As they continued forward, everyone was eager for battle. Finally, the enemy was at the city gates, and no one knew what kind of fierce battle would unfold. When they arrived at Baozi's house, they saw a large red "double happiness" character pasted on the door, but the city gate was tightly closed. On the city wall, Baozi's aunts and uncles were patrolling more closely.
Wu Sangui pointed and said, "Soldiers, set up the city ladders and prepare to attack the city."
Shi Qian said, "Don't make a move yet. I have a plan to capture the city gate without losing a single soldier. I'll set fire to his kitchen first, and then my brothers can sneak in during the chaos..."
Everyone: "Go to hell!"
The tension was palpable, and I knew a major battle was about to break out. So I shouted, "Let me try first!"
I dismounted, went to the door, pounded on the door and shouted, "Dad, open the door!"
The old accountant's voice came from inside, leisurely: "Who are you calling?"
I said, "Look at what you're saying, who else could I call but you?"
"Oh, so what brings you here?"
"I've married Baozi."
My son and I's back-and-forth banter made the neighbors laugh. Our procession had already caused quite a stir in the village, and now almost everyone was gathered around Baozi's house, gossiping and sighing: "How come Baozi is so lucky?" One person slapped another: "Then why did you say she couldn't get married..." Another scratched his head and said, "Did I say that?"
I swear, Baozi's dad kept the door tightly shut just to hear these words. From the moment Baozi was born until now, all the frustration and grievances that had been building up in the old accountant's heart finally erupted at this moment. He pressed his face against the door and asked, "What if I don't let you in?"
I was going to say something like, "I'll wait for you" or "I'll try to win you over with my sincerity," but then a sudden inspiration struck me, and I shouted, "Well, that's impossible. I'll just have to knock down your door and come back another day to apologize. Today, I'm determined to marry Baozi."
The neighbors all laughed, "Old Xiang, open the door! Cement prices have gone up recently." I bowed to everyone around me, "Thank you all, please go to a restaurant for lunch."
The old accountant sighed contentedly, slowly opened the gate, and then he froze. Before him stood a large red sedan chair, dozens of horses, a dozen carriages, and… several hundred people. I saw a glint in the old accountant's eyes; I couldn't believe Baozi's father would cry over this—was he scared? To be honest, our group, both in appearance and in terms of strength, was more than capable of taking over a small city.
The old accountant pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Oh, quite a few people have come."
Compared to the elaborate procession of carriages, I think most women would look forward to a grand wedding procession carried by eight bearers. In ancient times, women had no status, and this was probably their only moment of glory in their lives. In Baozi's case, the person who most wanted her to have a grand wedding was probably not herself, but her father. Because of Baozi's appearance, the old man had been resentful his whole life. So, the harsh words I just uttered actually amused him, which shows how precious his daughter is. I guess he would have been happy if I had threatened to wipe out his entire family to marry Baozi. Now, with the addition of the sedan chair, the old man feels he has accomplished his mission, perfectly fulfilling his catchphrase: "What's wrong with my daughter? My daughter will naturally be married off in a grand sedan chair in the future."
We were treated like guests as soon as we entered, and we were no longer subjected to any further criticism, but a bowl of raw dumplings was a must. While eating, someone would ask, "Will you have children?" The groom would then say "Yes," as it was auspicious to wish for an early birth of a son.
The old accountant probably saw that I had behaved well, so he secretly changed my bowl of food to a cooked one. When others asked me about it, I covered for him by saying, "It's an extra child!"
Baozi's voice came from that room: "Having more children than allowed? Still thinking about your football team?"
Then we saw her emerge from the room, her head covered with a bright red veil and her in a fiery red wedding dress. She was leaning against the wall, groping her way forward like a blind woman, saying, "I heard there's a sedan chair waiting for me outside. No wonder I was dressed like this." Mulan chased after her and helped her up, laughing, "Bride, don't speak."
Normally, Baozi's father would have scolded her long ago, but this time he said with unusual kindness, "Since we're traveling by sedan chair, let's set off as soon as possible."
With Mulan's help, Baozi stumbled out of the sedan chair, saying, "That sedan chair must have a bottom, right? So you can carry it from the outside while I have to walk inside. Last time we took pictures, that was..." Mulan probably swallowed the rest of her words.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Grand Wedding (Part 2)
After settling Baozi in, Hua Mulan gave the order, "Move the sedan chair." Then she smiled at me and said, "I've taken good care of you, haven't I?"
I scoffed and said, "It's not that great, we put in a lot of effort."
Hua Mulan glared at me and said, "You're so ungrateful! You didn't even dig the moat that was planned."
I:"……"
This time, we set off smoothly with all the music and fanfare. The journey was a bit long, but we had plenty of great young men. However, in the end, I couldn't take it anymore. When we left Baozi's house, the sun was high in the sky, and now it was starting to get hot. These ancient wedding robes, layered on and off, made me sweat profusely, and I could only keep tugging at the big red flower on my chest. Just then, I felt my phone, which was attached to my underwear, vibrate slightly. Stealing a moment, I took it out and saw it was a message from Baozi: "Was horseback riding fun? Riding in a sedan chair was quite interesting—"
I was speechless. Of course she was comfortable; that sedan chair was spacious enough to play pool, and she was protected from the wind and rain, while I suffered terribly.
But I didn't dare reply. You have to love what you do, and right now I'm a prince charming version of an ancient groom. Have you ever seen a prince charming sending a text message? There are so many people on the street watching me right now.
But that wasn't all. When Baozi saw I wasn't responding, she called. I could only answer and whisper, "Are you crazy?"
Baozi retorted confidently, "Why didn't you reply to my texts? And besides, how much did this cost?"
I said, "Don't worry about this."
Baozi said, "Also, when I left yesterday you said you were about to move the new furniture to the pawn shop, is that true? Why didn't you tell me you were buying furniture?"
Hua Mulan rode her horse alongside the sedan chair. Hearing voices inside, she assumed it was Baozi needing to relieve himself or something was wrong. She pressed her ear against the sedan chair to listen for a while. Seeing that I also had a cell phone in my hand, she scolded, "Both of you, turn off your phones. What kind of newcomers are you?"
I just hung up the phone. Baozi sent several more harassing text messages, but I ignored them all.
After traveling for over an hour, we were harassed by stray soldiers near the pawnshop. I ordered the soldiers to scatter handfuls of wedding candy and throw out boxes of cigarettes. Finally, we reached the pawnshop. Someone had placed a brazier at the entrance and asked Baozi to jump over it, saying it was according to custom and a sign of a prosperous future. Baozi, of course, did it without hesitation, leaping over the brazier as soon as he got out of the sedan chair. He tried to run upstairs but was blocked by the crowd. Pang Wanchun handed me a bow, saying that according to custom, he also had to shoot an arrow into Baozi's chest, which was also believed to ward off evil spirits.
My hand was trembling a little as I held the bow. I asked Pang Wanchun, "If an arrow hits through the heart, who's responsible?"
Pang Wanchun laughed and said, "Do you have that skill? You'll be lucky if you don't miss." As he spoke, he handed me an arrow with its arrowhead wrapped in cotton cloth. Only then did I feel relieved. I drew my bow and nocked the arrow, recalling how he and Hua Rong had hit their targets every time from more than 100 meters apart that day. It shouldn't be difficult, right?
The arrow struck Li Kui squarely in the leg, without any hesitation. Tie Niu, who was clapping and laughing foolishly, shouted, "Why did you shoot me?"
There was no other way but to pick it up and shoot again. This time, I hit the right spot, but unfortunately, I shot Lu Junyi instead. When the arrow was back in my hand, the onlookers all consciously retreated more than a hundred paces away—Zhao Bailian had already run far away when I picked up the bow.
Baozi stood there impatiently and said, "Hurry up! Do you even know how to shoot or not?"
Several scoundrels in the crowd chuckled maliciously.
My face flushed, and I shot an arrow right in Baozi's waist. Everyone said, "That's good enough, that's good enough. By the time you hit your target, it'll be Chinese New Year."
After all that was done, Baozi went to the pawnshop, and he was considered his wife. Next, they were supposed to bow to heaven and earth and drink the nuptial wine, but since my parents weren't there, I just called them to say hello, and then they were led to the bridal chamber. Everyone laughed and joked for a while, then went downstairs on their own.
As soon as everyone left, Baozi took the lid in her hand, fanning herself to cool it, and looked around. I yelled in exasperation, "How did you take it off by yourself? Put it back on!"
Perhaps the earlier scene was too elaborate, and Baozi seemed to catch the wave. Hearing my words, she quickly put the veil back on her head and obediently sat on the edge of the bed. I put my hands on my hips and drank a glass of water before walking over to Baozi. Only then did I suddenly realize my palms were a little sweaty. Had we gone a bit too far with the formalities? I was actually a little nervous about lifting the veil of this woman I'd slept with for two years.
I gently lifted Baozi's veil, and saw her blushing as she looked at her shoes. I said, "Alright, you can talk now." Actually, she had already talked quite a bit on the way, but I could tell she was genuinely shy now. I sat down beside her, took her hand, and said, "Baozi, you've really had a tough time."