cite Han

Chapter 136 The Wedding Banquet

Deng Yuan, who was well-decorated and gorgeous like Chunhua, met his stepmother Zhang, and presented a brocade box with several exquisite jade ornaments in both hands, and said in his mouth: "This is the first time my concubine and my aunt met. Prepare a small gift and express your heart."

The glazed hairpin and tortoiseshell hairpin on Zhang's head are all treasures of the South China Sea, but he was not overly happy, and said: "Young Master, you have a heart."

As a gift from Deng Yuan, he said: "Auntie, these accessories are all made of Lantian jade, I hope Auntie likes it."

Lantian jade is produced from Lantian Mountain in Chang'an, and it is the well-deserved number one jade in the world. The Qin Chuan Guoxie is made of Lantian water beryl.Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty used blue field jade to process it into a dove stick, which was bestowed on the old and respected old ministers.

Zheng Dang, the prison slave, once said privately that Mrs. Zhang had a harsh temperament, was greedy for money and was stingy, and had a bad reputation from the outside world. He was not a virtuous person.Her father, Deng You, didn't have a good impression of her. Even Liu Jing had reminded her vaguely.

Deng Yuan was very clever, he knew that if he married into the Liu family, if he wanted to live a peaceful life, he must have a good relationship with the Zhang family.In view of Zhang's money-greedy characteristics, she took out her precious jewelry as a gift to Zhang without hesitation.

When she heard that it was Lantian jade, her stepmother Zhang couldn't help gasping, she was really shocked by Deng Yuan's "sincerity", and said dumbfounded: "Young Master, is this, is this the legendary Lantian jade?"

"Yes." Deng Yuan nodded lightly.

Zhang said insincerely, "Young Master, why did you give me such an expensive gift?"

The production of beautiful jade in Lantian is limited, and most of it is divided up by princes and dignitaries, which is quite rare.Mrs. Zhang has heard her name for a long time, and she never dreamed that one day she would be able to obtain the beautiful jade from Lantian.

In fact, the ornaments on Mrs. Zhang's head are all South China Sea treasures such as jadeite and colored glaze. The value may not be lower than that of Lantian jade, but after all, Lantian jade enjoys the title of "the best jade in the world", which can greatly satisfy Zhang's vanity.

Mrs. Zhang was playing with several pieces of jade ornaments, and she couldn't put them down. The more she looked at Deng Yuan, the more pleasing she was to her eyes. She really deserved to be the daughter of the Deng family in Nanyang, but she was different from ordinary people. She was not only knowledgeable and polite, but also generous. This daughter-in-law Yuan is really very satisfied.

"It's good if Auntie likes it." Then Deng Yuan turned his beautiful eyes and looked at Lai Ci, who was beautiful and charming, and I felt pity for him, and said: "Liu Lang communicated with his concubine before, and he often talked about his sister-in-law, and praised her for being gentle and kind, which is rare in the world. Have."

Lai Ci smiled and shook her head and said: "Zhongda's words are too exaggerated." She saw that although Deng Yuan came from the Nanyang Deng family, a first-class wealthy family in the world, she had no arrogance. Very fond of.

Lai Ci patted his son Liu Qun's head, and said, "Hutou, this is your uncle's wife, hurry up and see your aunt."

"Hutou pays homage to Auntie." Liu Qun kowtowed obediently, then stared fiercely at Deng Yuan with a pair of big round eyes.

"Hutou, why do you keep looking at me?" Deng Yuan deliberately teased him, she also has two nephews, but unfortunately they are too young to speak, so it is difficult to communicate.

Liu Qun replied truthfully: "It looks good."

Deng Yuan almost laughed out loud, thinking that he was indeed Liu Jing's nephew, their uncle and nephew's mouths were as sweet as if they had been smeared with honey.

Deng Yuan was chatting with his stepmother Zhang and sister-in-law Lai Ci in the hall, while there was a lot of noise outside.

The dowry brought by Deng Yuan was continuously transported into Liu's house, and the houses in the west wing where Liu Jing lived were soon filled up.As a last resort, Zhang's north room and Lai Ci's east room were both used, so that they could accommodate all the dowry.

Deng's feigned exuberance made Zhang feel dizzy, and the way he looked at Deng Yuan changed.

…………

Cai Yong's "Doctrine" contains: "Winter solstice. Yang Qi rises, the monarch is long, so congratulations."

Cui Shi's "Monthly Order of the Four People" contains: "During the winter solstice...he drinks to respect the elders, and he thorns to congratulate the king, teacher, and elders, just like the first month."

The winter solstice was a festival of respecting the elderly in the Han Dynasty. In recent years, the custom of presenting socks and shoes to the elders has developed.

In the early morning of the winter solstice, Liu Jing brought his patterned shoes and socks to visit Liu Yong, the patriarch of the Liu clan in Longqiu, and the elders of the clan.

Since today was his big day, after a hasty visit to the elders of the clan, he immediately started to get busy with his own marriage.

As time went by bit by bit, Liu's Wharf became lively, especially in the afternoon, when people gathered from all directions, with hundreds of vehicles, blocking the entrance of Liu Jing's house. , there was a lot of people, and it was extremely noisy.

It is no exaggeration to say that all famous families in Linxiang sent people here, even the Ou family and Wu family who had grievances with Liu Jingsu were no exception, they all sent people to congratulate.

More than 200 people congratulated the officials of Changsha County, the meritorious Cao Huanjie, the central governor Li Yong, the left thief Cao Jicheng, and even the Cao officials.

According to Huan Jie, if nothing unexpected happens, the prefect Zhang Xian will also come to congratulate him in person.

Sure enough, before dusk, Zhang Xian drove from the west and arrived at Liushiwu, accompanied by his son, Linxiang Ling Zhang Yi.Zhang's father and son came together, which can be said to have given Liu Jing enough face.

At dusk, under the cheers and laughter of the guests, amidst the grand bells, drums and five music, Liu Jing took Deng Yuan's hand and walked slowly into the auditorium.

Weddings in the Han Dynasty were born out of "Rituals·Shihunli", and they also have their own characteristics. The main links include worshiping ancestors, getting together, and getting married...

The ceremony of "joining together" is similar to the hand-to-cup wine in later generations. The bride and groom share food, and then the two each hold a ladle and rinse their mouths with wine.

"Tie hair" means to cut off a lock of each other's hair and tie them together to express concentricity. There was a poem by Su Wu in the former Han Dynasty: "Tie hair as husband and wife, and there is no doubt about love and affection." It refers to this.

After the ceremony, Liu Jing and Deng Yuan went out to thank the guests. They first came to the table of Zhang Xian and Zhang Yi and his son to toast and thank them.

Zhang Xian said with a smile: "I have been in Jingnan for a long time. I haven't returned home for more than ten years, but I have heard many times that the daughter of Deng Shizhong is beautiful. When I saw it today, it was true. It is not in vain to marry such a beautiful woman." The pain of running back and forth for months."

Deng Yuan's demeanor was delicate and graceful, and his voice was like that of Huang Ying: "I dare not be praised by the Lord of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Xian said half-jokingly again: "Zhongda, you have got your wish now, but the backlog of documents in the main registry is piled up like a mountain. Everyone in the main registry is looking forward to your return as soon as possible."

Liu Jingdao: "The words of the governor really make the officials extremely ashamed and ashamed."

Zhang Xian said with a smile: "Say this on the occasion of your wedding, maybe it's a disservice to the scenery, but the county government can't be short of you, and the servant can't be short of you."

Liu Jing glanced at Deng Yuan beside him, and said: "The servant will return to the county mansion as soon as possible."

Zhang Xian didn't stay long, drank a glass of wine with Liu Jing and Deng Yuan and left.

As soon as Zhang Xian left, the atmosphere suddenly became active. Not long after, someone shouted with the strength of wine: "Liu Jun, embrace the bride."

As soon as this remark fell, it caused a lot of echoes.

Liu Jing's face darkened when he heard the words.

Many years later, Zhong Changtong said in his book "Chang Yan": "Today's wedding meeting, the stick is used to make fun of the supervisor, and the wine is used to entertain the lust. Among them, there are filthy winds and vulgar customs, prostitution and adultery, nothing worse than this, and it cannot be continued."

It is a custom in the world that the guests will take advantage of the excitement of the bride and groom drinking to instigate them to make some intimate gestures in public, and even disclose their privacy among their relatives.

If it weren't for Liu Jing's reputation and Deng Yuan's family background, the guests wouldn't just instigate "embrace each other".

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the unhealthy tendencies at weddings were already quite serious. It is said that when Emperor Ling was alive, all the guests and wedding parties in the capital would compose "Kui Oak".

"Kuimeng" is the joy of mourning.Elegy is a song for the dead.

It can be said that the country is about to perish, and there must be evildoers!

(End of this chapter)