Pop! Pop! Pop!

The loud report of dozens of firecrackers going off in quick succession filled the street outside the Zhu Clan. The woman in red from head to toe walked into the carriage and then the petals closed up around her. The good luck woman, a woman who had many healthy children, living ancestors, and a happy marriage, brought the red umbrella back off the carriage and moved to join the rest of the crowd.

The dozens who had been waiting inside were now outside and various large Demonic Beasts started to be led in from a side yard. There were also a half-dozen carriages and carts, all of them being very well decorated and elaborately designed. Most notable among them being a cart with a large flat bed and carrying eight large chests. Sage climbed back onto the lion he’d used to get here and started out the gates of the Zhu Clan. Behind him, the peony carriage followed, flanked by the Tiankong siblings and the four women who had challenged them earlier. Behind them, there were those that Sage had brought as well as all of those from the Zhu Clan that had come outside.

Quite rapidly the large procession he’d brought here had doubled in size. In addition, they were not so quiet or solemn this time. There was much cheering, and singing along with the music that had started playing. A few of the people in the procession had brought out instruments, creating a lively atmosphere as this parade marched down the street.

They retraced their steps, making their way back down the streets to where they’d come from. Turning off the main road, they marched up to a large archway. Before Sage reached it, there was a loud pop and a whizzing sound. He stopped and looked up into the air.

Boom!

A shower of red sparks blossomed into the sky. Then there were more pops and booms, and fireworks were launched into the air in rapid succession. Gunpowder did not exist in this world, but they had found a way to create firework talismans instead. A narrow piece of paper had a talisman painted onto it, and then it was rolled into a tube shape. Once it was lit on fire, the talisman was activated and it burst apart. Unlike most other magical devices, it could be activated without any Qi, using a flame to tell the talisman to activate. Sage found the ‘technology’ to be quite interesting, it was just a shame that talismans required expensive materials and a high degree of skill to craft. Otherwise they could be perfect to empower all the mortals.

The parade of people walked through the archway that read ‘Prosperity’ upon its sign. They walked up towards a large villa and up to the entrance. Sage leapt off the lion and a few handlers came up to lead the lion away. The carriage rolled up behind him and stopped in front of the entrance, then a couple Dragoons rushed out, rolling a red carpet on the ground leading to the side of the carriage.

The red petals of the peony spread apart, revealing the veiled woman within. The petals lowered till they exposed her to the waist, giving all those waiting inside the building a glimpse. She rose to her feet and walked down the flower petal ramp to step carefully onto the red carpet. Sage reached out to take her hand and they walked into the building together.

Inside the building, they passed through a decorated entrance hall covered with red banners and painted golden characters. Then they stepped over a threshold and into a set of gigantic double doors. A loud gong was struck and they walked into a massive chamber. They had taken their time outside coming down from the carriage and walking up to the building to give time for all the people in this room to arrange themselves. Even so, they didn’t have any part in what was to come, other than to bear witness.

The couple walked slowly through the hall, approaching the far end and giving everyone in the room a good chance to inspect and admire their matching red outfits. Sage had worked on these things for years in order to calm his nerves, creating hundreds of different options as well as making outfits for many of the others involved in the ceremony. It would be a shame if those watching didn’t have time to see his handiwork.

They crossed the large room and the hundreds gathered, reaching the opposite end where there was no wall. This side of the room was completely open to the elements and placed on a tall hill at the edge of the city with an expansive vista of the setting sun in front of them. The two of them stopped in front of a pair of large red cushions. They both kneeled down and carefully lowered their foreheads to the ground. Then they rose and walked towards the other side of the room where a massive altar had been erected. On the wall in the center was the symbol for ‘Lang’, and it was surrounded by many small plaques with names upon them. To either side of the altar was a large golden double happiness symbol on a red banner.

The two of them kneeled down on another pair of cushions in front of this altar, and these cushions had a wide gap between them. A table at the front of the altar had four plaques as well as burning incense sticks placed within gold vessels. The plaques were actually ancestral tablets, about a foot tall and half that wide, they were made of stone and inscribed with a name. They read Lang Chang, Lang Qing, Zhu Da and Zhu Zhihao. Zhu Jiao and Lang Sheng lowered their foreheads to the floor once again, kowtowing in front of this altar, and specifically these tablets. The tablets of their parents.

Then they lifted their heads from the floor and got back onto their feet. Then they stepped back and then to the sides. They faced each other from across the two cushions and then kneeled down again. The reason for the gap between these cushions now became apparent as they used them to kowtow to each other. They both had quite large headdresses on for this ceremony so there needed to be ample room for them to press their foreheads to the floor without hitting each other. After this third bow, they both rose up again and then turned towards the crowd.

A loud cheer broke out and the gongs were struck. More of the magical firecrackers were set off and the two of them walked over towards the crowd. They stopped at a table where a large tea set was waiting. Working together, the two of them steeped the tea and then poured cups, carrying them over to a row of women who had come from the Zhu Clan. The cheering and hubbub had stopped by the time they were handing out the tea, at least until every one of the women in this row had been personally served tea by Lang Sheng and Zhu Jiao. Once they were finished the cheering started again and the crowd got a bit rowdy.

The two in red walked out of the room with many of the more excited people following behind them. They only stopped when the two reached a large sealed chamber, stopping outside to hoot and call after them, teasing the two. The doors slammed shut behind them and they passed by a table where a bowl of half-cooked dumplings waited. Then they stopped in front of a large bed and sat down. Sage reached up and lifted the thick red veil and revealed Zhu Jiao’s blushing face. He smiled at this sight and she bit her lip, her face vacillating between shyness and anger. Without saying anything he lifted a goblet and handed it to her. The two wine glasses were tied together with a red ribbon and she also fell into silence as they followed the ritual.

Their arms holding the drinks crossed together and then they both drank.