Chapter 78: Bridal Chamber
Accompanied by the ceremonial attendant’s drawn-out cry of “Into the bridal chamber—,” two Maidservants helped me into the main room.
The guests had already taken their seats, and Qin Mingxu was attending to them according to custom.
Everyone egged him on, forcing him to drink.
It was boisterous.
I dismissed the Maidservants and sat alone in the room.
After completing the wedding ceremony with Qin Mingxu, the slight panic I felt from the loud noises subsided considerably.
The deed was done.
This place was now my home.
No matter what was happening in the outside world, I finally had a place to belong and someone to rely on.
As the banquet was nearing its end, Feng Gao returned.
I heard him laugh and say to everyone, “Feng has arrived late, I shall punish myself with three cups.”
His appearance elicited a chorus of sycophantic voices.
Feng Gao endured it, responding to those people.
I knew he was doing it for me.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, his presence at the banquet would let everyone know that he had a close relationship with me and the Qin family. This would provide the Qin family with an invisible layer of protection.
For some reason, even though he tried his best to control himself, I could still hear a hint of gloom in his voice.
Perhaps it was related to the “urgent important matter” his subordinate had reported earlier.
Night gradually fell.
The guests dispersed one after another.
Qin Mingxu was drunk.
Feng Gao helped him and brought him to the bridal chamber.
I quickly lifted my wedding veil and, together with Feng Gao, helped Qin Mingxu onto the bed and removed his shoes.
“How did you get so drunk?” I asked.
The light from the dragon and phoenix candles cast a soft glow throughout the room.
Feng Gao smelled of alcohol and appeared slightly tipsy. He smiled, “It’s Elder Sister’s wedding, a joyous occasion. Drinking a few extra cups is unavoidable.”
I asked, “What was that matter the person called you out for earlier?”
“It’s…” He lowered his head, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s a matter of official business. Even if I told you, Elder Sister wouldn’t understand.”
I smiled, “If you don’t tell me, how will you know I don’t understand?”
He was silent for a moment, then said out of the blue, “Elder Sister, people say that a life of one chi is hard to extend to ten chi.”
I replied, “If heaven gives one chi, accept one chi. If it gives ten chi, accept ten chi. There’s no need to force it.”
“Elder Sister, I often wonder, what would things be like now if we hadn’t been separated in front of Guangyue Tower back then?” His words carried the coolness of mist.
I thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps we both would have returned to the Acrobatic Troupe, grown up, and continued traveling the country, performing street performances. Sometimes we’d have enough to eat, sometimes not.”
“That… would be quite good. Being with Elder Sister all the time.” He pursed his lips.
I said gently, “Don’t overthink things. I’m waiting for you to resign from your post and return. Then, you can be with Elder Sister all the time.”
He smiled innocently, “Okay.”
A Servant Woman entered with Lily and Lotus Seed Soup.
I took it, and the Servant Woman withdrew.
Feng Gao snatched the bowl of soup and drank half of it in gulps, with a playfully defiant look on his face.
“I’ve drunk Elder Sister’s wish for a hundred years of harmonious marriage.”
I extended my finger and gently tapped his forehead.
“It’s good to drink some soup to settle your stomach after eating so much.”
“I should go. I shouldn’t disturb Elder Sister’s bridal chamber any longer. I’m going to find Mother.” He turned to leave, but his steps were too fast, and he stumbled, falling to the ground.
I stepped forward to help him up and said, “Be careful. You’re really drunk. I’ll find some Servant Boys to escort you.”
He suddenly burst into laughter, gestured around with his hand, and said, “Elder Sister, this bridal chamber is so nice, and you are so nice.”
When I am old and gray, in my twilight years, I will often recall these words Feng Gao spoke that night in my and Qin Mingxu’s bridal chamber. At that time, Feng Gao sat beside me, foolish and dazed, his eyes clouded, his mind like a child’s. Things have changed, and all is lost. Tears fall before words can be spoken. I understood the meaning of his words. Elder Sister, this bridal chamber is so nice, and you are so nice. If he hadn’t been abandoned by Master Qin back then, Qin Mingxu’s life would have been his. The maternal love Qin Mingxu enjoyed would have been his. This bridal chamber, perhaps, would have been his too.
At this moment, I dismissed it as drunken ramblings.
“Alright, alright, everything is good, everything is good,” I soothed him, called for Servant Boys, and instructed, “Prepare a carriage to take Director Feng to Qing Yue Pavilion.”
A Servant Boy tried to help him, but he pushed him away abruptly and stumbled off.
“I don’t need anyone to escort me, I don’t need anyone to escort me, I’m going to find Mother, I’m going to find Mother…” he mumbled.
His retreating figure looked like a lost child.
Qin Mingxu was still fast asleep.
I used a wet Handkerchief to wipe his face.
The night deepened, and the Qin Manor was silent.
The rain was still falling.
Hua Lian had not yet returned.
I did not undress, but lay on the side of the bed, listening to the rain, and gradually fell asleep.
I had a very faint dream.
In the dream, there were rolling mountain peaks. I climbed desperately upwards. At the summit, someone was waiting for me. He had his back to me, and I couldn’t see his face clearly. I didn’t know who he was. When I finally reached the summit, breathless, a strong gust of wind blew, and the figure vanished. I stood alone on the mountaintop, as if everything that had happened in my life was an illusion.
I was enveloped by a great sense of bewilderment.
When I opened my eyes, Qin Mingxu was just getting out of bed.
He picked up the Lily and Lotus Seed Soup that Feng Gao had left half-finished on the table and drank the remaining half.
Half of the Lily and Lotus Seed Soup was drunk by Feng Gao, and the other half by Qin Mingxu.
“Mingxu, you’re awake?” I said.
“Sang Yu—” he called me softly.
“Mm.”
“Sang Yu—” he called again.
“Mm.”
I thought he had something to say.
He leaned against the bed and smiled, “I just wanted to call out to you. Waking up and having you by my side, calling out and you responding, this feeling is wonderful.”
I wrung out a warm Handkerchief and handed it to him.
He wiped his face.
Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
The scent of Storax from him was faint.
This was the first time he had been so intimate with me.
After the kiss, he smiled and left.
I touched my cheek; it was warm.
Xiao Yin went out to buy hairpins during the day, and when she returned, she told me that many people were pouring wine and burning Paper Money by the riverbank, and the news of someone blowing up the floodgate was spreading like wildfire throughout Yangzhou.
The Zheng Family’s tens of thousands of mu of private land were destroyed, and their ancestral temple was flooded. Consort Zheng’s father was so enraged that he spat blood on the spot and almost passed out.
People from the Yangzhou Prefectural Office dispatched many Government Soldiers to patrol near the riverbank, investigating who was responsible.
The common people were secretly clapping their hands in delight.
The body of the deceased person was found, mangled and unrecognizable, their name unknown. The people of Yangzhou deeply appreciated this nameless hero, calling him the “River God.”
The Imperial Court received the report.
His Majesty, seeing that the situation had reached this point, and that the Zheng family had already suffered irreparable damage, decided that rather than pursuing a dead person, it would be better to follow public sentiment and gain a good reputation. He issued a belated decree, “Permit the Yangzhou flood discharge.”
It was heard that Consort Zheng had suffered a miscarriage scare, and the imperial physicians were dispatched. It took several days to finally save the Dragon Vein in Consort Zheng’s womb.
Since there was an imperial decree, the person who blew up the floodgate would not be considered a “criminal.”
Therefore, the common people spontaneously organized and built a River God temple near the riverbank.
Craftsmen worked in shifts, day and night.
Hua Lian had still not come to the Qin Manor.
After the wedding, I returned to the Wine Shop and saw her as before, carrying a large wine jar from the Backyard outwards.
I stopped her under the Persimmon Tree.
“Hua Lian, why haven’t you come to find me?”
I noticed her eyes were red, as if she had been crying for a long time.
Seeing me, she tried hard to appear relaxed.
“Owner, I went back to Hua Jia Wa and only returned this morning. I rushed back and didn’t have time to tell you.”
I asked, “Did something happen?”
She lowered her head and said, “There was a funeral in our village these past few days, so I went back to help.”
I nodded, “Such matters are indeed important.”
As summer arrived, the branches and leaves of the Persimmon Tree became even more lush, covering the ground with green leaves, spreading out like an umbrella.
Her pure eyes looked at me, “Owner, I’m so happy that you had a smooth wedding.”
I smiled and squeezed her cheek.
The next day, the River God temple was completed.
It caused quite a sensation.
Many people went to Worship, coming and going incessantly.
I was also one of those saved by the River God that day. Like the other common people, I felt reverence and gratitude towards the River God.
I ordered a Servant Boy to prepare some incense, candles, and Paper Money, as I also intended to go and Worship.
Amidst the surging crowd, I squeezed into the temple.
I looked up at the River God enshrined in the temple.
Through the bustling crowd, through the incense smoke, through the offering table, through life and death, through the legend of the nameless hero, I suddenly froze.
