The sedan chair was stuffy and dark, and Jun felt like she couldn't breathe. She lifted the cloth covering her head and saw a brightly red fabric with gold-trimmed edges and a peony made of gold thread in the centre.
Looking at the fabric made Jun's scalp tingle. She quickly lifted the sedan curtain and peeked out.
The first thing she saw was a pair of red shoes with two pom-poms on the top, bouncing in a happy rhythm with each step.
Following the shoes up, she saw a pair of red silk trousers, and then...
The sedan curtain was pulled up with a swish. A smokey voice came from behind the curtain, "Bride, you can't let anyone see you like this."
"Bride?" Jun clenched the cloth in her hand.
She clearly remembered falling onto the stage with a loud bang, hitting her head on the table leg, causing her pain. Then someone shouted, "She's bleeding from her seven orifices, it looks terrifying, hurry up!"
As soon as the words fell, a piece of white cloth flew over and covered her face tightly. So this cloth should be a piece of white silk, but why has it become a bride veil?
"May I ask, who am I supposed to marry?"
Jun asked. She still couldn't believe she was the bride.
"Well, You don't even know who it is and you dare to marry?" The woman with a smokey voice laughed like a duck swimming for food, "But, parents' orders and matchmaker's words, even if it's a rooster, if your parents ask you to marry it, you still have to marry it."
"A rooster," Jun suddenly remembered that story, which the bridegroom died and the bride held a rooster to get married. Who told her? Was it her mom or her dad?
The smokey voice probably sensed the fear in Jun's voice and laughed like a duck again. "Miss, let me take a look at the wedding invitation, don't get it wrong."
After a moment of rustling, the smokey voice loudly read, "The groom's surname is Zou, his name is Zou Yan. He is from Qingyuan County, Guangzhou Province, and the son of the wealthy Zou San. Congratulations, Miss, your parents have found you a good husband."
Zou Yan? This name didn't stir any waves in Jun's heart.
However, since it was her mom and dad who found the groom, Jun didn't have any other thoughts. After all, they always had her best interests at heart.
Jun couldn't open the curtains of the sedan chair again, almost at the same time as the last ray of sunset disappeared, the street suddenly became lively with a bang.
People were talking, shouting, and singing ballads. Although Jun couldn't hear them clearly, she felt a bit of the atmosphere of chaos. Where was she exactly?
The smokey voice stopped two sedan bearers and asked them where they were going to carry the bride. One of the bearers said they couldn't listen to his partner's instruction, while the other said his maps were rubbish.
The smokey voice interrupted the two bearers' chatter, before them were a mansion, with a tall pine tree on the left and a green cypress on the right. There was no doubt it was the Zou family's mansion."
The sedan chair landed steadily on the ground, and the curtain was opened.
A withered and dark hand reached in. Ignoring the fact that the hand was not delicate enough, Jun hurriedly supported it and stepped out of the sedan chair.
"Bride, please don't lift the veil. Just bear with it for a while longer. Once we hand you over to your husband, my job will be done," said the smokey voice.
Jun had to clasp her hands and stand up straight with a noble and graceful posture, just like her mother loved to see.
The smokey voice approached and knocked on the door, while Jun's ears were busy. There were no loud drums or firecrackers in front of the Zou mansion, only the sound of wind, water, and heavy breathing.
This wedding was too quiet.
With a creak, the door opened, and Jun heard a man's voice asking the smoky voice what her business was. Although it was only a few words, the voice was deep and powerful, and Jun guessed that the owner of the voice must be tall and strong.
The smokey voice used an exaggerated tone and said, "Congratulations to Master Zou, the bride has arrived. Quickly open the door to welcome the new bride."
Jun trembled all over. Does that mean the man with the deep voice is her husband? Jun was a little nervous.
"You've got the wrong person. I haven't agreed to any marriage proposal and I have no intention of getting married," the man poured a bucket of cold water over the situation.
"How could that be? Aren't you Mr. Zou Yan, from Qingyuan County, Guangzhou Province, the son of Mr. Zou San?" The smokey voice asked a series of questions.
The man remained silent, but in the smokey voice's eyes, it was as good as confirmation. She kindly reminded him that this marriage was arranged by his father and that he couldn't go against his parents' wishes. She urged him to quickly bring the bride inside and complete the wedding ceremony.
The man fell silent again, but after a short while, he spoke up again, his voice sounding a bit agitated and trembling, "May I know the name of the bride? Is there any possibility…"
The smokey voice unfolded the wedding invitation, "The bride's maiden name is Yundan..."
Jun thought to herself, When did I have such a name? Yundan?
"The Manchu person?" The man seemed to be more knowledgeable than Jun. "Does she has a family name?"
Even without lifting the veil, Jun could tell the change in the man's tone of voice. It was cold, like the water in the winter night.
The smokey voice cleared her throat and said, "Of course the bride has a family surname. Prepare to be startled, it is Aisin Gioro (This is the surname of a Qing Dynasty emperor)."
Whether the man was startled or not, Jun didn't know, but she was definitely startled. Aisin Gioro was a taboo in her family, and they could never be mentioned casually. Now they were used as her own surname, and she didn't know what she had missed.
With a loud bang, Jun heard her husband slam the door, and then a muffled voice came from inside the door, "I don't want this person, take her back where she came from."
The smokey voice was startled, then she began to persuade Jun's unreasonable husband,"Although the Qing Dynasty has ended, but someone with the surname Aisin Gioro is still a member of the imperial family. Once rich, always rich. Besides, this marriage can't be cancelled, and you can't just return the person ."
The man remained silent, causing the smokey voice to become anxious. However, her mind was still trying to sell Jun, as if she was a basket of rotten pears that no one wanted.
Jun became angrier, and finally she threw off her veil.
"Do not want to get married? Fine, tell your parents earlier. Even if they didn't agree, there are plenty of other ways. Running away from home, suicide, castration…"
"Oh my, why did you lift your veil ?" The smokey voice tried to put a cover over Jun's head.
Jun quickly dodged, "What's the point of covering? He don't want me anyway. One man's trash is another man's treasure. You, the matchmaker, right? Take me back."
The smokey voice laughed awkwardly, even the mole on the corner of her lips felt embarrassed. "Miss, once the wedding is set, there's no going back. No one has ever backed out, and there's no way for me to bring you back. I can only manage my territory, and once you cross the bridge, you're on your own."
The bridge? Which bridge? Jun has no clue. She was going to ask the smokey voice but she gestured for her to look up at the sky.
Jun followed the direction of the smokey voice's gaze. A star rose slowly in the western night sky, shining exceptionally bright against the deep blue canopy.
She knew that star was called Chang Geng star, also known as the Evening Star. When daylight came, it had another name, the Morning Star, that's what her father (They call their father "Amah" in the Manchu's language.) had taught her since she was young. But some people insist it's Venus, one of the eight major planets in the solar system.
Who is this person? Jun pounded her head several times, but couldn't knock this person out. It was so rude for him to just jump into her mind without any notice.
Just as Jun was straining to identify the guy in her mind, the two sedan bearers turned around and left, leaving Jun stranded at the entrance of the Zou mansion.
It was incredibly magical, these two individuals vanished without a trace.
As Jun snapped back to reality, she remembered the matchmaker, the smokey voice. As expected, she was nowhere to be found either.
A gentle breeze swept by, carrying several graceful black butterflies. Jun reached out her hand, and one black butterfly cleverly landed on her palm, weightless and delicate.
As Jun leaned closer to take a look, she couldn't help but be astonished. This wasn't an ordinary black butterfly; it was clearly the remnants of burnt paper. She pinched it with her fingers, and in an instant, the black butterfly turned into ashes, completely disappearing.
The wind grew stronger, carrying snowflakes that pelted Jun's face. She wiped her face, realizing the snow was hot and black, with a charred smell.
Summoning her courage, she looked around and discovered that her wedding sedan chair had inexplicably turned into ashes.
Jun wasn't a timid person. Well, to be precise, she still had fears, but she knew how to resolve them. Jun began singing loudly.
The melody of the song was quite catchy, and as Jun continued to sing, she couldn't help but start dancing with her fists. Closing her eyes, the cover in her hand transformed into a small flag, and her steps fell into the rhythm of the Naval Flag Corps of a Fleet.
"Try closing your eyes and imagine the scene depicted by the song. Isn't it a goddess holding a flag high, with a crowd of people fighting for freedom behind her?"
Who is speaking? Is it him? Has he reappeared?
Jun's whole body trembled, and she abruptly opened her eyes.
She noticed a circle of onlookers surrounding her. Everyone remained silent, staring at her intently, with an unsettling gaze that made Jun feel uneasy.
Creak, the door made another sound.
Jun turned around upon hearing the sound, and a young man appeared before her.
He had a tall and graceful figure, exuding a confident presence. When he spoke, his voice was deep and resonant. He must be real Zou Yan.
"How did you come to sing this song?" Yan asked Jun.
Jun still held a grudge against Yan returned from where she came from, so she retorted sharply to Yan, "What's wrong with this song? Did you write it? Is it exclusive to your family? Only those surnamed Zou can sing it, and others are forbidden? Sir, if I want to sing it, what business is it of yours?"
Jun's rapid-fire retort caught Yan off guard. He raised his hands in a pleading gesture, almost begging, "I didn't say you couldn't sing it, just not here, not now…"
"What's wrong with right now? What's wrong with this place? Do I have to wait until I'm singing for Empress Dowager Cixi before you allow me to speak? Will you then complain that I'm not a super star?" Jun retorted.
Yan sighed and turned his gaze, gesturing for Jun to follow his line of sight.
In front of Zou's residence, the enormous cedar tree had somehow been adorned with lights. Jun had never seen a Christmas tree before, curiosity piqued, she approached, wondering what kind of lights these were and why they were so different from the lanterns used during Lantern Festival.
The sight startled Jun, and she nearly cried out. The lanterns turned out to be the eyes of crows and hawks, their dark feathers blending with the tree canopy, leaving only the black, shining round eyes staring at Jun.
Terrified, Jun instinctively lowered her head. Now she noticed the grassy bushes, adorned with a dozen lanterns, flickering with a cold, ethereal blue light.
This time, Jun learned her lesson and refrained from approaching recklessly. Instead, she hurriedly stepped back.
Perhaps due to her panic, Jun stumbled, thinking to herself, "Crap, now I'm going to fall flat on my back in front of this annoying guy."
A pair of hands caught her.
Jun was the first to see the furrowed eyebrows and starry eyes, which carried concern but also a sense of distance and estrangement.
Jun shifted her gaze and noticed the person's nose resembling a suspended gallbladder, lips painted with rouge, and a particularly unique chin. The full and rounded line of the chin split into two halves, reminding Jun of the large peaches that the villagers sent to the Duke Duan's Mansion after the autumn harvest.
Once she regained her balance, Yan pushed Jun aside. He casually brushed his hand, indicating to Jun that singing at this moment would disturb the owners of those eyes.
After a brief pause, he motioned for Jun to follow him inside the house. "Taking you back to where you came from" was just an angry remark because he knew she had nowhere else to go.
Jun, however, felt her pride wounded by Yan's dismissive gesture. She thought to herself, "Am I a fox? Will anyone who touches me become smelly? Have I not bathed in ten days and half a month? Does a touch from my fingertips produce dirt grim?"
Observing that Jun remained stationary, Yan surmised that she was still upset about the broken engagement or exhibiting the petulance of a sheltered young lady. Thus, he urged Jun to quickly follow him inside the house.
"Otherwise, they," Yan pointed at the snow cedar, "and them," Yan gestured towards the grassy thicket, "will swarm around as soon as I leave, all because you disturbed their peaceful dreams."
With a shriek, Jun swiftly spun around and rushed into Zou mansion like a gust of wind. Yan watched her retreating figure, displaying a helpless smile on his face.