Chapter 161: Commander Jiang Marries Off His Daughter
Today, Commander Jiang is marrying off his daughter. He even sent an invitation to his Elder Brother, Jiang Huaisheng, inviting Old Madam Jiang and her family to attend the ceremony. Unfortunately, Madam Jiang is bedridden and cannot attend in person.
Old Madam Jiang usually takes good care of her health, and her injuries were not severe; she would have recovered after resting for a while.
However, after rushing about all day that day and suffering a fright, she developed a fever in the middle of the night. Fortunately, it was a close call, and she pulled through, though she is very weak and suffering.
Commander Jiang is marrying off his daughter. Naturally, all the prominent families in Ming County want to show their support.
Even those without invitations are trying to find ways to sneak in and offer gifts. On a day like this, no one is foolish enough to cause trouble. In a small place, there are no secrets.
Heir Han ran off early in the morning. The people from Jiang Mansion tried to leave but slunk back.
The strong, well-equipped guards who had escorted the people from Jiang Mansion out had vanished. No one dared to speak or ask about it.
There were rumors that Heir Han had abducted Jiang Da’s wife, which is why he ran off before dawn.
Everyone wanted to ask and gossip about it; after all, it was a scandalous affair. They had plenty of time to discuss it at length.
Those without invitations tried to get them. Jiang Huaisheng, who had an invitation, didn’t dare not go.
He remembered that morning, shortly after he learned that Jinger was pregnant, he had excitedly gone to buy snacks for her on the street.
He ran into his younger brother, Jiang Changtian. He was wearing an oversized robe, and the wind made him look like a kite.
He said his little Yuer was going to be a concubine for an old man and asked him to attend the ceremony. Jiang Huaisheng scolded him for degrading himself. How ironic. Now, he had given him a bright red wedding invitation.
Today, Jiang Yu is getting married—his niece is getting married. By rights, he should provide a dowry; as a member of the bride’s family, he should have provided a headpiece or similar items. These things should have been handled by the lady of the house, Jinger. But now, Jinger is gone. Wan’er, an unmarried young lady, certainly could not handle these matters.
He is still Commander Jiang’s Elder Brother, but the relationship is self-evident; the injury on his face was caused by Commander Jiang himself.
He didn’t understand.
The younger brother who once loved and respected him had been driven out of the house by their mother.
As for Heir Han, whom they barely knew, their mother treated him like a son, and after he abducted Jinger and Shushu, their mother didn’t say a word, only blaming Jinger instead.
Today, Jiang Wan accompanied her father to attend Jiang Yu’s wedding. She still remembered when she went to give Jiang Yu embroidered shoes and clothes.
The shoes and clothes were made of good material and were not old; she had intended well. But she hadn’t expected Jiang Feng to sell the clothes she had worn to a brothel for money.
Later, Jiang Feng had a conflict with Elder Brother. Elder Brother’s guard, Guard Wu Liu, injured Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng deliberately told the bandits that he was Jiang Rong, causing the bandits to target the wrong person and giving Elder Brother a fright.
It seemed that everything started to change from that moment.
Looking back, Guard Wu Liu died, those two Kidnappers died, the entire family of Master Liu, who wanted to take Jiang Yu as a concubine, died, then Aunt Yao died, and now Chu Yi is dead. He was surnamed Chu.
He was the son of the current Seventh Prince.
One of the Emperor’s many grandsons. Thinking of so many people who had died, yet today, Jiang Yu was actually getting married. It was truly ironic.
Meng Shaoxia, who had not yet become General Meng, was marrying openly and honorably today, and was actually willing to stay in Ming County for Jiang Yu’s sake.
It was unbelievable. In her memory, General Meng was a hot figure in the imperial court whom everyone wanted to marry into.
She had relied on her status as the Empress’s own niece—since the Empress had no sons, her status at the time was like that of the only princess—to break through the encirclement and secure a marriage alliance with the Meng Family.
Yet, she hadn’t expected that so early on, Meng Shaoxia would actually be marrying Jiang Yu in Ming County and planning to stay there.
If he stayed in this small place, could Meng Shaoxia still become General Meng? Could he still achieve those glorious military feats? He was degrading himself.
She couldn’t understand it; she desperately wanted to leave Ming County, yet Meng Shaoxia actually wanted to stay.
However, he was destined to die in battle anyway. Even if Jiang Wan felt unwilling, thinking that he eventually died in battle made her feel there was nothing to quibble about.
She even thought that when she had tried to stop Jiang Yu from meeting Meng Shaoxia earlier, it was actually for her own good. Just like now, what did an honorable marriage matter if she would eventually be a widow and the Meng Family line would end?
Having sorted through the past, Jiang Wan finished dressing and headed to Kaner Village. She had no close friends in Ming County; previously, she had looked down on the people here and had no one she particularly needed to socialize with.
She was a quiet and gentle young lady. She was the projection of Old Madam Jiang’s former self. Every move Jiang Wan made carried the shadow of Old Madam Jiang, but more so, it was the likeness of Grand Princess Huiyun.
Perhaps in her heart, Old Madam Jiang envied her noble friend from her maiden days, so when raising her own descendants, she subconsciously taught them things that were actually the style of Grand Princess Huiyun.
Jiang Wan accompanied her father to the Jiang Family in Kaner Village. If she hadn’t been in a carriage with someone guiding the way, Jiang Wan wouldn’t have recognized this as the Jiang Family.
In her memory, it was a very small thatched cottage with just a small courtyard, where all daily activities were cramped together—a very narrow and stifling place. It didn’t smell bad, but it wasn’t much better.
Now, there was a whole complex of buildings, spacious and bright, and they had even built a road specifically for carriages and horses to pass through.
The place was full of guests, with red walls and green tiles. Red couplets, red carpets. Lanterns and streamers were hung up. It was incredibly festive.
Jiang Wan and Jiang Yu were originally first cousins. As a legitimate member of the bride’s family, she should have been at the house early to help receive guests.
However, everyone knew the complicated relationship between Commander Jiang and the Jiang Mansion. Seeing Jiang Wan arrive, no one greeted her.
She felt a sense of isolation. Jiang Wan’s temperament and behavior were actually more like Grand Princess Huiyun’s, so she was inherently very arrogant, but also possessed a casual, free-spirited side.
Today, she wore a light purple dress, and her snow-white skin made her look very elegant.
Although many who knew the inside story wouldn’t approach her, there were inevitably some who couldn’t help but discuss her privately. “She is so beautiful, truly pleasing to the eye. Her nose is straight, her forehead is round, and her figure is excellent. Standing there, she looks so graceful.”
There were even some young men attending the wedding who couldn’t help but want to come over and strike up a conversation.
Jiang Mianmian and Little Bug were up in the treehouse, looking down at the diverse crowd. Naturally, they could see Jiang Wan being ostracized; although she was with a group of young ladies, she was naturally excluded.
She didn’t seem annoyed, maintaining a polite and courteous demeanor. This actually made the other girls seem petty.
Young Master Zi took a bag of dried meat and preserved fruit from his pocket and spread them out for Jiang Mianmian.
Jiang Mianmian took them and watched while eating the snacks. She felt that the snacks Little Bug brought tasted quite good and were very unique; they had a different texture from what she had at home, with a sweet and salty flavor.
A sudden, loud cheer erupted from the crowd.
The groom had arrived.
Meng Shaoxia, riding a white horse and dressed in red, with the precious sword Duofu strapped to his waist, had arrived.
There were no firecrackers, but the sound of gongs and drums made it very lively. The guards behind Meng Shaoxia moved in perfect unison, which was also quite a spectacle. The groom dismounted.
Jiang Mianmian hurriedly slid down from the treehouse and ran to her sister’s room. Elder Brother was wearing a stiff dark blue robe and fine boots today, bending down to prepare to carry his younger sister on his back. Elder Sister, wearing a red bridal veil, looked flushed all over and threw herself onto her brother’s back.
Jiang Feng teased, “Jiang Xiaoyu, you’re so heavy.” Little Jiang Mianmian held her elder sister’s hand and followed along.
Jiang Feng felt Jiang Xiaoyu on his back giggling. He couldn’t help but grumble, “Great-Aunt said that a woman getting married should cry; at least shed a few tears. Even if you aren’t leaving home, you should still go through the motions.”
Jiang Yu, on her brother’s back, couldn’t help but laugh and say, “I just remembered all the banquets I’ve eaten, and now I’m finally eating at my own. I couldn’t help it. Did you make sweet and sour fish today? I smelled that sweet and sour scent in the room just now. Save a piece for me.” Jiang Mianmian nodded from the side and said considerately, “Elder Sister, I’ll save some for you.”
Jiang Feng had been a bit sad. His little sister was getting married. He felt a bit unsettled, yet also very gratified. In this lifetime, he was the one carrying his sister to her wedding. But hearing Jiang Xiaoyu still thinking about sweet and sour fish, he decided, forget it; let Shaoxia deal with the headache.
Jiang Feng carefully carried his sister to Meng Shaoxia.
They were supposed to be holding a red silk ribbon, but Meng Shaoxia, a bit flustered, forgot and reached out to take Jiang Yu’s hand instead.
Jiang Yu, who had just been thinking about sweet and sour fish, was stunned when her hand was grasped by Brother Meng’s hand.
It was different from holding her sister’s hand. Her sister’s hand was small and soft. Brother Meng’s hand was large, calloused, and strong.
Brother Meng held her hand, walked around the doorway, and then led her inside. At this moment, Jiang Yu became much more well-behaved.
The crowd was extremely lively. Jiang Wan watched the young Meng Shaoxia, who was laughing heartily and holding Jiang Yu’s hand foolishly as the two entered the courtyard together.
When they crossed the threshold, Jiang Yu stumbled, and Meng Shaoxia quickly reached out to support her.
He steadied her as she stepped over.
The red bridal veil swayed. Jiang Yu’s heart was full; so, this is what getting married is like. Today, she was getting married. Just like A-Cui.
She was marrying a man she liked. It was wonderful. Her parents were both with her, and her siblings were present.
He had followed the three letters and six etiquettes, marrying her openly and honorably. They bowed to the high hall, bowed to heaven and earth, and bowed to each other.
“The ceremony is complete! The ceremony is complete!” The sound of gongs and drums rang out. Jiang Changtian and Qin Luoxia sat at the head of the hall, watching the newlyweds bow. Jiang Changtian’s eyes were moist, and Qin Luoxia’s chest heaved.
They had safely watched their daughter get married. Today was truly a good day.
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