Episode 24 The Wedding (Part I)

"Quite right, you don't have a house in Nanjing? Are you still living in a dorm? ”

The next day in the imperial study, Zhu Yourong held a newspaper.

"Hehe, yes, Your Majesty," Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and shook his head, "I'm just busy these days." Busy fighting, busy messing with the People's Guard...... I haven't had the time to find a house. It's not going to be tomorrow to get married, that is, two days ago, people were roughly looking for it. ”

"Ahh Zhu Yourong nodded. After a while, he asked with some concern, "Did you find it?" ”

"I just found one, Qinhuai District, it's quite quiet, a two-story building, a small courtyard, hehe. There are not many people in the family, and a smaller house is enough. ”

Zhu Yourong also laughed for a while, and said casually: "It's just a two-story building...... That's a little smaller. You and the two ladies, I heard that there is also a mother-in-law and a brother-in-law, this is a family of four...... With the addition of some servant guards, it is probably not enough. …… Well, it's quite good, what about me, seeing that the property is so cheap now, I have also bought some...... Otherwise, I'll give you one. …… What do you think? You tell me? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Zhu Yourong with an almost earnest gaze, and his heart warmed. He knew that Zhu Yourong was just talking, she definitely didn't read the newspaper and temporarily decided to give herself a house. Looking at it like this, it may have been carefully selected for myself a long time ago.

He was very moved by Zhu Yourong's thoughts, and didn't say anything more, just stared at her, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty...... In that case, thank you! ”

Zhu Yourong looked at him, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and a feeling of happiness rose.

She smiled and said, "It's very ...... Wedding, I'm not going...... I know you don't want to be too conspicuous at this wedding...... But when the time comes, I will call you and bless you. ”

……

After the class, Xiang Xiaoqiang immediately followed a financial adviser from the royal family to see the house that Zhu Yourong gave him.

Compared with the house that Xiang Xiaoqiang bought himself, the place that Zhu Yourong gave was too ideal, and it was completely in line with his identity. And what's even more rare is that Zhu Yourong fully took into account the convenience of Xiang Xiaoqiang, this house is next door to the headquarters of the People's Guard, only a wall away! As long as you open a door on the wall, you can come and go freely, go to the headquarters, go home, and don't have to go through the nasty paparazzi at the gate.

This mansion was the official residence of the previous commander of the eastern section of the Yangtze River defense line, which was Cao Mingqin's predecessor. The old man retired in the second half of last year and returned to his hometown, this big house was entrusted to the brokerage monopoly, but Nanjing was under the guns of the Qing army, and the real estate was too sluggish, plus this is a mansion, it was difficult to sell, and it was hung in the broker for a few months, and it was only recently that Zhu Yourong let people buy it.

This mansion is about the same as the Liaoyang Princess Mansion in scale, covering an area of several thousand square meters, equivalent to several acres of land, only a little smaller than the headquarters of the People's Guard. The style is European, with three large and small buildings. Two four-storey main buildings for the host family to live in. One is a marble structure, which is very shady, and is used as a summer house, and the other is a red brick structure, which is very warm, and is used as a winter house. The other, which has only two floors, but is very long, is the residence of the guards and attendants.

Although the two main buildings are only four floors, they are very spiritual and imposing. Xiang Xiaoqiang was born in fine arts, and at a glance, he knew that this was an imitation of the style of the French Napoleonic Empire, and the overall feeling was tall and majestic, and it was very much the feeling of the German Third Reich. Very much to his taste.

Probably because its former owner was the commander of the Yangtze River defense line and was deeply affected, even his private house was like a fortress, with a ring of reinforced concrete walls, high and thick, and a guardhouse on one side of the gate, and a small pillbox on the other, and the dampness emanating from the shooting port of the black hole. On the three main roads in the courtyard of the house, there were also three small steel machine-gun forts, but instead of being raised and lowered, they were half-buried in the ground, poured with cement, and there were passages below that led to the bomb shelters.

Xiang Xiaoqiang visited and sighed. As the commander of a permanent fortified defense line, living in such a house is also right for his appetite.

On the cement bunker at the gate, a few big characters were cast in cast iron: If the country is broken, why save the family!

Xiang Xiaoqiang stood in front of the bunker, quietly looking at these big words, and realized the meaning of these eight words.

The royal adviser next to him explained that these words are also the reason why the house has not been sold for a long time. It's unlucky for people to look at it. However, the old general was still very stubborn, and stipulated that when he bought his house, he was not allowed to touch these iron words.

Xiang Xiaoqiang had already guessed the meaning, but still asked with a smile: "Oh? Why? ”

The royal adviser also had some reverence at this time, explaining that when the old general bought the mansion, he had the original exterior brick walls torn down and built all the reinforced concrete walls, and the underground air-raid shelters were expanded, and the bunker fortifications were built, and a private house was made impregnable. Others laughed at him for being afraid of death, but he finally had eight cast-iron characters embedded in the bunker at the door to show his heart. That is, once the Qing captives crossed the river and entered Nanjing, he himself would never leave, and he would provide his private house for the use of the defenders, and follow the defenders to defend it to the death, vowing to turn his home into a center of street warfare, a cemetery for the Qing captives, and finally die with the Qing captives.

Xiang Xiaoqiang listened to the adviser's narration, stretched out his hand to stroke the rusty stains of cast iron, and silently recited the eight words "If the country is broken, why do you need to save the family", and his admiration for the old general is one more. His heart was pounding, thinking, if the Qing army broke through the Yangtze River defense line again and entered Nanjing, if the street battle was lost, would he take the oath of these eight words like taking over the house?

No, it won't! Impossible! Xiang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and thought firmly: Qingyu will not come over again. With me here, the next time will be our past.

He took another tour of the interior of the main building, and found that there was no feeling of long-term uninhabited at all, but the furniture was all soft and new, and it matched the architectural style well, even the oil paintings on the wall and the firewood stand by the fireplace were not ignored.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at these and was greatly moved. It seems that Zhu Yourong has put a lot of thought into choosing a house and decorating the home interior for himself. Fortunately, I accepted it at the time. If he didn't want it at that time, Zhu Yourong would definitely not be reluctant, but he didn't know how much he was lost.

…… Alas, with such affection, I really don't know how to live up to it!

sent away the royal advisers, and called Hu Jiong, the commander of the guard platoon, to Xiaoqiang, and asked him to add another platoon to be responsible for the defense of his official residence. Then he was instructed to do two things, the first was to find Li Gensheng and ask him to arrange sappers to come over and open a door on the cement wall of the headquarters and the official residence. Because it is a reinforced concrete wall, it cannot be smashed open, and it must be blown up with **, and then built out of the door.

The second thing is to decorate the three small steel forts in the courtyard, paint them with white paint, and put some flowers and vines on them, so that the branches and leaves hang down, and block the shooting port, camouflaging the effect of a flower bed. Tomorrow will be married, and the three machine gun forts are too slight, like a large grave mound. In the future, it would be better to build a real flower bed with cement on top and a shooting port underneath. It's both beautiful and discreet.

When Hu Jiong heard that he was going to expand another platoon, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He was just a guard platoon commander. Xiang Xiaoqiang saw his concerns, patted him on the shoulder and smiled:

"From now on, the commander's guard platoon will be expanded into a guard company, with two platoons for the time being. Today you are the company commander. ”

Hu Jiong was stunned, overjoyed, and immediately stood up straight and saluted, and said in a loud voice:

"Yes!"

……

February 14, Valentine's Day.

Xiang Xiaoqiang, after two and a half months of "marathon" love with Qiu Yu and Shang Xiu, officially became husband and wife today.

At 7:50 a.m., at the headquarters of the People's Guard Corps and the official residence next to it, there were six long firecrackers on the ground at the entrance, each with 1,000 shots. Both gates are marked with the word "Xi". The door was closed, and there was already a sea of people outside the door, citizens, reporters, everyone stretched their necks and waited, and the reporters squeezed forward as much as they could, holding their cameras, constantly looking at their watches, waiting for eight o'clock to come.

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang's wedding was not high-profile, there was no newspaper announcement, and there were not many people invited, but because the groom was called Xiang Xiaoqiang, there was the current situation.

At eight o'clock in the morning, six firecrackers exploded at the same time, and in the deafening flash and smoke of gunpowder, the gate of the official residence slowly opened, and the convoy of relatives drove out one after another. Immediately there were cheers on both sides, and the people automatically retreated to both sides, making way for a middle road. The spotlights of the reporters on both sides flickered non-stop, and clouds of white smoke rose, mixed with the smoke of firecrackers, and the smoke was filled for a while.

A black sedan drove out slowly. Then there was a white sedan, this one was larger, with three rows of seats, decorated with flowers. This is probably the main wedding car. Then there was a black car. …… Then it was gone, and the door slowly closed again.

Everyone present was a little surprised, Xiang Xiaoqiang's convoy was actually three cars?

The three cars did not drive onto the road, but drove for dozens of meters, and the gate of the People's Guard Headquarters slowly opened, and the three cars drove in. Everyone understands that this is the first thing to pick up Sang-so. Miss Sang-so is still living in the headquarters dormitory with her mother and younger brother!

After a while, eight 1,000-ring firecrackers at the entrance of the headquarters exploded at the same time, the gate opened, and the convoy drove out. This is tantamount to sending the bride out of the door. This time, the convoy took to the road and headed for the city. The reporters immediately swarmed to follow, and at least a dozen cars started up and followed behind the convoy of relatives.

In many convertibles, reporters stood up and held up their cameras to shoot "bang bang". This time, for this grand news, many major newspapers equipped their reporters with cars to follow the whole process. Xiang Xiaoqiang's motorcade will first go to Qiuyun's house to pick up relatives, then go to the city hall to celebrate the wedding, and then return to the official residence to hold a wedding banquet. If a reporter doesn't have a car, he can only cover one place, and he will lose a lot more news than others.

In a white sedan in the middle, Xiang Xiaoqiang was wearing a brand-new full set of general's military uniforms, with medals on his chest, white gloves, swords and hats lying flat on his legs. At this moment, he leaned back on the wide leather seat, grinning sideways, and looked at Xiuxiu beside him. After a month of his pursuit in the hospital, he finally married the beautiful Xiuxiu today!

Xiuxiu is exceptionally beautiful today. She was wearing a snow-white wedding dress, her shoulders were like delicate jade carvings, her fair and slender neck was drooping, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were drooping. She grew up and wore the most nudity-revealing one today. In addition, he is going to marry his favorite Lord Xiang today, and Lord Xiang is still sitting beside him admiring himself, Xiuxiu's chest is beating happily, she lowers her head and doesn't dare to look around, and the blush on her face has never subsided.

The weather is still very cold now, and Xiuxiu is wearing a wedding dress again, but she doesn't seem to feel cold, and the happiness in her heart is about to melt her.

Xiang Xiaoqiang had never seen Xiuxiu so beautiful, and he was completely fascinated. He felt that Xiuxiu's beautiful silhouette was like a marble sculpture in ancient Rome, white, delicate and beautiful. Xiuxiu's arms were laid flat on the white gauze skirt, the white velvet gloves wrapped around her arms, and the fingers of her two hands subconsciously leveled the gloves, as if to relieve the tension in her heart.

The pearl necklace on Xiuxiu's neck is white and warm, glowing with a soft treasure. The pearl crown on her head is very suitable for her short hair, and Xiang Xiaoqiang specially asked someone to customize it for Xiuxiu. The effect of this style when worn looks like a royal tiara at first glance, but on closer inspection, it is not. This is exactly the effect that Xiang Xiaoqiang wants. At this moment, Xiuxiu is wearing a holy white gauze skirt, a pearl necklace, pearl earrings, a pearl tiara, and a shy and shallow bow, just like a princess.

Xiang Xiaoqiang reached out and grabbed one of Xiuxiu's hands and took it. Xiuxiu meekly lowered her head and let him hold her arm. Xiang Xiaoqiang gently held Xiuxiu's hand, and his fingers gently drew circles in her palm. Although there were two layers of gloves, Xiuxiu still felt itchy, and a tender sweetness spread down her palm to her heart. She raised her head shyly, and the two of them looked at each other, and suddenly they both laughed.

The two tacitly remembered the night they escaped from the sticky pole in Pukou, Xiuxiu pretended to be fourteen grids, and Xiang Xiaoqiang pretended to be "Lord Luo", and sat in the back seat of the car like this, Xiang Xiaoqiang also grabbed Xiuxiu's hand and drew circles in her palm.

It's just that Xiang Xiaoqiang was mainly "flirting" at that time, but now it is real love.

Xiang Xiaoqiang opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something. If he wanted to sprinkle some dog blood at this moment, he would say, "Xiuxiu, from that night, I decided to marry you", but this is not the case. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't want to say those meaty words at the moment. He just chuckled softly:

"Xiuxiu, are you happy?"

Xiuxiu looked at him, slowly smiled, bit her lip and nodded:

"Hmm."

Xiang Xiaoqiang held her hand tighter:

"I'll keep you happy like this."

……

The convoy drove "mightily" to the Qiu Mansion in Qinhuai District. In fact, there are only three or two cars to welcome relatives, and the reason why it is "mighty" is because of the more than a dozen reporter cars behind.

The Autumn Mansion is also full of lights, with big red happy words pasted on both sides of the gate, and red silk inside and outside the house. Qiu Laohu is different from Xiang Xiaoqiang, he is not a "state official", but a "successful person in the people", he can be extravagant without scruples, and no one will talk about this.

Before the convoy arrived at the door, the two gates were opened early, and the "little minions" at the door were also dressed in suits and leather shoes, wearing top hats, and when they saw the convoy coming from a distance, they shouted and shouted to prepare inside, and then an order was given, and six 1,000 firecrackers rang out in unison.

There are already a lot of reporters and citizens here, but the people here obviously seem to be more well-behaved, and they only dare to stand on both sides to watch, and no one dares to go too far. The middle lane has long been wider. Everyone knows what kind of place this is, and it can't be compared with the headquarters of the People's Guard.

Amid the deafening sound of firecrackers, three cars drove into the Qiu Mansion. The spotlight flashed again.

Qiu Laohu smiled with joy, watching his son-in-law enter the door, and he couldn't wait to immediately hold his daughter's hands out. But the snail next to him, as a representative of his mother's family, stopped the boss seriously and asked his uncle to come according to the traditional rules, that is, to call Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu to the door of Qiuyu's boudoir.

Under the coaxing of a large number of maids and old mothers, Xiang Xiaoqiang put on his hat, straightened his sword, and pasted it on Qiu Qiu's door with a smile, knocked twice, and said softly:

"Qiuyu, open the door...... It's for the husband......"

There was no movement inside as usual, and the corridor of the mansion was already full of laughter. Xiang Xiaoqiang put his index finger on his lips, smiled and "shh

"Autumn...... It's open...... Let's get married...... Good no good? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang's serious and straight outfit, coupled with such an incompatible fleshy voice, had already made the people in the corridor laugh a lot. At this time, the snail next to him announced in a serious manner according to the rules:

"The love of husband and wife is rare, and the harmony of sisters is even more precious—the lady who has entered the door, you have to take the lead, come out and ask for a word-"

Since Xiang Xiaoqiang is married for the first time, there is no "lady who is in the first door", so this candidate is naturally replaced by Xiuxiu, who came together.

In the laughter of everyone, Xiuxiu, who was dressed in white yarn, blushed shyly, lowered her head, and came to the door of Qiu Yun's room, and shouted softly:

"Sister Qiuyu, I'm Xiuxiu...... Xiuxiu is here...... Come out......"

Everyone in the corridor knows that the girl in front of her is Shang Xiu, the legendary "Ryukyu Princess", whose identity is much more noble than her own young lady. But Xiuxiu begged softly at the moment, coupled with this docile and shy appearance, which really made those maids and old mothers in Qiufu quite uplifted.

Qiu Yu in the room was about to faint happily, and just now I heard my husband call the door, and I wanted to open the door, but I was stopped by the maid in the room. How can you open the door once you call it, doesn't that seem that the girl is too reserved? Now Qiu Yu can easily hear Xiuxiu's voice, and she is so happy that she is about to open the door, but the little maid next to her giggles again and stops her.

In the corridor, the snail is serious:

"The love of husband and wife is rare, and the harmony of sisters is even more precious—since you invite your sisters into the house, you have to show your sincerity—Madame, please do it again—"

Xiuxiu bowed her head meekly, smiled shyly, and whispered against the door again:

"Sister Qiuyu, I'm Xiuxiu...... Xiuxiu is here...... Come out......"

The snail said for the last time:

"The love of husband and wife is rare, and the harmony of sisters is even more valuable-Madame's sincerity is not enough-please Mrs. three sisters-"

Xiuxiu continued to lean against the door and whispered:

"Sister Qiuyu, I'm Xiuxiu...... Xiuxiu is here...... Come out......"

At this time, everyone in the corridor laughed and coaxed. After three invitations to the "lady who came first", the snail finally announced in a loud voice:

"The love of husband and wife is rare, and the harmony of sisters is even more precious—Madame's sincerity to her sisters is obvious to all, so that the family will be harmonious—Miss, Madame has sincerely invited her three times, so you will come out——"

didn't say it a second time, the door opened with a "bang", and Qiu Yu also appeared at the door in a wedding dress, shouting happily:

"Xiuxiu!"

Then he threw himself over, and the two girls in their wedding dresses hugged each other and giggled.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and the family members present were moved when they saw this scene. The set just now is just a process passed down by the Ming Dynasty for many years, and there are few people who can really achieve "sister harmony" after marriage. Now as soon as the door opened, the two ladies hugged each other intimately, and that intimacy was not pretended. The family members of Qiufu are secretly happy for Miss, and they have such a good sister when they first get married.

Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu are suffering from life and death, and in the words of men, it is a fateful friendship. They were not a major at the Naval University, but they lived in a dormitory. After graduation, he was assigned to the same submarine. Whether in school or on the boat, they are the best.

Xiang Xiaoqiang clearly remembered how Xiuxiu, who was about to be injured, pretended to be fourteen squares in the sticky pole, and how Qiu Yu was in front of her like an old hen. Also, on the day Xiuxiu was discharged from the hospital, after being abducted by Ha Feng'a, Qiu Yu couldn't find her, and she was so anxious that she was about to cry when she called herself...... Qiu Yu treats Xiuxiu as her own sister and always tries her best to protect her.

As for Xiuxiu, in order to ensure that her status in her husband's heart is not lower than that of Qiu Yun, she will use a little scheming, but that's because compared with Qiu Yun, Xiuxiu always has a strong sense of crisis. Qiu Yu lost Xiang Xiaoqiang, as well as the protection of his father and the Heaven and Earth Society, as well as the huge family property of the Qiu family, and the uncles and uncles in the gang. And once Xiuxiu loses Xiang Xiaoqiang, there will be nothing.

But Xiang Xiaoqiang knows very well that this is because there are only two of them at present. If there are more wives in the future, there is no doubt that among a large group of women, Qiu Yun and Xiuxiu will be the most ironclad friends and the most unbreakable alliance.

……

When the bride went out, eight 1,000 firecrackers rang out in unison, and in the spotlight, the three or two wedding cars drove out in turn, driving onto the main road and heading towards the city hall.