Ever since the wedding was announced, the He family had servants showing up at the Yu residence almost every day—partly to deliver betrothal gifts and ceremonial offerings, and partly to discuss wedding details with Mrs. Yu and Yu Chongyi.

Upon learning that their niece was about to marry He Yunqin, Pan Maosheng and Mrs. Pan, amid their surprise, naturally began coming to Tongfu Lane often to help as well.

Seeing how the He family was going out of its way to elevate the Yu family at every turn, Mrs. Pan felt both envious and delighted. With her limited perspective, she had always hoped to marry her two daughters into good families, only to have Hongdou beat them to it. In front of Mrs. Yu, she remarked more than once how fortunate Hongdou was. By this point Mrs. Yu no longer had the patience to compete with her own sister-in-law for status—arranging her daughter’s wedding thoroughly and properly was now the top priority.

When she formally met He Mengmei and Mrs. He those first few days, it was her first time meeting this legendary textile magnate in person. In discussing the children’s marriage, the He couple proved far more generous and sincere than she had imagined—especially Mrs. He, who appeared gentle and amiable, the sort of person who was easy to get along with. After that one meeting, most of Mrs. Yu’s earlier worries had faded.

As for He Yunqin himself, the more she saw of him, the more she liked him. Add to that the fact that all of Shanghai knew how much effort the He family had poured into preparing for this wedding over the past month—though it had been rushed, it was thoroughly dignified. Even the hesitation and misgivings she’d once harbored gradually dissolved amid the day-to-day preparations for the wedding.

Yuqi had only recently learned the full story of how she’d been saved—that if Hongdou hadn’t gone to find Inspector Wang, which in turn had led He Yunqin to help track down the culprit, she would already have been murdered by Chen Jinsheng. Out of heartfelt gratitude, she threw herself wholeheartedly into helping with the wedding preparations, rushing to her aunt’s house every day after work to lend a hand.

Since they all lived in the same building, the Pengs the tailors downstairs, and Mr. Xiang and Miss Qiu upstairs, witnessed the constant comings and goings at the Yu household every day. Even someone as aloof as Mr. Xiang, caught up in the joyful atmosphere, couldn’t help but send a gift and offer a few flat words of congratulation.

As for Hongdou, that day when He Yunqin had come to declare his intentions, those few brief words had truly touched her heart. What had once been vague and uncertain now felt as though a thin veil of mist had been swept away, leaving everything much clearer.

It was only that the wedding date had been set so close, and He Yunqin was so busy with the preparations that in that one month he’d only come to the Yu house twice—once to discuss arrangements for the Yu family’s banquet, and once to ask what style of furniture she preferred. She herself was hardly less occupied than He Yunqin, busy every day with tailoring clothes, preparing her dowry, and adding to her jewelry. Later, seeing that her mother and brother truly couldn’t manage everything alone, she simply took a month’s leave from school.

Gu Yun, being both a close friend and a bridesmaid for the wedding, brought her copied notes from class to Hongdou’s house every day after school, and while Hongdou skimmed through her coursework at lightning speed, Gu Yun would help out around the Yu household as well.

In just one short month, both the He and Yu families were run ragged, but fortunately, after a brief period of chaos, everything settled into a smooth rhythm, growing more efficient as the days went on.

On the day of the wedding, the sky was clear and bright, an autumn breeze bringing crisp coolness, and carriages and cars crowded thick outside the Majestic Hotel.

Since it was the He family hosting the celebration, nearly all of Shanghai’s notable figures came. The He family had always been praised for their skill in hospitality and social graces—needless to say, the wedding banquet featured prized dishes like purple crab and silverfish, with champagne and wine flowing without end.

Two venerable elders had been invited as witnesses to the marriage: one was the former mayor of Shanghai, now president of the Central Bank, Yu Zeguang; the other was Sir Hamson, headmaster of Hongdou’s school, St. John’s University.

The wedding speech had been written by He Yunqin himself—rich and substantial in language, running to several thousand words, recounting in detail the course of how he and Miss Yu Hongdou had come to know, understand, and fall in love with each other. As the two witnesses read it aloud with smiles, they occasionally added a few harmless, humorous remarks, sending the assembled guests into peals of laughter.

Of course, since the two of them had never actually properly courted, He Yunqin had no choice but to exercise his considerable ingenuity in taking some creative liberties with the speech.

Fortunately, Hongdou only made a brief appearance at the wedding itself before being escorted back to the bridal chamber by a car the He family had sent, so she was spared having to hear it, or she might have found herself caught between laughter and tears.

Among the women present, Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Pan, being honored guests from the bride’s side, naturally could not leave early. Duan Mingyi, as the eldest daughter-in-law, likewise had to remain at the banquet to attend to guests.

In the end it was He Lanzhi, He Zhuyun, Yuqi, Yuyuan, and several senior female relatives of the He family who escorted Hongdou back to the He mansion, while Gu Yun, Mei Lizhen, and the other bridesmaids naturally accompanied her as well.

The bridal chamber was set at the end of the second-floor corridor in the east wing—originally He Yunqin’s own room. In front walked the wedding attendant and head steward leading the way, with the group of women following behind. Hongdou was ushered to the door, and He Zhuyun turned with a smile: “Second Sister-in-law, your and Second Brother’s bridal chamber is so beautifully decorated.”

The wedding had blended Chinese and Western styles, and Hongdou still wore the white lace Western-style wedding gown. As the door opened, she gathered up her skirt hem lightly and looked inward from the doorway—it turned out the outer room was a sitting room, with the bedroom beyond it.

For the wedding, Mrs. He had specially had the rooms freshly repainted, and had a full set of new furniture shipped in from France, giving the whole space a completely refreshed look. Yuqi and the others, too eager to wait, laughingly pushed Hongdou straight inside.

Once inside, Hongdou looked up and saw the great red quilt spread across the wide Western-style high-legged bed in the bedroom. That vivid red was so dazzling that her heart leapt without warning, and she quickly looked away, turning instead to quietly study the other furnishings in the room.

Facing the large bed at an angle were two sets of Western-style lattice floor-to-ceiling glass windows, beyond which lay a terrace, the lawn below green as jade. On either side stood a pair of tall ivory-white carved pillars, each topped with a plump, winged Western cherub, smiling merrily, a fountain burbling below.

Gu Yun, examining the trinkets on the vanity, laughed: “Here I thought I’d seen a fair bit of the world through my father, but this time I really must admit my ignorance—more than half the things in this room I don’t even recognize.”

He Zhuyun said: “Some were added by my mother’s orders, some are gifts newly sent by others, and some were already here—things Second Brother originally kept in his room.”

So this was where she would live with He Yunqin from now on.

Hongdou’s heart stirred, and she looked over that way curiously, but the wedding attendant had already ushered her to sit properly on the new bed.

He Lanzhi said with a smile: “The bride still needs to change clothes—why don’t the rest of you bridesmaids go downstairs for some sweets.” Gu Yun and the others dispersed at that.

Hongdou let the servants attend to her, removing that cumbersome wedding gown and changing back into a qipao. After eating a little of the refreshments, once everyone had withdrawn, the room was left to her alone, utterly quiet.

With no one else around, she felt less restrained, and noticing there was another room beyond, rose and pushed open the door—it turned out to be the washroom, with an enormous four-clawed golden bathtub inside, astonishingly large. Unsure why it needed to be so big, she stood there studying it for a while before returning to the bedroom.

It wasn’t yet seven o’clock, and He Yunqin wouldn’t be back for a while yet. Recalling Gu Yun and the others’ chattering discussion earlier, she sat down at the vanity and picked up the trinkets to look them over.

A crystal ball vase held a large bouquet of roses, which looked unmistakably real, yet there was no water in the vase, and the petals’ color was extraordinarily soft and vivid. She puzzled over it a while, guessing these must be so-called everlasting flowers—preserved with some Western method to keep their color from fading.

On the other side was a small gilded human anatomical skeleton model, which she recognized from school, though she hadn’t known He Yunqin was also interested in Western medicine.

A sudden urge to explore his past life welled up in her. Resting her chin on one hand, she slowly slid open the right-hand drawer with the other, and lowering her gaze, found several notebooks inside, their covers printed with foreign script, all handwritten in fountain pen.

Her English wasn’t bad, but she knew no German. After puzzling over them a while, she supposed these must be notes He Yunqin had taken while in Germany.

In the left drawer was a book-sized blue velvet jewelry box. She lifted it out and opened it, only to freeze—inside was a dazzling diamond necklace. Wondering who He Yunqin might have intended it for, she was still puzzling over it when she noticed a note tucked beneath it, reading: To my wife, Hongdou.

The handwriting was forceful and vigorous—unmistakably He Yunqin’s hand.

Her face flushed faintly. Had He Yunqin known she would open this drawer and prepared the jewelry in advance, or had he already kept it here, intending to give it to her someday?

Her heart felt steeped in sweetness. Smiling faintly, she closed the drawer and turned toward the terrace.

Outside, the bright moon had just risen, the greenery like a dream, the evening breeze drifting in gently from the terrace, occasionally lifting the sheer curtains draped on either side. It sounded as though people had returned out front—the honk of a car horn mixed with bursts of laughter, drawing nearer, stirring the once-quiet He mansion back to life.

She sat quietly for a while, and was just about to step out to the terrace when she heard movement outside—someone murmuring a few words to a servant, then the bedroom door closing.

Her heart gave a light jolt. She turned to look, and found herself meeting He Yunqin’s gaze directly. He had already taken off his Western suit jacket and wore only his shirt, buttons undone, collar slightly open. Fortunately there was no trace of drunkenness on his face—only his eyes were darker and brighter than usual.

He Yunqin tossed his jacket onto the sofa outside, his gaze naturally settling on her. She had changed into a bright red qipao patterned with lotus in bright satin, her face glowing even more radiantly in that red light. Seated at the vanity, her waist curved in slightly, the fabric wrapping snugly around the full curve of her hips.

His expression remained calm on the surface, though his heart quickened involuntarily, and he said, somewhat distractedly: “I thought you’d be asleep.”

Hongdou looked at him with a touch of feigned annoyance: “It’s still so early, how could I possibly be asleep.”

Author’s note: The author has caught a cold. If there’s no second update by 10:30, please don’t wait up—I’ll try to make it up tomorrow. Mwah mwah mwah mwah.