Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Xiangxiang sat listlessly on the bed. Gong Jianyun didn't come to lift her veil for a long time, but she wasn't in a hurry. There was plenty of time. She pricked up her ears, carefully listening to the sounds coming from inside and outside the room. After the guests had finished their meal, they gradually dispersed. The relatives and friends who had helped were busy cleaning up the leftovers and escorting Gong Jianyun into the bridal chamber.

Gong Jianyun sat at the table for a while, then staggered into the east room and lay down drunk on the kang (a heated brick bed).

From early morning until now, Xiangxiang hadn't even chewed a bite. Just before leaving, Zheng Tu offered her a few eggs, but she didn't eat them, afraid she'd need to relieve herself on the way—stopping the sedan chair halfway was considered unlucky. Amidst the commotion, she alighted from the sedan chair, stepped over the brazier, went through the wedding ceremony, and was led to the bridal chamber—the west room, newly wallpapered, white all around, with a table of food in the center that masked the faint smell of paste. The bed, cabinets, tables, and chairs were her former wife's belongings—the wedding was rushed, and there wasn't time to hire craftsmen to make new furniture, so Gong Jianyun said to make do with the furniture they already had and not spend any more money. Zheng Tu then folded the furniture into silver and placed it at the bottom of Xiangxiang's chest. Xiangxiang's dowry was very lavish, including newly styled basins, buckets, chests, fruit boxes, soup bottles, candle holders, tea canisters, rice jars, sugar jars, porcelain plates, porcelain bowls, vases, dressing table, mirror frames, table screens, washbasin stands, twelve quilts, boxes of jewelry, boxes of velvet flowers and pith flowers, six silver-ribbed flower crowns, four chests of clothes, combs, lip rouge, face powder, and twenty or thirty pots of jasmine, a grand procession that couldn't be displayed all over the street.

Xiangxiang had never been so hungry. The aunts who had accompanied her to the wedding had already left after eating and drinking their fill, completely ignoring whether her veil had been lifted or whether she was hungry—they weren't close relatives anyway, so they couldn't be relied on. Two of her cousins ​​came in and were taken aback to see Xiangxiang still sitting on the edge of the bed with her veil covering her face. The older one gestured for the younger one to clear away the leftovers, while she herself went over and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Xiangxiang's delicate, plump hand and gently patting it. "Jianyun's been too busy, no wonder. He has to worry about everything. Even if others offer to help, he'll still have to deal with it all! He's neglected you, niece-in-law, don't blame him. He's just happy, and those shameless guys outside got him drunk! When you return home, tell your father, and he'll spank him!" With that, she chuckled and got up to walk towards the east room, secretly cursing her nephew: It's not like it's his first time getting married, how could he be so confused as to forget to lift the veil?

Gong Jianyun was fast asleep and couldn't be woken up no matter how much she tried. His aunt had no choice but to pull a thin quilt over him and cover him with it. She then returned to the west room, hesitated for a moment, picked up a scale rod, and lifted Xiangxiang's veil off. She laughed and said, "Niece-in-law, Jianyun is really drunk and can't be woken up. That shameless fellow, I don't know how much he drank! The sun is about to set, so the veil can't be on anymore. I've lifted it off for you so you can breathe a little better, okay? There's no maidservant here, so let me help you take off your coat. You must be feeling very confined all day. Oh, good, the food is here. The brat is too unlucky to eat. We, his wife and I, will keep you company. Oh dear, this morning the magpies kept chattering at me. I was thinking, 'It's not my wedding day, why are they chattering like that?' Turns out I'm in for a treat today!" As she spoke, she winked at the person who came and pulled Xiangxiang to sit at the table. The newcomer was quick-witted and laughed, "We deserve this good fortune! If that silly boy hadn't gotten drunk, would we have gotten a table at the bride's room? Let me get another pair of chopsticks. There's still a bowl of 'descendant buns' that hasn't been served yet. Let me bring them over!"

Xiangxiang let the two men do as they pleased, ultimately refusing to drink the nuptial wine. Night fell, and Gong Jianyun still hadn't woken up. The two aunts from the same clan took their leave. Xiangxiang saw the two aunts off and returned, bolting the door. Too weak to go to the west or east room, she collapsed to the ground. She had fantasized countless times about her wedding night, but each time was different. The marriage she had painstakingly planned had already revealed its sinister nature before it even began. She absolutely couldn't go to the east room; in Gong Jianyun's presence, she had little dignity left, and she couldn't take the initiative to throw herself into his arms again! Wiping away her tears, Xiangxiang struggled to her feet and walked back to the west room. Without a personal maidservant to serve her—not because she couldn't afford one, but because she was afraid of distracting Gong Jianyun—Xiangxiang removed her hairpins and bracelets, combed her hair, washed off her makeup, changed into her nightgown, tidied up the chestnuts, dates, and candies on the bedding, cleaned it up, lowered the curtains, pulled over a thin red quilt with mandarin ducks playing with lotus flowers and covered herself up tightly, and began to sob. At this moment, she even began to regret it, feeling that she might have made a mistake, an irreparable disaster.

In the morning, Xiangxiang tidied everything up, washed her face with cold water. New brides weren't supposed to go into the kitchen, but she didn't care anymore. Looking at the old gatekeeper's filthy appearance, what kind of delicious food could he possibly make? The kitchen was spotless. She started cooking millet porridge first; Gong Jianyun had drunk too much yesterday, so she'd give him a bowl to soothe his stomach. The dishes were ready-made, all leftovers from yesterday. She put a plate of freshly sliced ​​cold meat, another plate of sliced ​​spiced tea eggs, and a plate of braised tofu cubes. After thinking for a moment, she took out a plate of eight-treasure pickled vegetables from the dowry porcelain jar and arranged them neatly.

Gong Jianyun didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to face all this, but he had no choice. Yesterday, the clansmen had been busy for him all day, and he had to return the favor today—he had to go door to door to invite them—he couldn't be impolite! He lazily lifted the curtain and stood in the courtyard. When Xiangxiang saw him come out, she quickly scooped a ladle of water from the warming pot on the stove, poured it into a copper basin, and placed it on the steps in front of the house, holding a face towel in her hand as she served him. Gong Jianyun rolled up his sleeves, quickly washed his face, ignored the handkerchief offered to him, turned and walked to the second gate, loudly calling Lao Quan to come eat. Lao Quan was wearing a new blue silk robe, new trousers and a new shirt underneath, and a pair of new satin shoes. He acted coy like a new bride, grumbling and whining at the dining table, "Before, there were few people in the family, and no women. Master didn't set any rules for this old servant. Now that there are people in this courtyard, this old servant should eat outside! How can servants eat at the table in the inner courtyard?"

"Stop talking nonsense. There are only three people in the family after Bao Dui's arrival. Do you really need to eat in two separate groups? We can establish rules later. Hurry up and finish your meal. We have a lot to do today!" The millet porridge was fragrant and soft, much better than what the old servant usually made. The old servant, sitting at the lower end of the table, kept praising it. Gong Jianyun placed a piece of braised meat in his bowl with his chopsticks and said impatiently, "Can't you even shut your mouth while eating?" The old servant stopped arguing and lowered his head to slurp his food.