Chapter 40 He's very obedient when coaxed.

The following days were unusually quiet.

On her wedding day, before dawn, she was seen being pulled out of bed by her mermaid servants to get ready.

"You look quite presentable when you're all dressed up." Gu Zhi stood in front of the mirror with her arms crossed, then suddenly turned her face away and touched her nose.

The young man in the bronze mirror had a flamboyant appearance. He wore a red robe, and the corners of his eyes were outlined with gold powder to create a beautiful arc. When he lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes cast small shadows under his eyes, giving him an unexpectedly fragile and gorgeous look.

Looking at his face in the bronze mirror, Mingjian wasn't very interested and yawned.

He felt exhausted thinking about how the mermaid servant had dragged him out of bed before dawn this morning to draw his eyebrows. He forced a smile, then listlessly turned his head and slumped onto the table. The soft flesh on his cheek was pressed out, and the beauty mark he had drawn with the vermilion pen was smudged on half of it.

Song Heyu smiled and said, "Junior Brother looks very tired, let him rest for a while."

Mingjian gratefully thanked him.

"I haven't finished speaking yet..." Gu Zhi said as Song Heyu pulled her outside.

Song Heyu said helplessly, "Let your junior brother get some sleep."

As the sound faded into the distance, and the wooden door creaked shut, Mingjian was already curled up asleep in his arms.

Half-asleep, Mingjian heard someone push open the door. He opened his eyes slightly and saw a blurry, moon-white figure.

He couldn't see her face clearly, but he could smell a faint, familiar, cool fragrance.

Seeing that he neither disliked nor rejected it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

When he woke up again, what was reflected in Mingjian's eyes was Xiao Bumian's magnified sleeping face.

I don't know when she arrived, but she even imitated Mingjian by lying on the table, facing him.

Mingjian paused, then blinked very softly.

Sunlight streamed through the window, tracing the contours of Xiao Bumian's face. The fine hairs on his face were clearly visible in the light, his pale skin was almost transparent, and even his pale lips were gilded with a thin layer of gold.

Ming felt for a moment that time seemed to stand still.

The wind stopped.

Everything around faded into a blurry, indistinct image.

Only Xiao Bumian's presence was glaringly clear.

The laughter of mermaid maids drifted from afar, and Gu Zhi's complaints could be faintly heard. But these sounds seemed to be veiled by a layer of gauze.

Until Xiao Bumian slowly opened his eyes.

Mingjian suddenly heard his own heart pounding loudly.

The world has started turning again.

Xiao Bumian smiled and asked softly, "You're awake."

Mingjian sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "When did you get here?"

“A quarter of an hour ago.” Xiao Bumian’s lips curled slightly, his voice clear and melodious.

"Oh, okay." Mingjian asked, "Why are you here? Are you planning to come with us tonight?"

The Bridal Gown Demon didn't seem to be weak. Although besides Gu Zhi and Song Heyu, there was also Rong Yunzhi, whose cultivation had reached the second level of the Mahayana stage, Xiao Bumian would make them feel more at ease.

Xiao Bumian gently shook his head, "No."

He's figured it out these past few days.

He originally treated Mingjian like a cat, but he seemed to have spent too much energy on Mingjian.

Therefore, Mingjian's every move can easily influence him.

The thrill of our spiritual energy merging that day, the tremor when our foreheads touched, should all come to an end.

So he deliberately distanced himself, and sure enough, his mind gradually calmed down.

Since he stopped focusing too much energy on Mingjian, his mind has become more normal, and he no longer experiences sadness, happiness, or joy from time to time.

"Huh?" Mingjian was taken aback, then asked in confusion, "Then why did you come here?"

It shouldn't be jealousy. Mingjian had already explained it very clearly to him that it was all fake, and he didn't say anything at the time.

Xiao Bumian smiled and said, "I've never seen anyone get married before, so I wanted to see how it's done."

He didn't come because he wanted to understand.

"Oh." Mingjian nodded. "It was so boring, I even fell asleep while waiting for the auspicious time."

"Can I wait with you?" Xiao Bumian asked politely, a faint light shimmering in his eyes.

I'm bored.

Mingjian made a judgment in his mind.

"Whatever you want," Mingjian said.

"I brought you your favorite candied hawthorns," Xiao Bumian asked again, "Do you want some?"

Seeing that he hadn't eaten or drunk anything since being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, Mingjian's eyes lit up when he heard this, but then he shook his head and refused, "Never mind, you eat it yourself."

He didn't want Xiao Bumian to feed him anymore.

That's weird.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bumian paused slightly, his hand reaching for the candied hawthorn, feeling inexplicably irritated.

Sure enough, after only a few days apart, Mingjian became much more distant from him.

This was the result he wanted, so why did he feel such a bitter taste in his chest?

Xiao Bumian lowered his long eyelashes, as if he wanted to say something.

Just then, the mermaid maid's voice came through the door, "My lord, the auspicious time has arrived."

"Okay, I'm coming." Mingjian straightened his crimson wedding dress and turned back to give him a word of advice before leaving.

"Then I'll go out first. Gu Zhi and Song Heyu are outside. If you need anything, just ask them." After saying that, he turned around and pushed the door open to leave.

The wooden door closed, shutting out the festive atmosphere from behind.

Xiao Bumian sat alone before the mirror, gazing at her pale reflection in the bronze mirror. A crabapple petal drifted in from outside the window and landed on the dressing table, just covering the rouge stain that Mingjian had just smeared on the flower.

—

Outside the princess's residence, crowds thronged, and the long street was packed with people.

The imperial guards on both sides stood solemnly with halberds in hand. The phoenix carriage slowly came to a stop, and a corner of the silk curtains was lifted by the wind, revealing a beautiful figure sitting inside.

The accompanying official announced loudly, "Descend—the carriage—"

Amidst the long, drawn-out chants of the master of ceremonies, two female officials lifted the curtain, and Rong Yunzhi, holding a fan, slowly stepped down from the phoenix stool, her hand resting on her maid's.

“The Prince Consort and His Highness are truly a match made in heaven. The Prince Consort is as handsome as a jade tree and as elegant as an orchid, and His Highness Yunyue is as beautiful as a flower,” an old woman said, wiping the corner of her eye. “If they have a little prince in the future, he will surely be very lovable.”

"Your Highness has blessed the Merfolk for a hundred years; this is the destiny of the South China Sea," the young man tossed his blessing into the air, "May Your Highness and your consort live forever!"

"..."

Gu Zhi reached out and caught a wisp of shimmering blue light. The blessing power swirled in his palm before drifting towards the bridal sedan chair. He exclaimed, "Your Highness Yunyue truly wins the hearts of the people."

Song Heyu stood with her sword in her arms, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. After confirming that there was no demonic energy mixed in, she nodded slightly: "Indeed, it is not an empty reputation."

The two stood there for a while longer. The female official and several maids scattered wedding candies outside, but they weren't interested in the candies, so they went back into the mansion.

"Xie Hanwei?" As they rounded the corner of the corridor, Gu Zhi suddenly stopped, frowning as he asked, "Why did you come out of Mingjian's room?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bumian stopped in her tracks, raised her eyes, and smiled gently, saying softly, "I need to speak with Mingjian."

"Oh." Gu Zhi nodded.

“By the way,” Xiao Bumian said with a smile, “do you know where Mingjian is?”

Gu Zhi looked at him strangely. "He should have gone to the main courtyard's bridal chamber with Princess Yunyue by now. Didn't you go to check on them just now?"

Xiao Bumian grunted and shook his head, "No."

"Song Heyu and I are planning to go and set up an array. Do you want to come?"

Gu Zhi was just asking; they were used to Xiao Bumian always appearing and disappearing mysteriously, and they wouldn't usually ask him where he was going. Gu Zhi didn't know if he had hit his head, but he asked that question subconsciously.

Xiao Bumian's smile deepened, his eyebrows and eyes crinkling with laughter. "Okay, thank you for your help."

Gu Zhi fell silent.

He was just being polite.

Gu Zhi was actually a little afraid of Xiao Bumian. Although Xiao Bumian was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining and always had a smile on his face, Gu Zhi always felt that Xiao Bumian was more frightening than his master.

Xiao Bumian didn't wait for their reply and turned to head towards the main courtyard.

Gu Zhi rubbed his arms, moved closer to Song Heyu, and whispered, "Don't you think Xie Han smiles like he's lost his Daoist partner?"

Song Heyu sighed, "Don't you feel like your cultivation partner has been stolen?"

Furuichi: "Huh?"

Gu Zhi was still wondering what to ask when Song Heyu followed her forward.

He scratched his head.

Really? He misjudged?

We arrived at the main courtyard.

Xiao Bumian pushed open the door first.

Ming Jianzheng and Rong Yunzhi squatted on the ground, pondering how to draw the formation next.

“Draw the evil-attracting pattern here.” Rong Yunzhi’s fingertip touched the ground.

“I think it should be drawn here…” Mingjian hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly noticed a gaze. Looking up, he saw Xiao Bumian leaning against the door.

"Why are you here?" Mingjian blurted out.

Xiao Bumian tilted his head, puzzled, and asked, "Can't I come?"

Gu Zhi and the other person followed closely behind into the house.

Gu Zhi placed the sword on the table, looked around the room, and poked at the double happiness paper-cut on the window. "It's arranged quite properly."

Rong Yunzhi proudly raised her chin: "That's right. Although it's a fake marriage, what I need is naturally the best."

"That's true."

Seeing that they were talking, Ming took the opportunity to pull Xiao Bumian to a corner. The dog sneakily took out a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into Xiao Bumian's mouth.

He lowered his voice and said, "There are only two of these candies. I ate one and saved one for you."

Xiao Bumian had been feeling a bit down for some reason, but upon hearing this, the smile on his lips became more genuine.

"Are you sleepy right now?" Mingjian leaned closer and looked into Xiao Bumian's eyes.

He was afraid that Xiao Bumian would feel sleepy again after eating.

Xiao Bumian obediently shook his head, "No."

"Then bear with it and don't go to sleep yet. We'll go back to sleep after we've lured out the wedding dress demon."

The word "we" largely pleased Xiao Bumian.

He hummed in agreement, then lowered his eyes and asked, "Back to the North Courtyard?"

Mingjian finally realized that this person had been sulking the whole time.

They pretended not to care, but actually cared terribly.

Mingjian suppressed a laugh, nodded, and coaxed him, "Okay, wherever you say, fine?"

Xiao Bumian paused, "Really?"

"real."

Xiao Bumian crunched the candy, the sweetness spreading from her mouth to her heart. "Oh."

Mingjian breathed a sigh of relief.

What do you call this? You call it "love unspoken" or "unrequited love".

The moment he saw Xiao Bumian, he immediately understood.

He had come home late before, and Xiao Bumian had forced him to eat that cloyingly sweet candied hawthorn because she was angry. She hadn't come to see him for the past few days either. This behavior wouldn't seem like anything to others, but for Xiao Bumian, it was very unlike her.

Given Xiao Bumian's personality, he would only hold Mingjian in the middle of the night, play kissy-kiss for a while, and then hold Mingjian and hum a couple of times in distress.

He doesn't care whether Mingjian allows him to go or not.

Since they're angry anyway, just stroke their fur and it'll be fine.

Mingjian: "Then shall I continue drawing the array?"

Xiao Bumian gave a soft "Mmm," and said, "Okay."

As night deepened, only Rong Yunzhi and Mingjian remained in the room.

Rong Yunzhi was already fast asleep in bed.

Mingjian sat in front of the bronze mirror, blood still dripping from his bitten fingertip.

Behind the artificial hill, Gu Zhi yawned repeatedly, "It's already past midnight, is that wedding dress demon not coming?"

Holding her sword, Song Heyu stared at the gate of the main courtyard with a solemn expression. "Wait a little longer."

Another half hour passed, and Gu Zhi couldn't stay awake any longer. He said in a low, hoarse voice, "I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up when you come back..."

Before the words were finished, a figure in moon-white robes suddenly descended from the top of the artificial mountain. The moon-white robes fluttered in the wind. Xiao Bumian said in a gentle tone, "They've arrived."

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Author's Note: This arc will be over in two or three more chapters! Finally! [postponed]

Goodnight, babies.