Chapter 38 - Getting Married (Part 2)

The bride welcoming team filled the An family courtyard to the very brim, until not a drop could pass through.

When An Zi Ran chose this place for temporary lodgings, it was because it was quiet. Nowadays, people kept coming and going. The courtyard was also full of An Zi Ran's dowry. Originally, it was prepared for An Yu Zhi. He did not expect to end up using it for himself.

In addition, the courtyard also had servants and the team of people from the Fu palace. It was crowded to the point that one almost could not find a place to step.

The wedding matron saw the welcoming team and quickly picked up the red veil on the table to prepare to cover An Zi Ran's head, but An Zi Ran raised a hand to stop the action. The wedding matron paused, "An gong zi, you…"

An Zi Ran calmly said, "I am a man. There is no need for this cover." Although he agreed with Fu Wu Tian's proposal, he did not intend to marry like a woman.

"But… this is not conforming to the rules ah!" The wedding matron said hesitantly with the red veil in her hands.

An Zi Ran was not moved. "I will not cover (my head), regardless of the rules."

The wedding matron was helpless as she watched the lucky hour* fast approach. If they continued like this they will be delayed. If wang ye decided to pass down blame, she wouldn't be able to afford to shoulder it. But she was also worried that wang ye would blame her for not giving the marriage partner the red veil.

[*T/N: The ancient Chinese believed that there are lucky, neutral, and unlucky hours in a day. Big ceremonies and rituals must be done within certain time frames to ensure the best results.]

An Zi Ran seemed to be able to see what she was thinking. "If wang ye wants to pass blame, I will bear all the responsibilities."

Since he said it like so, she could only agree. He handed the red veil over to a servant standing on the side. Then he allowed people to support him by the arm and lead him out. The wedding matron suddenly thought of something and asked, "An gong zi, does the An family not have any elders to send you off?" She was referring to the blessing of a close relative. Da Ya's customs generally have this step. The elder blesses the bride to have a harmonious relationship with the groom.

"Don't have. Let's go, ba."

An Zi Ran thought the wedding matron was referring to An Chang Fu's concubines. After all, in terms of elders left in the An family, there was only them. But bearing the status of concubines, they were not people that could flounce about in public. Also, he did not send anyone to inform them.

At first, he was worried that Fang Jun Ping would not be resigned and give him trouble, so he did not tell them about the marriage contract. So they didn't even know about him marrying into the Fu palace. If they knew, he feared that they would already be inciting unrest. Because based on his identity, marrying into the Fu palace was equivalent to bringing the property of An family into the Fu palace.*

[*T/N: Because of the difference in status, the An family would have to provide a very sizeable dowry to match up to the prestige of the Fu palace. So for a little landowning family like them it would equate to nearly all of their liquid assets, which would mean less money in the future for the concubines and their daughters.]

The wedding matron could only listen to him, and not mention it again.

The long line of people exited through the door. The densely packed crowd outside immediately entered into his line of sight. Pairs of scorching gazes fell upon the An Zi Ran who was walking in the middle. Perhaps it was because he refused to wear the red veil, but most people had expressions of amazement on their faces. They stuck their heads out to get a better look at him.

An Zi Ran's gaze swept around in a circle. The most eye-catching person in front of the crowd was Fu Wu Tian with his pressing noble aura. A flash of astonishment flickered through An Zi Ran's eyes. He did not think that Fu Wu Tian would come in person.

Steward Su told him before, that many of Da Ya's distinguished and noble people would not personally go over to the other family to escort the bride. Most grooms wait within their manors. One was because of their esteemed status, and two was because the husband's family was considered the sky. When a bride entered the groom's door she must adhere to her husband's words. This situation was especially evident in the imperial family.

While he was looking at Fu Wu Tian, Fu Wu Tian was also looking at him.

The young man wearing red robes was stunning in his eyes. He was a good-looking, elegant, and graceful young man*. He always knew that the youth did not have bad looks.

[*T/N: The author used a string of adjectives here. Word for word it would be "good looks, elegant, good facial features, graceful, picturesque, elegant"… Yeah, it was quite repetitive and not grammatically well structured in English, so I simplified it, but I think you get the idea.]

Thinking up to here, Fu Wu Tian extended a hand towards the youth. "Wang fei, I came to pick you up."

An Zi Ran stared at the hand he had stretched over. He did not hesitate for too long, and then, under the watchful eyes of other, he slowly put his hand atop Fu Wu Tian's hand, and was immediately wrapped in warmth.

Fu Wu Tian revealed a rare smile. The maidservants watching from behind An Zi Ran all blushed. Wang ye was really good looking, completely different from rumors. It really was a "seeing is believing" type of situation.

Steward Su looked at the picture of the two standing together. He couldn't help but blink his eyes. How could he suddenly have a feeling that the young master and the wang ye were very fitting together? It must be an illusion!

With the help of Fu Wu Tian, An Zi Ran got onto the sedan chair.

Although the sedan had no fancy decorations, it was very high profile. Eight men carried the large sedan. Seeing their brisk pace it seemed that they all knew martial arts. The sedan was very stable to sit on, and there was almost no shaking.

The sound of copper cymbals and firecrackers sounded again, and the bride welcoming team set off.

Some of the onlookers rushed to keep up, while others stayed where they were and only returned to their senses when the crush of people knocked against them, causing them to let out a cry of surprise.

"Heavens, who said the jun wang was ugly!"

He was distinct and handsome to the max!

Muse: Fu Wu Tian really went all out for this wedding. He gave An Zi Ran a lot of face. I give him max points for this event! (Although I'm not sure if AZR feels the same. Haha. 😆)

Here’s a big virtual hug for AsamiKuroba who broke the record on ko-fi by filling up 5 coffee cups on the coffee counter in one shot. Woot!

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

Just 4 more coffees to max out the counter for a bonus update.