On the other side, Haoyue Country, Qingxi Town
Time passed slowly and quietly in the small town. Shen Xu's injuries had almost healed. As usual, she lit the small incense burner after dinner, spread out the book and began to copy quietly.
Song Lin had a day off today, so he and Aunt Zhang went to the market early in the morning to pick out items for the wedding.
After a while, the sky became gloomy and it started to rain.
Shen Xu hurriedly put away his clothes and was about to go out with an umbrella to look for it when Song Lin hurried back with something.
"The weather was fine just now, but I didn't expect it to rain so heavily all of a sudden." Song Lin smiled when he saw her holding an umbrella.
He took out a bright red wedding dress from his arms, handed it to Shen Xu, and said excitedly: "Xiu Xiu, go try on the wedding dress to see if it fits you."
Shen Xu looked at the brightly colored wedding dress in amazement. The auspicious dragon and phoenix on it were embroidered densely with gold and silver threads, and it was obvious that it was of great value.
"Ah, didn't I just tell you to buy some red string and red paper? Why did you buy a wedding dress? That must be very expensive."
"It's not expensive." Song Lin gently pushed her into the room and said expectantly, "Xiu Xiu, go put it on and show it to your husband."
"No, no, you can't wear wedding clothes until you get married." Shen Xu compared it to himself, "It should fit. Put it away first."
Song Lin didn't insist any further. He took out a pair of earrings from his pocket and put them in Shen Xu's hand. "Then wait until the 16th of this month. Your husband will be on leave. Let's call some relatives and friends, get married in the hall, and have a great time."
"Okay, what is this?" Shen Xu nodded and looked down at the earrings. They were made of thin silver needle-like fir leaves with a string of red agate gems, like the drooping branches of a yew tree.
"I heard from the boss that these are acacia beans from the southern border of Yanyang Country. The red color has a good meaning, so I bought them. Let me help you put them on." Song Lin picked up an earring, moved closer and gently put it on her ear.
Chen Xu looked up at his serious expression and replied with a smile, "Then you must have been deceived by the boss. This is clearly the yew tree from the North Sea Kingdom. Although the acacia bean is also red, it is poisonous and has no leaves. It doesn't look like this."
Song Lin put the earrings on her and said, "Aren't they all red beans? Anyway, this is my love for you. It's not poisonous."
"Okay, whatever you say is what it is. You are overbearing and unreasonable anyway." She turned her head and changed the subject: "Does it look good?"
"It's beautiful. Xiuxiu looks good in anything she wears." Song Lin admired the beautiful face in front of him with satisfaction, and bent down to kiss her cheek.
"Alright, alright, I'm going to write the marriage certificate, please don't bother me." Shen Xu raised his hand and touched the yew earrings, smiling faintly, "Where's the seal knife I want?"
"I won't forget." Song Lin took out a set of seal knives and handed them to her.
Shen Xu sat down at the table, spread out the red paper, picked up the pen and started writing.
Song Lin sat aside and watched her sit up straight, lowering her eyes and writing carefully on the red paper. The red bean shirt earrings hung on the side of her face, adding a touch of bright color to her beautiful cheeks.
Outside the window, the sound of raindrops dripped softly, glistening raindrops hung from the eaves, and a damp, cool breeze blew into the sweet courtyard. Through the window, neat regular script fell on the red paper, stroke by stroke, depicting love and the future.
"It's done." Shen Xu solemnly put the pen into his hand, spread out the red paper in front of him, and said with a smile: "Sign your name."
Song Lin picked up the pen and wrote his name in the space between the neat regular script characters, then handed the pen to Shen Xu.
Shen Xu hesitated for a moment before picking up the pen. Instead of writing his name, he dipped his finger in ink and pressed a fingerprint on the paper.
Song Lin understood and dipped his finger in ink, then pressed his fingerprint on the paper. "Once I find your family, I'll add your name and your fingerprint as proof. From now on, you will be my, Song Lin's, legal wife."
She let the marriage certificate hang for a while, folded it up and handed it to Song Lin, "Tomorrow when you go to the government office to work, give it to the county magistrate to stamp it."
"Yes." Song Lin carefully put away the red paper. "Miss, please give me your guidance for the rest of my life."
"Constable Song Lin, it's the same as before."
…
Ever since Aunt Zhang learned that the two of them had worked together to wipe out the bandits in Xiangyashan, she had become much more polite to Shen Xu. Knowing that she had been copying books, she would occasionally ask her to write a couplet or read a letter.
“Miss Shen, the pancakes are freshly baked, eat them while they’re hot.”
Shen Xu raised his eyes and smiled slightly, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang. Please put it on the table."
Aunt Zhang put down the pancake, tilted her head and watched her writing and drawing on the paper. She asked curiously, "Miss Shen, what are you drawing? Why are the shapes so strange? What are these circles?"
Shen Xu smiled lightly and said nothing, carefully drawing on the paper stroke by stroke.
Aunt Zhang looked at it for a long time but still couldn't understand what it was, so she had to go about her own business.
At noon, seeing that Shen Xu was still drawing in the room, Aunt Zhang cleaned up the room. Seeing that she hadn't eaten the pancakes, she took them out and heated them up for her. She also reminded her, "Miss Shen, you should also pay attention to rest and don't damage your eyes."
"Yeah." Shen Xu continued drawing without raising his head. He had already drawn more than a dozen patterns on the table.
She spread the drawing on the table, thought for a moment, then picked up the carving knife and carefully carved pieces of red wax.
It was already evening when Song Lin got off duty. Aunt Zhang was cooking dinner in the kitchen. She was shocked to see blood on his clothes.
"Master Song, what happened to you? Are you injured again?"
Song Lin patted the blood stains on his sleeves and said, "It's okay. There was a murder on the official road, and they were carrying the body."
"Hey, come in quickly and wash up to get rid of the bad luck. You are about to get married, why are you still moving a corpse?" Aunt Zhang called him into the house quickly.
"Where's Xiuxiu?"
"He's playing in the mud in the backyard. He's been so busy that he's forgotten to eat or sleep. He didn't even have the lunch biscuits."
"Then let's prepare dinner first."
Song Lin frowned slightly and walked to the backyard, only to see Shen Xu squatting on the ground with her sleeves rolled up to her upper arms. She put her hands in the mud, fiddling with a ball of black mud.
"Xiu Xiu, what are you doing?" Song Lin frowned slightly, seeing that her fair arms were stained with mud, and her hands were even more covered with mud. He scolded her lovingly, "You are so grown up, how can you be so playful that you don't even eat."
"Well, it will be done soon." She took the mud ball out of the mud and set it aside to dry.
Song Lin scooped a bucket of water and washed her hands. "You're like a little cat. Go change your clothes and have dinner."
"Okay." She lowered her sleeves and noticed that Song Lin's sleeves were stained with blood. She asked worriedly, "Are you hurt?"
Song Lin looked at her worried expression, and his heart warmed. He replied, "No, there was a murder on the official road today. Many people died, and only a child survived. I took him to the clinic, and his clothes got dirty."
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