Thinking of Zu Wan'er, who was still in the Chifeng City Medical Hall, waiting for himself obsessively, Li Xiao was full of melancholy and guilt. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

It's just that this person is in the rivers and lakes, and many times, he really can't help himself.

If you want to settle down and develop smoothly in this cruel and chaotic world, it is really difficult to rely on your own strength without strong external support. If he can marry the county lord, it will be of great help to his future career development, and besides, this is the emperor's personal marriage, and it is difficult for Li Xiao to disobey his order.

If possible, marry Wan'er as a flat wife in the future, and it can be regarded as a good explanation for this infatuated girl.

Li Xiao made up his mind, so he sent someone to ask the governor Li Maofang to be a matchmaker and go to the Lu Wangfu to propose marriage.

Li Maofang because of Li Xiao's success in guarding Lunan and keeping the official position of Shandong governor and Shandong commander, and he had a son serving in Li Xiao's army.

What Li Xiao didn't expect was that a week later, news came from Chifengwei that Zu Wan'er had returned to Jinzhou after getting the news that Li Xiao was going to marry the county lord.

Li Xiao, who heard the news, sat alone in the room for a day.

He knew that it must have been Zu Wan'er who learned the news of his marriage to the county lord, and felt that he could no longer love in this Chifengwei, so he left himself and returned to his hometown in Jinzhou.

Li Xiao's idea of waiting for the marriage of the county lord to try to accept Wan'er as a flat wife came to naught.

He remembered the past when this girl used to share joys and sorrows with himself, and remembered that when he fled Shandong in such a down-and-out manner, this infatuated girl still never gave up on himself, and now, he had a better choice, but immediately abandoned this simple and infatuated girl.

The hand of the holding son looked at the old man, who knew that Li Lang was a passerby.

Human ruthlessness, even so.

In Li Xiao's heart, he was surrounded by a strong sense of guilt, and the pain was like a knife.

"Wan'er, it's Li Xiao's behavior that is reluctant, and I'm ashamed of you." In the room late at night, Li Xiao, whose eyes were shining with tears, muttered.

On March 26 of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the auspicious day of the zodiac, it is advisable to marry.

On this day, Li Xiao finally held a big wedding with Zhu Huimei.

Li Xiao, who was dressed in wine, wearing a groom's gauze hat crookedly, and sitting on the refined marriage bed made of carved nanmu and hung with red gauze cloth, recalled the marriage process during this time, and still couldn't help but sigh in his heart, in ancient times, there were many ceremonies and rules for marrying.

"Five Rites General Examination" once said that since the Later Qi Dynasty, regardless of the Son of Heaven and the common people, the wedding "one is Nacai, the second is Xiangming, the third is Naji, the fourth is Nazheng, the fifth is the invitation period, and the sixth is the personal welcome." ”

And the process of Li Xiao marrying the county lord Zhu Huijiao is more complicated.

The first step is Nacai, which is the first stage of marriage proposal, more than a month ago, Li Xiao asked the governor Li Maofang to be a matchmaker, and solemnly proposed to the Lu Palace.

After Li Maofang proposed to Zhu Shouyong, the king of Taixing, on behalf of the woman and sent a letter of appointment, Zhu Shouyong agreed to propose marriage on behalf of the woman, and the matchmaker Li Maofang then informed Li Xiao of the marriage proposal, and then, Li Xiao took the guards and personally prepared many unique gifts to Lu Wangfu to propose, the first of these many unique gifts is a pair of wild geese, which are all going to live. Why use geese? In the "Five Rites General Examination", it is said that the goose is a migratory bird, which symbolizes the meaning of yin and yang, and if the wild goose loses its mate, it will no longer be a pair for life, and its loyalty will be taken. The following gifts are as follows, and each has its own meaning.

Sake, which means blessing; Japonica rice, which means health; millet rice, which means prosperous; Pu Wei, which means flexible; Jiahe, which means Shanglu; Silk sewing clothes, which means longevity, and five-color silk, which means infinite use; Hehuan bell, which means harmony; Jiuzi ink, which means the prosperity of the descendants, and the newly minted copper coin, which means bright wealth.

The second step is to ask for a name, that is, after Li Xiao officially proposed to Lu Wangfu, he asked the matchmaker Li Maofang to ask Zhu Huimei about the date of birth and name, and the inspector checked the matching degree of the two characters, zodiac signs, and surnames to determine whether the two were in conflict with each other, and whether they could get married smoothly in the end. Since this is the emperor's wedding, the celebrant naturally tries to say that the match between the two is unique in the world, and there is no one underground.

The third step is Najib, the ceremonial inspector Xiang Minghou, who will inform the woman's father Zhu Shouyong of the good news that Li Xiao and Zhu Huimei are completely compatible and can get married. This step is also called "making an alliance". This is the main etiquette at the stage of engagement. The gifts given in this step, in addition to using a pair of geese as a token of the marriage, also gave other valuable gifts to the Lu Palace.

The other gifts given in this step are different from the symbolic gifts given at the time of acceptance, and are generally practical and even expensive gifts. In the late Ming Dynasty, in addition to sending wild geese, other gifts are generally with rings, jewelry, colored silk, cakes, incense candles, and even sheep and pigs, etc., so it is also known as sending or hiring, indicating that the two parties have officially determined the marriage.

Li Xiao was a proud person, and sent a pure gold inlaid jade ring, a pair of pure gold carved bracelets, a set of pure gold carved phoenix neck ornaments, a full set of gold beads and emerald jewelry, 100 silk horses, and 300 sheep and pigs, which made Zhu Shouyong suddenly feel that his face was full of brilliance and he was very happy. After Zhu Huijiao learned the news, she was also overjoyed.

The fourth step is to accept the levy, that is, after the alliance, the man's family will send the dowry to the woman's family, which is the etiquette at the marriage stage. This wedding is also commonly known as a complete or big engagement, a big gift, etc.

In order to show respect for the county lord, Li Xiao made a generous gesture and let Li Maofang as the representative, giving 3,000 taels of gold, 2,000 pieces of silk, 1,000 sheep and pigs, and hundreds of boxes of various food gift boxes, as the man's bride price.

In addition, there are some symbolic gifts that are the same as those of the first step, as follows.

A load of cake means fulfillment.

Eight types of seafood, including hair cabbage, abalone, oysters, scallops, mushrooms, dried shrimp, squid, sea cucumber, two pieces of each, meaning hearty.

Three animals are complete, two male and female robust live chickens, two pork to five catties, a total of two, five catties of dace a pair, which means to open up a wide range of financial resources.

A pair of coconuts means that there is a coconut (master) and a son, symbolizing the health of the family.

Four bottles of good rice wine indicate that the husband and wife have mellow feelings.

Sijing fruit, that is, a pile of dried longan, dried lychee, dried walnut, and shelled peanuts, indicates that the descendants are prosperous and endless.

Four-color sugar, that is, a pile of rock sugar, orange cake, winter melon candy, and golden qi, symbolizes the love of husband and wife to old age.

A pile of tea leaves and sesame seeds, also known as the oil hemp tea ceremony, symbolizes that women will swear loyalty from the beginning to the end in the future.

Twelve catties of glutinous rice, three catties and two taels of sugar, which are used for women to make glutinous rice balls, symbolizing happiness.

Zhu Shouyong received such a heavy gift, and he smiled profusely. Subsequently, according to the etiquette of the woman's return gift, Zhu Shouyong returned more than 200 boxes of food in the dowry gift box, and at the same time, gave the man Li Xiao some clothes, hats, shoes and socks made of lake silk as a return gift. All return gifts are even numbers, which means that good things come in pairs.

The fifth step is the application period, which is generally carried out at the same time as the fourth step. In the end, Yu Zhu Shouyong and Li Maofang, according to the opinion of the inspector, determined that the date of the wedding of the two was March 26 in the eighth year of Chongzhen. After Li Xiao got the news, he sent someone to send a pair of geese and some snacks to express his recognition and certainty of the wedding date.

The sixth step, personal welcome, is the ceremony for the new son-in-law to go to the woman's house to welcome him. This ritual is often regarded as the main procedure of the wedding, and arguably the climax of the whole wedding.

For this wedding, during this time, Li Xiao made up his mansion in Chifengwei as a place to welcome relatives and cave houses.

Subsequently, Li Xiao set off two weeks in advance with a neatly dressed escort cavalry, he sat on a tall horse, tied with a red silk pure gold hair crown, and Li Xiao, who was dressed in a bright red wedding dress, walked proudly at the front of the team surrounded by a group of drummers, and went to Yanzhou Luwangfu to greet his relatives.

In the entire mighty welcoming procession, the most eye-catching thing is that the luxury sedan chair with a double top of 12 people is engraved with phoenix patterns and butterflies, and the brilliance is extraordinary.

Five days later, the welcoming procession marched to the palace of King Lu, in the deafening sound of cannonballs, in the noise of a group of children specially brought, in the accompaniment of festive music such as "Tie the Knot" and "Champion Parade Street" played by the drummer and the trivial, Li Xiao was led by the matchmaker Li Maofang, came to the carrier hall that had been decorated with a festive ceremony, and personally kowtowed to Zhu Shouhong, the king of Lu, Zhu Shouyong, the king of Taixing, and Zhu Huimei's biological mother Gao, who were sitting on the high chair.

Wearing a crown of nine feathers and four phoenixes, covered with a red silk handkerchief covered with crystal beads, and wearing a wide-sleeved wedding dress made of embroidered long-tailed pheasants and bright red Hangzhou silk, Zhu Huimei, who was accompanied by four personal maids, also came to the carrier hall together, and then stood beside Li Xiao with his head bowed.

After Li Xiao and Zhu Huimei quietly listened to the blessings and exhortations from Zhu Shouhong to Zhu Shouyong, as well as his mother Gao, Li Xiao knelt down and saluted, and the county lord Zhu Huimei also bowed to the seniors sitting on the chair with the support of the maid.

Subsequently, Zhu Huimei was helped back to the boudoir by the maid. At this time, Li Xiao saw for the first time the famous Zhu Yihai of Lu Jianguo, at this time he was only 17 years old, he was dressed as a noble son, looking at Li Xiao with a smile on his face, which made Li Xiao think of the bumpy fate behind the Lu Jianguo, and sighed lightly.

At the banquet, Zhu Shouhong, the king of Lu, and Zhu Shouyong, the king of Taixing, both had a smile on their faces, and looking at Li Xiao's eyes, they were even more cordial. Everyone frequently toasted and persuaded Li Xiao to drink, and the banquet was joyful and festive.

On that day, Li Xiao was drunk, and after resting in the Lu Palace, he took Zhu Huimei to return to Xiong Tangwei the next day.

Zhu Huimei hugged her mother Gao and cried non-stop, Zhu Shouhong, the king of Lu, still had a faint smile on his face, and Zhu Shouyong, Zhu Yipai and others were quietly crying.

Gao's Wanyan once again told Li Xiao that he must take good care of the county lord Zhu Huimei, and Li Xiao replied resolutely that he would definitely take care of his wife for the prince and his wife, please rest assured. And after marriage, she will be asked to go back to her parents' house to play to relieve her worries about missing her relatives.

In the noisy sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, Zhu Huimei, who was dressed in a wedding dress and a red scarf, finally with the help of a group of relatives and daughters in the Lu Palace, was held up by the bridesmaids to open the red umbrella, and a group of relatives and daughters accompanied the bride to the sky, the top of the umbrella, and the top of the sedan chair threw rice grains, which means to feed the golden rooster, indicating that the married woman will not be bullied in her husband's house in the future. In the end, four attendants escorted him to sit in the luxurious sedan chair specially made by Li Xiao for twelve people. The head of the sedan chair let out a long drink, and then got up and left.

The beloved daughter was far away, Zhu Shouyong and Gao were very reluctant, and the two accompanied the sedan chair for a long distance, both of them looked like they were tearful and wanted to talk, which made Li Xiao sigh in his heart.

A week later, Li Xiao's welcoming party returned to Chifengwei and arrived at the church on March 26, the eighth year of Chongzhen.

In the middle hall, it was crowded with Li Xiao's subordinates who came to congratulate and watch the excitement, as well as a group of officials from all over Shandong headed by Shandong Governor Li Maofang, who also stood in it with a smile. When they saw Zhu Huimei, who was dressed in luxurious makeup and a red scarf, accompanied by four wedding maids, and under the guidance of Li Xiao, slowly entered from outside the gate, and immediately burst into laughter.

The high-pitched voice of the officiant Chen Zilong sounded loudly.

"Worship heaven and earth!"

"Second worship high hall!"

"Husband and wife worship each other!"

"Licheng!"

The gongs and drums are noisy, the sound of firecrackers is constantly deafening, Li Xiao led Zhu Huijiao to kneel down to offer tea to the parents' tablets in front of the long table, looking at the pair of cigarettes in the parents' tablets, Li Xiao's heart is infinitely emotional.

In the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, the atmosphere was even more enthusiastic, Li Xiao asked the maid to help Zhu Huijiao to go back to the cave room first, and then announced that the feast would be held immediately, and all the guests were invited to sit down.

Li Xiao and a group of Shandong officials sat in the chief, the main generals and staff members of his subordinates sat in the second seat, and the rest of the guests sat in other seats.

At this time, all parts of Chifeng City, Iron Dragon City, and Jintang City also held feasts, and even among the prisoners who were punished for hard labor, they also held banquets to celebrate the wedding of the commander Li Xiao today.

On the banquet, the cups were staggered, Li Xiao kept toasting to the guests, and he kept accepting the guests' persuasion. Li Maofang saluted Li Xiao three times in a row, Li Xiao understood the eager eyes of Li Maofang, a big matchmaker, and drank it all with a laugh.

For a while, the banquet was full of laughter and joy.

It was a banquet, the guests and hosts were happy, Li Xiao was dizzy and drunk, but fortunately he controlled his drunkenness, and with the help of the guards, he staggered back to the cave room.

At this time, the Li Mansion, which had been noisy for a day, finally returned to tranquility.

The bright moonlight shines through the window, and in the cave room, the husband and wife sit quietly along the side of the bed on a bed of delicately carved nanmu hanging tents. The four bride maids faced each other and stood on either side of the marriage bed.

On the night of March in the spring of March, the spring breeze is soft, and the moonlight shines through the window like water, and the candlelight shakes the red cave room, reflecting a kind of alluring and intoxicating atmosphere.

Li Xiao, who was still a little dizzy, shook his head, tried to make himself sober, and then gently removed the bride's hijab with a gold pick.

Zhu Huimei, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, appeared in front of Li Xiao with a shy, and Li Xiao was not stupid.

I saw that she was wearing a phoenix crown with gold silk coils, black sideburns on both sides, green daisy eyebrows, bright eyes, jade fingers and arms, thin waist and snow skin, bright wrists in red clothes, clear eyes in eyebrow makeup, spring waves, and moving cheeks. At a glance, I only feel that Xiu Jingyan is more delicate than flowers, the slender fingers are like green onion roots, the cherry mouth is like containing Zhu Dan, the pink cheeks are gradually dyed red, and the smile is so fascinating.

"Husband......" Seeing her husband looking so obsessed, Zhu Huimei looked delicate.

"I, Li Xiao, was so depressed and humble when I was a hunter in Jinzhou, I never dreamed that I would be able to marry the county lord today." Li Xiao let out a long sigh.

Zhu Huimei gave him a warm smile back. "The slave family has also heard of the hard work of the husband in the past. In the future, if there is anything, the slave family is willing to share it with the husband. If you are not in front of people in the future, don't call me the county lord anymore, you and I are already husband and wife, and I prefer you to call me my sister-in-law. ”

Li Xiao smiled, and took out the sachet given by Zhu Huijiao from his arms: "Don't worry, I, Li Xiao, will definitely treat you well in the future, and I will never lose you." You see, the sachet you gave me, I always carry it in my arms. ”

Zhu Huimei chuckled, and also took out the white jade tiger pendant that Li Xiao gave him when he went to King Lu's mansion last time, and said softly: "The jade pendant that my husband gave me has always been with the slave family." ”

Looking at her delicate appearance, Li Xiao was unmoved, and he said gently: "Lady, it's getting late, why don't we rest together." ”

Zhu Huimei nodded lightly, and her handsome triangular face was even more flushed.

Li Xiao suddenly remembered something, he saw that the four wedding maids next to him were still standing motionless, and his heart was strange, and he asked, "Lady, I'm going to bed soon, why are they still standing here?" ”

Zhu Huimei's face turned even redder, and she said in a low voice: "They were originally going to accompany us here." ”

Li Xiao instantly understood, it turned out that in ancient times, this wedding maid was used to serve the master to rest and sleep. If the hostess is unwell, they can also accompany the male protagonist to sleep, which is commonly known as the girl in the room.

Li Xiao sighed again in his heart, in modern society, which man dares to do this, I am afraid that the world will not tolerate it, and he will be scolded to death by feminists.

Li Xiao laughed, sighed and said: "It's that Li doesn't know etiquette, so if you come, you will be safe, you come here, and the marquis and the county lord will go to clothes." ”

"Yes."

The four maids bowed their heads together and replied.

The red candle swayed, the mandarin tent was hazy, and the two people who loved each other finally hugged each other sweetly.

"Husband, light, the slave family is afraid of pain."

"Don't worry, lady, I will try to be as gentle as possible."

For a while, with the panting and moaning, the whole room was full of spring, like a beautiful dream.

(Thank you for the monthly passes, thank you for your support) (To be continued.) )