The fifth day of the eighth lunar month, auspicious for weddings, a great day.
Xiao Shan did not sleep at all that night, yet his spirit was full. Xue Niang only fell asleep in the latter half of the night. When she woke up in the morning, her whole body was covered in red rashes.
"What's going on?" Xiao Shan was dumbfounded.
Especially on her face, they were densely packed. He was too scared to touch her.
She hadn't eaten anything strange yesterday.
"No, no, you didn't eat that bowl of noodles? I told you not to eat chili!" Xiao Shan, anxious, got up to take her to see a doctor.
Xue Niang did not move. "They'll be gone by night."
"How do you know? Hurry up and get dressed. We'll go see the doctor and come right back, don't delay the auspicious hour."
Seeing him glance at the prepared wedding attire, Xue Niang's heart skipped a beat as he rushed to get new clothes. She deliberately said, "You're so ugly, maybe we shouldn't get married today."
"No way!" Xiao Shan wouldn't let her have her way and started to put clothes on her.
Xue Niang twisted and turned, uncooperative.
He didn't know where she touched him, but he heard Xiao Shan grunt and freeze. Xue Niang turned to look at him, seeing him appear to be in great pain, his entire face contorted, his eyes fierce like a wolf's.
Xue Niang shivered. She glanced down and saw her foot had kicked him in the crotch.
Something seemed to writhe. Xue Niang, startled, kicked again.
Seeing Xiao Shan's face contort in more pain, Xue Niang's mind suddenly recalled the "giant dragon" she had gripped that night when she was being fierce.
Oh no!
Had she kicked him too hard and injured him?
She heard this was a man's most vulnerable spot?
Xue Niang retracted her foot, but before she could pull it back, Xiao Shan grabbed it. His expression became even more unpleasant, and strangely so, his eyes red, gritting his teeth, he whispered, "Ancestor! Don't move!"
Xue Niang dared not move again. Her foot remained suspended in mid-air. Lying on her back, she closed her eyes, afraid to look at him.
It wasn't until there was a knock on the door from outside that Xiao Shan exhaled heavily and released his iron-like thighs.
The red rashes on Xue Niang's face turned even more vibrant. She quickly moved away.
"Forget it, we'll see. Let's get married first. If they don't disappear tonight, I'll take you to a doctor."
"Mmm, exactly." Xue Niang nodded repeatedly.
Wang Xiulan arrived early. She had been assigned such an important task today and was very attentive. She had already decided on the menu last night. Thinking that Xue Niang had no family on her side, she woke up even earlier to see if there was anything she could help with.
"Please, sister-in-law, help her comb her hair!"
Since Wang Xiulan offered, Xiao Shan did not refuse. Xue Niang herself was not very good at styling her hair; she usually wore it down her back. After marriage, she would truly have to tie it up in a married woman's style.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you look beautiful!" Wang Xiulan said heartily.
Upon entering the room, she was startled to see Xue Niang's face covered in rashes.
"What, what happened!"
"Mmm, perhaps it's from not sleeping well last night!" Xue Niang sat by the mirror, her hand touching her left cheek. Without any worry, she even showed a hint of joy.
If not sleeping well caused this, it was too severe. How could she apply makeup?
Wang Xiulan looked closely. The rashes were quite strange. They were most numerous on her left cheek, completely covering the originally dense black markings, as if they had been eaten away.
Since makeup was out of the question, she would focus on the hair.
Xue Niang put on the red bean bracelet that Xiao Shan had just bought and took out the hairpin and ornaments. "Sister Xiulan, please."
"What's there to trouble about? I couldn't wish for a better occasion! I'll borrow some of the bride's good fortune, hoping it blesses my son with a wife next year."
Wang Xiulan stroked Xue Niang's hair and sighed, "You truly are a person of fortune, even your hair is this smooth. I'm afraid I'll mess it up with my rough hands."
Xue Niang was amused by Wang Xiulan's words. "Are your hands rougher than Xiao Shan's?"
As soon as she said this, Wang Xiulan burst into laughter. Xue Niang also realized her slip of the tongue, pursed her lips, and blushed.
Xiao Shan climbed onto the roof and scaled the door frame, hanging and pasting all the red silk wedding couplets he had bought. He also hung a string of firecrackers at the entrance.
Then, he changed into the bright red wedding attire. He looked radiant and tall, exceptionally handsome.
The villagers arrived one after another, speaking auspicious words and waiting for the candy to be thrown.
Xiao Shan was never stingy with these small matters, even though he knew why the villagers were there.
In those times, the common people suffered, and many families could barely put food on the table, waiting for the autumn harvest. The last time he climbed the roof beam, Xiao Shan scattered a lot of dried fruits, and many villagers cherished them, taking them home and eating them bit by bit as food.
The village chief and the three elders arrived.
Xiao Shan was a little surprised but understood. The elders held significant status in the village, and sometimes the village chief had to seek their opinions for decisions.
Having stayed in the military camp for a long time, he was accustomed to doing as he pleased. This time, it was his oversight.
The elders' arrival meant that he and Xue Niang were truly integrating into Bozi Village. It was the village chief's thoughtful consideration.
Granny Hua also arrived on tiptoe. Just as Wang Xiulan was going to the kitchen to prepare food, Granny Hua entered the bridal chamber to keep Xue Niang company.
"Put on the veil."
Granny Hua took the red veil and placed it on Xue Niang. "Your husband must lift this veil; no one else can see your face."
Xue Niang had not wanted to put it on so early, but Granny Hua spoke with such seriousness that she complied.
"First veil, we shall share our meals and live in harmony."
"Second veil, we shall fly wing to wing."
"Third veil, we shall be of one heart forever, through the long years."
Granny Hua spoke the auspicious words earnestly. Xue Niang was a little touched, and only then did she feel the sanctity of the wedding.
"Thank you, Granny Hua."
When she was the Emperor's most beloved princess, the Grand Shaman had said that the grandeur of her wedding would surpass that of her enthronement ceremony, as it would involve the inheritance of divine status, receiving worship from all people, and be known throughout the nation.
The accompanying wedding maids and palace attendants were all meticulously chosen, and every step had to be flawless. They had begun training in the palace two years prior.
She had also curiously observed their rehearsals. The long string of auspicious words, the movements made with each step, so complex and varied, made her dizzy.
At that time, who would have thought that in this remote and barren mountain village, she would marry a man who was not the Great Yao Divine Lord, and be moved by a few simple, heartfelt auspicious words from a lonely, kind old woman?
"Silly child, why thank me? I want to borrow some of your good fortune so my son can return quickly!"
Today, it seemed everyone was saying this. Xue Niang also wished she had more good fortune to pass on to those in need.
"Oh, the man you're marrying is wonderful! He dotes on you like the Great Yao Divine Lord."
"Great Yao Divine Lord? Granny, what is the Great Yao Divine Lord like?"
"The Great Yao Divine Lord! He is very doting. I only heard it from my grandmother, and my grandmother heard it from her grandmother," Granny Hua reminisced.
"The Great Yao Divine Lord is the Regent of our Jing Kingdom. It's said that such a person would surely have many women around him, but the Regent actually disliked women from a young age. Despite being born into royalty, he maintained his purity. Later, he met the Regent's Consort and fell in love at first sight. The Emperor was furious, knowing that the Regent's Consort was an orphan with no parents, how could she be worthy of the Regent?"
"But the Regent married the Consort against everyone's wishes. Later, he was impeached by officials repeatedly, saying the Regent was a wife-slave and disgraced the royal family. The Consort said if she told him to go east, he wouldn't dare go west."
"The Regent did as he pleased, regardless of what others said. It wasn't until later, when the Consort began to possess divine power, that the royal family was shocked. They established a divine altar and enfeoffed her as a divine maiden to protect the Jing Kingdom."
"I think that young man, Xiao Shan, has the same spirit as the Regent. He guards you closely, his eyes always on you, as if afraid you'll fly away."
Xue Niang was both shy and delighted.
Xiao Shan was like the Great Yao Divine Lord.
This was the most auspicious thing she had heard.