remarry
Before they knew it, the wedding day arrived. A dashing young man, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, escorted his bride from the sedan chair, skipping the tedious formalities and heading straight to the main hall to pay homage to heaven and earth. The general's mansion was packed with onlookers, curious as to why the couple had remarried and whether they had divorced after only seven days.
Someone said, "Hiss, I think the Fourth Miss's looks are somewhat similar to the Major General's sweetheart. Could it be that the Major General chose to remarry her because of this?"
"I've heard that the Major General's beloved died tragically. Now that you mention it, does the Major General intend to love her as if she were her?"
"I heard that the major general probably got hooked up with the fourth young lady when she went to the military camp a few times."
"The major general probably wants to find some resemblance to her in her."
Everyone thought it was a case of using a substitute for love, but no one expected that it was actually the same person from beginning to end.
Pang Linqiu was led to the bridal chamber to wait for the banquet to end. Peng Xuan'an toasted and offered congratulations at the banquet, and all sorts of miscellaneous words about the two of them were intercepted outside the door.
The mansion was filled with tables for guests, and everyone drank and made merry.
As night deepened, the autumn wind blew through the trees, withered leaves danced in the courtyard, and insects chirped in the surroundings.
Pang Linqiu sat on the edge of the bed, her head covered by a red veil, her hands obediently placed on her lap. Her vibrant red attire was strikingly eye-catching in the night. The warm candlelight illuminated the bridal chamber, and on the table were plates of support poles and nuptial wine. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. She wanted to get up and stretch her limbs, but with her legs bound, she could only sit there and wait for his arrival.
She wanted to lie down on the bed and take a nap, but the bed was covered with "May you have a son soon" signs, and pressing down on it was uncomfortable. She herself had been starving for three days and three nights, what did this mean? Were they afraid she would run away from the marriage? At first, she didn't understand why her father was doing this. But her father said to her helplessly, "This is the Empress's will, Chun'er, just bear with it."
"Tap tap—" Footsteps were getting closer.
A moment later, the door creaked open, and Peng Xuan'an appeared, his face beaming with joy and eagerness. His eyes were filled with tenderness, brimming with the joy and excitement of marrying her. He approached her slowly, his footsteps barely touching the floor. His heart pounded rapidly, hot and restless; even his breath was filled with joy. In the spacious room, it seemed as if only his own inner voice was clamoring.
Pang Linqiu lowered her gaze and saw a pair of boots through the red veil; the man was standing right in front of her. She waited for him to lift the veil, feeling a little nervous, but more than anything, she wanted to replenish her strength. However, he hesitated to lift it…
His breathing was shallow, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the red veil and see her, lingering on his infatuated eyes. He had recalled this scene many times; if he had lifted the veil then and hadn't spoken to her about marriage and divorce, and hadn't received Zhi Qiu's words, he wouldn't have so much regret.
His voice was soft and low, "Madam..."
"Are we going to lift it or not?" She was hungry and annoyed, and a little angry at his slow action.
Peng Xuan'an then realized what was happening, turned around and picked up the balance beam on the table. With a gentle lift of the beam, the red cover slid off like flowing water, revealing her dark hair cascading down her shoulders and her delicate features—the image he had envisioned a thousand times in his dreams. His heart skipped a beat, the air seemed to freeze, and her beautiful face came into view.
She glanced up at him with her almond-shaped eyes, her face showing no shyness, but rather resentment.
He snapped out of his reverie, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and couldn't help but gently kiss her forehead, stroking her head as if it were a precious treasure. "My lady, you are truly beautiful..."
Pang Linqiu's hands were bound, preventing her from pushing him away. "Help me loosen the ropes," she said.
"?" Peng Xuan'an was instantly puzzled. Rope? What rope?
Seeing him looking left and right, Pang Linqiu raised her hands, which were bound by a thin red rope, with a helpless expression on her face. "This."
Peng Xuan'an was puzzled, but seeing the expression on her beautiful face, he couldn't help but chuckle. He looked at the red ribbons on her wrists, and his thoughts became confused, and he couldn't help but think of "that place".
Is this rope... a bad thing in terms of fun?
He sat to one side and untied the red rope from her wrist, asking curiously, "How did you get tied up?" He remembered that when he led her out of the sedan chair, her hands were clearly not tied up at that time.
The red rope was untied, leaving red marks on her wrists. After her hands were freed, she quickly bent down to untie the ropes on her feet.
Peng Xuan'an glanced at her feet and saw the stains. His smile deepened; he understood. Someone was worried she would run away from the wedding and that the marriage wouldn't go through. He truly couldn't guess who had done it.
With her hands and feet freed, she got up and enjoyed the feeling of freedom, stretching comfortably.
He then replied to him, "Sigh, people don't trust each other, there's nothing I can do about it."
Peng Xuan'an stood up with a smile, filled the two mandarin duck cups with nuptial wine, and said gently, "Come and drink the nuptial wine."
Pang Linqiu reluctantly went over and sat down. They each took a glass, their arms intertwined, and tilted their heads back to drink the slightly cool liquor. It had a faint sweetness on the palate, mixed with a hint of sourness, and a slight spiciness as it went down.
Peng Xuan'an reluctantly put down his wine glass. Pang Linqiu's cheeks were flushed as if he were drunk. His heartbeat had quickened, his blood flow had accelerated, and his face had turned red.
Pang Linqiu felt a burning sensation in her stomach, with a fiery feeling wherever she drank, but even more so, she was tormented by hunger.
She said, "I'm hungry."
Peng Xuan'an was taken aback. "Didn't you eat anything before you got married?"
...She went hungry for three days, consuming only water and a little thin porridge.
She remained silent for a long while, then said with a long face, "...Do you think it's because I don't want to eat?"
Peng Xuan'an was taken aback, nodded and understood. He got up, went to the door to find a servant, ordered the food to be served, and then went back to his room.
While waiting for the food, Peng Xuan'an kept trying to find topics to talk about, but Pang Linqiu was sitting on the bed eating red dates (early) and longan (expensive), and didn't have the energy to pay attention to what he was saying.
She only paid attention to him when the delicious food was served. She ate heartily, while Peng Xuan'an ate a few bites and then rested his chin on his hand, gazing at her.
After finishing her meal, Pang Linqiu was finally in a good mood. She sat back down contentedly and noticed Peng Xuan'an's lecherous gaze. She then met his gaze with a stern expression.
"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"
Peng Xuan'an smiled and said, "I'm looking at Madam."
His irrelevant answer left Pang Linqiu speechless. She wanted to process this before going to bed, but she didn't want to sleep with him. "You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Why?"
"Then I'll sleep on the bed, and you'll sleep on the floor?" She assumed he wanted to sleep on the floor and overanalyzed his words.
He said somewhat shyly, "We're already... husband and wife, why should we sleep separately?"
"..." She remained silent for a long time.
Peng Xuan'an thought she was worried that he might do something wrong to her, so he held one of her hands in both of his and pleaded with her eyebrows raised, "I promised you I wouldn't touch you, but I didn't say we couldn't sleep together."
She looked him up and down with a worried expression, then quickly withdrew her hand, frowning and probing with a hint of disdain, "Can you guarantee... you won't be pressing against me?"
"..." He instantly understood the meaning behind her words, and he himself was also unsure.
"Does Madam really distrust me that much?" he retorted.
Pang Linqiu nodded honestly, "I don't trust you."
Peng Xuan'an was speechless for a moment, his hand clenched into a fist, his chin resting on his hand in deep thought, and the scene was completely silent...
Pang Linqiu felt she had digested most of it, so she got up to tidy up the "May you have a son soon" inscription on the bed. After tidying up, she removed her crown and took off her heavy wedding dress. She felt much more relaxed, wearing a white nightgown, her figure slender and graceful.
She glanced back at Peng Xuan'an, who was deep in thought at the table, and knew that his desire to sleep with her hadn't died. "Would you like to sleep on the bed or the floor?"
Peng Xuan'an saw that she was already undressed and standing in front of the bed. He also felt that the wedding dress was too dull. "I... want to..." He pursed his lips and hesitated to speak, but he was rejected after speaking. He decided to take action instead.
He stood up, took off a few pieces of his wedding attire, and felt much lighter. Pang Linqiu turned to blow out the candles, plunging the room into darkness. Peng Xuan'an silently approached her from behind. He swept her up in his arms, catching her off guard, and carried her to the bed, gently placing her head on the pillow.
He placed his hands on the bed and pressed her down, supporting her body with his strong hands: "There is only one bed and one pillow in the room. It's late autumn and the weather is cold. Sleeping on the floor is bad for your health."
Pang Linqiu pushed him away, her vision dim as she looked down on his expression, but she could tell his emotions from his voice. She refused, "But..."
His voice was suppressed, "I won't do anything to you. It's late, get some rest." He turned over and lay flat on his side next to her.
Pang Linqiu was inside, feeling helpless. The room was so quiet; she was so unaccustomed to having a living person sleeping next to her, especially Peng Xuan'an...
The night passed, and neither of them slept peacefully.
At daybreak, both were forced to get up early to serve tea and return the favor...
Peng Xuan'an tried his best to do things well. He wanted to make up for what he had done for her before, when she had to face public pressure and serve tea to her relatives all by herself... How much criticism and pressure must she have been under?
After finishing these tasks, the couple had plenty of time to relax. Peng Xuan'an suggested going on a trip several times, but Pang Linqiu refused, saying she had things to take care of and that he should go and enjoy himself on his own.
Peng Xuan'an had a vague feeling that she was avoiding him. She said she wasn't afraid of him anymore, but she always avoided him. Her words and actions were completely inconsistent. He reflected on whether he had done something wrong or done anything to upset her.
He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of breaking the first rule and disturbing her work, seeing her so busy. He felt a strange pang of sadness in his heart. Why? Other newlyweds were using their honeymoon to travel and nurture their relationship, while he was spending his vacation alone.
He felt extremely unbalanced...
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