One day later, it was the day that Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua got married. This wedding was considered a grand event in Wancheng. The Liu clan, the ministers of the court and even the nobles of Wancheng, all the prominent people came to attend.
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Liu Xiu's mansion has been flooded with guests since morning. The gifts received cannot be placed in one room and need to be placed in several rooms.
Liu Liang came to Liu Xiu's house early. Liu Xiu's father had died long ago. As his uncle, Liu Liang single-handedly raised him up. He and Liu Xiu were named uncle and nephew, but they were actually father and son.
Liu Xiu, wearing a bright red brocade dress, came to the lobby, knelt down in front of Liu Liang in a polite manner, and listened to the elders' admonitions and encouragement. This was the Jiaozi ceremony.
Liu Liang looked at Liu Xiu and couldn't help but feel filled with emotion. He had always regarded Liu Xiu as his little son. At first, when he had just adopted Liu Xiu, he was just a little baby. In the blink of an eye, he was about to start a family and start a business.
"Axiu, after you get married, you will truly grow up. No matter what you do in the future, you must think twice and put your family first."
"My nephew, please remember your uncle's teachings." Liu Xiu kowtowed forward.
Liu Liang stepped forward, pulled Liu Xiu up, and said, "Get up quickly!"
Liu Xiu stood up, bowed to Liu Liangshen again, then turned around and walked out.
Zhu You, Feng Yi, Wang Ba and others were all waiting in the courtyard outside. When they saw Liu Xiu coming out, they all stepped forward to greet him and said with a smile: "My lord, you are so energetic today!"
Liu Xiu also smiled and looked at Zhu You and others. They were all wearing new clothes and looked sleek and smooth.
Today they serve Liu Xiu as Qing. There was no such thing as best man in the Han Dynasty. The so-called best man was named Qing, and the bridesmaid was named Ying.
The group of them left the mansion and went outside. The ceremonial guards, floats, and drum bands for welcoming the bride were all ready, and they were banging and banging all the way to Zhuangzi outside the city.
There was no words all the way. When he arrived at Zhuangzi's door, Feng Yi turned around and waved to Long Yuan behind him.
Long Yuan was stunned for a moment before showing a look of sudden realization. He patted his head, then hurriedly turned around, took out a golden goose from the bag tied to the saddle, and handed it to Liu Xiu.
This is the Zhi gift. Zhi gift is one of the wedding customs. It is a gift given to the bride’s family when the groom comes to pick up the bride.
In the customs of the Han Dynasty, the etiquette was fixed, that is, the gift of a goose, no matter how good or noble it was, would be regarded as bad luck and cause dissatisfaction with the bride's family.
Of course, the material of the goose can be changed. Ordinary families and small households usually give copper geese as gifts. Only wealthy families choose to give gold geese.
At present, Liu Xiu is also a partial general, so naturally he can't get rid of copper geese. The golden geese he sent are not gold-plated, but pure gold.
Liu Xiu dismounted, took the golden goose handed over by Long Yuan, held it in both hands, and walked to the gate of Zhuangzi.
Yinshi and Yinxing had been waiting outside the gate of Zhuangzi for a long time. Together with them, there were many relatives of the Yin family and guests who came to congratulate them.
Seeing Liu Xiu walking over with the golden goose in his hands, the faces of the two brothers Yinshi and Yinxing suddenly showed joy, and they happily welcomed Liu Xiu into the village.
Entering the lobby of Zhuangzi's vestibule, Liu Xiu paid homage to Yin Lu, and at the same time respectfully sent Zhi Li to Yin Lu.
Yin Lu nodded with satisfaction and asked Yin Shi to accept Liu Xiu's gift.
On the other side, Yin Lihua, dressed in wedding attire, also walked out of the boudoir. The girls who were her bridesmaids today were all rich ladies from wealthy families, and each looked more delicate than the other. However, when they walked together, The first thing Liu Xiu saw was Yin Lihua, and after that, there was no one else in his eyes.
At that time, the bride did not have the custom of covering her head. Looking up, Yin Lihua was wearing a golden corolla on her head, which was made of pure gold. The petals were gold leaves, the buds were gold wires, and golden colored glaze hung on both sides. Sound.
Looking at her face, she has slender eyebrows, bright eyes, a tall nose, pretty lips, and a little bright red flower in the center of her eyebrows, which has the effect of adding a finishing touch to her eyebrows, making her look gorgeous. , like a fairy that just fell from the sky.
She was wearing a bright red outer robe, and underneath was a bright red robe with a curved skirt. The tight-fitting skirt outlined Yin Lihua's curvy figure, and the loose robe made her look dignified, elegant, noble and majestic.
Seeing such beautiful and unparalleled Yin Lihua, not to mention Liu Xiu, Zhu You, Feng Yi, Wang Ba and others were also stunned. Yin Shi approached Liu Xiu and secretly pulled her. Pull down his sleeves.
Liu Xiu finally came to his senses. He coughed dryly and covered up the embarrassment on his face. Then he walked up to Yin Lihua and stretched out his hand. Liu Xiu was staring at Yin Lihua just now, and Yin Lihua was also looking at Liu Xiu. .
I haven't seen Liu Xiu for a while. Compared with before, Liu Xiu's skin is a little darker and she is a little thinner, but she is a lot stronger and her figure looks more slender and majestic.
At the same time, he has a little more vicissitudes of life, a little more maturity and stability.
If Liu Xiu looked like a big boy before, now he has grown into a real man. Tenacity, tolerance, flexibility and flexibility, these excellent qualities can be found in him.
Looking at Liu Xiu's stretched out hand, Yin Lihua slowly took it, and then was pulled by Liu Xiu to walk closer to Yin Lu. The two of them knelt down together and kowtowed to Yin Lu.
Yin Lu's eyes were wet and red, and he flicked the moisture from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves. When Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua stood up, the old man choked and said, "Axiu, I will leave Lihua... to you."
Liu Xiu's face straightened and she said, "Uncle, don't worry, Uncle Wen will definitely live up to Lihua in this life!"
Seeing Yin Lu nodded, Liu Xiu held Yin Lihua's hand again and walked out.
After leaving the gate of Zhuangzi, Yin Lihua got into the float, while Liu Xiu was still riding a horse. The relatives and friends from the Yin family went to see off the bride, and the relatives and friends from the Liu family came to pick up the bride. The two sides met halfway, and then they blocked the carriage.
The so-called barrier car is to block the float and not let it go. The groom will not let the float go, and the bride will not let it go until the bride has given enough red envelopes.
The tradition of red envelopes in China has been around for a long time. It had already gone away during the Han Dynasty, but it was not called red envelopes at that time, but instead asked for money directly.
Along the way, the procession of seeing off and picking up the bride was also cheerful. They entered Wancheng and arrived at Liu Xiu's mansion in a playful manner.
Entering the hall, the wedding ceremony was held. Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua first worshiped the gods, gods, and ancestors, then worshiped their elder Liu Liang, and finally the couple worshiped each other.
After the ceremony, the best man and the bridesmaid brought a copper basin filled with water. Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua washed their hands in the same basin. This was the Wo wash ceremony.
During the Han Dynasty, people attached great importance to cleanliness. Regardless of whether they were poor or poor, every household was kept clean. As long as conditions allowed, almost every house was spotless.
After washing their hands, Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua sat across from each other, with Liu Xiu sitting on the west side and Yin Lihua sitting on the east side. This way of sitting means the intersection of yin and yang.
After that, the servants of the house brought wine and meat dishes. Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua had to drink the same wine and eat the same dish. What is emphasized here is that husband and wife are one and love each other.
Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua each drank half a glass of wine first, then they exchanged glasses and drank the remaining half of the wine in the other's glass.
This is the Heyin ceremony, which means that the husband and wife are of the same mind. Later, the Heyin ceremony evolved into a cup of wine.
After the marriage ceremony, the best man and bridesmaid came forward again and used small scissors to cut off a strand of hair on each of Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua's heads, exchanged them with each other, and then put the other's hair in their personal brocade bags.
This process is called hair binding, and the so-called hair binding couple comes from this.
After tying their hair, Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua became officially husband and wife. Afterwards, Yin Lihua was sent to the bridal chamber, while Liu Xiu stayed in the vestibule to entertain guests.
Since there were too many guests today, not only the lobby was full, but also the courtyard was filled with guests.
Just when Liu Xiu, Zhu You and other groomsmen were exchanging glasses with the guests, a sharp chant came from outside the courtyard gate: "The imperial edict has arrived——"
The guests present were all startled. They froze on the spot and did not come back to their senses for a long time.
When the eunuch in the chamber came in from the outside holding the imperial edict high, Liu Xiu was the first to kneel down. Immediately afterwards, the guests around him woke up from a dream, and people knelt down in cheers.
The eunuch in charge looked around at everyone present, then opened the imperial edict and read Liu Xuan's edict loudly.
Liu Xuan's imperial edict first praised Liu Xiu greatly, saying that he was "benevolent, righteous, courteous, wise and trustworthy, gentle, courteous and thrifty". Anyway, he used whatever good words there were. In the end, the imperial edict mentioned that Liu Xiu was granted the title of "Liu Xiu".
Wu Xinhou.
When the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, everyone's faces showed surprise.
They originally thought that Liu Xiu had lost power in the court, but they did not expect that His Majesty would confer a title on Liu Xiu on his wedding day, giving him a double happiness. This shows that he still has great favor and trust for Liu Xiu.
At this time, the way people looked at Liu Xiu changed a bit. The guests who were facing Liu Xiu with arrogance just now suddenly turned into humble faces. It is human nature to praise the superior and suppress the inferior. Especially here
, the abnormality is obvious.
After the eunuch read out the imperial edict, Liu Xiu had to quickly accept it, but Liu Xiu knelt there and did not move for a long time. The eunuch looked puzzled and couldn't help but leaned forward and whispered:
"Marquis Wu Xin, take the order quickly!"
Isn't it because you are so happy and so happy?!
Liu Xiu raised his head, his face expressionless, neither happy nor unhappy. He raised his hands, accepted the imperial edict, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty for your kindness!"
After getting up, Liu Xiu asked Liu Quan to reward the eunuch. The latter weighed his bulging money bag and said to Liu Xiu with a smile on his face: "Oh, Marquis Wu Xin is too polite. How can this make this slave so embarrassed!"
He said this, but his hands were not idle and he stuffed the money bag directly into his cuffs.
After sending the eunuchs away, Liu Xiu continued to entertain the guests. At this time, Wang Feng, who was red in the face after drinking, came over and said with a smile: "Uncle Wen, what do you think? I'll just say it. Your Majesty is going to make you a marquis. Can I say that?" Wrong?"
Liu Xiu looked up and smiled, cupped his hands and said, "If Duke Cheng had not spoken kindly for me in front of Your Majesty, I'm afraid I wouldn't have received this title."
As he spoke, he asked Zhu You on the side to pour two glasses of wine and said, "Mr. Cheng Guo, let me toast you!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Seeing Liu Xiu accepting his favor, Wang Feng was in a better mood. He and Liu Xiu toasted each other and drank the wine in one gulp.
In the eyes of the guests, Liu Xiu was blessed with a double happiness today. He not only married Yin Lihua, who was known as the most beautiful woman in the world, but was also conferred the title of Marquis of Wu Xin by the emperor. It was hard to find many people with such splendor in the whole court. indivual.
However, only Liu Xiu understood in his heart that Liu Xuan gave himself the title of Marquis of Wuxin out of pure heart to disgust himself and to bring bad luck to himself.