The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

The ceremony is still ongoing.

After Jia Jue finished reciting the prayer, he stood up and placed the silk scroll with the prayer written on it into the incense burner.

There is fire in the furnace.

This burning is a way of sending offerings to our ancestors.

Once Jia Jue returned to his original spot, Jia Zheng continued singing, "Kneel—"

Everyone in the ancestral hall, regardless of who they were, immediately knelt down, causing a series of rustling sounds.

"knock--"

Everyone bowed their heads.

"prosper--"

Everyone stood up again.

Jia Zheng called out again, "Presenting the silk—the ceremony is complete—"

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant came forward, carrying a wooden tray filled with gifts.

Jia Zheng took out the gift silk from the tray, held it with both hands, and slowly walked to Jia Zhen, handing the gift silk to him.

Jia Zhen also accepted it respectfully and walked solemnly toward the altar.

Place this gift before the altar.

After releasing the animals, Jia Zhen turned around and led the group out of the ancestral hall.

Not a single cough or whisper was heard along the way.

Many people were already waiting. As soon as Jia Zhen and the others went out, they immediately extinguished the incense and candles, removed the sacrificial offerings, and closed the ancestral hall.

Standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, Jia Zhen said, "Tomorrow we will welcome our bride not for personal reasons, but to uphold the ancestral temple. We must be filial to our ancestors and respectful to our elders, honoring our wives and managing the household. We must not let down our ancestors, nor disgrace our family."

Jia Rong bowed and replied, "I will remember."

Thus, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the temple is considered complete.

Jia Zhen then kept everyone behind, intending to host a banquet.

Meanwhile, at the Qin family's house, preparations were already underway, including facial hair removal and hair combing.

That night, very few people slept in the Jia mansion.

Only the old lady, the madam, the first madam, the young ladies, and Baoyu slept.

Even Jia Zhen's wife, You Shi, was working hard to accompany the group of female relatives.

The night passed, and it was time to welcome the bride.

Jia Jue did not participate in the wedding procession.

Last night, due to various reasons, I stayed at Ningguo Mansion and was busy all night, so I'm feeling quite tired now.

Seeing that Jia Rong had already put on his formal attire, knelt before Jia Zhen, and was preparing to lead the wedding procession, Jia Jue also took the opportunity to sneak into his own courtyard in the Rongguo Mansion.

Xi Ren, She Yue, Qing Wen, and the others hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep either, so Jia Jue said to them, "I don't need you now, so go and get some sleep."

Qingwen, Sheyue, and Xiren all said, "What kind of behavior is it to be sleeping in broad daylight? Let's stay awake and keep an eye on things."

Jia Jue said, "You all worked hard yesterday, go to sleep. If anyone says you're not behaving properly, just blame it on me."

The three men couldn't dissuade Jia Jue, so they had no choice but to agree.

But they didn't dare to actually go to sleep. What if they needed someone for something and there was no one there? Wouldn't that be a laughing stock?

So they took turns sleeping for a while.

As dusk fell, Jia Jue was finally woken up.

It was the Jia family's wedding procession returning from their trip to fetch the bride.

When Jia Jue went over to look, he saw that the bride had just gotten off the sedan chair and stepped over the saddle.

Since Emperor Taizu rose up in rebellion and ascended the throne, this dynasty has abolished the red veil used in the previous dynasty and reverted to the fan-removing ceremony.

What is the "returning fan ceremony"?

This is considered an ancient ritual, which originated in the Jin Dynasty and became extremely popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

When a bride gets married, she uses a round or silk fan to cover her face, embroidered with mandarin ducks, peonies, and other motifs, along with a poem.

After the wedding ceremony is completed and the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber, the groom must recite a poem about putting down the fan. If the bride is satisfied, she will put down the fan and proceed to the next step. If she is not satisfied, the groom will continue.

By then, the newlyweds will already be in their bridal chamber, and it won't matter if the groom is not learned, or is rude and dull and cannot recite poetry.

After all, nobody cared anymore.

It was because the red veil was no longer used in this dynasty that Jia Jue saw Qin Keqing's face behind the fan.

Mei is indeed a beautiful woman.

Even though Daiyu is still young, Jia Jue believes that even when she grows up, she may not be as beautiful as Qin Keqing.

At this moment, she wore a phoenix crown, adorned with gold pheasants, pearls, and jade ornaments; a bright red round-necked robe with full sleeves, embroidered with dragon, phoenix, and unicorn patterns; a green shawl draped over her shoulders, embroidered with various floral symbols in gold thread; a bright red horse-face skirt, tied with a plain silver belt; and bound feet in red embroidered shoes. Her face was exquisitely made up, her complexion like the silver moon, her lips like cherries, her eyes flowing like water, and her eyebrows soft and ethereal.

Every frown and smile, every step and sway reveals a captivating charm.

From the moment Jia Jue saw Qin Keqing in person, he understood why Jia Zhen was so infatuated with her and why he was so grief-stricken when she died in the original story.

This couple's journey began at the main gate and ended at the main hall.

After respectfully bowing to Heaven and Earth and her parents, the bride was led to the bridal chamber by her maids.

When Jia Rong and Qin Keqing bowed in reverence, neither of them saw the glint of greedy desire in Jia Zhen's eyes.

The wedding lasted a very long time, and the Jia family was bustling with activity for a long time as well.

Many families who had gradually lost contact also sent things.

Among them was the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.

The Niu family, the Duke of Zhenguo, is currently the only one among the four kings and eight dukes that still holds military power.

Their gift-giving was naturally related to Jia Rong's wedding, but more so because of Jia Jue.

On the second day after her marriage, after Qin Keqing paid her respects to Jia Zhen and You Shi, she heard a loud commotion of gongs, drums, and firecrackers outside.

The list of successful candidates for this year's prefectural examination has been released.

"Top scholar! I'm at the top of the list again!"

Musk Moon came in from outside and said to Jia Jue.

The maids inside the room immediately offered their congratulations.

Jia Jue was naturally delighted and immediately asked Xiren, "Please take out some money and give each person in the room three strings of cash to buy fruit."

Xi Ren exclaimed "Eh!" and hurriedly went to get the money.

Since Xiren came to Jia Jue's courtyard, she has been getting along better and better. As for Mushe, there's no need to say more; the two already had a good relationship, even though they were close when Xiren was in Baoyu's room. Although Qingwen initially disliked Xiren, she is now very close to her.

The money and resources that were originally managed by Musk Moon were also transferred to the more meticulous Sirius to manage.

Although at this point Musk Moon wasn't like the one in the original story, who couldn't even read Libra's astrological chart, Xi Ren was still more skilled in financial matters.

A short while later, a maid came to deliver a message: "Second Master, the Old Madam wants you to come over."

Jia Jue nodded, got up, and followed the little maid into Rongxi Hall.

At this moment, the old lady was also radiant, and she became much more affectionate towards Jia Jue.

After all, he brought honor to the Jia family by achieving first place in the prefectural examination and becoming a scholar at the age of thirteen, something the Jia family had never done before!

"Good child, come here quickly!"

This was the first time that Grandmother Jia had ever invited Jia Jue to her in this way.

This position used to belong to Baoyu.

Of course, Baoyu is not here today; he has gone outside.