortgage to support a brother-in-law. The woman was really conscientious, and the man became rich directly.

Not only that, some people also kept adding dowry to the bride.

From time to time, someone would shout, "Si Hai Commercial Bank will give the Liu family's daughter five hundred taels of silver and twenty pieces of brocade for her wedding."

"Huitong Bank is sending a set of top-quality headwear and jewelry, ten pairs of gold hairpins and jade bracelets, to the eldest daughter of the Liu family."

As soon as the words were spoken, a red cart joined the dowry team. Such incidents happened seven or eight times. Not counting the brocade and jewelry, the silver alone added up to more than a thousand taels, which was more than what Wu Chengyu and his men earned by killing hundreds of people in one night.

There were many onlookers at the scene, whispering and pointing fingers. Wu Chengyu, with his sharp ears, immediately heard countless gossips.

"The Liu family owns the Hanhai Trading Company, has a fleet of sixteen ships, and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in Ninghai. They're truly one of the most affluent families in Qingyuan Prefecture." "It's said that not only did they give her this dowry, they also included a large farm and the deeds to over a dozen shops in Qingyuan City. These alone are worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver. The Liu family is truly generous in marrying off their daughter. Whose son is she marrying off to?"

"You probably don't know this, but the family of Master Wang in the east of the city is a Jinshi (imperial scholar) who served as a prefect. Although he's retired now, he's the chief academic officer of the nearby Jupo Academy. He has countless old friends in the court and his students are all over the world. Even the prefect of Qingyuan Prefecture has to treat him as a disciple when he sees him.

Besides, he has an older brother who is now the Minister of Rites, holding a high position, and is definitely not from an ordinary family."

"That's not right. I heard that Mr. Wang has only one son, and he's consumptive. It looks like he won't live long."

"Master Wang is just trying to bring good luck to his own son. If he can leave behind a son or daughter, the Wang family will not be extinct."

"But Master Liu would rather spend so much dowry to marry his beautiful daughter to the Wang family as a daughter-in-law, and then she will become a widow in the future. What is he trying to achieve?"

"You don't know this. The Liu family is a merchant family after all. Their status is far inferior to that of Mr. Wang's family. Normally, Mr. Liu would show great courtesy when he met Mr. Wang.

The eldest son of the Liu family is currently studying at the Jupo Academy. He is said to have good qualifications, but his family background is not good and his future is bleak.

Now that the Liu and Wang families are married, the Liu family's son will have this connection with the Wang family in the future, and maybe he will be able to pass the imperial examination soon, or even get a government position.

After that, the Liu family's status rose rapidly, and they suddenly became a family of officials.

If that were really possible, not only would he marry his daughter to Mr. Wang's consumptive son, but even if Mr. Liu himself were to marry him, I think he would be happy."

"Pfft, why are you talking so much nonsense? Why do you seem to be so appealing to me? We must be kindred spirits. Come on, let's find a quiet place and study together."

The last sentence almost made Wu Chengyu fall off the carriage. Listening to gossip almost became a witness to some kind of private relationship.

The more Neo-Confucianism became popular among the people of the Song Dynasty, the more joyful they were in private.

The wedding procession was still entering the city one after another. It looked like Wu Chengyu and the others would not be able to enter the city for half an hour and would have to continue to starve.

Wu Chengyu no longer had the initial mood to watch the fun and gain new insights. It didn't matter if he was a little hungry, but A Ku was already feeling dizzy from hunger.

He Zhiyu, on the other hand, was somewhat filled with sorrow. She had also heard the conversation between the people next to her. A young lady in her prime married a consumptive man for the benefit of her father and brother, and spent the rest of her life as a widow. In her eyes, this was a tragedy in life and God was unkind.

But Wu Chengyu didn't feel anything about it. After all, this young lady would probably live a life of luxury in the future, never having to worry about food and clothing. More than three months ago, he was still begging with a limp.

Thanks for the reward from Emperor Tong, I finally have time.

Thanks to Nicholas Baihan, lg solo dance, Xiaoxiao 520, the plan was not passed, horse whip, silk rain, purple sea heart, scorpion Lailai Duoduobao, sword dancing in the fog, slight wind, Pai Datian, book friend 9503, Dongfang Cangqiong, Xiaoyaoyou Yizhuangzi, 12321456, book friend 7517, book friend 8781, whisper in the wind, Linghu Jiangshan, book friend 3359, emperor whip, quiet night wind, book friend 8905, Zhang by, Lele Chaochao, book friend 8238, thick fog, reliable brainless, book friend 0896, Emperor Tong, want to eat buns made by grandma, and the monthly ticket of Handan Sword God.

One more thing to say, thank you to all the book friends who are now reading my previous book Marvel's Paper Funeral. There have been no subscriptions for that book for a long time, but now there are subscriptions every day in the past few days, which is really a surprise.

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(End of this chapter)