#276 - Wedding
“Ding ding dong dong ~”
Raindrops pattered against the carved window lattices, the sound as crisp as pearls falling to the ground.
Wei Changtian's mind flickered, and he summoned the winged, red Ying fish into the air.
“Fishy, what exactly are you?”
“...”
“Are you a living thing or a dead thing?!”
“...”
“Damn it!”
“...”
The man and the fish stared at each other, wide-eyed. Wei Changtian's attempt to communicate failed, and he had no choice but to reluctantly return the Luck Ying fish to his dantian within his body.
If he could, he would very much like to have a "Transmigration to Another World Instruction Manual" right now.
But obviously, there was no such thing, so everything could only be guessed at.
"Detected that the host has no connection with the 'Heavenly Dao' of this world, and cannot enjoy the blessing of luck..."
Judging from the literal meaning, this sentence should mean that one's luck is not controlled by the "Heavenly Dao" of this world.
To put it bluntly, no matter how much luck one plunders, it will not make one's luck better.
Conversely, one's luck will not be too bad either.
This actually fits well with Wei Changtian's experience after transmigrating.
Whether it was killing Xiao Feng, or plundering some of the Heavenly Dao's luck from Shen Ran and Ning Yongnian, his luck had always been neither good nor bad, maintaining a very average level.
As for the reason, needless to say, it must be because he transmigrated.
Thinking of this, Wei Changtian suddenly remembered the "Road to Heaven" in the Heavenly Luo Sect.
At that time, the Heavenly Luo Sect disciple who received him had said that the Road to Heaven measured "aptitude", not "talent".
Now that he thought about it, this "aptitude" probably referred to "luck value".
And precisely because he was not under the control of the Heavenly Dao of this world at all, he could easily walk through all three hundred steps without being affected by the Road to Heaven at all.
“Hmm.”
Feeling that his guess was becoming more and more reliable, Wei Changtian nodded with satisfaction, and then thought of a key question.
Is not being affected by the Heavenly Dao a good thing or a bad thing?
“...”
The Buddhist Lotus Temple's Monk Huian had cursed him with "good and evil will be rewarded", and he had casually retorted with "it's up to man".
At that time, Wei Changtian had only said that because he disliked the old bald donkey, and did not know that his fate was really in his own hands.
But I don't want to have it in my own hands!
Wei Changtian wailed in his heart.
If it weren't for this, wouldn't he now be a top Son of Fortune who could "get opportunities even when he pees"!
Even if he couldn't compare to Xiao Feng, he would at least definitely be stronger than Shen Ran and Ning Yongnian!
But what about now?
Without a doubt, wanting to "win life lying down" was completely hopeless.
Damn it!
His mood instantly became depressed. Wei Changtian was silent for a long time before turning his head to look out the window again.
Rain filled the air, a vast expanse of white.
Further away, wisps of green smoke rose into the air, probably from people burning incense in the Land God Temple, praying for the Land God to show his spirit and stop the flooding.
The next day, April 10th, Lesser Fullness.
Lesser Fullness, Lesser Fullness, rivers and lakes gradually fill.
The proverb, which originally meant "favorable weather for crops", seemed to have become a curse for Shu Prefecture today.
However, to everyone's surprise, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the heavy rain that had been falling for seven days stopped without any warning.
Soon, dawn appeared.
The morning sun instantly enveloped the earth, the sky was azure blue with undulating clouds, and the newly born red sun spared no effort to pour out thousands of rays of light, as if the heavy rain of the past few days was fake.
“The rain has stopped!”
“Heaven has finally opened its eyes!”
“Wuwuwu, my dear! Come and see, the sun is out!”
“Damn, I finally got a few days off...”
“...”
The people who noticed that the rain had stopped came out of their homes one after another, stood on the still wet ground, looked up at the incomparably kind morning sun, and kept thanking the various gods.
At the same time, a mighty wedding procession set off from Yongquan Lane in the west of the city, blowing and beating, and escorted a bridal sedan chair through the streets and alleys towards the south of the city.
If it were a "wedding", the bridegroom Wei Changtian should personally go to the door to greet the bride.
However, there is no such thing as "taking a concubine". The bride must come to the door herself, and there is no need to be so grand.
Of course, Wei Changtian didn't understand these things.
He had only one requirement for this wedding from beginning to end—to make it as grand as possible within the scope allowed by etiquette!
Therefore, Li Suyue and Yuan'er arranged an eight-carried sedan chair, and singing troupes and musical troupes were all available.
Except for the groom who did not greet the bride, this scene was almost no different from a wedding.
The sedan curtain was opened, and under the gaze of everyone, Comrade Xiao Xu made a shining appearance.
The dark black hair was combed to the top of her head and piled into a bun like snow on dark clouds. A long buyao that looked valuable was neatly inserted on it, and the golden tassels would sway slightly with Xu Qingwan's steps, but would not touch the latter's flushed cheeks.
“Hiss.”
“Concubines” are not allowed to wear red veils, so Xu Qingwan's current appearance, like a fairy descending to earth, was seen by the guests in the courtyard.
The people who came to congratulate today were all people who had known Wei Changtian for a long time, such as Chu Xianping and Chen Bo, and naturally they had all seen Comrade Xiao Xu before, and some were even very familiar with her.
It's just that Xu Qingwan had always been working in the Suspended Mirror Division before, and the feeling she gave to outsiders was always full of heroism. Where had everyone seen her dressed so tenderly and beautifully?
And once seen today...
One word, amazing!
“Slurp ~”
Without making a sound, Wei Changtian swallowed his saliva, while exclaiming in his heart that the marketing methods of the capitalists in his previous life were not all just fooling people!
At the very least, a woman's appearance when wearing a wedding dress should indeed be the most beautiful in her life.
Of course, the situation of having worn a wedding dress several times is another matter.
“Wan'er.”
Standing opposite Xu Qingwan, Wei Changtian sincerely praised: “You are too beautiful today.”
“Hmm.”
Comrade Xiao Xu's cheeks flushed even redder, and not knowing what to say, she simply nodded her head bashfully.
“Hahaha, let's go, let's go to the ceremony.”
Wei Changtian chuckled, reaching out his hand to take Xu Qingwan's.
However, as the latter's small hand recoiled as if shocked by electricity, he realized that he had been too excited and had forgotten what Yuan'er had told him yesterday—
Young Master, tomorrow, until you enter the bridal chamber, you must remember not to touch Miss Xu! Otherwise, people will laugh at you!
If the bridal chamber ceremony hasn't been completed, Xu Qingwan is not his wife yet, so he must abide by the rule of 'men and women should not touch hands'.
Although Wei Changtian and Comrade Xiao Xu had even kissed in private, no one had seen it, and if they didn't say anything, no one would know.
But now it's a 'public occasion', and so many eyes are watching their every move, so doing that again would be inappropriate.
Even if Wei Changtian didn't care, and no one would dare to say anything, Xu Qingwan was still a decent girl, and rumors might spread and people might gossip about her.
“Cough, there's a weed on your sleeve.”
Clearing his throat, Wei Changtian somewhat awkwardly patted Xu Qingwan's long sleeve, brushing off the non-existent weed, and then tried to withdraw his hand.
However, at this moment.
“Hmm?”
A warm, moist, and somewhat trembling small hand suddenly intruded into his palm, and then tightly grasped Wei Changtian's fingertips.
The warmth was due to the rise in body temperature caused by shyness.
The moisture was due to the sweating of the palms caused by nervousness.
The trembling was due to the muscle spasms caused by apprehension.
But no matter how shy, nervous, or apprehensive, Comrade Xiao Xu unhesitatingly chose the latter between her own face and Wei Changtian's.
“...”
Stunned for a moment, Wei Changtian suddenly gripped Xu Qingwan's small hand back, and then, under the “despairing” gazes of Yuan'er and Li Suyue, strode towards the brightly lit main hall.
“Let's go!”
“Let's go to the ceremony!”
Similar to his previous life, the wedding ceremony in this world also required three bows.
The first bow, to Heaven and Earth.
Although the “Heaven and Earth” of this world had not only not helped Wei Changtian in any way, but even created Sons of Heaven to cause him trouble every day.
But Wei Changtian didn't come up with any tricks like “What is Heaven? I won't bow!”, but honestly bowed to the east.
The second bow, to the Ancestral Hall.
Compared to “bowing to Heaven and Earth”, Wei Changtian was willing to “bow to the Ancestral Hall”.
However, because Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caizhen were still in the capital dealing with the “remnants” of the Liu family, Qin Zhengqiu could only sit in the upper seat and accept the bow from Wei Changtian and Xu Qingwan.
The third bow, to each other.
Wei Changtian had also experienced this step when he married Lu Jingyao, but at that time, the two of them were very perfunctory. Those who knew thought it was a bow between husband and wife, but those who didn't know thought they were nodding hello to each other.
But for Xu Qingwan, Wei Changtian certainly couldn't be so perfunctory.
He cupped his hands to his chest and bowed sincerely. As a result, when he looked up, the two of them accidentally bumped their foreheads lightly.
“...”
Looking at the shy Comrade Xiao Xu, Wei Changtian felt that it wasn't perfect just now, so he asked in a low voice: “How about... we bow again?”
“Ah?”
Xu Qingwan was stunned for a moment, and nodded weakly: “Yes, yes.”
Before the master of ceremonies, Chu Xianping, could speak, the two bowed to each other again, leaving everyone around them dumbfounded.
Only Qin Zhengqiu, who was sitting in the main seat, nodded slightly in praise:
“Changtian is so meticulous!”
“Good!”
After the ceremony, the next item on the agenda was dinner.
Although in his previous life, the newlyweds had to offer toasts at each table, according to proper etiquette, the bride was not allowed to show her face during the dinner, but had to wait for her husband in the “bridal chamber”.
Xu Qingwan quickly went to the newly decorated bridal chamber accompanied by Yuan'er.
Then the dozens of tables of wine in the courtyard officially began.
As the current de facto “Shuzhou King”, Wei Changtian only held dozens of tables of wine for his concubine, which seemed a bit shabby.
But in fact, everyone who was able to come and have a drink today was a famous figure in Shuzhou.
And these people naturally couldn't come empty-handed.
A long list of gifts was sent to Chu Xianping, who then selected dozens of “lucky ones” based on the value of the gifts, and were given the “honor” of drinking a cup with Wei Changtian.
Of course, Wei Changtian was a cultivator, and if he really wanted to drink, he could toast everyone present ten times.
But he still had to put on the airs he should have.
According to Chu Xianping, this was called “the art of managing subordinates”. Wei Changtian was too lazy to think about it, so he drank with dozens of people according to the list provided by the former, and then returned to the main table to drink with Qin Zhengqiu and others.
The sun gradually set, and then completely fell into the horizon.
Dozens of large red lanterns were hung high, and the dinner started from Shen Shi (3-5 pm) and ended at the end of Xu Shi (7-9 pm).
There were no sudden attacks from the remnants of the Liu family, no Sons of Heaven came to snatch the bride, and there were not even any guests who made a scene after drinking. The banquet ended in an atmosphere of joy and harmony.
The only thing worth mentioning was that Yang Liushi started a commotion and wanted Wei Changtian to write a poem. The latter waved his hand and casually recited four lines—
Last night the stars, last night the wind, by the painted pavilion, east of the laurel hall.
My body has no colorful phoenix wings to fly with you, but our hearts have a telepathic understanding.
Li Shangyin's most famous love poem, a professional “love poem” writer, was naturally of extremely high quality.
As for the reaction of the crowd...
Without a doubt, it shocked everyone.
At the beginning of Hai Shi (9-11 pm), the moon rose over the starry river.
When Wei Changtian walked into the bridal chamber smelling of alcohol, Xu Qingwan was wearing a wedding gown and writing a letter seriously on the table. She quickly put down her pen when she heard the movement.
“You, you have finished drinking?”
“Yes.”
Wei Changtian walked over and casually asked with a smile: “Who are you writing to? Your parents?”
“No.”
Xu Qingwan answered honestly: “It's Zhou Cheng.”
“What? Zhou Cheng???”
No, what's the operation of writing a letter to another man on the wedding night?
Wei Changtian was stunned for a moment, but then he thought of something and tentatively asked in disbelief:
“You're writing to Zhou Cheng, it couldn't be for that twenty taels...”
“Yes.”
Comrade Xiao Xu nodded embarrassedly, and the tassels of the golden hairpin on her head swayed twice.
“Now, now that you have married me, then the twenty taels of silver I bet have won...”
“I, I want Zhou Cheng to send it to me as soon as possible...”
“...”
Sure enough! I knew it!
Wei Changtian was speechless for a long time, and asked suspiciously: “You didn't marry me just for these twenty taels of silver, did you!”
This was actually a joke, but Comrade Xiao Xu panicked after hearing it.
“No, it's not!”
She waved her hands in a hurry, and at the same time groped out a stack of still warm silver notes from her chest, and held them up to Wei Changtian in a flustered manner.
“This, this is all the silver I have saved!”
“All, all for you!”
ps: A big chapter in one, also, the third volume will end within two days.
