Chapter 17
The trip to the Li family’s home went smoothly. When they arrived at the gate, Li Feng carried Lu Liu out of the carriage. Lu Liu’s face burned with embarrassment, and his hands grew hot as Li Feng held them, guiding him inside for the wedding ceremony. His hands were so warm that even Li Feng could feel it.
Lu Liu hadn’t removed his red veil and had to watch his steps carefully.
The sense of security that Li Feng gave him was overwhelming. The Li family indeed felt dependable. From the moment he stepped through the door, all he heard were cheerful, auspicious words, filling his heart with happiness and contentment.
The ceremony proceeded without a hitch. Once it was over, Lu Liu was escorted to a private room to wait.
Li Shun, the Li family’s third son, came in to keep him company and brought him some food.
But along with Li Shun came a sharp, mocking voice from a woman.
“The Chen family sure is showy, bringing such a fancy veil. Look at that embroidery—must’ve cost a fortune. I guess they spent so much on that veil, they couldn’t even afford a proper wedding outfit.”
Li Shun turned around and scolded her softly, “Second Sister-in-law! You better not let Big Brother hear you say that.”
The woman snorted but didn’t say another word.
Lu Liu was confused.
In his village, brides only used a simple red cloth as a veil. What was wrong with his?
Still, he didn’t let it bother him. It seemed this “Second Sister-in-law” was afraid of Li Feng anyway.
After setting the food down, Li Shun closed the door. “Go ahead and eat. Don’t worry. Big Brother’s still busy drinking with the guests.”
Lu Liu hadn’t eaten properly since he’d fallen ill. The two bowls of porridge he’d had earlier were mostly water. The bumpy carriage ride had only made him hungrier.
But he wasn’t sure if he should remove the veil. In his mind, it was supposed to be his husband who lifted it.
When he asked Li Shun, Li Shun laughed. “Just eat first and put it back on later. My brother’s seen your face already, hasn’t he?”
That made sense to Lu Liu, so he happily pulled off the veil.
The wedding meal was luxurious. Lu Liu had little experience with such lavish food. He could only recognize fish, chicken, duck, pork, and offal. The large bowl in front of him contained many unfamiliar ingredients.
Li Shun pointed them out. “There’s rabbit, lamb, and wild boar—all hunted by my big brother in the mountains. There’s snake soup outside too, but I figured you might not want any.”
Lu Liu shuddered. “No, thank you.”
Li Shun noticed how focused Lu Liu was on eating. He didn’t look around the room or ask about the family. Curious, he tried to start a conversation.
“Don’t you want to ask me anything?”
Lu Liu hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to ask. He remembered how, back at the Chen house, he’d been scolded for even going to the outhouse. Finally, he asked softly, “Does the family farm?”
“Of course,” Li Shun said. “We’ve got more than ten acres.”
If they farmed, then they’d need fertilizer. Fertilizer meant the outhouse was normal.
Relieved, Lu Liu dug back into his meal.
Li Shun was puzzled. “Why’d you ask? You hoping Big Brother will farm in the new village? He’d never go for that—it’s too hard, and the money’s slow. He hates that.”
“Oh,” Lu Liu muttered, his appetite suddenly gone.
If Li Feng hated farming, would he get scolded for using the outhouse here too?
He loved drinking water, especially in winter, which made him need the outhouse often. If that became a problem again, he wouldn’t know how to handle it.
Li Shun urged him to eat more, but Lu Liu’s enthusiasm had vanished.
Outside, the Li family had set up three banquet tables in the courtyard. There was no strict seating plan; people wandered around with bowls in hand, chatting and laughing. Children dashed through the crowd.
Mother Li, Chen Guizhi, along with her two sons, oversaw the feast, making sure everyone had plenty to eat and drink.
Li Feng was busy drinking with guests. The crowd mostly consisted of rugged mountain folk who enjoyed bawdy jokes. Li Tian, the second brother, joined in, making the tables erupt with laughter.
“So now that Feng’s married, who’s the boss at home?” someone asked.
It was a popular question leading up to the wedding. Word of arguments about this had spread thanks to loose-lipped relatives.
Before Li Feng could scowl, someone cracked a joke. “Of course, his husband will take over! Li Feng’s giving up the savings he’s built over 23 years!”
Li Feng was 23. The “savings” were, of course, his vitality.
The crowd roared with laughter. Someone teased Li Tian, “What about you? How much have you handed over to your wife? Start saving now, and you’ll outdo your brother by New Year’s!”
Newlywed husbands were notorious for spending day and night with their spouses, often neglecting work in the hope of having children. If Li Tian abstained, he might “save up” more than his brother.
“Yeah, right!” Li Tian shot back. “You all try saving up and see if you still eat this well next year!”
The women sitting at Chen Guizhi’s table blushed and scolded the men for their crude humor. But Guizhi herself beamed with pride.
Her husband had died young, leaving her to raise her sons alone. Good days had been slow to arrive.
When Li Feng came of age, the family was still stuck in a cramped old house, with farmland far away. Matchmakers wouldn’t even come by. Guizhi heard more than her share of cruel remarks.
“That family should save up for a few more years before thinking about marriage,” people had said. Worse, they’d predicted that Li Feng would die in the mountains and leave a widow behind.
Guizhi remembered those words. So did Li Feng.
The family worked tirelessly and finally built a new house in the new village. The second son married. Life had turned around.
Now Li Feng was a sought-after bachelor, returning from every mountain trip with a cartload of game. People saw him as a catch.
But Guizhi had lost interest in local matches. When her family mentioned a promising young man from the county, she jumped at the chance.
The guests were full of praise.
“You’ve done well, Guizhi! Two strong families joining hands. No worries about money. You’ll be holding a chubby grandchild soon!”
Guizhi smiled, basking in their admiration. “You all know how hard Feng’s worked. He’s held this family together for years. We wanted to give him a wedding that matched his efforts.”
“Well, you certainly succeeded! Word is Old Wang from the next village turned green with envy when he heard you spent twenty taels of silver on the betrothal gifts!”
“That’s just him being stingy,” Guizhi said, waving it off. “But you know, Feng was so picky about this match at first. Argued with me nonstop. Now look at him!”
The guests laughed knowingly.
The feast ended, and the guests left, still joking.
“No point teasing the groom tonight,” someone said. “Interrupt them, and Feng might never forgive us.”
Li Feng shooed them away with mock irritation.
Later that evening, Guizhi’s brother and sister-in-law stayed behind.
“You know,” her brother said, “that wedding feast the Chen family promised never happened. They talked big but ended up with a single pot of watery soup. Not enough for everyone.”
Guizhi’s smile froze.
She’d spent so much on today’s feast partly because of the Chen family’s promises. Now she realized she’d gone far over budget. The thought left a bitter taste as she headed back inside, the night’s laughter now hollow in her ears.
