mtl008 Chapter 260 Getting Married
Chapter 260 Getting Married
Both families were busy. The Ning family was busy marrying off their daughter, while the Chu Prince's Mansion was busy welcoming a new master. They were busy with purchases and expansions. Both families had a good reputation among the people, and everyone helped them out.
On the day of the wedding, fresh ingredients were sent from the village to congratulate the host on the wedding. Some villagers would also secretly place eggs or vegetables at their door early in the morning. Ever since the first time this was discovered, the old Duke had people keep watch at the door. If villagers brought things, they should not refuse them, but they must give them a red envelope.
They weren't giving gifts for money, of course, but when they heard it was celebratory money, which was a good thing to share in the joy, no one refused. There wasn't much of it, as long as the common people wouldn't suffer any loss. The same was true at the Chu Prince's residence.
The wedding day finally arrived.
Although this wasn't Gu Qingwan's first time experiencing marriage, it was completely different from the previous time. At this moment, she felt uneasy, afraid that all of this was just a dream. She didn't want to fall asleep, afraid that the dream would suddenly end and that she would never wake up again.
"Who goes there!" Gu Qingwan sat up alertly, clearly someone had been outside! She quickly opened the door and saw a person dressed in black, completely covered up except for their eyes.
Even with only his eyes showing, Gu Qingwan could recognize that the person was Xiao Yuheng.
"What are you here for?"
"Qingwan, if you regret it, I can take you away."
"Hehe, that's hilarious. Dressed like that, you sneak into my Ningguo Duke's mansion at night. Do you have some unspeakable secret?"
"Don't think like that. I came here just to see you. You should know that Uncle Chu is not what you see. He may look respectable on the surface, but he is actually the most ruthless. I'm doing this for your own good. Qingwan, come with me."
"Go with you? And then what?"
Seeing that Gu Qingwan seemed to be softening her stance, Xiao Yuheng thought there was hope and said, "I will arrange for you to live in one of my estates for a while, and once things have calmed down, I will change your name and surname..."
"To be your concubine? Hahhh, how dare you give up being a princess to be your concubine!"
Xiao Yuheng's face turned red with embarrassment at Gu Qingwan's sharp retort. "Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so I'll have to take you away tonight!"
Gu Qingwan glanced at him disdainfully. Xiao Yuheng changed his palm into a claw, trying to grab Gu Qingwan. Gu Qingwan turned her hand to meet the palm force directly, and with her other hand, she clenched her fist and punched Xiao Yuheng in the chest. Her powerful internal force sent Xiao Yuheng flying backward.
Looking again, Gu Qingwan remained completely unmoved.
"Xiao Yuheng, you've been neither good at literature nor martial arts since you were young. Where do you get the confidence that you can catch me?" Gu Qingwan mocked.
Xiao Yuheng seemed somewhat annoyed, but he soon noticed that his personal maid had come over.
"Master, hurry! Someone's coming!" The guards quickly appeared and blocked Siqi and Ning Yi and Ning Er's attack.
Although Xiao Yuheng was somewhat unwilling, he knew he was no match for her, and his blood and qi had been churning from Gu Qingwan's attack.
"go!"
Seeing that Ning Yi and the others were about to chase after him, Gu Qingwan said, "Don't chase him. I know who he is. I will deal with him properly in the future."
"Please forgive us, Miss. We were not adequately guarded." Siqi and Ning Yi and Ning Er knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.
"Don't blame yourselves, blame the other side for being so despicable!"
Siqi was worried and didn't go back to sleep, but instead made do with sleeping in the small room outside Gu Qingwan's room.
Gu Qingwan was no longer sleepy. She hadn't expected that Xiao Yuheng was still so greedy, wanting to take her away even after all this.
And so, Gu Qingwan endured until the next day. Before dawn, the embroiderer was invited to the Ning family to make final adjustments to Gu Qingwan's wedding dress.
"Miss, this wedding dress looks better if it's a bit tight. Please try to control your appetite and don't eat from now on."
"There's no need for that. Let's relax a bit. It's a whole day, so it's better to be comfortable," Gu Qingwan said.
"This……"
Madam Ning stepped forward to take over the work of tidying up the wedding dress from the embroiderer, saying, "It is a lot of suffering for a woman to get married. She has to kowtow and perform rituals. Embroiderer, please relax a little and let our bride get married comfortably."
The embroiderer had never seen a bride like this before. Most brides were dressed to look beautiful, but the Princess of Chu was dressed to be comfortable.
"Alright then, I'll go down and make some alterations right away. You can wear it once you've finished dressing, Miss."
"Then I'll bother you."
At this moment, the lady of good fortune whom her maternal grandmother had invited arrived to comb her hair.
A "Full-Blessed Wife" is, as the name suggests, a very fortunate person. Such a person is hard to find. She must have living parents, living parents-in-law, a healthy husband, both children, and herself be healthy and worry-free. Only such a person can be considered a "Full-Blessed Wife".
"Oh dear, Madam, do you know if I'm late? On such a joyous occasion, if it weren't for the inappropriateness of it, I would have stayed with you last night!"
The newcomer had a cheerful voice, and the old lady immediately beamed with joy upon hearing her speak.
"Not too late, not too late, you've arrived just in time. You little rascal, you dare to stay at my house and sleep? I was afraid your lord would come knocking on my door demanding your return!"
The person who came was none other than Lady Gui, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, whom Old Madam Ning had invited.
Gui was a blessed woman, and many families wanted to hire her when their daughters got married. However, Gui was a woman who seemed to have a good temper but was very difficult to get along with. So no matter what official position or title your family held, if she said she wouldn't help, she wouldn't.
This time, because Gui's father had some connections with the old Duke, and Gui was taken care of by Madam Ning for a few days when she was young, and the Ning family had no daughters, she naturally volunteered to come without Madam Ning having to say anything.
"Come, come, Qingwan, come and greet the Lady of the Marquis." Because Gu Qingwan has not yet been formally married, she is still considered a junior.
"Qingwan greets the Lady of the Marquis."
"Oh my, such a beautiful woman, bride, please don't be so formal. Sit down quickly. I'm so lucky to be combing the hair of the only princess of Daqing. I can hold my head high from now on."
“Then from now on, there will be a long line of women waiting to become wives of the Qinghou family at your doorstep,” said Madam Ning.
"I don't care about those people."
A maid from the palace said, "Madam, the auspicious time has arrived. Shall we begin combing the young lady's hair now?"
"Look at me, I was so busy talking that I forgot the time."
After Gui finished speaking, a maidservant came forward to serve her. First, she washed her hands, then wiped them clean, and finally, she burned them over the incense burner. Only then did a nanny offer her a comb.
"One comb to the end, and wealth and prosperity will be yours for life."
Comb your hair twice, and you'll be free from illness and worry;
Comb your hair three times, and you'll have many children and a long life;
Comb it all the way to the end, and you'll be as harmonious as ever;
From the second comb to the last, they fly wing to wing;
Combing the hair three times to the end, may our hearts be forever bound together.
"A life with both beginning and end, sharing wealth and honor in this lifetime."
As the old nanny began chanting, and looking at her youngest daughter's sturdy back as she held her in her hands, Old Madam Ning's eyes reddened.
When Qingwan was first brought to her, she was as thin as a kitten. Her mother died early, and she was so scared that she couldn't sleep at night. Qingwan was always held in her arms and comforted. When she had nightmares, Qingwan was always there for her.
The child had never been in good health. It was his wife who said that living in the capital was too restrictive for the child, so she took him out to seek out a renowned doctor to help him recover. He also trained him in martial arts at the border, which is why he is the radiant child he is today.
Madam Ning recalled the image of her daughter on her wedding day. Qingwan looked just like her mother, so how could the old lady not be reminded of those memories?
"Oh dear, the old lady is not allowed to cry. Today is Qingwan's special day."
“That’s right, Mother. You can’t cry. If Qingwan provokes Cool Cat again, her makeup will have to be redone. What if she scares the groom away when she lifts the veil?” Madam Ning chimed in, trying to amuse her mother-in-law.
The old lady's maid, Fang Mama, took a handkerchief and wiped away her tears. The old lady then smiled and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If he dares to run away, I'll have your father beat him up. As long as the Ning family exists, we won't let you be bullied."
Gu Qingwan was touched. She was the granddaughter of the Ning family, but they treated her like their own. Now that her mother had returned to the Ning family's ancestral hall, she wanted to change her surname to her mother's. However, this matter was quite complicated and required careful consideration.
"Grandmother, Qingwan won't let anyone bully her, so don't worry. Don't cry today either. Aunt Fang has worked so hard to dress you up like a flower, and someone is coming to visit later."
"I'm already an old woman, if I were to grow up like a flower, wouldn't I become an old hag?" Upon hearing this, the old lady stopped crying and was genuinely happy for the child.
Unlike her mother, when Jingxian wanted to marry Gu Ziming, her family did not agree. Now that Prince Chu is a good man of good character, they are naturally at ease.
Madam Gui, a woman of keen intellect, quickly added, "Look how beautiful our little Qingwan is! She's even more stunning than Sister Jingxian. I think she has some of the old lady's charm from back then."
"That's right, I heard that my mother had quite a few suitors when she was young."
"You dare to spread rumors about this? Aren't you afraid your father will be angry with you?" The old lady nodded at the smiling Madam Ning.
"The phoenix coronet and wedding dress have arrived." Baoqin and Ruhua carefully carried the tray forward.
Siqi had already gone ahead to inquire, and Shishu was even busier, having gone early to prepare the young lady's dowry. Baoqin and Ruhua stayed behind to dress up the young lady.
"Alright, alright, Baoqin, you two hurry up and help Miss get dressed. I'll go to the front and greet everyone. It seems almost everyone is arriving," said Madam Ning.
"Go quickly, don't let people say we've neglected our guests. If you're too busy, call your husband and sons to help."
"Mother, please don't worry, it's just that it will be handled by my sister..."
"Oh dear, I'm not an outsider. I'll be serving the old lady here, so you can go about your business with peace of mind." Madam Gui replied with a smile. Seeing Baoqin putting a hairpin in Gu Qingwan's hair, she quickly said, "That's not how you put a hairpin. This hairpin looks best when it's put here."
When Madam Ning saw the kind-hearted Gui, she suddenly felt as if she were seeing her daughter again. The two children used to be the best of friends.
"Go ahead, I'm still here. Just let Guijia come with me. Go now."
"Alright, Mother, I'm off. Qingwan, if you need anything, just send someone to let me know."
"Okay, Auntie."
Just then, the little maid at the door ran over happily, "Miss, Miss, Princess Qinghe and Miss Meng have arrived."
"Oh dear, the princess is here, how about I..." Madam Ning hesitated. The princess was a royal princess, what if she neglected her?
Seemingly noticing her predicament, Gu Qingwan said, "Don't worry, Aunt. Qinghe and Yanran are both my close friends, it's nothing."
She was needed at the front, and all the ladies needed to be taken care of when they arrived, so Madam Ning stopped worrying about it, left one of her maids behind to keep an eye on things, and then left.
"I told you we're late, but you're still dawdling."
"It's not that I'm dawdling, it's not late at all!"
Before they even arrived, they could hear Princess Qinghe and Meng Yanran bickering. The two of them always bickered whenever they were together, but they still seemed to enjoy being with each other.