As the wedding procession emerged at the qingqui borders, mo yuan saw a wicked expression appear on lian song's face. He wondered behind the reason for such a contrasting emotion.
"third prince, may I ask what you are thinking about that has brought so much mirth to your countenance?"
Lian song, side-eyed donghua while he replied in a sardonic voice, "high god mo yuan, if you knew what is coming for dijun ahead, you will be filled with glee too."
"don't twist circles, third prince. Say what is on your mind."
Giving out a dry chuckle, lian song continued, "well, you see, high god mo yuan, when the discussions about ye hua and bai qian's wedding were going on, I happened to hear about an extremely gripping custom of qingqui. According to the ancient customs of qingqui, when the groom comes to receive his bride, he is not allowed direct unrestricted access to her. What it entails is that to get to the door of the bride's home, the groom has to pass through some hurdles or blockades, if you will, posed by the females of the brides' family or her friends. But, this tradition was crossed out for ye hua's wedding since the celestial grooms don't personally come to receive their brides. Now, since, dijun has decided to go along with the qingqui customs, I am excited to see what hurdles have been planned for the almighty god, donghua dijun. Also, I have been told that this sequence of the wedding custom gets quite rowdy and comical at times, where the groom is made to do some unfavorable things."
Lian song's little tale had the whole procession snickering under their breaths. Some were even eyeballing donghua, imagining the embarrassing scenarios he would be put under. While lian song had the whole entourage snorting and tittering, dong hua merely rolled his eyes to himself. With no expressions on his face, he threw out a question towards the instigator, "third prince, have you met xaio bai before."
Since the statement was not meant as a question to be answered, the implication behind it was clear. Those who knew feng jiu would also know that she would never let anyone insult or demean dong hua in any way, whether it be implicit or explicit. Under feng jiu's administrations, dong hua's face and credibility can never be sullied. This little revelation put a little damper on lian sing's mirth but like the optimistic person he was, he decided to keep an open mind about it.
The moment the wedding procession emerged by the fox den, they could see the path that had been made for them. Lined with flowers and imperial banners of qingqui, the path led directly to the mouth of the fox den, where the high nobility and the courtiers stood in their welcome. But as they walked down the path, the first blockade materialized, halfway down the path, in the form of the immortal cheng yu. With her hands placed together in front of her, she bowed and greeted donghua.
"your majesty, the qingqui customs ask that you clear the obstacles presented before you to proceed further in pursuance of your bride." Dong hua nodded his acceptance and assent for her to continue.
"my lord, everyone who has known or ever had the pleasure of her majesty, bai feng jiu's company knows that the one thing she cherishes and loves the most in this universe is you and your love. But we seek to know how much you are aware of her wishes and priorities. To pass this door you must tell us what are the second and third things that she holds the most dear in life."
After cheng yu gave her quest, she watched as dong hua gave a minuscule smile before he spoke, "you ask me for the two things xaio bai loves the most after me in place of telling you that I will show you the five things she loves the most in this universe apart from our bond."
As he said this, he swept his hand through the air in front of him. Cheng yu stared in amazement as the panorama in front of her changed to a dreamscape. A soft shower of peach blossoms and foling flowers started with no source insight and the whole ground was covered with flowers of infinite varieties. But the most awe-inspiring part of this vista was the various butterflies, birds, foxes, rabbits, dears, and many other small animals made of pure luminescent blue energy that galloped everywhere around them. The view was so enchanting that she had a hard time focusing on what donghua was speaking.
"for xaio bai, first comes nature and the living. Not only she loves to play in the lap of nature but she protects the two with every inch of her being. "
Donghua swayed his hand again towards his right and an image appeared across the sky. It was not exactly an image but a memory that played for everyone to see. This particular memory was of the night when he had discussed their wedding details with the bai family. As the scene played out, everyone saw feng jiu sitting between her mother and grandmother as the whole family laughed together.
"The second thing xaio bai holds most dear is her family. She loves them with all her heart and cares for their well being with every inch of her soul. The love and laughter you see is what she wishes for them all."
Donghua again swiped his hand through the air and the scene changed from her family to one where feng jiu is shopping in the qingqui market, helping out the people with mundane tasks like shifting, moving, lifting and advising as she makes her way through the people. Dong hua continued, "the third thing xaio bai cherishes the most is qingqui and its people. Not one to care for station and power, she helps and assists every single person with every resource at her disposal. More than a queen, she cares for her people like a mother does for her children."
Again with the swipe of a hand, donghua changed the visual to the memory of that evening, when feng jiu handed out boxes of candy to cheng yu, lian song, mo yuan, si ming, and Zhong lin. The immortals from the visual watched stupefied as their faces flashed across the sky in the memory loop.
"the next come those who xaio bai calls her friends. For her, friendship is as important as family. There's no task too big and no danger too fatal that she won't face for the happiness and safety of her friends."
This time when he swiped his hand, no new visual appeared across the sky. Instead, a table fully laden with food materialized in front of them all. The whole crowd was puzzled as to the food, wondering if dong hua's magic had somehow misfired. Putting a stop to their wildly running minds, dong hua continued, "the fifth and last thing xaio bai loves the most is food. Though she is the precious princess of qingqui that grew up with all the luxuries at her disposal, their affluence and opulence have never appealed to her simple and grounded disposition. The only thing that appeals to xaio bai is food. She loves to cook and feed everyone. For her food is a medium to shower everyone with her affections. As much as she loves to eat herself, she loves it more to feed others what she had made for them and only few fortunate souls get the chance to experience it."
Like always, everything that dong hua did was on a scale that went above and beyond the scope of everyone's imagination. This little display not only proved how well he knew the fox queen but also showed how much he cared for her wishes and priorities. Spellbound by what she had seen, cheng yu stepped to the side, clearing their path as she said, "you may proceed, your majesty."
Dong hua moved further down the path without any other hurdles. But as the procession was about to reach the gate of the fox den, the crown princess and high goddess, bai qian appeared as what seemed like the second and last hurdle for donghua. Bai qian placed her hands together in front of her, bowed, and greeted donghua.
"my lord, this custom of qingqui was originally introduced to assess the sincerity and love of the groom towards his bride. Our ancestors began this to test if the groom truly loved the qingqui daughter and if he did, then how far he was willing to go for her. Everyone who has seen you and xaio jiu's journey so far is aware of how much she has given and sacrificed for you, again and again, the evidence of one you are carrying on your person right now. So, going back to the roots of this tradition, to pass this final door, I ask you to prove your love, dedication and affection for the qing queen, bai feng jiu."