After becoming rich overnight, I handed over the system.

Chapter 420 The Big Wedding

Cheng Jing left reluctantly in the end, but fortunately, Shen Feifei and Lin Liuyi's mood was not completely ruined.

Shen Feifei then took Lin Liuyi on a day tour of Beijing.

When they heard the next day that Cheng Jing had been put in a sack, they were even happier.

"Could it be that your future husband did this?"

Shen Feifei, however, thought it was possible that her future sister-in-law was the one who did it.

However, regardless of who did it, she was grateful to them, because she also really wanted to beat Cheng Jing up.

Soon, the wedding day arrived.

At 3:45 AM, the Prime Minister's residence was already brightly lit.

Shen Feifei woke up to the gentle call of her personal maid; outside the window, the sky was still full of stars.

Today is the most important day for her after she comes of age, as she marries Fu Mingyuan.

Lin Liuyi never expected that getting married in ancient times would require getting up so early; she felt like she hadn't even opened her eyes yet.

"Miss, it's time for you to bathe and change," the maid said softly, holding a handkerchief scented with pine and cypress branches.

Six maids filed in carrying gilded bronze basins, in which fresh flower petals floated and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted through the steam.

This is a "Five-Spice Soup" prepared according to an ancient recipe, using equal parts of peach branches, orchid grass, angelica, agastache, and tonka bean, symbolizing the washing away of childishness and the welcoming of virtuous womanhood.

After taking a bath, Shen Feifei sat in front of the rosewood dressing table.

Her fair and jade-like face was reflected in the bronze mirror. Her mother, Madam Shen, personally picked up a rhinoceros horn comb and combed her waist-length black hair.

"One comb to the end, two combs to the white hair at the eyebrows..." Madam Shen's voice trembled slightly as she slowly combed her daughter's hair from the top to the ends.

Shen Feifei looked at her mother's tearful eyes in the mirror, and her throat suddenly tightened.

This was the last time she would sit in her boudoir as an unmarried woman, and thinking about it, she almost didn't want to get married.

Madam Liu, the wife of Quanfu, entered carrying a vermilion lacquered tray containing colorful silk threads and gold scissors.

"Please, Miss, open your face." Madam Liu is the principal wife of Liu Hanlin, a scholar in the imperial court. She has both parents and parents-in-law still alive, and has both a son and a daughter. She is a well-known woman of perfect fortune in the capital.

She used silk thread to carefully twist Shen Feifei's face, removing the fine hairs. This was a "face-opening ceremony" that a woman had to go through before getting married.

"Miss is truly a celestial being," Liu exclaimed, taking two steps back.

Needless to say, Shen Feifei's face was lightly made up, with gold foil flowers between her eyebrows and rouge on her lips, making her skin appear even whiter and more radiant than a fairy.

It's time to change clothes.

Four maids worked together to unfold the bright red wedding gown embroidered with gold cloud and phoenix patterns. The gown was decorated with ninety-nine phoenixes in different shapes and sizes, and it shimmered in the candlelight.

This is a precious piece that took eighteen embroiderers half a year to complete.

Shen Feifei spread her arms and felt the subtle touch of the cool silk against her skin.

The jade pendants on the belt buckle at the waist gently clinked together, producing a crisp sound.

"The auspicious time has arrived—" a steward from the manor announced loudly from outside the gate.

When Madam Shen put the phoenix crown adorned with pearls on her daughter's head, her hands trembled so much that she could barely tie the ribbons.

The golden phoenix at the center of the crown holds a pearl the size of a dragon's eye in its beak, with three-inch-long pearl tassels hanging down on both sides, rustling with the slightest movement.

Incense smoke filled the ancestral hall.

Prime Minister Shen, dressed in purple official robes, stood before the ancestral tablets. When his daughter stepped across the threshold, his usually stern face softened.

Shen Feifei knelt on the prayer mat and kowtowed three times, listening as her father recited the ancestral proclamation: "The Shen family has a daughter, who has reached marriageable age, and now chooses a good match for her, to marry the eldest son of the General of the Northern Garrison..."

When Shen Feifei turned to greet her parents after the ceremony, her forehead touched the cold blue brick floor.

She heard her father's voice coming from above: "Now that you are married, you should be mindful of your wifely duties and respect your parents-in-law..."

He choked up halfway through his sentence, "Dad, listen to what I just said. If you're not doing well, come back."

After hearing this, Madam Shen glared at her husband and said, "What are you saying on such a joyous occasion!"

Then, a jade ruyi was placed in her hand. It was warm to the touch and was a dowry passed down through generations of the Shen family, symbolizing that everything would go well.

The sound of drums and music grew closer outside the mansion gate, indicating that the wedding procession was approaching.

The elder brother, Shen Mingyuan, knelt down: "Little sister, I'll carry you off to your wedding."

Shen Feifei lay on her brother's back, smelling the familiar scent of agarwood on his collar.

As she passed through the three hanging flower gates, she saw that the crabapple tree under her boudoir window had already borne green fruit.

"The bride is here!" The matchmaker's loud voice cut through the noise.

Shen Feifei's eyes suddenly lit up, but she was placed in front of the mansion gate covered with red carpet.

She hurriedly raised her fan to cover her face, and through the gaps in the fan ribs, she could see red paper scraps scattered on the ground and a jumble of heads.

Ahead was a blazing brazier. The matchmaker helped her step over it, and the flames lifted the hem of her wedding dress, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

The wedding procession from the Zhenbei General's Mansion was grand and imposing.

Fu Mingyuan, who was at the head of the group, wore a crimson gauze robe and rode a snow-white steed. The large red silk flower on his chest made his face look like jade.

The sixty-four palanquins carrying the dowry have begun their journey, with the imperial jade screen leading the way, its surface shimmering with a turquoise hue in the morning light.

"Please, new esteemed lady, compose a poem to urge her to get ready!" the steward of the Shen household shouted.

This is the rule of the "blocking the door" ceremony; the groom must compose a poem on the spot before he can enter the house.

The other party hesitated for a moment, then recited aloud: "A celestial maiden descends from the jade palace, her rosy robes and cloud-like hair reflecting the sun. I envy neither the mandarin ducks nor the immortals, I only ask that my lady turn her head and look at me."

Amidst cheers and applause, Shen Feifei was led into the bridal sedan chair.

The moment the sedan curtain was lowered, she heard her mother's suppressed sobs.

With a slight sway, the sixteen sedan bearers shouted in unison, and the wedding sedan steadily lifted off the ground.

A maidservant slipped in a small, gilded hand warmer and whispered, "Miss, we're about to pass the city gate; according to the rules, the sedan chair must stop."

Green houses had already been set up on the official road outside the city.

Fu Mingyuan dismounted and performed the ritual of offering a pair of live geese, placing them on the table.

This is an ancient custom passed down from the Zhou Dynasty. Geese mate with only one mate for life, symbolizing unwavering fidelity between husband and wife.

Hearing the cries of geese through the sedan curtain, Shen Feifei unconsciously clenched the apple in her hand—a symbol of good fortune, a prayer for peace and prosperity.

The main gate of the General of the North's Mansion was wide open, and red candles burned brightly inside the wedding hall.

Shen Feifei walked slowly forward on the sack of grains, and with each step she could hear the soft cracking of the grains, symbolizing "carrying on the family line".

In the center of the wedding hall hung a golden plaque inscribed with the words "A Perfect Match Made in Heaven" by the late emperor. Below it were two grand chairs, where a general and his wife, dressed in their finest attire, sat.

"First bow to Heaven and Earth—"

"Bowing to the parents twice—"

"Husband and wife bow to each other—"

When Shen Feifei bowed to the other person, the beads on her phoenix crown made her vision blurry.

After exchanging vows, the matchmaker led the couple in the "sharing a cup of wine" ceremony.

Sharing a meal from the same animal is called "tonglao," while "hejin" involves splitting a gourd in half, with each of the newlyweds holding one half and drinking from it. The gourd is bitter, and so is the wine, symbolizing that the couple will share both joy and sorrow.

"The ceremony is complete—send them to the bridal chamber!"

As the master of ceremonies shouted, many colorful petals suddenly fell before Shen Feifei's eyes.

She knew that from this moment on, her identity was no longer that of the Shen family's daughter, but that of Fu Mingyuan's wife.