The drums were beaten three times.
The fireworks were also set off three times.
Only then did the funeral officially conclude.
Jin Feng led the escorts, the Iron Tiger Battalion, and the soldiers of the Weisheng Army in another salute towards the cemetery, then ordered the troops to return to camp.
The common people followed them back to the selection camp.
On the open ground of the selection camp, a huge stage had been erected.
Han Feng and Shi Lingyun were not wearing traditional wedding attire, but brand-new escort uniforms, standing straight in the centre of the stage.
Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess acted as witnesses, holding the wedding ceremony for the couple on the stage.
The common people finally saw the legendary female hero bride.
They also witnessed this wedding that was destined to go down in history.
In feudal times, weddings, funerals, and marriages all followed strict ritual procedures, but today neither the funeral nor the wedding resembled the original ceremonies of Great Kang in many ways.
Yet no one cared about these details. The people’s attention shifted entirely under Jin Feng’s guidance.
During the funeral, the people were infected by the sorrowful and solemn atmosphere, building up a great deal of negative emotion in their hearts.
By the time of the wedding, through Jin Feng’s deliberate arrangements, the people’s emotions were fully aroused, and the accumulated negative feelings were released all at once.
The entire wedding was extraordinarily lively.
The cooking camp became the busiest group that day.
Nearly a hundred stoves were lined up in a row, all fired up at the same time.
Cage after cage of steamed buns marked with red dots were carried by soldiers to the roadside, where all the common people could come and take them to eat.
One person who had recently earned wages at the brick kiln took a bun and then threw two copper coins into the steamer basket.
“Brother, Mr Jin said the buns are free today. Eat as many as you like!”
The soldier carrying the basket said, “Take your money back.”
“This isn’t payment for the bun. It’s a wedding gift for the bride and groom!”
The person taking the bun smiled and said, “I know two coppers isn’t much, but it’s my small token of sincerity. I wish the couple a harmonious and beautiful life together, growing old side by side, just like in the stories!”
With that, he took the bun and left.
The soldier wanted to chase after him but could not leave his post, so he placed the copper coins on the table.
Once someone started, others followed.
Soon, almost every person who came to take a bun would toss some copper coins into the basket and say a few words of blessing.
Those with little money threw one or two coins, while those with more threw a handful.
Some wealthier families even threw broken silver or silver ingots directly.
By the time one basket of buns was distributed, the bottom of the basket was nearly covered with copper coins.
When Jin Feng heard about this, he was quite surprised.
Due to the recent war, Xichuan city had almost ground to a halt, and many people had not earned wages for months.
The reason he was giving away buns for free this time, apart from creating a festive atmosphere for the wedding, was also to subsidise the poorer families, helping them save a meal where possible and preserve their household grain for the winter.
To this end, he had temporarily shipped in several boatloads of grain, planning to steam it all into buns and distribute them today.
As the capital of the Sichuan-Shu region, Xichuan was wealthier than Guangyuan, yet few families could afford to eat steamed buns regularly.
Jin Feng had originally thought that giving them away free would cause scrambling, so he had specially arranged escorts and soldiers to maintain order.
Who could have known that the people not only refrained from grabbing, but actively contributed money instead.
This left Jin Feng both astonished and deeply moved.
The people claimed it was congratulatory money for the newlyweds, but anyone with eyes could see that they were simply afraid of Jin Feng suffering a loss and did not want to take advantage.
The copper coins could not be left piling up in the baskets forever, so Zhang Liang arranged for escorts to collect them and pile them on open ground by the road.
In just a short while, the copper coins and broken silver gathered by the escorts had already formed a small mound the size of a wok lid and as tall as half a lower leg.
As time passed, the collected coins and silver continued to grow.
From half a lower leg high, it became knee-high, then thigh-high.
As the height increased, the base grew wider too.
From the size of a wok lid, it became the size of a tabletop, and finally spread to about one zhang across.
“This is a genuine mountain of money!”
The Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao stood at the top of Great Python Slope, watching the ever-growing, ever-taller mound of money, both showing expressions of envy.
In truth, the copper coins added together were not worth much, and a princess or prefect like them would naturally not care about such an amount.
Even if it were silver piled into such a mound, they could manage it themselves.
What they envied was the people’s voluntary contributions.
This was not just a mountain of money. It was a peak formed from condensed prestige.
A peak high enough to make even Qing Xinyao, the prefect, look up in awe.
“Sir always has a way of turning the rotten into the miraculous.”
The Ninth Princess sighed, “It was like this in Jinchuan, and now the same in Xichuan city.”
“Indeed. Without Mr Jin, those people with brands on their faces would never hold their heads high again in this lifetime. Yet under his efforts, not only can they stand tall and live as people once more, they have become objects of envy for others.”
Qing Xinyao added, “That truly deserves to be called turning the rotten into the miraculous.”
“Brother Xinyao, you’re not jealous of sir, are you?”
The Ninth Princess turned to look at Qing Xinyao.
Whether intentional or not, it could not be denied that Jin Feng’s recent actions were gathering the hearts of the people.
After all, Xichuan was Qing Xinyao’s territory, and what Jin Feng was doing rather crossed some lines.
Jin Feng himself understood this principle, but he had now let it go.
He could not even be bothered to care what the emperor thought, let alone whether Qing Xinyao might feel threatened.
He simply wanted to do what he could to help the common people.
“You underestimate me too much, Wuyang.”
Qing Xinyao smiled and shook his head, “If it were anyone else doing this, I might feel wary, but Mr Jin clearly has no interest in fame or power. I can see that he does these things out of genuine sympathy for the people.”
“Hearing Brother Xinyao say that puts my mind at ease!”
At these words, the worry in the Ninth Princess’s eyes finally dissipated.
She had now more or less grasped Jin Feng’s character.
He usually seemed carefree in his actions, as if he cared about nothing. If he made a mistake, you could scold him to his face and it would be fine.
He was exceptionally ruthless towards enemies, killing without mercy on the battlefield.
Yet such a decisive and deadly man could not bear to see the common people suffer.
On the road to Xichuan, they had come across a mother and child who had starved to death by the roadside. The child looked only four or five years old.
At that moment, Jin Feng had been laughing and talking with the Ninth Princess when he saw the scene, and his expression changed instantly.
He first ordered the escorts to bury the pair, then remained silent for the rest of the journey.
The Ninth Princess vaguely saw tears glistening in Jin Feng’s eyes.
That was when she knew Jin Feng truly cared about the people.
If Qing Xinyao tried to block what he was doing now, Jin Feng might really turn against him.
Fortunately, Qing Xinyao had not done so.
The wedding continued until evening before ending.
The bridal chamber teasing went on until midnight.
Yet the next day, Han Feng still rose early and found Jin Feng eating breakfast in the canteen.
“As the groom, why are you up so early on the first day of your marriage?”
Jin Feng stirred his bowl of porridge and asked, “Didn’t I give you three days off?”
