Comforted by Meng Duo’er, Baili Xiaosheng stopped crying. She never would have imagined that her crying would be witnessed by Meng Duo’er, let alone that Meng Duo’er would be the one to comfort her.
She remembered clearly how, as a child, she’d disliked this woman intensely—back then, when Jun Buli was still Little Bear, he’d stood on her side too.
In both their eyes back then, Meng Duo’er was nothing but a crybaby who accomplished nothing but bad luck—whenever she was around, their master was bound to run into misfortune. She was practically her master’s personal jinx!
Yet now, here she was, sitting together with this once-disliked woman, waiting for their master.
Their master was the biggest jinx of all, surely!
The two sat in silence, yet in perfect harmony, staying there until the sky began to lighten.
“If you don’t head back soon, Guxi will start worrying,” Meng Duo’er reminded her.
Baili Xiaosheng pointed toward a brightly lit area in the front courtyard, smiling. “He’s over there. He won’t have time to sleep tonight.”
Meng Duo’er followed her gesture and indeed saw a spot in the front courtyard ablaze with light, occasional rustling sounds drifting over from it.
Meng Duo’er laughed. “Guxi really drew the short straw, marrying you!”
Though said in jest, she genuinely thought so. Hadn’t this little Baili Xiaosheng always been rather mature, good at taking care of others? Yet somehow, once she met Guxi, she’d become the one who did nothing at all, leaving Guxi to toil through an entire sleepless night.
“Who says he drew the short straw! Hmph.” Baili Xiaosheng looked thoroughly unimpressed.
Meng Duo’er, clearly unafraid of offending her, continued earnestly, “I’ve been here a whole day, and all I’ve seen is you lounging about, pushing everything onto Guxi’s shoulders!”
Seeing Baili Xiaosheng remain unmoved, Meng Duo’er pressed further. “Girl, getting married is something both people should share in.”
But Baili Xiaosheng replied, “It’s entirely his business! A grown man, about to take a wife—if he needs his bride’s help for even a small wedding, what kind of man is that?”
At these words, Meng Duo’er was stunned. Looking at Baili Xiaosheng’s utterly matter-of-fact expression, she finally understood why the two of them had never quite gotten along—they were simply nothing alike in temperament.
“I’m heading back!” Baili Xiaosheng said, standing up to leave.
She knew that even if she offered to help, Guxi wouldn’t allow it—he’d insist she get a good night’s sleep and enjoy herself instead.
That was just the kind of man he was—shouldering everything himself, doting endlessly on his woman.
Baili Xiaosheng secretly vowed to herself that after the wedding, she would treat Guxi a hundred times, a thousand times better. Who said she didn’t care about her man?
Summer mornings always came early. Ziqing and the others were all up bright and early too. Jun Buli had meant to sleep in a little longer, but was forcibly woken by Jun Yaotiao, who insisted on dragging him along to watch the entire wedding ceremony from start to finish.
So the siblings, bickering and laughing the whole way, made their way to Baili Xiaosheng’s room.
By then, Baili Xiaosheng was already fully dressed and having her makeup done. To Jun Buli’s surprise, the one doing her makeup was none other than Meng Duo’er.
Everyone stood by, watching, feeling a mix of emotions on Baili Xiaosheng’s behalf—especially Ziqing, whose heart was a tangle of complicated feelings.
Baili Weisheng still hadn’t shown up. She’d originally worried this girl might not be able to hold up, worried she might hurt Guxi’s feelings—yet unexpectedly, her mood remained just as good as ever.
In the quiet, Jun Yaotiao spoke up softly. “Brother, when are you getting married?”
Jun Buli pretended not to hear, refusing to answer.
Jun Yaotiao pouted, resting her head on his shoulder, and before long had fallen asleep—after all, she was still young, and the late night before had worn her out.
The moment he noticed his sister had fallen asleep, Jun Buli visibly relaxed, feeling refreshed and at ease.
He nudged Ziqing, whispering, “The girl’s asleep. I’ll take her back to her room.”
Ziqing’s attention was entirely on Baili Xiaosheng; she just nodded and instructed, “Have Yingzi watch over her. Don’t let her wander off.”
Heaven only knew whether this troublesome girl was really asleep or just pretending—Duku wasn’t a place one could wander around freely.
After all, Jun Yaotiao was different from Jun Buli—her blood was ordinary, not a body cultivated on poison.
“Mm.” Jun Buli nodded and slipped away quietly.
Watch a wedding? He had absolutely zero interest in that, thank you very much.
Back in the guest room, Jun Buli set Jun Yaotiao straight down on the bed. Surprisingly, she just rolled over lazily without waking at all.
This girl—once she fell asleep, she slept like the dead. The sky could fall and she wouldn’t stir.
“Watch the door, don’t let her wander off. The moment she wakes, bring her to find Mother,” Jun Buli instructed.
“Master, where are you headed?” Yingzi couldn’t help asking, secretly wondering whether his master hadn’t once again snuck Consort Li along without telling anyone!
Jun Buli’s gaze turned suddenly cold, and Yingzi wisely stepped aside, not daring to expect an answer.
In truth, he had no particular destination in mind—he simply wanted to go search for that infuriating scholar.
He had an inexplicable feeling that the scholar would come, that he would definitely come.
Perhaps he was afraid of being pestered by someone and was hiding out of sight, secretly watching everyone’s every move from the shadows!
That shameless scoundrel, so utterly brazen!
Soon, Jun Buli’s figure disappeared into the dense maze of caves within Duku. Meanwhile, back in the rear courtyard, the groom Guxi had already arrived at Baili Xiaosheng’s door.
Meng Duo’er, Situ Jing’er, and Ziqing all blocked the doorway, coming up with all sorts of challenges to keep Guxi from entering.
Guxi’s temper was truly remarkable—even when Situ Jing’er made an outrageously excessive demand, insisting Guxi dance in front of everyone, he simply smiled and agreed, sending the whole room into fits of laughter.
Baili Xiaosheng, meanwhile, looked ready to tear Situ Jing’er apart with her glare, but Situ Jing’er wasn’t the least bit afraid.
“Little girl, don’t forget you’re getting married too someday!” Baili Xiaosheng warned.
“Not scared—I’ll definitely invite you when I do!” Situ Jing’er said generously.
Inside the room, tensions quickly flared, but outside, Guxi remained thoroughly entertained, even amusing himself.
The dance finished, he knocked on the door again. “Can I come in now?”
Then came Baili Xiaosheng’s remarkably sharp voice: “Open the door!”
At those words, Guxi startled—had this hot-tempered girl started arguing with the guests?
Anxious, he pushed the door open with more force than intended. “Xiaosheng, don’t be so fierce!”
For a moment, everyone in the room froze. There hadn’t been any fighting inside at all—just verbal sparring!
Seeing Guxi’s flustered state, everyone paused for a beat before bursting into laughter. Guxi, of all people, actually had such an adorably flustered side!
This left Guxi rather embarrassed, scratching his head—and really, when a mature, steady grown man scratches his head like that, how could it not look adorable?
Everyone burst into laughter again, and even Baili Xiaosheng herself couldn’t hold it back.
After a good while, everyone finally composed themselves, and Ziqing cleared her throat. “Ahem, well, since the groom is so impatient, let’s not make things hard on him anymore, shall we?”
Impatient?
Heavens… Guxi had been carrying on outside the door for half an hour!
Who was impatient here?!
A group of women together—truly a terrifying thing.