Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Wedding Night

Huo Zheng paused when he heard Chun Zhi call him “husband”: [Even if this is a fake marriage, that one word still stirred his heart.]

Lu Jing Yun looked at Chun Zhi with a complicated expression, thinking: [I never imagined she would call another man husband in front of me.]

Chun Zhi faced the guests and spoke clearly: “Today is my wedding day. Anyone who truly came to celebrate may drink a cup of wedding wine. If you came to make trouble, do not blame me for being rude.”

Ji Ru Zhen hid behind Lu Jing Yun and snapped: “Why would you say we are not sincere? The gift money I brought is more than what all these people gave put together.” She cursed in her heart: [Useless yamen constables. They really let her find a man to marry within three days.] She had planned to force Chun Zhi to pay the fine, then drag her into a match with a drunk, a gambler, someone who would ruin her whole life. Who knew Chun Zhi would be so lucky. She did not marry Lu Jing Yun, yet she married a man even more handsome than him.

Chun Zhi lifted her chin and said: “Who wants your gift money? If you have cash with nowhere to spend it, pay back the ten thousand taels you owe me first.”

Ji Ru Zhen started to argue again, but Lu Jing Yun pressed her shoulder and said in a low voice: “We are leaving.” The bright, bold Chun Zhi before him felt like a stranger. She had always been gentle with him, but now she would never treat him gently again. Realizing this, Lu Jing Yun could not stand there another moment.

Ji Ru Zhen still did not want to go. Before she could speak, the people around them raised their voices and drove them out: “If you were not invited, no amount of gift money matters,” someone said. Another shouted: “Do you think we do not know why you came? You just wanted to see if Chun Zhi’s life got worse after leaving the Lu clan. Open your eyes. Chun Zhi is doing great.” A third person said: “She left a heartless man and married the right one. Her days will only get better.” Someone waved a broom and laughed: “Go, go, go! Do not be an eyesore here, or I will sweep you out.”

Under the crowd’s scolding, Ji Ru Zhen could not get a word out. She covered her face and ran. Lu Jing Yun led his people and hurried after her.

People clapped and cheered: “They are gone! Finally gone!” Laughter returned to the yard at once as someone called out: “Bride and groom, to the bridal chamber!”

Huo Zheng and Chun Zhi were escorted into the room. Dragon and phoenix wedding candles burned high. A red gauze canopy hung low over the bed, which was scattered with peanuts, longans, and red dates.

With help from two sisters-in-law, Chun Zhi sat on the edge of the bed. The guests whooped: “Groom, new wife, time for cross-cup wine.”

Sister-in-law Wu turned and poured two cups. She set them on a tray. Chun Zhi lifted one cup, and Huo Zheng took the other. In the midst of cheers and teasing, they linked arms and finished the wine. Chun Zhi almost never drank. One cup set her cheeks aflame, deepening the rouge on her face.

Auntie Zhang came up with a pair of scissors and said with a smile: “Sit together, groom and bride.” She snipped a thin lock of hair from each of them, twined the two locks, slipped them into a red sachet, and blessed them: “Bound by hair as husband and wife, may you love each other without doubt.”

Hearing this, Chun Zhi stole a quick look at Huo Zheng, only to find him looking back. Heat rushed to her face. She lowered her eyes to stare at the tips of her shoes.

After a bit more noisy teasing, Auntie Zhang and the others shooed the guests to the yard to eat. The bridal chamber fell quiet, leaving only Huo Zheng and Chun Zhi.

Outside was noisy, but inside was so still that Chun Zhi could hear her own heartbeat: [Thump, thump.]

Huo Zheng sat beside her for a long time without speaking.

Chun Zhi called softly: “Huo Qi, why are you not saying anything?” She felt he seemed unhappy. When he had been ready to strike Lu Jing Yun and Ji Ru Zhen earlier, she had stopped him and even called him “husband.”

Huo Zheng stayed silent.

Chun Zhi lowered her round fan and turned to him, asking: “Are you upset because I called you husband?” They had agreed on a fake marriage, yet she had called him that in front of everyone. She explained in a rush: “There were too many people in the yard. I got nervous and said the wrong thing.”

Huo Zheng looked at her and asked, voice low: “Said the wrong thing? I was going to hit Lu Jing Yun and Ji Ru Zhen. Why were you nervous? Do you still like him?”

Chun Zhi shook her head fast and said: “How is that possible?”

Huo Zheng’s eyes were dark as ink as he asked: “Then what were you nervous about?”

Chun Zhi met his gaze and answered seriously: “I was nervous about you, of course. You are badly hurt. If you fought and got hurt again, what would we do?” He went still, then asked quietly: “So you were not nervous about Lu Jing Yun. You were nervous about me?” Chun Zhi tilted her head a little and looked at him, saying: “What else? And he is the top scholar, and his wife is the chancellor’s daughter. We are common people. There is nothing good in offending them.” She kept talking, listing reason after reason, but Huo Zheng only heard one line in his heart: [I was nervous about you.]

The joy candles burned on the table. They sat beneath the red gauze canopy. The room was simple, yet this was the first “marriage” of Huo Zheng’s life.

When he did not speak, Chun Zhi rose and sat before the bronze mirror to take off her hairpins. One pin was tangled with a lock of hair. She could not see it well and could not free it. She called: “Huo Qi, help me, please.”

Huo Zheng stood behind her and, in the mirror, saw a matching pair that looked heaven-made: [Like a couple meant to be.] He stared for a breath.

Not knowing what he was thinking, Chun Zhi reminded him, a little helpless: “The hair is caught on the pin. Help me untangle it.” Huo Zheng reached out and loosened the hair, loop by loop, then lifted out the pin and handed it to her. The moment looked just like newlyweds lingering before the mirror.

Chun Zhi put the pin into a drawer and smiled at him, saying: “Thank you.” Huo Zheng looked away without answering.

From outside, someone shouted loudly: “Groom, what are you doing in the bridal room so early? Come drink!” Married men knew the groom would not want to come out now, and they all laughed.

But the air in the room was too warm and sweet. Heat rushed through Huo Zheng. He turned and walked toward the door.

Chun Zhi called after him: “Huo Qi, you are still hurt. Drink less. If you can refuse, then refuse.” He answered, “Mm,” pushed the door open, and went out.

Only two tables were set in the yard, but the joy was not small. When the groom came out, everyone waved him over to drink. Auntie Zhang and Auntie Li stopped them and said the groom was injured and could not drink much, so everyone should take it easy.

The feast broke up at midnight. The men escorted Huo Zheng back to the bridal chamber. They even sent him right onto Chun Zhi’s bed.