Dragon King's Wife

wedding to be saved

  I was born on the Qingming Festival of 1998, a day shrouded in dark clouds and continuous drizzle. After paying respects to our ancestors, my mother felt the urge to give birth on the way home, and I was born prematurely by more than two months next to a solitary grave. It was said that premature babies are prone to illness, and my family feared I wouldn't live long, so I was always immersed in a world of medicinal herbs.
At the age of ten, I fell seriously ill with a high fever that lasted all year, leaving me in a state of delirium. My parents took me to hospitals at the provincial level and even to barefoot doctors, but no one could find the cause of my illness. Some doctors even advised my parents to go home and prepare for the worst. My parents were in tears every day, but there was nothing they could do.
Later, a young diviner came to our village. With the mindset of trying anything, my parents invited him over. When the diviner saw me, his expression changed immediately. He pulled my parents aside and said gravely, "Your daughter was born at the wrong time; she is plagued by a malevolent illness, and common remedies are useless. We must treat the root cause." My parents were stunned and took a while to recover, then anxiously asked, "What should we do? Please save my daughter!" My mother even knelt down to the diviner. Seeing my parents' devotion, he sighed deeply and asked them to step outside to talk. I don't know what the diviner said to my parents, but when they came back into the room, they were very agitated, with a strong sense of worry on their faces.
Three days later, on the night, our home was decorated with lanterns and red everywhere, which should have been a festive atmosphere, but the courtyard exuded a strange sense of eeriness. My mother handed me a red dress to change into, during which she tightly pursed her lips and didn't say a word. I asked her what was wrong, but she didn't answer me, yet I distinctly saw her eyes were red. After I changed, she instructed me to stay in the room and not to go out, only to come out when she called for me later, saying it was for the sake of curing my illness. Although I didn't understand why the treatment was so strange, I listened to my mother. Later in the evening, the diviner also arrived. I curiously peeked through the door crack, and he was holding a vigorous big red rooster. The rooster had bright feathers, and its comb was as red as dripping blood, looking very majestic, and there was also a big red flower tied to the rooster's chest. To my surprise, the moon hanging in the sky was actually tinged with a layer of blood color. Although it was quite scary, I was young at the time and didn't feel anything was wrong. I don't know how much time had passed, the sound of gongs and drums mixed with the sound of suona broke the silence of the night, and I who was dozing off suddenly woke up. My mother also came in at this time, her voice was a bit hoarse, "Jing Yao, the time has come, go out with mom." I responded, but I was very puzzled, "Mom, where are we going?" My mother didn't answer me, she had a lot of strength, tightly holding my hand and leading me to the courtyd.
  There were very few people in the courtyard, all strangers. As soon as I arrived, the sound of gongs and drums and suona stopped, and in front of me stood the diviner, smiling and holding that big roosr.
  "The time has come," the diviner said to me with a meaningful look. I was still thinking about what he meant, and the next second I was forcibly pressed down by my parents to kowtow to the diviner holding the big roosr.
  I didn't understand what I was doing, but the moment I lowered my head, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly shook the sky, and the only thing echoing in my ears was the diviner's slightly sharp voice.
On the night of the red moon, the Dragon King marries. The Xue family marries a daughter, betray and perish. The ceremony is complete!
After the event, my parents let go of me, and the diviner gave the big rooster to my parents, asking them to raise the rooster well until it died of old e.
  Then he gave me a two-finger wide dragon-shaped jade pendant worn with a red rope. He said this jade pendant could keep me safe and no longer sick.
  My mother placed the jade pendant around my neck and instructed me that no matter what, I must never take it off. I nodded in confusion, and after that night, my illness really did get better gradually. In the days that followed, my family's life became smooth sailing, and every time I encountered danger, I managed to escape unharmed.
  When I was twelve, I went to the market with my mom. While crossing the road, a large truck was rushing towards me. I was so scared that I froze, but the truck swerved just before it hit me and crashed into a tree by the roadside. I was completely fine.
   There was also the year I graduated from elementary school when the school organized a camping trip.                     That day, I set off from home to meet at the school, but halfway there, I seemed to get lost. It took me two hours to get to school from home, by which time the bus had already left. Later, there was a multiple-car accident on the bridge, and nine students on the bus died, with the rest severely injured. I just happened to miss it.
  Whenever the villagers talked about it, they said I was blessed with a great fortune, and I felt the same way.
  However, as I grew older year by year, the look in my mother's eyes became increasingly worried. She was strongly opposed to me dating. Whenever she saw a boy showing interest in me, she would be on high alert. She always nagged in my ear, "Stay away from men, it will bring misfortune."
  I found it strange because my mother is usually quite open-minded, but she is extremely against me dating.
In my first year of high school, a boy in my class showed interest in me, and I also had a bit of a crush on him, so we planned to go to the amusement park on the weekend. The next day, I found out that the boy had an accident and was lying in the hospital, not knowing if he would wake up.
  When my mother heard about this, she was so angry that she punished me to kneel all night. I was also quite rebellious at the time, constantly asking my mother why she was so against me dating. My mother was probably annoyed by my questions, and she stared at me tightly, "Jing Yao, you already have a husband, you cannot have any thoughts about other boys! Be loyal to your husband! If you don't listen to me, you will harm others and yourself!" My mother's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving me unable to recover for a long time. "Husband?" I asked incredulously with my mouth slightly open. My mother's eyes were red, and it was only on this day that I learned that I had a husband at the age of ten whom I had never seen.
The "Chongxi" (a traditional practice to dispel bad luck by holding a wedding) was proposed by the diviner, and only by Chongxi could the evil spirits be dispelled, and my illness would get better. I always thought Chongxi was a superstitious custom of the old society, but I never thought such an absurd thing would happen to me. My mother firmly believed in this because it was indeed after Chongxi that my illness got better.
  But I think it was just a coincidence. My mother said that if I insist on dating, then the harm would be to two people, me and the person I love. "So can't I ever get married?" I asked my mother. She nodded stiffly, and I never dared to talk about dating again. I was very curious about my Chongxi husband and asked her where my husband was and what he looked like. My mother's eyes were a bit evasive. "Jing Yao, he is by your side, and he knows every move you make."