Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 687 Big Gift

Song Ying took a deep breath, tightened her fingertips on the cloud-patterned cuffs of her wedding dress, and stood up and got out of the sedan chair.

Through the veil, she couldn't see her surroundings clearly, but she could hear the sound of people. Children were clapping their hands and singing Qingshui County's special wedding poems, while women were shouting, "Auntie Tao, hurry! The groom is back to pick up the bride!"

Many people exclaimed in amazement: "Oh, this wedding dress is so beautiful!"

"Mrs. Song is so beautiful. I wonder how beautiful she will look in this beautiful wedding dress. I'll have to take a good look at her later!"

"Such a beautiful wedding dress must have cost a lot of money. Tsk tsk, everyone says Song Ying is rich, and today I finally see it..."

The voices were so noisy that Song Ying couldn't hear most of it clearly. She lowered her eyes and stared at her toes. Under the guidance of Matchmaker Jin, she carefully stepped over the pot of burning charcoal.

The flames jumped. Although she knew there would be no danger, she was still a little worried about getting burned when she stepped over. After all, the hem of her wedding dress was very long and she seldom wore this kind of dress.

Fortunately, Matchmaker Jin was used to doing these things, so when she crossed her legs, she was very considerate and helped to hold up her skirt.

Crossing the courtyard, Song Ying saw a red paper cutout of the Chinese character "囍" (Happy Birthday) pasted on the threshold of the main hall. As she stepped over it, she felt a gentle tug at her sleeve. Beneath her veil, she caught a glimpse of a bony hand firmly supporting her elbow.

The warmth from the fingertips penetrated through the layers of wedding dress and reached the skin, making it warm and reassuring.

Matchmaker Jin, who was a step behind, chuckled and said, "Oh, this scholar is different from other grooms. He's so considerate!"

The door to the main hall of the Yuan family was not very wide, only wide enough for two people to pass through at the same time, so she, the bridesmaid, could only lag behind by one step.

Everyone around burst into laughter. One woman said loudly, "Of course not! Our Qing boy is very careful and attentive. Otherwise, how could he have passed the imperial examination at such a young age?"

The common people are not as particular about this as the families of officials. For families with grandparents, the newlyweds will pay their respects to their parents together with their parents.

At this time, Mrs. Tao, who was sitting at the head of the table, was smiling with wrinkles all over her face. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop praising them. They are young and don't deserve praise. Hurry up and get married. Don't miss the auspicious time!"

Everyone laughed heartily. Amid the sounds of firecrackers, suona, and gongs and drums, the officiant shouted in a drawn-out voice, "The incense smoke is wisping, the candles are shining, the bride and groom are entering the wedding hall together..."

After paying homage to heaven and earth, the newlyweds are led into the bridal chamber.

Dragon and phoenix wedding candles were burning in the bridal chamber, the candlelight illuminating the red curtains in the room like a flowing sunset glow, and even the air was filled with a sweet and joyful atmosphere.

"It's time to sit down—" Matchmaker Jin dragged out the words and helped Song Ying sit down on the edge of the bed covered with a dragon and phoenix quilt.

Song Ying folded her hands on her knees, the big red veil still blocking her vision, but she could feel the gazes of the people around her, as bright as the candlelight in the room.

Matchmaker Jin handed over a scale wrapped in red silk and said, "Please, groom, lift the veil and live happily ever after!"

Yuan Qing took it and gently lifted a corner of the veil with the scale bar.

The scene in front of him suddenly brightened, and Song Ying subconsciously raised his eyes, his gaze meeting Yuan Qing's directly.

Those dark eyes were as moist as water, reflecting her in her wedding dress.

Full of her only.

Song Ying curved her almond-shaped eyes and smiled.

Yuan Qing's pupils widened slightly, his eyes full of amazement.

It turned out that she was so beautiful today, much more beautiful than he had imagined, so beautiful that he couldn't bear to take his eyes off her.

Matchmaker Jin placed the wedding wine cup in the hands of the two men, and said with a smile: "Bride and groom, stop looking at each other. Come, drink the wedding wine first. There will be plenty of time for you to watch as much as you want tonight!"

Song Ying and Yuan Qing's faces flushed at the same time and they turned their heads away, while the other people watching the ceremony in the room burst into laughter again.

Song Ying felt her face getting even hotter. She suppressed her shame and raised her head, glancing around the room.

Some of them were people from Wutong Village whom she had met before, and some she had not met before. She thought they should be relatives of the Yuan family.

It's really embarrassing to drink the wedding wine in front of so many people.

Knowing they were shy, the experienced matchmaker Jin took direct action, placing the two people's hands holding the wine cups in a straight line, and then pushed and urged them: "Don't be shy, come, drink this cup quickly and be together forever!"

The distance was so close that he could smell each other's breath, mixed with the faint aroma of wine. Song Ying felt dizzy and the sound of the crowd gradually faded away. Only the shallow breathing sounds and his own increasingly loud heartbeat remained in his ears.

She blinked and saw Yuan Qing licking his lips opposite her, obviously very nervous as well.

At the urging of Matchmaker Jin, Song Ying brought the wine glass to his lips. Driven by the force, Yuan Qing involuntarily moved closer, so close that they could touch each other's eyelashes.

Song Ying blinked faster and held his breath involuntarily...

Until the wine cup was taken away from his hand, Song Ying felt dizzy and didn't know how to complete the wedding ceremony.

Before the two of them could calm down with their blushing faces and heartbeats, the matchmaker Jin had already grabbed some dried fruits and scattered them across the tent:

"The tent is spread east, the curtains are deep and the candlelight is red. The good air is lush and lingering, and the hall is filled with spring breeze every day. The tent is spread west, and brocade tassels hang down from the four corners. When you open it, you will see the face of the fairy. She is defeated by the fairy who catches the tassel. The tent is spread south..."

Song Ying and Yuan Qing sat side by side, and peanuts, lotus seeds and longans continued to fall from their bodies, and they felt dizzy afterwards.

When everything was over, Yuan Qing went out to toast, and most of the people in the room left. Only then did Song Ying finally sober up a little.

A stack of red bean cakes was brought to her. "Sister-in-law, you must be hungry. Eat something to fill your stomach. My brother asked me to prepare this. He said you like red bean cakes."

Song Ying looked up and saw Yuan Shan smiling with a teasing look on her face.

There were several other young girls in the room, so Song Ying didn't feel comfortable eating big mouthfuls of food and only ate in small bites.

Yuan Shan enthusiastically introduced them to her one by one. Except for a few girls from Wutong Village, most of them were relatives of the Yuan family.

The reputation of the miracle doctor was too great, and the girls were a little timid when facing Song Ying. They did not dare to joke with him like Yuan Shan did, and all said some insignificant words in a kind manner.

It was gradually getting dark, and the banquet outside was disbanded. Yuan Qing was helped in. Yuan Shan asked the girls to leave and winked at Song Ying playfully: "Sister-in-law, I leave my brother to you. I wish you a long and happy life together and a son soon!"

With his previous experience, Song Ying had become thick-skinned, but his face still turned slightly red when he heard the words.

She bolted the door and turned around to see Yuan Qing, who had been drunk and unconscious just a moment ago, sitting up, looking as if he had escaped a disaster. "Finally, they're all gone."

Song Ying smiled, "Are you pretending to be drunk?"

Yuan Qing stretched his sleeves and said matter-of-factly, "With my alcohol tolerance, if I don't pretend to be drunk, I'll never sober up tonight!"

Song Ying smiled.

Yuan Qing also laughed.

Then, the two looked at each other, realized what was going to happen next, and turned their heads away somewhat unnaturally.

Song Ying looked left and right, sizing up the new house. A large "囍" character was pasted on the window, and a bright red dragon and phoenix candle was burning quietly on the candlestick.

She made small talk, "The house is quite spacious."