Chapter 942 - 1: The Betrothal Gifts
Chapter 942: Chapter 1: The Betrothal Gifts
Late August of the fourth year of Xuanjing, the Song family returned to the capital after completing three years of mourning at their ancestral home.
With the arrival of autumn, wild geese flew south, and Song Wei caught a pair and held them as he returned to the capital. Once settled at the Duke Mansion, he visited on the Chrysanthemum Festival to initiate the betrothal ceremony.
To adhere to customs, Wen Wan and her parents, along with Little Yanli, had moved to the Duke Mansion to stay temporarily half a month earlier.
Today, the mansion was bustling with activity.
In the central hall of the main courtyard, Duke Lu and the Duchess Liu Family were seated at the head, while Lu Pingzhou, Aunt Wen, Lu Yanbin, and Mrs. Xiao Liu holding a child were sitting on the left side armchairs.
In the second room, Lu Xingzhou was in a wheelchair, and Zhao Xunyin sat with Lu Yanli on the right side armchairs.
As the bride-to-be, Wen Wan could not appear and was staying in her boudoir.
The servants in the kitchen were busy making Five Blessings Cake, while maids, servant boys, nannies, and old maids hurried back and forth along the corridor, creating a scene of bustling activity.
At 7 a.m., a servant boy ran in gasping for breath, excitedly exclaiming, "He’s here, he’s here, the groom is here!"
Old Mrs. Lu glared at him, "He hasn’t even formally tied the knot and you’re already calling him the groom?"
The servant boy quickly laughed and slapped his own mouth, "I misspoke, Mr. Song is here."
"Quickly invite him in." Old Mrs. Lu instructed.
The servant boy retreated and shortly after, Song Wei appeared in the main courtyard holding a pair of wild geese.
Zhao Xunyin smiled upon seeing this, "It’s said that wild geese mate only once in their lifetime, and if one dies, the other will never pair again. It’s indeed rare for Third Son to show such sentiment."
Song Wei handed the wild geese tied with red strings to the servants and, upon entering, greeted the elders one by one.
He had always favored the color celadon, and today he was dressed in a celadon long robe, with a brocade belt at the waist and wide sleeves trimmed with a scroll pattern.
At forty, he was like a vintage wine becoming more mellow with age, embodying the best state of a man’s life, with modesty and restraint, grace, and elegance.
Duke Lu lifted his eyelids, recognizing his duty to say a few words as the head of the family for the occasion. However, having grown too familiar with Song Wei over the years, he couldn’t think of anything that would be impressive without seeming pretentious, finally only uttering, "You rascal!"
The old master had a bad temper, and Old Mrs. Lu worried he might lose his temper inappropriately later, so she hurriedly welcomed Song Wei, "The Five Blessings Cake should be ready soon, Third Son, sit down and have a couple of pieces before you leave."
Aunt Wen covered her mouth and laughed, "He just arrived, hasn’t even seen his bride yet, and the old lady’s already showing him the door, we better not scare off our groom."
"With the wedding so near, he can’t see her," Zhao Xunyin stated, "Whatever the traditional customs dictate, our family should follow. Third Son, you have no objections, right?"
This rascal, causing Wanwan so much anguish, ought to be kept waiting!
Song Wei had already taken a seat next to Lu Yanbin and responded with a smile, "The Eldest Princess speaks reasonably."
So used to Song Wei calling her mother-in-law, Zhao Xunyin almost didn’t react to the sudden change of address, choking slightly.
Lu Xingzhou looked at Song Wei, "How is the child left behind in Ningzhou?"
Once he spoke, the topic shifted, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
...
In Yanyun Pavilion, Wen Wan sat on a small couch, holding a embroidery frame, swiftly moving the needle and thread.
Beside her, the maid Bailing looked wide-eyed, "Commandery Princess, you’ve already made several mistakes in your embroidery."
"Really?" Wen Wan snapped out of her daze, feeling slightly embarrassed, her cheeks a bit warm.
She had picked up embroidery specifically to suppress her tumultuous emotions, yet still ended up distracted.
Du Juan hid her small mouth in laughter, "The Commandery Princess’s heart must have long flown to the groom, where would she have the mind to embroider?"
Linglong and Yun Cai had both reached the age of marriage, so Wen Wan found marriages for the two of them. Now serving her were the maids Bailing and Du Juan, assigned by Zhao Xunyin.
Wen Wan glared at them, raising the sharp needle in her hand, "Say that again, and I’ll sew your mouths shut."
The two young maids quickly laughed and begged for forgiveness.
The room suddenly filled with laughter and cheer.
Wen Wan held the needle but had no mind to continue embroidering.
Undeniably, she genuinely missed Song Wei, missed him dearly.
Aware that he was coming today for the betrothal, she had risen early to dress up carefully, all to await his visit after dealing with matters in the main courtyard and coming to Yanyun Pavilion to see her.
Now it was nearly noon, and no sign of him had been seen.
Growing anxious, Wen Wan instructed Bailing, "Quickly go to the main courtyard and see if something’s delayed him."
Bailing responded and ran out, only to return shortly with a crestfallen face.
Seeing this, Wen Wan hurriedly asked, "What’s the matter?"
"Commandery Princess, you might as well stop waiting and have the meal," Bailing said, "You wait here eagerly, yet the groom has already left."