Grand Wedding

After discussing it with Xu Shanhai, Gu Hanying quickly set a wedding date for Gu Yu and Xu Qiu.

Although it was an auspicious day, the date was chosen very close together, on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month.

Compared to other noble ladies who spend a year or two preparing for their weddings, this one seems rather rushed.

However, two months is enough time for the British Duke's Mansion to prepare Gu Yu's dowry.

Gu Hanying prepared many things for Gu Yu, including land deeds for thousands of acres of fertile land in Bianjing, as well as countless estates and shops, most of which were located in Shengjing and its surrounding areas and were very valuable.

In addition, there were various gold and silver treasures, jewelry, headdresses, beautiful jade and gorgeous clothes.

Gu Yu carefully examined the list in her hand and seriously calculated that she couldn't use all of this stuff even if she lived for twenty lifetimes; it was far too much.

Even so, it wasn't like the British Duke's mansion was completely depleted of its resources.

Gu Yu did not refuse Gu Hanying's kindness. She had long sensed his desire to make amends for his guilt towards his daughter, and she simply accepted it silently and without saying a word.

If she were to die one day, she would definitely return these things to the Duke of England before she died.

In the past few months, Xu Qiu has sent her a lot of strange and unusual things, but under Gu Hanying's strict guard, no one can get into the mansion at all.

Clearly, he was still resentful that Xu Qiu had entered the mansion so openly last time, and he couldn't let such a thing happen again. Besides, it was customary for unmarried couples not to meet before marriage.

So Xu Qiu was thus turned away with a perfectly legitimate excuse, shaking his head with a wry smile as he looked at the tightly closed gates of the Duke of Ying's mansion.

Most people can only not see each other for three days at most, but this Duke of England is so domineering that he hasn't been able to see Gu Yu for almost three months.

However, the little gifts he gave Gu Yu were all mixed with his own personal items.

Gu Yu found his little notes among those trinkets countless times, asking them why they, an upright engaged couple, were acting like they were having an affair.

She smiled with her lips pursed, occasionally glancing at the storybooks he had collected for her. She thought that this man was good at winning people over; even though she was locked outside the mansion gates, he still knew what she liked.

Because of the last flower-viewing banquet, those young ladies from noble families have been associating with her less. Gu Jin is an incorrigible person, and since they are getting older and their families are eager to find them suitable husbands, they don't bother with him too much.

Gu Jin was still very busy, so busy that even when Gu Hanying occasionally thought of his son and wanted to urge him about his marriage, he couldn't find him.

Over time, Gu Hanying also had no choice but to sigh and accept the fact that his son was still all alone before he left the capital.

He still had a lot of things to deal with up north, and he planned to set off immediately after sending his daughter off to her wedding.

However, since his daughter's marriage was settled, things have calmed down for the Fifth Prince and the Crown Prince.

Especially the Fifth Prince, when he occasionally met him, still had a lost and forlorn expression, his eyes full of resentment, looking at him as if he were looking at a vicious father who was breaking up a loving couple, making him want to beat that little brat.

The day before their wedding, Gu Hanying finally allowed Xu Qiu into the mansion. Xu Qiu had only come to deliver some things, but was invited into Gu Hanying's study by the servants.

He handed over some secret letters exchanged with the Northern Di to Xu Qiu.

Xu Qiu looked at him with a strange expression.

"You brat, why are you looking at me like that? This isn't a communication between me and the Northern Barbarians."

Gu Hanying rubbed his temples. "These were given to me by the Northern Di after they surrendered. They are letters exchanged with those merchants. The Emperor has read them all and asked me to give them to you, saying you will handle them well."

“Young man, you weren’t originally my son-in-law, and I didn’t want to interfere when you went to Shaanxi. But now you’re going to be my son-in-law. If you die, my daughter will be heartbroken. So I’m thinking of leaving you a few highly skilled guards as part of my daughter’s dowry.”

"Of course, their primary responsibility is to protect Ayu, and you're one of the things they protect by virtue of that. You mustn't die so easily."

Xu Qiu had never experienced the protective love of his elders since childhood. Xu Shanhai's kindness in raising him was limited to providing him with some financial assistance from afar. Therefore, when he first felt Gu Hanying's awkward concern, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Thank you, father-in-law."

"Cough cough cough..." Gu Hanying choked on his form of address. "You can only call me that tomorrow. It's too early. You little brat, if one day I find out that you're not good to Ayu, I don't care what rank you are. I'll be the first to draw my sword and chop you down."

Xu Qiu knew he was telling the truth, but he wasn't angry. "Don't worry, father-in-law, that day will never come."

"You're really pushing your luck! Get out of here! You can go see A-Yu, but you're getting married tomorrow, so don't you dare do anything reckless..."

Xu Qiu looked at the door that had been slammed shut in front of him, touched his nose and smiled bitterly. How could his image in his father-in-law's heart be so bad?

The people he wants to befriend can never find fault with him, so where exactly did things go wrong?

Xu Qiu stepped into Gu Yu's courtyard for the second time, but she was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, seemingly waiting for him.

Gu Yu looked at him with a smile, "What's wrong? Lord Xu doesn't look too good."

Qiuju looked at the young lady, then at her future son-in-law, and felt that the two seemed to be becoming more and more alike, especially when they smiled.

Xu Qiu glanced at Qiu Ju, and Gu Yu then told Qiu Ju to leave first. "What is it that can't be known by others?" This time, she was genuinely curious.

Xu Qiu briefly told her about the situation in Shaanxi and the things Gu Hanying had given him.

Gu Yu's expression was puzzling. "Shaanxi Plain?"

"I know what you're thinking, and I know who your enemies are, but you have to give me some time to climb the ranks. You can't expect me to be a sixth-rank official and have to fight against Grand Secretary Sun, can you?"

Xu Qiu rested his chin on his hand, his eyebrows and eyes filled with the warm heat of late summer.

Gu Yu sighed. She knew this person was very flexible and didn't seem to value self-respect.

But she still retorted, "Xu Qiu, you are my peer, we share the same interests, I have never regarded you as inferior to me, and you don't need to praise me so highly."

"I've never treated you like a dog that I can summon and dismiss at will—"

So there's no need to belittle yourself like that. I know you have things you want to do, and I won't blame you or hinder you. Just tell me clearly, like you did this time.

She whispered impatiently in his ear, "You know my secret. I'm not of noble birth, and I have no right to stand on high and boss you around. I chose you, and you chose me. We're the same."

She was so close to him that he could see the fine downy hairs on her cheeks and the warm, beating heart beneath her skin.

Her words were so moving that, as if possessed, he pressed his lips against hers and bit her.

Gu Yu covered her bitten lip, watching the person flee in panic, and laughed in anger.

She wanted to take back what she had just said; this man was a dog, and a ungrateful, wicked dog at that.

Despite her anger, she still had to get up before dawn the next day to dress up, put on her phoenix coronet and wedding robes, and then marry him.

Damn it, what on earth is Xu Qiu doing? Why did he suddenly bite her?

Her words were so grand and beautiful that she thought he would be moved to tears and would give his life for her.

And then I'll wholeheartedly become her weapon.

While getting ready, the observant Qiuju noticed the wound on Gu Yu's lip. "Miss, what happened to you?"

"I was bitten by a dog yesterday." She said angrily, but then comforted herself afterward.

The dog bit her, she couldn't very well bite back, could she? If she did, wouldn't that just benefit the dog?

Qiuju remembered that it was Lord Xu who had come yesterday, and suddenly realized what was going on. She then whispered in Chunyue's ear, and Chunyue's eyes widened, her cheeks flushed red, and she didn't dare to ask a single question.

After all, he's now a son-in-law, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Hehe, the young lady and her son-in-law have such a good relationship.

Gu Yu wore a heavy phoenix crown on her head, and then a red veil covered her head. Everything in front of her was shrouded in red, and she could only look down at the road in front of her.

Is this what marriage is like? It was her first marriage in two lifetimes, and she felt exhausted. She was also a little sad to leave the small courtyard where she had lived for more than half a year.

As promised, Gu Jin put aside all worldly affairs on her wedding day and waited for her at the gate of the courtyard early in the morning, waiting to escort her to the mansion gate and then to the bridal sedan chair that came to fetch her.

She couldn't see the scene in front of her, but she could hear Gu Hanying's words, which were heavily nasal, indicating that her father hadn't slept well all night.

Unlike usual, Gu Jin kept nagging that if she was unhappy after marrying into the family, she should go home.

“Ayu knows. Take good care of yourselves. My brother is still in Shengjing, so I can see him often. Father is going back to the north, and I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.”

Gu Hanying was a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He usually looked fierce from a distance, but now his eyes were red.

He truly couldn't bear to part with his daughter.

If it weren't for that kid Xu Qiu, he would have taken everyone to the north. Shengjing would have been left to A Jin to guard.

Damn it, how did that guy suddenly fall in love with his daughter? But he feels indebted to her, and he wants to fulfill whatever she asks for.

His daughter...

Xu Qiu wore a black gauze hat, a bright red round-necked brocade robe with the right-fastening closure, a leather belt inlaid with cat's-eye stones around his waist, black boots, and a large red silk flower hanging on his chest. He rode on a tall horse, with a wedding procession of gongs and drums behind him.

His current attire is remarkably similar to that of when he rode through the streets after winning the imperial examination. Those who have seen him are often momentarily stunned, and after the moment of daze, they can't help but sigh at how lucky he is.

Although his family background was somewhat tragic, his later life was incredibly smooth. Not only did he achieve top honors in the imperial examinations, but he also became the number one scholar. Not only did he marry a noblewoman, but she was the only daughter of the Duke of Yingguo, a woman of great wealth and status, whose dowry could fill an entire street.

There are such stories in storybooks, but those are just the daydreams of poor scholars. Now, however, there are real people like that in the world.

The more I think about it, the more my teeth ache. Seeing his smug smile makes me so angry I could grind my teeth.

When scholars and officials got married, they could choose to wear their official robes or, like ordinary people, wear the groom's robes, which were red and festive, and then happily marry their beloved girls.

After Xu Qiu learned that Gu Yu's wedding dress was a bright red xiapei (a type of traditional Chinese wedding gown), he insisted on finding a tailor shop to make a bright red groom's robe, so that they would be the most well-matched couple.

His official robe is now that of a sixth-rank official, indigo blue, which wouldn't look very good on him for his wedding.

"You brat..." Gu Hanying glared at Xu Qiu with a burning hatred in his eyes, "If you dare to betray my daughter, I mean what I say."

Xu Qiu knew he was referring to the matter of drawing his sword and killing him.

He shook his head hastily, "Father-in-law, rest assured, I would never do such a thing."

Gu Jin looked at him coldly, "I will be back to my parents' home in three days. My father will not be here, but I will be."

"Don't worry, brother, I will come back with her."

Gu Jin's expression darkened further when he heard him shamelessly call him "brother".

Chun Yue reminded her, "If we don't leave now, we'll miss the auspicious time..."

Seeing that Gu Yu's father and brothers were standing guard by the door, not wanting her to leave, she sighed and patted their hands.

"Father and brother, don't worry, I will take good care of myself and won't let anyone bully me."

Besides, after they pay respects to their parents, these two will go to Xu Qiu's place, so it's not like they won't see each other again.

After saying a lot more, Gu Yu finally got into the bridal sedan chair, with the deafening sound of gongs and drums filling the air.

Thankfully, we only need to get married once; it's too much suffering.

Xu Qiu brought the person to his residence. Since he had no parents, Gu Hanying was the one sitting on the throne. When the time came, the two were to formally bow and get married.

People from the palace have arrived.

Xu Shanhai was Emperor Shengyuan's personal eunuch and also the chief eunuch in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial, so naturally he couldn't leave the palace whenever he wanted.

So when Emperor Shengyuan sent someone to deliver congratulatory gifts, he instructed the eunuch delivering the gifts to also bring his own gifts.

Xu Qiu had Xu Shanhai's gift placed in another empty seat.

Gu Hanying glanced at him but didn't speak, which was considered an admission that Xu Shanhai, the eunuch, was allowed to sit in the main seat with Xu Qiu at this moment as Xu Qiu's adoptive father.

"First bow to Heaven and Earth."

The two bowed to the heavens and earth outside. The sky was clear and blue, and the earth was vast and boundless. It was a rare good day after the continuous autumn rain in recent days.

Just as the fortune teller had predicted, it was indeed an auspicious day for both travel and marriage.

Xu Qiu thought to himself that when he lay helplessly on the land under the darkness, he never imagined he would end up like this.

But life is unpredictable; he met her, and that's why he's standing here.

"Bowing to the parents twice."

Xu Qiu bowed sincerely to Gu Hanying, who was seated at the head of the table. Although he did not receive a pleasant response, he was not annoyed and even smiled more happily.

"Husband and wife bow to each other."

Xu Qiu had no idea what expression she would have under the red veil.

He only knew that he was joyful, even more so than when he had won the top scholar title, because it was something he had been planning to obtain for a long time.

But Gu Yu is different; she is unpredictable, and he can only stand by her side if he gets her nod of approval.

Fortunately, fortunately, the God who had never favored him finally showed him mercy.

It was also because she was willing to look down at him...

He doesn't ask for much; this is good enough for him. He's easily satisfied.