dognovel No. 176 Constitution House
No. 176 Constitution House
Long Chuqing and her aunt stood there looking ahead. It had been a long time since she had seen a wedding ceremony. Seeing the procession dressed in bright red and hearing the festive music, she felt her mood improve.
As the music grew louder, the wedding procession drew near, and more and more people gathered in the streets to watch.
Children were running and jumping around, shouting happily, "We're welcoming the bride! We're welcoming the bride!"
But Long Chuqing felt that something was not quite right. She hesitated and murmured, "In ancient times, didn't people usually greet their brides at dawn and have them leave at dusk? Why is the wedding being held in the middle of the day?"
The old woman standing to the side heard Long Chuqing's mutterings and said, "Miss, you don't know this, do you? Today's bride is the second son of the wealthy merchant, Master Cheng, who lives two streets ahead."
Then the old woman sighed deeply: "Alas... it's such a pity. Young Master Cheng has been weak since childhood and has always been a sickly person. I heard that his health has deteriorated a few days ago and he can no longer get out of bed. I heard that he is about to die."
"This second young master is the legitimate son, intelligent and wise, and very handsome. Although he has always been in poor health, he has provided a lot of ideas for their business, so Master Cheng dotes on this son."
"Now that he is critically ill, we hurriedly arranged his marriage, hoping to bring him some good luck. As for the wedding ceremony at noon, we specially changed the time to take advantage of the midday sun to dispel bad luck."
"A marriage to ward off bad luck? Will that even work?" After listening to the old woman's words, Long Chu still couldn't understand these strange customs: "Instead of believing in these things, it would be more practical to find him a good doctor. If someone else dies, wouldn't that just make the girl suffer for the rest of her life?"
"Why not look for doctors? The Cheng family is so rich. They've searched for doctors all over the country. They even posted notices offering a large sum of money for treatment! But many doctors who examined him said that the second young master's illness... is incurable."
"If it weren't for Master Cheng's wealth and the use of many expensive and good medicines, the second young master probably wouldn't have lived this many years."
"It's such a pity. This second young master is a kind-hearted person, and the Cheng family has been doing good deeds for many years. They often set up sheds to distribute porridge and help poor families. I've even seen the second young master at the porridge shed a few times. Alas... good people don't live long!" The old woman shook her head.
"Such a hasty marriage," Long Chuqing asked suspiciously, "Could the bride have been forced into it?"
"No, that's not it. It's said that the bride volunteered. She and the second young master are engaged. The bride is a daughter of the Cui family, and her family is in business."
"Isn't the second young master always in poor health?" Long Chuqing asked. "Why would the Cui family be willing to give their daughter to him?"
The old woman stood upright with her hands tucked into her sleeves and continued, "This second young master wasn't born sick. I heard he contracted a strange illness when he was ten years old, and his health has been getting weaker and weaker ever since. Master Cui and Third Master Cheng are good friends, and their marriage was arranged before he fell ill; it was a childhood betrothal!"
Long Chuqing replied, "When the Second Young Master was facing a life-or-death situation, the Cui family was still willing to send their daughter to marry him. Should we say that he is a man of his word, or that he disregards his daughter's happiness?"
“No, that’s not it,” the old woman waved her hand. “The two children have met before. The Cheng family wanted to break off the engagement with the Cui family because of the second young master’s illness. Miss Cui has feelings for the second young master and is unwilling to break off the engagement.”
"The Cheng family originally intended to find any poor woman to marry their second son to bring him good luck, but after Miss Cui found out, she took the initiative to ask to marry him to bring him good luck. She said that since the two of them were already engaged, she was willing to become his wife no matter what the second son's final fate was."
At this point, the old woman sighed regretfully, "The two poor children."
"That was quite a bumpy relationship," Long Chuqing sighed. "Ah... Auntie, how do you know so much!"
"My brother-in-law's wife, that is, my sister-in-law, works for the Cui family, so she knows more details. She then told my sister-in-law about these things, and my sister-in-law also likes to chat with me, so she knows more details, doesn't she?" The old woman clapped her hands and then spread them out, looking like she was telling the truth.
"Oh... I see." Long Chuqing nodded. "Thanks to you, I've also gotten a general understanding of the situation."
Long Chuqing asked curiously, "What illness does he have?"
"This..." The old woman pursed her lips and shook her head: "I don't know the specific illness."
Feifeng said, "Qingqing, that second young master sounds like a good person. Why don't you go and take a look at him?"
Long Chuqing: "How can I go! Besides, they might not even believe me!"
Fei Feng said, "Just go straight to the gate of his mansion, knock on the door, and say, 'I've come to treat your second young master's illness.'"
Feng Yu said, "Yes! Qingqing... if the second young master dies, won't Miss Cui become a widow? How pitiful."
"You're oversimplifying things! We don't even know what illness he has yet. Going there rashly is pointless."
At this moment, accompanied by the joyous sounds of gongs, drums, suonas, and firecrackers, the wedding procession arrived in front of them in a grand procession.
A man was seen riding a horse in the wedding procession, while the bride sat in a bright red sedan chair, followed by a long procession of people sending off and welcoming the bride.
Long Chuqing was a little curious, so she turned to the old woman beside her and asked, "Auntie, who is the man riding on horseback to pick up the bride these days?"
"Oh, that one! That's the eldest son of the Cheng family, a year older than the second son, born to the second concubine."
“Oh…” Long Chu nodded after listening.
Two members of the board were in the wedding procession, and they handed out wedding candy to the onlookers along the street.
The crowd's faces were filled with joy as they reached out to accept the offered candies, uttering a variety of auspicious and beautiful blessings.
The children were especially excited; after receiving the wedding candy, they jumped and danced with joy, creating a lively atmosphere.
Just then, a series of crackling firecrackers suddenly went off.
Long Chuqing quickly picked up her medicine box and walked to the horse, gripping the reins tightly to keep it from running away in fright from the firecracker noise.
After the firecrackers stopped, someone suddenly patted Long Chuqing on the shoulder from behind. Long Chuqing subconsciously turned around and looked back. After seeing who it was, she said, "It's you again!"
Nangong Ming smiled slightly and pointed to the mansion gate not far away: "What a coincidence, my home is right here..."
Long Chuqing looked in the direction he pointed and saw the three large characters "Nangong Mansion" written on the plaque above the entrance.
Long Chuqing couldn't help but chuckle dryly, "Hehe... what a coincidence." After a brief pause, she continued, "Where are you headed?"