Modern version of Quanfu People
Image Credit | 兔子的减肥餐3 (中式婚礼特别有仪式感的议程：全福人扫轿，什么样的人称全福人, Dec 4th)
Image Credit | 兔子的减肥餐3 (中式婚礼特别有仪式感的议程：全福人扫轿，什么样的人称全福人, Dec 4th)
One could spend money to hire a xiniang, but it wasn't easy to find quanfu people. This person should not have a low status. She must at least be an official wife. Luckily, Zhao Er Nainai helped Yuxi solve this problem by inviting her saozi from her maternal family, the Tu family's Da Nainai, Luo Shi.
Yuxi looked at Tu Shi and gratefully said, "Thank you, Tu Jiejie." This was the disadvantage of being in a foreign land where it was not convenient for one to do anything.
Tu Shi responded with a smile, "What's the matter? My Saozi is the one willing to listen to my request. She said she would be happy to act as your quanfu people, as she agreed in one breath. By the way, do you have your dowry ready?"
Yuxi nodded and answered, "They are all ready. There aren't many things. The furniture, antique paintings and calligraphy that my mother prepared for me have not been brought over, so all my dowry this time only consist of daily necessities."
Tu Shi was a little surprised. She asked, "You didn't bring them all? But I heard that the bandits have taken away all your dowry?" She thought that Yuxi's dowry included everything, but she didn't expect that the ones taken were less important.
Yuxi smilingly explained, "Those antique paintings and calligraphy need to be well preserved, so what I brought were only my clothes for changing, some satin and leather."
When Tu Shi heard her explanation, she asked Yuxi a question that had been bothering her mind. "I heard that the girls in the capital only wear the clothes they make once. Is this true?" Although Master Tu was now a fourth-ranking official, that was what he fought for with his own life. The Tu family used to be an ordinary military family and lived a tough life. When Tu Shi was a child, they hadn't yet made their fortune. Thus, she had also suffered days of hardships. So, she couldn't think how these people could easily waste their things so much.
Yuxi replied with a smile. "No. Like our State Residence, the girls will have eight sets of clothes every quarter of a year. You can add more if you have generous personal savings. But if you wear the same clothes when you go out as a guest, you will be laughed at."
Tu Shi nodded her head and said, "That's understandable." It was understandable that you had to wear new clothes every time you went out for a visit. But if you didn't wear the same clothes every day at home, that would be mind-boggling.
Yuxi laughed as she added, "There is no such thing as wearing new clothes every day, except for those who are distinguished or especially favoured. For example, Song Guifei and Qinxin Gongzhu can't repeatedly wear the same clothes and jewellery every day."
Tu Shi's expression turned unsightly when she heard this. Most border city military families were particularly disgusted with the Song family but especially displeased with Song Guifei for supporting the Song family. Please read this chapter at xinshou blogspot com.
At this time, Zisu brought a cup of chrysanthemum tea with wolfberry over.
Chrysanthemum tea was not a drink she was fond of, in particular. Hence she only drank it once in a while. But this time, there was a unique fragrance in the tea. Tu Shi asked, "This chrysanthemum tea tastes excellent. Where did Meimei buy it?"
Yuxi nodded and said, "I made the chrysanthemum tea myself. If Tu Jiejie likes it, Jiejie can bring some back to drink." In this dry weather, one needed to drink more chrysanthemum tea to get rid of agitation.
Tu Shi smiled and said, "Meimei is really capable." Tu Shi felt that there was nothing that Yuxi couldn't do, and she felt that only a century-old family like the State Residence could produce such a girl.
Yuxi smiled a little. "Tu Jiejie is overpraising me. The majority of people in the city can make this scented tea." She honestly didn't make a modest remark. All the girls around her knew how to make tea and mix fragrances.
The two talked for a little more than half a day before Tu Shi returned.
Tu Shi brought her saozi, Luo Shi, over the next day. Luo Shi looked kind, had a round face and still had a smiling expression when she did not speak. Yuxi usually went out with a smile on her face. Still, hers was just an act of propriety, while the smile on Luo Shi's face emanated from the inside out.
Luo Shi did not stay long at Yuxi's place either. She only came to familiarise herself with the surroundings. On the day of the wedding, she would be ready to remove the fine hairs on Yuxi's face and neck, tidy up the hairline at her temples and help out Yuxi with putting on makeup and wedding dress.
Kailian = (of a girl on the eve of marriage) remove the fine hairs on the face and neck and tidy up hairline at temples
After sending the two away, Yuxi was a little tired. If she was in the capital, she could just be a bride and be done with it. But here, alas, it was too exhausting to do all the work herself, inside out!
As the wedding date approached, Zijin was a bit worried. "Miss, won't it be bad if no guests are coming at that time?" If they were in the State Residence, they could open at least 50 or 60 seats. But here, even five to six tables would be a problem.
Yuxi smilingly spoke, "Just leave it to Er Ge!"
Zisu also expressed her doubts. "Miss, should we send the dowry in advance?" In the capital, the dowry was sent in advance. But only two days left before Yuxi departed for her wedding, and there was no movement coming from the Yun family.
Yuxi smiled a little. "The custom here is no need to send the dowry in advance. The dowry comes with the bride to the groom's door. Moreover, I don't have that much dowry." Here, it was already a great thing if a girl got married with dowries on thirty-six carriers. Unlike the capital, the dowry would require more than a hundred carriers. With that much dowry, the situation would be complicated and chaotic if they were to carry over on the wedding day.
Zisu felt wrong for Yuxi. No one could blame Zisu for having that kind of feeling. Even though Yuxi had added many things for these two months, she could only stuff her dowry to eighteen carriers. But this amount wouldn't simply look too shabby in the capital. No matter how aggrieved Zisu felt, she didn't dare to show it. She could only restrain herself from saying anything. Unfortunately, Zijin was right. What was the use of complaining about her dissatisfaction? At the end of the day, Miss still had to marry.
Yuxi added with a smile, "There is nothing to compare. How well you live in the future is not measured by how many dowries you have. Moreover, it's not that I don't have any dowry. I just didn't bring them here." She was not inferior to anyone else with just her genealogy and property in hand.
At first, she was also a little nervous since she became a duck driven onto a perch. In the beginning, she proposed to see Yun Qing because she actually wanted to negotiate terms with him. She already felt sorry for herself since she had no feelings for him, and her life would always be in danger all the time. Only when she saw how Yun Qing treated her that she changed her mind and didn't mention those conditions. And after these two months, she became even more confident that she would have a good life in the future.
Zijin said, "That is extremely true, Miss."
While Yuxi's side was at a loss, Yun Qing's side fared much better. Although he said that his parents were already deceased, had no other elders, and was too busy to care for his own marriage, he still had some connections here after staying so many years in the border city. As a result, he asked for Madam Fu's help.
Yun Qing had saved the life of the Eldest Young Master Fu, so Madam Fu brought her two daughters-in-law over to help, inside and out. It was Madam Fu who made all the arrangements. As for the chief steward, it was handed to Huo Changqing.
The night before the wedding, Yun Qing looked at the newly decorated mansion, and his heart turned sour. If grandfather, father and mother were still around, today must have been a lively and joyful day.
Huo Changqing came out of the house, noticed the grieving look on Yun Qing's face, and said, "You're going to have a family. When you open branches and scatter leaves for the Yun family, the old man can finally rest in peace under the ground." If in the capital city, a twenty-two-year-old man would have already been considered an old man, but it was still not too late to marry at this age in the border city.
Yun Qing looked in the direction of the capital and did not reply.
On Yuxi's wedding day, it was drizzling. It didn't rain much, but the grey weather made people feel somewhat depressed.
Zisu muttered to herself, "Why is it raining today?" It was inconvenient to get married on a rainy day. Still, superstitious people would feel that it was not very auspicious.
This was overheard by a tough old woman servant, who smiled and said, "Miss, it's good for it to rain! It's a blessing for Miss Yuxi to get married on a rainy day."
Zisu froze in place. "What does that mean?"
A different place would have different customs. Because it rarely rained in this generation of Yu City, it had become a dry place. Every time the rain came, it made the city's people very happy.
Zisu didn't even know what to say at that moment.
At this time, Luo Shi had arrived. Before she started to remove fine hairs on Yuxi's face, she cautioned her in advance, "There will be some pain later on. Hope Miss can bear it."
Yuxi nodded and said, "I will."
After clearing away fine hairs on her face, it was time to apply makeup. This task was left to Mama Qu. It was good that the box of rouge and powder she brought from the capital was still there, which was the one she used. [+]
The Han family had no relatives here. Han Jianye invited his subordinates over to have wine to make up for the numbers so that the wedding didn't feel too deserted. The monetary gift had to be omitted, which caused him to say it tearfully.
A red-eyed Zisu stood at the door with the bored Zijin and said, "I really feel sorry for Miss." She remembered the Third Miss' grand wedding scene, where relatives and friends came to be guests. With this multitude of people attending, the event became bustling with noise and excitement. But when it came to her Miss, she had to invite people she didn't know just to make up for the numbers.
Zijin was also depressed by Miss's current situation, but being depressed wouldn't stop the wedding from happening again. "Don't cry on Miss' big day." Since they had come to this point, they had to deal with all the grievances.
Zisu wiped her tears and argued, "I'm not crying." Nevertheless, inside, she felt inexpressibly painful.
Zijin reminded, "Miss has not eaten since she got up this morning. Why don't you go to the kitchen to see what is there for her to eat?" More people were coming over to be guests, so Yuxi took the lead and invited a restaurant to cook and take charge of the food.
Zisu nodded and said, "Mama Bai is making snacks, which should be ready soon." When one had makeup on, one shouldn't eat anything, or one would easily spoil one's makeup. Therefore, the snacks could not be big.
Yuxi's personal maids mostly screamed for her aggravation, but she didn't feel much. In her previous life, she married Jiang Hongjin, and the occasion was big. The guests were like the clouds in the sky. People were envious and jealous of her, but what happened in the end? The result was that Jiang Hongjin treated her as an ornament and let her stay as a widow for more than six years. Finally, she ended up dying without leaving any bones behind. Now, her wedding was a bit shabby, but Yun Qing liked her and sincerely wanted to marry her, which was better than anything.
Everyone inside the room looked at the finished makeup of Yuxi, and their eyes were flowing with amazement. Yuxi was genuinely beautiful. Tu Shi was the first to come back to her senses and complimented. "When you enter the bridal chamber, General Yun will certainly not be able to take his eyes off." Yuxi was a beauty. No one could deny this. However, before, she was not as glamorous as she was today.
Hearing this praise, Yuxi bowed her head shyly.
Mama Qu was not affected by everyone's stares at Yuxi. Still, she instructed Zisu instead, "Go and bring Miss' wedding dress over." Yuxi was afraid of ruining the wedding dress when she put on makeup, so she only put on a coat that she usually wears outside. It was also because Mama Qu had confidence in Yuxi's craft; therefore, she dared to do the opposite.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi