The general's daughter getting married and the heir apparent taking a wife was a momentous occasion.
Moreover, there had long been rumors among the people that Li Wanming and Xiao Jingnan were a match made in heaven.
Therefore, on the second day of the fourth lunar month, before the gates of the Li family even opened, the streets in front of the house were already teeming with curious onlookers.
"I heard that the heir apparent was captured by the third young lady of the Li family herself under the imperial notice!"
"Come on! It was clearly the heir apparent who fell head over heels for the third young lady at first sight and voluntarily jumped into her sack!"
"Hey, you're both wrong! The two of them were already in love, and then the third young lady specifically went to the Imperial College to hire the heir apparent to be her groom..."
The peach and plum blossoms in the alley were in full bloom, contrasting with the lanterns and red silk hanging all over the courtyard, making the jubilant atmosphere of this happy event seem like the fiery clouds in the sky, a dazzling display of gold and red that filled the world.
Li Wanming sat in front of the bronze mirror, wearing a magnificent red wedding robe embroidered with great craftsmanship.
Nine strands of golden thread embroidered the pattern of a phoenix and a mandarin duck singing in harmony. The feathers of the phoenix were as delicate as silk and sparkled even indoors. The collar and hem of the robe were trimmed with pearls, each as round as the moon and as white as jade.
However, Li Wanming tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and frowned in distress. "Are you done yet?"
"All done!"
Liu Yiyi put down the rouge pen and picked up the bronze mirror shaped like a sparrow's tail on the table to show her. "How about it? Isn't it beautiful?"
Li Wanming took the mirror and examined the person in it.
She was indeed a beauty.
Her skin was as smooth as凝结的 fat, her face was rosy like a peach blossom, and she was as delicate as a begonia flower in the early spring rain.
Especially the phoenix flower on her forehead was in full bloom. The cinnabar was bright red, exquisitely painted with fine brushstrokes, and the edges were carefully outlined with gold powder, looking as gorgeous and delicate as a flame.
It seemed that she had never dressed up so meticulously in her life...
"Isn't it especially beautiful? When brides in our Fujian region get married, they always paint phoenix flowers on their faces as decorations!"
Liu Yiyi twirled the pen between her fingers and said proudly, "I specifically went to find the most skilled old woman in the town to learn this when I went back to Fujian for the New Year. I'm not exaggerating. Now, apart from me, you won't be able to find a second person in the entire capital who knows this skill of painting phoenix flower hairpins!"
Wanmo picked up a wedding cake on the table and asked while eating, "Why did you suddenly think of learning this?"
Liu Yiyi jumped down from the corner of the table and replied loudly, "It's trendy! Second sister, you don't know. Now, the clothes from our Fujian region are very popular in the capital!"
She put the rouge pen into the dressing box and took out a stack of drawn patterns from a box beside it to show everyone.
"Ever since the news that Wanming is from Fujian spread, the customs and clothing of Fujian suddenly became extremely popular in the capital! The old shopkeeper of our Liuji Silk Store sent me a message at that time, asking me to bring back more local specialties when I returned to the capital!"
"I thought that Fujian is thousands of miles away from the capital. If I brought some food or wine, it would probably go bad! Moreover, those things are not like dried lychees. They are not easy to transport, and the profit is not high either. Instead, it would be better to draw some patterns unique to our Fujian region and make some original clothes or delicate jewelry!"
Saying this, Liu Yiyi turned Li Wanming's face and stared into her big, black eyes, admonishing her:
"We've agreed! You're not allowed to wipe off this hairpin for three days. You must wear it back when you return to your parents' home! My jewelry store has already prepared a hundred boxes of this kind of rouge pen and gold powder, waiting for you to promote them for me!"
Hearing this, Wanmo almost choked on the wedding cake. She coughed and gave a thumbs up:
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Using the grand wedding of the Prince Ning's Mansion to attract business for yourself! Liu Yiyi, ever since you became the young owner of your Liu family, you've become more and more like a shrewd merchant!"
"What's so special about this..."
Li Wanming sat on the embroidered stool with a long face and stretched out her two hands to show Wanmo. "Second sister, look! All ten of my fingers have become her advertising spaces!"
Sure enough, all ten of her fingers were adorned with gemstone rings of different sizes and styles. There were turquoise, jasper, agate, mother-of-pearl... all of them were unique to the Fujian region.
Wanmo quickly covered her eyes with her hands. "Take them away quickly. Don't show them to me! They're so dazzling!"
The girls laughed and played merrily. Only W anxin was a little worried. "Little sister's wedding is a special occasion. All the clothes and accessories have corresponding regulations... Have you asked the Ministry of Rites about these things?"
Liu Yiyi nodded carelessly. "Don't worry, eldest sister! I've already asked the doctor in the Ministry of Rites. They said that as long as the phoenix crown, wedding robe, phoenix-patterned dress, and double-fish jade pendant are correct, it's okay to add a little more of other things. As long as it's not excessive. It's already popular for women in the capital to wear hairpins when they get married. I've just changed the style to a phoenix flower."
Saying this, she ordered Li Wanming to tilt her head back. "Come on, put on this gold lock! I had our jewelry store work overnight to make it. There are water patterns of the cave lord on it, which can bless you with smooth sailing in everything after your marriage and keep all evil spirits away!"
Li Wanming snorted and said irritably, "It's to bless your newly opened jewelry store with a steady stream of money and great wealth, right!"
"Both! Both!" Liu Yiyi smiled and fastened the clasp behind the gold lock for her. Then she walked to the front and carefully examined it. "Speaking of which, I have to thank the two girls you recommended for helping me open my jewelry store so quickly..."
"Caowei and Qinglan?"
Li Wanming suddenly grabbed Liu Yiyi's wrist, and the several bracelets on her hand jingled. "How are they?"
In the first lunar month, she had gone through the formalities of freeing Caowei and Qinglan at the Ministry of Revenue. Now, they were both free people.
However, Li Wanming had been under house arrest recently and was busy preparing for the wedding. Therefore, after handing Caowei and Qinglan over to Liu Yiyi, she had never seen them again.
"Great! They're doing extremely well!"
Liu Yiyi clapped her hands and said happily, "One is bold and capable, and the other is meticulous and introverted. Moreover, they're both extremely dexterous, even better than the old employees in our store!"
She leaned down again and poked the gold lock on Li Wanming's chest with her finger. "This gilded concentric lock of yours was made under the supervision of the two girls! As soon as they heard it was for you, they stayed up all night, burning the midnight oil to supervise the craftsmen. They didn't sleep for two whole nights and forced them to make it!"
The morning light shining through the window lattice just happened to cover the gold lock, and the water patterns seemed to come to life, flowing with light.
Li Wanming gently held the gold lock, and her fingertips felt warm, not cold at all.
Wanmo leaned on the arhat bed by the window, cracking melon seeds. Hearing this, she nodded and said, "After this grand wedding, your Liu family's silk store and jewelry store are probably going to sell out!"
W anxin seemed to remember something and suddenly let out a soft laugh. "It's not just these that their family's goods will sell out."