March 28, clear, light breeze, highly auspicious.
Early that morning, Wang Yan, dressed in bright red wedding robes, mounted a tall horse and led a procession of musicians, carriages, and assorted attendants toward Yang Province City to fetch his bride.
This tall horse had been bestowed by Zhao Zhen. It was the very horse he had ridden during his parade through the streets, only brought back from Bianjing yesterday. The horse had a gentle temperament and was fine for ordinary riding, but it was unfit for charging across battlefields and could not serve as a warhorse. After all, royal steeds had somewhat different purposes and were trained accordingly. Of course, there were warhorses as well, but there was no need for one for a civil-service top scholar.
Besides this white horse, there was also the standard reward for passing the jinshi examination: two hundred thousand coins, or two hundred strings of full-weight cash. There were also silks, gauzes, brocades, satins, and the like, worth several dozen strings in total. Perhaps it could be seen as a small subsidy toward the past educational expenses of those who passed the jinshi examination—much like how certain organizations and companies reimbursed part of the costs for obtaining certificates or qualifications...
Back in Wang Family Village, behind the wedding procession, smoke had long since risen from every household chimney, and the entire village bustled with voices and activity.
The pigs and sheep that had been raised for quite some time, along with five old yellow oxen from elsewhere that had accidentally died fresh, and not to mention the chickens, ducks, and geese, had all long been lined up, waiting to have their throats cut and enjoy a warm bath of boiling water.
The men, young and old, from the village, the members of the merchant