Chapter 228 - 160 Sending off the Bride_2

Words : 1369 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Among them, the Xingling floral pattern resembled the copper coin hole in shape, with four steady pointed corners, representing wealth and prosperity, as well as the resilience and strength of a samurai’s daughter. The multi-layered white outer robe was the forerunner of what would later be called "White Purity", symbolizing the bride’s pure innocence, and also implying that she was a blank sheet, bringing with her no bad habits from her natal home, ready to be dyed with her husband’s family colors, to successfully assimilate into the clan. As for the white "horn-hider" atop her head, it carried a similar meaning, signifying that the bride would restrain her temper, be modest and humble, and also serving to conceal herself, lest malicious spirits waylay her on her way to marriage—a special sort of matrimonial dharma artifact. Yet though Princess Dog was arrayed in full bridal attire, there was little joy or shyness on her delicate face; rather, she kept lightly biting her lower lip, her heart filled with unease—confined within her family mansion, unloved and unnoticed, she’d received no reliable information, still unaware of what sort of man Harano truly was. She hadn’t even seen his face nor did she know his disposition; to be anxious was only natural. Her two young maids had no inclination to converse either, equally apprehensive. They and their princess shared a common fate; should things go poorly for the princess, misery awaited them in even greater measure. The three of them waited in silence within the cabin for over an hour before the unloading of dowries and the like was at last completed. Only then did one of the attendants come to inform them they could disembark—the princess, being married off, certainly brought an entourage. She had over seventy people with her: samurai, Lang Faction retainers, house retainers, and maids, but since she had always been invisible within her own home, she recognized none of these faces, having only met them for the first time three days before. She had always lived timidly and cautiously, forever under the dreadful shadow of her legal mother, Lady Tsuchida, so she dared not offend even the maidservant who came to fetch her. With the help of Anaka and Age, she dragged her cumbersome layered robe off the boat, then, aided by their earnest support, climbed into the "Phoenix Carriage"—this conveyance, once used by emperors to attend court in the Heian Era, was a man-powered palanquin with a golden phoenix carved atop, delicate gauze curtains all around, and space for one to kneel within. But now, in the Muromachi Era, the shogunate was too feeble to police local customs, so this vehicle, once the emperor’s exclusive privilege, had become an accoutrement for weddings, and no one cared if that trespassed ancient regulations. Princess Dog was thus placed within such a dainty "Phoenix Carriage", borne by eight house retainers, while samurai and Lang Faction retainers unfurled the Five Melon Flags—some leading the way, others guarding the flanks, and behind came house retainers and maids carrying all manner of wedding trousseau as they set off for the Nozawa family home. Kneeling in the "Phoenix Carriage" for a short while, Princess Dog bit her lip again. At last, unable to contain her curiosity, she gently lifted a corner of the curtain with two slender fingers and sneaked a peek outside, only to discover that New Wanjin was far better than she had anticipated. The wharf was expansive, the road broad, straight, and level, and the paving material was oddly special—like stone slabs, yet not quite. The population was not insubstantial either; throngs of commoners bustled about the docks, now withdrawing to the roadside to gawk curiously, but unlike when she’d departed Qingzhou City, they did not all kneel, heads pressed to the ground, not daring to look up. Moreover, their garments were strange—long, narrow hakama, and the upper attire was neither the traditional hitatare or kosode, but a queer sort of robe fastened down the middle by buttons. Since the weather was still mild, some of those hefting loads simply left their chests bared. In short, judging by the garments alone, there was an instant sense of having stepped into a foreign land, though not overwhelmingly so. Besides, she could vaguely sense the region’s prosperity—for here, at least, all had clothing to wear, and patches upon garments were a rare sight. Princess Dog watched her future "subjects" for a while, then noticed a small commotion near the head of the procession. Startled, she immediately signaled her only two confidantes to take a look. Anaka carefully slipped to the front, listened for a moment, and then came back to report in a whisper: "Your Highness, it’s said that a commoner by the roadside was shockingly discourteous—he dared to look a noble straight in the eye. Lord Hirahashi believes the Nozawa family is slighting us and is in a rage!" Hirahashi Yasumasa (Goro Jiro) was one of the samurai attendants in this wedding procession. Such custom was not unusual; when Nongji had married into the Oda Danjo Chonosuke household, Saito Dosan had arranged for Ando Shouji (future chief of the Three Lords of Western Minoh) to attend her with a contingent, and he had remained for ages before rotating back to Minoh. Princess Dog had only met Hirahashi Yasumasa three days before. Now, she dared not order him to forgo quarrelling over such a trifle with the Nozawa family, hesitating with bitten lip as to what to do. At that moment, she saw the receiving party, Endo Chiyoda and Maeshima Shichiro, say a few words to Hirahashi and others, and then others also stepped in to mediate. Just like that, the dispute faded away—she recognized Endo Chiyoda and Maeshima Shichiro; in the wedding rites, there was a step where the groom’s side inspected the bride to ensure all limbs were whole and no disfigurement was present, and those had been the very two who had come for the inspection. With the argument resolved, the wedding procession continued forward. Anaka hadn’t expected the dispute to be settled so swiftly and did not know how Endo Chiyoda and Maeshima Shichiro had managed to prevail upon Hirahashi and the rest, but seeing that the commoners still only made way without kneeling, she couldn’t help but mutter softly, "The people of the Nozawa family really have no manners." Princess Dog cared little for whether others knelt or not, but her anxieties only mounted. She could not tell if this was the Nozawa family giving her a warning, or if they simply made nothing of her presence and meant to slight her outright. She was tangled in these uneasy thoughts when, suddenly, she felt the "Phoenix Carriage" jerk. Then she heard the startled gasps of Anaka and Age. Hurriedly, she lifted the curtain once more and peeked outside—by now, they had left the wharf, and before them was an imposing, exquisitely-built rammed-earth wall. Flanking it on both sides, backed by earthen hills, were also refined but even loftier rock fortresses—truly splendid city walls and stone bastions, their green-black surfaces smooth as if carved from a single giant boulder, and the Lang Faction retainers standing atop them looked fierce and sharp. For a moment, she was both astonished and perplexed. According to the scraps of information gleaned by her two little maids, New Wanjin should have been barren land—how, then, had such grand fortresses and walls already risen? She hadn’t time to work out an explanation when the wedding procession already passed through the city gate in the rammed-earth wall. The vista suddenly opened before their eyes, revealing the breadth of New Wanjin—a full-fledged town by now, with hundreds of square houses visible in the distance, fields blossoming by the river’s edge, water wheels standing tall, and, close to the hills, several huge smokestacks thrust upward, thick plumes billowing majestically toward the sky. Farther off still, there stood an even longer rammed-earth wall and a splendid blue-black stone castle adorned with Harano’s family crest, from which soared a towering pole flying a gigantic gilt gourd. This was New Wanjin—prosperous and beautiful, everything in perfect order, possessed of a unique loveliness that set it apart from the age!

Chapter 228 - 160 Sending off the Bride_2

Comments (0)