Chapter 79: The Wedding Night...

As Wang Cuihua’s booming voice rang out, the men playing the suona found fresh energy; their cheeks bulged as they blew harder and more fiercely. Instantly, the shrill yet festive sound of the suona drowned out everything in the vicinity.

Li Yuanjing felt his scalp tingle... No wonder they say the suona is the “king of instruments”; once its voice rises, every other instrument must step aside.

Only after a long while, when the crowd had thoroughly performed their spectacle and finally climbed the earthen slope, did Li Yuanjing have the chance. He pulled Wang Cuihua into a small room and demanded sharply, “What in the world is going on here? When did I ever promise to marry Zhao Yinling?”

“Uh...” Wang Cuihua was momentarily stunned, but she quickly recovered. “Master, isn’t this something Madam has already discussed with you?”

“You—” Li Yuanjing raised his hand, intending to slap Wang Cuihua, but as his palm hovered in the air, he found himself unable to bring it down.

Suddenly, he remembered: earlier that morning, half-asleep, Yu Niang had said something to him. He hadn’t paid it any mind at the time, but now... It turned out the little lady had already settled things.

In the end, Li Yuanjing slapped Wang Cuihua’s plump waist and hips hard, spitting out, “Go get busy! Next time something like this happens, you’d better be clever about it, understood?”

Having been struck, Wang Cuihua felt the weight in her heart finally ease; she even winked at Li Yuanjing. “Master, please calm your anger. Once you see Miss Zhao Yinling, I’m sure your mood will improve…”

“Hey, you dare talk back?” Li Yuanjing was about to say more, but Wang Cuihua, smiling coyly, had already slipped out.

...

By now, things had progressed too far for Li Yuanjing to refuse. After all, Zhao Yinling had already, in effect, entered the Li family. If Li Yuanjing were to reject her now, she would have nowhere to turn—death would seem her only escape.

These were not enlightened times.

Even in later generations, such a situation could devastate a person for years.

Fortunately, Zhao Yinling was entering only as a concubine. Despite the ceremony’s grandeur, there was no need to invite neighbors or even many friends. Only when Li Yuanjing married Yu Niang the next year would there be a grand celebration for the whole village.

After Wang Cuihua and the other women explained the chaotic rules, Li Yuanjing gradually calmed, even feeling a touch of pity for Zhao Yinling. If she had any choice, she, a maiden, would hardly end up as his concubine.

Most of the time, people must hold onto a shred of kindness in their hearts.

...

As Li Yuanjing began to accept reality, the ceremony outside quickened.

According to the nation’s conventions, when a scholar-official takes a concubine, the real authority lies not with the husband, but the wife. Even if the husband consents, if the wife refuses to accept tea from the new woman, he has no choice but to keep her outside the household—the so-called “wife of another house.”

As night fell, Zhao Yinling finally finished the tea ceremony for Yu Niang and was sent to a warehouse converted into a bridal chamber.

Just as Li Yuanjing was about to see Yu Niang and offer comfort, Wang Cuihua and the other women blocked his way. Li Yuanjing threatened to lose his temper, and Wang Cuihua, frightened, hurriedly whispered, “Master, please calm yourself. It’s not that we won’t let you see Madam, but now you must not—lest misfortune befall…”

“Besides,” she continued, “we have urgent matters to discuss with you…”

“Urgent matters? What urgent matters?” Li Yuanjing looked at Wang Cuihua, displeased.

Though nervous, Wang Cuihua realized this was her chance to truly become Li Yuanjing’s confidante. She bit her lip and whispered, “Master, by tradition, I and these women must come to instruct you. If you dislike it, I can make an excuse and come to instruct you myself…”

Li Yuanjing, no novice, understood her meaning and nodded, “Do as you see fit.”

“Yes, Master.” Wang Cuihua was delighted and rushed off to make arrangements.

Soon she returned, carrying a small booklet, and earnestly explained its contents to Li Yuanjing. Even his thick skin reddened a little at the feudal customs.

Damn this old-fashioned era… And yet, somehow he found himself enjoying it.

After Wang Cuihua finished, her eyes were already moist, but she slapped her forehead and exclaimed, “Master, I nearly forgot the most important thing. With Miss Zhao Yinling, you must not leave an heir…”

As Wang Cuihua explained, Li Yuanjing quickly grasped the ancient custom. “Not leaving an heir” meant the master could share a bed with a concubine but must not let her conceive before the wife. In those days, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was vast. Ensuring the concubine did not conceive first was critical to the stability of the family.

At last, when all preparations were finished, Li Yuanjing, accompanied by Wang Cuihua and the happy matrons, was led into the bridal chamber.

The once crude warehouse was now festooned with festive red paper, a fine sandalwood bed set to the side. Red candles flickered, and several braziers drove away the chill, making the room warm as spring.

On the bed sat a slender young woman in a festive wedding gown, her vivid red veil in place. As Li Yuanjing entered, her body tensed, her pale hands tightly twisting the red handkerchief.

Li Yuanjing surveyed the room, shaking his head with a wry smile, suddenly remembering something important. He had been planning the earthen walls for Quanzi Village but had neglected the layout of his own household.

He needed to rethink the functional areas atop the earthen slope.

Despite his worldly experience in later generations, Li Yuanjing found himself at a loss. After a long pause, he picked up the steelyard rod on the table, his hand trembling slightly as he lifted the red veil from the young woman beside him.

There appeared before him a delicate, gentle, and immensely shy face.

Li Yuanjing’s mind seemed to stall; he stood dazed, uncertain what to say.

“Master…” Zhao Yinling’s face flushed deep red upon seeing his expression, her voice sweet yet tinged with an indescribable huskiness. That single word made Li Yuanjing’s bones melt.

Fortunately, Li Yuanjing regained his composure, swallowing hard. “What do we do next?”

“Huh?” Zhao Yinling was surprised by his gentle demeanor and relaxed a little. “Master, we should share nuptial wine now…”

“Then let’s drink.” Li Yuanjing reached for the wine, but Zhao Yinling jumped, “Master, how can you do such a thing? Let me…”

Clearly flustered, she hurried over to take the wine jug. Li Yuanjing, not wanting to make things difficult for the tender young woman, handed it to her.

Relieved, Zhao Yinling filled two cups, entwined arms with Li Yuanjing, and began the nuptial wine ceremony—what later generations would call the “cross-cupped wine.”

Once the wine was drunk, Zhao Yinling would belong to Li Yuanjing for life.

“Master, I toast you…” Zhao Yinling, lively by nature, saw Li Yuanjing’s kind demeanor and spoke shyly.

She dipped the red paper and her luscious lips sipped the wine first.

Red candlelight, snowy cheeks, crimson lips…

For a moment, Li Yuanjing could not tell reality from illusion—as if he were in a drunken trance.

After finishing the wine, Zhao Yinling bashfully set down her cup, her face resting gently on Li Yuanjing’s chest, whispering, “Master, allow me to help you change…”

“Hmm? Mm.” Li Yuanjing, as if his soul had wandered, needed a moment to react before raising his arms for her to assist.

Soon, Zhao Yinling, cheeks ablaze, carefully helped him undress.

Yet, as she slipped off his outer garments and her jade-like hands moved to his underclothes, Li Yuanjing, lost in a dreamlike state, suddenly felt a surge of powerful muscle memory. With a sharp snap, he seized Zhao Yinling’s delicate hand.