Chapter 1078 Token of Love
"One comb cuts off the past, and the second comb opens a new path..."
Jiang Xue's voice was mixed with the rustling sound of comb teeth cutting through hair. She suddenly remembered that twenty years ago, when she was tying the hair for the seriously injured Fu Dong, the blood-stained silver comb could not untie the tangled black hair.
At this moment, the black hair wrapped around the fingertips is as smooth as a flowing spring, with the fragrance of freshly brewed osmanthus hair oil.
In the bronze mirror, she saw tears in the corners of her eyes, so she turned around while adjusting her phoenix crown.
The peony petals made of golden threads brushed past Fudong's ears, just like the golden fragments of victory news falling from the city walls brushing against their clasped hands when they returned triumphantly that year.
The tassels hanging from the golden phoenix crown swayed gently in front of Fudong's forehead. She was about to stand up, holding on to the back of the gilded chair, when she suddenly felt the hem of her skirt caught by the tip of her shoe.
Jiang Xue reached out and held her arm, her fingertips touching the concave and convex lotus pattern on the wedding dress: "This dress makes you look like a colorful phoenix."
Fu Dong suddenly knelt down, and the hem of her crimson skirt spread out like peony folds on the blue bricks.
As Jiang Xue was stunned, the jade bracelet on her wrist knocked against the huanghuali table, making a crisp sound.
The maids hurried to help her, but they saw Fu Dong resting his forehead on the back of his folded hands: "When you dug me out of the mass grave that snowy night, did you ever think that this broken body could still wear a wedding dress?"
"If you don't get up, I will order people to cover the wedding sedan with walnuts."
Jiang Xue's fingertips lightly touched the golden hairpin in Dong Dong's hair, and the butterfly wings trembled in the candlelight: "Remember, after today you will be the young lady of the Jiang family, and you don't have to abide by the old rules."
The tears soaked in the brocade handkerchief soaked the phoenix on Jiang Xue's shoulders. Nanny Wuquan held the makeup box and sighed: "I will go get pearl powder to touch up my makeup, but the wedding procession has already passed Zhuque Street..."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of a gong pierced through the vermilion door wall, and the sound of firecrackers made the copper bells on the eaves tinkle.
Xiao Zhan gathered Jiang Xue's slightly cold fingertips into his sleeves and watched the bridal sedan gradually moving away amidst the red confetti.
"Do you remember last year's Lantern Festival? You insisted that the rabbit lanterns made by Fudong were better looking than the ones in the palace, and you got so angry that the Shanggong Bureau remade twenty of them overnight."
The dragon and phoenix candles in the bridal chamber burst into flames, and Jiang Xiaoan's hand holding the jade scale was suspended in mid-air.
The pair of embroidered shoes stained with lip balm under the veil suddenly took a half step back, and the longans scattered on the wedding bed were crushed with a sound.
"If you retreat any further, you will fall into the wedding wine."
He smiled and lifted the veil, and saw the unwiped rouge marks behind Fudong's ears: "The rouge in the princess's mansion is really different. She cried so hard but her makeup didn't get stained."
Fu Dong looked at the man with a smile in the candlelight, and suddenly remembered Jiang Xue's whisper in the plum forest that day:
"The Jiang family boy is so handsome. You should be careful when you get up in the morning and put on your makeup. Don't let the bronze mirror dazzle your eyes."
The red candles dyed the gilded screen a warm color. Jiang Xiaoan stroked the silver cups with twined twigs with his fingertips and pushed one of them to the opposite side of the table.
Fu Dong lowered his eyes to look at the flickering candlelight in the wine, suddenly reached out and crossed his wrists with his, then raised his head and drank all the amber light.
Amid the gentle sound of the brocade rubbing against each other, the two of them sank side by side into the jujube-grown cassia seeds scattered across the tent.
The noise of the banquet outside the window made the room even quieter; even the crackling of the candle wicks could be heard clearly.
Jiang Xiaoan twisted the golden thread on his sleeves and caught a glimpse of the phoenix flapping its wings on Fu Dong's wedding dress: "You today..."
His Adam's apple rolled twice: "Like a fairy sneaking out of the Moon Palace."
"The fairy just saw the monkey stealing the peaches."
Fu Dong poked the jade belt hook on his waist with his fingertips and immediately laughed at himself.
The laughter fell into the frozen air. She stared blankly at the dancing flames of the Dragon and Phoenix Candle: "You are the first person to say that to me."
The sound of the copper ring knocking on the door startled the unfinished words.
The attendant passed on the message through the carved door: "Master, the generals in the front hall put down their wine bowls and said they wanted to come and make trouble for the bride to ask for good luck."
Jiang Xiaoan stood up suddenly, and his steps made a clear sound: "I'm going to get those rough guys drunk now."
He turned back before leaving and took out a sweet-scented osmanthus cake wrapped in oil paper from his sleeve: "I just had breakfast at 3:30 pm, don't wait hungry."
Fu Dong held the snack which still had body temperature in his hand, listened to the sound of soapy boots going away in the corridor, and suddenly found that the whole room was filled with his usual agarwood fragrance.
Red silk fell from the beams like a waterfall, reflecting the crooked wedding character pasted on the window frame.
Fu Dong's fingertips brushed across the newly carved lotus on the nanmu suitcase - this was an old item where Jiang Xiaoan stored military books when he was a teenager.
She leaned against the bedpost piled with quilts of Albizzia julibrissin, counting the gradually fading sounds of the night watch. The pomegranate seeds on the quilt poked at her palms, and she was suddenly immersed in the dark sweet fragrance of Albizzia julibrissin that filled the room.
When Jiang Xiaoan, still a little drunk, drew aside the beaded curtain, he saw the tassels of the phoenix crown hanging on the brocade pillow.
He flicked his finger at the phoenix holding a pearl that was trembling in Fu Dong's hair, but unexpectedly the sleeping bride suddenly turned over and pressed her elbow heavily on his ribs.
"Fudong!"
He gasped in pain: "You are trying to murder your husband!"
Before he finished speaking, a cold silver hairpin was placed around his neck.
The confused woman's pupils suddenly shrank. When she saw the red face beneath her, the tip of her hairpin fell on the footstool with a clang: "I... I thought it was another bandit attack at night."
Fu Dong's fingertips suddenly lost force, and the copper candlestick fell to the ground with a clang.
She stroked the calloused skin on her palm and sighed, "The defensive instinct I've developed over the years has hurt you."
The sharp eyebrows and eyes that had faded away appeared particularly clear in the candlelight: "Jiang Xiaoan, does it hurt?"
"It's okay." The man moved his numb arms, and the muscle lines were faintly visible under the black suit.
He suddenly took a half step forward, his amber pupils reflecting the flickering candlelight: "This name sounds harsh, what should I call you now?"
The red silk curtain swayed gently in the night wind. Fu Dong looked at the cloud pattern embroidered with gold thread on the temples of the person in front of her, and suddenly felt her throat tightened: "Husband?"
“Vague.”
Jiang Xiaoan flicked the gold foil from her hair and said, "All women in the world call their husbands 'husbands'. It sounds like they are calling Zhang San or Li Si."
The Luan pendant on her waist jingled as she moved: "Call me by my name, Xianzhi."
"String it." Fudong followed suit.
"Call again."
"String."
The red candles burst into flames, casting overlapping shadows on the red gauze window.
Jiang Xiaoan looked at the rare obedient appearance of the person in front of him, and couldn't help but smile.
The girl who always loved to fight with him with swords in the past, now sat in the brocade tent with a phoenix crown and a red bridal robe, looking somewhat gentle.
"Are you happy to be called like this?"
"nature."
“But I think it’s a bit awkward.”
Fu Dong suddenly raised his eyes, and his fingertips passed over the wedding wine cup on the table: "Jiang Xiaoan, stretch out your hand."
"Are you going to use family rules?" He jokingly said, but his palms were already open.
He knew Fu Dong's character too well and he would never fight over such a small matter on their wedding night.
A cold touch suddenly fell into the palm of my hand.
Jiang Xiaoan looked at it carefully. The bronze heart-protecting mirror was glowing coldly. The back was engraved with a lotus pattern. The mirror reflected the slightly red tip of Fu Dong's ear. "You once gave me the Yanling Knife. Today I will give you a token of love."
"This copper armor piece may look ordinary, but it has protected me from two heart injuries from wolf-tooth arrows."
Fu Dong pushed the breast mirror across the table, the bronze pattern glowing dark red under the candlelight: "The life-saving item on the battlefield is more valuable than a marriage certificate."
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