TSWPF -Chapter 166 The Wedding

No matter how much the Tong family made a fuss, the joyous day of Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou’s wedding had finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Li Qingling was dragged out of bed to have her hair done and her makeup applied.

Li Qingling felt like a wooden doll—being handled, massaged, and unable to resist.

They say modern weddings are exhausting, but she felt that ancient weddings were even more tiring. The preparations started before dawn.

“You look so beautiful, Xiaoling.” Aunt Huang had arrived early, helping Li Qingling’s face to be prepared with traditional beautification.

Li Qingling smiled faintly. Looking at her reflection in the bronze mirror, it was hazy—she couldn’t really tell if she looked good. But hearing such compliments made her happy nonetheless.

Li Qingning lay across Li Qingling’s knees, lifting her little head to look at her, exclaiming loudly, “My sister is the prettiest! The very prettiest!”

Hearing this, Aunt Huang and the others laughed and echoed Li Qingning’s words.

Even Li Qingling, who was usually thick-skinned, couldn’t help blushing at all the praise.

She lowered her head slightly and reached out to touch Li Qingning’s small forehead. “Little rascal, where’s Sister Rourou? Why aren’t you going to play with her?”

Li Qingning pouted and touched her own forehead with her tiny hands. “Rourou said I should stay here and keep Sister company.” She was worried her sister would be bored, so she came in.

“If you get bored, go out and play with your friends!” Li Qingling knew Li Qingning loved to play and wouldn’t be able to stay put.

Sure enough, Li Qingning’s big apricot-shaped eyes lit up at the words, and she kept asking if she could really go outside to play.

When Li Qingling nodded, she cheered and dashed out in a flash.

She ran so fast that she disappeared in an instant.

Li Qingling shook her head helplessly. “Not much of a girl, are you?” When she was busy, it was usually Rourou who looked after Qingning. Why hadn’t she learned Rourou’s calm and composed ways?

Always running around, climbing mountains, catching fish in rivers—she could do all those things.

But if Qingning turned into a tomboy, what would they do? She felt a little worried.

Aunt Huang chuckled. “Children are all like that. She’ll understand better when she grows up.” Holding a thread, she turned Li Qingling’s head gently and whispered, “We’re going to start with your face makeup. It’ll hurt a little—bear with it.”

Li Qingling nodded and closed her eyes slightly. Soon, she felt a slight sting.

After a few touches on her face, Aunt Huang stepped back, letting the matchmaker apply the rest of the makeup.

“Xiaoling, keep your eyes closed. I’m going to start your makeup now.”

Li Qingling, who had wanted to open her eyes, immediately shut them tightly upon hearing this.

She wondered how good ancient makeup techniques were—hopefully not too terrible.

The matchmaker touched Li Qingling’s face and praised, “I’ve seen so many young girls. Xiaoling is the prettiest of them all.” Standing beside Liu Zhimou, they truly looked like a match made in heaven.

Seeing such a perfect couple made the matchmaker happy too.

Aunt Huang assisted, handing over items to the matchmaker. Hearing the praise, she lifted her head proudly. “Of course! Xiaoling is the prettiest girl in our village—and also the most capable and hard-working. Life in the village has been much better with her around.”

Matchmakers were skilled with words. Picking up Aunt Huang’s lead, she continued showering Li Qingling with compliments as if they were free of charge, praising her as unmatched on earth, a true beauty.

Li Qingling twitched her lips repeatedly at these exaggerated words, feeling speechless. Truly, only a matchmaker could say such things!

“All done, you can open your eyes now.” The matchmaker, satisfied with Li Qingling’s appearance, nodded. “When Young Master Liu lifts your veil, he’ll be completely captivated.”

“Captivated? More like scared!” Even through the hazy mirror, Li Qingling saw the bright red patches on her cheeks. What on earth were they? Terrifying!

She couldn’t praise ancient makeup techniques—honestly, it looked awful.

Ugly… really ugly…

She thought she looked much better without makeup.

It was easy to imagine just how bad this makeup was.

Pulling at her lips, she looked at the matchmaker. “Aunt Shi, is all bridal makeup really like this?” She worried that the groom might be so scared he’d refuse the marriage.

She had grown up with Liu Zhimou and knew him so well—if she was scared, how much more would a stranger bride be?

The matchmaker squinted her eyes and smiled. “Yes, it’s like this for all brides. But your makeup looks much better than theirs. You have a good base—any way you apply it, you look beautiful.”

She was prettier than those brides? Then how ugly were the others?!

Li Qingling’s lips twitched, her eyes twitched—it was almost unbearable. Could she really show Liu Zhimou such ugly makeup?

Aunt Huang covered her mouth, chuckling. She knew Li Qingling wasn’t comfortable with bridal makeup, but as a bride, it had to be done. Festive…

“Xiaoling, your makeup really is prettier than others’. Truly, I’m not lying.” Aunt Huang quickly reassured her, sensing her discomfort.

Li Qingling had no choice but to nod. She hoped Liu Zhimou wouldn’t be too shocked when he lifted the veil.

At that moment, Li Qingfeng entered carrying a small bowl. “Sister, Zhimou… no, brother-in-law asked me to bring you some food.”

Startled, Li Qingling looked up. “You… sister… what is this?”

He swallowed his next words. He wanted to say: Sister, what on earth did you do to yourself? It looks terrible. But she was the bride today—he couldn’t say it or make her unhappy.

“Oh, Young Master Liu sure knows how to care for someone. Xiaoling is blessed.” The matchmaker waved her handkerchief, smiling.

Handsome, educated, and caring—Young Master Liu was truly remarkable. If she were twenty years younger, she would’ve fallen for him herself.

Li Qingling blushed at the matchmaker’s teasing. Luckily, the bright red patches on her cheeks concealed her face. She felt shy.

She cleared her throat, carefully took the bowl from Li Qingfeng, and ate in small bites.

Being dragged out of bed so early and fussed over until now, her stomach was already growling. Finally, something was going down.

She quickly finished the meatballs and called Li Qingfeng to bring another bowl.

She still hadn’t had enough!

Before Li Qingfeng could reply, the matchmaker intervened. “No, you need to ride the sedan chair around the village first. What if you need to go to the bathroom?”

Li Qingling could only compromise. She would wait until after the wedding ceremony to eat properly.

Seeing her obedient, the matchmaker smiled and went over the steps of the wedding ceremony.

After some time, Li Qingling sat stiffly on the stool. Li Qingning suddenly ran in, shouting excitedly, “Brother-in-law is here! Brother-in-law is here, riding a big horse!” She thought her eldest brother looked especially handsome in his red robe.

The village girls blushed when they saw him.

But he belonged to her sister—they could only look.

Li Qingfeng then entered, slightly serious. “Sister, brother-in-law is here.”

Today, his sister was marrying Zhimou. Somehow, he felt a bit unhappy. Even though they would still live together as before, things were different.

Once she entered the Liu family, she became theirs.

He suddenly regretted letting her marry so soon. She was still young; she could have waited a few more years.

But now, regret was useless—it was too late.

“Hurry, hurry, put the veil on!” The matchmaker helped Li Qingling cover her face with the veil. Instantly, she could only see the small patch of ground beneath her feet.

Li Qingfeng bent slightly, speaking softly but firmly, “Sister, I’ll carry you.”

Looking at his small, thin frame, Li Qingling hesitated. “Can you really carry me?” She worried she might crush him.

“I can. Climb on!”

Li Qingling carefully leaned onto his back.

Biting his teeth, Li Qingfeng lifted her, inching forward step by step.

Feeling his effort, Li Qingling whispered in his ear, “If you’re tired, you can put me down. You can still walk with me.”

“No… need…” Li Qingfeng stubbornly said.

Today, no matter what, he would carry his sister until she was safely delivered to Zhimou.

Li Qingling’s eyes welled slightly—her brother had grown up.

It took a full forty-five minutes for Li Qingfeng to carry her to the sedan chair. Carefully setting her down, he helped her sit inside, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He turned to Liu Zhimou seriously. “Brother-in-law, I entrust my sister to you. Take good care of her.” Their parents were gone; he was her only support and would not let anyone bully her.

Liu Zhimou nodded firmly, patting Li Qingfeng’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I will.” Li Qingling was his beloved; he would care for her well.

Li Qingfeng nodded, watching Liu Zhimou mount his horse and ride off.

The red sedan chair carrying his sister slowly lifted and left their home.

His eyes reddened, filled with reluctance.

“Brother, will sister come back?” Li Qingning tightly held Li Qingfeng’s hand, sniffled, and asked, voice trembling.

Seeing her sister carried away made her sad. She didn’t know exactly why.

Li Qingfeng nodded, comforting her. “Sister will be back later.”

“Then I’ll wait here for sister.”