Chen Xi was dressed in a pure black silk robe embroidered with golden threads, wearing a crown as he slowly made his way towards Fan Jian's residence. This outfit was merely the regular attire of a marquis. According to the customs of elevating one's attire for a wedding, Chen Xi should have worn the robes of a prince or a higher noble. However, in Chen Xi's view, wearing the marquis robe sewn by Chen Lan, stitch by stitch, was far more meaningful than donning the princely robes gifted by Li Jue and Guo Si.
"Zichuan, congratulations," echoed around him as the warm winter sunlight bathed his body. He was surrounded by familiar and unfamiliar faces, all offering their well-wishes. Chen Xi was completely enveloped by the crowd, with nothing left but constant expressions of gratitude.
"Huh? What's this?" As Chen Xi was about to turn into a small alley after passing through the central area, a peach fell from the sky and landed in Gan Ning's hand. The peach seemed like a precursor, and when everyone looked up, they saw several more peaches descending from the sky.
"Hahaha, flat peaches!" Gan Ning laughed and immediately leaped into the air, grabbing several peaches in his hands.
"How can we let Xingba have all the glory?" Seeing Gan Ning leap into the air, Tai Shici's initial shock quickly faded. He, too, leaped up to grab the falling peaches. Whether it was Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Hua Xiong, Xu Chu, Wu Anguo, or Dian Wei, anyone with the ability soared into the air, snatching the peaches that descended from the sky.
In just an instant, all the peaches had been seized. Looking at the peaches in their hands, still covered in fuzz, everyone was momentarily stunned. How should they handle this? A heavenly sign?
Before they could decide what to do, peach blossoms began to fall like a rain of petals from the sky.
"An auspicious omen!" someone shouted. Everyone paused in surprise, and then the chorus of congratulations for Liu Bei erupted. Even Chen Xi, dressed in his ceremonial robes, turned to congratulate Liu Bei.
The envoys from various lords who had come to witness the ceremony were also taken aback by the scene. Chen Qun, in particular, had been watching Liu Bei closely ever since the first peach fell, noticing the shock and apprehension on his face. This meant that the auspicious omen wasn't something orchestrated by Liu Bei. Chen Qun was even more astonished when Dian Wei managed to grab three peaches.
By the time the peach blossoms fell, Chen Qun had become numb to the spectacle. He stared blankly as the rain of flowers fell on him. Even without reaching out, he could feel that the petals were genuine. When Dian Wei handed him one of the peaches and then began eating one himself, Chen Qun fully believed in the authenticity of the miraculous event.
"Congratulations, my lord!" Gan Ning laughed as he handed his peach to Liu Bei. The others followed suit, except for Dian Wei, who had already eaten most of his peach.
"Why aren't you all eating?" Dian Wei looked around curiously as he noticed that everyone was watching him munch on his peach.
Everyone was speechless. Liu Bei, having finally recovered, laughed heartily. "Since this is a heavenly blessing, and there's no decree stating that it must be bestowed upon me alone, let us all share it together!"
Liu Bei's words caught both Ju Shou and Chen Qun off guard. They then heard the surrounding people praising Liu Bei's benevolence. Silently, they admired Liu Bei's leadership qualities. Truly, this was a man who had built his success from nothing. His decisiveness and magnanimity were qualities that few could match.
Chen Xi quickly swallowed his piece of peach, listening to the crowd around him savoring the thin slices of peach, all claiming that the heavenly peach was incredibly sweet. Chen Xi couldn't help but smile wryly. With such a thin slice, how could they taste anything? Even if they ate the whole thing, they wouldn't be able to detect the supposed sweetness. After all, he and Qu Qi had grown these peaches. How could he not know?
After eating the "celestial peaches," the atmosphere became even more lively. The attention of the crowd shifted from Chen Xi to Liu Bei, and praises for Liu Bei rang out endlessly. Liu Bei, who still didn't fully grasp what had happened, could only respond instinctively to the crowd's adoration.
With a smile on his face, Chen Xi continued on his way to Fan Jian's residence. With so many witnesses to the auspicious sign, whether they believed it or not, the common people would certainly believe it, and even some superstitious families wouldn't be able to help but contemplate its significance.
"General Zhao, are you sure you didn't miss the target area?" Qu Qi asked Zhao Yun curiously. Throwing something without being noticed, hitting the target accurately, and not damaging the items required immense control.
"No problem," Zhao Yun replied, shaking his head. "As long as it was in the direction you mentioned, every item landed within that range, and none were damaged."
"That's good," Qu Qi said with a smile. "Let's go join Zichuan's wedding banquet. We've done our part."
"Hanmo, does this really make a difference?" Zhao Yun asked as he hurried to keep up. He didn't fully understand the purpose of all this.
"It does. It's about the divine right of kings," Qu Qi said coldly. "But who really knows what heaven is? If we have the opportunity to borrow the power of heaven, why not use it?"
Zhao Yun fell silent. He could already imagine the impact of his actions, but he was a man of few words. Since he had promised Chen Xi, he wouldn't reveal the true nature of the event to anyone.
After retrieving Fan Jian and Chen Lan from Fan Jian's residence, Chen Xi looked at the two radiant women and silently reached out, taking both of them by the hand. With one on either side, he led them out of the Fan household and onto his carriage.
Fan Jian sat on the left, Chen Xi in the middle, and Chen Lan on the right as they made their way into the main hall of the Chen residence. Chen Qun stepped forward and began reciting, "The peach tree is young and beautiful, its blossoms bright and radiant. This maiden goes to her new home, fit to manage her household…"
Chen Xi listened, gradually feeling drowsy as Chen Qun recited the lengthy blessings. When the recital finally ended, Chen Xi could only think of it as background music.
"The bride and groom, please wash your hands." An elderly woman from the Chen household, dressed in a dark silk robe, carried a golden basin filled with water and placed it before Chen Xi and his brides.
Chen Xi dipped his hands in the clear water, then dried them with a towel. Once again, he took Fan Jian and Chen Lan by the arm, while Chen Qun began reciting a different poem as background music.
"Take your seats, share a meal," Mi Zhu said with a smile, signaling for attendants to bring in prepared seats and a dining table.
Chen Xi scooped food from a prepared vessel and shared it with Fan Jian and Chen Lan, and the three of them ate together.
"Jian'er, eat quickly. If you don't eat now, you'll be hungry later!" Chen Xi whispered to Fan Jian, who was nibbling on her food. After all, ancient weddings started in the evening. They hadn't eaten lunch, and by the time Chen Xi finished the ceremony, it would likely be well into the afternoon.
However, it was all just part of the ritual. Sure enough, after only a few bites, the table was cleared away, and Chen Qun's recitation shifted to another verse.
"Drink this..." Mi Zhu smiled as he handed two gourds tied with red strings to Chen Xi. A wine jar was brought over, and Chen Xi split the gourd in half, offering one half to Fan Jian. The two of them drank a bitter sip of wine. Then Chen Xi split the other gourd in half and handed it to Chen Lan, and she too took a sip of the bitter wine. Chen Xi's face twisted into a grimace.
This signified that the couple would share both sweetness and bitterness in life. The more bitter the drink, the sweeter the future, or so the tradition went. But Chen Xi was already feeling bitter to the core.
He gently removed the earrings from Fan Jian and Chen Lan, then raised his hand to show them to the guests. At this point, they were legally husband and wife.
Using a small knife, they each cut a small lock of hair. Chen Xi didn't divide his own hair into two portions; instead, he tied it together with Chen Lan and Fan Jian's hair using a red string.
"The ceremony is complete!" Mi Zhu announced with a cheer.
"Congratulations! Congratulations!" The previously reserved guests rushed forward to surround Chen Xi, while Chen Lan and Fan Jian were escorted to their respective chambers. From here on, Chen Xi would handle everything himself.