Chapter 51 Our toasting ceremony today hasn't even begun...

Ning Yiwen blinked, a mysterious smile on his face, neither confirming nor denying.

He simply raised his hand and took Ning Yao's hand, which was on her hip, and tilted his head to look at her, "Shall we continue walking?"

Ning Yao glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and, curious about his plans, didn't object and followed him as they continued towards their destination on the street.

To her surprise, after walking for a long time, and almost reaching the place to register for marriage, no child came to deliver flowers. Ning Yao was puzzled, feeling that there should be more, but they never arrived.

Feeling a little anxious, she couldn't help but secretly glance at Ning Yiwen.

He stared straight ahead, seemingly unaware of her doubts; his handsome profile now appeared somewhat repulsive.

Ning Yao wrinkled her nose as she thought.

As the two walked on, the place to register their marriage was just around the corner, but Ning Yao was led into a small house around the corner.

She was startled, and her hand, clasped with Ning Yiwen's, tightened involuntarily. "Brother Ning?"

Ning Yiwen didn't even turn his head; he simply led her into the house.

Ning Yao looked around, ignoring Ning Yiwen who had his back to her. The tips of his ears, which were already starting to turn red, betrayed his feigned composure.

The two entered a two-story building. There were many tables and chairs on the ground floor, nothing special.

Ning Yiwen took her hand and led her straight up to the second floor.

The wooden stairs creaked, and Ning Yao's heart began to pound faster.

She had a hazy, dreamlike feeling, as if she could sense the scene that was about to unfold.

The second floor soon came into view. The walls of the small second floor were covered with red silk, and the surrounding area was empty, with only a table in the center.

There was a tray on the table, and the center of the tray was also red, but it was not clearly visible at the moment.

But she had already noticed a red concentric knot flower next to the tray.

"Ning Yao..." Ning Yiwen led her to the table, only to find his voice was terribly hoarse when he spoke. He paused for a moment.

Ning Yao took this opportunity to see clearly what was on the tray: a red book and two red origami cranes.

Ning Yao bit her lower lip, roughly understanding what Ning Ge was about to do. She felt both happy and shy.

She didn't dare look at him anymore.

Unexpectedly, Ning Yiwen cupped her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to turn her gaze away. She could only look at his chest, her eyes looking upwards with a hint of embarrassment.

Ning Yiwen chuckled softly, his arms around her waist, his gaze fixed intently on her. "Ning Yao, the wedding was rushed, and I couldn't prepare a grand ceremony for you, inviting all our relatives and friends to witness it. That's my fault. But I still hope that before we register our marriage, I can formally propose to you and prepare a marriage certificate."

"We met when we were young and have been relying on each other for nearly ten years. Along the way, there have been joys and sorrows, but our hearts have always remained the same."

As he spoke, he paused, picked up the red book that was upside down on the tray, and on the front were four large characters written in gold ink: "A Hundred Years of Harmony". He held the marriage certificate with both hands and handed it to Ning Yao.

"I hope that one day we can walk together, day and night, until the dawn!"

Ning Yao raised her hand, trembling slightly, and took the marriage certificate, her throat tightening with emotion.

"Brother Ning..."

Ning Yiwen smiled and stroked her eye with his thumb, "It's such a joyous day, you're not allowed to cry."

Upon hearing this, Ning Yao blinked hard, trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

Then, they opened the marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate was printed on red paper with black ink.

"A vow is made in this hall, a marriage forever bound. Behold the peach blossoms in full bloom today, a perfect match for this home. May your family prosper and flourish in the years to come. With this vow of lifelong commitment, we write this on fine paper, to record our pledge of love in the marriage register. This is our testament."

The marriage certificate lists the names of the two people, and Ning Yiwen has already signed his name.

Seeing this, Ning Yao looked up, no longer intending to be reserved, and asked Ning Yiwen directly, "Brother Ning, pen..."

Unexpectedly, Ning Yiwen's eyes were burning, and his ears and neck were also red. It turned out that he was just as nervous as he was.

Suddenly, all the turmoil in my heart vanished. Only the certainty of mutual affection remained.

Ning Yiwen took out a prepared calligraphy brush from the side, and Ning Yao took it and carefully wrote her name on it.

Then, looking at Ning Yiwen, she held his hands and said, word by word, "I wish to find one heart to share with you, and stay together until our hair turns white."

The marriage certificate and paper cranes were placed neatly on the tray, silently witnessing the couple's vow to grow old together.

What followed was a natural progression.

The two successfully completed their marriage registration and became a real couple.

When they came out of the registration area, Ning Yiwen was all smiles, looking smug and holding Ning Yao's hand tightly.

Ning Yao had no doubt that if it weren't for his usual reserved nature, he would have been able to grab every passerby and ask him to give them his wedding blessings.

When she returned to the courtyard, she discovered that while the two of them were out, Uncle Zhao had already hung red lanterns at the entrance of the courtyard, and even tied red ribbons to the brass rings on the gate.

Upon entering, you can see that the small courtyard has also been decorated.

An extra large table was set up in the center of the courtyard, covered with plates of food.

"This is almost comparable to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast..." Ning Yao exclaimed, covering her mouth.

Chicken, duck, fish—everything was available, even shrimp, which is rarely seen on ordinary days. Not to mention all kinds of vegetables. There were at least twenty different dishes.

This was the first time in her life she had ever eaten such a sumptuous meal.

"Uncle Zhao, did you prepare all of this? You've gone to so much trouble."

Zhao Bo chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "How could that be? Brother Wen gave me a lot of money, and I bought it from a restaurant outside."

He followed the menu Ning Yiwen gave him, but it took him visiting several restaurants to order the dishes and have them delivered in the morning.

Ning Yao then turned to look at Ning Yiwen, "Brother Ning, you're so thoughtful."

Ning Yiwen smiled faintly and said, "If my wife likes it, that's good."

Ning Yao's face immediately turned red again.

She gave him a nonchalant glare before walking to the table and saying to Uncle Zhao, "Uncle Zhao, there are so many dishes, surely we can't finish them all?"

Uncle Zhao nodded and glanced at Ning Yiwen, "Yes, Brother Wen said he would invite a few people over."

As he spoke, a knock sounded at the door.

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the gate. She thought she would see the Jianghe Literary Society members, but she didn't expect to see her friend from her school days, Bu Shuli.

She had also cut her long hair short, and her short hair was styled into big waves. She wore a light blue cheongsam and had a delicate face.

Ning Yao's eyes immediately welled up with tears. She ran to Bu Shuli as fast as she could and looked at her mature appearance. Her voice choked with emotion as she said, "Shuli, it's been a long time."

Bu Shuli's eyes also moistened slightly. "Yeah, it's been a long time. You're really something else. You came back and didn't even look for me. You didn't even tell me about such a big happy occasion as your wedding."

Ning Yao shook her hand, "I'm sorry, I just..." She didn't dare to before, but later, she had long since gotten used to being alone.

This time when she came back, even the wedding was so rushed. She didn't expect that Brother Ning would prepare so much, so naturally she forgot to invite her old friends.

Bu Shuli lightly tapped her nose and said, "I'll let it go this time, but you mustn't do it again next time."

As he spoke, he stepped into the courtyard and handed her the things he was carrying. “There are three gifts in here. The other two were given to me by Hongye and Xiaoyu when they left Shanghai. They said they would give them to you when you got married. I thought I would never have the chance to give them to you, and I was planning to accept them against my conscience.”

Ning Yao took the things from her hands, and casually put her arm around her, saying jokingly, "That won't do, what's mine is mine."

As soon as Bu Shuli sat down, there was another knock on the door.

This time, it was Yan Sibai and his sister who came.

Ning Yao was overjoyed.

She quickly went to greet them, "What brings you here?"

Since Sun He'an confessed his feelings to her two years ago and was rejected, she has had very little contact with these people.

Yan Sibai glared at her: "You haven't been in touch for two years, and you haven't contacted me at all. If your brother Ning hadn't contacted me, I wouldn't have known you were back in Shanghai!"

Her words struck a chord with Bu Shuli.

The two immediately launched into a tirade against Ning Yao, each offering their own words.

Ning Yao was rendered speechless by the two men's words.

On the other side, Yan Sirui handed the gift he was carrying to Ning Yiwen and said, "Wishing you a happy marriage and a harmonious union."

Ning Yiwen: "Thank you."

Then came the three from Jianghe Literature Society. Zhao Yishi had a smile on his face, as if the previous grand scene had never happened. He even brought gifts for Ning Yiwen and Ning Yao.

The eight people sat down around the table in the courtyard.

"Come on, eat something."

"Let's all start eating."

But Zhao Yishi stood up, raised his wine glass, and said, "Today is Yiwen and Ningyao's big day. Let's wish them a happy marriage and a long and happy life together, shall we?"

“That’s right, that’s right, we have to have this one.” Yan Sibai also stood up and raised his glass.

Everyone stood up and raised their glasses in celebration to Ning Yiwen and his companion.

Ning Yao smiled and thanked her.

Ning Yiwen, standing beside her, was even happier, her smile never stopping. "Thank you everyone," she said, raising her glass and then downing it in one gulp.

Seeing this, Ning Yao couldn't help but speak up: "Hey, why are you drinking so fast..."

Upon hearing this, Bu Shuli covered her mouth and laughed, teasingly saying, "Sure enough, getting married makes a difference; you know how to manage people now."

A burst of laughter erupted.

Ning Yiwen was also happy, poured another glass, and said, "Then I'll take my time." As he spoke, he took a small sip, his gaze fixed on Ning Yao.

Ning Yao: "..."

Everyone else couldn't help but chuckle when they saw this.

What followed was a very casual meal, chat, and drinks.

The meal was enjoyed by both host and guests. After the meal, Bu Shuli stayed behind and talked with Ning Yao for a long time.

By the time everyone left, the sun was already setting.

Ning Yiwen had already drunk quite a bit, his eyes were surprisingly bright, and his cheeks were slightly flushed. Ning Yao couldn't help but ask, "Are you drunk?"

Ning Yiwen shook his head.

He thought for a moment, then took two more glasses, poured some wine into them, and handed them to Ning Yao.

Ning Yao thought he was drunk and hadn't had enough, but she still took the glass and softly advised, "The last glass? Shall we drink it ourselves?"

Ning Yiwen's eyes were full of tenderness, and his smiling gaze met hers. "We haven't drunk our nuptial wine yet."

In that instant, all other sounds faded away, and she could only hear the pounding of her own heart.

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Author's Note: The marriage certificate content came from xhs (a Chinese online forum), but I'm not very knowledgeable, so I just copied it all. I don't plan to write about scholars in my next book; it's too difficult.