On the day of the wedding, Jian Ru got up at dawn. Aunt Jin, together with two other older women, spent the entire morning grooming him from head to toe, inside and out.
By the time the roosters crowed and wisps of cooking smoke rose from the rooftops, Jian Ru found himself sitting before a bronze mirror.
He stared blankly at his reflection.
One half of his face was as picturesque as a painting. His naturally delicate features had been enhanced with rouge and brow powder until they looked as lovely as a blooming flower. His lips, tinted with lip color, looked sweet as honey.
He was not yet wearing the outer ceremonial robes, but the soft crimson inner garments already made his complexion appear brighter and more vibrant.
He had never looked this beautiful before.
But the other half of his face…
Aunt Jin and the others had done everything they could, yet the scars still could not be completely concealed. If anything, the contrast made them more obvious. The full, glossy half of his lips only emphasized how distorted the scar-pulled corner of his mouth looked.
The delight gradually faded from Jian Ru’s eyes, and he turned his head away from the mirror.
The other two women, hoping for extra rewards, rattled off one auspicious phrase after another, praising the new bride as beautiful as a lotus blossom and saying how fortunate the groom was to marry him.
But each word only made Jian Ru feel worse.
He had rarely bothered dressing himself up in the past precisely because he feared people would mock him for being ugly and trying too hard. At this moment, he felt frustrated and embarrassed enough that he wanted to wipe all the makeup from his face.
But he also didn’t want to waste Aunt Jin’s and the others’ efforts after they had spent the entire morning on him.
So he forced a smile.
“Thank you, Grannies.” He handed out the reward money one packet at a time.
The money had been prepared in advance by Aunt Jin. Each red paper packet carried a noticeable weight, but Jian Ru was upset enough that he didn’t even have the heart to worry about how much it cost.
Aunt Jin could tell he was unhappy, but she didn’t try to comfort him immediately. Instead, she sent the other two women off to eat breakfast and had Xiao Ning bring two bowls of noodles from the kitchen.
Then she sat down with Jian Ru and ate slowly beside him. Between bites, she reminded him, “Careful with the lip color. Don’t rub it off.”
Jian Ru responded with a quiet “Mm,” lowering his head and listlessly eating his noodles.
Aunt Jin watched him for a while before saying casually, “Usually you’re pretty open-minded about your appearance. Why are you getting so worked up today, of all days?”
“I’m afraid that tonight, when the Second Young Master lifts the veil, my face will scare him into fainting,” Jian Ru set down his chopsticks and gave her a dejected look.
“…What nonsense are you talking about?” Aunt Jin smacked his arm lightly. “Second Young Master has already seen your face before! Why would he faint now?”
Jian Ru thought to himself that he and the Second Young Master had only met twice, and the very first time the man saw him…
He had fainted on the spot.
They had met again afterward, but the Second Young Master was so proper and restrained that he had never really looked at Jian Ru closely. However, tonight would be different.
Just the two of them in the bridal chamber, red candles flickering…
Face to face.
Jian Ru honestly worried for the delicate, immortal-like Second Young Master.
Seeing that her reassurances weren’t helping and that Jian Ru remained gloomy, Aunt Jin thought for a moment. She got up, shut the door firmly, then returned and sat down across from him.
Leaning closer, she gave his arm a gentle pinch.
“Silly boy,” she said with a meaningful smile. “Let Aunty tell you something.”
Jian Ru looked up at her, and Aunt Jin’s smile grew even more knowing.
“Beauty can certainly help win a man’s heart,” she said. “But no matter how beautiful someone is, once you’ve looked at them long enough, it becomes ordinary.”
“If not beauty,” Jian Ru blinked in confusion, “then what?”
At that, Aunt Jin beckoned him closer. When he leaned in, she whispered a few words into his ear, but the instant he heard them, Jian Ru’s face turned red enough to steam.
His head dropped so low it looked as if he wanted to bury it in his chest.
Aunt Jin burst out laughing. After she finished, she lowered her voice and said, “That’s my fault for not thinking of it sooner. Normally, these are things your mother would teach you. Since she can’t, I’ll teach you a few tricks today. I guarantee the Second Young Master won’t be able to do without you in the future!”
Jian Ru was so embarrassed he wished the ground would swallow him whole, but no matter how mortified he was… he still listened attentively and memorized every word Aunt Jin told him.
The entire day passed in a daze.
People told him what to do, and he did it. When they told him to sit for blessings, he sat. When they told him to grab the lucky coins, he grabbed them.
He stayed busy all the way until evening.
Even after bowing to his adoptive father and mother, being covered with the bridal veil, and being helped into the sedan chair, a trace of unease still lingered in his heart.
As Aunt Jin lowered the curtain of the sedan, she whispered quietly, “The Second Young Master keeps turning around to look at you from his horse.”
Jian Ru’s fingers twitched, and instantly, his heart settled. Amid the crackling of firecrackers, the sedan chair lifted. Swaying gently, it carried him toward the town.
He could hear the ceremonial musicians playing and singing outside, and woven through the music was the rhythmic sound of horse hooves.
Clop. Clop. Clop.
When it was time to leave the sedan chair, Jian Ru caught sight, beneath the edge of his veil, of a tall figure dressed in the same brilliant red wedding robes. A pale, elegant hand held one end of the red silk ribbon. Dizzy and dreamlike, Jian Ru simply followed.
Later, he could barely remember the wedding ceremony at all.
Even after he had entered the bridal chamber, Aunt Jin’s instructions whispered into his ear seemed distant and indistinct. All he could clearly recall was the steady sound of those horse hooves accompanying him the entire way.
By the time night had fully fallen, the bridal chamber was lit only by red candles. The flames flickered, occasionally crackling as the wicks burst. At one point, Aunt Jin came in and secretly slipped him some food.
Jian Ru ate slowly while listening to her chatter, learning that the banquet outside was still ongoing, and many guests were still drinking and making merry.
A little worried, Jian Ru asked, “Can the Second Young Master drink alcohol?”
Seeing that he was already thinking about his husband, Aunt Jin smiled with satisfaction. “He can’t,” she answered. “He’s substituting water for wine.”
Only then did Jian Ru relax, but when Aunt Jin left again, the bridal chamber still fell silent. Faintly, he could hear laughter, conversation, and drinking outside.
Who knew how much time passed after that.
Eventually, a burst of commotion approached from afar.
As it neared the door, Jian Ru heard Aunt Jin’s scolding voice. Without the slightest politeness, she chased away the people who wanted to barge in and tease the newlyweds. The noise outside died down, and with a creak, the door opened.
A clear voice tinged with a slight huskiness softly offered thanks, then Aunt Jin said, “Your new bride is waiting. Hurry inside.”
The door closed again, and footsteps approached, while Jian Ru’s heart skipped several beats.
The newcomer first went to the table and picked something up, then a pair of black boots stopped before him. A balance pole lifted the red bridal veil, as the candlelight suddenly brightened before his eyes.
Jian Ru wanted to look up, but after biting his lip, he turned his head aside instead, hiding the scarred half of his face in shadow.
The pole was set aside, and a hand reached toward him, gentle fingers cupping his chin. With the slightest pressure, his face was lifted, and Jian Ru had no choice but to raise his head and face the other man directly.
His eyelashes fluttered constantly, yet he still didn’t dare meet the man’s gaze. He was afraid of seeing fear, afraid of seeing disgust, and afraid that the Second Young Master might faint again.
If he really faints… Jian Ru gritted his teeth.
Well, we’re already married. Let him faint if he must. If it happens enough times, surely he’ll get used to it eventually!
But in truth, there was something he feared even more.
He feared that the Second Young Master would say the same things everyone else did: compliments about being beautiful as a flower, pretty words spoken out of courtesy.
Perhaps they wouldn’t even be insincere. After all, newlyweds were expected to exchange polite, pleasant words. Yet that possibility made Jian Ru feel even more ashamed.
If other people said such things, it hurt for a while and then passed. But if the Second Young Master said them…
That was different.
Why it was different, Jian Ru himself didn’t know, but it simply was.
He was so nervous that moisture had already begun gathering at the corners of his eyes. The fingers supporting his chin withdrew, then lightly, coolly brushed against the corner of his eye, gently wiping away the moisture there.
After that, the hand resting on his knee was taken. He lowered his head and looked at their joined hands. The Second Young Master’s hand was pale, refined, and long-fingered; his own hands were not unattractive either, but after years of hard labor, even though three months in the estate had softened them somewhat, they still carried the faint calluses left by constant work. He couldn’t help but slightly curl his fingers inward.
But the worry he had never come true, for the Second Young Master said nothing. Instead, he was guided to his feet and brought to the table. With his head still lowered, he watched as the Second Young Master picked up the wine pot, poured two cups, and handed one to him.
He accepted it and, remembering Aunt Jin’s instructions, understood this was the wine for the wedding night. As expected, his new husband also raised his cup. Their arms intertwined, the rims of the cups almost touching their lips.
A sharp, burning scent rose from the wine. Suddenly, Jian Ru looked up and hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Aunt Jin said you can’t drink alcohol.”
Their eyes met. Jian Ru froze for a moment, then quickly looked away again. But that single glance was enough for him to fully take in the man’s appearance in wedding robes, strikingly, almost unfairly handsome.
The Second Young Master had always carried a faint sickness in his face, but the bright red wedding robe brought color to his pale features, making him look like carved jade under the candlelight, so beautiful it was almost blinding.
The man looked at him and smiled faintly. “I thought,” he said, “since we’ve only met a few times, you would already be tired of looking at me. Tonight, you wouldn’t even spare me a glance, nor say a word to me.”
“I… I didn’t…” Jian Ru stammered, quickly stealing another glance at him. Seeing the warmth in his eyes and the smile at his lips, he still stubbornly insisted, despite his embarrassment: “You can’t drink.”
The Second Young Master’s beautiful lips parted. He let out a soft sigh, speaking with a faint note of complaint: “Life has only three great joys… Surely you won’t deny me even a cup of wedding wine with my own bride on our wedding night.”
The words “my own bride” made Jian Ru’s face burn red. After a moment of struggle, he finally gave in.
“…Just one cup.”
The Second Young Master smiled again, even more radiant in the candlelight.
“Just one cup,” he repeated softly.
After that, they fell silent in unspoken agreement. Their arms intertwined as they tilted their heads back and drank the wine in one go. Then the Second Young Master took Jian Ru’s hand again and said, “It’s late. Let’s rest.”
T.N: If you like his novel, you can read up to chapter 17 on my Patreon, with new updates coming every week!
Leave a Reply