Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 555 The Big Wedding
The envoys from the Jin, New Jin and Goryeo countries were summoned one after another by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty within three days.

The order in which the Emperor of the Song Dynasty summoned envoys from the Three Kingdoms was exactly the opposite of the order of the three kingdoms' strength.

On the first day he met the envoys from Goryeo, on the second day the envoys from the New Jin Dynasty, and on the third day the envoys from the Jin Dynasty.

After many years, Goryeo submitted to the Song Dynasty again and acknowledged itself as a vassal of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Yuan accepted the letter submitted by the King of Goryeo and formally confirmed the relationship between the two sides as suzerain state and vassal state.

In fact, although Goryeo has been wavering for many years, no one would condemn it for anything.

As a small country, next to a powerful neighbor, what it has to do is to survive. It is only natural for it to submit to the stronger one.

It had no obligation to be loyal to the Song Dynasty at the cost of losing its country.

Therefore, its re-submission to the Song Dynasty now means that in the eyes of Goryeo, among the three surrounding kingdoms of Song, Jin and New Jin, Song is the most powerful.

The New Jin and the Great Song are currently in a period of passionate love, so the Song will certainly not make things difficult for the letters and requests they submit.

Now the New Jin occupies the most original territory of the Jurchens and regards itself as the ruler of the Jurchens.

It established diplomatic relations with the Song Dynasty, regarded the Song Dynasty as the elder brother and lowered itself to the younger brother. This was a major event that made the Song Dynasty proud.

As for the Jin Dynasty, the situation was complicated.

On the third day, Yuan Dan, an envoy from the Jin Kingdom, came to the palace. His mission was to congratulate the Song Dynasty on the New Year and the change of the reign title.

Compared to Goryeo and Xinjin, his mission is the simplest, but this is only the superficial reason.

Before the Emperor of Song Dynasty received him today, Yuan Dan had already held several rounds of secret negotiations with the ministers of Song Dynasty.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Jin State was entangled with the New Jin and became the biggest threat to the Jin State, the Song State's attitude became unprecedentedly tough.

The Jin State's proposal to cede some cities in Lianghuai in exchange for peace between the two sides was not recognized by the Song State.

The Song Dynasty demanded that the Jin Dynasty return all the Song territory it had occupied, but this was something the Jin Dynasty would never agree to.

How large was the area of ​​Song Dynasty territory occupied by Jin?

It is almost the same as the territory Wanyan Luti owns now.

The Jin State would rather cede some of the cities it had already occupied in exchange for the Song State's promise, so that it could boldly attack the New Jin and take back the divided territory.

If Jin agreed to Song's conditions, it would be equivalent to ceding a territory of the same size but more prosperous and populous to Song in exchange for a promise of peace from Song, so that Jin could attack the New Jin with confidence and take back the other divided territory.

If that were the case, the Jin Dynasty would have been better off not launching the Northern Expedition.

Yuan Dan patiently negotiated with Da Song several times, asking for a high price and paying it back on the spot.

The Song State also hoped that the Jin State could fight a few battles with the New Jin State to consume the Jin State's strength.

At the same time, the Song Dynasty had discovered that Lintao Prefecture had most likely been abandoned by the Jin Kingdom and taken over by the Western Xia.

This means that Western Xia and the Jin Dynasty have reached some kind of secret agreement, and Western Xia will inevitably take action against the Song Dynasty next.

Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for the Song State to launch a decisive battle against the Jin State immediately.

In view of this, the Song State held several imperial meetings and finally decided to take the bait offered by the Jin State.

The Kingdom of Jin wanted to marry one woman to two men, and the Song Dynasty accepted this idea. However, who would enter the bridal chamber had to do it first.

In this way, the Kingdom of Jin can fight the New Jin to the death with peace of mind.

These secret agreements have been reached, and Zhao Yuan officially met with the Jin envoy Yuan Dan today.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty received foreign envoys for three consecutive days. On the first day, Goryeo recognized him as its father; on the second day, the New Jin recognized him as its brother; on the third day, the Jin Kingdom changed from being a father to a brother, and presented Lintao Prefecture as a gift to the Song Dynasty.

The Lin'an tabloids reported all the news for three consecutive days, and the whole country celebrated, and the government and the public were proud.

It was the New Year, and the atmosphere was already peaceful and joyful. These good news made the people even more happy.

Goryeo's submission, New Jin's alliance, and Jin's show of weakness were all closely related to Yang Yuan.

I still remember that it was this top scholar Yang who called loudly for a change in the national policy towards Jin. It was from that time that the Song Dynasty began to prosper.

As a result, Yang Yuan once again became a hotly debated figure in the court and the public.

It was at this time that the edict conferring the title was issued.

"My uncle... was conferred the title of Marquis?"

When Li Fengniang walked out of Prince Jin's Mansion, she still looked incredulous.

The person sent by Li Dao to Lin'an to take her home for the New Year has arrived and will leave today.

Li Fengniang first said goodbye to her master Emmanuelle Belle, then to Yang Yuan, and finally to the Prince of Jin's Mansion to say goodbye to the Princess of Jin. As a result, she heard the news that Yang Yuan was conferred a title.

The old housekeeper who came to pick her up quickly put the footrest in place and helped Li Fengniang into the car.

Li Fengniang sat down in the car and let out a long sigh.

When the old butler saw it, he immediately asked with concern.

Li Fengniang said with great sorrow: "Old housekeeper, do you know? My uncle has been made a marquis! My father has been an official for many years, but he still has no title. Look at other people's men, ah!"

Li Fengniang, who hoped her father would become successful, felt deeply regretful.

The old butler could only smile with an apologetic face. The girl could tease her own father, but he dared not offend her.

……

The Yang Mansion became a marquis's mansion.

When Yang Yuan returned from the palace after receiving the imperial decree, people from the Ministry of Rites followed him.

This time, they came to read out the emperor's decree granting marriage.

The man’s matchmaker, Mother Liu, had been notified in advance and had already rushed to Yang’s house.

There were two smears of rouge on her cheeks, which were not evenly spread. Her face would look a little scary if she went out at night.

However, Mother Liu had a smile on her face from beginning to end.

This was the first highlight moment in her life, and next, she would have an even bigger highlight moment: Yang Yuan’s wedding.

During this period, the name Yang Yuan once again became the focus of discussion among the people of Lin'an, and his popularity reached its peak on the 27th day of the winter month.

On this day, starting from the afternoon, Renmeifang was filled with a constant stream of luxurious carriages and fine horses.

Entering Renmeifang and passing the three-story, four-pillar stone archway with the words "Sanyuan Jidi" inscribed on it, you will reach the Marquis' Mansion.

The vermilion lacquered gate was wide open, and Mr. Fan and Mr. Wang had placed a table covered with red cloth on each side of the gate.

They sit behind the table and act as accountants.

There are so many guests and gifts.

The two accountants wrote so quickly that the servant who was grinding ink for them felt his arms sore.

This is a marriage granted by the emperor. The Minister of Rites will officiate the wedding, and the Prince of Jin will accompany Lu Xi as the matchmaker between the woman's family and the woman's family.

On the man's side, heavyweight guests have already arrived.

Zheng Yuandong from the Privy Council came and brought a gift from Yang Cunzhong.

All the secretaries and deputy secretaries from the eight chambers and eight departments had arrived, including all the staff from the Yu Chamber and Chan Chamber where Yang Yuan had worked before.

Many generals from the Imperial Guards also came, among whom Luo Ke Di had the highest rank, while Yu Zhilong's generals were headed by the commander-in-chief Mo Long, and all of them were also present.

The officials of Lin'an Prefecture were of course no exception. The well-mannered Master Qiao was bound to attend, and even Yan Ding, who had been transferred to the Imperial College, came.

There was only one person in the entire Lin'an Prefecture who had not arrived, and that was Zhang Mi.

Zhang Mi said he was sick.

However, since the person had not arrived, the gift could not be missing, so Zhang Mi still prepared a gift and asked someone to bring it to him.

Then there was a group of “classmates” headed by Xiao Yiran.

Not many of Yang Yuan's fellow Jinshi candidates were present in person, because most of them had taken up local posts.

Only the top three in the first class could stay in Lin'an to serve as officials, so most of them entrusted Xiao Yiran to bring gifts.

But there were also some Jinshi with strong family backgrounds. Their official posts were near Lin'an, and the journey back and forth was only a day or two, so they came in person.

More merchants from Lin'an came. The Yang family's business now covers everything, and there are too many upstream industries that rely on the Yang family to make money.

However, most of these merchants were not qualified to attend the Yang family's wedding, and they knew this very well. They left after leaving their gifts and said goodbye.

The people had arrived, the gifts had been presented, and those who were qualified to be invited in to drink were all those who had had close contact with the Yang family.

For example, Nan Fengchi, the richest man in Xiaoshan, Yan Shen, a tycoon in Java, and Old Master Wang from Longjiang...

As for Belle from the jewelry store, Helen from the spice store, Suzuki, the representative of Fanfang, and others, that naturally goes without saying.

Mrs. Li from Shifeng also came.

All of Yang Yuan's confidantes, including the foreign girls who had been rescued by Yang Yuan, went to the Song family.

Only Li Shishi came to Yang's house openly as the man's relative and even sat in the seat of honor.

However, no one knows the true relationship between Li Shishi and Yang Yuan, so this is not surprising.

Only one person came and surprised the guests, and that was Prince Yongjia Zhao Shicheng.

Song Luxi has been recognized as the emperor's sister and has become the eldest princess of the Song Dynasty.

The Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and members of the Song royal family all sent gifts to the Song family, but most of them just sent a gift as a courtesy.

Only Zhao Shicheng went to the Song family first, gave gifts, congratulated them in person, and then came to the Yang Mansion.

The relationship between Zhao Shicheng and Tang Wan has now improved greatly, and they love each other very much. Zhao Shicheng is therefore very grateful to Yang Yuan.

Of course he would come to Yang Yuan's wedding.

With his arrival, he became the highest-ranking guest at Yang's residence and naturally sat in the chief seat.

Although the gifts given by the guests were varied, they were nothing more than rare treasures and silks.

As for Xiao Qianyue, Han Qianchen, Wang Changsheng and other strange people in the martial arts world, what they gave as gifts were the things they had carefully crafted.

For example, Xiao Qianyue gave her a set of exquisite jewelry he made by himself, while Han Qianchen gave her a "tooth ball".

This ivory ball, also known as the ghost ball, is a round ball carved from excavated mammoth ivory.

This sphere is hollowed out and deeply carved, and has thirty-six layers of concentric spheres nested in layers. Each layer can rotate freely, which is a work of exquisite craftsmanship.

Moreover, on each layer of the sphere, the scenery of one of the thirty-six Taoist caves is carved, which is extremely precious.

Good friends such as Lu You, Fan Chengda, Yang Wanli, and Yu Chongwen, who were unable to attend the wedding due to being out of town, sent handwritten calligraphy and paintings to congratulate their good friend Yang Yuan on his wedding.

Yang Yuan was very happy to see it, and specifically asked Young Master Wang to put it away carefully, so as not to be crushed by the gifts from other guests. Young Master Wang therefore said to Mr. Fan with emotion: "My old friend gave me a few paintings and calligraphy, which are not worth two cents, but the Marquis treasures them so much. The Marquis does not value gifts but values ​​feelings. He is a man of affection and righteousness!"

When Yang Yuan was about to go to pick up his bride, another pair of beautiful couples arrived together.

The two guests were both around twenty years old, with red lips, white teeth, and picturesque eyes and eyebrows.

Both of them had their hair tied up in a double phoenix comb, wore jade-colored straight robes, and had beautiful jades adorned around their waists, looking like a pair of immortals.

Such a handsome and extraordinary person, as soon as he appeared, attracted endless admiration from the guests.

They are so beautiful, they must be two women wearing hats instead of hairpins, right?

Could it be that Lord Yang's secret mistress came to cause trouble?
Thinking of this, some of the guests became excited and quickly moved closer to find out the identities of the two.

Then the two men presented their gifts and wrote their names on the gift card in front of Mr. Fan: Liu Shangqiu and Liu Banyue.

After hearing Liu Shangqiu introduce himself, the guest who had slipped aside suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out that this person was Liu Guojiu, the uncle of the previous emperor, and the other one was his cousin.

Since it was Uncle Liu who was in person, it was no surprise that the two brothers were so charming and beautiful that it was difficult to tell the gender.

The guest suddenly felt bored and returned to his seat unhappily.

Uncle Liu covered his mouth with a fan and walked inside while whispering, "Sixth sister, don't hold your head high and chest out like that, in case someone recognizes you."

Liu Wanrong rolled her eyes at him and said angrily, "You are the only one who is timid. How many people in this world know your Sixth Sister?"

"This..." Liu Shangqiu was suddenly speechless.

My elder sister was originally a girl who lived in seclusion in the boudoir, and then she was trapped in the deep palace for a long time. Not to mention, it was really difficult to find someone who knew her in the Yang family compound.

Ever since he discovered that his sister seemed to like Yang Yuan last time, Liu Shangqiu has become more cautious.

After several observations, he confirmed that the Sixth Sister had a crush on Yang Yuan and was in unrequited love with him!

Liu Shangqiu was worried, he was really worried.

If it were an ordinary man, as long as Sixth Sister liked it, he would definitely help her. If necessary, he could even give her some drugs.

But... Yang Ziyue has a bright future. If nothing unexpected happens, he will surely become a prime minister in the future.

If you become a woman of the Yang family, it will have a great impact on their future.

But my sister's unrequited love is getting more and more serious. Today is someone's wedding day, but she insisted on coming. Isn't she afraid of being saddened by the scene?

Seeing that the auspicious time for the wedding had arrived, Yang Yuan entrusted Master Qiao Zhen to welcome the guests on his behalf.

Mr. Qiao is really good at doing this. No matter whether he knows the person or not, no matter the person's status, Mr. Qiao can make people feel warm with just a few words.

Even the guest who put down his gift and left felt that he had been treated with great courtesy and respect.

As evening approached, Yang Yuan, riding a tall horse and leading the wedding procession, left Renmeifang and headed for Qingshi Lane.

Yuyaonu is Liu Shangqiu's concubine, and it is not appropriate for her to show up today.

If you bring your concubine to congratulate someone on his wedding, that would be disrespectful.

But Yuyaonu regards Yang Yuan as her benefactor, and since her benefactor is getting married today, she naturally has to show her appreciation.

Therefore, Yuyaonu invited the most popular singing girls, dancing girls and opera troupes from hundreds of tile houses in Lin'an to perform.

From Renmeifang to Qingshi Lane, Yuyaonu funded the construction of many colorful tents along the street, where popular kabuki and variety show troupes performed songs and dances and dramas for free.

Other wealthy families would at most set up buffets for a few days and invite their neighbors to eat their fill.

Who has the power to invite all the famous actors in Lin'an to perform on the street for free?
When Yang Yuan rushed to Qingshi Lane, it was naturally a lively scene again.

Dan Niang, Xue Bingxin, Leng Yuchan, Bei'er and other beautiful girls all served as bridesmaids for Luxi.

There were those who had no chance to be with Yang Yuan, such as Helen, Tierreba and other foreign girls, who were probably a little upset with Yang Yuan. Now that the opportunity was rare, they naturally wanted to make things difficult for him.

So they set up many checkpoints for Yang Yuan. Yang Yuan had to go through many levels and it was really a difficult journey.

Fortunately, Ya Ge and his companions finally got angry and supported Yang Yuan and forced their way into Fengwei Building.

Seeing this, a group of girls hurriedly retreated to the last line of defense and closed the door to prevent them from entering.

Yang Yuan, dressed in a bright red groom's crown and robes with a red flower on his hat, stood helplessly at the steps, watching the people inside and outside the door making a fuss.

Suddenly, something hit him lightly on the shoulder.

When Yang Yuan looked up, he saw a window on the second floor opened. Luxi, wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe, leaned out with a charming look in her eyes. She smiled shyly at him, put her finger to her lips as a gesture to keep quiet, and then quietly climbed out of the window.

At the door, Brother Ya and the others were half-seriously trying to break it down, and were completely unaware of this.

Seeing that Ya Ge and the others were still making a fuss outside the door, Yang Yuan quietly moved to the window, and suddenly jumped up like an onion in dry land.

He put his arms around Luxi's slender waist and flew lightly with her into the yard.

Luxi had twisted a rope out of a bed sheet, but before he could let go of the rope, he had already floated to the ground.

Yang Yuan looked at Lu Xi happily. Lu Xi was dressed in green, with a phoenix crown on her head and a bridal robe on her body. When she landed on the ground, the pearl curtain on her forehead swayed, making her white teeth and bright eyes look even more delicate.

The two smiled at each other. All the things they had done since they met finally came to fruition today. Yang Yuan couldn't help but put his arm around Lu Xi's slender waist, feeling very satisfied.

"Hey, Duck, let's go!"

Yang Yuan called out softly. Ya Ge was lying on the crack of the door, begging the girls inside to open the door. Suddenly he heard Yang Yuan's call, turned his head and saw, and couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Yang Yuan was dressed in red and Lu Xi was dressed in green, standing together in a pretty manner.

Red men and green women are the characteristics of wedding attire at that time.

As for the phoenix coronet and bridal robe, it was not actually the decree of Empress Ma of the Ming Dynasty, but just a folk legend.

On the wedding day, the groom can wear official uniform and the bride can wear a phoenix crown. This practice started in the Han Dynasty.

Brother Ya immediately signaled to everyone and pouted towards Yang Yuan.

Everyone saw the bride standing prettyly next to the groom, and they understood everything.

Everyone was silent and left on tiptoe, hugging the bride and groom and walking out of the yard.

Seeing this scene, Old Man Song shook his head. The girl has grown up, it is really impossible to keep her!
Many neighbors and guests who were coming to celebrate were watching in the yard and on the second floor opposite. When they saw the bride couldn't wait to climb up the stairs by herself, they couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Yang Yuan and his group leave, no one said anything and just watched the excitement.

Prince Jin, acting as the matchmaker for the bride, and Liu Mama, the matchmaker for the groom, who had come to welcome the bride, were waiting at the door with ceremonial guards.

Seeing the bride being successfully brought out, he could not help but be overjoyed. He immediately sent the bride to the sedan chair, and the group left Qingshi Lane with music and dance.

The women blocking the door of the small building suddenly noticed that no one was knocking on the door outside and there was no movement, and they couldn't help feeling quite strange.

Afafu peeked out through the crack in the door and said with a change of expression, "Oh no! They're gone."

Helen stamped her feet and said, "I told you not to go too far. Now the groom has run away in anger. What are we going to do now?"

Dan Niang frowned and said, "That doesn't make sense. How could Erlang abandon Luxi and leave in anger? That's not right!"

After all, they are good friends. Dan Niang suddenly thought of something. She gestured to the girls who were already starting to panic to wait a moment, then lifted her skirt and went upstairs.

In just a moment, Dan Niang came down from upstairs.

Halfway through the walk, he spread his hands and said helplessly: "The bride couldn't wait any longer and has already climbed out the window to follow the groom!"

……

When two surnames are united in marriage and a contract is made together, a good relationship will last forever, and the couple will have the same name.

Three matchmakers stood in the hall. In the middle was the officiating minister Qu Shangshu, who represented the emperor. On the right stood the matchmaker for the woman, Prince of Jin Zhao Jue. Listening to Prince of Jin's "goose, goose, goose" laughter, matchmaker Liu on the left was like a goose with its neck strangled, she was so excited that she was almost suffocating.

It was dusk, the auspicious time had arrived, and the wedding officially began.

The bride did not have a hard night. She was helped out with her veil on her head, bowed to her groom, and then was sent to the bridal chamber to sit on the bed.

Yang Yuan had countless social engagements, so he had to stay ahead to entertain all the guests.

Yang Yuan toasted everyone at each table, and the first table he met was Liu Shangqiu and "Liu Banyue".

Accompanying the Moon, does it mean accompanying the Moon?
Looking at Liu Wanrong's affectionate eyes, Yang Yuan just smiled and said, "Brother Banyue, please drink up!"

In front of a room full of guests, Yang Yuan couldn't show off.

If people knew that the late imperial concubine was wearing men's clothes and appeared here as a male guest, I'm afraid all kinds of rumors would spread throughout the streets tomorrow.

"The Marquis's wine is good wine."

Liu Wanrong showed her cup to Yang Yuan and smiled sweetly.

Yang Yuan turned around and took the wine jug from the tray in the servant's hand, walked forward to fill her glass, then smiled slightly and turned to toast the next person.

Liu Wanrong's eyes suddenly lit up, as bright as the morning stars.

When Yang Yuan approached to pour the wine, he whispered to her, "Give me some time."

"Give me some time" means...

Liu Wanrong's heart was about to explode with joy.

If possible, she doesn't want to be sneaky, she doesn't want to be urged to get married by her parents every day, she wants to have a child of her own and raise him with dignity.

She wants to stay with Erlang forever.

"give me some more time."

These were the most beautiful words of love that Liu Wanrong had ever heard.

When the moon is bright in the sky, the song ends and the audience disperses.

Xiao Qingtang prepared toiletries for Yang Yuan. Yang Yuan washed his face and rinsed his mouth. When everything was ready, he sat on a chair, closed his eyes and breathed in and out for a while.

The feeling of tipsiness gradually dissipated with his long breathing. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were clear and there was no trace of drunkenness anymore.

Qingtang was still waiting in the room. When he saw Yang Yuan open his eyes, he hurriedly handed him tea of ​​just the right temperature.

Yang Yuan took a sip of tea and stood up.

"You've been busy all day, go and rest early."

Hearing these thoughtful words, Xiao Qingtang felt sweet in her heart.

But Yang Yuan then said, "If you dare to eavesdrop, you'd better be careful of getting your butt broken!"

Yang Yuan left and went straight to the bridal chamber. Xiao Qingtang curled her lips in disdain: "Who wants to listen? You are looking down on me. Tsk! When my godmother gets married, I will be watching from the sidelines!"

(End of this chapter)