Neither of them really dared step out of line in the presence of Ling Zhaowu. Ling Zhang believed that he hadn’t exposed any of his true thoughts and had been concealing them very well, that Ling Zhaowu was merely reminding him to stop being in a daze. Yuwen Tong, however, was fully aware of what was going on. He was just pretending he didn’t dare do anything beyond the pale.
Ling Zhaowu, though knowing the truth, had no alternative but to listen to the presiding official whose job was to remind everybody of what they were supposed to do.
Ling Zhang went to the main hall in the front yard with Yuwen Tong to officially bid his elders farewell.
There were a lot of guests attending the wedding ceremony on this day. While taking their leave of the elders, the two of them could still hear magpies twittering outside.
It was a festive day with a fine weather, red silk ribbons fluttering in the breeze to the jubilant wedding music which was quite pleasant to the ear.
After bidding farewell to the elders, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang walked out of the doors hand in hand. With the help of the cues from the presiding official, the two of them finished the many steps of the rigmarole which were fairly complicated but full of benediction. When they had reached the gateway, Yuwen Tong helped Ling Zhang mount his horse.
North Wind looked extremely spirited on this day. Snowflake had run out of the residence to stand by his side some time before. The two horses, one black and the other white, their heads adorned with red satin ribbons, appeared full of mettle.
Sitting on horseback in front of the gates of the Ling Mansion, Ling Zhang looked over his shoulder at all his family members who had come out to see him off. For an instant his eyes burned and stung slightly. After he left this residence this day, his public identity would be Ling Zhang, the empress of the Great Wen, rather than Ling Zhang, the eldest grandson of the Ling family’s patriarch.
As Ling Xingzhong sensed his grandson’s reluctance to leave, his eyes which were full of parting sentiment and expectation also became unnoticeably wet with tears.
Ling Zhang dismounted, walked back to him, held his hand and said in a faintly choked voice, “Grandfather.”
Ling Xingzhong also held his grandson’s hand tight, somewhat unwilling to let him go. He had watched Ling Zhang grow from a baby in swaddling clothes into a promising young man. Ling Zhang was the light of his life, and now his beloved grandson was about to marry into another family, how could he not feel upset about it? Parental love had been absent from most of Ling Zhang’s childhood, and Ling Xingzhong had given Ling Zhang far more care than he’d done any of his other family members. It could be said that he’d personally brought Ling Zhang up, keeping an eye on him at all times.
“We’re your family and nothing’s going to change that. As long as you have a happy life, we’ll be happy as well. You need to be cautious with your words and deeds after marrying into the imperial family and put your own safety first in all circumstances.”
This was the most explicit remark Ling Xingzhong had made so far on this day. A few moments before when Ling Zhang had been officially bidding his elders farewell in the main hall, Ling Xingzhong had also drummed a lot into Ling Zhang, but by exhorting Ling Zhang to put his own safety first in all circumstances, Ling Xingzhong was speaking from the perspective of a concerned grandfather.
Ling Zhang could understand. He knew about Ling Xingzhong’s concern for him. “I know, Grandfather. I promise I’ll protect myself and take good care of myself. There’s no need to worry. Only if you stay healthy can I have complete peace of mind.”
Ling Xingzhong inclined his head and tightened his hold on Ling Zhang’s hand for a moment before he released it and said, “You should get going.”
The moment Ling Xingzhong’s grip slackened, Ling Zhang felt as though his insides had instantly disappeared. It was a sensation that he couldn’t describe with just a few words, but he felt it in the most distinct way, his eyes instantaneously reddening with tears in spite of himself.
Right at this moment, Yuwen Tong standing beside him reached out a hand and grasped Ling Zhang’s tightly. The warmth from Yuwen Tong’s firm grip immediately comforted Ling Zhang, who was sent into a fleeting trance before shifting his gaze to Yuwen Tong.
Holding his hand tight, Yuwen Tong said, “Let’s go. It’s time for us to return to the palace. This residence is not far away from the imperial palace. You may come back here to keep your grandfather company any time you want.”
As though his insides had reappeared in his body at these words, Ling Zhang could now breathe normally again. He looked from his family’s encouraging eyes to Yuwen Tong’s expectant ones, held Yuwen Tong’s hand which was gripping his, said goodbye to his elders for the last time and then made towards North Wind hand in hand with Yuwen Tong.
Yuwen Tong didn’t let Ling Zhang ride Snowflake. Instead, he had Ling Zhang share North Wind with him. North Wind raised his head and let out a long neigh, looking quite smug.
Snowflake rubbed her head against Ling Zhang’s shank. Ling Zhang reached out a hand to stroke her head, allaying her restlessness.
“Mount! Back to the palace!”
The presiding official gave an instruction loudly and with that the convoy started progressing slowly.
Following the processing convoy was a seemingly endless succession of trousseau chests carried by pairs of servants, and heading the trousseau-delivery team were Jiang Yu and Zhao Jiusi, Ling Zhang’s two advisers. After quite a long time, when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had disappeared from view at the end of the street, trousseau chests were still being carried out of the residence one after another, as though there were an inexhaustible stock of them in there.
All lookers-on were shocked by this scene. Hardly any of them had ever seen a trousseau of this scale. Was the Ling family really so wealthy?
None of them had expected this. Previously they had all believed that the Ling family wouldn’t be able to offer Ling Zhang many presentable items as his trousseaus.
Now the fact had proved all of them wrong. Many people were green with envy at the sight of these trousseaus.
What was more astounding was that when the seemingly inexhaustible trousseaus finally stopped coming out of the front gates, twenty men walked out and followed the team, every one of whom was dressed like a merchant. All lookers-on were bemused, wondering who they were. It was not until someone among the crowd recognized some of the merchants that all the onlookers came to know that these people were keepers of some famous stores, wineries and chambers of commerce in various cities around the country.
Most people gasped in astonishment after being informed of this. These people were actually part of Ling Zhang’s trousseau-delivery team. What did it mean?
Those relatively smart ones had guessed the answer already.
The Ling family had forked out such a fortune!
At this time, someone else among the crowd finally disclosed that what they were seeing was just a small part of Ling Zhang’s trousseau.
“Rumor has it that there’s a list, and those on the list are the most important part.”
“You see that? That little casket Jiang Yu is holding, the one that looks the most insignificant – I heard that it’s filled with long-lost kung fu manuals, which are priceless!”
“You can’t be serious. My goodness. Since when have the Ling family got so many good things?!”
“That I don’t know. Anyway, Childe Ling’s trousseau is far more than what we’ve seen.”
The broadest street in the capital city had been cleared, guards standing on the two sides of it. Behind the guards was a seething mass of arms and legs. All these people were residents of this city, who were watching the wedding convoy from the Ling Mansion. As an imperial edict had been issued specially sparing them the trouble of getting on their knees when seeing the emperor on the street on this day, they got to stand at the roadside watching the large wedding convoy slowly passing by.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were sharing a horse. North Wind was proudly proceeding forward at a gentle pace.
Seeing the residents nearby, Ling Zhang still felt somewhat shy, and his quickening heartbeat was just the beginning.
“Why are they…”
Ling Zhang had thought that these people would kneel. It was not that he badly wanted to see them on their knees, but with so many eyes staring squarely at him, he really felt quite embarrassed.
Holding him, Yuwen Tong said in his ear, “This is our wedding ceremony. Wouldn’t it be better if more people bear witness to it?”
Yuwen Tong was doing this on purpose. He did want everybody to see that he and Ling Zhang were a match made in heaven, that they were made for each other, and how awe-inspiring Ling Zhang’s trousseau was. He wanted it known to all that the two of them got married. This day was all about him and Ling Zhang, and the whole nation would revel with them.
Ling Zhang could divine what he was thinking just by hearing his tone. Looking at their hands whose fingers were interlocked, he asked, “Are you not afraid that people might gossip about you because of this?”
Yuwen Tong chuckled, “Who would dare do that? Even if anybody did do that, they would just be doing it out of jealousy.”
They would be jealous of him marrying the best person in the world, and all gossip would be nothing but sour grapes.
Ling Zhang also chuckled, “You’re so thick-skinned.”
Smiling, Yuwen Tong held him tight. The two of them sitting on the same horse was such a public display of affection that all onlookers were astonished. Originally the residents of the capital city, following instructions from specially-designated officials, had been scattering petals and candies along the way, but at the sight of the intimacy between the two of them, all of them were dumbstruck and unable to come to themselves for quite a while.
Petals strewed the road along which marched the wedding convoy decked out in scarlet satin ribbons that were fluttering. It was windy, but the sunshine was genial. The procession was so long people couldn’t see the end of it.
This was an imperial wedding, and their emperor and empress were the most conspicuous ones in the convoy.
For many people, this was the first thought that popped into their minds after they pulled themselves out of their trance.
And with that all their other ideas were forced out of their heads by the shower of petals and candies as well as the uproar of the crowds. The whole city, the whole nation, joined in the grand celebration.
…
It took the convoy a long time to reach the imperial palace, for they hadn’t been traveling fast, and Yuwen Tong had intentionally had North Wind walk slowly, led the procession around the city at a leisurely pace to let everybody see the pomp of their wedding.
Moreover, the Ling family’s trousseau-delivery team was way too long. Bringing up the rear were Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three bodyguards, who were very far away from the front gates of the imperial palace when Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong arrived there.
This was the first great occasion of such splendor that the Great Wen had seen. Also, it was an imperial wedding ceremony. These scenes had been engraved in the memory of everybody that had seen them on this day and would be there for a very long time. Nobody would forget this in a hurry, for it would be a popular topic of conversation for all those that had seen the wedding.
From mouth to mouth spread messages about the pomp of the imperial wedding, and eventually people in all cities of the Great Wen came to know about it. For quite a few days, different versions of the story circulated among associates, friends, relatives, etc. Because of relaters’ embellishments, the occasion was lauded to the skies. On top of that, some professional storytellers added some artistic elements to it and eventually the wedding became an unsurpassable classic in most people’s eyes.
Of course, that was another story. Right now, after Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong entered the palace, Yuwen Feng, the Minister of Rites, personally acted as the wedding officiant. From the moment the two of them walked into the palace, a series of time-consuming ceremonials were waiting for them to finish.
Ling Zhang had been in a good mood while enjoying the breeze with Yuwen Tong on horseback, and the latter had been talking in his ear non-stop all the time. The two of them were both indulging themselves in this kind of happiness. It was not until he caught sight of Yuwen Feng that he abruptly came to realize the situation.
Having done a dry run in the palace the other day, they knew what they needed to do next. It was a very lengthy ritualistic rigmarole…
Ling Zhang’s countenance changed briefly and with that the hair on his scalp began to prickle. The mere casual dry run had struck him as too much trouble, and now the real thing was happening. From this moment on, he and Yuwen Tong wouldn’t have another instant as enjoyable as the time they’d spent together just now…
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