The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 644 - 642: Wedding

Chapter 644: Chapter 642: Wedding

Jinchai never liked red clothes before, but today, dressed in a pink outfit, she felt suffocated all the same.

In this world, as soon as one becomes a concubine, one’s status is only slightly higher than that of an ordinary maid in the presence of the old masters.

From now on, she would no longer be eligible to wear red clothes.

Even if she wanted to wear them, she would likely have to hide in her room and secretly indulge herself.

Only when something is lost does one realize its value. The items Jinchai once scorned now seemed dear to her.

As soon as Lady Qian entered the room, she saw the impatience and nervousness on Jinchai’s face as she sat there, clutching a piece of red silk, which was so bright it hurt one’s eyes and heart.

The mother and daughter exchanged glances. Jinchai lowered her head and absentmindedly picked out jewelry from the dressing table.

Lady Qian, carrying a plate of pastries, wrapped them in a clean cloth and handed them to Jinchai, "Today is your big day, so it’s not good to go to the restroom or run around."

"If you get hungry after you get into the sedan chair, just sneak out and eat them, one bite at a time—they won’t take up any space."

While combing Jinchai’s hair, she continued to nag, "After you get married, you must live a good life, understand?"

Jinchai’s eyes reddened. Now she truly felt scared.

She grabbed Lady Qian’s hand, "Mother, I’m scared. I don’t want to marry Lord Gao. Can I?"

Tears immediately streamed down Lady Qian’s face as she said with a hoarse voice, "Silly girl, it’s out of our hands now! That’s not just any family; that’s the County Magistrate’s home! You, being the newcomer—even if Boss Gao favors you, you must be careful!"

Jinchai sat there, tears streaming down her cheeks, washing away the rouge and creating two tracks.

After Lady Qian finished combing her hair and touching up her makeup, she covered her head with the bridal veil and waited for the person sent by Wang Yongan to come pick her up.

Lady Qian should have gone out to take care of the many things awaiting her attention, but how could she let go when her daughter was about to be sent away?

She steeled her heart, pulled out a piece of Silver Pieces from inside her cotton-padded jacket, and stuffed it into Jinchai’s hand, "This is for you. Keep it safe. Jinchai, don’t worry, I’ll keep your room just for you—no one else will be allowed to stay."

Before Jinchai could give much thought to anything, she heard the bustle outside.

Lady Qian hurried out and closed the door behind her to check the situation at the entrance to the courtyard.

Sure enough, after a while, Lady Qian ran to the door under the eaves and knocked, "Come out quickly; they’ll be here any moment."

Jinchai couldn’t sit still either and was helped to her feet by Lady Qian, looking apparently stable but trembling all over!

She slowly stepped out of the room.

When she arrived at the courtyard gate, she saw two sedan chairs placed at the front door.

Beside the sedan chair was an old Granny dressed like a nanny, lifting the sedan curtain and inviting Jinchai to get in.

Underneath the red bridal veil, Jinchai’s eyes were frantic. She tried to calm herself, knelt to kowtow to Wang Yongan and Lady Qian, bidding farewell to her parents before getting into the sedan chair.

The old Granny exchanged a few pleasantries with Wang Yongan and then signaled for the sedan chair to be carried away.

Only when the sedan chair had gone a considerable distance did Jinchai hear Lady Qian’s loud wailing.

Pulling the corners of her mouth, Jinchai hugged the bundle in her hand, which was all she owned.

...

Wang Yongzhu was intent on listening more, but when Old Granny Zhang came in, she busied herself with instructing Xiao Tiantian to keep watch and report back in detail when she was free.

She stood up, "Mom, I am really not wronged! Even if this hadn’t happened, Brother Song and I would have gotten married soon, right? What does it matter if it’s a few days earlier or later?"

She truly didn’t mind, but seeing that Old Granny Zhang was very concerned, she quickly changed the subject, "Mom, you came just in time. Could you help me with a nice hair bun? I don’t know how to do it!"

These words scratched right where Old Granny Zhang itched. Although she was a peasant’s wife, she too had been young once and had learned how to style hair skillfully.

In the past, quite a few young ladies and brides had asked her to do their hair for their weddings.

Decades had flown by, and ever since giving birth to Yongzhu, she had seldom taken on that task. Now, feeling her daughter’s trust and reliance, she suddenly reclaimed some of that old feeling.

First, she combed through the hair with a comb, ran it again with a finer comb, and then used the comb dipped in fragrant waters before combing again, resulting in tight and smooth hair that would not get disheveled even during sleep, maintaining its style for several days.

Just as she finished the hair bun and fixed some hairpins, the bustle outside picked up; it was the bridal procession that Song Chongjin had arranged coming their way.

Upon hearing this, Old Granny Zhang panicked slightly, hurriedly covered Wang Yongzhu with the bridal veil, and comforted her, "My girl, don’t be afraid! We’ll be following along with you!"

As she spoke, she stuffed a box into Wang Yongzhu’s hands, giving her all the savings she had accumulated over the years to Old Granny Zhang.

"You’re getting married now, and I, being a stranger in Qi City, don’t have the time to gather a dowry for you! Then I thought, we won’t be staying long in Qi City after finishing our tasks; we’ll leave, so why bother buying those fancy but useless things?"

"When we go back home, carrying a bunch of stuff would also be tiring. Can’t we just buy whatever we need when we return to the town?"

"So, I might as well hand over all of my savings to you! Consider it your dowry!" Old Granny Zhang patted Wang Yongzhu’s hand.

Wang Yongzhu opened the box, inside of which were silver notes, clearly scraped together by Old Granny Zhang with great effort.

She appreciated the sentiment, but how could she accept Old Granny Zhang’s money?

She was just about to refuse when the distant sound of suonas approached, lively and celebratory, coming their way.

Indeed, it wasn’t long before Jinhoo, who had been waiting at the entrance, barked and ran inside to tell Wang Yongzhu that the bridal procession had arrived.

Song Chongjin, dressed in a red groom’s robe, looked strikingly handsome on his tall horse, gleaming like a light source on the dimly lit streets, attracting many gazes.

He had hired more than a dozen suona players, who played noisily and festively from the courtyard all the way to the inn.

The suona troupe played in front of the inn for a while, then took a rest on the spot.

Song Chongjin entered the courtyard unobstructed.

Upon entering, he met the sight of Wang Yongzhu stepping out delicately and gracefully under the red bridal veil, his eyes instantly fixed on her.

An involuntary smile spread across his face, and he quickly approached Wang Yongzhu, took her hand, and led her into the adjoining room.

In the room, Old Granny Zhang and Wang Laozhu sat in the upper seats.

Dressed in brand-new clothes, Old Granny Zhang didn’t even dare to move much, fearing she would damage her outfit.

Wang Laozhu looked better, speaking louder.

He looked around, "You’ve all come—" he said.

Jinhoo had already placed mats in front of them.

Carefully, alongside Song Chongjin, they kneeled down for the ceremonial farewell to the parents.