The Prestigious Family’s Young Miss and The Farmer – Chapter 21 Part 1

CHAPTER 21: PART 1 Wedding

The sedan chair made a full circle around the Luoxia Village, after which it was carried to Yang family house.  

In the midst of the noisy sounds of the people, the sounds of children playing, the ear-piercing sounds of firecrackers, Lin Qingwan muddleheadedly followed Yang Tiezhu. Under his guidance, she entered the main house to worship heaven and earth.

After bowing to heaven and earth, Lin Qingwan was then taken into the bridal chamber.

Soon, a group of people gathered in the bridal chamber.

“Lift the veil, lift the veil…” a person beside them shouted.

Yang Tiezhu picked up a stick and gently lifted the red veil. 

Lin Qingwan found herself in rare nervousness, unaware of what kind of face she should be making upon facing the crowd and him, as she sat there with her eyes half-drooped, rose-tinted cheeks and both hands firmly clasped under her long sleeves. 

Suddenly the scene became silent and once again exploded with noise.

“Such a beautiful bride…”

“Tiezhu, this boy is truly blessed …”

“This boy got it cheap…”

 Yang Tiezhu chuckled and giggled foolishly while scratching his head, only knowing to giggle without being unable to speak.

“Alright, alright, the bride and the groom shall drink the wedding wine.”

 A young woman standing at the side came with a wooden tray with two cups of wine. The wine cups were linked together by a red string.

The noises in the surroundings were very loud. All the people who came to attend the feast gathered around the door outside whilst looking in with smiles.

Lin Qingwan and Yang Tiezhu also didn’t care about shyness or whatnot anymore, and quickly picked the wine cups from the wooden tray and drank the wine from each others hands.

 Seeing that Yang Tiezhu and Lin Qingwan had finished drinking the wine, a young married woman beside them hurriedly came over to relieve their embarrassment and drove the people out. 

“Alright, alright, you stinky men quickly go out for a drink, standing here be careful as to not to scare the bride.”

 The brisk and termagant woman quickly and effortlessly drove the people out of the bridal chamber. 

After the noisy crowd flooded out of the room, the married woman locked the door from inside; only then did the room become calm. Only a few married women from their relatives remained in the room. 

“Bride, don’t be shy. I am your second tangsao^[1], surnamed Nie.” The furen^[2] then turned her head and smiled.

堂嫂 (tángsǎo): wife of older male cousin via the male line

妇人 (fùrén): madam/mistress appellation used for married woman. Synonymous to Mrs in English.

She was dressed in a pink beizi^[3] with white ruqun^[4] inside. She had a pair of phoenix eye, and when she smiles, a pair of dimples would appear on both the sides of her peach-colored cheeks 

褙子  (bèizǐ): It is a over-knee large coat with big sleeves, a traditional Chinese attire common to both women and men, and was popular in Song and Ming Dynasty. (I have include the picture below for reference)

襦裙 (rú qún): Rú means blouse and qún means skirt. It is traditional Chinese attire and consists of a blouse and a wrap-around skirt.(I have include the picture below for reference)

“Second tangsao.” Lin Qingwan called out blushingly.

This second sao^[5] is Yang old father’s younger brother’s second daughter-in-law. She had a termagant and straightforward temperament and was also one with an extremely nimble lips. This time she came to serve as a matron of honor for the Yang family.

嫂 (sao): older brother’s wife

“Come, come here, I’ll introduce everyone to you one by one.” Second sao Nie was quite cordial, “This is your dasao^[6], Wang-shi, this is the third dimei^[7], Yao-shi, and this is Tiezhu’s younger sister, called Ermei.” Lin Qingwan looked over and greeted them one by one.

大嫂 (dasao): older brother’s wife, usually of the eldest brother 

弟妹 (dimei): younger brother’s wife 

These few women were the ones with whom she would have to get along every day in the future – her dasao, Wang-shi was dressed in a quite dignifying manner with a long reddish-purple colored beizi, and a purple-colored horse-face-pleat skirt^[8] under it. With a big round face, small eyes, and thick lips, at this moment, she was staring at the interiors of the new bridal chamber. 

马面裙 (Mamian skirt): Horse-face skirt/ horse-face pleated skirt is a kind of traditional Chinese dress. It has pleats on both sides of the dress, have a section of smooth surface in the middle, called “horse face”. The dresses are worn by women in the Ming dynasty. (I have include the picture below for reference)

The second sao, Yao-shi was quite thin and weak woman with thin face, pale complexion, and seemed to have worry all over her face. She was dressed in a not-so new green colored beizi, and was smiling timidly.

This day, Yang Ermei was dressed in a pink-green cloured short beizi, along with a light green coloured horse-face-pleats skirt under it. With a round face and big eyes, she was inquisitively looking at her without speaking anything, appearing as if she was one with a very few words.  

Lin Qingwan wasn’t astonished by the attires of these people. She was aware that here only when going to weddings, women dress themselves in their best attires. Usually the women in the Luoxia village wear coarse plain cotton trousers so as to have convenience when working, and pay particular attention when wearing ruqun and aoqun^[9], choosing dark colours as to avoid the clothes from getting dirty when working.

袄裙 (ǎo qún): There are two types of the coat “Ao”: the long Ao and the short Ao. The long Ao is always long enough to cover the knees, which is not convenient for acting and moving. Ao(袄) is a coat with lining, suitable for winter wear, there are many kinds of skirts to match Ao, mainly horse skirt. (I have include the picture below for reference)

After the introduction, these few women walked out of the room as they would have to go out and lend a hand in greeting the people who had come to attend the feast. 

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Footnotes:

[1] 堂嫂 (tángsǎo ): wife of older male cousin via the male line

[2] 妇人 (fùrén):  madam/mistress. Appellation used for married woman. Synonymous to Mrs in English

[3] 褙子 (bèizǐ): It is a over-knee large coat with big sleeves, a traditional Chinese attire common to both women and men, and was popular in Song and Ming Dynasty.

Bèizǐ (Credits: Pinterest)

[4] 襦裙 (rú qún): Ru means blouse and qun means skirt. It is traditional Chinese attire and consists of a blouse and a wrap-around skirt.

Rú qún (Credits: chinesehanclothing)

[5] 嫂 (sao): older brother’s wife

[6] 大嫂 (dasao): older brother’s wife, usually of the eldest brother 

[7] 弟妹 (dimei): younger brother’s wife 

[8] 马面裙 (Mamian skirt): Horse-face skirt/ horse-face pleated skirt is a kind of traditional Chinese dress. It has pleats on both sides of the dress, have a section of smooth surface in the middle, called “horse face”. The dresses are worn by women in the Ming dynasty.

Mamian skirt (Credits: newhanfu)

[9] 袄裙 (ǎo qún): There are two types of the coat “Ao”: the long Ao and the short Ao. The long Ao is always long enough to cover the knees, which is not convenient for acting and moving. Ao(袄) is a coat with lining, suitable for winter wear, there are many kinds of skirts to match Ao, mainly horse skirt.

Long ǎo (chinesehanclothing)

Short ǎo (chinesehanclothing))