Chapter 2170: Tea Party

Amidst the soothing music, the eighteen pairs of newlyweds began the first part of the wedding ceremony—

Revealing their hearts!

In plain terms, this meant the newlyweds introduced to the onlookers how they met, how they got along, and the process of finally deciding to be together. Not only did the groom have to speak, but the bride did as well, because Daxia Territory advocates for gender equality.

As for how to reveal their hearts, it could be a simple and straightforward summary of one or two sentences, or it could be a long, legendary story; as long as the observing residents were willing to listen, the newlyweds could say whatever they pleased.

However, because education in the territory was not yet very developed, most of the newlyweds in the collective weddings Xia Duo had attended previously only gave one or two-sentence summaries, either saying they had known each other since childhood or that they had felt it was good after being introduced and spending some time together.

Or perhaps they had fallen for each other at first sight and insisted on marrying the other; the reasons were also very simple, either valuing the other's diligence and hard work, or valuing their ability to manage a household frugally.

This time, Xia Duo had expected that A Fu Lin, being a Spellcaster, would say something different, but he didn't expect it to be just two short, dry sentences—

"Mo'er and I have known each other since childhood; I will take care of her for the rest of my life!"

It was A Fu Lin's other half, Mo'er, who was a very feisty young girl, and she spoke quite boldly: "I don't need you to take care of me; it's clearly me taking care of you, okay!

"Besides, the Lord has said that women can hold up half the sky. I have already passed the assessment for the Enlightenment Class. Just wait until I enter the Tower of Time next year, and we'll see how you can still put on your Mage airs with me!"

Mo'er's words caused the residents in the square to burst into laughter. Spellcasters were no longer rare figures in Daxia Territory; if those who had followed Xia Duo here to pioneer the land didn't have one or two Mage Apprentices in their families, they would be too embarrassed to greet others when going out.

Although there were not many Official Mages among the new Apprentices, that depended on who you compared them to. If compared to the total number of new Apprentices, it was indeed not many, but if compared to the Tower of Time of the past, it was undoubtedly many times greater.

According to the current trend of development, sooner or later, every household would have their own children become Official Mages.

Moreover, because so many new Apprentices came from ordinary families and would return home to help with chores during the Tower of Time's holidays, the people of Daxia Territory did not fear or revere Mages the way they did in Savile Territory.

Mocking an Official Mage in public would be almost unimaginable in Savile Territory or any other territory. Only in Daxia Territory did that Official Mage not get angry, but instead blushed and whispered for his other half to stop talking.

And although Mo'er had a feisty personality, she was not the type to be unreasonable and ignore the occasion. After bravely expressing her feelings, she pulled A Fu Lin aside to let the other newlyweds perform.

Perhaps because of the little interlude with Mo'er's pair, the subsequent newlyweds gradually opened up, and the atmosphere in the square suddenly became lively.

Consequently, the musicians from the Department of Education and Culture also changed the style of music to match the mood, shifting from soothing to cheerful.

Soon it was time for the second part of the wedding ceremony—

Swearing and drinking together!

"Swearing," as the name implies, meant reading the marriage vows under the witness of the Daxia Code. Of course, today there was also the additional witness of Xia Duo. As for drinking together, it originated from the "he-jin" wine (nuptial cup) of Xia Duo's hometown.

Although he couldn't find a calabash, the form was not the most important thing; what mattered was the meaning behind it.

Xia Duo had specially crafted twenty sets of drinking utensils, each set being a cup cut in half; under the maintenance of a spell, even half a cup could hold water.

However, how could the ritual utensils specially crafted by Xia Duo be so simple? The cups were also imbued with mind spells; if the marriage vows were not sworn with sincerity, the cups would separate and the water would spill out.

Only with a sincere heart could the half-cup hold water without spilling, symbolizing that only when a husband and wife are of one heart can they create miracles.

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Of course, after attending so many collective weddings, Xia Duo had never encountered a pair of newlyweds who couldn't complete the drinking ceremony, and today was no exception.

Even the newlyweds who had bickered during the heart-revealing segment did not falter at all during the drinking segment.

"Since you have sworn the oath and drunk the unity wine, then under the witness of the Daxia Code and the Lord, I, in my capacity as the Administrator of Daxia Territory, declare you legally wed!"

Since it was already a fixed procedure, after the announcement, the observing residents applauded one after another, and the festive and joyful atmosphere reached its peak.

"Next, please invite the Lord and Lady Niya to offer their blessings to the newlyweds."

"Wow—"

A cheer erupted from the periphery; those who were already married wished they could get married again, and those who hadn't reached the marriageable age wished they had been born a few years earlier.

Xia Duo already knew the subsequent blessings by heart, but Niya had only learned them temporarily before coming; in reality, it was just splitting what he was originally going to say in half for Niya to speak.

"I hope you can support each other in your future careers; I wish you a bright future!"

"I hope you can share both joys and sorrows in your future life; I wish you eternal happiness!"

The newlyweds returned the gestures one by one, and finally, it was the liveliest part of the entire wedding ceremony—the blessings and revelry of the masses.

If Xia Duo were present for this segment, it might make everyone feel constrained, so usually, when the wedding reached this point, it was time for him to leave.

However, today Niya was quite interested in participating, and Xia Duo didn't want to dampen her mood, so he took her away first, then changed his appearance and squeezed back into the square.

Following the active crowd in the square, singing and dancing, Niya suddenly leaned into Xia Duo's ear and whispered, "I also want a wedding like this."

"Why the sudden thought? Our wedding was witnessed by the Lord of Radiance; do you want to do it all over again?"

"Although the witness of the Lord of Radiance is precious, I actually hope more to receive everyone's blessings." Niya buried her head on Xia Duo's shoulder and whispered.

"Is that what you think!"

Xia Duo felt a bit moved. He gently stroked Niya's back and whispered in her ear, "Actually, as long as we treat the people with heart, the people will also bless us with heart. Listen—"

Xia Duo used a spell to select some of the sounds from the square and transmitted them into Niya's ears. Those were the blessings for the Lord from the people present after they had finished blessing the newlyweds, naturally including Niya as well.

……

Afterwards, Xia Duo stayed in the territory for another day. After receiving the "Communication Mythallar Experimental Node Magic Artifact" that Niya had rushed to finish, he recreated a clone and headed to Seventon.

The reason for going to Seventon first was, on one hand, that he had resolved his hidden dangers and needed to thank Yinaole and return the treasure, and on the other hand, it was to pass through the Permanent Teleportation Portal at the Arcane Union Headquarters to Evereska.

Because he had to guard against a possible attack from Zhamu Dasi, and since the purpose of this trip was to restrict war spells—which in a sense was also a restriction on Floating Cities—he did not have the Floating City accompany him this time.

Taking the Permanent Teleportation Portal was a relatively appropriate yet low-profile way to enter.