After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies have been divided into six parts since ancient times: betrothal, name inquiry, auspicious date selection, gift exchange, wedding date setting, and wedding ceremony.

Over the course of a thousand years, it gradually simplified. By the time of the Great Liang Dynasty, Zhu Xi's Family Rituals had been simplified to only three rites: betrothal, gift presentation, and wedding ceremony.

The betrothal ceremony involves the groom visiting the bride's family through a matchmaker, bringing gifts, usually a large goose.

She was nominally the Ning family's niece, but her parents had passed away, and she was living in the Ning family as a guest. Aunt Pang and the others thought that the betrothal ceremony could be skipped.

Naji is a divination performed using the birth dates and times of both the man and woman. If the result is auspicious, then a formal marriage contract is established, and the couple is married.

She was a year younger than the young doctor, and wrote down her full name, Zhu Cuiwei... well, she accepted the nickname Cui Cui... and her birth date and time, and gave it to the matchmaker, Aunt Pang.

The plump aunt pretended to use a tortoise shell for divination.

He knelt on the ground, humming and hawing for a while, then tossed the tortoise shell into the air. He glanced at the red seal in Ning's hand, and as the tortoise shell landed, he widened his eyes and shouted, "A match made in heaven!"

Ning Shi and Yang Qiniang and the others immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Ning's mouth hadn't closed since she woke up this morning, and now she was smiling like a flower. I wonder if she slept last night.

However, I did fall asleep... just like the day before yesterday, I slept on the doctor's bed.

She watched the ceremony from the sidelines, her hands hanging down, her posture somewhat unnatural, and a blush silently spreading across her face, making her feel slightly hot, which contrasted sharply with the morning glow outside.

Aunt Pang took the red envelope from Madam Ning, weighed it in her hand, and put it away. Her face was all puffed up with a smile. In no time, the two marriage certificates were written, written in the style of phoenixes and printed on red paper.

"On an auspicious day in the late summer of the Dingmao year of the Tianqi reign (1627), when heaven and earth were in harmony and celebration, and the order of heaven and earth was established and yin and yang were in harmony, the Ning family of Lijia Village, Jiangning County, Yingtian Prefecture, Daliang, with the father named Ning Gong (named Beiwang) and the mother named Ning Chen, respectfully betrothed, through matchmaker Xu, to Miss Cuiwei, the eldest daughter of the Zhu family of Datong Street, Shangyuan County, Jinling, as the principal wife of the Ning family's eldest son (named Nan). In accordance with ancient rites, the betrothal gifts are as follows: a pair of silver phoenix bracelets, a hat inlaid with four silver pearls and dragons and phoenixes, a pair of silver earrings with eighteen sections, a pair of silver hundred-year locks, and a pair of live geese. The auspicious date is chosen as the 28th day of the sixth month of the 12th year of the Tianqi reign (1627), a day suitable for sacrifices, marriage, and coming-of-age ceremony. The wedding ceremony will be held at the Ning family home in Lijia Village. The two families are united in marriage, and the contract is made in one hall. This good match is forever bound and the couple is considered a perfect match."

The plump aunt handed one portion to Ning Shi and the other to her, saying with a smile, "Just waiting for the wedding procession!"

The third step, the wedding ceremony, is the formal marriage.

Yang Qiniang made the decision on this matter. Cui Cui would stay at her house and wait for Ningwa to come and take her away for the wedding.

"That way, we'll be on the proper etiquette." Aunt Pang and the other aunties nodded in agreement.

Widow Ning blushed like a child, looking completely submissive, and said, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say, oh dear, I'll do whatever you say."

Zhu Cuicui pursed her lips, took the marriage certificate, and hid in Ning Nan's room.

Time passed slowly, and when the sun was high in the sky, the young doctor still hadn't returned.

But at least we received news today.

It was Yang Bing, the nephew of Yang Qiniang, who was the clerk from Jiangning County who had previously carried the young doctor to Nanjing.

Yang Bing brought back a message saying that Ning Nan was staying at a friend's house in Nanjing for a few more days and would return later, so there was no need to worry.

Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

The young doctor also asked Yang Bing to bring back a letter, saying it was for Cuicui, and he also brought ten taels of silver.

The letter contained only one sentence.

"Cui Cui, please take care of my mother for a few days. I brought back some delicious food for you."

She squinted, read it twice, then put the letter away and took the silver.

Invite Yang Bing to have lunch at home.

But Yang Bing waved his hand hastily, looking like he wanted to say something but was also uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, he took his leave and left in a hurry.

Neither she nor Ning knew what had happened. Ning tried to make amends, saying that the clerk was very busy, after all, he was an official, and it was already very good that he could bring us a letter. Zhu Cuiwei nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Ning's health has improved a lot.

Although I was still walking a little unsteadily, I had a better appetite at noon and ate two bowls of rice.

She remembered the young doctor saying that she shouldn't eat too much while recuperating, so she only cooked vegetarian dishes and washed the dishes herself at noon, allowing Ning to only rest in bed.

Although Ning was uneasy, she dared not refute him.

I'm just staying in bed and resting, hoping to get better soon.

There's no need to worry about the Ning family's land.

There were two day laborers and three strong men helping to watch over the fields.

She took the money and asked Sanzhuang to settle the wages of the day laborers.

Erlaizi delivers meat to the Ning family every day, while Li Xing brings firewood to the Ning family, all of which is finely chopped firewood.

That day, a big man came along with Sanzhuang and Erlai, pulling a cart.

The car had a newly made wooden door, and the lock was brand new.

This was made by the big man himself; he said his name was Li Dahei.

Dahei replaced the door in the Ning family's main room with a good one, and repaired several drafty spots with hammering and banging.

Zhu Cuiwei didn't ask how much it cost.

She guessed that this person must be the archer under the young doctor's command.

These people are all friends who have risked their lives for each other.

She pursed her lips, feeling that using money was somewhat inappropriate.

In short, Ning's health continued to improve, the young doctor returned with money, and the Ning family's life finally returned to its original stable state.

She stayed quietly in the young doctor's room, reading leisurely books. The light outside was excellent, and the window was open, with the wind blowing in, making the pages of the book rustle. It was a very comfortable atmosphere.

The decision to marry this young doctor was not a spur-of-the-moment thing, but a well-thought-out one… she thought with a serious expression.

The first reason is naturally because the other party saved her life, but only women in novels would repay a life-saving debt with their bodies... They would only give money, official positions, or houses... This is not the core reason, but it forms the basis for what follows.

Secondly, it's because the young doctor saw him naked during the rescue... Although it was a desperate act, it's a fact that cannot be denied or changed.

"In that case, if I marry another man, I'll inevitably have some reservations." She frowned, carefully analyzing her motives from last night.

As for the third point, which is also the most important one... it's actually not easy to find a husband.

She sighed, put down her book, and rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the window.

"Yes, that's the most important reason..."

If she were to choose a husband, she would only have three options: either from the sons of noble families, from the sons of civil officials, or, like the emperor selecting concubines, from among the common people, choosing someone of good appearance and temperament.

The sons of noble families are not good enough.

Almost everyone in this group had been to brothels, so naturally, men who had been to brothels were not desirable.

As for the sons of civil officials, it's not really a good option either. Generally, civil officials don't want to become imperial sons-in-law because they would be seen as relatives of the empress and would be collectively ostracized and targeted by the civil official group. Civil officials are wary of imperial sons-in-law, citing historical examples of empress's relatives interfering in politics, as it would affect their future careers.

Even if a civil official wanted to marry into the royal family, he would only send his son who had no future in the imperial examinations to marry into the family. Sons with a future in the imperial examinations would naturally take the honorable path of the imperial examinations.

Therefore, the sons of civil officials are not very suitable either.

As for the third option, selecting from the common people… She narrowed her eyes slightly, her right hand, which was supporting her chin, patted her cheek with her fingers… That would be even worse. You can know a person's face but not their heart. If she were to be used by someone with ulterior motives, such as some persistent imperial uncle who might capture one of her relatives to plot against her, she might even be in mortal danger…

After spending some time carefully considering everything...

"Hmm... I've thought this through carefully... it wasn't an impulsive decision..."

The woman tilted her head to her right hand, firmly acknowledging her actions.

A gentle breeze brushed her cheeks and stirred her hair, making it sway like the drooping branches of a willow tree in the wind.

...

...

The same golden sunlight shone outside the side gate of the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion.

Shangguan Xiu, dressed in a white robe with a cinched waist, frowned as he looked at the three carriages in front of him.

Then, he pointed to the last carriage and asked Ning Nan, who was dressed in a loose-fitting robe, "Are you really planning to take that carriage's contents back with you?"

Ning Nan glanced at him sideways: "What if we don't take it back? Leave it for you?"

Shangguan Xiu clicked his tongue and said, "That whole cart was filled with invitations from various brothel girls... I heard they didn't even charge you, they were practically offering themselves up..."

Ning Nan waved his hand and laughed, "I'm just keeping it as a souvenir... I'm not that kind of person..."

"Heh..." He chuckled insecurely.

The smile looked somewhat forced.