Chapter 22

The day of Wanniang and Yang Lulong’s wedding finally arrived.

The celebration was so grand that nearly every household in the village had hung festive red fabric outside. It had been a long time since the village was this lively.

Wanniang prepared herself at Sister Fang’s home. Li Cui’er, Sister Fang, and Xiaohua accompanied her inside the room. Li Cui’er helped her into her red wedding clothes, while Sister Fang applied her makeup.

“Honestly, she’s too much…” Wanniang complained shyly.

Yang Lulong had secretly arranged for an enormous red bridal sedan and insisted that Wanniang ride in it. The village was so small, yet she still had to travel from Sister Fang’s home back to her own in a sedan.

“She did it because she sincerely loves you. This is your wedding day, so be happy,” Sister Fang said with a smile as she applied powder to Wanniang’s face.

“I’m not unhappy…”

Wanniang was simply embarrassed. The celebration was so grand that the entire village had become involved.

“We know you’re shy!” Li Cui’er teased with a laugh. “Wanniang, you haven’t eaten much today, have you?”

“I haven’t eaten anything yet. Why?”

“Oh, I was only worried that if you ate too much, you’d be difficult to carry later.”

“Li Cui’er!”

“Your leg only just recovered. Why are you joining them in carrying the sedan?” Sister Fang asked helplessly after seeing her tease Wanniang.

“Something this rare might only happen once in my lifetime. How could I possibly let them exclude me?”

Li Cui’er continued playing with Xiaohua as she spoke.

“There’s truly nothing anyone can do about you…”

After applying the final touch of color to Wanniang’s lips, Sister Fang held up the mirror.

“What do you think?”

Wanniang gazed at her reflection.

The pale foundation made her already fair skin appear even more luminous. The red blush across her cheeks made her look vibrant and healthy. Her curved willow brows had been carefully emphasized, and a delicate flower-shaped huadian decorated the space between them. Vermilion rouge perfectly covered her lips.

The hairstyle that had accompanied her for so many years had been taken down, and her ink-black hair was now arranged in a married woman’s updo.

From this day forward, she would no longer be an unmarried young woman.

She would become someone’s wife.

If her mother could see her now, she would surely be happy for her…

The thought made Wanniang’s eyes unconsciously fill with tears.

“Hey… You mustn’t cry, or your makeup will be ruined,” Sister Fang hurriedly comforted her.

Xiaohua curiously approached and stared at Wanniang’s made-up face.

“Auntie Wan is beautiful.”

The child’s compliment helped Wanniang suppress her tears.

She bent down and asked, “Then will Xiaohua help Auntie Wan put on her veil?”

“Mm!”

Xiaohua stood on tiptoe and reached toward Wanniang’s head, carefully draping the red bridal veil over her.

The others escorted Wanniang from the room and helped her into the sedan.

“Lift the sedan!”

At Zhang Long’s booming command, he, Xiaowen, Li Cui’er, and Uncle Zhang lifted it together.

The grand wedding procession began moving through the village…

However, as Wanniang sat inside the sedan, her tears eventually escaped.

They fell one by one onto her hands.

She was still wearing the wooden bracelet Yang Lulong had made for her. Perhaps because she had worn it for so long and the wood was not particularly durable, several cracks had appeared across its surface.

Thinking about her deceased mother inevitably reminded Wanniang of all the hardships she had endured.

At Wanniang’s home, only Yang Lulong and two village men remained. Everyone else had joined the wedding procession.

For some reason, Yang Lulong felt both nervous and amused.

The two men stood on either side of her in the courtyard like her personal guardians.

She could understand their reason for being there. [Read on BaiLianTales]After what happened to Sister Fang, they were probably afraid Yang Lulong might run away and had come to guard her like bodyguards.

Yang Lulong took several sugar pills from her sleeve.

“Would you like some candy?”

“Thank you.”

The two men’s stern expressions instantly disappeared. Smiling broadly, they accepted the sugar pills and eagerly stuffed them into their mouths like children.

Thus, all three stood waiting for the procession with sugar pills in their mouths.

Wanniang only managed to stop crying when the sedan arrived.

She felt its curtain being lifted before a gentle, delicate hand touched hers.

It was Yang Lulong.

Joy immediately filled Wanniang’s heart.

After helping her from the sedan, Yang Lulong unexpectedly placed a pastry in her hand and whispered, “You didn’t eat this morning. Have this first so you won’t be hungry. It might be a long time before you can eat properly…”

Beneath the veil, Wanniang smiled.

Still holding the pastry, she climbed onto Yang Lulong’s back. Amid the villagers’ cheers and laughter, Yang Lulong carried her toward the ceremonial hall.

Xiaowen acted as their witness.

After they bowed to Heaven and Earth and then bowed to each other as spouses, Yang Lulong escorted Wanniang into the decorated bridal chamber.

Yang Lulong still needed to return outside and entertain their guests.

Everyone in the village had attended. They crowded into the courtyard, enjoying the wedding dishes and drinking celebratory wine.

Since it was her wedding day, the villagers insisted that Yang Lulong visit every table and toast them individually.

She ate very little but drank so much that the wine alone nearly filled her stomach.

Although the alcohol was not as strong as what she knew from her original era, drinking enough of it inevitably affected her.

By the time she finished toasting everyone, her face was as red as burning charcoal, and she could barely think clearly.

“All right, that’s enough. Hurry to the bridal chamber.”

Xiaowen held Yang Lulong upright to keep her from falling and escorted her to the room.

“Have a wonderful wedding night! Give Wanniang a big, healthy baby soon!”

“Treat Wanniang properly!”

“Don’t fall asleep! A wedding night is worth a thousand pieces of gold!”

The drunken villagers loudly shouted their “blessings” without the slightest restraint.

With Xiaowen’s help, the equally drunk Yang Lulong staggered into the bridal chamber.

She shook her head in an attempt to clear it before sitting beside Wanniang.

The smell of alcohol on her body made Wanniang uncomfortable. She disliked alcohol and disliked people drinking it.

However, this was their wedding day, so she decided not to complain.

“They forced me to drink…” Yang Lulong explained aggrievedly. “I don’t like alcohol either… I won’t drink again…”

Wanniang had not even scolded her, yet Yang Lulong had already begun reflecting on her behavior.

Beneath the veil, the corners of Wanniang’s lips unconsciously curved upward.

“It’s time to lift my veil, you silly fool.”

She placed a hand over Yang Lulong’s.

“Oh, right.”

Only then did Yang Lulong remember.

She took a deep breath and attempted to look serious, although the redness of her face refused to disappear.

Her slender fingers grasped both corners of the veil and slowly lifted it.

However, when she saw the tear tracks across Wanniang’s face, she froze.

Her drunkenness instantly disappeared, replaced by a heartbroken expression.

“What happened? Did something upset you?”

“…”

Realizing that her tears had ruined her makeup, Wanniang felt both disappointed and miserable.

She was too embarrassed to admit that she had cried because she missed her family. Then she noticed the damaged bracelet around her wrist.

“This bracelet… broke…”

“Huh?”

Yang Lulong lifted it and carefully examined the cracks.

“It really did. I probably used poor-quality wood. It’s all right—I’ll make you another one.”

“You haven’t eaten all day. I asked Xiaowen to bring some food for you, so hurry and eat.”

Yang Lulong stood.

“I’ll fetch some water and help you wash your face.”

Wanniang began eating the hot meal.

It was all her fault. She had failed to restrain her tears and ruined the beautiful makeup Sister Fang had applied.

“The water is here…”

Yang Lulong returned carrying a basin and carefully wiped the makeup from Wanniang’s face.

“Sister Fang did my makeup… What a waste…”

“It’s all right… You can ask Sister Fang to do it again another day…”

“But… today is such an important day…”

Seeing that Wanniang remained disappointed, Yang Lulong looked around, wondering what she could do.

Her gaze settled on the newly purchased dressing table.

She had bought it during another visit to town and seemed to remember purchasing rouge and powder along with it.

“Why don’t… I apply your makeup?”

“Hmm?”

“Come…”

Yang Lulong took her hand and led her to the dressing table.

“Do you know how?” Wanniang asked, afraid she might make a mess.

“I only watched someone do it once, but I should still remember.”

When Yang Lulong purchased the cosmetics, she had asked the shopkeeper to demonstrate how they were used.

Wanniang raised her eyes and studied Yang Lulong’s serious expression.

No matter how the makeup turned out, she no longer cared.

She simply watched Yang Lulong with a warm smile.

“Done…”

Yang Lulong finally lowered her hand.

Wanniang examined herself in the mirror.

Although it was not as skillfully applied as Sister Fang’s makeup, Yang Lulong had done remarkably well for her first attempt.

Beside her, Yang Lulong anxiously awaited Wanniang’s judgment.

“It looks beautiful,” Wanniang said with a smile.

Yang Lulong smiled back.

“You should wear some too.”

“Huh? I don’t need any…”

“Just one thing.”

Wanniang moved aside and offered her the seat.

Yang Lulong sat down reluctantly.

“Yang Lulong, raise your head.”

Despite her reluctance, she obediently looked up.

A pair of soft lips settled over hers.

Only after a long kiss did Wanniang pull away, her dark eyes gleaming with a mischievous smile.

“All done…”