xymnovel Chapter 36 North and South Join Hands for Marriage
Chapter 36 North and South Join Hands for Marriage
It turned out that ever since Pan Mei's wife came to test the waters, Feng Niaoniao understood the Pan family's intentions. There were many benefits to arranging a marriage with the Pan family before the expedition.
Firstly, it would ensure the continuation of the family line; secondly, the brothers would no longer be easily regarded as outsiders; and thirdly, war was rife with intrigue and scheming, and vying for credit and shifting blame were common occurrences. With the Pan family involved, most of the scheming would not fall on the brothers.
Feng Niaoniao understood Li Ji's character very well. He was the kind of person who appeared kind and unassuming, but had a fierce and responsible heart.
In front of Li Xuan and Feng Niaoniao, Li Ji would suppress his temper and act like a big boy. But outside, Li Ji was definitely not a well-behaved child; he had his own ideals and ambitions. Even if the Pan family girl wasn't his ideal type, Li Ji would still happily marry her.
So, as soon as Pan Mei's eldest daughter left, Feng Niaoniao hurriedly directed her adopted sons and daughters, along with the craftsmen, to clear away all the architectural ruins in Sweetwater Lane, practically leveling an entire street, and then they all pitched in to build a new house.
While repairing the house, Feng Niaoniao also personally visited the Pan family. With the introduction of Pan Mei's eldest daughter-in-law, she met Pan Mei's aunt and the Pan family's daughter.
The young lady from the Pan family had bright eyes and white teeth, and a striking, spirited air about her; her eyes were particularly bright and expressive. However, coming from a military family, she lacked the poise and elegance of a lady from a prominent family.
Feng Niaoniao's every move exuded the elegance and grace of a noble family, even her choice of words and tone of voice were perfectly measured, allowing the women of the Pan family to witness the true style of an aristocratic family. This even made the once confident and spirited Miss Pan feel somewhat inferior.
They had hoped that Li Xuan and Li Ji could find some time to return, but no matter how long they waited, the military camp remained sealed off, and outsiders were not allowed to approach. Not only were the Li brothers unable to leave the camp, but other members of the Imperial Guards inside were also unable to send messages in. The entire Imperial Guard system seemed to have gone mad, with everyone vying with each other, determined to achieve a great feat and prove themselves.
Sure enough, a month later, the cleanup of Sweetwater Lane was largely completed, and many old remains were recovered. The monks from the temple also came to perform a ritual for the deceased.
Li Ji's residence received significant construction attention, and by the time Li Xuan and Li Ji entered, the new house had already been topped out. Feng Niaoniao was directing her adopted sons and daughters in decorating and furnishing the new house, so Madam Feng was not at home at the moment, but at Li Ji's new house next door.
When Li Xuan saw Feng Niaoniao again, he noticed that his wife looked rather haggard, and her usually meticulous makeup had some flaws, which showed how hard she had been working lately.
Li Ji knelt before Feng Niaoniao with tears in his eyes. In their hometown of Guangling, Feng Niaoniao arranged a wedding house for him. In Bianjing, it was again Feng Niaoniao who arranged his marriage; she was nominally his sister-in-law, but in reality, she was more like his mother.
Feng Niaoniao pulled Li Ji up and said, "A good man shouldn't shed tears so easily. Miss Pan is a lovely little beauty, so don't let her down. Now that you're back, rest well at home today and tomorrow, and make sure you look as handsome as my Ji-ge. The day after tomorrow, we'll go to propose marriage and seduce Miss Pan."
Li Xuan said, "The marriage proposal is the day after tomorrow. I wonder if there's anything I'm still lacking?"
Feng Niaoniao had already prepared all the necessary items for the six betrothal gifts. She led them to the storeroom to check them one by one, and then said to Li Xuan, "There aren't many things. Bianjing is not our home after all. Besides, our family is not of high status, and the officials are advocating frugality. If we hold a grand ceremony, there might be criticism. We can only reduce the quantity and increase the quality, choosing only the finest treasures as gifts. With the boxes covering them, outsiders won't be able to tell what's really going on."
What Feng Niaoniao didn't mention was that there was discrimination against southerners in Bianjing, and she was even ridiculed when she took her adopted children to buy things at those top-tier stores.
Feng Niaoniao calmly argued with the arrogant shopkeepers, persuading them to willingly bring out their best items and no longer dare to underestimate this lady from the South.
Two days later, Li Xuan and Li Ji brought two cartloads of gifts to the Pan family, where Li Ji met his future (a few days later) bride for the first time.
In fact, Li Ji had become darker and thinner due to his arduous training in the military camp, and his appearance had declined considerably. However, he had also developed an unstoppable spirit.
The Pan family girl liked it more and more as she looked at it. She lowered her voice and imitated Feng Niaoniao's tone, saying softly, "I heard that the general is training troops hard in the sweltering heat. This cup of cool tea was made by my own hands. Please, General, taste it."
Heaven help me, the Pan family girl is very skilled in martial arts, but her needlework skills are limited to making clothes and mending. As for embroidery, I never really know what she can embroider.
The Pan family initially thought that marrying into a military family would be fine, since they were all rather rough around the edges. Who knew that the family Pan Mei had chosen for her son-in-law would be so lacking in martial virtue? The moment Feng Niaoniao appeared, everyone instantly understood what true nobility and bumpkins really meant.
This greatly worried the women of the Pan family. Even the most oblivious person would realize that the Li family was no ordinary family. Then Pan Mei introduced the Li family as a family of prime ministers from a previous dynasty. Their ancestors had produced two or three hundred Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), governors, scholars, prime ministers, and military governors. Several of them even had their own biographies in the historical records.
The head of the Pan family even complained angrily to Pan Meizhen for not knowing how to choose a husband. Why did she have nothing better to do than marry into such a wealthy and powerful family? How could his daughter possibly live like this after marrying into the family?
Madam Pan praised Pan Mei for his conscience, saying that he knew to bring home the best dishes. Such a good son-in-law was hard to find in all of Bianjing; now that she had found him, she had to hold on tight and never let go.
Because there wasn't enough time to train her daughter in needlework, the eldest daughter-in-law quickly summoned a tea master to train her in tea-making skills. She practiced diligently day and night, focusing on several recipes. Thanks to Li Xuan and Li Ji's month-long training in the camp, the young lady of the Pan family finally mastered her skills and served Li Ji a fine cup of tea today.
However, Li Ji was a man of considerable means. While it was true that his family had fallen on hard times, Li Xuan and Feng Niaoniao had never mistreated him. He was skilled in tea making, and had tasted the finest teas from Guangling and Jinling. Therefore, Pan Xiaoniangzi's meager tea-making skills naturally revealed many shortcomings in Li Ji's palate.
Seeing the expectant yet hesitant look in Pan Xiaoniang's eyes, Li Ji sighed inwardly and said to her, "The taste is excellent. A small sip is soothing and refreshing. You've made a wonderful cup of tea, young lady. It must have taken a lot of effort to make it so well. I thank you, young lady."
Pan Xiaoniangzi was overjoyed, but she kept her face tightly closed and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "I'm glad Brother Li likes it. I put in a lot of effort, oh, not much effort, no, I only put in a little effort."
Li Ji smiled and said, "Young lady, you are too modest. Since you are skilled at making tea, I am just a poor man. I used to have some savings, but since I came to Bianjing, all my wealth has been used to support my personal guards. Now that I have drunk your tea, I have nothing to offer as a gift. So, I will make a cup of tea for you as well. Please don't find it offensive."
Pan Xiaoniangzi said excitedly, "Of course, we should give priority to our personal guards; that's how it is in every family. My lord, you want to make tea? Great! Xiaocui, bring me my tea-making boxes and the tea set."
After a short while, Li Ji arranged the tea set and tea tray, smelled the quality of each spice, made a decision in his mind, and began his tea ceremony performance in a smooth and flowing manner.
Pan Xiaoniangzi found Li Ji's movements incredibly graceful, and before she knew it, she was glued to him, completely forgetting her usual refined demeanor. A short while later, Li Ji had prepared five cups of tea. Pan Xiaoniangzi looked at Li Ji expectantly, wanting to know what was so special about these teas, and how she should drink and evaluate them. Oh no, it seems her teacher didn't teach her much about evaluating tea. What should she do?
Li Ji said, "These few cups are for the elders in the family. Young lady, please don't be in a hurry. The last cup is one I specially made for you."
Pan Xiaoniangzi breathed a sigh of relief, but was still thrilled by the tea that Li Ji had specially prepared for her. Meanwhile, the Pan family elders outside, after tasting Li Ji's tea with curiosity, praised Li Ji's thoughtfulness and meticulousness.
As for the tea, they only said it was delicious; they didn't dare to boast about any other merits, since the true connoisseurs, Mr. and Mrs. Li Xuan, were right in front of them, and the wise elders didn't want to lose face.
Li Xuan and Feng Niaoniao praised Li Ji's wit. The two families had only known each other for a short time, and today was the first time the Pan family elders had met Li Ji. If it weren't for the tight schedule and the lack of time for formalities, they wouldn't have arranged for the couple to meet so soon after the betrothal ceremony.
Therefore, the elders of the Pan family were still unsure about Li Ji's true character. They only knew that Pan Mei held the Li brothers in high regard, and that the Li brothers came from an distinguished family and were skilled in both literature and martial arts. Today, Li Ji was dressed quite handsomely, and his speech was very refined. That was all.
Unexpectedly, Li Ji took the initiative to make tea and share it with the elders. Holding a cup of tea in his hands undoubtedly made the atmosphere more relaxed, and Pan Mei's uncle and aunt had more confidence in Li Ji, so they spoke with more joy.
On the 16th day of the eighth month of the first year of Xiande, Li Ji married Pan Ziying, a girl from the Pan family, in Bianjing (her original name was Pan Yingzi, but it was changed at the last minute). It seems that everyone had been holding back for a long time and needed a happy event to boost morale and organize social activities.
From Commander Han Kun onwards, every officer in the Black Spear Dragon Cavalry came to celebrate Li Ji's wedding. Outside the military camp, when discipline was lax, superiors and subordinates exchanged feelings, competed in drinking, and further honed the skills of this newly formed team.
After their marriage, Li Ji and Pan Ziying got along very well. However, time was short, and Li Ji only stayed at home for five days before receiving orders to return to camp. Pan Ziying saw her off to the gate of the military camp before reluctantly returning to the city.
On August 19th of the same year, Princess Li Lizhi of Xingguo Kingdom of Nanyu Kingdom was married and moved into the Xingguo Princess Mansion, which was much more modest in scale and luxury. She married Chen Qianxu, the consort whom her father, Emperor Li Jing, had carefully selected for her. Chen Qianxu came from an official family, was well-read, and was a rare and handsome young man.
Li Jing was very satisfied with him and was determined to cultivate this prince consort well. At this time, Li Jing had no idea that his beloved daughter's marriage would begin the eventful life of Princess Xingguo of Nanyu Kingdom.