Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 18 Wedding at the Marquis Mansion

Duke Ning's Mansion, at the entrance of the main courtyard.

Huo Rushan frowned tightly, pacing back and forth uneasily.Qi's hands twisted the handkerchief tightly, and he couldn't hide his anxiety on his face.

According to Daqi's custom, the groom official needs to come to the gate of the bride's mansion to carry someone, but the auspicious time has already arrived, but the groom official has not yet arrived, and even the people who were waiting outside to watch the excitement began to feel anxious. muttered.

Mrs. Qi raised her hand and shook the handkerchief, calling for a young man next to her: "Go ahead and see if the people from Zhenyuanhou's Mansion are here."

The boy nodded in agreement, but before he could get far, he bumped into the old butler, Uncle Zhang, who had been waiting for news at the door of the house.

Uncle Zhang walked up to Huo Rushan and his wife, with a bit of embarrassment on his face, and said with difficulty: "Someone from the Yuan family just came, saying that the prince is unwell, and I'm afraid he won't be able to come to pick up the bride in person..."

When Mrs. Qi heard this, the anxiety on her face was replaced by anger, and she said bitterly: "Really? The Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion is too deceptive! The bride is already waiting, but the groom does not come to pick up the bride. What kind of rule is this! What a shame!"

In fact, Qi's anger has been accumulated for a long time.Not long after Emperor Xiaowen bestowed the marriage, it stands to reason that the two families should discuss the marriage together, and that would be called harmony and beauty.

However, the Marquis of Zhenyuan sent only one housekeeper over for posting invitations, proposing relatives and presenting gifts. Yuan Xianzhi and his wife never showed their face from the beginning to the end.

Now when it's time to welcome the bride, the other party still has a superior face, no matter how good-tempered someone is, it's a bit unbearable.

As soon as the words were finished, a tall and fat woman in a wedding dress came in from the gate of the mansion.Judging by her age and attire, she should be regarded as an old lady with some qualifications in the mansion.

I don't know if she heard Qi's words, but the old mother went straight to Huo Rushan and his wife, blessed her body, and said in a loud voice: "My lord, my family's son is not healthy, so I sent my wife to welcome him , I hope you will take care of it. Now that the sedan chair has arrived at the gate of your residence, let the second lady come out quickly, so as not to delay the auspicious time."

Although the person in front of him is just a nanny, everyone knows that beating a dog depends on the master, the servant's attitude is sometimes the master's attitude.Qi's heart was annoyed, but after all, he didn't dare to offend the people of Zhenyuanhou's mansion on the face, not to mention that if the relationship is frozen on the first day of becoming in-laws, the life in the future may not be easy.

Thinking of this, Qi suppressed the resentment in his heart, and said with a slight smile: "Nurse, the son was fine a few days ago, why did he suddenly become ill?"

The nanny didn't eat this set at all, her eyes were a little impatient, her head was raised slightly and she said: "How can a person not get sick if he eats whole grains? My master also knows about this, please be considerate of Mrs. Huo Er, if it is wrong When the time is auspicious and the marriage is in jeopardy, even in front of His Majesty, my old lady dares to reason."

What this means is that Yuan Shao's refusal to come to pick up the bride is not only his own wish, but also Yuan Xianzhi's acquiescence.If the Huo family is not relentless, then this marriage will be ruined, and it will be unlucky for the Huo family to sue at the feet of the emperor.

These confident and arrogant words were not a slap in the face of the second wife of the Huo family in public? !

Although grandma is old, her voice is full of energy, just like a human trumpet.The people outside heard it clearly, and there was an uproar at the door of the mansion, as if a flock of sparrows were flying in.

"On the day of the wedding, the groom just happened to be unwell. How could there be such a coincidence?" said a businessman-like man.

"Don't you know about these high-ranking families! The water inside is very deep! I think the prince of Zhenyuan Hou doesn't really want to marry the second lady of the Huo family, otherwise why would he even disregard the face of Duke Ning's mansion?" Another person talk to each other.

"It's really strange to say it. I heard people say that the eldest son of the eldest son of the Huo family liked the eldest lady, why did he marry the second lady now?" A little girl scratched her head.

"Could it be that he changed his wife? The one who was supposed to marry was the Eldest Miss, but somehow she was tricked into changing her to the Second Miss?" A person in the crowd made a bold guess.

People outside were chatting and talking, and their opinions were poured into the ears of everyone at the entrance of the main courtyard impartially.Even though Huo Rushan had always been cheeky, his face turned red at this moment, as if he was holding a charcoal basin in the middle of summer.

The entrance of the mansion became more and more noisy, even Huo Ruhai, who was waiting in the main house, realized that something was wrong, and shouted: "Zhang An, why is it so noisy outside!"

Uncle Zhang was so excited that he quickly entered the room and told Huo Ruhai exactly what had just happened.

But the more Huo Ruhai listened, the deeper his frown deepened.

The Yuan and Huo families are family friends, and Yuan Shao has always respected him very much. Now for such a big matter as getting married, the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion will not only follow the rules of the palace, but at least follow the etiquette of an eight-carriage sedan chair. Why is it so embarrassing now?

Didn't Miss Lan and Yuan Shao fall in love with each other, and that's why they couldn't help themselves at the Qiuju Banquet? Why is the Yuan family acting so reluctantly now?

Huo Ruhai hadn't cleared up the thread in his mind, but a crisp sound suddenly sounded from the corner of the main courtyard, and the original noisy main courtyard suddenly fell silent.

"In that case, I'll go there by myself."

It is today’s bride—Huo Qinglan.

Huo Qinglan had already finished dressing up, and at this moment she must have heard the maid's report and knew what happened in the main courtyard before running over suddenly.The make-up on her face was delicate and gorgeous, even more touching than usual.When the people outside saw it, they couldn't help sighing inwardly, this Second Miss Huo is really a beautiful girl.

But the more solemnly he was dressed at the moment, the more ridiculous it seemed compared to the perfunctory attitude of the Zhenyuan Houfu.

Seeing this, the nanny standing in the middle felt a little disdainful in her heart, but put on a kind look on her face: "Second Miss Huo really knows the general situation, so let's get into the sedan chair early."

After finishing speaking, Xi'er next to her covered Huo Qinglan's head and helped her get into the sedan chair.The groom didn't come, and the bride got into the sedan chair by herself, and the people in the main courtyard didn't care about the rest of the etiquette, so they could only watch in a daze.

Huo Qi stood on the shore of Huo Ru, looking at the scene in front of him from a distance, feeling a little bit embarrassed.Hiring as a wife and rushing to be a concubine is a well-known rule in Daqi.But now, Huo Qinglan bears the name of a regular wife, but acts like a concubine. In the eyes of others, it seems that this marriage is a bit nondescript.

"Get up the sedan chair—" Mammy shouted in a drawn out voice.

The people gathered at the gate had already dispersed to both sides of the street. The two rows of servants on the outside were beating gongs and drums, and the maids on the inside were throwing money for weddings. It was very lively.

These sounds of silk and bamboo were originally sounds of joy, but now they sounded like the wail of a woman's heart.Huo Qinglan was sitting in the sedan chair, her long nails already digging into her flesh, but she couldn't feel the pain.

……

Since Ningguo Duke's Mansion and Zhenyuanhou's Mansion are both on Chang'an official road, not far from each other, within half an hour, the wedding sedan chair was carried into Zhenyuanhou's Mansion.

Now that the Zhenyuan Hou's mansion is growing in momentum, there is a concubine Shu who is deeply favored by the emperor, and this marriage was bestowed by His Majesty, therefore, the Zhenyuan Hou's main courtyard is already full of guests who came to watch the ceremony.Yuan Xianzhi was socializing around with a glass of wine, his usually cold face forced a smile, he looked in a good mood.

Among the guests who came today, many of them knew about the turmoil at Qiu Ju's banquet. Now that they saw that the bride came by herself, they were already filled with contempt in their hearts, but they pretended not to have seen it before. Toast with the people around you.

Not long after, the Huo family also came to Zhenyuanhou's mansion.As soon as Huo Ruhai entered the door, Yuan Xianzhi noticed it, and hurriedly put down his wine glass and bowed to him, "Brother Huo is finally here, let Yuan wait!"

Seeing this, Huo Ruhai bowed back and said with a smile: "The children have grown up, and now that Ah Shao is married, we old men are about to give way!"

There was laughter and laughter on the field, and many colleagues came over to toast and chat with each other when they saw this.But what was a little embarrassing was that Yuan Xianzhi only talked to Huo Ruhai at the front, but intentionally or unintentionally ignored Huo Rushan at the back, but after all, he was the serious in-law of the Zhenyuan Hou Mansion today.

Many guests nearby couldn't help but sneer when they saw this scene.Huo Rushan seemed to feel that the people around him were watching the joke, so he didn't want to stay any longer, so he had no choice but to drag Mrs. Qi to her natal table.

As for Huo Chi, he had already gone to meet with his old son and brother, but he disappeared for a while.There are so many prominent and respected people here today, so naturally they rushed to chat and see if they could find any opportunities.

Huo Qi and Wang Shi also sat at their natal seats according to the rules. Many good-natured people were sneaking glances at Huo Qi's expression, but they saw the girl holding a teacup and sipping tea one by one, her face was as usual, calm and relaxed .

At the banquet, the cups were exchanged, and the compliments were endless, which made people's ears sore. The ignorant young master couldn't help but want to start the banquet, clamoring for candy.

After a stick of incense, it was finally time for Yuan Shao and Huo Qinglan to pay their respects.

Only then did everyone see today's groom.

Yuan Shao's body was a little swaying, his footsteps were flimsy, and he was forced into the main hall by the servant next to him.He was wearing a bright red wedding dress as usual, but he didn't appear to be very energetic.His eyes are black and blue, his beard is unshaven, and he no longer has the image of a gentle and jade-like noble son. If he gets closer, he can still smell the smell of alcohol.

No matter how blind people are, they can now see how much the bridegroom rejects this marriage, and most of them did it out of necessity.However, even though the guests below were overwhelmed, they didn't dare to say anything more.But he took a sip of tea as if covering up, and looked at it with a smile.

Next to her, Huo Qinglan, wearing a red hijab, was helped out of the side room by the maid Xi'er.Xipo placed Qianhong in the hands of the bride and groom and began to shout the lyrics.Nothing went wrong in the previous steps, especially when they paid homage to Gaotang. Both Yuan Xianzhi and Jiang were smiling. Even Huo Rushan and his wife below looked a little confused as to what kind of medicine was sold in Yuan's gourd.

The worship ceremony was carried out step by step, and after the worship, it was natural that the husband and wife would worship each other.

Xi Po, who was beside her, raised her voice and shouted:

"Third worship, a lifelong marriage will last forever, and a century-old couple will live together forever -"

(End of this chapter)