While the searching of the palanquin was being performed, Gu Yanxi turned to bow courteously to the guests gathered around him, then walked to stand before Hua Pingyu and bowed deeply. The time for the formal address had not yet come, so he spoke no name.

Hua Pingyu raised a hand in a gentle gesture to acknowledge the bow. Today, the Prince Regent’s act of deference was one he received without reservation.

The Hua Family’s old friends and acquaintances came forward one after another to offer their congratulations. Auspicious words flowed freely and abundantly. Gu Yanxi received each one with a nod of thanks, and when anyone spoke of a lifetime of harmony together, he gave a slight, deliberate bow. For the remainder of his days, this was the only thing he wished for.

It was then that the Emperor, who had been half-hidden behind the others, was revealed by Gu Yanxi’s motion. A number of people’s eyes went wide all at once — the Emperor?! By sheer instinct, the assembled guests lowered themselves by half a head.

The Emperor quickly motioned for them to rise, saying, “Please, there is no need for this, honored guests. There is no Emperor here today. I have come only as a younger brother to accompany my elder Shizi brother in welcoming his bride. I ask that everyone here be lenient — let my elder Shizi brother bring his bride home without difficulty.”

The crowd replied with hasty assurances that they would never presume otherwise.

To say nothing of the Emperor’s presence lending weight to the occasion — even without him, under the formidable reputation of the Prince Regent, no one with any sense of self-preservation would have made things difficult. And besides, as onlookers, those present truly felt no desire to interfere. For this pair to be united was heaven’s gift to them, and who would dare stand in the way of that?

Had it not been for this collective sentiment, bringing the Hua Family’s daughter away today would truly not have been so effortless for the Prince Regent. When it came to wedding mischief, the Great Qing was famously permissive.

The Emperor shot the Prince Regent a thoroughly self-satisfied look, his expression falling just short of writing the words “I deserve credit for this” directly on his face.

It was now midday — by custom, the time of the bride’s family’s formal wedding banquet, at which Gu Yanxi naturally served as a guest of honor. Today he was unusually accommodating. With no one willing to cause him trouble, he took the initiative and went around offering a few toasts himself. His tolerance for drink had been trained — in Sugu Gorge, the ability to hold one’s liquor was a test every person had to pass.

It was Hua Pingyu who cautioned him: “Today is an important day. Do not let it interfere with what matters most.”

Gu Yanxi set down his cup at once and agreed readily. His compliance was so complete that the onlookers were taken aback.

Hua Pingyu was a little taken aback himself. He recovered quickly, and realized this was his son-in-law giving face to his daughter. The worry in his heart diminished, quite without his intending it.

In the quiet of the family shrine, Hua Yizheng stood motionless before his late wife’s spirit tablet for a long while. He had often come here these past days — with nothing to say, and nothing particular on his mind, as though the woman who had been gentle in her youth and had never mastered the stately manner of a matriarch even in her later years were still at his side.

Hua Pingyang entered and first gave a bow to his mother’s spirit tablet, then said quietly, “Father, the hour is nearly upon us.”

Hua Yizheng, hands clasped behind his back, murmured as though speaking to someone: “Our Hua Family’s eldest daughter is to be married. You — take a look, won’t you.”

Hua Pingyang felt his eyes go hot. He quickly took his father’s arm and guided him out. Today was a day of joy — he did not want to dwell on things that brought sorrow. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow he would come and sit with his mother and speak with her properly.

In the bridal chamber, Hua Zhi had managed to eat a few small bites.

The maids carefully smoothed every part of her wedding gown, not overlooking even the hem, kneeling to arrange it perfectly.

All the women of the Hua Family who had already been married were gathered in the room. Whatever calculations or misgivings may have existed between them at other times, in this moment their hearts held only reluctance to let her go. This was the girl who had sheltered all of them for more than two years, who had guided the Hua Family through a momentous ordeal. She had spared them from displacement and ruin, allowed them all to emerge from that calamity whole and unscathed. Even though the true pillars of the household had long since returned, the thought of her leaving for someone else’s home still left them unsettled.

It was almost laughable: in two short years, these women who were her elders had already grown accustomed to standing behind her.

At least the man she was marrying was extraordinary. That, at least, gave them some measure of peace.

Passing off the eldest sister-in-law, who had cried until she was nearly inconsolable, to the care of the third sister-in-law, Wu Shi walked to stand before the bride and studied her for a moment. “Truly beautiful.”

“Of course.” Hua Zhi tilted her chin up slightly, a smile spreading across her face.

Wu Shi touched her cheeks — still not quite as full as they once had been. “You are such a wise young woman. Fourth Aunt believes your remaining years will be filled with happiness, that you will live the comfortable life you have always most desired.”

“Yes. I will.”

“Come home when you miss us. Do not concern yourself with the restrictions on married daughters returning to their parents’ home. No one here will ever think you come back too often.” As Wu Shi spoke, her voice began to catch in her throat. “When you go back, make the arrangements with the Prince Regent’s estate. Fourth Aunt will come to visit you often.”

“Rest assured — I have a say in things over there. Fourth Aunt may come at any time. There is no need to worry about what anyone might say, or that you will disturb me. As long as I am in the estate, you are welcome to come whenever you like.” Hua Zhi glanced over at her mother, whose shoulders were heaving with the force of her sobs. “Bring Mother with you.”

“…All right.”

Outside, the sounds grew closer and closer. Liu Xiang came over quickly to give word: “The young master is nearly here.”

Wu Shi quickly wiped her tears. She personally placed the bridal veil over Hua Zhi’s head, while the two other sisters-in-law hurriedly tidied Zhu Shi’s appearance — though her tears refused to stop.

Beneath the red veil, Hua Zhi sat with her eyes closed, listening to the muffled sounds of weeping around her. This time she made no attempt to console anyone. She understood: in this life, her mother wept because she could not bear to part with her. Every tear was proof of that.

Only at this moment did Hua Zhi truly feel that she was about to be married — not the emergency wedding rite performed when she lay gravely ill, but a real marriage in the proper order of things, with three matchmakers and six wedding gifts, with a groom coming to lead her into the next chapter of her life.

How fortunate she had been, to have escaped a match arranged by parental command and a matchmaker’s word. To have come to know Yan Xi, grown close to him, cherished him — to have crossed through difficulty after difficulty, overcome one crisis and then another, endured even the threshold between life and death — and finally arrived at this day. She had become Yan Xi’s bride.

And her groom was just outside the door.

She had found her Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He had come riding upon his seven-colored clouds to take her as his bride.

The corners of Hua Zhi’s lips curved upward beyond her control. She listened to the sound of the door opening, to the playful teasing words of her aunts guarding the final threshold, and to the footsteps of that man drawing closer.

“Hua Zhi. I am here.”

Hua Zhi wanted to smile, yet inexplicably felt a sting rising behind her eyes. She gave a soft sound of acknowledgment and nodded gently, the red veil swaying with the movement.

By custom, the bride must be carried out of the house on the back of a brother from her family. Hua Bailin had claimed this task long in advance and had spent the better part of a year diligently building his strength in preparation for it.

He absolutely would not drop his eldest sister!

Hua Bailin strode up before his eldest sister like a proud young rooster, crouching down with his back to her. Ying Chun and Bao Xia helped the young Miss onto his back and remained close on either side to steady her.

Gu Yanxi restrained himself — barely — from pulling her off and carrying her in his arms instead. He turned and bowed to the other women in the room.

By now Zhu Shi had been helped by a matron to the main hall, where Hua Yizheng sat in the place of honor. The seat beside him was empty. Hua Pingyu and his wife sat below on the secondary side.

Hua Bailin carried his eldest sister over. Gu Yanxi immediately stepped forward and helped her down, guiding her to kneel upon the cushion, then knelt himself at Hua Zhi’s side. Together they performed the farewell bow and the formal change-of-address rite.

At the sound of Gu Yanxi addressing him as “Grandfather,” Hua Yizheng took a jade ruyi from his younger son’s hands and passed it forward. “May you two live in contentment all your lives.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.”

The two of them then bowed to the parents. Hua Pingyu’s lips moved; the words that came out sounded harder than anything he might usually say: “I wish you well — both of you, for a lifetime.”

“Yes. Father, please be at ease. This son-in-law will not allow Hua Zhi to suffer even a moment of sorrow.”