Chapter 10 The Auspicious Hour Has Arrived

  The preparations for the wedding were proceeding in an orderly manner, but Lingyun was the only one who had nothing to do. Everything was done by everyone else, and he didn't have anything to do at all.

  Watching the little girl Mulan command a large group of maids and servants, he felt that she had a bit of the air of a big sister. Lingyun sat under the peach tree in the east courtyard, which had just bloomed, and was slightly enchanted. He suddenly thought that since it was already impossible to return, why not stay here, stay in the Sui Dynasty, stay in Gaojiazhuang, and become the son-in-law of this wealthy landlord family? Although the Gao family did not seem to be a noble or aristocratic family, nor were they an official family, they had good fields, dozens of shops, and thousands of servants. This was an indisputable fact. If he stayed here, he would not have to worry about food, drink, survival, or how to find a place to stand. Everything was already there. The Gao family was a simple family, with no one who did not recognize their own daughter-in-law, and no brothers or uncles who wanted to fight for property. Moreover, although Gao Shanshu was a woman from a thousand years ago, she was not bad-looking, and even conformed to Lingyun's modern aesthetic.

  Even if Gao Qianshuo had white hair and silver eyebrows, and an overly pale complexion. But to Lingyun, this was not an ominous appearance at all, it was just a common manifestation of albinism in later generations. And in later generations, people with albinism even had a beautiful name, the children of moonlight. There was even a young albino girl who, because of her white hair and silver eyebrows, stood out even more and was called Snow White. Gao Qianshuo's appearance was not a burden to Lingyun at all, and after several contacts, he felt that Gao Qianshuo, this ancient person, was not difficult to get along with, and even had some rare gentleness and tact, being good at understanding people's intentions. The two of them living together would not have any communication barriers or incompatible personalities in the future.

  Besides, Gao Shanshan is a genuine white and rich beauty. Marrying her would truly save one from struggling for thirty years.

  Lingyun is not someone with grand ambitions, even though he was in the Sui Dynasty a thousand years ago. What he thought about was not something like vying for dominance without boundaries, but rather how to survive. A modern ordinary person just hopes to live an easy and happy life by habit. Rebellion means beheading.

  What's wrong with being a landlord in Jiangnan?

  Luxurious mansion, beautiful concubines, carefree. Thinking of this, Lingyun couldn't help but take another look at the two little loli, Xiao Mulan and Qinglian, who were busily directing the servants. According to his understanding of ancient times, personal maids like Mulan would usually become dowry maids and get married together with their mistress. This also means that as soon as Lingyun and Gao Shanshui get married, Mulan and Qinglian, Gao Shanshui's personal maids, will immediately become Lingyun's concubines, although their status is low, they will become his legitimate women. When the lady of the house has her period, gets sick, or becomes pregnant and sits out her month, these dowry concubines will have to take turns sleeping with the master, fulfilling their duties.

  Debauchery!

  Shameless!

  The feudal society is really shameless, the feudal system is really poisonous to the poor. Lingyun nodded his head and muttered a few words, but in his heart he was full of expectation for this matter. They say that the buttocks decide the brain, who let him become a member of the feudal landlord class? No, he is about to become a member of the feudal landlord class. He even couldn't help but carefully examine Mulan and Qinglian, two little maids who were only 14 years old, like two green apples that had not yet ripened, although they were not mature, they were very lovely. For now, it's still too early to eat them, but raising them for a few years would be just right, a few years is just enough time to train them!

  What more can one ask for in life?

  Perhaps heaven saw that I was struggling too hard in modern times, so it sent me to this thousand-year-old space-time to enjoy myself. Just like this, just like this, wasting my youth, being a social parasite and dying on my bed, such a life would also be pretty good, right?

  "Brother-in-law, have you remembered all the wedding rituals?" Mulan's small nose was sweating profusely as she busied herself, yet still managed to run over to Lingyun and ask him about his grasp of the rituals.

  "Ah, I've almost memorized it all." Lingyun sat cross-legged on the soft couch under the peach tree, half-closing his eyes as he savored the fragrance wafting from the copper incense burner on the small table beside him, and the subtle scent of jasmine-like perfume emanating from the young woman's body. He nodded in a daze, already feeling the sense of accomplishment and pleasure that came with marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman and reaching the pinnacle of life, even before the formal wedding ceremony had taken place.

  "Brother-in-law, then try this suit again." Mulan brought up another big red dress.

  That was a big red wedding dress, with the traditional Han and Wei dynasty attire, where men wore red and women wore green. It completely overturned Lingyun's previous impression that ancient wedding dresses were all about the bride wearing a big red outfit. The dress fit perfectly, not too big or too small, just right, as if it was tailor-made. The material of the clothes was also very high-end, like some kind of precious brocade. However, compared to the bride's dress, it was nothing. Gao Qianshuang's wedding dress was truly luxurious and beautiful, with a high-end atmosphere that was unmatched. The light green dress had six layers, and even came with a full set of accessories and headpieces, making people's eyes dazzle in amazement. Seeing these carefully prepared dresses and accessories, Lingyun guessed that they must have been prepared long ago, perhaps many years ago. After all, Gao Qianshuang was already twenty years old, an age where she should be in college, but in this era, she was considered a spinster. Most women of her age already had several children. It could be imagined that these wedding dresses and accessories must have been prepared when she first reached marriageable age, but due to various reasons, including her rumored unlucky appearance, they were left unused until now.

  But in this way, it's also good. This marriage was decided very hastily, and with these prepared wedding dresses and dowries, I won't be caught off guard.

  However, the time was ultimately too hasty, and the complete wedding ceremony of three books and six rites could not be completed. However, this wedding was special from the beginning, without parental orders or matchmaker's words, and even the groom was a stranger who had just lost his memory. Moreover, this marriage was actually a nominal non-uxorial but actual uxorilocal marriage. Neither the location of the man's family nor the existence of parents were known, not even the groom's birth date.

  Therefore, the six rites of proposal, asking for the bride's name, divination and betrothal gifts were basically omitted. Only yesterday did they set today as their wedding day, which also served as a gift-giving ceremony. Today, they directly held the final rite of welcoming the bride. However, due to Lingyun's amnesia, after marriage, she would still live in Gaofu Village, so the welcoming ceremony was simplified and didn't require going from the groom's house to the bride's house to welcome her, but instead took place within the village with a simple worship ritual.

  The six rites can be reduced, but the three books cannot be reduced.

  The three books refer to the marriage certificate, engagement letter, gift letter, and welcome letter. Following the principle of simplicity and speed, Lingyun had already handed over the original engagement letter signed during Najit's time to the Gao family early this morning. Just now, Zhang Bo from the accounting room represented Lingyun's side and brought many gifts to the backyard for the grand ceremony, also handing over the gift letter that Lingyun gave to Gao Shanshui. In fact, what is called the grand gift engagement is just things from the Gao family estate, moving from one pocket to another.

  The final welcoming letter, however, was still to be delayed for a while. After Lingyun had taken Gao Qianshuo around the village of Gaogezhuang and then entered the door, they could finally hand over the letter to Gao Qianshuo. As soon as this welcoming letter was received, the marriage between Gao Qianshuo and Lingyun was already considered settled, with only the final rituals of bowing in the hall and entering the bridal chamber remaining.

  Everything is ready, just waiting for dusk.

  Since the Zhou Dynasty, weddings for emperors of successive dynasties were held at dusk. A daytime wedding was considered extremely impolite in ancient times.

  Although Gao Jia said he was just a landlord, he took this very seriously. The wedding could be simplified in other ways, but the final ceremony couldn't be taken lightly.

  What is marriage? It is called marriage because it takes place at dusk and involves rituals.

  Although waiting is long, the sun still sets as usual, dusk arrives, and the sky gradually darkens.

  The wedding ceremony finally began, and Lingyun, who had already changed into a bright red wedding dress, was surrounded by a group of young servants wearing new brocade robes. She mounted a white horse adorned with red silk flowers and led the procession out of the mansion, circling around it once. Nine pairs of children held up bright red candles to lead the way, while nine pairs of married women carrying red candles followed behind. The lively procession circled the mansion before returning to the north courtyard, where Gao Qianshu was waiting. After much fanfare, Steward Gao finally brought out Gao Qianshu, who was covered with a veil and wore an exquisite wedding dress. Steward Gao's wife carried Gao Qianshu on her back and placed her in the bridal sedan chair behind Lingyun. With the sound of musical instruments filling the air, Lingyun rode his horse at the front of the procession, leading the entourage back to the east courtyard.

  After circling around once again, the procession arrived in front of the East Wing's main gate. Lingyun handed over the red welcome book to Gao Qianshu's carriage. The carriage lifted a corner of its curtain, and Gao Qianshu stretched out her jade-like slender hand to receive the welcome book. The crowd erupted into cheers; the three books and six rites had been completed, and from now on, Gao Qianshu and Lingyun were officially and lawfully husband and wife.

  "The auspicious hour has arrived, the newlyweds pay their respects!" The person in charge of singing the ceremony was an elderly and respected steward from Gaogezhuang. Lingyun and Gao Shanshui walked hand in hand into the warm and festive hall, which was already filled with over a hundred guests, and even outside was packed with people from all walks of life in the village.

  Lingyun was also somewhat excited at this time, although he had been a human being for two lifetimes, but this wedding ceremony, he was also a big girl on the sedan chair for the first time. He glanced at Gao Shanshuo, who was supported by Mulan and Qinglian, and couldn't tell if she was nervous or not. However, Mulan and Qinglian, who were about to worship together with Lingyun and Gao Shanshuo, both had red faces and looked extremely nervous.

  "The auspicious hour has arrived, let us pay our respects to heaven and earth!" Zhang Bo shouted loudly once again.

  Lingyun was just about to make a bow to heaven and earth when he suddenly heard a burst of exclamations outside, then the crowd of onlookers suddenly parted like waves, making way for several burly men who rushed in with urgent footsteps.

  P.S: Just took a look, now the new book list is ranked 29. Everyone is holding on tight, brothers, lend me some recommendation votes, I'll return you with some chrysanthemums!