The long red dress with golden-bordered wide sleeves, paired with a matching color waistband, also comes with a beaded crown and a rainbow shawl, Golden Bridal Veil... and a pair of red upturned shoes.
The dress is decorated with embroidery and pearl embellishments, with flowers, plants, phoenixes, and birds exquisitely and orderly stitched in gold thread between them. In Ge Tailor Shop next door, there are also ready-made wedding dresses, but they are nowhere near as meticulous and thorough.
"Such beautiful embroidery," Yin Zheng admired, "I haven’t even seen such designs at Ge Tailor Shop." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Qingfeng nodded in agreement, "The design of the wedding dress was personally drawn by Lord Pei."
Lu Tong was surprised in her heart.
Pei Yunmeng was skilled at Danqing, she had known that before. But she didn’t expect that he had also designed the wedding dress pattern. He was regularly serving in the Palace Front Office and sometimes dealing with official documents at night, yet he somehow found the time to draw such a pattern. Lu Tong felt somewhat embarrassed.
Ah Cheng, eager to please, said, "Lord Pei draws so well! With this skill, even if he no longer works at the Palace Front Office, he could still support himself."
Only to be secretly pinched by Miao Liangfang.
Once the wedding dress was delivered, Qingfeng left to report back. At night, when Renxin Medical Hall’s main gate closed, Miao Liangfang and Du Changqing each returned to their homes. Yin Zheng took the wedding dress out of the paulownia box, asking Lu Tong to try it on to see if it fit.
When Lu Tong changed into the dress and came out from behind the partition, Yin Zheng’s eyes lit up.
The woman in a sheer robe patterned with entwined peonies and golden-bordered wide sleeves looked radiant under the lamplight; her plain features were glowing like flowers. She usually wore plain clothes, but today, dressed so brilliantly, even without makeup and with her long hair hanging down, she looked entirely different from usual.
Yin Zheng, in awe, pushed Lu Tong in front of a bronze mirror.
Lu Tong looked at the woman in the mirror, the woman in the red dress with wide sleeves looking back at herself, her gaze in the eyes calm and tender, like a stranger.
She hesitated a little, then turned and asked Yin Zheng, "Does it look good?"
"It looks beautiful!" Yin Zheng’s eyes smiled, she walked around Lu Tong and nodded, "The size is just right, no need for alterations, miss. On your wedding day, once you wear the three pieces of gold and the hair crown, and have your hair up in a bun, you’ll surely look as beautiful as a fairy descending from the heavens!"
Her praise was extravagant, and Lu Tong blushed, allowing Yin Zheng to help her sit down beside the bed.
"Miss will be going to Pei Mansion soon." Yin Zheng, tracing the embroidery on Lu Tong’s sleeve with her fingertips, spoke with a hint of sentimentality, "Time flies so fast."
Even though Lu Tong would still be working at Renxin Medical Hall after getting married, and would see each other daily, there was nonetheless a feeling of reluctance in Yin Zheng’s heart.
Ever since their encounter at Luomei Peak, she had supported Lu Tong all the way to Shengjing, watching her rise from having nothing to taking her revenge, and also witnessing Lu Tong gradually come to own an ordinary life on West Street. While Yin Zheng was happy for Lu Tong for finding a good husband, her emotions were quite complex at the thought of her getting married.
It was probably like watching a younger sister you’ve raised preparing to leave home. Even though you know she’s clever and decisive, and others would have difficulty making her suffer, you can’t help but worry.
"Yin Zheng," Lu Tong looked at her, "after I get married, you should move to Pei Mansion as well."
Yin Zheng was taken aback and reflexively waved her hands: "How can that be possible?"
"I’ve spoken to Pei Yun about it. It’s not safe for you to live at the medical hall alone every day. Since I’ll still be working at West Street, after you move in, we can go to and fro together daily."
Yin Zheng shook her head: "How can I be accompanying you after you get married..."
"What need is there to distinguish between you and me?" Lu Tong smiled, "If someday you have someone you fancy and want to move out, then it won’t be late to leave."
At the mention of "someone you fancy," Yin Zheng’s gaze shifted slightly.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Tong asked, "What about you? Do you still plan to keep things as they were with Shopkeeper Du?"
After returning to Renxin Medical Hall from Su Nan, Lu Tong found that everything seemed unchanged.
It was as if the days continued as before, with Du Changqing still playing the landlord with a tough exterior and a soft heart, Yin Zheng helping Miao Liang with the herbs, and their relationship seemed normal as if nothing had ever happened. Only occasionally, Du Changqing seemed a bit awkward during jokes.
Yin Zheng began to laugh.
This laugh was different from her previous bitterness whenever the topic came up, but rather seemed lighter.
"Miss, I used to think one shouldn’t focus only on the present without considering the future. When I was younger, staying at Su Nan Tower and seeing nobles and the wealthy, it was all the same to me. Originally, I had no interest in such things."
"However, now that I’ve seen you, my thoughts have begun to change."
Lu Tong: "Me?"
Yin Zheng nodded.
"Before, I thought you were like me, burdened with concerns, hence your many rejections towards Little Pei. But after coming back from Su Nan, it seems you’ve seen things clearly. Perhaps you and I, we’ve both taken the issue too seriously before, when in truth, even if one can see far in life, how far can one truly see?"
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