Chapter 009: The Joyous Day of Marriage

Qiao Niang reached out to take Guijie'er, kissed her forehead and said, "Our Guijie'er also sees the bride coming." While patting Guijie'er's bottom, she noticed it was dry, so she hurriedly carried her to a secluded spot to relieve her. After finishing, she brought her back to let Aunt Zhang hold her, while she busily ran in and out again.

The young lady was extremely eager to see what rituals were involved in marrying a bride in ancient rural areas, but after lying there for a long time without anyone coming to attend to her, she became desperate and had no choice but to cry out loudly to attract attention. After a few cries, the curtain of the room was lifted, but it was not Qiaoniang who entered; instead, it was the eight-year-old granddaughter of the neighbor, Aunt Zhang, named Zhang Haimei.

When Zhang Haimei took Guijie out to see the festivities, Guijie discovered that the ceremony had already concluded, and the bride had been escorted into the bridal chamber, while the courtyard was filled with guests enjoying the wedding banquet

While holding a few peanuts in hand, I listened to Zhang Haimei speaking, peering around curiously. I tossed a peanut towards the bride and said, "I want to see if she will move."

Zhang Haimei leaned over to Gui Jie'er and whispered to Laihua: "The bride must sit like this, remaining still until the groom lifts the red veil in the evening."

Oh, listening to the house! I am interested in this, the young lady moved excitedly, but unfortunately, she still cannot speak or walk. When people come to listen to the house in the evening, they certainly will not bring her along to listen. This interesting matter has nothing to do with her, and thinking of this, she felt deflated again

After listening for a long time, the elder sister finally understood that it was about a young lady with the surname Li who had stayed at her friend's house for a few nights. However, the brother of that friend had taken a liking to the young lady Li. Unable to win her over, he devised a plan with his sister, suggesting that he could force himself upon the young lady, confident that she would eventually become their sister-in-law. Seeing her brother's desperate pleas, the sister reluctantly agreed to remain silent when he went in. Unexpectedly, that night, the sister woke up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. The young lady Li turned over and slept on the side of the bed. When the sister returned from the toilet and saw that her brother had not come in, she assumed he would not come in at all and did not think much of it. She then lay down on the outer side of the bed, not realizing that this would lead to the events that followed.

Wuwu, what is this about? I never said I wanted you to jump with me, please don't jump, I can't handle the fright. The young lady wore a sorrowful expression, wanting to cry out loud, but fearing that Zhang Haimei would misunderstand and think it was her fault for not jumping that made her cry, she could only hold it back, her mind racing to think of a way to save herself

Upon seeing Qiaoniang, the esteemed elder sister cried out in a hurry, stretching her body and opening her arms, wanting Qiaoniang to embrace her. Alas, I have finally managed to rid myself of that little brat Zhang Haimei; you have arrived too late, my dear.

A few days later, it was the auspicious day for the wedding. The young lady was awakened from her sleep by the sound of firecrackers. Turning over, she did not smell the fragrance of milk. Upon opening her eyes, she found the pillow beside her empty, and the adults were not present. Outside the curtain, sounds of laughter and joy could be heard. Amidst the commotion, a voice called out: "Bride, please step over the fire basin... Alright, the ceremony is complete!" She realized that Zhang Heitao had gotten married, and from then on, she had another little aunt.

"I wasn't there at the time, how would I know if he succeeded or not?" Aunt Zhang shook her knees, causing the young lady to sway drowsily, and smiled as she said: "Regardless of whether that brother succeeded or not, the groom from the Zheng family tonight will definitely succeed."

"Come, let us sneak a peek at the bride!" Zhang Haimei wrapped her left arm around Guijie'er’s waist and used her right hand to lift the curtain. Guijie'er felt that the hand holding her was not very steady, so she had to lift her two chubby little legs and wrap them around Zhang Haimei's waist to increase stability

Aunt Zhang placed the precious girl on her lap and continued to share a risqué joke that had recently occurred in the neighboring village with a group of aunts and female relatives.

How do you know? When you came to China to see the esteemed sister, she fell straight down from Zhang Haimei's arm. You reached out to support her little bottom, alleviating Zhang Haimei's burden a bit, while feigning disbelief at what Zhang Haimei said, tilting your head and saying: "Sitting until evening, wouldn't that make you too hungry to move?"

Aunt Zhang, tell me, has that brother succeeded in that situation? If he has succeeded, how will that younger sister get married?

Zhang Haimei weighed the situation for a while, and finally tucked Guijier under her arm, sliding down the side of the bed with a whoosh. Guijier, face down, was just thinking that her head might explode when Zhang Haimei lifted her up, revealing that she had safely landed.

All the aunts and gossipers laughed heartily

Zhang Haimei embraced the bride and followed her into the new house, which was not locked but only had a brand new red curtain hanging. As a few children lifted the curtain, they saw the newlywed sitting motionless by the bed, covered by a red veil

"Dear sister, your mother is busy. Come, let me take you out to see the excitement." Today, Sun Haimei received a few pieces of wedding candy, feeling joyful in her heart. She came in to see her dear sister and noticed that the bed of the Zheng family was as high as her shoulder. She reached out to hug her sister but couldn't grasp her, so she had to climb up the bed by holding onto the bed beams. First, she lifted her sister and placed her on her lap, then moved to the edge of the bed, dangling her legs. She first extended one foot to test the height of the bed and realized her legs were too short to reach the ground. Looking left and right, it seemed she wanted to jump down with her sister in her arms. This frightened her sister, who broke out in a cold sweat, saying, "Sister, you can't play like this. Today is a good day for a wedding. If you take me to jump off the big bed and I end up crippled, that would be a lifelong regret!" Therefore, she tried to struggle and lie back on the bed. However, when Zhang Haimei saw her struggling, she thought she was having fun. After assessing the situation at the edge of the bed, she said, "Dear sister, I can definitely jump by myself, but you are too heavy. If I jump with you, you will cause me to get hurt."

Zhang Haimei, seeing that the person from China did not believe her words, shot him a glance and said: "When my uncle married my aunt, it was just like this. Your aunt must also have to sit until evening before she can move. When they finally move in the room at night, there will be many people hiding outside the door listening to the sounds!"

The bride sat by the bed and heard a sound. She reached out and caught a peanut, slipping it into her sleeve. She looked at Laihua with wide eyes and said, "What skill!" As she was about to throw another peanut over, Qiaoniang came over and grabbed her, saying, "I’ve been looking everywhere for you, and it turns out you’ve come here to be mischievous." Seeing his mother intervene, Laihua could only slink away.

Looking at the night without moonlight, one cannot see one's own hand in front of them. The brother, thinking that the person sleeping on the outer side of the bed was the visiting Miss Li, crept into his sister's room at midnight. He pressed down, intending to force himself upon her, but the girl beneath him struggled fiercely and, in a muffled voice, said: 'Brother, it's me!' The brother, in a state of arousal, could not immediately discern that the voice belonged to his own sister, and he lewdly replied: 'It is indeed your brother!' As they wrestled, the girl sleeping inside was awakened. She let out a startled scream, jumped out of bed, and called for help. Soon, someone came with a lamp. It was only then that the brother realized he had made a mistake; the person beneath him was indeed his own sister, while Miss Li stood by the bed, her face pale!

As Zheng Mingye is the youngest son, his wedding was not as elaborate as Zheng Mingfa's when he got married. They simply set up a few tables in the courtyard, inviting only relatives from the family. Another table was set for a few friends with whom Zheng Mingfa and Zheng Mingye usually interacted. The village children gathered outside the main gate, calling for wedding candies, creating a lively atmosphere filled with chatter. Several children, including Lairong, had candies in their mouths and were busy helping the adults with various tasks, deliberately puffing their cheeks to make the children outside envious. Seeing Zhang Haimei carrying Guijie out, Laihua bounced over and said, "Little sister hasn't seen the bride yet, let's go take a look."