The wedding procession from the General’s Residence made its way through the streets amid the sounds of gongs and drums, finally arriving at a residence at the western end of the city.
This residence was extremely close to the Regent’s Palace, with only one street separating them. The house originally looked rather deserted, with only a few servants around. There were no elders or brothers and sisters from the bride’s family to see her off.
When the bride walked out of the courtyard alone, the surrounding onlookers began whispering among themselves.
“This… is there really no one else in the bride’s family?”
“I heard they met in Huzhou. She was probably only recently brought to the capital and kept outside the household!”
“She probably isn’t a girl from any great family, yet she actually managed to marry into the Shu family!”
“The Shu family naturally doesn’t need to care about family status…”
“But that doesn’t mean they value her very much! I heard General Shu went to Yanmen Pass by himself two days ago. Perhaps he doesn’t even like this new wife!”
……
When the bride drew closer, the surrounding whispers grew louder.
“Whoa! This young lady is so tall!”
Beneath the red bridal veil, the girl’s figure was astonishingly tall. Walking beside the sedan bearers, she was actually a full section taller than them.
Yet the young lady did not need anyone to support her. Though she wore the veil over her head, she seemed to be paying close attention to her footing. With a nimble bend of her body, she sat herself down inside the sedan.
Everyone watching looked up at Shu Changyu on horseback, only to see Third Young Master Shu smiling warmly and gently, his eyes lowered toward the bridal sedan.
For a moment, all the onlookers fell silent—regardless of whether everyone in the Shu family agreed with this marriage, it seemed that Third Young Master Shu was extremely pleased with this tall, broad-shouldered wife of his.
Just then, the musicians at the front of the wedding procession began moving forward. They circled half of Zhaojing City before returning to the General’s Residence.
In front of the General’s Residence, firecrackers were already exploding without end, crackling and scattering red fragments all over the ground. A brazier had been placed at the entrance, its flames flickering and leaping upward.
At the same time, Shu Changyu dismounted. The bright red wedding robes set off his complexion, making his face appear especially fair. He strode to the sedan, lifted the curtain with one hand, and helped the young lady inside out.
At this point, one of the officials standing at the entrance frowned.
“Why is this girl so tall?” he asked.
The girl in front was indeed a little too tall. Standing beside Shu Changyu, she was actually nearly half a head taller than him. Shu Changyu was already not short to begin with, making this girl appear even more conspicuous, extraordinarily tall and upright.
“Could she be a man?” another official beside him questioned.
Someone nearby hurriedly said, “Don’t talk nonsense! If he really were a man, how could he possibly have been formally married into the General’s Residence as the principal wife?”
Another official pondered. “Why does this girl’s figure… look somewhat familiar to me?”
Just then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, the bride accidentally caught her own foot. She tilted weakly and delicately to the side, then fell straight into Shu Changyu’s arms.
The assembled officials: “……”
An official beside him recovered and asked, “Familiar? Like whom?”
That official froze, then stammered, “I… I must have seen wrong.”
He thought to himself: What kind of eyes do I have? This beautiful bride is merely somewhat tall and broad. How could I possibly think… she looks like the Regent?
The Regent was such a stern, heroic, and extraordinary man. How could he possibly be the person marrying Shu Changyu?
That would be… utterly absurd!
Meanwhile, Shu Changyu supported his beautiful bride, who could barely stand on her own, and carefully helped her step over the brazier.
When they arrived at the main hall, only Madam Li and Gu Lanrong were seated above them. Madam Li had little of a smile on her face, but her expression was gentle and kind. Beside her, Gu Lanrong wore a warm smile and was holding the hand of a rosy-cheeked child.
The guests in the hall secretly thought to themselves—
This Lord Shu truly knows how to keep a low profile. What a romantic fellow he must be. His child is already this big, and only now has he brought the child’s mother into the household as his wife.
Perhaps that was also why Old Madam Shu was not very pleased, and why General Shu had returned to the border ahead of time.
However, the guests in the hall no longer doubted the gender of this tall and broad bride.
“The auspicious hour has arrived—”
The wealthy woman presiding over the ceremony looked at the sun outside and called out loudly.
——
After the bride was escorted into the household, Lord Shu was immediately surrounded tightly by the guests outside. He normally maintained a friendly attitude toward everyone, and had many officials in court with whom he was close. On such a joyous occasion as today, naturally none of his colleagues would miss the opportunity to come forward and offer him a toast.
Shu Changyu also accepted every toast that came his way that day. Though he had spent years navigating the official world in this lifetime and had trained his tolerance for alcohol considerably, he still could not withstand his colleagues taking turns pouring him one cup after another. By the time the sky grew dark, he was already pleasantly drunk.
Fang Yuqian, the Huzhou examination candidate whom Shu Changyu had saved in the capital back then, had passed the imperial examination with high honors several years ago. He was now an editor at the Hanlin Academy. His official rank was low, so earlier he had not been in a position to move freely among the powerful and noble guests. Only after the people around Shu Changyu had dispersed somewhat did he come forward.
“Congratulations, Lord Shu.” He smiled, then raised his cup and clinked it against Shu Changyu’s. “One of life’s four great joys. My lord, you must not let it pass you by.”
Shu Changyu smiled and waved his hand. Then he curled his lips upward, tilted his head back, and drained the wine in his cup.
“Lord Shu has had quite a bit to drink today,” Fang Yuqian said with a smile. “You should go back and rest early, otherwise you might offend the beauty.”
Shu Changyu smiled and shook his head, his eyes already somewhat hazy. “I’m not afraid. After all, this joy today comes only once in a lifetime.”
Fang Yuqian pressed his lips together, then tentatively asked, “However… when Lord Shu was in Huzhou, you and I were also quite close, yet I never saw you become involved with any young lady from any family. May I ask… when did you meet this young lady?”
After all, he could be considered a close friend of Shu Changyu’s, and knew at least some of his affairs. He had originally admired the deep affection between Shu Changyu and the Regent so much that the Regent had even been willing to hand over the throne.
Yet unexpectedly… it had not even been that long, and Shu Changyu had quietly married someone else.
Upon hearing this, Shu Changyu smiled.
“He saved my life.”
In Shu Changyu’s own mouth, those words carried another meaning.
In his previous life, he himself had gone astray, ultimately causing consequences that could never be undone. It was Jing Mu who had pulled him back from the brink.
And in this lifetime, the love and tenderness he had received were also given to him by Jing Mu.
To Shu Changyu, Jing Mu was like his very life.
But to Fang Yuqian, those words carried an entirely different meaning.
He knew about the siege in Huzhou back then, and knew even better how dangerous the circumstances had been. Perhaps this young lady, although somewhat tall and sturdy, had truly saved Shu Changyu’s life under those circumstances.
Fang Yuqian deeply admired Shu Changyu and trusted his character completely.
“I understand now. But Lord Shu, you absolutely must not disappoint someone who loves you.” His words carried an implication.
Shu Changyu smiled and nodded.
——
After all the guests had dispersed, Shu Changyu finally staggered back to his own courtyard.
The courtyard was decorated with red silk. Double-happiness characters had been pasted onto the windows, and large red lanterns hung from the eaves. When he reached the door, he told the matchmaker and maidservants waiting inside to leave. Only then did he step through the door.
In front of the bed, red candles flickered. That person was still wearing the bridal veil, sitting upright on the bed, legs slightly apart and both hands resting on his knees.
Shu Changyu walked up to him and smiled softly. He raised his hand to lift the veil.
“All right, no one is here anymore. You don’t have to pretend.”
Unexpectedly, the bride sitting on the bed refused. He raised his hand and grasped Shu Changyu’s wrist, stopping his next movement.
“My lord, the scale rod is still on the table.”
Shu Changyu struggled twice but could not free himself. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, turned around, walked to the table, picked up the scale rod, and used it to lift the veil from the person sitting on the bed.
Under the flickering red candlelight, Jing Mu’s face was revealed.
He raised his head and looked directly at Shu Changyu. He wore a phoenix crown and bridal robes, dressed entirely as a woman, yet he did not appear feminine in the slightest. Instead, the attire accentuated his handsome and striking features.
Jing Mu looked at him and smiled, curling up the corners of his lips.
“You have to use the scale rod to lift the veil. That way, everything will be as you wish.”
Shu Changyu turned around to put down the scale rod, but his head felt somewhat heavy. As he turned, he nearly fell. Fortunately, Jing Mu raised a hand and caught him, preventing him from tumbling to the ground.
“I drank a little too much,” Shu Changyu said, holding his forehead. “Honestly… these old bastards finally found an opportunity to force-feed me alcohol.”
The next moment, he suddenly felt the world spinning and was pulled directly into Jing Mu’s arms.
Jing Mu raised a hand, took the scale rod from his grasp, casually tossed it aside, then held him in his arms and began removing his outer robe.
“Then you should rest quickly. The moment you came through the door just now, I could already smell the alcohol on you.”
At this point, his movements suddenly stopped.
Then Shu Changyu saw Jing Mu holding him in his arms, his pair of eyes as gentle as water as he stared straight at him.
“Wh-what is it?” Shu Changyu asked.
Then he heard Jing Mu say softly, “Nothing. I’m just looking at you.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently touched Shu Changyu’s cheek.
“In my past life and this one, I don’t know how many years I spent longing for you.” Jing Mu smiled as he spoke. “Now, I’ve finally married you.”
Those words made Shu Changyu’s face burn. He said softly, “We’ve been together for so long already. Why bother with all these formalities?”
Jing Mu, however, said, “It’s different.”
Shu Changyu looked at his face beneath the flickering red candlelight, and for a moment, he too fell silent.
After a long while, he said softly, “We haven’t drunk the wedding wine yet.”
He was just about to get up when Jing Mu pressed him back down.
“Have you become an alcoholic? You drank so much outside just now, and now that you’re back, you haven’t even said a few words before you want to drink again.”
Shu Changyu was amused by his unreasonable little manner and laughed.
“It’s different. You were the one who said that just now.”
“I think it’s the same now,” Jing Mu said softly.
Then Shu Changyu watched as Jing Mu quickly removed the phoenix crown from his head and tossed it aside. His black hair immediately spilled loose around him.
The next moment, Shu Changyu felt the world spin. Then Jing Mu pressed him beneath him.
When Jing Mu kissed his lips, Shu Changyu heard him say—
“With all that wine fragrance on your lips, I’ll take some for myself. That can count as our wedding wine.”
Author’s Note:
When I got to the phoenix crown, I don’t know why, but all I could think about was that bizarre phoenix crown that Xitala Erqing wore on her wedding day in Story of Yanxi Palace…
I thought, if Jing Mu wore something like that, a grown man like him would look just like the Bull Demon King, hahaha!
Tomorrow I’ll write Zhao Langzhi’s extra story! Then it’ll be finished!
If everyone wants the modern-day arc, I’ll open another book for it. It’ll be free, like a little bonus~