CH 78.2

Lu Shi Qing really couldn’t help but smile. Who told her to not be shy and reserved, and would rush to look for him as soon as she went out.

The groomsmen at the front were all very eloquent, their oily mouths could be used to wheel a cart. Seeing the bride finally came out after a thousand calls, they praised her wildly. The relatives and friends on the bride’s side also seemed to have grease on their mouths and praised back. They went back and forth, talking more and more, and finally compared the two to the heavenly immortal couple.

After they boasted enough, the two then were sent to go to the central hall one after the other to perform the saddle ceremony and laying geese ceremony. After a series of complicated and tiring ceremonies, Yuan Yu gave Yuan Ci Xian a few words on behalf of their father, and then sent her out of the mansion and into the carriage covered with curtains outside.

Yuan Yu had been nagging for five days straight, but it seemed that it was not enough. Seeing her getting into the carriage, he felt that he had not say anything, shouted at her back from afar: “Don’t forget to go home often! If Lu Zishu doesn’t permit it, just wait for brother to come to the door!”

For some reason, Yuan Ci Xian’s nose was sore when she heard this, and almost burst into tears, she couldn’t help but look back at her brother through the carriage’s rail. But then saw Lu Shi Qing had already sat on the horse and performed the ritual of going around the carriage for three laps. While he was close to her, he asked in a low voice: “If he whips me again, will you block it?”

Yuan Ci Xian knew that he wanted to divert her attention, and didn’t want her to cry, so when she heard this, she snorted coldly, and said through the veil: “No, but I will ask brother to give you two symmetrical whips.”

Lu Shi Qing smiled and did not speak, and when the three laps were completed, he went to the front and prepared to leave.

Under the wind blowing, the gold, silver, pearls and jades hanging on the carriage were rattling, and the welcoming team winding around slowly towards Yongxing Lane under the setting sun.

The sound of drums and songs curbed the clouds, Yuan Ci Xian sat in the carriage, and faintly saw the road ahead through the veil.

She had travelled this road so many times, but this time, there would be no return journey.

From today onwards, she really handed over her blessings and disasters to that person.

He said that there was only one Lu Shi Qing in this world, and he could only worry about one Yuan Ci Xian. She believes him.

The welcoming team marched into Yongxing Lane, and when they arrived at the gate of Lu Mansion, Yuan Ci Xian got out of the carriage with the help of a maid, stepped on the mats that had been laid on the ground beforehand, and went all the way in to the temporary Qinglu.

Qinglu, also known as Baizi Tent which came from a Non-Han custom, was where the two of them kowtowed to one another according to the etiquette system, before moving to the bedroom. Afterwards, Yuan Ci Xian took off the veil and changed it to a fan to cover her face.

This bedroom was where Lu Shi Qing usually lived, but it was refurbished in a few days and the bed was replaced with a new one. At the moment the joyful room was full of people, Yuan Ci Xian and Lu Shi Qing were surrounded by a group of guests and sat down side by side on the bed, while on the side, the person in charge began to say congratulations, and then someone sprinkled flowers and fruits on the bed.

The people sprinkled endlessly under the festive spirit, and didn’t stop until they almost drowned the two. After it was over, someone proposed to ask Lu Shi Qing to write a fan poem to praise the bride’s appearance, so that she would take off the fan and let everyone feast their eyes.

For a Tanhua, making a fan poem was of course not difficult at all. After all, his three set of urging make-up poems in Yuan Mansion just now had won a lot of praise, but the problem was that he didn’t want to let everyone feast their eyes.

Everyone looked at him expectantly, but he only smiled faintly and and said, “I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint everyone. Lu has exhausted his talents and can’t write poems anymore.”

Yuan Ci Xian choked, holding the fan while looking at him quietly. Afraid he thought that she was too beautiful to be seen by others.

The crowd made a fuss, and despite repeated urging, they couldn’t open Lu Shi Qing’s golden mouth, so they had no choice but to retreat, complained about his stinginess.

When the people were gone, Lu Shi Qing reached out to take Yuan Ci Xian’s fan, but her saw her dodging and would not let him get it, while saying, “No, I want to listen to a fan poem. If you don’t praise me, I won’t drink the nuptial wine with you.”

Didn’t she just want to hear him praise her good-looking face? Lu Shi Qing said: “I won’t use poem, I will praise you in other way.”

“What way?”

“Take the fan down.”

Yuan Ci Xian took the fan suspiciously, and before she could prepare, Lu Shi Qing leaning over, lowered his head and kissed her lips.

She should have thought of this kind of hooligan’s way!

Yuan Ci Xian got annoyed, reached out her hand to pinch his waist, pushed him away, and said, “You’ve eaten up my lip rouge, how can I still beautiful!”

Lu Shi Qing was about to speak when he heard a knock on the door outside, the maid asked him and the bride if they were ready to change clothes, and reminded him to greet the guests as soon as possible.

The two had no choice but to stop arguing for the time being, quickly drank the wine, and then invited people to come inside to help them change their clothes, and then following to the wedding custom of Zhou Dynasty, each cut a lock of hair, tied it together and kept it as a token.

Because of the urging, Lu Shi Qing didn’t have time to stay for long, and left in a hurry after finishing all this. Yuan Ci Xian’s anger was still there, and she angrily told him to send those people back quickly, and then continue to settle the score just now.

He sighed with a smile, at last complied, but when he was outside the door, he stopped and suddenly called her: “Yuan Ci Xian.”

Yuan Ci Xian sat on the edge of the bed and raised her head. She looked at him strangely, and then saw him blinked lightly and said: “Sit still and don’t move. Wait for me to come back.”

She thought to herself that of course she would wait for him to come back, but why she needed to sit still and not moving? How tiring.

Yuan Ci Xian just agreed, waved her hand to urge him to leave quickly, and waited without moving for half an hour but still did not see him return. She finally suspected that his words before leaving were to intentionally punish her, so she couldn’t help but stand up and exercise her muscles while pacing back and forth in the room.

Lu Shi Qing ordered all the servants to withdraw, so no one stopped her from walking around.

As soon as she walked, she walked to the outer room, as she had nothing to do, and it was not easy to order someone to urge Lu Shi Qing, making him lose face in front of the guests, she flipped through the books on his desk. While playing with a few of his brushes, she unintentionally raised her eyes, then suddenly saw a strangely shaped hollow on the wall illuminated by the candles.

She frowned, and got up curiously to look at it. She felt that the shape looked familiar. She turned her head to look at the jade brush rest on the table, which was used to rest the brushes, and couldn’t help being taken aback.

This jade brush rest seems to fit into the hollow in the wall.

Her keen intuition about the secret mechanism made her suddenly a little excited.

She discovered the secret room in Lu Shi Qing’s bedroom, and she didn’t know what was hidden in it. Now that she was the mistress, it wouldn’t be considered breaking the rules if she took a look, right?

She ran to the door, peeked outside through the crack of the door, and seeing no one around, she quickly turned around and stuffed the jade brush rest into the hollow in the wall.

There was a soft “creak” sound, and a secret door at the soles of her feet slowly opened up. Looking down, there were several damp stone steps, and further inside, there seemed to be a deep and secret passage.