Chapter Twenty-Four: Marriage Customs

  As soon as he thought of this marriage, Gao Qiang's heart was also unsure what kind of feeling it was. In modern times, he didn't have too much emotional attachment, so after being inexplicably sent to the Song Dynasty, he adapted quickly and didn't show any severe symptoms of homesickness. Except for the initial period of adjustment, he found life without modern conveniences like TV, computers, and the internet quite uncomfortable, but now living in 9th century conditions was still somewhat carefree.

  But getting married is a whole different story. Although Ye Mengde has been praising his future wife to the skies, it's still like looking at flowers in the fog - an unfamiliar woman suddenly becoming one's lifelong partner, spending decades together from dawn till dusk, sharing joys and sorrows, and maybe even having children... Good heavens, even for modern-day blind dates, there's usually a photo, right?

  He knew the weight of this marriage, it was a sign that he was entering the core ranks of the Cai Jing Group. Since things had come to this point, neither he nor Miss Cai, whom he had never met and whose name he only knew because someone else had secretly told him, actually had any choice.

  "Haha, human fate is indeed drifting with the tide!" Gao Gang shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly, turning to lead the way forward, but didn't notice a pair of bright eyes behind him had already been shrouded in a layer of gloom.

  When he arrived at Gao Qiu's study, he saw Wen Yanbo was also there. Since participating in the plan to help Cai Jing regain his position as prime minister, this man had risen rapidly in the imperial court and had become a trusted advisor to Gao Qiu, who relied on him heavily for counsel on all matters. He was indeed knowledgeable and always managed to come up with something insightful, which further earned Gao Qiu's trust. Today, he had even been invited to discuss the marriage proposal.

  After sitting down, Gao Qiang asked when to go and propose the marriage. Unexpectedly, Wen Ruan Zhang smiled and said: "The official should rest for a while, this marriage cannot be done without a matchmaker, we must wait for the matchmaker to arrive before taking action."

  "Matchmaker?" Gao Qiang's expression changed slightly, thinking that Ye Meng had already spent so much effort, and wasn't even considered a matchmaker?

  But just as they were talking, the matchmaker arrived. Gao heard a rustling of jewelry outside the door and then a young woman entered the room. She was 27 or 28 years old, with a dignified appearance, her face lightly made up, wearing a veil that covered her neck, dressed in a full purple shirt and skirt, with pearls and jade ornaments on her head. She came over, smiled before speaking, and bowed deeply: "Matchmaker Yang pays respects to Master Gao and Madame Gao."

  She stood up, and suddenly saw Gao Qiang staring at her stupidly. Yang's wife smiled with a pout, waved the pink silk handkerchief in front of Gao Qiang, rolled her eyes and said: "What's wrong with you, sir? Are you aware that you're going to propose to someone's daughter, but you're so happy that you've gone mad?"

  The handkerchief was waved in front of him, and a whiff of Western-style perfume wafted over, startling Gao Qiang awake. He was still a bit dazed: "This...this isn't a matchmaker, it's clearly a noblewoman! I didn't know the wedding customs of the Song Dynasty were so luxurious, even the matchmakers are high-class... impressive, impressive..."

  Earlier, when he heard Wen Ruan mention a matchmaker, the image that immediately came to mind was that of a wealthy landowner's wife from an old TV drama - a woman in her forties or fifties with a thick layer of makeup on her face, wearing a silk jacket, with two small pieces of medicinal tape on her temples and holding a tobacco pipe. Every few sentences, she would puff out clouds of smoke.

  As soon as this matchmaker appeared, the image in my mind was instantly shattered. If I had been wearing glasses, they would have fallen off and broken into countless pieces. It was impossible to associate this elegant woman with that deceitful matchmaker. I stood there dumbfounded for a while before coming back to reality, only to be teased by Yang's wife and left speechless.

  Old Lady Yang smiled and took out a set of five male and two female flower-patterned paper from her chest, handed it to Gao Qiang, and said with a smile: "Sir, please first ask for a lucky New Year's couplet for a prosperous and reunion year, okay?"

  Gao Jian was taken aback, and Wen Rui Zhang hastily came over to explain that this was called a "grass letter", on which auspicious words were casually written to see the auspiciousness of the marriage. Usually, it's just some clichés, going through the motions. The official wouldn't deign to take care of such trivial matters himself, and Wen Rui Zhang took out his brush and wrote with a flourish, saving Gao Jian from producing his own illegible handwriting that would only bring shame.

  Behind the temple is a course on Song Dynasty wedding customs, taught by Jin Pai's matchmaker Yang Pozi. This clever matchmaker, who shares the same name as the ultimate weapon of the supermarket in later generations, explained the wedding customs one by one, and Gao Feng's head was about to burst, more tiring than attending Marxist courses before. Fortunately, Yang Pozi spoke eloquently, although the procedures were complicated and numerous, she explained them clearly and concisely, and after repeated explanations, Gao Feng finally understood the general idea.

  It turns out that this marriage cannot be done without a matchmaker, and both the man and woman need to invite their own matchmakers. After finding a matchmaker, both sides will send out a rough invitation letter, and after sending it out, the two matchmakers will run errands in between. Next is sending out a detailed invitation letter, also known as "fixed letter", which specifies the person who proposed the marriage (that is, Gao Gang).

  The three generations of names, occupations, and the names and birthdays of the matchmakers, whether the parents are still alive, any official positions held, immovable property in the family, and the name of the master of ceremonies.

  Then, the betrothal gifts were sent. The man's side had to use a large wine jar, with eight red flowers and eight silver hairpins tied to the handle with red silk, called "insertion of red". The woman's side used two bottles of light water, three or five live fish and a pair of chopsticks, all poured into the large wine jar in one go, and asked the matchmaker to take it back. This was called "wind, fish and chopsticks". Of course, there were stories behind these names, but Gao Gang didn't bother to ask.

  After the match, it's considered a done deal. Usually, the man's relatives and the matchmaker go to the woman's home together to take a look. If they like what they see, they give her a gold hairpin to wear on her head, called "inserting the hairpin". If they don't like what they see, they leave a few pieces of colored silk, called "pressing the shock", indicating that this marriage is off. Of course, this problem wouldn't arise in the case of Gao Cai's arranged marriage. Even if the other party was an ugly old woman, or even missing a nose and an eye, Magistrate Gao would still have to hold his nose and accept it.

  However, Yang's casual remark sparked some interest in Gao. It turned out that not all matchmakers were the same, and some who cared more about their future happiness would have the groom-to-be inspect the bride personally. This was a privilege reserved for those with stronger social standing. If the woman agreed, they would choose an auspicious day, select a refined location, such as a wine tower or a garden, and have the matchmaker introduce them in person.

  Isn't this similar to modern blind dating? The two parties meet in person, with marriage as the premise for their interactions. It's like a scene from many soap operas or rom-coms, leading to countless wonderful conversations... If you can see your partner before marriage, isn't that also a comfort psychologically? But thinking again, even if you do meet, what's the big deal? Can't we just say no? Or should we just grit our teeth and bear it, after all, once you're in the basket, you're just a vegetable.

  As soon as he got distracted, he didn't hear anything below, and when he came back to his senses, Yang's wife was already discussing with Gao Yun how much betrothal gift to give. Unheard of, but after hearing it, it really scared him, for someone like Gao Yun, the betrothal gifts for their son's marriage are all calculated in tens of thousands, and not just limited to money, all sorts of things must be precious and rare. Think about Liang Shijie giving a birthday gift to his father-in-law, he gave out a gold pearl worth 100,000 taels, how could Gao Yun fall behind?

  After the betrothal and engagement, it's all about asking for the date of marriage and welcoming the bride, a bunch of trivial etiquette. However, High Strong doesn't bother with these details, leaving them to professional matchmakers like Yang Pozi and the other party's matchmaker to negotiate. Just as he was lost in thought, he heard Yang Pozi call out: "Sir, that Miss Cai has some unusual ideas, she wants to ask you to compose a new poem, to be sent along with this letter, I wonder if...". She said this while covering the lower half of her face with a fan and smiling.

  She thought for a moment, thinking that she had plagiarized the works of "later generations" several times in Bianjing City, and probably already had some "talent name". Fortunately, she used to like reciting Song poetry, and remembered some excellent works that have been passed down. She immediately ordered Wen Yan to splash ink and write a poem by Lu You: "Red palm, yellow bamboo wine, full garden spring color palace wall willow..."

  As soon as the poem was finished, Yan Qing was the first to praise it, and Gao Zhan took a look at it and was also surprised. He asked Gao Qiang when he had written this poem. At this time, Gao Qiang's heart was filled with some regret. The poem given to the newlyweds used such sad emotions, which might be inappropriate. Seeing his father asking questions, he quickly said that he had heard Yan Qing tell a story like this a few days ago. Someone was separated from their loved one due to the power of their own family members, and when they reunited after many years, they were especially sorrowful. He was moved by the story and wrote this poem.

  "This is not only plagiarizing Lu Fangweng's lyrics, but also stealing his love story. If this were to happen in modern times, who knows how big of a lawsuit it would be! Just as Gao Jian was thinking this, Yang Pozi had already come forward and taken the paper from him, stuffing it into her cleavage and laughing: "This story is so beautiful and moving, and the new lyrics by the official are also famous in Bianliang City recently. High Commander Gao and this gentleman are also full of praise for them. This poem must be excellent, I'll take it to show Miss Cai the literary talent of the official."

  He was somewhat hesitant at first, but seeing that the note had already been put away, he didn't want to bring it up again, so he just let it go.

  After all the discussions were settled, the woman went to post the notice and met with the matchmaker from the other side. Gao Qiang chatted with Old Man He and Wen Rui Zhang for a while before returning to his own courtyard.

  As soon as he entered the courtyard, Gao Qiang felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't until he sat down in the house and picked up his tea cup to take a sip that he realized the tea was cold. He immediately called out: "Xiao Huan!" Only then did he suddenly remember that usually when he entered the courtyard, Xiao Huan would be the first one to come out and greet him, and a cup of hot tea at just the right temperature was always a given. But today, there was no sign of her - what was going on?

  He called out twice but no one came, so he got up and went to look for her. He asked a few maids, and one of them said she saw Xiaohuan going towards the back where Li Shishi lived. So he went to search there, and just as he reached the corner of the wall, he heard faint sobbing sounds coming from inside.