Once Lin Xiao had guided Qin Yao into the bridal bower, the ceremonial matron carefully helped Qin Yao to sit down on the bridal mat.

Princess Kangping was even more impatient than her eleventh brother, and was the first to call out with a laugh, “Bride, lower your fan and let us all admire your beautiful face!”

She had arrived at Prince Lan’s manor before dawn that morning and had been laughing and filling the hall with cheer from the time the groom left to fetch the bride until now when the bride had entered — giving her eleventh brother and his new bride an exceptionally spirited and grand showing.

On an occasion like this, spectacle was one thing, but festivity came first. Though Kangping had not previously bothered to pay attention to such minor details, having made up her mind to make her eleventh brother happy, she naturally found ways to grasp the key to the situation.

With Princess Kangping taking the lead to liven the mood, none of the other ladies of rank dared to be outdone. The bridal bower was soon filled with laughter and cheerful voices — some praising the bride’s wedding attire as lovely and graceful and her figure as slender and elegant, some saying the couple were made for each other by Heaven itself. Most of all, they laughed and urged the bride to lower her fan without delay.

The proper timing of the fan-lowering carried a certain significance. For the bride to lower her fan too early without first putting the groom through his paces would lack a certain dignity.

Liu Bingyu and Pei Min therefore voluntarily stepped into the role of the bride’s family, making no demands of the bride at all and instead pressing the groom relentlessly to compose a fan-lowering poem — and their requirements were high: it must be heartfelt and sincere, not carelessly dashed off, and must satisfy both the bride and everyone gathered before they would be pleased.

Though Lin Xiao had studied from childhood alongside the Crown Prince and Prince Wu, tutored by Grand Mentor Fu, the foremost Confucian scholar of the present dynasty, and his scholarly foundations were indeed solid, his nature had always led him to prefer military strategy, history, and policy argumentation. Poetry and verse alone had never held much appeal for him.

The bridal summons poem he had recited at the gates of the Qu manor a short while ago was one he had prepared specially for Qin Yao in advance. Now, hearing Liu Bingyu and Pei Min’s demands, he was untroubled. He gave Qin Yao a bow and recited a fan-lowering poem he had likewise composed ahead of time.

Seeing that he replied with such easy fluency, Liu Bingyu and Pei Min guessed he had prepared well in advance, and were not willing to let him off so lightly. They pressed him with several more poems in succession, determined to draw out his true abilities.

Lin Xiao showed no irritation. He simply kept his gaze on Qin Yao, seeing how she held her fan steady in her grip — so quietly beautiful and gentle, yet with no intention of lowering it. Something stirred in his heart. He made another deep bow toward her, and recited:

“There is one of surpassing beauty whom, once seen, I cannot forget. A single day without her sight leaves me lost in longing as though mad. The phoenix soars and circles in flight, seeking its mate across the four seas. Yet the beloved lady cannot be found — she is not by the eastern wall. I take my lute to speak in place of words, to set down the feelings in my heart. When will you grant me your consent, and ease the restless wandering of my spirit? My only wish is to match your worth, and hand in hand, walk forward together.”

His voice was like jade striking jade — brilliantly clear — and yet every word carried an inexpressible tenderness, like the soft plucking of strings, sending resonant echoes rippling outward. Quite a few of the younger women present could not help but flush red.

Xia Yan felt a fierce pang clench at her heart. Every bit of color drained from her face. She swayed, unable to stand any longer, and turned away, stumbling out of the bridal bower in an embarrassed rush.

Qin Yao slowly lowered her fan of beauties, her eyes meeting Lin Xiao’s with a smile.

Laughter rang like thunder from all around. “The bride has lowered her fan!”

“What a beauty — no wonder even His Majesty would take her to be the Young Lord’s bride!”

Princess Kangping found herself unexpectedly confronted with a face of exceptional loveliness, set off to even greater brilliance by the vivid red of the wedding attire, and was momentarily struck dumb. She thought privately: leaving aside all else, Qu Qin Yao’s complexion alone was probably among the finest in all of Chang’an — truly a skin of jade and ice, so tender it seemed one could wring water from it, without a single flaw. Even her own mother, beautiful as she was, probably fell a few degrees short of Qu Qin Yao in terms of fair, delicate softness.

No wonder her eleventh brother loved her as he did. It seemed Mother had been right all along — there was no man under heaven who did not care for a woman’s looks.

She could not help glancing down at the deep purple gauze gown she herself wore. Though it was gorgeous, it did not particularly brighten her complexion. Could that perhaps be the reason Feng Boyu would rather read his books than look at her? It seemed she ought to have more gowns cut in soft, tender shades of blush pink and pale green starting from tomorrow.

Lin Xiao gazed quietly at Qin Yao — her snow-pale cheeks and cloud-soft hair, her features as though brushed by a painter’s hand, truly extraordinarily lovely and adorable. And such a creature of jade-white snow — from this day forward, she would be his wife.

Qin Yao’s heart was equally full of happiness. She thought back to the day of their first meeting on Mangshan, the dangers and treachery of that moment, and all the times thereafter when they had moved forward together through shared peril, through several brushes with death. Who could have foreseen that not even a full year later, he would become her husband — with all that had come between, it truly felt now, looking back, like nothing more than a dream.

Seeing Lin Xiao standing there transfixed, his gaze lost in the bride, the onlookers broke into another round of teasing laughter. The wife of Duke Lu, entering the bridal bower at this moment, smiled at the scene and said, “Weijin has always been steady and composed — this means he is perfectly content with his new bride.”

Others laughed and responded: “With such a beautiful bride, any man who sees her would be delighted.”

The ceremonial matron smiled and reminded them: “The bride has lowered her fan — it is now time for the hair-binding.”

She guided Lin Xiao to sit beside Qin Yao, then brought forward a pair of scissors tied with red silk and carefully cut a few strands of hair from each of them, tying them together with a red cord, in the “token of binding” — the covenant of union.

Qin Yao took the combined lock of hair into her hands with faint shyness and stole a glance at Lin Xiao. She found him watching her without blinking, his expression of absolute solemnity giving her heart a rush of warmth. She quickly and reverently tucked the two strands of hair into an embroidered pouch.

The bridal bower had been arranged with exceptional spaciousness — besides the wide bridal bed spread with festive coverings, there were also tables and chairs and other furnishings.

After the hair-binding rite was complete, the couple drank the wine of union, and then musicians already arranged by Prince Lan’s household entered the bridal bower to perform.

Lin Xiao would need to return to the main hall to offer toasts to the guests. Before he rose to leave, he used the concealment of his wide sleeve to slip something into Qin Yao’s hand right under everyone’s eyes, with perfect nonchalance.

Qin Yao found it strange, but accepted it with full cooperation.

The two of them were both so swift that no one noticed a thing — only the wife of Duke Lu caught a faint hint of what had occurred, and shook her head with a quiet, wondering sigh.

After Lin Xiao left, the female attendants remained in the bridal bower for some time, drinking tea and watching the singing and dancing. Eventually, a servant came to say that the banquet had begun in the flower hall and invited all the guests to take their seats.

Liu Bingyu, not wanting Qin Yao to be bored and alone, had wanted to stay and keep her company for a while, but was dragged away by Wang Yingning and Pei Min together.

Once everyone had gone, Qin Yao finally unclenched the fist she had been holding closed for quite some time, and quietly opened the note Lin Xiao had given her. The writing on it was clean and forceful, and read: he had already asked Wen Gu to prepare a few porridge dishes and pastries for Qin Yao. Should she feel hungry in a while, she should eat a little something to tide her over, and he would return as soon as he could.

Just a few brief lines, but entirely in Lin Xiao’s characteristic manner.

Qin Yao read the words “return as soon as he could” written on the paper, and thought of all the things her mother had instructed her in the night before — her cheeks immediately blazed as though on fire.

A’Ping and the others had just been settled in at Qin Yao’s side and had come in to the bridal bower at that moment. They came in to find Qin Yao sitting cross-legged on the bridal mat, nervously gnawing at her fingers, and asked in surprise: “Young Lady, are you hungry? Shall this servant go and fetch something to eat?”

A’Qin came in behind, a look of utter bewilderment on her face. “This Prince Lan’s manor is far too big. When we were coming in just now, we must have walked through more than ten corridors, and the doors just kept on going — one set after another, left and right. After a short while, we were completely turned around. Going forward, when we move about the manor, it’ll probably take us quite some time to get used to things before we stop getting lost.”

Just then, a very gentle voice came from outside: “Young Lord’s consort, it is Wen Gu, bringing you some porridge and pastries.”

Qin Yao paused in her finger-gnawing. Wen Gu? Could this be Lin Xiao’s wet nurse? She quickly told A’Ping to invite Wen Gu in.

In a moment, a woman of around forty entered, leading a row of maidservants, each carrying a steaming food box — a full half a tabletop’s worth, nothing like the mere “few porridge dishes” Lin Xiao had mentioned.

The woman had a very kind face, with small eyes that had a naturally smiling crescent shape, a fair complexion, and thin lips. At a casual glance, she bore no resemblance to Chang Rong’s vigorous, lively features — yet upon closer examination, one found that the two of them shared precisely the same straight nose bridge and the same face shape, as though cast from the same mold.

Knowing that Wen Gu was Lin Xiao’s wet nurse, and that his eating and daily routines had been entirely in Wen Gu’s care all these years, and that she held a special place in Lin Xiao’s heart, Qin Yao did not dare to be the slightest bit remiss. She called out sweetly at once: “Wen Gu, how do you do.” And she asked A’Ping to bring out the gift that had been prepared in advance and present it to Wen Gu.

Wen Gu received it, overwhelmed by such an unexpected honor, and could not help looking Qin Yao over again with great care, and the more she looked, the more satisfied she became — the smile on her face simply impossible to conceal.

She looked at Qin Yao and smiled. “The Young Lord told this servant that you are not particular about your food and that you enjoy all manner of things. So this servant thought to prepare some soft and sticky pastries and a few light vegetable soups. You’ve had quite a trying day, and must surely be hungry by now. Have some first, and if the flavors are not to your liking, just tell Wen Gu, and this servant will arrange something else.”

Though such words from another person might have carried a flavor of polite probing, from Wen Gu they came with complete sincerity.

Qin Yao had always been good at distinguishing genuine warmth from courtesy. No longer standing on ceremony, she came down from the bed, settled herself at the table, and smiled. “Wen Gu has gone to so much trouble. This soup smells wonderful just from here. Come to think of it, I haven’t had a single grain of rice since this morning — I am rather hungry.”

She picked up her chopsticks and ate with cheerful appetite.

Wen Gu’s great effort and care thus received the most gratifying recognition, and her heart was instantly warmed and soothed. Thinking back on the anxiety and misgivings she had harbored before, she could only find them amusing now. A child like the Young Lord, who had seen countless young ladies of noble families in his years — what sort of young woman could have possibly earned the trouble and devotion that had brought her home as his wife? How could she be anything less than wonderful?

With these thoughts, she stood beside Qin Yao with a gentle smile, watching her eat. When Qin Yao finished, she directed Listening Wind and Sweeping Snow to clear away the bowls and chopsticks.

Qin Yao noticed that all the serving girls present were well-mannered and nimble, moving without casting so much as a sideways glance. Whether this was owing to Wen Gu’s excellent training or Lin Xiao’s consistently high expectations of his servants, she could not say.

After the meal, Wen Gu also had hot water for bathing arranged and brought into the bridal bower.

Qin Yao had not expected this at all. She had resigned herself to the thought that she would have to go without a bath tonight, sleeping in the bridal bower as she was. She had been in her heavy wedding garments all day, and her skin was already quite damp from perspiration.

Once Qin Yao had bathed, Wen Gu came in again to say with a smile that she had arranged sleeping quarters for the four maidservants Qin Yao had brought with her as part of her dowry, and invited the young ladies to come and rest. She led A’Ping and the others away.

The bridal bower was once again left with Qin Yao alone. With nothing to do, she propped her chin in her hand and watched the pair of red candles burning beside the bed for a while. Thinking that she had no idea when Lin Xiao would return, she decided she might as well lie down on the bed, pull the covers over herself, and gaze up at the top of the canopy.

She had been up before dawn that morning and had been exhausted all day. After managing to hold on for only a short while, she found she could not withstand the wonderfully fragrant and soft bedding of Prince Lan’s manor any longer, and fell asleep.

Strangely enough, for all that Qin Yao was normally most keenly alert, whether it was because she trusted Lin Xiao deeply or because she was truly too fatigued, once she drifted off she slept deeply and soundly, without even knowing when someone returned.

In a hazy half-waking state, she felt someone settle in beside her, and then someone gathered her into his arms, calling softly in her ear, “A’Yao.”