Chapter 325: Trying on the Wedding Dress

Chapter 325: Chapter 325: Trying on the Wedding Dress

The next morning, Widow Xie, Aunt Gao, and the others came over right after breakfast. There were still a few finishing touches left from last night’s work.

By noon, the wedding dress, shoes, and quilt were all finished.

They had said there would be no embroidery, but perhaps not wanting to shortchange Ji Huan, they had still stitched simple patterns on the collar and cuffs. Even the wedding shoes had fine, dense stitching and an exquisite design. A single glance was enough to see the immense care they had put into it.

"You don’t understand. A bride has to wear a good pair of shoes so her future path will be smooth and steady."

Ji Xuelan pulled her into the room and told her to hurry and try on the whole outfit.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, wedding attire wasn’t a red groom and a green bride; both the man and woman wore red.

The bridal outfit also wasn’t the elaborate phoenix coronet and embroidered cape she had imagined. Perhaps it was because this was the countryside, and common folk couldn’t afford such extravagances.

She wore a red silk blouse underneath, an embroidered red robe over it, a red skirt, and red satin embroidered shoes on her feet. After she finished changing, she called out. Ji Xuelan pushed the door open, and her eyes lit up at the sight.

She had always known Ji Huan was beautiful, but seeing her every day in simple clothes and with her hair in a plain style, she had never been truly struck by it.

But now, in her wedding dress, Ji Huan was instantly radiant. The vibrant red made her small face seem as smooth as porcelain, like a doll made of snow.

This was what Ji Xuelan envied most.

It seemed like Ji Huan could never get a tan. When they were harvesting spices, even though they wore sun hats, she and Widow Xie had still darkened by several shades, but Ji Huan hadn’t changed at all.

Even under the most scorching sun, her cheeks would only turn slightly red, returning to normal as soon as she cooled down.

Ji Xuelan studied the Ji Huan before her, almost forgetting what she had looked like back at the Ji Family’s main house.

’Not enough to eat, rail-thin, a sallow complexion, hair like dry grass... Yes, that was it.’

Looking at her now, she was like a bamboo stalk that had shot up tall and imposing, seeming even a little taller than Xuelan herself. She was also like a fully unfurled lotus leaf, exuding a fresh, dewy vitality that made her more captivating the longer one looked.

It wasn’t just Xuelan. Even Ji Huan herself, after changing and looking in the mirror, couldn’t help but feel a little narcissistic.

’I knew this body had potential; my judgment wasn’t wrong. If I had been this beautiful in my past life, why would I have needed to burn the midnight oil, drowning myself in a sea of books and practice problems?’

’In the words of my old colleagues, my biggest regret in life was that I couldn’t get by on my looks and was forced to rely on my talent...’

Ahem! ’I’m getting sidetracked. Those thoughts are a bit twisted; I definitely can’t let any kids hear that.’

’Appearances are fleeting. In life, you still have to work hard to get ahead.’

"The clothes fit, and the shoes do too."

Ji Xuelan had her spin around twice more, then nodded.

Ji Huan had just had her fill of self-admiration and was about to take the dress off.

"Wait."

Ji Xuelan brought out the hand she had been holding behind her back. In her palm was something wrapped in a handkerchief.

After unwrapping it layer by layer, she revealed two small, oval porcelain boxes.

"Mingfang and I... we didn’t have anything nice to give you, so we pooled our money to buy you some face powder and rouge. All young women like to look pretty, and you can’t just go barefaced all the time. You’re a grown woman now, and a wife besides. You should dress yourself up properly."

’Yes, all young women like to look pretty.’

’But Ji Xuelan has probably never used makeup once in her entire life.’

Besides, these two boxes didn’t look like the crude, mass-produced kind sold by traveling peddlers. Judging by the exquisite patterns painted on the porcelain, they must have cost at least one tael of silver.

The siblings from the eldest branch had started working in late August and received twelve days’ wages. Because of the sweet potato harvest in early September, they only received wages for the latter half of that month. After setting aside the portion for their family, the two of them together couldn’t have scraped together one tael.

’They either borrowed the money from someone or took back the money they had given to their family...’

"Cousin, you bought this in Yeyang, didn’t you?"

Ji Xuelan smiled. "You have a good eye. We did buy it at a cosmetics shop in Yeyang. There were several shelves full of them; it was dazzling. But your cousin couldn’t afford the expensive ones, so I picked an ordinary set. They said it’s still quite good... I hope you don’t mind."

Ji Huan held the small porcelain boxes, her feelings a little complicated. After a long moment, she thanked her in a low voice.

She wasn’t used to accepting favors, nor did she want to.

But this wedding gift, which Ji Xuelan and Ji Mingfang had given their all to buy for her, felt weighty but not burdensome. It seemed different from the kinds of favors that weigh heavily on one’s heart.

"We’re cousins, what are you thanking me for? My efforts are nothing compared to the care Auntie Xie has shown you. Auntie Xie paid for those two pieces of satin herself, and the cotton batting was from her home too. She said that since Second Aunt and Second Uncle... are gone, she can’t let you be wronged. You should have what other girls have. Why else do you think she insisted on making you a wedding quilt? She also bought the fabric for the wedding dress."

Ji Huan felt a sense of helplessness.

This was exactly why she had been afraid Widow Xie would add her own money. She had estimated the costs beforehand and given the money pouch to Widow Xie, letting her handle the expenses.

But in the end, she still...

’Without a doubt, when she settles the accounts later, she definitely won’t report these expenses.’

Even if Ji Huan tried to repay her, she wouldn’t accept it.

Ji Xuelan pulled her over to sit at the table and opened the porcelain boxes.

The face powder was a milky white, and the rouge was the color of a crabapple blossom. It was delightful to look at, and the scent was light and pleasant.

Ji Huan didn’t really like applying such things, but she couldn’t bear to refuse the kind intentions of the siblings from the eldest branch, so she took the boxes and lightly applied a layer herself.

When she turned back around, Ji Xuelan was completely stunned.

Ji Huan’s features and complexion didn’t actually need makeup to enhance them, but there was a definite difference between before and after.

Before, there was still a trace of youthfulness about her. But after applying it, she suddenly gained an indescribable quality that made it impossible to look away.

No matter how thick-skinned Ji Huan was, she couldn’t stand being stared at so intently.

She changed the subject. "Is someone else in the courtyard?"

Ji Xuelan listened for a moment through the window, then turned back and said, "It’s my dad."

Ji Huan quickly took off the wedding dress, wiped her face haphazardly with a handkerchief, and went out of the east room with Ji Xuelan.

A flatbed cart was parked at the courtyard gate. On it sat a large, square clothing chest and a five-drawer dresser. Ji Liansong and Shi Yong were working together to carry them into the courtyard.

"This is..." Ji Huan was a bit slow to react.

Ji Liansong wiped the sweat from his forehead and broke into a grin.

"It’s your big day. As your uncle, I couldn’t just do nothing. So I went to town and brought back two pieces of furniture. Don’t worry, they’re both brand new. They were just finished recently."

Ji Huan looked at his dark, honest face, not knowing what to say.

"You shouldn’t have spent the money..."

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Widow Xie and the eldest branch of the family didn’t know the marriage was a sham. So even though she had repeatedly insisted on keeping things simple, they still did everything they could to give her the best, despite none of their families being well-off.

Ji Liansong waved his hand. "It wasn’t much, not much at all."

’Ji Huan had let Xuelan and Mingfang work for her and earn monthly wages, and she even had Dabao teach Mingfang how to read. Mingfang was smiling more and more... ’

’Besides, he was Ji Huan’s uncle. This was what he was supposed to do.’

But he was clumsy with words and couldn’t say what he wanted to. He just rubbed his hands together awkwardly, repeating, "I was working at the brick kiln before... Don’t worry, I have money. The family has money."

Ji Mingfang walked over. "Let’s not just stand around. Let’s get this inside. We still have a lot to do."

He turned his head and asked Ji Huan where to put it.

Ji Huan didn’t say any more, just pointed to the first wing-room on the left.

While everyone was busy carrying the furniture inside, Widow Xie came over and handed a folded stack of clothes to Ji Huan.

"I was originally going to buy him a ready-made set. The tailor shop in town had some, but he’s too tall, so none of them fit properly. And the fabric looked a bit coarse... We happened to have fabric left over from your wedding dress, so we made a set for him too."

Although Widow Xie wasn’t entirely satisfied with the husband Ji Huan had found, it was a done deal, so there was no use saying more.

’Come to think of it, they’re both pitiful people.’

’Ji Huan’s wedding dress was handmade. If the wanderer’s wedding clothes were store-bought, it just wouldn’t feel right.’

So she had simply bought extra fabric and had Aunt Wang and the others make it as well.

Otherwise, even if there had been fabric left over, how could there have been just enough for a complete set, including shoes and socks?

Even though Widow Xie didn’t say it, Ji Huan understood all of this perfectly well.

Widow Xie urged her to go to the earthen hut and have Guan Shan try them on.

"If any part doesn’t fit, bring it back quickly. There’s still time to alter it."