The upturned eaves of the ancestral hall cut deeply into the pitch-black night. A sliver of a waning moon and a few stars flickered in and out of the mist.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
The urgent knocking shattered the midnight silence of Huainan Village.
Zhuang Yubai awoke from his dreams, only to see several uncles carrying in a wooden tub, saying that before the ceremony, he must first bathe and burn incense to show respect to the deities.
Ceremony? Zhuang Yubai rubbed his sleepy eyes, momentarily confused. Just as he was about to ask, he chuckled to himself. What other ceremony could it be? Naturally, it was his own wedding ceremony.
The wooden tub was enormous, taking up most of the room’s floor space. Three people could bathe in it simultaneously without a problem. Zhuang Yubai had only seen such a large tub during the New Year when they slaughtered sacrificial animals.
Why use such a big tub? Zhuang Yubai didn’t bother asking such a naive question. Marriage is a major life event, so the bathing ritual must be extraordinary. The large tub must have its reasons.
After the uncles filled the tub with water, they each took two incense burners filled with ash, silently pouring the incense ash into the tub and stirring it, turning the water a murky yellow and filling the air with the scent of talismans.
Recently, several Taoist priests had performed rituals, and Zhuang Yubai had become quite familiar with the smell of talisman ashes. But bathing in talisman ash—wouldn’t that make him dirtier? How could he change into his wedding attire covered in ash?
Noticing Zhuang Yubai’s confusion, one of the uncles pointed to the tub and then to his own hand, saying, “There’s another tub of clean water over there… after bathing in this, it can dispel grievances… then rinse with that water.”
The explanation was fragmented, but Zhuang Yubai understood he should first bathe in the talisman water and then rinse with the clean water. He followed the instructions.
After bathing, Zhuang Yubai carefully donned his wedding attire, happily spinning around and asking the nearby uncles if he looked alright.
“Yes, yes… very good.” The two uncles, with fear in their eyes, gave perfunctory responses and hurriedly carried the tub out.
In their haste, the tub banged against the doorframe with a clatter.
Today was his wedding day, so why were the uncles so nervous?
Just as Zhuang Yubai was about to help, he caught a glimpse outside the door, and his heart sank.
The courtyard of the ancestral hall was small, but it was now packed with people. Their faces were shadowed, expressions unclear. They stood silently, looking into the room, staring at Zhuang Yubai.
Having rarely seen such a scene, Zhuang Yubai suddenly felt nervous. Under the wide sleeves of his ceremonial robe, his slender fingers instinctively clenched, and his palms began to sweat.
Stay calm, he told himself. When he went to the Meng family, there would be even more people watching. He had to hold it together. He wanted his mother in heaven to know that her Yubai could do it and would never disgrace her. Zhuang Yubai kept encouraging himself. Not wanting to dirty his attire, he kept wiping his sweaty palms on the back of his hands.
After a while, an elderly woman entered with a young maid. She pushed Zhuang Yubai into a chair and took out some silk threads and powder to help the groom “apply makeup.”
The powder was choking and carried a musty smell. Zhuang Yubai instinctively leaned back.
The woman clicked her tongue, grabbed Zhuang Yubai’s head, and ordered him not to move, forcefully applying the powder to his face. Fortunately, the powder, though moldy, wasn’t as tear-inducing as the talisman smoke. Zhuang Yubai closed his eyes, letting her apply the powder like wiping a cloth.
Then she began to comb his hair, chanting, “One comb to the end, two combs for smooth affairs, three combs… three combs for a bountiful harvest.” She improvised the last part, as the usual blessing for a groom would be “three combs for many descendants,” which she deemed inappropriate.
The woman fussed over Zhuang Yubai’s hair until he was about to lose patience, finally stopping. She tossed the comb into the greasy powder box and took a towel from the maid, meticulously wiping her hands as if they were dirty.
In the distance, a rooster crowed, signaling the start of the wedding procession. No one had yet told him what to pay attention to, making Zhuang Yubai anxious. Though the woman didn’t seem approachable, he couldn’t help but ask with a smile if there were any rules to follow.
“Rules?” The woman, with her thick rouge and sour expression, was full of impatience. “There are no rules. Just don’t speak. Do whatever others tell you to do.”
As the woman left, Zhuang Yubai’s father and stepmother entered the ancestral hall, led by the clan leader.
As she walked out, the makeup woman instructed the maid to burn all the tools used today: “Such bad luck, doing makeup for a living dead! Who would invite me to do a proper bride’s hair in the future?”
Someone, unable to hold back, followed her outside the courtyard to retort: “You took the money for the job, and now you’re badmouthing people. Be careful, or you’ll get struck by lightning.”
“If the heavens truly have eyes, the lightning won’t strike me! Those who scramble to offer themselves for sacrifice for a few taels of silver are all living well. What do I have to fear?”
Before leaving, the woman spat a few times in Zhuang Yubai’s direction, saying it was to ward off bad luck.
Stepmother Zhuang Liu, hearing the commotion outside, worried that Zhuang Yubai might hear and cause a scene in front of the clan leader, quickly tried to lighten the mood with a cheerful voice.
“What do they say? Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. Truly, you can’t tell. Our Yubai, all dressed up, looks quite the part! Look at this attire, oh my! It’s all silk! My goodness! Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Zhuang Liu circled around Zhuang Yubai’s attire, unable to take her eyes off it.
Even the clan leader’s family didn’t use silk for their daughter’s wedding. She herself only had a few silk handkerchiefs. Such fine material on her would be fitting. On a young man, only worn for a few hours… what a waste. But since the clan paid for it, she couldn’t say much.
The clan leader personally brought over a cup of wine: “Yubai, do you have anything to say?”
Zhuang Yubai was a bit flattered. With his status, he rarely saw the clan leader. Today, not only did the leader come to send him off, but he also kindly offered him wine. He quickly stood up and respectfully accepted it.
Zhuang Yubai wasn’t sure what to say in such a situation. Though it was a wedding, he wasn’t leaving forever. If he forgot something, he could mention it when he returned in three days. But with so many people watching, it wouldn’t be right to say nothing. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Please make sure to bring my mother’s belongings.”
The clan leader nodded, stroking his beard as he left, his slightly hunched back like a silent sigh.
“Drink this wine,” his stepmother urged Zhuang Yubai.
Looking at the red wine cup in his hand, Zhuang Yubai thought this must be the “makeup wine.” As he brought it to his lips, a pungent smell hit him. Instinctively, he wanted to pull back, but then he reminded himself: he had never drunk wine before; perhaps all wine smelled like this.
He couldn’t avoid it. Avoiding it would be inauspicious and disrespectful. Marriage is a major life event. Though he lost his mother young, the wedding process must be complete.
It’s just a cup of wine, Zhuang Yubai steeled himself, took a deep breath, and downed it in one go.
The clan’s matron brought the bridal veil, signaling Zhuang Yubai to bid farewell to his parents.
The bitterness was unbearable, the spiciness bringing tears to his eyes. Zhuang Yubai forced himself to compose his expression, stood up, and respectfully kowtowed.
“Thank you for raising me. Please take care. Yubai is leaving.”
As the red veil covered him, the wine’s effects kicked in.
Zhuang Yubai felt himself dulling, not only moving slower but also hearing the surrounding sounds as if they were underwater.
The room’s door opened wide, and as Zhuang Yubai’s consciousness grew hazy, more and more people entered and exited the room.
First was the shaman who had previously performed rituals at his home. He circled the fully dressed Zhuang Yubai with a torch, as if creating a lock formation with its trajectory.
Then came the two Taoist priests in yellow robes, holding peachwood swords, chanting incantations and sticking talismans all over Zhuang Yubai. The yellow paper talismans hung on his crimson attire, swaying eerily in the wind.
Zhuang Yubai wasn’t sure what a wedding ceremony entailed, but he sensed something was amiss. On such a joyous day, even if there was a need for a crying bride, there shouldn’t be a complete absence of smiles.
Oppression, fear.
The priests continued sticking talismans on him. Zhuang Yubai wanted to get up and ask what was going on. But the wine’s effects were too strong, leaving him weak and unable to stand.
At dawn, Zhuang Yubai, wrapped in his wedding attire, was carried in a small red sedan chair to the riverbank.
An altar was set up by the river, with an incense table.
On it were grand offerings of ox, sheep, and pig. The dead animals’ necks were adorned with red silk flowers, as bright as Zhuang Yubai’s attire.
The sedan chair stopped right in front of the offerings.
Everyone knew that the person in the sedan chair was the main offering of the entire ceremony.
In the morning breeze, the clan leader led the clan elders in a solemn line on either side.
Solemn, dignified, murderous.
Ashes floated in the air, the scent of burnt paper money and incense overpowering the muddy, earthy smell of the river.
On the riverbank, the shaman’s bells jingled, growing heavier with each ring.
The bell’s sound made Zhuang Yubai’s head throb. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but now he forced his eyes open, the veil covering his sight, casting a dizzying red hue.
Zhuang Yubai felt a bit guilty. If he remained this drunk during the wedding ceremony, wouldn’t it ruin everything? Before the wedding procession arrived, he should drink a bowl of sobering soup.
Yes, sobering soup! Zhuang Yubai found a way to save himself.
At that moment, the sedan chair was lifted. This meant there were people outside, and Zhuang Yubai felt a glimmer of hope, quickly calling for help: “Mmm…”
?!
His mouth was gagged!
…
Zhuang Yubai was shocked, looking down to see his hands and feet tightly bound to the chair.
…
Wasn’t this a wedding? Why was he tied up?
“Mmm… mmm… mmm”
Zhuang Yubai tried to call for help, but the riverbank’s suona and drums suddenly played festive music, deafeningly loud. He couldn’t even hear his own voice.
The sedan chair was carried onto a boat.
The river wind lifted a corner of the sedan curtain, and as it fell, Zhuang Yubai saw the old woman who brought him meals, hunched over, waving at him, as thin as a withered stalk.
Beside her was a red bridal cabinet.
A paper effigy bridal cabinet.
Author’s Note:
Everyone is earnestly preparing for this murderous sacrificial ceremony, while only Zhuang Yubai is full of joy, awaiting his wedding.