Chapter 403: Chapter 209: New Bride_1
In the dead of night, they called for the blush of dawn.
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The horse carriage drew near; it was a canopied carriage, and at the front, steering the vehicle, sat a beaming Erlang.
Erlang had taken a wife the day before, and according to the longstanding customs of Thirty Mile Camp, on the morning of the second day, the new bride was to perform the ritual of kneeling and serving tea to her father-in-law and mother-in-law. Lian Shouyi and Lady He had stayed in town the night before, but Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou, the elderly couple at the family home, were present; therefore, early this morning, Erlang had brought his bride to pay respect to Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou.
Erlang stopped the carriage in front of a breakfast stall.
"Uncle Four, Aunt Four," Erlang called out.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted from the inside, revealing Lian Shouyi and Lady He, followed by Zhao Xiue. It turned out Lian Shouyi and Lady He were also seated inside the carriage. The carriage was spaciously fitted, allowing the three passengers to sit comfortably without crowding.
The bride, Zhao Xiue, seemed somewhat shy.
"It’s cold outside; let the curtain down quickly," Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin hurriedly said, "Your father and mother are waiting for you; you should head back quickly."
"All right, we’ll go ahead. Old Fourth, you two come quickly as well," Lian Shouyi waved to Lian Shouxin and lowered the curtain, signalling Erlang to drive the carriage into the village.
"Whose grand carriage is this?" Lady Zhang remarked, hurrying back to her stall, "Manman, you go on ahead. Your father and I will be right there."
Lian Manman was eager to rush back to join in on the excitement, so along with Lian Yeye and Xiao Qi, she ran after the carriage towards the old house. Wu Lang, more steady by nature, stayed to help Lady Zhang with cleaning up before he was willing to return.
As soon as the carriage entered the village, a group of teeming youngsters seemed to appear out of nowhere, gleefully chasing behind Erlang’s carriage, some even running ahead and walking backward to peek inside. They were eager to catch a glimpse of the new bride.
Unfortunately, the curtain was drawn so tightly that they couldn’t see anything.
Surrounded by these children from the front and back, Erlang was forced to slow the carriage down.
When the carriage stopped at the entrance to the Lian Family compound, a crowd of children could be seen squeezed on either side of the gate, craning their necks and staring excitedly at the carriage, waiting for the bride to descend.
Indeed, weddings were joyous festivals for the children, no matter which family was celebrating.
Lian Shouyi and Lady He alighted first, chiding the crowd of children to move aside. The chiders spoke without seriousness, and the chided laughed merrily, with no one actually moving away, just no longer pressing forward. Neighbors also came out, standing at their own doorsteps looking over to where the excitement was.
Erlang helped his bride, Zhao Xiue, out of the carriage. When Zhao Xiue’s feet touched the ground, the tips of her shoes were exposed.
"What a pair of tiny feet!"
"Erlang’s wife is so pretty!"
Exclamations of admiration emerged from the onlookers. A bold daughter-in-law from a nearby household jogged over and, before Erlang and Zhao Xiue could react, lifted Zhao Xiue’s skirt.
Now, everyone saw not only Zhao Xiue’s feet but also a portion of her embroidered pant legs.
The daughter-in-law voiced her approval and then walked away giggling.
Both Erlang and Zhao Xiue’s faces flushed red, but the daughter-in-law meant no harm. In the village, every new bride went through this rite of passage, and none could take offense. Moreover, the more praise the bride received, the more face both she and the household gained.
People from inside the courtyard came out to welcome them, and Lian Shouyi instructed Sanlang to take the carriage inside for safekeeping, then led Erlang and Zhao Xiue towards the Upper Room. Lian Manman, Lian Yeye, and Xiao Qi followed behind, with some bold, curious children sneaking in as well.
Inside the Upper Room, Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou sat neatly and tidily on the bed-stove. On the floor, two woven straw mats were laid out. Erlang and Zhao Xiue entered the room and knelt on the mats, kowtowing to Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou, calling out, "Grandfather, Grandmother."
"Get up now," Lady Zhou said.
Lady He helped Zhao Xiue to her feet, and Erlang stood up as well.
Lady Zhou took out two red envelopes she had prepared in advance and handed them to Zhao Xiue. This was a traditional greeting gift for the newlyweds, colloquially known as "the cost of changing one’s address of address."
Then it was Lady He’s turn to introduce Zhao Xiue to everyone, starting with the elders, Lian Shouren and Lady Gu, followed by Lian Shouli, Lady Zhao, and then Lian Xiuxiu.
Zhao Xiue greeted everyone and for each greeting received a red envelope. The Lian Family hadn’t divided their household, and without separate household funds, naturally, the money in the envelopes was all prepared by Lady Zhou. Watching the shape of the envelopes in Zhao Xiue’s hands, Lian Manman could tell they only contained copper coins. Such small red envelopes could only hold a limited number of copper coins.
