frightfiction Chapter 108: Wedding Preparations
Chapter 108: Wedding Preparations
Chapter 108: Wedding Preparations
Three days passed quickly.
The wedding matchmaker was arranged to come over the night before the wedding. Ji Meiqing was a little stunned, but she still welcomed her in.
"Young Master Lu has already given instructions. Please get some rest early tonight." The matchmaker looked at her with a beaming smile, her attentive manner almost overwhelming.
She chuckled dryly, "You don't need to be so attentive."
"Miss Ji just needs to get a good night's sleep as usual."
"Then... I'm going to rest..." She carefully pointed behind her, and the matchmaker nodded with a kind smile.
Ji Meiqing slowly turned around and went back to her room. She was getting married tomorrow, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did.
His eyes were fixed on the tent flap above his head, and he sighed silently. He took off his outer garment and tossed and turned it over.
There was a knock on the door, and the matchmaker outside called out loudly, "Is Miss Ji asleep?"
"No..." She got up resignedly and went to open the door for her, and the matchmaker walked straight in.
He immediately said, "I thought you probably couldn't sleep, so I came to talk to you."
"Um... what's up?"
She picked up a box that had been behind her; it was made of dark brocade with cloud patterns and looked quite extraordinary. Ji Meiqing simply looked at it curiously. The matchmaker, seeing the curiosity on her face, smiled mysteriously, and then opened the box with her withered hand.
I thought it would be filled with gold and glitter, or some kind of treasure, but when I opened it, it didn't interest me at all.
There was also a dark red cloth draped over the inside, making it impossible to see what was underneath.
She lifted the red cloth, revealing a pair of white porcelain cups. Ji Meiqing frowned. "What are these?"
The matchmaker took the object out and placed it in her hand, while earnestly saying, "Unmarried girls are always inexperienced in such matters. There is something special inside this porcelain cup, so please take a good look."
Ji Meiqing looked at the contents of the box and almost dropped it the next second. Her hand trembled slightly as she picked it up and asked, trying to appear calm, "What is this?"
"Well, if you can't sleep tonight, you can take a look, so you won't be afraid tomorrow. It's like that; it might hurt a little the first night, but it'll be fine afterwards..."
Her words were quite ambiguous, and Ji Meiqing felt her face twitch; she almost couldn't keep up the act anymore.
The matchmaker took out a scroll from the box and placed it in her hands. This time, she didn't introduce it but simply said, "Take a good look at it."
"Hmm..." No explanation was needed; she knew what was written inside. The two understood each other implicitly. Ji Meiqing saw her off and returned to sit on the bed. Her hand touched the porcelain cup, then she picked it up.
The box contained a drawing of two people entangled together. Ji Meiqing glanced at it and then put it back in the box. She then picked up a scroll next to her; the words on it looked quite neat. She casually flipped through a few pages, and the pictures inside came to life, as if they were performing vividly right in front of her.
She rubbed her temples and tossed the book aside. Although she knew about those things, she hadn't expected people in this era to be so bold, exaggerating certain body parts.
The book was tossed aside, and she lay back down to sleep. After reading these boring books, Ji Meiqing only felt sleepy.
She fell asleep, and was woken up halfway through the next day's Yin hour (3-5 AM). The clattering and crashing noises outside the door startled her awake. Her sleepiness vanished instantly; she opened her eyes wide, then listlessly got up and opened the door.
"What are you doing?" she asked, yawning. Her eyes were half-closed, almost asleep, but she stumbled as soon as she closed them and was immediately jolted awake, gaining a brief moment of clarity.
The matchmaker, however, was in high spirits and showed no signs of fatigue. "Today is the wedding day, so hurry up and get ready. The hot soup has already been prepared, so get up now."
"So early." She glanced at the sky outside; it was still pitch black, which was sure to dampen anyone's spirits. "Let me sleep a little longer."
She turned to walk towards the bed, but before she could take two steps, she was dragged away.
"I need to leave at dawn, and it's already quite late."
Ji Meiqing yawned again, her eyes glazed over. She could vaguely hear her voice, indistinct yet jarring.
Li received the news early in the morning and came over early that day. The people in the village who worked for her also came to help her.
While they were arguing, the hot water was already prepared. Li came over to inform the matchmaker, who asked her to help drag Ji Meiqing back into the room. Li Ming wanted to bring the hot water over, but the matchmaker stopped him, somewhat angrily, "Today, apart from the groom, no other men are allowed to be seen, and they certainly can't enter this room."
Li Ming pursed his lips and placed the bucket on the ground.
The matchmaker carried the two buckets of water inside, and only after the tubs were full did they strip Ji Meiqing naked and put her inside.
They only started bathing Ji Meiqing after everything was ready.
The warm water, though cool on her shoulders, made her uncomfortable. She felt as if she was being pulled away, unable to go any further.
Ji Meiqing struggled for a while before opening her eyes and looking around blankly. When Li Shi saw that she had opened her eyes, she smiled and said, "You're awake now. It looks like today will be a while."
"..." Just thinking about all the ceremonies that were to be held today gave her a headache. Perhaps it was the influence of her morning grumpiness, but she didn't feel like getting married.
After washing up, she followed their instructions and changed into new clothes. She yawned again, her drowsiness dissipating, and she became more alert.
The weariness between his brows gradually disappeared.
Wearing the heavy and gorgeous wedding dress felt like carrying a thousand pounds. The belt was so tight that she could hardly breathe, and when Li Shi tightened it a little, Ji Meiqing almost fainted.
After they finished tinkering with the details of the clothes, she was pushed back into a chair like a wooden doll.
Rouge arrived at some unknown time, yawning as if she hadn't fallen asleep yet. As soon as she came in, she stretched out her hand in front of her and said, "I want my travel expenses and compensation for my lost beauty sleep."
"……I……"
"I came here last night, but you were already asleep. If it weren't for Li letting me stay at her house, I'd probably still be feeding the bugs outside." She clung to her with a shameless air, as if to say, "I won't leave until you pay me."
Helpless, Ji Meiqing took two silver coins from a small drawer and gave them to her.
Rouge accepted the gift, and Ji Meiqing couldn't help but say, "Others receive money as a wedding gift, and you're making me give you money instead."
"That only proves I'm not an ordinary person." She said matter-of-factly, snatching the things from the matchmaker's hands and waving her impatiently, "You guys go ahead and do your work. I'll do the bride's makeup. You guys make her look like a ghost."