TFS – Chapter 68 Wedding Night

Tang Chunming was feeling quite depressed. The notions of reserve and shyness had nothing to do with him. He could only listen to Zhang Xiu and others occasionally narrating the lively scenes outside.

As expected, many people from the village had come with congratulatory gifts. Though those gifts might have been as simple as a piece of cloth and couldn’t compare to the extravagant ones from the military men and Teng Yu, they were still given with sincere intent. The villagers who came were left behind by the village head, as they all understood the situation. No one brought the entire family to the feast after just offering a gift. Instead, they sent only one representative. The weather was freezing, and the banquet couldn’t be held outdoors, so there was barely space indoors for a few tables. Some people had planned to just come to offer their congratulations and then return home, without wanting to trouble Li Feng and the others.

Li Feng and Tang Chunming had anticipated this situation earlier, so they had used all the guest rooms in their house. They had also set up tables in Li Feng’s house and Zhang Xiu’s house. The kang (heated bed) had been stoked up, and there were fire pots inside. Once people entered, they wouldn’t have to worry about the cold, and when the food arrived, they wouldn’t have to worry about it getting cold too quickly.

Zhang Xiu was counting on his fingers, listing the families who had come to the village, and then he smiled. “Only Six Uncle’s family from the Zhao family came. Their son is helping out in the kitchen. The rest of the Zhao family didn’t show up. It’s better this way, less awkward for everyone. By the way, you didn’t send a message to Li Congen’s family, did you? They still haven’t shown up.”

“We didn’t,” Tang Chunming rolled his eyes. “Ah Feng only invited Uncle and Aunt today. The other seats are filled with those who are close relatives from Li Feng’s side, people who usually take care of him.”

Shen Fulang was also present. He didn’t find it odd at all that he and the head of the family had replaced Li Congen and his wife’s position today. He nodded in agreement with Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu understood immediately what Tang Chunming meant. The so-called elders, those who should be honored during the worshiping ceremony, were supposed to be the paternal and maternal elders. If there were none, the closest living relatives should take their place. From a blood-related perspective, Li Feng should have invited Li Congen and his wife today, but neither Li Feng nor Tang Chunming were people who cared much about such formalities. Asking them to worship that couple would only cause trouble for themselves.

Not only had they not been invited to perform the ceremony, but their names weren’t even on the guest list for the seats. The people from the Li family who came from outside the village knew exactly what was going on, but no one was willing to step forward for that family. The elders who would have spoken for them weren’t on the invite list either. Some younger members had come to offer their congratulations, and their intention was to get closer to Li Feng, so they certainly wouldn’t bring up any unpleasant matters on such a joyous occasion.

For today, Tang Chunming and Li Feng had prepared a variety of snacks, and they also had contributions from Manager Qi. The people who came were enjoying themselves, eating while warming by the fire and chatting happily.

“Yesterday, I saw someone from the Li Congen family. I even specifically mentioned that tomorrow we’d be going to Ming Ge’er’s house to celebrate his nephew’s wedding. I asked if he was going, haha, you should’ve seen how dark his face got!”

“Serves him right! Who told him to go around boasting about his Ge’er’s marriage a few days ago? He deserved that slap in the face.” This person also had an unmarried Ge’er of an appropriate age, who had been compared to Li Congen’s Ge’er several times. As parents, who wouldn’t be angry?

“Do you know who his Ge’er married?”

“No idea, which wealthy family would be willing to marry into his family?”

The one revealing the news covered his mouth and whispered, “Tch! Li Congen himself is too embarrassed to say it. His Ge’er went to be a concubine for someone. That family’s main wife couldn’t conceive, so they took in a secondary wife, and somehow they ended up with his Ge’er. After paying fifty taels of silver, that young Ge’er’s no longer tied to the Li family.”

“What? Did they sell their Ge’er?!” Someone gasped in disbelief.

“Why wouldn’t they? If they could treat their own nephew like that, now it’s just a young Ge’er, not even a proper son. Have you seen how smug he’s been lately? He’s probably enjoying it.”

“Does the Li family know? If they do, how could they let their Ge’er go and be a concubine?”

“Probably doesn’t know yet. Once the marriage is official, what can the family do? It’s like when they sent their nephew away—did the family do anything? They even took his land and house without a word.”

“How awful!”

“The ceremony begins! The newlyweds are coming to bow!”

Tang Chunming was pushed out of the room, dressed in his wedding robes, which were praised by everyone. He looked even more radiant, like a rosy-cheeked young Ge’er, and the crowd in the main hall, including people from outside the village, was there to watch the spectacle. They had only heard of Tang Chunming before, but now that they saw him, the men couldn’t help but start making remarks.

“No wonder this man insisted on marrying someone with a child. The young Ge’ers we saw in town before weren’t as good-looking as this.”

“Not just in town, even in the city I’ve seen better-looking young Ge’ers, and none of them compare.”

Hearing the comments from the men, even some of the younger Ge’ers couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Previously, when Qian Defu married a widow, people had talked about it for a long time. But compared to today’s new groom, that young Ge’er seemed lacking in many ways. Not to mention this new groom was confident and capable, able to make money, and today even the owner of the tavern came over in honor of this young man. Some unmarried young Ge’ers, when they saw the tavern owner’s son, blushed and couldn’t stop glancing at him.

“Ah Lin, hurry, Ming Ge’er and Uncle Feng are about to bow to each other!” Er Mao pulled Ah Lin out of the crowd. Ah Lin’s face was flushed, and when he saw his mother, he felt both happy and conflicted, as though after the ceremony, his mother would no longer just belong to him and his brother.

Tang Chunming was still relieved, thinking that as a young Ge’er, there was no rule that he couldn’t be seen by others, no red cloth covering his head. However, when he saw Li Feng look over at him, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. But as soon as he turned to look at his son, all his nervousness vanished. He picked up his son and gave him a big kiss. Being able to have his son witness the wedding ceremony—well, that was rare.

“Mother…” Ah Lin shyly said.

The Elder He, who had been responsible for watching the children today, was happy and cheerful. He said to Ah Lin, “Ah Lin, do you remember what you need to say to your mother and father?”

Ah Lin nodded and then, holding his mother’s neck, turned his head to softly and shyly say to Li Feng, “Father, Mother, congratulations on your marriage. May you have a lifetime of happiness.”

“Good boy.” Li Feng, controlling his emotions, patted Ah Lin’s head. He felt this was the most heartwarming blessing he had received today, and Tang Chunming could tell from his expression and voice that he was very happy and excited.

“The ceremony is starting, the auspicious time has come!”

“Come, Ah Lin, let grandpa hold you.”

“Hurry, hurry, we’re about to become one family! We’ll have more family time later.”

“Haha…”

In this lively atmosphere, Tang Chunming and Li Feng began the long-anticipated ceremony. For Li Feng, it was his first time, and for Tang Chunming, although he remembered the ceremony from the original body’s memories, it was still quite strange for him as a modern person. With the military men shouting louder than the celebrant, the entire process was somewhat disorienting. As soon as it was over, they were quickly pushed into the bridal chamber.

At the same time, the group of military men, including Yu Mu, rushed into the bridal room, ready to make a ruckus. Even Zhang Xiu and the others stepped aside, giving Tang Chunming a concerned look. They were powerless to help but could only distribute the lucky money and candies to the children who had come to watch the festivities. The children were easy to please, happily scattering when their pockets were filled with candies and red envelopes with lucky money. The real troublemakers were the rowdy military men and the village men who were familiar with Li Feng.

“Hurry, kiss him! Show us some manly skill! Hey, big guy, you’re not going to be more shy than your Ge’er, are you? If you don’t kiss him now, we won’t recognize you as our leader, right, brothers?”

“Exactly!” The laughter almost lifted the roof. The men mischievously pushed Li Feng towards Tang Chunming.

Despite it being the bitter cold of midwinter, both Li Feng and Tang Chunming were sweating. Li Feng shot a glare at the group of men, then grabbed Tang Chunming by the waist and planted a firm kiss on his face. The men yelled even louder, their voices echoing through the courtyard, so much so that the people outside could hear them.

“Alright, do you still want to sit and eat, or are you just going to keep playing around? If you’re not eating, my stomach’s going to be hungry too!” Tang Chunming spoke up, giving them a sharp look. His cheeks were flushed, and his attempt to sound threatening fell short, but he still had to maintain some face. The men, eager for more fun, grabbed Li Feng and pulled him out. What were they going to do? Of course, they were going to drink!

Once the crowd finally dispersed, Tang Chunming let out a sigh of relief, as did Zhang Xiu and the others. It would have been unbearable to deal with all this before they even had a chance to eat. Looking at Tang Chunming’s disheveled appearance—his wedding robes wrinkled, his hair messy, and his face red—they couldn’t help but laugh. They helped him straighten up and said, “We should hurry and join the feast. They’re all waiting for you to start the meal.”

The groom didn’t have a rule about not sitting with the guests. In their village, the celebration was as lively as it could be, and the familiar friends were all waiting for Tang Chunming to join them. Tang Chunming wasn’t shy at all. After tidying himself up a bit, he confidently walked out, ready to fill his stomach first and leave drinking for later.

Li Feng didn’t know how much alcohol the group of men, led by Yu Mu, had gotten him to drink. The distilled liquor they were drinking was quite strong. Li Feng had anticipated this and had provided them with the highest-proof liquor he could find, knowing that these men, especially since it was their first time drinking such strong alcohol, would likely be knocked out quickly. His plan was to get them all drunk first.

He had drunk a fair bit himself. Although he had some tricks up his sleeve, he still drank alongside them, doing his part to make sure they were all out of commission. He managed to hold himself together with the help of some hangover pills he had gotten from Elder He.

When he saw the big men one by one falling down, Li Feng felt a great sense of satisfaction and staggered toward the bridal room. Who were they trying to outdo? Hah!

Seeing the rare look of triumph on Li Feng’s face, Li Zhen and Elder He pointed and laughed at him, and when they looked at the men either slumped over the tables or hiding under them, they laughed even harder, slapping the table in amusement.

“What a clever boy! He really knows how to play dirty. When these military men wake up tomorrow, I wonder how they’ll mess with A Feng,” Li Zhen laughed.

“It’s not a matter of today or tomorrow. They’ll definitely make it through today first,” Elder He chuckled heartily.

Wang Ying, holding the now-sleeping Ah Lin in his arms, stood up and walked toward the room, shaking his head with a smile. Among the men who had been knocked out was his own son, Tang Chunrong, who had foolishly tried to drink with Ah Feng. But today was a special day, so he didn’t stop him. After all, he’d drunk this type of liquor himself, and it didn’t harm the body, so he let him enjoy himself.

Li Feng, swaying, pushed open the door to the room, only to feel disappointed when he saw it was empty. Where had Ming Ge’er gone? This was their wedding night! His head was a little fuzzy, but just then, he heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom, and a silly grin spread across his face. Now he knew where Ming Ge’er had gone. He continued staggering toward the sound. The bridal room had been designed by Ming Ge’er, with a separate area for bathing, heated with an underfloor heating system. On such a cold day, it was no problem to bathe indoors.

“Ming Ge’er…” He pushed open the small wooden door but felt disappointed again. Ming Ge’er was fully dressed. He had hoped to catch a glimpse of Ming Ge’er emerging from the bath.

“Just in time, I’ve poured you some hot water. Hurry up and wash off the smell of alcohol,” Tang Chunming said in a normal tone, though inwardly he cursed. Hearing the sound, his heartbeat skipped a beat. Why was he getting nervous now?

“No, let’s do the wedding night first,” Li Feng insisted, trying to reason with him.

Tang Chunming raised an eyebrow. Was he drunk? He stepped forward and touched Li Feng’s face. “Are you drunk, saying nonsense?”

“I’m not drunk. Yu Mu and the others drank me under the table and crawled under the table,” Li Feng grinned proudly. Before, he had tried to hide it, but now he was completely exposed.

This was supposed to be “not drunk”? His behavior was completely different from usual. Tang Chunming, having been a man in the past, knew there was no logic to be had with a drunk person. He could only coax, “Alright, alright, you’re not drunk. Let’s go take a bath. Do you want me to help you?”

“Sure, heh heh, Ming Ge’er will help me bathe, and then the wedding night,” Li Feng stood there foolishly, eyes glued to Tang Chunming.

The wedding night, the wedding night… All he could think about was the wedding night. Tang Chunming thought to himself, though his face was already burning.

Ahh! Now this is wedding.