On the ninth day of November, Zhao Dangshi bathed and changed his clothes in advance, and sat in a sedan chair with Fan Juan, the prefect of Xiangyang, who served as the introducer, to pay homage to Xiangwangfu. Fan Juan entered the mansion first to meet with Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, while Zhao Dangshi waited in the court room arranged in the mansion.

A short time later, two neatly dressed internal supervisors and four small eunuchs led an elderly priest wearing a square scarf and a dark robe to meet him. One of the little eunuchs took a small jade ruler and measured Zhao Dangshi's palm, and said solemnly: "The hand of the nobleman is a great blessing." Such a heroic figure is really a good son-in-law of the East Bed. ”

The old man carefully observed Zhao Dangshi's four bodies, and was full of praise, and then quickly drew Zhao Dangshi's appearance, handed it to the little eunuch, and asked them to take it to Zhu Yiming to use as a "son-in-law".

Zhao Dangshi and Zhu Yiming are familiar with each other, and even a few moles on each other's faces are clear, and doing so is nothing more than a process. In the emperor's house, everything is simple and complicated, Zhao Dangshi is psychologically prepared, and naturally cooperates patiently.

After a while, the little eunuch happily ran and said, "The prince is very happy, and he urgently invites Zhao Jun to meet." ”

So everyone hurriedly hugged Zhao Dangshi and went to the palace hall. Zhu Yiming was waiting there, and after Zhao Dangshi entered the palace, he had to sit on the embroidery pier. Zhu Yiming looked at Zhao Dangshi for a moment, and said happily: "There is a lonely daughter, peach and plum years, and now the east bed is wonderful, Qingcheng can be described as a fast son-in-law." He replaced Ruiwang Zhu Changhao as the woman's parent, and after a closer look, Huaqing is certainly her grandchild, but for the sake of convenience, she is still called her own daughter.

The words were high-sounding, and Zhao Dangshi also bowed his head and replied: "Zhao is a mediocre person in the mountains, a man in the mountains and wilderness, he has no extravagant thoughts, and he is deeply ashamed to be appreciated by the prince. ”

The two were embarrassed and chatted for a long time, and there was really nothing to say, so Zhu Changfa, the king of Guiyang, who was standing beside him, came forward and summoned the subordinate officials of the Qintian Prison in the palace and asked them to choose an auspicious day to arrange the wedding banquet. The subordinate officials of Qintian came prepared, and immediately selected the time, and Zhu Changfa then reported to Zhu Yiming: "Choose the auspicious day of tomorrow's zodiac, take the flowers and candles of Shenshi, and meet the will of heaven and the wishes of the people." ”

Zhu Yiming stroked his palms and said yes, and ordered someone to give Zhao Dangshi a gorgeous robe and wear it to participate in the small banquet in the temporary arrangement of the palace. During the banquet, five fasts and six sacrifices are juxtaposed with the beauty of Xuanqu; Sanqi is the treasure of land and water.

Zhao Dangshi hastily finished the feast, bid farewell to Zhu Yiming, returned to Xiangyang Mansion City, set up hundreds of tables of flowing water banquets in the open space in the city, feasted his father and fellow villagers, and even sent special people to send wine, fish and meat to the soldiers and civilians in Fanhecheng, Yunyang Mansion, Suizhou, Nanyang Mansion and other places, and gave them to the soldiers and civilians to celebrate on the same day.

At the end of the next day, officials from all walks of life in Xiangyang Prefecture gathered, and Yunyang Mansion, Suizhou, Nanyang Mansion and other places were far away and it was inconvenient for military affairs to visit, Xu Hui, Hou Dagui and Guo Ruke also specially sent representatives to come to the venue with congratulatory gifts. Zhao Dangshi was dressed as a groom and rode in Caiyu, all the way to the letter cannon noisy, drum music forward, lively and extraordinary.

After arriving at the palace, I saw Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, and the princess sitting side by side at the top of the main hall. Zhao Dangshi was not in a hurry, and stepped forward to kowtow to the son-in-law ceremony of asking for peace, ate and drank three rounds, and then performed the flower candle ceremony of bowing and worshipping. Then Zhao Dangshi was introduced into another room by the internal supervisor, changed his clothes again, changed into a dragon crown python costume and a jade belt palace flower, one end of the vermilion satin on the outside, and two gold flowers on his head, and the whole person immediately became happy.

After meeting King Xiang and his wife again, there were several little eunuchs with colorful clothes and flower crowns. a small eunuch holding a big red felt; A little eunuch held a jade plate, and there were four jasper plates on the plate; A little eunuch held a gold plate with two white jade cups on the plate; Two little eunuchs held incense treasures; There were also two small eunuchs holding gold bottles and drinking liquor. All accompanied by Zhao Dangshi, under the guidance of several fair female officials in the mansion, arrived at the place where the county lord of Huaqing lived.

In front of Anlan Xuan, there were waiting eunuchs in the palace who knocked on the cloud board three times, and soon more than ten little eunuchs came out of the palace to answer, and Zhao Dangshi entered the Xuan under the cluster of everyone. When they got inside, the internal supervisor struck the golden bell three times, and more than a dozen people responded. Continue inward, to the door of the house, an old eunuch pointed to a pole by the side of the flower garden with a bronze bell hanging on it and said, "Please ring the bell on the shelf three times." ”

Zhao Dangshi has never seen this frame many times before, needless to say, it must have been specially prepared for this wedding, and since the big stride meteor passed, according to the words of the old internal supervisor, it rang three times in a row. After that, the door of the house opened, and Hua Qing, who was wearing a red hijab, went out to ascend to the seat, without saying a word, and the maids on the left and right gave the order to exempt from the "worship and dance ceremony".

Although Zhao Dangshi was close to Huaqing, he had never been so eager to remove the thin red hijab as he was now. The beauty is close at hand, and it can be imagined that under the red cover, there must be a shy and incomprehensible face. He lingered for a long time in front of the painting pavilion, rang the bell, and music was played under the left corridor; Ring the bell twice, and music is played under the right corridor; When the bell rings three times, the maid rolls the blinds, and the county lord takes the seat.

"Huaqing, I finally waited for this day." Zhao Dangshi was excited, and the bits and pieces of the two of them over the past few years were like water bursting into his mind in an instant. Iron man is tender, no matter how dangerous the situation on the battlefield, he has never been moved, but in the face of this situation, even though the joyful vocal music around him lingers, his eyes are hot and he almost tears.

The old internal supervisor has rich experience, and in order to prevent Zhao Dangshi from falling into love early, he reminded in time: "The county master can enter the house." Then several shouts succeeded in distracting the bridegroom's attention.

Zhao Dangshi listened to the command of the old internal supervisor, and first bowed outside the door of the house and paid a salute. The maid in the house nodded, bowed again, and thanked her. The maid shouted: "The county lord invites the county master to enter." Only then did he enter the house and oppose Hua Qing.

Looking at it closely, Zhao Dangshi found that the slim jade body opposite was trembling slightly, and it could be expected that Huaqing, who had been looking forward to it for several years, would be so moved at this moment.

Under the long call of the old internal supervisor, Zhao Dangshi and Hua Qing first knelt on the embroidered pier and bowed. Then, in the sound of singing, he knelt down in front of the bright flower candles in the room and bowed to the flower candles. Then, accompanied by the old inner supervisor's sharp shout of "Together", the two of them handed over their glasses and drank the wine in the cups, and performed the ceremony of joining together.

The solemn old eunuch then gave the order, and the two little eunuchs took a cup and poured wine, handed it to Zhao Dangshi and Huaqing, and then each stuffed two lotus dates. At the same time, the old inner supervisor congratulated: "There are lotuses in Beizhu, and there are dates in Nanshan." The man is the man, and the gentleman grows old together. ”

After speaking, the old eunuch sent the little eunuch to pour wine, and handed over two pieces of hazelnut and cypress to the two newcomers, and said: "The phoenix is flying, and Chu is looking forward." Hazelnuts are abundant, and Baisi is male. ”

Zhao Dangshi and Hua Qing finished drinking these two rounds of wine, and the old inner eunuch smiled, and shouted in a long voice: "Jumeng-" At this time, the maid stepped forward and carefully unveiled Hua Qing's red hijab.

Zhao Dangshi's heart beat like a drum, and when he took off the hijab, he saw that the jade appearance under the red candle was open, and it was the beautiful face that he had been thinking about for a long time. Those big and innocent eyes were wet and red, revealing indescribable tenderness and shyness.

"Huaqing ......"

Zhao Dangshi couldn't help but hold the other party's hands, and was about to complain, but under a few coughs from the old internal eunuch, he embarrassedly let go of his hand and smiled at Hua Qing.

"Sit down and salute—"

Several little eunuchs struck the bell when they heard the sound, the drums rang out in unison, the maids served wine and food like flowing water, and Zhao Dangshi and Hua Qing raised their glasses together. After only a few bites, the small feast was withdrawn.

Under the guidance of the old internal supervisor, Zhao Dangshi personally promoted the crown and wide clothes for Huaqing, and Zhao Dangshi himself took the crown and released the clothes. After sitting down and drinking tea for a while, Hua Qing left first under the arrangement of the old internal supervisor. The maid added a fire, and the old eunuch said to Zhao Dangshi: "The county lord has entered the inner room, and the county horse should have come out of the palace." But now that the door is closed, please go into the inner room to change your clothes, and don't forget to ring the golden bell three times before entering. ”

Zhao Dangshi was in a trance, and entered the inner room according to his words, and there was no one except for the candlelight, and even those maids didn't know where they went. When I arrived at the door of the inner room, the door was closed, but when I saw a small golden bell placed in front of the door, I remembered the instructions of the old inner eunuch and knocked three times, and sure enough, the door of the inner room opened slightly.

After entering, but saw that the table was lit with double candles, and a pearl was hanging in front of the bed, Hua Qing sat obediently and skillfully in the corner of the bed covered by a large embroidered red quilt, and looked at it with a light smile. There was no one around, Zhao Dangshi stepped forward and sat down beside Hua Qing, and just took her into his arms, Hua Qing pointed at his lips, and said with a smile: "Zhao Lang is thirsty." ”

Zhao Dangshi was stunned, licked his lips, his mouth was indeed dry, and replied: "It's a little thirsty." ”

Hua Qing listened, reached out and reached under his armpit, knocking on the little golden bell hanging at the head of the bed. Zhao Dangshi was stunned, only for a short while, the door of the inner room was wide open, and several maids ran in from outside, and you pushed me and smiled and offered two teas.

Zhao Dangshi had no choice but to drink tea, and the maids closed the door with laughter.

Hua Qing's face was as red as a tide, he took Zhao Dangshi's hand, and said astringently: "Zhao Lang, there will be no outsiders coming now." ”

The windows on all four sides of the inner room were tightly closed, and the outside was thickly covered with vermilion lacquered paper, which darkened the small world in the house, and only by relying on a few red candles could the two of them vaguely see each other's faces. Although the lights were dim, Zhao Dangshi only felt that today's Huaqing looked particularly moving. As soon as he hugged Hua Qing, he suddenly felt that under her robe, her belly was slightly bulging, and he immediately smiled and said, "This is our child, when was it conceived?" ”

Hua Qing lowered his head and stroked his belly, and replied: "I don't know, it is estimated that it is April, and you are going to return to Fanhe City during that time, not ......" As he spoke, his voice was like a gossamer, and it was inaudible.

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said, "Then it will be six months from now." His eyebrows stretched and said happily, "It seems that next year, I'll have one more follower." ”

Hua Qing snorted lightly and said, "You are all fighting and killing, the child is small, are you not afraid of being scared?" ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled: "Yo, when you are a mother, you will start to protect your cubs?" ”

Hua Qing thumped him, wrapped his arms around his neck, and whispered in his ear, "Seriously, do you want to be a boy or a girl?" ”

"To each his own good." Zhao Dangshi said calmly, "It's good to give birth to a little Zhao Dangshi, but if I give birth to a little Huaqing, where do I dare to say half a 'no'?" With that, he grinned.

Hua Qing's face suddenly showed a very happy expression, and he hugged Zhao Dangshi closely: "I hope it's a boy, in this way, I can follow you to learn the art of war, march and fight, and I will definitely be your right-hand man." ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "As long as you like it, in this world, I only care about you." ”

Hua Qing slapped him again, and pretended to be angry: "It's good if I like anything, it's not your child to dare to love." As he spoke, he grabbed his strong arms again, "Then have you figured out what to name our child?" ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled and said, "I've thought about it." I once listened to Mr. Gu Junen Gu in the army explain "Chu Ci", and the first sentence mentioned that "looking at Sanwu thinks it is like Xi, and referring to Peng Xian as a ritual". Peng Xian is a great sage of the Shang Dynasty, loyal and resolute, and a representative of the world. The so-called 'exemplary' is the word 'instrument' in the sentence. I also hope that our child can one day lead by example and become a role model for others, so let's call him 'Yuanyi'. ”

"Zhao Yuanyi, Zhao Yuanyi......" Hua Qing recited a few times, and said with his head bowed, "It can be used by both men and women." Saying that, he frowned, pouted and pouted Zhao Dangshi, "You are lazy!" ”

Zhao Dangshi laughed, hugged the jade into his arms, and put his back on his back, staging the scene of the goddess of Wushan, which did not need to be mentioned.

And in the morning, the two walked out of the house hand in hand, and the sound of salutes and music immediately began around them, and the officials, maids, and servants in the palace who had been waiting for a long time all greeted each other. After washing, Hua Qing sat on the dressing table, and the maid brushed her hair on her behalf. Zhao Dangshi was watching and waiting, and the serious old inner eunuch unconsciously came again, saying that Zhao Dangshi should paint thrush for the county lord, Zhao Dangshi was busy agreeing, and carefully described the eyebrows. He was a martial artist, and letting him do this was almost like forcing Zhang Fei to embroider, but fortunately, Huaqing was patient and kept laughing with him, and time passed quickly.

Just after painting the eyebrows, the bell rang three times, and under the auspices of the old internal supervisor, Zhao Dangshi and Hua Qing worshiped each other again in front of the court, which was a gift of thanksgiving for marriage. After that, they all took the public chariot to meet the Xiangwang and his wife, and met and worshipped Fang Bi. Zhu Yiming rewarded tea, banquets, and treasures, gold, pearls, and fruits. And said that it has been arranged, from today to give a banquet for five days, during which the county lord and the county horse need to stay together all the time, or fight the Xuan and the card, or the leaf play, or the pot arrow, or the silk tong, or the Go in the embroidery pavilion, or the flower in the famous garden, or the book and ask the difficulty, or rhyme with the chanting, no matter what the game, in short, must not be separated from one step.

Zhao Dangshi had arranged the affairs of the army before he came, and he had no worries, so he readily agreed. Hua Qing couldn't help but be overjoyed, and in front of King Xiang and his wife, he took Zhao Dangshi's hand and jumped lightly, not like a bride, but like a girl in the boudoir.

Self-cultivation, family, governance, and peace in the world, one of the four can be described as a "husband". But in Zhao Dangshi's life goals, one of the four is indispensable. "Qi family" is the premise for him to become a "big husband" who aspires to be able to "level the world".

Looking at the delighted Hua Qing, he only felt that in addition to Zhao Ying, he had another reason worth giving up his life and forgetting his death.