"Sigh…"
Xu Feng sighed alone in his bridal chamber.
It was already early in the evening. He couldn't hear the festivities happening at the front of the Nanshan Estate, or the smaller and more upscale gathering for the Xuan family and their more honored guests.
He was supposed to be one of the main characters of this wedding, yet here he was trapped in this bridal chamber, waiting for the "party" part of the wedding to be over.
Sitting in the newly decorated red room prepared by Si and San with items bought by Steward Wu. It wasn't bad, but the room wasn't too festive.
The tall Ger lay leisurely on the bed. It was more comfortable than the beds in the budding or blooming courtyards, but it wasn't quite as nice or large as the king-sized bed he had in his bedroom next door.
This wasn't the first time he was tempted to pop into his bedroom to grab a yellow book…Was he really that perverted? No, yes, maybe.
He was probably just bored. Plus, he didn't have anything else to read except for reproductive health books and little yellow books.
Besides, he was a married man now, so being perverted wasn't a bad thing. He would get to pop one of his cherries; possibly, that would help with his less-than-savory impulses recently.
Xu Feng couldn't help thinking of the Xuan young master's body once again. Just as his face began to heat up and rise to match the heat of his body, Xuan Yang's face flashed in complete disdain.
["A Ger should have some modesty."]
"Hahaha-ha-ha!" Xu Feng began rolling around on the bed.
He was having fun messing with an ancient man. The ancient man had no feelings for him, and had another lover. Yet here he was married to the ancient man, waiting to consummate their marriage so he—a man—could bear the ancient man a child.
Honestly, Xu Feng felt bad for Xuan Yang and Xuan Jian. Thinking about how they would most likely spend their entire lives hiding their affair, Xu Feng stopped mid-roll and rested his profile against the bed.
As soon as his ear touched the soft bed, Xu Feng couldn't help but exclaim, "Hiss…"
"Stupid Donghua culture!" Xu Feng growled as he sat up in bed.
Before he was locked up in the bridal chamber, some women from the village arrived to complete one of Donghua's marriage rituals for brides who married into a family. All newly married gers and women needed to have their right ear pierced.
They pierced the top of the right ear and showed a married ger or a married woman in public. The villagers did the piercing and it wasn't too bad at all. It was painful, but not enough to shed tears or anything like that.
Xu Feng wasn't looking forward to the healing process, but he couldn't avoid this custom.
The entire ritual was a completely awkward silence; Si and San were allowed to watch. The two girls looked more horrified than Xu Feng felt.
That made the experience a bit better.
At first, the village auntie waited a few minutes for any women from the Xuan family to arrive. None of the Xuan's came.
This was usually a bonding time when the women of the husband's and wife's families came together to support the bride and build bonds between both families.
Xu Feng had no family—his father had willingly sold him, and despite their agreement to keep the Xuan's face, the Xuan's wouldn't keep Xu Feng's face. Lady Xuan and Old Lady Xuan both decided not to attend his ear-piercing ceremony.
A silver needle was heated over an oil lamp flame for disinfection. At that time, Xu Feng really couldn't refuse this custom; every bride needed to have one as a sign of being married.
After the sharp pain, there was a cooling sensation. The sensation spread as the cream was slathered on his ear.
It was a lonely experience compared to what the original owner remembered when his dad was still alive, and they were still invited to other people's happy events.
An earring was immediately placed in Xu Feng's new piercing by the village auntie. This one was made of gold; it must have cost a pretty penny.
At the very least, Xuan Yang didn't cheap out on the gift between groom and bride, fake or not.
Xu Feng then wondered what happened to Xu Zeng's dad's earring. Was it sold by the father or the stepmother? Was there anything of the ger that raised the original owner still left in the world?
He was more than a little curious about that family. Maybe one day, when he was more accustomed to this world, he would visit the original owner's village.
A child would need to be born, no, an egg would need to be laid first!
"Hahahaha," Xu Feng burst out in laughter again.
One would know he had more than a glass full of wedding wine.
Xu Feng looked over at the almost empty bottle of wedding wine. It was more than a few glasses. And he hadn't had much to eat the entire day.
Trying to keep his mind off his hunger, Xu Feng thought back to the official sharing of wedding wine between the bride and the groom. Donghua wedding culture was thick and deep, full of meaning.
Such loud laughter from their early morning ride would naturally spread throughout the village, not to mention the horse, which was a rare sight even in Yilin.
At first, the villagers didn't know much about the Xuan family, but now they knew the young mistress of the Xuan family was a beauty.
As soon as the fireworks were set off before the couple shared their wedding wine, congratulations to the two newlyweds could be heard from the courtyard of the Nanshan residence.
"May you have a harmonious hundred years together!"
"Carry noble children early!"
"May your children be as beautiful as their mother!"
"Congratulations to the young master and young mistress of the Xuan family!"
This was tradition, whether it was a Ger or a woman marrying into the family. A senior family member had to shout the names of the couple at the gate to inform the guests who the newlyweds were!
But at this wedding, the cheers from the villagers that followed the lackluster announcement from old master Xuan were booming.
"Thank you, elder," Xu Feng and Xuan Yang said, giving respectful bows, amongst the cheer.
Xu Feng smiled as he drifted off into a deep sleep. The villagers were so kind.