The most important activity on New Year’s Day for citizens was the clan’s rituals to the ancestors in the family temple.

The Wei family was no exception.

On the first day of October, the winter wine brewed for the New Year’s Day rituals was ready to be served.

Three days ago, Mrs. Xu began to bathe and change her clothes to cleanse her body and mind.

Her clan’s ritual officers had made all the necessary arrangements for the ritual and were waiting for that day to come.

Last year, on New Year’s Day, Wei Shao was delayed by the war and stayed in Xindu with his newly married, Xiao Qiao, thus missing the ritual.

Mrs. Xu thought they would miss the first day of the year again. But they finally returned home a day earlier than expected. She was happy.

They arrived last night, and it was already late. After entering the west house, Xiao Qiao and Wei Shao tidied up and slept after taking a bath. Because of the bumpy road, Xiao Qiao fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next day, when the sky was dark outside the window, Xiao Qiao awakened with something on her mind. When she opened her eyes, the candle still lit up, but Wei Shao had disappeared.

He had a lot of work today, so he had quietly gotten up at an unknown time.

Xiao Qiao crawled and sat up, embracing the blanket and drifting off.

Last year, on this day, she was in Xindu and did not participate in the Wei family’s clan ritual.

This year, she naturally had to participate in the family event today as Wei Shao’s wife.Xiao Qiao had not forgotten that when she first arrived as a bride last year, Wei Shao never took her to visit the family temple.

In terms of formality, her wedding was still missing one final step: to visit her husband’s family temple as a bride.

She will be recognized and accepted by her husband’s family after visiting the family temple.

Of course, Xiao Qiao herself did not care about such false rituals. It’s been a year, and she had forgotten about it.

But today was a special day. Once again, she faced the question of whether he would reject her from the threshold of the family temple, so she inevitably remembered what had happened back then.

Because she arrived too late last night, the two of them only came to Mrs. Xu, said a few cursory words about the journey, and then returned to the west house and rested. At that time, Mrs. Xu did not mention this morning’s events.

Xiao Qiao guessed that Mrs. Xu would take her to the family temple ritual.

But on Wei Shao’s side, Xiao Qiao was not so sure.

The fact that he had quietly left early in the morning without telling her a word made her feel that he was still reluctant to let her, a Qiao, step into the Wei family temple.

When Xiao Qiao hesitated, there was a soft footstep outside the door. The door was pushed open, and Chun Niang led the maids to come in.

“It’s time for Lady to get up. If you sleep any longer, I am afraid you will not be able to make it to the family temple ritual.”

Chun Niang smiled, hooked up the bed curtains, and instructed the maid to put down the clothes.

Xiao Qiao glanced at it.It was a set of dark green and white silk clothes. It was a woman’s clothes for rituals.

Chun Niang said, “Master got up during the fourth period. He asked me not to wake you up so you could sleep a little longer. I saw it was about time, so I came to wake you up.”

Xiao Qiao fell silent and lifted the blanket to get out of bed. After freshening up, she changed into ritual clothes and ate a few bites. It was still early in the morning, and she was about to go to the north house when she heard the servant calling “master” at the door.

He, too, was wearing a set of black ceremonial dress. He wore a long hat, a dark brown coat, and violet-colored middle clothes.

The formal and dignified clothes make him look taller and more powerful. His eyes shone, and his spirits bright.

Xiao Qiao then greeted him and called him “husband.”

Wei Shao looked at her and smiled, “Grandmother’s side should be ready soon. We can go there now.”

Xiao Qiao nodded her head. She followed him out, and they went to the north house.

The Wei Manor had been open all its main gates since the fifth period. The lanterns were lit from the main gate all the way through the passageway like a dragon, making the whole Wei Manor bright up.

When they reached the west house’s pendant door, Xiao Qiao saw from afar that the inner courtyard was also brightly lit.

When she climbed the steps, she lowered her head and lifted the train of her skirt, but then a hand reached over to her side, and when she looked up, Wei Shao had stopped and was looking at her.

It was dark and cold. But Xiao Qiao’s heart was warm, and she put one of her hands into his equally warm palm.

Wei Shao took her hand and led her up the steps, passed the threshold, and reached the door of Mrs. Xu’s main room before releasing her.

The two of them entered the room. Mrs. Xu had risen early. She accepted the greeting, looked at their faces, nodded in satisfaction, and smiled: “Very good. Let’s go now. I’m sure all the relatives are waiting.”

……

T/N: For those who wonder why the year in this story started in October, I think it’s because the story happened in the early Han Dynasty.

AfterQin Shi Huangunified China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the Qin calendar (秦曆; 秦歷) was introduced. It followed most of the rules governing the Zhuanxu calendar, but the month order was that of the Xia calendar; the year began with month 10 and ended with month 9, analogous to a Gregorian calendar beginning in October and ending in September. The intercalary month, known as the secondJiǔyuè(後九月; 後九月; ‘laterJiǔyuè’), was placed at the end of the year. The Qin calendar was used going into the Han dynasty. (Wiki)