Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Didn’t You Leave?

People stared at Chun Zhi and asked: “You picked up a man and you are getting married tomorrow?”

Everyone was shocked and curious, so they whispered: “So rushed?” and “You should not pick up a man from the roadside!” and “Do you know where he comes from? You are so pretty. Be careful not to get tricked!”

The vendors cared a lot about Chun Zhi. She said: “I don’t want to hurry either, but the Magistrate’s Office only gave me three days. Tomorrow is the third day.”

She had no more time left.

Chun Zhi explained: “Huo Qi is pretty good. He looks decent, he is about my age, and he has never married.”

When she listed it out, Huo Qi’s qualities were hard to fault.

As for his background, Chun Zhi had no plan to become a real couple with him, so she felt there was no need to investigate that deeply.

Auntie Zhang held Chun Zhi’s hand and said: “If you feel he is good, then it’s fine. After you marry, the two of you will live your own life behind closed doors.”

Hearing Auntie Zhang say this, the vendors all began to congratulate Chun Zhi.

They joked to cheer her up: “Even without the top scholar, you can still marry a fine young gentleman.” and “You could even bring one back just by picking.”

Everyone said they would close their stalls early tomorrow and go drink wedding wine at Chun Zhi’s place.

Chun Zhi thanked them, then went to the Fragrance Pavilion to book two banquet tables for tomorrow night.

After that she went to Qian San Niang’s shop to buy a wedding robe for Huo Qi. When Qian San Niang heard, her eyes lit up and she asked: “A wedding robe? Chun Zhi, you are getting married?”

Chun Zhi answered: “Yes, the wedding is tomorrow.”

Qian San Niang said: “So fast? No wonder you want a ready-made wedding robe.”

She had heard that the yamen runners had come to Chun Zhi and told her to marry within three days, or the Magistrate’s Office would force a match.

If the Magistrate’s Office forced a match, who knew what kind of person they would find. It would never be as reliable as choosing for yourself.

Qian San Niang asked: “How tall is the groom? About how heavy? I happen to have two wedding robes I just finished. Take a look. If you like one, I will alter it to his size.”

Saying that, Qian San Niang brought out both robes. From the cloth alone, one looked expensive and one looked cheap. The workmanship was also very different.

Chun Zhi remembered Huo Qi’s handsome face. She felt too embarrassed to hold the cheap robe up to him. The expensive one though seemed to suit him. She thought: “He will look even more handsome in this.”

Qian San Niang saw Chun Zhi touch the expensive robe and knew she had picked it, so she smiled and said: “Chun Zhi, you have great taste. You can tell quality at a glance. Since you are an old customer, I will give you a deal. Ten taels of silver.”

“Ten taels of silver?” Chun Zhi could not bear to spend that much. She pulled her hand back and looked at the cheaper one, then asked: “What about this one?”

Qian San Niang said: “One tael.”

Chun Zhi began: “Then I will…” She wanted to choose the cheap one. It was a fake marriage anyway, not real, so why spend so much?

But Qian San Niang stood by her and said: “We women only marry once in our lives. If you don’t spend now, when will you spend?”

Chun Zhi stayed quiet.

Qian San Niang added: “Think of how much money you spent on the top scholar before. It was a lot. If your new husband finds out you spent so much on the top scholar but refuse to buy him a proper wedding robe, he would be very sad.”

Chun Zhi went silent. She did not think Huo Qi would be sad about it, but he would be angry for sure. It had been hard enough to get him to agree to help her. If she upset him over a robe, that would be a loss.

Thinking of this, Chun Zhi gritted her teeth and said: “Ten taels then, but you must also give me a set of red underclothes and a red embroidered ball.”

“Deal,” said Qian San Niang quickly. “We are neighbors on the same street. Consider those extras my wedding gift.”

Her ready-to-wear shop always did good business, and she had everything Chun Zhi asked for. She soon packed it all up.

She then reminded: “You still haven’t told me the groom’s measurements. Tell me quickly, and I will see if the robe needs to be taken in or let out.”

When Chun Zhi made clothes for Huo Qi before, she had measured him, so she reported the sizes in detail.

Hearing them, Qian San Niang looked curious and asked: “These are almost the same as the sizes from your last purchase. Is this for the same person?”

Feeling embarrassed, Chun Zhi nodded.

As she let the robe out a little, Qian San Niang said: “I knew it. What relatives? And that cloth was so fine you would not even buy it for yourself. How would you buy it for a relative? So it was for the groom after all.”

Back then, when Chun Zhi bought clothes for the man, she thought he would leave soon, so when asked, she had told a quick lie. Now that the lie was exposed to her face, her cheeks burned. Luckily, Qian San Niang did not drag it out. She finished altering the robe and wrapped it up.

Chun Zhi paid, invited Qian San Niang to drink wedding wine tomorrow at the tofu workshop, and carried the bundles home. On the way, she also bought a stack of red paper. She planned to cut double happiness cutouts herself and paste them on the doors and windows.

After running around, she finally returned. By the time she pushed the gate open, it was already dusk.

Hugging the wedding robe, Chun Zhi hurried to the small room where the man lived. She knocked a few times, but no one answered. She pushed the door open and saw the room was empty.

She called out: “Huo Qi?” Then she called again: “Huo Qi!”

She put the robe on the bed and searched both small rooms and the whole yard front and back, but she could not find him. Even the wheelchair was gone.

[Did he leave?]

Chun Zhi stood in the yard, stunned. When she thought that Huo Qi might have changed his mind and left alone, she felt a pain she could not put into words. They had clearly agreed. He had promised to help and to go through a fake marriage with her.

[Huo Qi does not keep his word!]

Her strength seemed to drain away all at once. [Maybe I am just unlucky and always meet people who do not keep their promises.] He could have refused, and then she could have chosen Li Jun, or Gentryman Zhou, or Young Master Chu. At least she would not be forced into marriage by the Magistrate’s Office.

But now she had already turned the others down. She had even bought the wedding robe and booked tomorrow’s banquet tables. Huo Qi was gone.

Her eyes stung. She slowly walked forward to close the gate. Just as her hand touched the door, someone pushed it open from outside. Huo Qi sat there in the wheelchair.

Chun Zhi widened her eyes and said: “You… didn’t you leave?”

He answered: “Where would I go?”

Huo Zheng pushed the wheelchair inside. Behind him, the whole sky glowed with sunset. He saw that Chun Zhi’s eyes were red, as if she was about to cry. He guessed she had come back, found him gone, and gotten scared.

He took a travel permit from his sleeve and handed it to her, saying: “I went to fetch my travel permit. Without this, how would the Magistrate’s Office accept our marriage as proper and legal tomorrow?”