On Vermilion Bird Avenue, a wedding procession stretching for miles advanced in grand splendor.
The gilded bridal sedan, carried by sixteen bearers, shimmered under the sunlight. The embroidered golden phoenix on its curtains fluttered gently with each step of the bearers, as if ready to take flight at any moment. Behind the sedan trailed an endless line of dowry carts, their vermilion-lacquered and gold-trimmed chests tied with red silk ribbons that snapped and fluttered in the spring breeze.
“Which noble family’s daughter is getting married with such extravagance?” A young scholar in a roadside tea house gaped in awe.
An elderly man beside him stroked his beard and mused, “With this scale, it might as well be the wedding of a princess from a royal house.”
“You’re mistaken, old sir,” a merchant at the neighboring table interjected, lowering his voice. “This is the only daughter of the Li family—the wealthiest in Lanuo Kingdom. Rumor has it her dowry alone fills one thousand three hundred and sixty chests!”
The crowd gasped in unison.
Just then, a procession of maids passed by, carrying jeweled caskets that refracted dazzling light under the sun.
“Wait a minute!” A woman suddenly frowned. “Didn’t the heir of the Ruan Marquis just marry the Zhou family’s daughter three days ago? How could the Li family’s daughter be…”
