Feng shi Yu Heng, Age 15, Permitted to Marry and a Hairpin Ceremony*
Nobody had anticipated that the crying would only intensify, starting from Feng Yu Heng crying alone to her holding Zi Rui and crying to crying with her three aunts. Later on, Xiang Rong also joined in, as did Xuan Tian Ge and their friends. Wang Chuan and Huang Quan also cried. By the end, all of the females in the hall were crying, and the sound of their cries shook the heavens. The sound caused the maidservants and male servants in the residence to also tear up.
Xuan Tian Ming’s head ached. He never knew that his wife was capable of crying so much. He wanted to console her; however, he did not know how to do it. It was the fourth prince, Xuan Tian Yi, who had a bit more experience, telling Xuan Tian Ming: “There’s no need to console them. When they’ve cried enough, they’ll stop on their own. The more you console them, the louder they’ll cry. It’s possible that they’ll even cry for the entire night!”
Upon hearing that they might cry for the entire night, Xuan Tian Ming nearly collapsed. It was the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, who was a bit more pragmatic, as he said to Xu shi: “Eldest madam of the Yao family, didn’t you say that you wanted to celebrate A-Heng’s coming of age ceremony?”
These words reminded Xu shi, and she quickly wiped her face. Managing to get her tears under control, she pulled Feng Yu Heng along and said: “Right, there is still the coming of age ceremony. Our A-Heng coming of age is a grand occasion. It can’t just be done in a casual manner.”
With Xu shi saying this, everyone agreed, and Zi Rui even said: “Coming of age is the most important thing in a girl’s life next to getting married. This was something that Teacher said, and Zi Rui has remembered it.”
Feng Yu Heng pinched Zi Rui’s cheeks. This younger brother was becoming more and more impressive with each year, and it was very gratifying. She said to Xu shi: “Although coming of age is an important matter, we are currently in the South. There’s no need to follow the rules too closely. Just doing something simple would be fine!”
She said to have something simple carried out, but how could Xu shi agree. In addition to this, Xuan Tian Ming had also made arrangements, thus Feng Yu Heng’s coming of age truly was magnificently lively.
Although she had put on her wedding dress back in Lan Zhou City, her hair was left as it had been behind her head, without being tied up into a bun. At that time, Wang Chuan had said that Young Miss still had not performed the coming of age ceremony. “Although His Highness the ninth prince had already come to marry her, with such a big step missing, this servant does not feel at ease. We can’t belittle ourselves. Young Miss’ hair cannot be tied up. Just leave the hair loose, and this servant will think of a way to keep the phoenix coronet on. It will not affect setting out.” That was why Feng Yu Heng’s hair had not been tied up until this moment.
Qin shi and Miao shi, along with Feng Xiang Rong, accompanied Feng Yu Heng back to her room to get changed. Xu shi stayed behind in the main hall to make preparations for what was to come. The new clothes that had been prepared specifically for this coming of age ceremony had already been sent over. It was only at this moment that Feng Yu Heng realized that her understanding of the ancient era had been too lacking. It turned out that the clothes for the coming of age also had their own rules. From inside to outside and from top to bottom, everything needed to be changed. These new clothes were called guanfu.**
These new clothes had been prepared by the aunts themselves. It was orange in color but not in poor taste, nor was it as celebratory in nature as the red wedding dress. Qin shi said: “This was completed back in the capital. When your eldest aunt and I went to Ji An Prefecture, we had brought it along, but you ended up preparing to go South. We were worried that if we brought up the matter of your coming of age, you would think of your marriage and feel unhappy, thus we did not tell you. Who knew that His Highness the ninth prince would be so thorough. Not only did he prepare to marry you on the day that you came of age, but he had also sent people ahead of time to Ji An Prefecture to secretly bring us all over.”
Miao shi also said: “That’s right! Not only did he go to Ji An Prefecture, but he had also gone to the capital and Xiao Zhou. I had been in Xiao Zhou accompanying Zi Rui. Hearing that we were to come to the South to celebrate your wedding, we were extremely happy. Right, before I came, I returned to the capital. People had also been sent to invite the venerable old man, your uncles, and cousins, but your grandfather said that with the wedding taking place in the South, there can’t be no movement in the capital. They would not be coming to the South and will remain in the capital. On the day of your wedding, the Yao manor will have a grand banquet, and it will be held as if it was for their own daughter.”
Feng Yu Heng’s heart was shaken from hearing this. In truth, she had truly hoped that her grandfather could be at her side when she got married, but thinking of her grandfather’s age, traveling from the capital to the South would be quite a pain. Since the capital needed to be lively, staying in the capital was also fine. It was just a pity that they had lived for two lifetimes, yet her grandfather had never personally seen his granddaughter get married.
While they spoke, Xiang Rong could not stop tears from coming out. She quickly wiped them away with her hand then said: “His Highness the ninth prince really is thorough. When they came to pick up the two aunts, they also picked me up. Second sister, I have never seen a man treat a girl well to such a degree. In the past, my mother said that whether a man treats a girl well or not does not depend on how much money he gives the girl. Instead, look at how much thought he spends on the girl. After all of these years, His Highness the ninth prince’s thoughts for second sister is something that we can all see. Xiang Rong still remembered back when His Highness the ninth prince sent the betrothal gift into the Feng manor. How many years had it been since the Feng family had suffered such a big loss? The shock caused by the Yu Palace was the first time that Xiang Rong had seen the Feng family’s people humiliated.”
When Xiang Rong brought up the matter from back then, Feng Yu Heng also sobbed upon hearing it. She always felt that the years were going by too slowly; however, who knew that after some quick calculations, so many years had already passed.
Qin shi and Miao shi had not experienced the scene from that time, but sitting in the same carriage as Xiang Rong for the trip down to the South, they had chatted idly. The topic for all of their conversations was Feng Yu Heng’s experiences over the years. Xiang Rong had specifically brought up that betrothal gift scene, causing the two to sigh endlessly. In the past, they felt that the men of the Yao family were earnest with their feelings; however, who knew that a son of the imperial family could also be so earnest.
Thinking a bit more, Qin shi added: “After all, like father like son, the Emperor’s feelings for Imperial Concubine Yun is something that we all know a bit about. Just based on this, his son won’t be too different.”
Speaking of the imperial family’s sons, Feng Yu Heng thought of another person and could not help but wink at Xiang Rong: “I saw that His Highness the fourth prince has come with you. Don’t tell me that he followed seventh brother here from the capital.”
With the fourth prince being brought up, Xiang Rong furrowed her brow. It was Qin shi that laughed and said: “How could he have come from the capital? His Highness the fourth prince set out from Ji An Prefecture together with us. He came to Ji An Prefecture for the sake of chasing after his master, and that happened to be our silly little girl, who still does not understand his intentions.”
Feng Yu Heng knew that the fourth prince was interested in Xiang Rong, and she did not stop him. As a whole, ever since the situation with the third prince attempting to break into the palace, this fourth prince had slowly begun to change. In the beginning, she felt that he might have been pretending, but after observing for a while, she found that this was not the case. Xuan Tian Yi had never been much of a treacherous person. In the past, he had mostly been incited by old third in combination with the engagement to the Bu family. From time to time, the Bu family would plant some thoughts in his mind and slowly managed to deceive him. In truth, Xuan Tian Yi was a pretty opinionless person, and he did not have much ambition for the throne. It was the type that could get agitated and be settled down.
Now, that guy had actually chosen to live a quiet life. As she saw it, if he could treat Xiang Rong well, it would be quite good. Although he no longer had his position as a prince, he had still been born a prince. Back then, the Emperor had said that he would be demoted to a commoner, but that was still his son. Based on the Emperor’s emphasis on his own feelings, how could he allow his own son to suffer any hardships? Just looking at Xuan Tian Yi’s current life, one could know that the position of prince did not have much of an effect on him.
Feng Yu Heng looked at Xiang Rong with these hopes. Unfortunately, Xiang Rong was not too interested in this sort of thing. Every time Xuan Tian Yi was brought up, a look of “that’s too annoying” appeared on her face. Qin shi wanted to say a bit more, but when she saw Xiang Rong like this, the words that were about to come out were swallowed back down. After all, that was not her daughter, and it would not be good to say too much.
Feng Yu Heng felt that there was no need to rush with this matter. Xiang Rong was still young. After a few more years, the two would interact a bit more, and they would naturally develop, which would be a bit better. Moreover, she knew very well that Xuan Tian Hua’s shadow still lingered in that girl’s heart. Forcefully pushing Xuan Tian Yi on her would not work.
She held Xiang Rong’s hand and shook it a few times, saying: “Don’t think too much about it. Just treat it as having an extra friend. You would be his master and friend. There’s nothing bad about it.”
Xiang Rong was one that listened a bit more to Feng Yu Heng’s words, and she happily nodded, saying: “Either way, he’s not too annoying. I’ll just think of him as a bum beetle!”***
The ones present blushed with shame, thinking to themselves that the Feng family’s daughters really had this sort of personality. He was a dignified prince, yet he was called a bum beetle. But thinking about it, that fourth prince, Xuan Tian Yi, really was a bit like a bum beetle.
Feng Yu Heng finished changing and began to redo her makeup. Her accessories were also changed. It took almost two hours of work before she returned to the hall.
In the main hall, all of the guests were seated, and they joyfully watched Feng Yu Heng arrive. Their faces were all smiles. The coming of age ceremony would be conducted by Xu shi, as she represented the family’s elders, personally tying up Feng Yu Heng’s hair into a bun. She then used a colorful piece of cloth to wrap up the bun before inserting a hairpin that she had been holding into the bun. She loudly said: “Feng shi Yu Heng, age 15, you are permitted to marry and tie your hair up.” Like this, the coming of age ceremony was completed.
All of the guests that had been watching came forward and congratulated Feng Yu Heng and presented her with gifts. Feng Yu Heng happily received the gifts then turned to pass them off to her maidservants before giving thanks.
When Xuan Tian Ge gave her gift, she whispered into her ear: “The coming of age ceremony is just this sort of thing. Tomorrow morning, we will help add to your dowry. That is truly the time for the great gifts.”
After the ceremony passed, a banquet was held at the residence. The male guests were seated at one table, and the female guests were seated at another. There truly were very few male guests. Later on, a few military officers also came by to join in on the liveliness.
Feng Yu Heng felt as though she was dreaming. Xu shi said: “Having come of age, you are now an adult. After getting married tomorrow, you will no longer just be Imperial Daughter Ji An. You will truly be Princess Yu. In the future, when you return to the capital, you will be living in the Yu Palace.”
Only then did she manage to react and realize that after getting married, she would be someone else’s wife. She could no longer live in her imperial daughter’s manor.
But Qin shi consoled her, saying: “A-Heng, there’s no need to worry. His Highness the ninth prince is a prince. Your parents-in-law are all in the palace. There won’t be anyone to concern themselves with what happens on the outside. When you get married, you will be the rightful head wife. Above, there will be no in-laws to bind you. Below you, there will be no concubines to cause you vexation. You can do whatever you wish.”
Xuan Tian Ge also chimed in: “That’s right, based on my ninth brother’s personality, it’s possible that your days will be even more comfortable than when you were in the imperial daughter’s manor! That person pays the least attention to rules. The servants in the palace have become accustomed to it long ago. They definitely will not be anyone that would make you unhappy. Look, I am your only younger sister-in-law, and I am on your side!”
That meal was enjoyed very happily. The female guests finished eating first, and Xu shi sent Feng Yu Heng back to her room to have her rest properly. She would need to get up early the next morning. The others did not go to disturb her, as they all returned to their own courtyards; however, Feng Yu Heng was completely unable to fall asleep. She wanted to go for a stroll in the yard; however, when she pushed the door open, she found that there was a man in white clothes standing at the entrance of the courtyard, an aura of divinity surrounding him…
*TN: Part of a coming of age ceremony or engagement, where the girl’s hair is tied up.
**TN: Type of hanfu or traditional Chinese dress.
***TN: A follower, lackey or sycophant
