Chapter 94 - 92: Li Gui’s Wedding
On the second day of the second lunar month, at the beginning of spring, it was Li Gui’s wedding day. Early in the morning, Li Xiu carried his tightly bundled daughter, with his equally bundled wife in tow, and headed to Uncle Li’s house.
Seeing their nephew arrive so early with his wife and child to help, Uncle Li and Aunt Li beamed. It was one thing to know their nephew was reliable, but quite another to experience it firsthand when it was their own family’s turn. They remembered how he and his wife had conducted themselves during Li Hua’s wedding last year. Their daughter was his cousin, just like Li Hua, so they were sure she’d get the same treatment. Still, as the day arrived, they couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. This nephew and his wife, however, were people who could take charge.
Noticing the nervousness his aunt and uncle were trying so hard to hide, Li Xiu and Zhou Lian exchanged a knowing smile. It was their first time marrying off a daughter, after all; some anxiety was inevitable. When they had married off their own daughter, Zhou Lian had cried until her eyes were swollen. As for Li Xiu, a grown man, he hadn’t lost his composure on the spot. But Li Xiangrui later let it slip that on the night of his sister’s wedding, their father had hidden in his room, finished a bottle of baijiu by himself, and cried for most of the night.
"Aunt Li, I’m going to check on Li Gui," Zhou Lian said to Aunt Li, taking Nuonuo from Li Xiu’s arms.
Inside the room, the Li family sisters were all gathered around Li Gui. They breathed a collective sigh of relief upon seeing Zhou Lian enter with her niece. "Sister-in-law, thank goodness you’re here," Li Yun said as she took the baby from Zhou Lian. "We’re at our wit’s end. Please, you take over!"
Without a word, Zhou Lian brought over a basin of warm water and had Li Gui wash her face. She then undid her hair and combed it out again. Li Gui had a classic, beautiful oval-shaped face. Zhou Lian gathered all her hair, tied it up, and wove it into a thick braid, which she then coiled on top of her head. For makeup, she applied only a light dusting of powder and subtly defined her brows. Zhou Lian really couldn’t stand the heavy, caked-on makeup popular for modern weddings; it made brides look like they were performing in an opera.
Just as they finished, the women of the main Li family branch arrived. Seeing the beautifully prepared bride, they all praised her in their hearts. The eldest daughter of this particular household was truly a standout. They’d always thought she was pretty, but done up like this, she was a real beauty. No wonder that boy from the Ge Family had latched on and wouldn’t let go, even after Li Xiu had put him in his place for years.
Zhou Lian looked up and saw that her daughter was still in Li Yun’s arms. Despite the arrival of so many elders, some of whom had reached out to hold the baby, Li Yun hadn’t let go. She’d used the excuse that the child was young and shy around strangers to fend them off.
Seeing that it was about time and all the Li family women had arrived, Zhou Lian turned to Li Gui. "Sister, today is your big day, so I won’t say much. I’m just going to repeat what I said when your older sister got married, and I want you to remember it well. You are a daughter of the Li family, and you’ll still be one after you’re married. When you’re with your in-laws, don’t go looking for trouble, but don’t let anyone push you around either. You have to remember that you have your family back home, you have your big brother and me, and all your other brothers and sisters. No one is allowed to give you even the slightest grief!"
She picked up the rosewood jewelry box she’d placed on the table when she came in and put it in Li Gui’s hands. Opening it, she took out a pearl hairpin and fixed it in Li Gui’s hair, then took out a bracelet and put it on her wrist. She gently held Li Gui’s hand and said, "This is the same dowry gift your big brother and I gave your older sister. It’s the same for you. Now that you’re getting married, just focus on living a good life. Don’t worry, your big brother and I will be watching out for you."
Witnessing this scene, the Li family women were reminded of Li Hua’s wedding, when Zhou Lian, acting as the eldest sister-in-law of the bride’s family, had said the same thing. She had promised back then: same cousin, same treatment. And Li Xiu and his wife had truly kept their word. Yesterday, Li Xiu had delivered his part of the dowry gift, identical to what he’d given for Li Hua’s wedding. Today, Zhou Lian had presented Li Gui with the same rosewood jewelry box. It was incredibly generous. After all, there were eight or nine daughters in the Li family. This eldest brother and sister-in-law were truly magnanimous. They were only cousins, after all. People couldn’t help but wonder how much they would give for a biological sister!
A few of the more observant women glanced at Li Xin, who was standing nearby, and smiled cryptically. It was hard to say, really. The second branch of the family had caused one scene after another; who knew if Li Xiu and his wife held a grudge! ’Perhaps in their hearts, this cousin is dearer to them than his own sister,’ they thought. After all, Li Xiu’s daughter had been in Li Yun’s arms this whole time, while Li Xin, the child’s actual paternal aunt, stood by. It seemed the conflict with the second branch was now out in the open for all to see!
A short while later, Li Bo came in. "Grandma, Mom, Aunt Li, Sister-in-law, are you ready? The groom’s party is almost here. Big Brother sent me to check."
Wiping her tears, Aunt Li said, "We’re ready. Tell your big brother to come in!"
Normally, a bride was carried out of the house on the back of her biological brother. At Li Hua’s wedding, Li Bo had been too young, so it was perfectly reasonable for Li Xiu, as the eldest brother of his generation, to do it. For Li Gui’s wedding, her brother Li Bao could have done the honors. No one knew what the siblings had discussed, but in the end, Li Gui would also be carried out by Li Xiu. As it turned out, Li Xiu would eventually carry all the Li sisters to their marriages—all except for Li Xin. When Li Yuan and Li Miao got married, Li Xiu was in his forties, but he still carried his two youngest cousins out the door.
Li Xiu walked into the room. His eyes, by habit, first sought out his wife. Seeing her standing next to Li Gui, and his daughter in Li Yun’s arms, he finally greeted the room full of grandmothers and aunts. He walked up to Li Gui and said, "Sister, Big Brother is here to carry you to your wedding." With that, he squatted down in front of her.
Watching her nephew carry her daughter out step by step, Aunt Li couldn’t stop wiping her tears. Beside her, Grandma Li and another Aunt Li were trying to console her. Zhou Lian, however, had no time for that. She had to rush to the main gate with a basin of water. The moment Li Gui got into the wedding car, Zhou Lian had to splash the water out onto the road. She also had to join the wedding procession. Even though the groom’s family lived in the same village, certain rituals had to be observed.
As the eldest sister-in-law of the bride’s family, Zhou Lian’s job today was to represent them and command respect at Li Gui’s new home. After splashing the water, she hurried back inside, took her daughter from Li Yun’s arms, and fed her. She then handed the baby over to Grandma Li and Aunt Li. Soon, only Grandma Li, Uncle Li, and Aunt Li would be left at home; everyone else was going to the groom’s house for the banquet. With so many people and so much gossip, Zhou Lian didn’t feel comfortable bringing her daughter along. She felt much more at ease leaving her with Grandma Li and Aunt Li.
After handing a bag with Nuonuo’s diapers, water bottle, and other necessities to Aunt Li, Zhou Lian hurried off with the other Li family women to the groom’s home. The man Li Gui was marrying was the youngest son of the Ge Family. Li Gui’s parents-in-law were quite open-minded; all three of their sons had married in their own newly built houses and formally separated their households right after the wedding. The youngest son, Ge Yulian, was no exception. His wedding banquet was held in the new house his parents had built for him. The details of the household separation were already settled and would become official after Li Gui’s traditional three-day visit back to her family.
Perhaps it was because they were all from the same village and everyone knew what Li Xiu was like, but in any case, the entire wedding was incredibly harmonious. At the banquet, no one even dared to pressure anyone into drinking excessively. Watching Li Gui’s two new aunts-in-law and two sisters-in-law, who were seated nearby, Zhou Lian’s lips twitched, a reaction she quickly hid with a smile. They were all acting so cautiously, terrified of offending the bride’s family. Zhou Lian sighed and lowered her head. ’Is all this really necessary?’ she thought. ’Li Xiu isn’t that unreasonable. Do they have to be so obvious? Are they doing this on purpose, or are they genuinely this scared?’
If the two generations of Ge Family daughters-in-law knew what Zhou Lian was thinking, they would have cried injustice. It was true that Li Xiu was fiercely protective, but everyone also knew he was a reasonable man. The real issue was their nephew and brother-in-law, Ge Yulian. As the youngest child, he had been spoiled and lawless since he was little. He was the one who had set his sights on Li Gui and thrown a fit, demanding to marry her. But she had been so young back then! Left with no other choice, his father had invited Third Brother Li for drinks, gotten him completely drunk, and settled the engagement that way!