After taking two bites, it was time for Zhao Xin to set off again. When ancient people got married, they had to bring the bride back in the morning and hold the ceremony in the evening.
As Wang Zhong sang praises, Zhao Xin, who put on his leather bean suit again, boarded the carriage again. Under the guidance of a group of mounted ceremonial soldiers, the carriage slowly started and headed to the Shen family to welcome the bride.
The ones who set off before Zhao Xin's motorcade were Deng Fei, Wang Yuanfang and Liu Siting. The first two were regarded as the chief and deputy envoys to welcome the bride, and they had already memorized all the speeches by heart. Liu Siting, who is wearing the costume of a female official in the Ming Dynasty, is a compliment. She is going to enter the back house with a hair certificate gift and a make-up reminder gift.
Shen Jingdan and his wife made it very clear to Zhao Xin that in the previous Nacai, Wenming, Naji, and Nazheng, we were short of time and did not understand royal etiquette, which allowed you, King Zhao, to take advantage of a big loophole. Now that it's time to welcome you in person, the ceremony can be done according to your requirements, but the birth certificate ceremony and the make-up ceremony are both indispensable.
According to the Ming Dynasty, the gifts at the registration ceremony are not "cabbage" that can be seen everywhere. Even if you have money, you may not be able to buy them. You have to find professionals to customize them! Not to mention anything else, just the "Nine Dragons and Four Phoenixes Crown" and three sets of Zhai clothes, no one in the Manchu Qing Dynasty dared to make them.
Fortunately, except for a group of time travellers, no one else has seen Ming-made phoenix crowns. In the end, I relied on Director Liu Da to buy an almost identical high imitation from a certain treasure. After returning to the 18th century, he went to the mint to find several former jewelry craftsmen. Compared with the photos of the "Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenix Crowns" unearthed in Dingling, he replaced the fake ones with pearls, gold, silver and gems, and then used real ones. Cuiyu replaced the fake Cuiyu, and then he got through.
The so-called Zhai Yi is actually the highest dress for women in ancient China. It is named after the Zhai bird pattern embroidered on it. (Zhai, pronounced the same as Di, long-tailed pheasant.)
So why three sets? According to the "Book of Rites of Zhou", a queen must wear six garments - 袆衣, 揄褰, quendi, 袆衣, 褖衣, and 褖衣. Among them, Baoyi, Ju Zhai and Que Zhai, the highest-level ones, are collectively called the "Three Zhai". The clothing materials are all made of silk brocade or Luo, with plain yarn as the lining.
Among these three pieces, the coat is the most important. It is not only a sacrificial dress, but also a court dress, auspicious dress for canonization and weddings. There are dragon patterns on the edges, while the other two Zhai clothes are decorated with phoenixes; in terms of color, Baoyi Xuan, Jiao Di Qing and Que Di Chi. Historically, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the princesses of the Joseon Kingdom continued to use Zhai bird pattern dresses until the Japanese invasion in the early 20th century.
No one in the Qing Dynasty had ever seen Zhai Yi in real form, even the old eunuchs of the former Qing Palace. The high-end imitation that Liu Siting purchased from a museum in another time and space was based on the picture data of the portrait of Empress Renzong of the Song Dynasty in the "Portraits of Empresses and Empresses of the Past Dynasties" in the old collection of Nanxun Palace in the Northern Song Dynasty.
In addition to the above two, there are a lot of miscellaneous things like the agarwood-colored wooden box with gold clouds and phoenixes, four bunches of knots, four gold and silver fragrant round treasure covers, gold matters, jade matters, etc., all of which were placed on orders by Wang Zhong, and those on the other side of Sheyang Lake People go to Jinling, Suzhou and Yangzhou to order.
There is no way. In the 18th century, silver was expensive and valuable, but in another time and space, silver became "cabbage" and its value plummeted.
The wedding ceremony is extremely complicated, but no matter how troublesome it is, there is no such thing as the situation in later generations where a group of women blocked the door and refused to let in without giving enough red envelopes. However, Zhao Xinxin said that there is no need to give red envelopes, and the gifts that can be prepared are even worse than red envelopes.
After the Shen family knew that Zhao Xin had gone out, the whole family came to the courtyard gate and stood waiting facing south. When Wang Yuanfang and the others arrived, Shen Jingdan followed the three of them into the main hall, where the incense table was already set up.
As the officiant of the wedding, Shen Jingdan made four bows in accordance with the rules of the foot ceremony, and Liu Siting went to the back hall with the birth certificate ceremony and the Jade Valley Gui. There was also an incense table in the back hall. After Shen Xuan had changed into a full set of robes, she was helped out of the boudoir by two female members of the Shen family and knelt down in front of the incense table. Liu Siting followed the rhetoric taught to her by Wang Zhong and awarded Yu Gugui to Shen Xuan.
Afterwards, the incense table was removed and Shen Xuan sat on an imperial chair covered with yellow satin. The female members of the Shen family stood in the yard and bowed four times to Shen Xuan amid the singing of the former old eunuch.
At this point, the "distribution" step is completed.
After Zhao Xin's motorcade arrived slowly and slowly, Wang Zhong and Lao You led them directly to the central hall. Shen Jingdan and his wife followed behind, while Li Ji followed at the end holding a live goose with wings and feet tied.
It is said that in future generations, when picking up a bride, the groom must hold a bouquet of flowers; but in ancient times, he had to hold a wild goose. This is called "Zhi Jian Li", and it has become a must-have item in the ancient wedding ceremony since the Qin and Han Dynasties. Among the six ancient wedding rites, except for "acceptance", the other five rites all use wild geese as zhi, so it is also called the "goose ceremony" ceremony.
In order to prevent freezing, the goose had been wrapped in a red satin cover with cotton sandwiched between it. Liji did not dare to hug it too hard for fear of being suffocated to death. Just to collect this gift, I caught several wild geese in August before they migrated south, and they have been carefully cared for, just waiting for this day. If we don't prepare in advance, the geese will have to fly to Guangdong and Fujian to spend the winter as soon as Bailu passes.
When they arrived at the central hall, Shen Jingdan and his wife stood in the middle of the hall, one on the left and the other on the right, facing east and west, waiting for Shen Xuan to come out and salute.
After about ten minutes, Zhao Xin finally saw Shen Xuan, whom he had not seen for more than ten days. When the beautiful face that had only blossomed for today came out, Zhao Xin was stunned.
"Shuowen" says that "Xuan" refers to beautiful jade. There is another kind of flower called "Xuanhua", its color is like white jade; the ancients said, "Qiong trees leave their eyes open, and Xuanhua enters wise words."
Although the two of them had been rubbing each other's ears before, today Shen Xuan finally released all her youthfulness. Her beautiful face with rosy cheeks, cherry lips, dark eyebrows and green brows was so beautiful that it made people's hearts tremble and they couldn't control it. Autumn water, look forward to the brilliance. Dressed in gorgeous Zhai clothes, the phoenix crown is festive and solemn. When the figure turns slightly, the jade ornaments on the ribbon jingle.
When Shen Jingdan and his wife saw Zhao Xin's expression and their daughter's appearance, they both showed a smile of satisfaction; Liu Siting, who was walking behind Shen Xuan, also had a smug look on her face, looking at Zhao Xinxin and said, "I'm doing this for your wife today. After struggling for more than half a year, you have to say thank you to me.
Bonuses are a must!
Chun Lai, who was standing behind, waited for Shen Xuan to walk to Mrs. Shen's seat and stand down, then took the marriage letter written on brocade silk from the box and placed it on the incense table. Zhao Xin and Shen Xuan followed Wang Zhong's instructions and performed eight obeisances.
At this point, the ceremony for the Shen family is complete. If according to the Ming system, Shen Xuan would have to sit in the sedan chair, and Zhao Xin would have to wait outside the door to lift the curtain of the sedan chair.
Forget it, it’s already enough trouble, the carriage is enough!
After the large group of people once again pulled several carts of gifts back to Zhao Xin's new house, after settling in, Zhao Xin asked the others to go to the front yard to rest first. Only Li Ji and a few guards stayed.
Accompanied by Liu Siting, Shen Xuan, who was sitting in the room, did not dare to move for fear of messing up the accessories on Zhai's clothes. According to the etiquette, you should go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors of the Zhao family, and then the ceremony.
While he was thinking wildly, the door of the room rang, and Zhao Xin opened the door and walked in.
"Ah Quan, come with me."
After hearing this, Shen Xuan stood up slowly, and when she walked to the door with her ring jingling, she found that Liu Siting was sitting still, with only A Miao following her. She felt surprised and was about to speak when she saw Liu Siting smiling at her and said, "Go ahead. I won't get involved in this matter."
Zhao Xin's new house is a large courtyard with three entrances. Its shape is built according to the courtyard house, but it does not have the carved beams and painted pillars of the courtyard house. If you were to build a courtyard house in a place like Beihai Town, people would definitely cry out from the cold in the winter.
After leaving the house, Shen Xuan saw five guards standing in the courtyard holding short guns, looking alert, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
"Something happened?" Shen Xuan looked at Zhao Xin, but saw that the other person's expression was as usual with a smile, and she felt a little relieved. But she had no idea why a gun would be used on the big day.
When the three of them walked along the corridor under the eaves to the door of the backyard, Shen Xuan saw Li Ji and four armed guards guarding there again, with the same expression as the five people before. Zhao Xin walked to the door without saying a word. He looked at Li Ji and saw the other party nodded. Then he turned back and motioned for Shen Xuan to follow him.
Shen Xuan became more and more confused. What was he going to do? Isn't there some treasure in the backyard? Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked into the gate, A Miao didn't follow him and stopped outside the courtyard gate. Shen Xuan felt something was wrong and was about to call A Miao over when she saw Li Ji walking to the door and reaching out to close the backyard door.
"Huh?" Shen Xuan was stunned for a moment. She no longer cared about her manners. She pulled Zhao Xin's sleeve and asked, "What happened?"
"Follow me." Zhao Xin smiled and shook his head, holding Shen Xuan's hand across the yard and walking to the main door. Before he could push the door open, the door swung open. This shocked Shen Xuan. She had no idea that there was someone in the backyard!
"You brat, your dad and I are sore from sitting here. You really have forgotten your mother after marrying a wife!" The speaker was an elderly woman who was almost in her sixties. Shen Xuan saw this man with black shoulder-length curly hair, fair skin, and wearing a bright red satin cotton-padded jacket. He looked very kind, and his facial features were almost 80% similar to Zhao Xin's.
When the old lady saw Shen Xuan behind Zhao Xin, she suddenly smiled, pushed Zhao Xin away, stepped forward and held Shen Xuan's little hand, and said in a very gentle tone: "Oh~~ Are you Ah Quan? Finally, I saw the real person! This little appearance is much prettier than in the photo. Is it cold in this outfit? Are you hungry after working all morning? Let me tell you..."
"Oh, you are the only one who talks a lot! Let them come in first in the cold weather." Shen Xuan looked for the voice and saw an elderly man of about the same age walking behind the elderly woman. This man is tall, with a square face and strong lines. He was also wearing a bright red satin cotton-padded jacket, and had short hair about the same length as Zhao Xin.
This is... Shen Xuan's head was buzzing, and her heart was like a deer, panicking. She seemed to have heard the elderly woman say "dad" and "mother" just now. Could it be? !
Thinking of this, she turned to look at Zhao Xin in surprise. She saw an apologetic look on his face and said to herself in embarrassment: "Ah Quan, please meet my parents."
Shen Xuan was stunned immediately. She felt her legs were weak, her body swayed, and she almost collapsed to the ground...
In the front yard, Wang Yuanfang, Lao You, Deng Fei and others who had been busy since the morning were sitting together to drink tea and take a rest. Wang Zhong was too tired from the work from the morning until now, so he went to the side room to rest in order to recharge his batteries. belly.
A figure flashed at the door, and Liu Siting, who had just changed clothes, walked in, sat down on a chair, poured a cup of tea and drank it.
Deng Fei said: "Are they two going to meet?"
Liu Siting rolled her almond-shaped eyes and said, "No matter how important it is in life, you can't be careless. If my son dares to hide it from me in the future, I will have to strangle him to death."
Lao You smiled and said: "Xiao Liu, my mother cannot control my son's growth."
Ding Guofeng said: "Then you said Mr. Zhao will pick up the old man now, are you still leaving?"
Deng Feiti sighed and said, "I see. Now our plates are getting bigger and bigger. He has bought too many things. It's hard not to be noticed." After that, he got up and walked to the window to take a look. After a while outside the house, he turned to everyone and said in a deep voice: "He doesn't dare to bring back those two warships until now, because he is afraid of being stared at."
Lao You asked: "What do you think? What are your plans for the future?"
Ding Guofeng said: "I don't care. From now on, I will follow Mr. Zhao's example and bring my parents over to build a big house. The air will be fresh and environmentally friendly."
Deng Fei said: "If we are really targeted, none of us can escape! We have to make plans early. Liu Siting, what do you think? Have you discussed it with your Xiao Hong?"
Liu Siting hesitated and said: "We have discussed it. We plan to wait until the child is born and get all the vaccines that should be given."
At this time, everyone turned their attention to Lao You. Lao You waved his hands and said with a smile, "I am no match for you. I just need to work for a few years to earn some milk powder money for my grandson."
Ding Guofeng said with a smile: "Teacher You, you are not making money from milk powder. You can drink bird's nest every day. Hahaha~"
"Smelly boy!" Lao You also laughed. After a while, he suddenly asked Wang Yuanfang, who had been silent, "Xiao Wang, I heard that Cao Peng also joined the army?"
Wang Yuanfang nodded and said: "Yes. I have just been in the training team for two weeks, and I am training with other officers who are training in rotation."
"How about it?"
Wang Yuanfang shook his head and said: "It's a big move, so take your time. Yesterday I heard from Wu Ping'an that there are a few people at the power plant who also want to join the army."
"Tch~~" Ding Guofeng said: "I just think that I can be a general, how can it be so easy! It has been five years, and sometimes I can't sleep. Looking back on this journey, it is really suspenseful. Whenever I make the wrong move, At one point, we have to start all over again with our tail between our legs.”
Liu Siting said: "I heard from Hong Tao that Zhao Xintou often read books and went to bed at midnight in recent years. He is really capable of tossing. I heard before that he dared to fight 10,000 Russians with only 600 men. He was very brave. !”
Deng Fei said: "He was forced to do that. When the matter got to that point, it was impossible not to fight. There are so many people in Beihai Town right now. If you make the wrong move, someone will die. If you ask me, Zhao Xin is quite talented. But look at the books and maps piled up in his office. He just sits there and ponders when he has nothing to do. For a man who has just turned 30, his gray hair has already sprouted."
Everyone nodded after hearing this. As the saying goes, "If you want to be famous in front of others, you must endure hardship behind your back." Everyone saw Zhao Xin's efforts. Hundreds of thousands of people were pointing at him. Without this hard work, Beihai Town would have been disbanded long ago.
Afterwards, everyone casually talked about the situation between the Manchus and Tsarist Russia. Deng Fei, who had the most calm personality, judged that both sides would not give up, and there might be some trouble next year.
Ding Guofeng said: "If you ask me, expand the size of the Marine Corps and give Qianlong a center to flourish in the hinterland of Jiangnan, so that they can focus on one thing and lose another."
Deng Fei said: "There is no need to say this again. I have the deepest experience during my trip to Shandong. If you don't cooperate with the landlord class, you won't be able to take root at all. Why don't we build territory in Shandong? Aren't we afraid of entangled with the landlords and gentry? Well. But if we really get along with those people, will the slave system be abolished? Will the land be divided? Will the scholars who study the Four Books and Five Classics study hard be used by the people?"
Liu Siting interrupted dissatisfiedly: "Stop, stop, stop! What are you talking about on this big day? Let's wait until you get together for a meeting to talk about this."
After saying that, she turned around and looked at the furnishings inside, and saw a box that looked like a scroll on the table next to it. The outside was tied with a red ribbon. She walked over and untied the ribbon and asked, "Is this Who sent it?"
Lao You said: "Oh, this is what Mr. Wang brought over early in the morning. It is from the Deputy Central Hall. He said it was a gift for Zhao Xin. Maybe he was busy and forgot about it."
Deng Fei also came over, took out a paper roll, opened it and looked at it. As soon as he opened it halfway, Deng Fei praised: "Good calligraphy!"
After hearing this, Lao You and Ding Guofeng also gathered around to get another pair to watch. Lao You, in particular, admired Wang Zhong's calligraphy with silver hooks and iron strokes.
The entire nave reads: "Cut the ice and sea waves, open up fertile land thousands of miles away to save the people from fire and water; restore the homeland thousands of miles away, build thousands of vast buildings, only you can do it!"
