The marriage between Wang Yuan and Song Ling'er combined the etiquette of the Han and Zhong ethnic groups, including etiquette such as accepting gifts, asking for names, and divination, as well as the traditional customs of the Zhong family.
On the wedding day, Wang Yuan, as the groom, did not go to the Song family to pick up the bride. Instead, he sent a team to welcome the bride. The bride's side held a grand banquet, which could last for three days. Even after the bride had left, relatives, friends and guests would still be busy at the bride's natal home.
A pleasure.
Song Ling'er wore a red embroidered blouse with more than ten layers of lining, but it didn't look too bulky. She only held up her batik pleated skirt, which looked a bit like the whalebone skirt of a European medieval noblewoman.
There is no phoenix crown, no red hijab, Song Ling'er wears a colorful square scarf on her head. She is covered with silver ornaments, which jingle as she walks, and even reflect the dazzling light when the sun shines on her.
"Mom, you are so beautiful today!" Wang Ce praised sincerely.
Song Ling'er bent down and picked up her son, kissed her on the face and said, "Ace is very handsome today."
In fact, the wedding team sent by Wang Yuan had already arrived yesterday afternoon.
Among the wedding team, there are four people named Mingli, who are responsible for the wedding etiquette and hand over the bride price and dowry. They also brought a pair of white geese (geese are hard to find), which is a Han custom; and a pair of small live pigs, which are Zhong
vulgar.
There are four other boys and girls, who deliver the Luan Book to welcome the bride on behalf of the groom, and receive the Geng Book (the bride’s birthday and horoscopes) from the bride’s side.
After all the procedures are completed, the wedding team will enjoy a banquet at the Song family, stay one night at the Song family, and choose an auspicious time to pick up the bride the next day.
"Madam, Master, the auspicious time has come." The maid came in to report.
The maid's name is Ajia, and she has no surname. She is born with an unattractive appearance, but she is good at five big things and three big things. She can follow Song Ling'er on the battlefield, and she is usually responsible for leading horses and holding swords with her attendants.
Song Ling'er immediately stood up, hugged her son and walked out.
"Miss!"
Thirteen guards stood outside the door, greeting each other in unison.
Song Ling'er said: "Bring the horse here."
These thirteen guards have been with Song Ling'er for many years and are now going to the Wang family as dowries.
Wang Yuan also knew some of them. They had been ordered to follow Song Ling'er since they were young, but now only five of them are dead. Achai has a long scar on his face, Awang's left leg is somewhat unsafe, and the other three are also injured.
.
The other eight people were all recruited by Song Linger when he returned to Guizhou. At that time, more than 20 personal guards were recruited, and they were either dead or disabled, and only these eight people remained.
Achai brought a Longkeng horse, which was a Shuixi horse that grew up in Yanglongkeng and was also known as the "Water West Dragon Horse". There were many colorful decorations on the horse. Song Ling'er put her son on the horse's back, and she
He quickly got on his horse and shook the reins: "Drive!"
The maid Aja and the thirteen bodyguards immediately followed on horseback. They were fully armed and wearing armor, as if they were going to fight.
Whether it was the team sent by Wang Yuan to welcome the bride, or the Song clan members who sent the bride off to watch the excitement, they were not surprised by such a hard-core formation, because Song Ling'er had already established a reputation in Guizhou.
Song Ling'er's personal martial arts skills are not strong, and her military command is not necessarily very sophisticated. She just treats her soldiers well, giving them enough food and wages to make them full. At the same time, she manages the army very strictly, with clear rewards and punishments. In battles, she returns first and the soldiers rush forward -
—So the casualty rate of the guards was extremely high.
As long as you do this, you can crush most of the chieftains and generals in Guizhou.
After several consecutive great victories, Guizhou people respectfully called her Lady Song, Lady Song, and the troops under her command were also called Lady Soldiers and Lady Soldiers.
It was less than a hundred miles from Song's Beiya to Zhazuo County. But most of it was a mountainous road. The wedding team also carried a lot of dowry. They traveled during the day and slept in the open at night. They walked for two full days and finally arrived.
The residents of Zazuo County are mostly from ethnic minorities, including the Zhong, Miao, Dong and Yi ethnic groups. There are also many Chuanqing people who have settled down in the mountains.
As soon as the wedding team arrived, people came to watch the fun and gave advice and comments to Song Ling'er.
In Guizhou, it is not uncommon for a bride to get married on horseback, but it is rare for her to take her son with her. What's more, the maids and guards behind her are all on horseback, carrying swords and arrows.
Entering the county town without city walls, Song Ling'er quickly saw the Zhuangyuan Archway.
Passing through the archway, not far away is the Wang family. The plaque is engraved with the three characters "No. 1 Scholar".
Since the Wang family's house is not big, ordinary banquets are held outside the house. A few days ago, they started to hold flowing banquets, and beggars could come to eat. It all depends on the guest's wishes.
There were also some banquets held in the house, but identity verification was required and proper gifts were given before entering.
At this time, Han wedding etiquette was restored.
From the door to the inner hall, cotton bags were spread along the way so that the bride's feet could not touch the ground.
Wang Yuan stood at the door wearing a wedding robe. Song Ling'er pointed: "Ace, that's your father."
Wang Ce looked carefully and shouted happily: "Abba!"
After Wang Yuan returned to Guizhou, he abided by the etiquette and customs of the Han family and did not visit his wife and children in Song's Beiya. Anyway, the wedding date had already been set, and it was only a few days away. He was still busy going home to prepare for the wedding.
Seeing that his son had grown so big and had the head of a tiger, Wang Yuan walked over with joy on his face, took his son off the horse, touched him here and there and said, "Ce'er is so good!"
Wang Yuan held his son in one hand, and took Song Ling'er off the horse with the other hand, leading her to the church with her feet on the cloth bag.
The Guizhou garrison eunuchs, officials of the third division, generals of the guard, all who could come, as well as many fellow students and scholars, were all having a banquet in the house at the moment.
Even the two leaders of the Shuixi'an clan (one of the three brothers was dead) also sent people to send congratulatory gifts. They only asked Wang Yuan to say a few kind words in the court so that they could inherit the post of comfort envoy of Zuoxuan in Guizhou.
Only Mr. Song did not come, because he was from his mother's family, and the woman's side was also hosting a banquet.
In the inner hall, Wang Quan and Wang Jiang were sitting in the high hall, and their sister Wang Wei stood aside to watch the ceremony. The eldest brother and sister-in-law were in the hall to greet the guests, responsible for the male guests and female guests respectively.
Wang Meng came to the table of officials from the Third Division, raised his glass and said, "Sirs, my hospitality is not good enough, I would like to thank Haihan. On behalf of the groom, I would like to propose a toast to you all. Have a good meal and drink today."
The chief envoy Chen Yong stood up and said: "I also wish the royal minister and his wife a deep love and a happy marriage for a hundred years!"
The officials of the three departments stood up one after another, each said some auspicious words, raised their glasses and drank it all.
Wang Meng went to pay homage to the eunuchs and military attachés again. The guarding eunuch was very enthusiastic and wished he could be the grandson of the Wang family.
Lin Maoda, the left political councilor of Guizhou, heard the flattery of the eunuch at the next table and immediately laughed in a low voice: "This eunuch is usually arrogant, but today he is respectful and respectful when he arrives at the Wang family."
"The royal family of Wang Shilang is prosperous, so how can he not be flattered by eunuchs?" Chen Yong said.
During the Zhengde period, there was not only one chief envoy in Guizhou, but also only one who participated in politics.
Lin Maoda, the left political advisor, is a native of Fujian. He was born in the Lin family of Putian. His father Lin Sicheng was also a Jinshi. This person's situation is similar to Chen Yong. He worked as a supervisory censor in Beizhili and a deputy supervisory envoy in Huguang. Both of them offended too many people with their unselfishness.
, was thrown into a remote place in Guizhou to serve as an official.
However, Lin Maoda's ancestors had been officials for several generations and had accumulated countless connections. He would definitely be promoted in a few years, but Chen Yong could only rely on himself.
As soon as Wang Yuan returned to his hometown, countless officials fawned over him, and Chen Yong, who was selfless and considerate, was moved by his thoughts.
The commander-in-chief of Guizhou has been replaced. Li Sanlang's father retired due to injury. The new commander-in-chief of Guizhou is named Yang Ren. This guy is worse at war than Li Ying's father. He rose to power by bribing the eunuchs who guarded the country. At this moment, he is fawning over Wang Meng, who is only a member of Qianhu.
While the generals were shouting and punching, Wang Yuan's classmate, who was much more elegant, began to make drinking orders there.
There were four tables occupied by these classmates alone, and a dozen of them wanted to follow Wang Yuan to Beijing—all of them failed to pass the exam and wanted to do some random errands.
It was dark and drunk outside, but Wang Yuan and Song Ling'er had already entered the bridal chamber, and there was also a son who followed them as a light bulb.
"Abba, grandma said you can shoot a two-stone bow, is it true?" Wang Ce asked with admiration as he sat in his father's arms.
Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Abba will drive it to you tomorrow."
Wang Ce asked again: "What does the little Mongolian prince look like?"
Wang Yuan said: "Short and stocky, with beards, he is not good-looking."
Wang Ce asked again: "My grandma said that I have a younger brother in the capital. Can he speak?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Alright. When you go to the capital, you can play with your brother."
Wang Ce asked again: "Can I take the mouse to the capital?"
Song Ling'er suddenly interrupted: "The mouse is the bamboo bear raised at home."
Wang Yuan said: "Beijing doesn't have that much bamboo. If you bring mice here, you might starve to death."
Wang Ce said: "The mouse does not need to eat bamboo. It also eats fruits and dried meat."
Wang Yuan said: "But it has no company in the capital. If it stays in Guizhou, the mouse can go to the bamboo forest to find friends to play by itself."
"Oh." Wang Ce was a little disappointed.
Song Ling'er had finished taking off the heavy silver ornaments all over her body, and sat next to her husband and son and said: "A Ce, the mouse will also get married and have children in the future. If he stays in Guizhou, he will go to the bamboo forest as he likes, and there will be people to give him at home if he likes.
It needs something to eat. Grandma will ask someone to take care of it. When you go home to visit relatives later, you can continue to play with the mouse."
Wang Ce's mood improved slightly, and he asked again: "Abba, mom said that the capital is so big, much, much bigger than Guizhou. Is that true?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "It's true."
Wang Ce asked again: "Abba..."
Probably because when father and son met for the first time, Wang Ce had endless things to say, just like a small talker.
A family of three were eating and talking in the bridal chamber.
The banquet outside was dispersed, and Wang Ce finally fell asleep in his father's arms and was carried to the next room to continue sleeping.
"Ling'er," Wang Yuan returned to the bridal chamber and hugged Song Ling'er and said, "I said I would ask your majesty to grant the marriage, and now I finally did it."
Although Song Ling'er was moved, she said stubbornly: "But I still want to continue leading the troops. If I go to the capital with you, I won't be able to fight."
Wang Yuan said amusedly: "Is the war more important, or me?"
Song Ling'er didn't answer, but just asked: "Then when you go to war in the future, can you take me with you?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Other battles may not be possible, but there will soon be a big battle that can satisfy you.
"What kind of battle?" Song Ling'er asked.
Wang Yuan said: "Someone is planning to rebel. His Majesty asked me to stop by to calm things down. The teacher is also over there. I wonder if the rebel can hold on until I can lead the troops."