The Shizi’s residence had always been efficient in its affairs. By the time Gu Yanxi had finished running his errands and returned, nearly everything that needed to be prepared had already been readied — with only one thing still missing: the wedding dress.
In Daqing, wedding dresses were never sold in shops. Even the poorest of families would cut a few feet of red cloth and sew one themselves, to say nothing of the great noble houses. Once a daughter reached a suitable age, preparations would begin even before a match had been formally decided. Girls skilled in needlework would make their own; those who were not would have maids and seamstresses to help — there was simply no need to purchase one from outside.
Wang Rong glanced at his master and said quietly, “The eldest young miss was once engaged before…”
Indeed. A’Zhi had been betrothed to the Shen Family — there ought to be preparations already made. Gu Yanxi took the wedding robe, changed into it swiftly, and strode out the door. The nanny hurried to stop him, rushing after him with a large red flower fashioned from red silk to fasten onto him.
Gu Yanxi galloped through the streets once more, his brilliant wedding robes drawing every eye as he rode through the city in full display. Those who recognized him fell silent and watched him pass. By now, who did not know that the Grand Tutor was on the brink of death? Seeing the Prince Regent dressed this way, people surmised he must be seeking to draw upon the auspiciousness of marriage to ward off ill fortune — they could only hope it would truly be of some use.
The members of the Hua Family were likewise stunned by his appearance. From the moment he passed through the main gate, their eyes followed him without pause, each of them sensing what this might mean yet hardly daring to believe it. To speak plainly, whether their eldest young miss could even survive was still uncertain — no matter how deep the Prince Regent’s affections ran, how long could they possibly last?
But if a marriage were completed, certain things would be entirely different.
Hua Yizheng stared at Gu Yanxi, who had dropped to one knee before him — so startled that he even forgot to step aside. He repeated the man’s words back to him: “Marry Zhi’er?”
“Yes. I ask you to entrust A’Zhi to me.”
What the servants could think of, Hua Yizheng could naturally think of as well. He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. “Have you thought this through clearly?”
“I have never been more certain of anything. I wish to remain by A’Zhi’s side in the most proper and legitimate way possible.”
“You should know that given Zhi’er’s current condition, this old man cannot possibly allow her to leave the Hua Family.”
“I do not care where we are. As long as I am with A’Zhi, that is enough.”
Hua Yizheng’s beard trembled. Perhaps the one blessing this disaster had brought upon the Hua Family was that it had led Zhi’er to meet the Shizi — to be treated with such depth of devotion.
“Very well. This old man… consents to your request. This old man shall entrust the Hua Family’s eldest granddaughter into your keeping.”
Gu Yanxi kowtowed cleanly and without hesitation. That bow, he performed on A’Zhi’s behalf.
Hua Pingyang stepped forward and helped him to his feet, his smile more sorrowful than any tears. “I buried a great many jars of daughter’s wine. I heard from the servants that Zhi’er had them all dug up and moved to that other residence. I’ll have someone bring them back — let us share a proper cup.”
“There is no need today. When A’Zhi recovers, I will give her a grand wedding ceremony. We shall drink the daughter’s wine together then, Fourth Uncle.”
Gu Yanxi’s eyes blazed with a brilliance almost too bright to look upon, the intensity within them nearly overflowing. Hua Pingyang abruptly turned away and covered his face as tears came pouring down in great streams. His niece had suffered such misfortune — yet she had also found such happiness. If she could only wake up, she would surely become the most blessed young woman in all the world. She only had to wake up!
Gu Yanxi looked toward Hua Pingyu. “When A’Zhi was engaged before, a wedding dress ought to have been prepared…”
Hua Pingyu could not answer him. He had not paid close attention to the affairs of the inner household in those days. As a father, the most he could do for his daughter was to keep her betrothed in check, urging him to grow into someone his daughter could one day rely upon.
“There is one.” Hua Pingyang wiped away his tears and looked over, voice still thick with grief. “There is one — I once heard her speak of it.”
Back then, she had complained that the phoenix coronet was too heavy, saying that if she wore it for an entire day her neck would surely ache. She had also said the wedding dress was such a bother to put on — she had tried it on once and never wanted to try it again. That lazy girl had found even this too troublesome in those days, yet these past two years she had shouldered the entire family without a single word of complaint, bearing responsibilities that should never have fallen to her.
Tears fell unrestrained. Hua Pingyang wiped his face hard and walked out. “I’ll have someone find it.”
Gu Yanxi lowered his gaze, his hands clenching tightly into fists inside his sleeves. After a long moment, he steadied his emotions and continued: “There will be no banquet guests today. I have only sent word to the Duke of Anguo’s residence and the Zhu Family. The Grand Empress Dowager will preside over the ceremony. Everything required for the wedding has been prepared by the Shizi’s residence — I ask that you have people see to the arrangements.”
“Head steward, you go — and have Fourth Sister-in-law lend her hand to see it properly done.”
Steward Xu dabbed at the corners of his eyes and hurried off.
“As for the betrothal gifts — I have been quietly making preparations over these past two years. Please trust me. When A’Zhi recovers, I will come for her with ten great palanquins and take her home as my bride with all due ceremony.”
“I trust Zhi’er’s judgment.”
“My deepest gratitude for your blessing.” Gu Yanxi gave a long, formal bow — expressing his thanks for not having raised any obstacle at this time, and also for all the concessions made in these recent days for the sake of saving A’Zhi. Such things were not something an ordinary head of household could have done, which was precisely why A’Zhi had given everything she had for a family like this.
The Hua Family, too, was no less capable in getting things done. That courtyard — once unremarkable, later fallen into neglect, and now drawing every eye — was draped in red silk. Even the gate was adorned with festive characters. The maids all changed into cheerfully coloured garments, and the household’s members great and small likewise dressed in new clothes, put on their finest jewellery, painted their brows and rouged their lips — presenting every appearance of those attending a joyous occasion.
The Zhu Family’s people arrived. The Duke of Anguo’s household came together as well. Then came the Grand Tutor, uninvited — followed by Elder Lord Qin, the Jiang Family old and young, each of the Six Ministry heads without exception, General Zhou Jing and more and more still, until even the old Madam Sun arrived dressed in a gown of purple. She quietly stood at the farthest point from the others, fearing that the mourning she still observed might bring ill upon the eldest young miss.
At a moment like this, no one gave thought to formalities and conventions. Civil officials and military officers stood together in unprecedented harmony, filling the small courtyard to the brim.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
“The Grand Empress Dowager has arrived!”
At the herald’s cry, every person present knelt in reception.
All were excused from ceremony. His Majesty helped his grandmother to her seat of honour in the main hall, and Hua Yizheng led the Hua Family men forward once more to pay their respects.
“After today’s proceedings, we are to be family — no need for such formality.” The Grand Empress Dowager managed a smile. “All the way here, this Dowager was just thinking — no matter how everything outside has changed, the Hua Family has not. Nothing here has changed at all. Whatever it looked like decades ago, it still looks the same today. It is we ourselves who have changed — grown old. And Wan’niang is no longer with us. Things remain, but the people are gone.”
Hua Yizheng gave a deep bow. Many years ago, the Empress Dowager had come to the Hua Family once before — not long after he and Wan’niang had wed. He had not understood it at the time, but came to understand later that she had come to stand by Wan’niang’s side. And when the Hua Family fell into disaster, it was the Empress Dowager who reached out her hand in time. Regardless of whether the Emperor would truly have punished the women of the household, the Empress Dowager’s show of stance had been the greatest protection the Hua Family could have received. The family had benefited in real and concrete ways — this was a debt of grace.
No one knew how much longer Hua Zhi could hold on. Without waiting for the proper ceremonial preparations, the wedding began the moment the officiant and all the guests had gathered.
The tightly shut chamber doors opened. Four maids came out in pairs and took their positions on either side. Behind them, Gu Yanxi carried Hua Zhi slowly forth.
The tall man wore his wedding robes, his hair bound beneath a jade coronet. The scar upon his face was left bare and uncovered — yet in this moment, no one found it fearsome to behold. The woman he carried in his arms likewise wore a red wedding dress, her body reduced to the slightest, smallest thing. The trailing hem of the gown billowed around her, only making her seem all the more weightless. She did not wear the heavy phoenix coronet. Her hair was loosely gathered with red silk — for the young miss had been losing hair at an alarming rate lately, and the maids had not dared to bind it too tightly.
Author’s note: I know I went back on my word, and it’s not that I didn’t write it — this chapter was actually finished yesterday. I just didn’t want to release it, because I wasn’t satisfied with it myself. I genuinely wanted to go on hiatus. No matter how I revised it, I still wasn’t happy with it.