Chapter 152: Chapter 125: The Decline of National Power
Translator: 549690339
The two of them chatted all night.
After a night’s time, they finally decided on the various etiquette for the marriage proposal.
Only then did Sun Siwen feel at ease to sleep.
Today was his day off, and he could sleep for three days to relax properly.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, was full of energy. With his advanced martial arts realm, even if he didn’t sleep for three or five days, he wouldn’t be the least bit tired.
His good friend was about to get married, and as Sun Siwen’s only friend, he naturally had to get busy preparing.
So when the sky lightened up, he called for his personal guard, took out the silver taels, and instructed them to go to various shops in the city to purchase all kinds of items for the marriage proposal.
Later on, he asked someone to call for the Master of Ceremonies from the Government Office who was in charge of the rituals and asked him how to hold a wedding and what etiquette to follow.
Hearing that it was the Prefect and his daughter’s wedding, with the groom being a high ranked official and the matchmaker a higher commander, this ninth-grade official dared not be negligent.
And so, he enthusiastically introduced Lu Yuan to the various precautions of the wedding ceremony.
However, ancient wedding rituals were indeed cumbersome, requiring three letters and six rites. The three letters were the betrothal letter, the formal gift letter, and the welcoming letter. The six rites were betrothal, name asking, choosing an auspicious date, presenting betrothal gifts, proposing marriage, and welcoming the bride.
Each of these rituals was of utmost importance and could not be overlooked.
After listening to the introduction, Lu Yuan felt that he indeed couldn’t handle it himself, so he simply handed over the preparations to the Master of
Ceremonies. He would only be responsible for following the procedures on the day of the wedding.
After hurriedly learning all he could for several days, Lu Yuan took the betrothal letter and went to the Prefect Cui’s Government Office to propose marriage.
Since both families had agreed, Prefect Cui did not make things difficult and happily approved the proposal.
In the following days, Lu Yuan carried out the three letters and the six rites, according to etiquette.
Soon, the time to welcome the bride had come.
On this day, the groom would go to the bride’s house to escort her back to his home, and it would be the time for the bride to officially pass through the door.
In order for his friend to save face,
Lu Yuan directly set up open-table banquets in the city. Three thousand tables were set up in pubs and open spaces along the streets, all with food and drinks available for anyone to enjoy.
As long as there was wine and meat, and a table full of inexpensive dishes, it would only cost a few hundred cents.
With a daily expense of four hundred silver taels, more than a thousand silver taels would be enough to treat tens of thousands of people in the city for three days.
The welcoming procession was formed by pulling out the city soldiers, lining up in an army formation, dressed in red, looking quite impressive.
Everyone who saw the procession was amazed.
In fact, according to Sun Siwen’s nature, he didn’t want to be so ostentatious. But with one sentence from Lu Yuan, his thoughts were eliminated.
“If you’re getting married, it should be done grandly. Don’t you want to give Miss Wenxiu the best wedding possible?”
When he thought of Wenxiu, Sun Siwen’s resistance instantly disappeared.
For that girl who had captured his heart, he was willing to give her the best of everything he could offer.
So in the end, he could only look at Lu Yuan and gratefully say, “Thank you, Brother Lu.”
When they arrived at Yang Mansion,
The Cui family had already prepared the bride. As soon as the welcoming procession arrived, they sent the bride off in a sedan chair.
As they were about to leave, Lu Yuan looked at the somewhat complicated emotions of Prefect Cui and understood the father’s feelings of parting with his daughter. He smiled and comforted, “Lord Cui, congratulations on finding a perfect son-in-law. ”
Cui Changqing put away a trace of loss in his heart, looked back at Lu Yuan, and helplessly said, “I have found a good son-in-law, but Lu, for the wedding, you brought out the city soldiers and even set up three thousand tables of open banquets in the city. This kind of arrangement is somewhat excessive.”
Lu Yuan’s grand arrangements were not announced in advance, so Cui Changqing was shocked when he heard of them.
First, he was amazed at Lu Yuan’s financial power. Second, he was amazed that Lu Yuan was willing to go to such lengths for Sun Siwen.
However, having such a grand wedding for his daughter made him, as a father, feel proud as well.
As for whether it exceeded the bounds of etiquette…
He glanced at Lu Yuan, knowing that Jianghu martial artists could not be too demanding in this respect.
“As my friend welcomes his bride, there must be boundless splendor,”
Lu Yuan met Cui Changqing’s gaze, laughed, and then got on his horse, saying, “Lord Cui, I have to escort the procession and cannot chat any longer. We’ll meet again another day.”
As they returned to the Sun Residence, it was already filled with friends and guests.
Those students who had learned from him in Changning County came rushing over when they heard the news of their teacher’s wedding. All those who could make it were here.
Even his former colleagues and gentry from the county were present, having heard the news of Sun Siwen’s promotion and marriage to the Prefect’s daughter, either sending congratulations or coming in person.
As for the people from Shaoyang Prefecture, there was no need to mention them.
Former colleagues from Wugang County and the city’s gentry, of course, would not miss the wedding of the city’s top official’s daughter and the fifth-ranked official.
With everyone gathered at the Sun Residence, there were hundreds of people in attendance.
There were loud sounds and a joyous atmosphere. It was indeed lively.
After the greeting and entertaining guests, it was already dark. Lu Yuan helped to ward off those who came to offer alcohol and play pranks in the bridal room and said to his slightly dizzy friend, “Brother Sun, the night is short, and the bride awaits. Don’t keep her waiting for too long. Go on, I’ll take care of things here.”
“Thank you, Brother Lu.”
Sun Siwen’s face was flushed, but it was unclear whether it was from embarrassment or excitement.
He glanced gratefully at Lu Yuan and then, as if granted amnesty, rushed lightly towards the backyard.
With the host leaving, the remaining guests stayed for a while before gradually departing..