The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 302 - 142 The Grand Wedding

Chapter 302: Chapter 142 The Grand Wedding

The wedding date was fast approaching, and Xu Qing returned to Jiangning Prefecture first to prepare for the bridal procession and the "bed installation" ceremony.

Upon returning to the large Xu Residence, the Top Scorer’s archway had already been made, and the door lintel was freshly renewed.

In his past life, Xu Qing actually didn’t care much for such matters, deeming them somewhat ostentatious and superficial.

When he studied, his favorite phrase from the books was "Confucius said: ’How admirable was Hui! With a simple bamboo container of food and a gourd-cup of drink, living in a mean alley, others could not have endured his grief. But Hui did not change his joy.’"

The richness of one’s inner world was much more interesting than the satisfaction of material things, and far more fulfilling.

Well, that was because he had never been wealthy in his former life.

Now, he was wealthy in both spirit and material, and he wanted both!

Arriving at the Top Scorer’s estate, Xu Qing went to see his aunt first.

He was actually a bit sentimental; after the marriage, his aunt and uncle would move out completely.

It was not just a matter of Feng Wu getting along with her uncle and aunt; it was also because they were about to have their own children. Living together with Xu Qing would be somewhat inappropriate.

After all, his uncle was an official. Who wouldn’t want to spend their days comfortably in their own home after taking office?

Otherwise, one would have to be obsequious during the day and still cautiously considerate of the nephew when returning home at night, making life joyless.

As with emperor and minister, so with father and son.

It was indeed the same matter.

When a son’s wings are hard, he does not want to listen to his father, the emperor.

"Auntie, the auspicious time for bed installation is the third quarter of the Wei hour."

"Mhm."

Actually, it had been mentioned in the letter; Zhou Family, striving for perfection, mentioned it again.

She happily took Xu Qing to see the bridal couple’s bed.

It weighed at least a thousand catties and cost a fortune to make.

It was elegant and luxurious, with countless delicate carvings on it.

Xu Qing had never seen such a big bed.

Zhou Family said, "Originally, I didn’t want to make it so big, but Mr. Hu and others insisted on chipping in money, repeatedly asking me to find someone to make the most luxurious bed in Jiangning Prefecture."

The wood used was rosewood.

How big was the bed?

Well, this bed could even divide an inner and outer room, with a smaller cot inside for sleeping and a changing area outside, which also had a small cot for the maid to sleep on.

Unfortunately, Feng Wu didn’t have any maids to bring along with her dowry, but her uncle’s family had a young female cousin who was three years younger.

As Zhou Family explained the various functions of the bed and the meanings of the carvings to Xu Qing, she couldn’t help but feel emotional, thinking that two years ago, she wouldn’t have dared to dream of the wealth they had today.

It was like a dream.

She had forgotten what Xu Qing was like before the serious illness.

Previously, she and Old Li had muttered if Xu Qing had been afflicted with something unlucky since waking up, he had become a different person.

But now, occasionally thinking about it, it could hardly be the case. Even if something had possessed him, it must have been a star descended from heaven or the awakening of innate wisdom from a past life.

Aunt and nephew chatted about trivial matters, while Old Li was responsible for the wedding banquet.

He knew his wife was pregnant and would do as much as he could; if he didn’t know how, he’d find someone else, trying not to overburden Zhou Family.

However, Zhou Family was only responsible for supervising the work, all day full of joy, surrounded by flattering words, not getting tired at all.

In her words, marrying into the Li family, the past years were far more tiring than now.

Now was the sweet outcome of hardship.

As Xu Qing and Zhou Family chatted, the auspicious time arrived.

A crowd of people stood around the bed, using all their might to move it to the lucky position.

Xu Qing did not lend a hand.

But he could also tell that this bed was indeed of extraordinary quality, surely able to withstand the activities of married life.

Now that he’s a Martial Arts Master, he could easily break a normal bed if he got too carried away and forgot to control his strength.

It’s clear his aunty had the foresight to see that coming.

Once the bed is placed in the auspicious spot, it’s time to make the bed.

A dragon and phoenix quilt is laid on top, followed by scattering a handful of auspicious fruits such as longan and lotus seeds—more than a dozen varieties that symbolize good fortune. Then children are allowed to tumble around on the bed.

This is, after all, the Top Scorer’s wedding bed. The children who get to roll around on it can bask in the fortune of the stars above.

For in the eyes of the world, if the Top Scorer from South Zhili isn’t a celestial being come to earth, then what is he?

They don’t outright say he’s Wenquxing, that would be to spare the honor of the top scorer.

But in the eyes of the villagers, the Top Scorer from South Zhili is certainly no less esteemed than a top scorer.

If Xu Jieyuan fails to become the top scorer in the future, it would surely be due to the Court officials’ lack of discernment.

Moreover, Yingtian Prefecture is the ancient capital of six dynasties; in terms of grandeur, it’s no small thing.

Indeed, people from South Zhili have always had their grievances towards North Zhili, believing that the country should not have moved the capital to the North. And they’ve been supporting it with the taxes and provisions from the Southeast all this time.

The food they eat, the drink they consume, it’s all nourished by the blood of South Zhili.

Even because they were so literate, in the early years of the country, Southerners often held a significant advantage, which led to resentment from the Northerners and the creation of separate exams for North and South.

As for the learned men who believe that the North is a shield for the South and that the South should rightfully support the North with resources, the Southerners don’t buy that, for they have the mighty river as their natural defense.

History shows us that those who settle for safety in the South eventually meet their demise, but didn’t the Grand Ancestor of this dynasty succeed?

Furthermore, Southern scholars most envy the tax package system of the former dynasty, where the Central Court set a tax amount, and after scholars paid in full, they could manage the rest at their discretion.

That was far more generous than our own era.

Here, the Court outright grants privilege to the scholars, while our current Court is nitpicking and tightfisted, and now even considering a thorough land survey.

Thus, with the gradual revival of the Wenxiang Sect, some local gentry have made peculiar remarks, suggesting they might have been better off if the Wenxiang Sect uprising had succeeded and everyone could assume roles of sect leaders or hall masters for local self-governance.

As for the commoners, they have no understanding of these matters.

The fact that they even know who the Emperor is, is already quite an accomplishment.

This is only because the current Emperor has ruled for quite some time. Had it been a ruler with a short tenure, some folks in remote areas might have remained oblivious to the fact that the Emperor had changed.

The wedding date soon arrives.

The fetching of the bride, the marrying, all make for a lively occasion.

Xu Qing, of course, is never drunken, but he still pretends to weaken early during the wedding feast, eagerness to retire to the bridal chamber evident.

Upon arriving at the chamber, the maid Qiu Xiang bars the door, refusing to open it.

"Old Master, Madam said you must write a poem to her satisfaction before you’re allowed in."

Xu Qing’s face twitches: "Qiu Xiang, you’re supposed to be on my side."

Qiu Xiang laughs from inside: "Old Master, you said it yourself, inside the household Madam is in charge; we wouldn’t dare disobey her."

With no choice left, Xu Qing spontaneously adapts an apt verse:

"Two hearts bound in a single life, yearning to meld as one,

Passion spent in separation, begs the question – for whom does this springtime shine?

With Alms easy to seek at the blue bridge, yet elixirs hard to pursue across azure seas.

If Oxford would but permit a meeting, poverty would be forgotten amidst the bliss."

He had barely finished the poem when the door swung open.

Qiu Xiang looked innocent as can be—not opening the door would have made her the villain keeping the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid apart.

Xu Qing steps in, and then lifts the veil from Feng Wu’s face.

Feng Wu smiles sweetly at him.

Naturally, what follows is a night of fervent passion.

Xu Qing and Feng Wu tested the quality of their expensive bed, indeed it was very durable.

Xu Jieyuan also took the opportunity to evaluate Feng Wu’s progress in the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist, which was, let’s say, passably satisfactory.