At that mont, he was thinking that if Li’er liked it, perhaps he could explore the path of literature.
Xiao Yunjing’s ho was a large compound with a row of three main rooms, flanked by east and west side-wings. The front yard was enclosed by a bamboo fence, much like the Gu Family Residence. In fact, most houses in the village belonging to larger families were built this way.
As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, the aroma of cooking filled the air. The Xiao Family mbers were bustling about. Seeing the arrivals, they paused in surprise for a mont before coming forward to offer greetings.
"Oh, Tie Zhu’s wife," Ms. Liu said to Ms. Jiang with a beaming smile as she advanced, "this old woman has brought your daughter-in-law to you!"
"Thank you, Aunt Liu. Please, have a seat."
Ms. Liu sat down with a wide grin, eagerly awaiting the bride’s ceremonial bows and the end of the wedding rites so she could collect her gift of thanks.
Gu Qingli, seeing everyone erge, led her two younger brothers forward and greeted everyone generously; after all, it cost nothing to be polite. She addressed Mr. Xiao as "Father" and Ms. Jiang as "Mother," followed by "Eldest Brother," "Eldest Sister-in-law," "Second Brother," and "Second Sister-in-law."
Xiao Yunjing watched her, feeling as though she were effortlessly charming everyone, winning a wave of goodwill before even officially entering the family. Even Ms. Jiang, who usually wasn’t particularly fond of her, responded with willing warmth.
Xiao Yunjing put away the carrying baskets and hoes, then asked his nephews to take his two new younger brothers-in-law to get sothing to eat. He then led Gu Qingli to his room.
They arrived at Xiao Yunjing’s room in the west wing. It had been newly decorated; the table, cabinet, bed, chests, and dressing table were all new acquisitions, coated in red lacquer. Beneath a green gauze bed-canopy lay a bright red wedding quilt and matching pillows, embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water.
Gu Qingli pouted. Is Xiao Yunjing really going all out with this?
However, it was a thoughtful gesture. In such an underdeveloped society, these arrangents were considered quite complete.
"Change into this," Xiao Yunjing said, pointing to the red wedding gown on the bed. Then, he took his own change of clothes and left.
"Younger Sister-in-law," Ms. Wang, the Second Sister-in-law, said with a cheerful smile as she entered just after Xiao Yunjing left. "May I co in?"
Gu Qingli nodded. Xiao Yunjing must have asked her to help, she thought, and her impression of the rough fellow improved slightly.
Thankfully, Ms. Wang was there to assist. By the ti Gu Qingli was dressed and her hair was done, it was nearly the auspicious ti for the ceremony.
The newlyweds’ bowing ceremony was scheduled for high noon, precisely twelve o’clock. Mornings were considered yang, afternoons yin, and most families traditionally held their wedding rites at noon.
Gu Qingli, her face covered by a red bridal veil, was led by the matchmaker, Ms. Liu, towards the main hall.
Upon reaching the entrance, Ms. Liu announced loudly, "The bride shall step over the fire basin! May the newlyweds’ life be prosperous and flourishing, their family line blessed with many descendants, and their livestock thrive!"
After Ms. Liu finished her auspicious pronouncents, Gu Qingli lifted her skirt with her left hand, stepped over the fire basin with one foot, and entered the main hall.
"Very good," Ms. Liu said, guiding her to a specific spot and instructing her to stand properly.
Gu Qingli stood steady, and Ms. Liu stepped back.
"Today, Yunjing, the third son of the Xiao family, and Qingli, the daughter of the Gu family, are united in the blessed bonds of matrimony..."
Upon hearing this voice, Gu Qingli realized, wasn’t that her second granduncle, the Village Chief? Xiao Yunjing actually invited him to officiate!
After a series of blessings from Gu Chang’an, the couple bowed to Heaven and Earth. When the ceremony concluded, Xiao Yunjing led Gu Qingli to the bridal chamber.
Gu Qingli sat on the bed in a daze. So, the wedding is over just like that, she mused. Although it wasn’t a grand affair, none of the essential steps were skipped. She had thought Xiao Yunjing would just have her perform a kowtow and that would be the end of it; she hadn’t expected him to arrange everything so completely.
Gu Qingli pulled off her veil and let out a slow breath.
Just then, CREAK, the door opened. Xiao Yunjing entered carrying a tray of food. He placed it on the table, and as his gaze fell upon her in her bridal gown, he seed sowhat srized.
Beautiful! So beautiful she seed to transcend the mundane.
Xiao Yunjing could always sense a calm, serene aura emanating from her. She lacked the rustic air of a farm girl, yet she also didn’t possess the arrogance of a noble young lady. Instead, she exuded an innate nobility and a delicate refinent—a soft and tender temperant. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to cherish and protect her. Just looking at her ignited a man’s protective instincts.
"Have sothing to eat," he said.
Gu Qingli glanced at the slightly awkward Xiao Yunjing and nodded. She rose and sat down at the table.
On the table, a pair of red candles burned, SPUTTERING softly.
Xiao Yunjing had brought a bowl of mixed dishes, a bowl of soup, and a bowl of rice. Most of the dishes were at-based. Looking at the pale, insipid-looking at, which appeared utterly flavorless, Gu Qingli found she had little appetite.
Seeing her begin to eat, Xiao Yunjing left, closing the door behind him.
After lunch, Mr. Xiao saw the Village Chief off. The Village Chief was busy; everyone knew he was helping Gu Dalin’s family repair their house.
In the afternoon, Mr. Xiao also had Eldest Brother Xiao and Second Brother Xiao go over to help with the house repairs.
Seeing that others were helping repair their family’s house, Gu Qingli’s two younger brothers also took Xiao Yunjing’s three nephews to the mountain to dig for dicinal herbs. The three young lads and Gu Qingli’s two brothers were of similar age and quickly found common ground to play together.
As for Xiao Yunjing, he naturally sent off the delighted Ms. Liu, who had even packed several bowls of leftover at to take with her.
Goodness, the at was so rich and fatty! Ms. Liu practically ran back, SLURP, SLURP, anticipating the treat, eager for her husband and children to also satisfy their craving for at.
Gu Qingli remained in her room all afternoon; Xiao Yunjing had simply told her to rest.
It wouldn’t do to enter the Space with everyone around, Gu Qingli thought. With nothing else to do, she could only wander around the room.
In a corner, she found an old wooden box. Its surface was clean. Opening it, she discovered it was filled to the brim with books.
Gu Qingli picked up one from the top and flipped through it; it was a martial arts manual, but she couldn’t understand it, so she put it down and looked through the other books.
As Gu Qingli examined the books one by one, she grew sowhat surprised. These aren’t ordinary books, she realized. So are about the art of governing a country, and there are also a few dical texts! The rest are secret martial arts manuals and the like.
Heh, Gu Qingli sneered inwardly. The Xiao Family is indeed not as simple as they appear. What kind of farming family would possess such books? And they all look frequently read.
Gu Qingli selected the few dical books and returned the others. Anyway, I have nothing to do this afternoon, so I might as well read these.
As for literacy, the Original Host’s mories indicated she knew a few characters, but not many. In the past, Third Brother Gu and the two sons from the eldest branch of the family would return daily after their studies. They sotis read in the courtyard, and the Original Host loved to sneak over and secretly watch them. For this, she had even been beaten by Ms. Hua—and of course, it was those three little scoundrels who had tattled on her.
Gu Qingli picked up the Classic of a Thousand dicines and began to read. It contained records of every local dicinal herb, complete with prescriptions.
This is similar to the Pharmacopoeia in my Space, she thought, just not as comprehensive. The Pharmacopoeia encompasses all Chinese dicinal ingredients and all prescriptions; the Classic of a Thousand dicines simply can’t compare. However, if one mastered everything in this Classic of a Thousand dicines, their skill level would be comparable to Doctor Shen’s. Treating common illnesses and frequent ailnts wouldn’t be a problem. But it would be insufficient for any truly difficult or complex cases.
Gu Qingli put down the Classic of a Thousand dicines and then looked at the other three books.
One was titled the Classic of Poison. This Classic of Poison isn’t the sa as the one in my Space, Gu Qingli noted. It only records a hundred or so common poisonous plants and insects.
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