Chapter 393 Welcome
Chapter 393 Welcome
Before we knew it, New Year's Day of the sixth year of Yongjia (312) had arrived.
In the auspicious snow, Shao Xun stood in the wilderness and looked at this frozen world.
All activities came to a halt, whether war, commerce, agriculture or anything else.
But outside this house, which had just been hung with the plaque of Shao Mansion, there were a constant stream of carriages and horses. Even on the first day of the first lunar month, it was still busy.
Shao's mother, Liu, came back from outside with a basket of turnips. Two maids followed behind her, bewildered and helpless.
"You're going to get married in a few days, but you just sit around doing nothing all day, like you have nothing to do." The mother's light words floated past my ears.
"Mother is right." Shao Xun nodded.
The words entered his left ear, quickly floated out of his right ear, and dissipated in the cold wind.
His mother went back to cook his favorite dishes for him, but Shao Xun became even more contented and wandered around in the wild.
"Have you dealt with all the things outside?" Father Shao Xiu appeared from somewhere and reminded in a low voice.
"Don't worry, Grandpa." Shao Xun said confidently.
"When you were a kid, you liked to stir up trouble and fight with others. When you grew up, you liked to tease women. Alas." Shao Xiu went home and helped Liu pick vegetables.
They had lived a pampered life for several years and indeed no longer did odd jobs. But when the son came home, the mother would cook for him and the father would drink with him.
There was a burst of laughter in the yard.
The third brother Shao Fan's new wife, Cao, came from a prominent family in Luoyang. She also accompanied her mother in the cooking and was very active.
The eldest nephew Shao Shen also came. Shao Xun first checked his martial arts and homework. Before leaving, he actually said with a joking smile: "Second uncle, please get married quickly. After you get married, I can get married too."
"You wish." Shao Xun sneered, "My little sister hasn't married yet."
"Ah?" Shao Shen was stunned. Is there such a prerequisite?
"I was kidding. Study hard and hone your martial arts." Shao Xun said with a smile.
The eldest nephew left in disgrace.
His sister-in-law Zhang and her niece saluted him, Shao Xun returned the salute and then continued to stand outside in the cold wind.
The laughter and joy in the yard became more and more lively, but everyone's attention was on Shao Xun.
This is the backbone of the family.
"My dear, please go back and take a look at the dress." Le came over holding the golden knife.
Shao Xun picked up his son and poked him with his beard, which made Jin Dao giggle.
Shao Xun also laughed out loud, and the father and son were having a great time.
But he soon stopped laughing because his beard was being pulled tightly by his son and it hurt so much.
Le smiled and took the golden knife, which saved Shao Xun from his embarrassment.
Jin Dao was three years old, or four years old in lunar age. At this time, he was hiding in his mother's arms, staring at Shao Xun with his big black eyes. After looking at him for a while, he stretched out his hands and asked his father to hold him.
Shao Xun hugged his son with one hand and held Lan Ji with the other.
Lan Ji complained a little that he went on a campaign every few days and no one knew where he was when he returned. As a result, three years after Jin Dao was born, she still hadn't been able to conceive a second child.
Looking at the first woman in his life, Shao Xun was somewhat moved.
Over the past few years, she has changed from being full of resentment to being indifferent to her husband and children. With the passage of time, she has become more and more charming.
"Thank you for your hard work over the past few years." Shao Xun said suddenly.
Lan Ji was a little surprised at first, and then felt a little emotional.
She still remembered how he took her riding horses, hunting and archery when she was released after a long period of imprisonment. Those were some of the few touching moments in her life.
Perhaps, he was so good to her at that time that she still can't forget it.
But I must not let him know about these things, lest he become too proud and ignore me in the future.
"You still have some conscience." Le Lanji hugged the child and said softly.
Shao Xun held her hand tightly.
Lan Ji has a very good reputation at home.
His mother once privately praised Lan Ji, saying that she was "worthy of being the Crown Prince's Consort", which made Shao Xun dumbfounded - this kind of praise was really strange.
Her parents are very satisfied with her, her sister regards her as an idol, and her niece and sister-in-law also like to be around her. She is really enjoying herself.
"You seem to be restless these days. Why are you always hanging around outside?" Lan Ji suddenly asked when they were about to enter the house.
"Nothing." Shao Xun didn't want to confess.
"She won't come." Lan Ji said.
"Ok?"
"Yang Xianrong won't come, don't worry, I persuaded her to go back." Lan Ji pinched Shao Xun and said.
"This..." Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief.
These women are really fun when they are fun, but they are really troublesome when they are troublesome.
The point is that they can really cause trouble.
A nobody like Song Yi will never cause any trouble.
Women like Jing have been seducing him, so he can play with them whenever he wants, and Jing doesn't dare to rely on him.
But once Yang Xianrong relied on him, fuck, he would be ruined on the spot.
"It's not easy to celebrate the New Year." Shao Xun smiled awkwardly.
Lan Ji rolled her eyes at him and asked, "What's wrong with Concubine Pei? Xun Niang rushed over to visit her and hurried back again."
Shao Xun was speechless.
Lan Ji didn't want to let him go, and asked: "If there is anything unspeakable, as the military commander, you must help cover it up, otherwise the people in the shogunate will be divided and it may not last long. The scholars in the counties and states may not all listen to you, and you will be making wedding clothes for others in vain."
"Tao Nu, I will accompany you these days and won't go anywhere." Shao Xun surrendered.
Lan Ji covered her mouth with her hands, smiled, and walked away quickly.
Jin Dao looked at his mother and then at his father, his face bewildered.
"Son, when you grow up, study hard and practice martial arts, don't mess around with other girls." Shao Xun patted his son's head and sighed, "Let the nanny take care of you in the afternoon. Your father needs to conserve his energy, so he doesn't have time to play with you."
******
Different dynasties have different etiquette systems.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Xun Ji was ordered to compile the ritual system of the new dynasty, which consisted of 165 chapters, collectively known as the "Five Rites".
Among them, the wedding and wearing of the crown ceremony was included in the auspicious ceremonies - the ceremony for the emperor taking concubines was listed separately as a "auspicious ceremony".
Of the six steps in getting married, only one is left: "bride-in." That is, the groom personally goes to the bride's house to bring her home. Uncle Cao, as a matchmaker, has discussed this matter and there are roughly two ways to do it.
One is that the Yu family moved to Xuchang in advance, and Shao Xun came to marry them.
The second option is for Shao Xun to go to Yanling in person, bring the bride back to Xuchang, and then hold the wedding.
Finally I chose the second one.
Depart one day in advance and arrive in the evening of the same day.
The bride was picked up early the next morning and returned to Xuchang in the evening. The wedding was held at dusk, which was just right.
On the 19th day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun put on his formal suit and prepared to go out to meet his bride.
When it comes to formal dresses, there are generally two schools in the Qing Dynasty.
One is to follow the old custom since the Han and Wei dynasties, that is, the "Xuanxun" formal dress, with black upper body and red lower body.
The second is white. The imperial court preferred white, and since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, many scholars despised the constraints of vulgar etiquette, so they wore white formal wear, which even influenced the royal family. When the prince married a concubine, he wore a white formal wear.
The suit Shao Xun was wearing was still the traditional black and red dress. After saying goodbye to his family, his eldest nephew Shao Shen led a hundred cavalrymen to lead the way.
Cai Cheng, Liu Ling and Yuan Xi, with more than 300 personal soldiers, guarded Shao Xun.
The Silver Spear Army stationed at the foot of Xuchang City dispatched five battalions of 3,000 combat soldiers, and the Xuchang hereditary soldiers recruited another 3,000 auxiliary soldiers, led by Hou Feihu, who followed closely behind.
A huge wedding procession of thousands of people is quite rare in Henan.
Not to mention that during the march, there were drums and horns blaring, and swords and guns wielding.
To put it bluntly, even the crown prince's marriage to a concubine may not be celebrated with such pomp and ceremony.
As the number one warlord in Henan, Shao Xun made full use of this wedding.
At 3 p.m. in the afternoon, the entire army crossed the Wei River and arrived outside the Yu family manor in the evening, where they set up camp.
On the 20th day of the first lunar month, Yu Wenjun got up before dawn.
The maids were busy preparing various things.
The four concubines gathered together to make up and change clothes for Yu Wenjun.
Step-shaking ornaments, hairpins, heart-shaped bird ornaments...
The white silk shirt and colorful trousers are worn inside, followed by the purple and green jacket, the crimson gauze skirt, and the crimson silk robe (the specific wearing and matching methods can refer to the cultural relics unearthed from the tombs of the Former Liang Dynasty in Gansu)...
After getting dressed, Yu Wenjun looked at herself in the bronze mirror, her face a little shy.
She recalled the scene of their first meeting ten years ago.
I was just a six-year-old girl at that time. He certainly didn't expect that I would marry him ten years later, right?
Yu Wenjun touched her hot face and felt that today was the happiest moment in her life.
From now on, she would stay by his side, serve his parents, take care of his brothers, sisters, and nephews, raise his children, and might have to worry about him, get angry and cry, but more likely, she would experience the sweetness of supporting each other - unknowingly, the girl had thought about so much.
The four concubines also looked at Yu Wenjun in a daze.
Dressed up, she is so stunning. If she waits a few more years, she will be a beautiful flower in full bloom.
Mr. Chen had a very sharp eye. He had already specifically mentioned that he wanted to marry Wenjun very early on, but Wenjun happened to like him very much.
For a moment, the four of them all felt a little bit disappointed.
Which woman doesn't want this? Who is willing to be a concubine?
Someone outside is already urging us.
Several people responded and helped Yu Wenjun out of the boudoir.
When Yu Wenjun, dressed in her best clothes, saw her familiar family, she lowered her head shyly, her eyes full of happiness.
When she saw her mother with red eyes, she suddenly felt sad, so she walked over while lifting her skirt.
She held back her tears, worried about ruining her makeup, and just hugged her mother tightly.
Guanqiu gently stroked her daughter, her expression showing both joy and worry.
For a moment, it seemed as if I had a thousand words to say, but I didn't know where to start.
At the end, he just sighed and said, "You have grown up. He likes you so much, he will not let you suffer any grievances."
After saying this, she covered her daughter's face with a piece of gauze.
The girl didn't know the true meaning of her mother's words, she just hummed and nodded slightly.
Yu Chen stood there silently, allowing the mother and daughter to say goodbye.
Seeing that the time was almost up, he waved his hand and asked his eldest son Yu Liang to take his sister out.
"Woo——" a desolate horn sounded.
Soon, hundreds of military drummers began to play vigorously.
Outside the Yu family manor, bells and chimes rang and music played.
When they saw the bride come out, the drums and music stopped and the soldiers all bowed to the ground.
The wind was blowing.
The Yu brothers and sisters were shocked.
The onlookers were also shocked and subconsciously dared not speak.
Tens of thousands of soldiers prostrated themselves on the ground in silence.
The general dressed in black and red got down from the white horse and slowly walked towards the bride.
After looking at each other quietly, Shao Xun couldn't resist the happiness and ardent love in the girl's eyes, and led her into the car.
The sound of drums and music began again.
The cavalry that had once defeated the Xiongnu at the foot of Gaoping City held up colorful flags and guarded on both sides.
The trumpet sounded.
The silver-spear warriors who once dominated the Xiongnu cavalry followed behind fully armed to protect their lord and mistress.
It took a long time for tens of thousands of troops to disappear on the distant horizon one after another.
The crowd watching the ceremony outside the Yu Family Manor finally reacted and started to make a noise.
There was a sentimental woman who looked into the distance with a jealous look.
As a woman, I would be willing to live ten years less if I could have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The men did not have so many strange ideas and mainly discussed the political significance of Mr. Chen's wedding.
The convergence of warlords and local tyrants is the essence of this marriage.
(End of this chapter)