At the third quarter of the You Hour, the wedding procession arrived at the Feng Residence.
Red lanterns and red silk already hung thick on both sides of the residence's main gate.
Two rows of household guards stood before it, each wearing a newly made blue-cloth robe with red silk tied at his waist, all brimming with vigor.
A bronze mirror hung above the gate, and freshly written wedding couplets were pasted on either side of its frame!
Feng Yan had written them himself:
[Joy graces this noble house: today the phoenix seeks his phoenix, a fine match blessed by Heaven.]
[May boundless ancestral virtue bring a qilin's phoenix in years to come, with gifted heirs in every generation.]
Wei Zi's wedding procession stopped before the gate.
Three gates, threefold obstruction.
Within, laughter and playful barricades; without, bows and pleas for mercy.
This was a surviving custom of ancient rites. The Book of Songs said, "This maiden goes to her marriage, bringing harmony to her household."
When a daughter married, her family could not bear to part with her, so they barred the gates to express their sorrow at farewell.
The livelier the obstruction, the deeper their affection.
The harder the gate was to open, the clearer the groom's sincerity.
The Feng Residence's first barrier was the main gate.
Its keeper was an elder of the Feng clan, the white-haired, white-bearded Venerable Feng Patriarch.
The Venerable Feng Patriarch sat in a Grand Tutor's Chair just inside the Ceremonial Gate, with a small table before him bearing a wine pot and two cups.
"Young fellow of the Wei Family." The Venerable Feng Patriarch's voice rang out with vigor.
"I'm an old man. I have no great ordeal for you.
Drink three cups with me.
Once you've finished them, the