Kyoto's autumn is unlike any other place. The red leaves of the Western Hills are held by young girls in the markets, selling them like flowers. The white wild grasses of the Yongyao Lake in the south are also bundled and sent to wealthy homes to ward off evil. A slightly cool autumn breeze travels through the streets and alleys of Kyoto, rustling through the treetops, brushing against the smooth cheeks of the ladies on the street, and dispersing the rising heat from the eateries, seemingly blowing away all the dryness and gloom of the year.

Tianhe Avenue is the most quiet, clean, and beautiful street in Kyoto. On both sides are the offices of various departments. Today is the first day of the month, just the beginning of the ten-day rotation break. Officials rarely have a day to relax, but they cannot completely relax, because today is the wedding day of Fan Xian, the eldest son of the Fan family. Whether they are officials of the Ministry of Revenue or not, they are bound to attend.

This wedding is quite a sensation in Kyoto. The groom's family, the Fan clan, is a large clan in Kyoto. Si Nan Earl Fan Jian, because of his relationship with the royal family, has been in favor in recent years. The Minister of Revenue has long been on sick leave at home, and in another year or two, Lord Fan will take his place.

The groom, Fan Xian, is even more of a rising star in Kyoto recently. Not to mention his heroic act in Niulan Street half a year ago, just the drunken poetic frenzy in the palace last month has pushed him to the pinnacle of fame. Since then, Fan Xian has been hiding at home, so people are inevitably curious about what this newly appointed Fifth-Rank Vice Director of the Imperial College actually looks like.

The bride's side is also remarkable. Although the bride, Lin Wan'er, only returned to the Lin clan at the beginning of the year, she is, after all, the daughter of the dignified Prime Minister. The Prime Minister governs the world and manages the seasons, and is the head of the civil officials of the court. His daughter's marriage is a major event. Although the Prime Minister's position has not been as stable as before due to certain reasons in the court recently, officials are still willing to participate in this kind of marriage that carries no political risk.

The fact that both the bride and groom are illegitimate children seems to have been collectively forgotten by the people of Kyoto.

As for those high-ranking officials who know the bride's true identity, they have already secretly increased the standard of their gifts by several levels and are already sitting in the Fan residence, simply curious about what kind of attitude the palace will show today.

…

…

Fan Xian was dressed by five old women like a puppet. He secretly vowed in his heart that if he had to endure this kind of torture again in the future, he would definitely elope, or become a brave bachelor, preferring the ease of an affair to the cumbersome nature of a grand wedding.

The wedding ceremony in Qing Yu Nian is usually held in the evening, but Fan Xian was actually dragged out of bed before dawn today. Bathing and brushing his teeth were fine, anyway, he had the convenient gadgets he made in Danzhou, but then, an old woman began to dissolve rouge with warm water, which scared Fan Xian to death. He quickly asked her what she was going to do. Only then did he realize that the groom had to wear makeup!

Obviously, this matter had exceeded Fan Xian's limit of tolerance, so he shook his head and refused. Even Fan Jian's personal persuasion failed to convince him. After a stalemate for most of an hour, Fan Xian finally won, but this made the time much tighter, so five old women rushed in to help him get dressed.

Originally, Fan Xian had long been accustomed to the clothing of this world, but today he still couldn't stand it. Inside the crimson formal dress, there were actually three layers of differently named inner layers. The formal dress was covered with jade pendants, colorful ribbons, and flower tassels, so colorful that they dazzled the eyes.

It took a lot of time just to put on this dress, and Fan Xian was already stiff and unable to move. The only thing that could move was his brain, which was very nostalgic for the miserable childhood days of sparring with Uncle Wu Zhu with wooden sticks. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Liu Shi, who was busy in the room with a slight sweat on her brow, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, wondering if she was really busy or just taking the opportunity to retaliate against him.

Wearing a crown, tying on jade pendants, silver shoe buckles pinching his feet, and gold-inlaid collar chafing his neck, Fan Xian was pushed into the front hall by the old women like a fool.

Fan Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe were also dressed quite festively today, especially Ruoruo. Her usually slightly cold face looked particularly energetic with a pink dress. The siblings looked at their brother's pitiful appearance and covered their mouths to laugh. Fan Sizhe teased, "Where did this fancy rice dumpling come from?"

Fan Xian was choked with anger and took two steps forward, but the ornaments on his body were too many and kept ringing. He mocked himself and said, "It's not a fancy rice dumpling, it's obviously a mobile spray-painted wind chime."

The most painful thing in the world is that a spray-painted wind chime has to parade through the streets. Fortunately, he didn't have to ride a horse, but sat in a sedan chair, otherwise Fan Xian would have run back to Danzhou in shame. With great difficulty, the wedding procession arrived at the Lin residence. Lin Wan'er had moved back to the Lin family ten days in advance, so they couldn't go to the royal courtyard to welcome the bride in front of the entire Kyoto.

A burst of firecrackers sounded. Fan Xian sat in the sedan chair, slightly lost in thought, smelling the faint burnt smell. He didn't know why, but he thought of some things from a long time ago. He shook his head, pulled his thoughts back, and forced a smile on his already stiff face, stepping out of the sedan chair.

According to the rules, Fan Xian could not enter the house, and the Prime Minister could not go to the Fan residence today. Amidst the sound of firecrackers and the music of sheng and flute, the gate of the Lin residence gradually opened, and Yuan Hongdao, the leading figure from the Lin residence, came out. This strategist had a red flower pinned to his hat today, and he really had a bit of a romantic air about him.

"Young Master Fan," Yuan Hongdao greeted him with a smile.

Fan Xian smiled bitterly in his heart, slandering that the other party had the air of Yang Er, but he feigned energy on his face and said, "Mr. Yuan." The two had met a few times in the Prime Minister's residence before and knew each other's identities, so they were not strangers.

Today, half of the experienced wedding hosts in Kyoto were snatched away by the Fan residence. So, seeing the Lin residence open, those old women opened their mouths and said auspicious words, stunning Yuan Hongdao. Before long, everyone rushed to the door.

Then they encountered a truly powerful resistance.

As mentioned earlier, half of the wedding experts in Kyoto today were snatched by the Fan residence. What about the other half? Naturally, they were snatched by the Lin residence. So, the two sides spewed saliva, superficially congratulating and celebrating, but secretly wielding swords and knives, boasting about themselves and subtly belittling the other party. It sounded more like two vulgar local tycoons were getting married than the Prime Minister's daughter marrying the son of the Si Nan Earl.

Fan Xian smiled bitterly. He understood that this was the custom of Qing Yu Nian. Before welcoming the bride, the bride's family must have a fight in front of the gate, saying that after completing this ceremony, all the future quarrels of the newlyweds could be finished.

Because it was a custom, there were rarely any quarrels that broke the peace, but which side won was the main event. Either the east wind prevailed over the west wind, or the west wind prevailed over the east wind. After all, although the bride marries into the groom's family, the bride's family must also show their strength in advance to ensure the bride's position in the complex backyard life in the future. In short, among the two families getting married, they must first rely on these gossiping old women to compete for superiority.

Fan Xian stood there in a daze, not knowing how long they had been arguing. Finally, he noticed that the noise in his ears had lessened. Overjoyed, he opened his eyes and shouted, "Is it done yet?"

…

…

After an awkward silence, someone said softly, "Young Master Fan, it's still early."

The staff of the Lin residence found an opening and chuckled, "It seems that the groom is anxious. Well, that's understandable. Our young lady..." They praised their own young lady again.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Yuan Hongdao noticed that Fan Xian's face was a little pale, squeezed over, and whispered, "Young Master Fan, please bear with it. Kyoto is not like Danzhou. There are indeed more rules."

Fan Xian forced a smile and said, "I'm not anxious." He said to himself in his heart, "I've endured for more than thirty years, of course I'm not anxious." After a while, this very vulgar ceremony finally ended. After a burst of music, the gate of the Lin residence opened a second time, and under the guidance of two wedding matchmakers, the bride, Miss Lin, finally came out.

Fan Xian's eyes lit up. Today, Wan'er was dressed in crimson, with wide sleeves and a facing collar, her beauty carrying endless joy, but the red scarf on her head covered the pearl crown and the face he had never forgotten.

The people of Kyoto who were watching the spectacle from the outside, ahead of Fan Xian, had their eyes lit up and shouted. Some young people even shouted for the bride to lift the red cloth on her head so that everyone could see how beautiful the bride was.

If it were normal times, if these young people spoke like this, not to mention that the Lin family would beat them into cripples with sticks, the members of the Qi Nian team, who had been scattered in the crowd and secretly watching everything, would definitely lock these little bastards who insulted their future mistress into the Supervisory Council until they died of old age.

But today was a joyous day. Even when the emperor takes a wife, he must share the joy with the world. The Lin and Fan families could not avoid the custom and could not ruin the atmosphere. However, Fan Xian was a little unhappy. He glanced at those people lightly, and his subordinates understood. Immediately, a few faint cries of "Ouch!" rang out in the crowd, presumably those young people who were most excited had been tripped.

After another set of routine procedures ended, Lin Wan'er, dressed in crimson, lightly moved her steps and stepped into the wedding sedan chair in front.

Throughout the entire process, Fan Xian was unable to say a word to her, make eye contact, or touch a fingertip.

…

…

Back at the Fan residence, the guests had arrived, and the music was playing, creating a lively atmosphere.

The bride was first welcomed into the inner room to sit temporarily, and the groom stood in front of the main hall to welcome guests. Fan Xian smiled and spoke to the people he knew and didn't know who came. He whispered to the person next to him, "When do we worship heaven and earth?"

"It's still early, young master. After sharing the prison, the seat, and the vessels, there is still sharing..."

Fan Xian didn't hear the words behind, but suppressed the urge to swear and told himself not to rush. As he said earlier, he had waited for more than thirty years, so what was the rush?