Kapitel 144: Three Bows

The first bow was to the heavens and earth. The second bow was reserved for those who had brought them into the world.

Finally, the third bow was to each other, a gesture of mutual respect for their wedded union.

Unlike a bride in ancient times, whose blush would be concealed behind the silken fall of her red veil, Yan Zheyun could see the entire ceremony that he was participating in. It started with an extravagant procession over to the groom's 'home'. Ordinarily, the bridal party would have a long trail of gifts from both the groom's side and her parents to flaunt her value in front of envious eyes. Yan Zheyun had no distinguished ancestral estate to back him up and had the person he was marrying been less doting, would have had a humble procession towards his new life.

AUTORENGEDANKEN
Queeniecat

Suona (1): A Chinese double-reed woodwind instrument whose design orignated from ancient Iran. It appeared in China around the 3rd century and has been widely used since the 16th. It is used in military ensembles, weddings, funerals, religious processions and traditional operas amongst other things.

(2) Originally, the hair of the wedding couple was used to form a knot but as time went by, customs changed and this was used as a replacement instead or as an addition.

(3) Dai: the soot from burnt willow sticks, which were used very specifically for eyebrow makeup in ancient times, as far back as at least the Han Dynasty. Mo: ink. The use of mo replaced the use of dai from the Song Dynasty onwards, allowing for more fine, delicate painting. It was the trend to shave off all eyebrows (as compared to the modern plucking and threading to shape the brow) and just paint over the brow bone as it provided a bare canvas for the artist to work with.

(4) Gaotang: usually I would just translate this to main hall or chamber but in this situation there is a very specific meaning to the word. It is also used as a metaphor for parents as this is where the designated seat of the head of the family and his wife are usually placed. Therefore, it is a symbol of the greatest filial respect.

(5) To cause ruckus in the bridal chamber: Usually done by a group of young male peers and relatives close to the groom, the tradition was for them to rush into the bridal chamber and behave rowdily, making as much joyous noise as possible. This was because the ancient people believed that “if humans don’t stir up trouble ghosts will”. So the idea of the tradition was to chase the evil spirits away with all the clamour.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading and the lovely comments, gifts, golden tickets and power stones! This chapter was hard to write because of the research, apologies for its lateness! And sorry there’s more angst ): Weddings are such important days for the family, I find it hard to imagine Yan Zheyun wouldn't miss them to bits given how close he was to them.

Do you think next chapter is it, boys and girls? (((: The one I think quite a few of my dear readers have been waiting for ever since I first tagged chapter 24 as R18? <3