The phoenix sings to greet the morning sun; the auspicious hour has arrived.
The wedding procession, bearing candles, scented balls, gauze and satin bridal trousseaus, boxes of dresses and clothing cases, was ready to depart. The sedan bearers, tasked with carrying the bridal sedan and flower palanquins, arrived unhurried. After Pei Huaijin and Pei Huaian paid respects at the family shrine, Bao Yan prepared to set out to welcome the bride.
Yet just then, a palace eunuch arrived, bearing the Emperor’s verbal summons, urgently calling Pei Huaijin into the palace for a discussion.
The Emperor’s orders could not be defied, so the wedding procession had to be entrusted to the seventh brother, Pei Huaian, to proceed in his stead. Pei Huaijin removed his wedding attire, donned his official robes, and accompanied the eunuch to the palace.
When the people of the Shen residence saw only Pei Huaian at the head of the procession and not Pei Huaijin, and learned the reason, though they were helpless, they could only accept it.
The shadows from the window gradually drifted east. After the Bao Yan ritual, the wedding procession in the front courtyard began to urge the bride to prepare with music and song.
Shen Youran, her head heavy beneath a resplendent headdress and jeweled hairpins, had her face completely covered by a bejeweled, gold-embroidered bridal veil. Before her eyes, there was only an expanse of festive red; everything else was hidden. She had to rely entirely on others to guide her steps until she arrived before the bridal sedan. There, she glimpsed the hem of a red robe—she knew this was the man lifting the curtain for her, the one who would soon become her husband, Pei Huaian…
Her heart suddenly beat wildly. She instinctively turned her head, wanting to see what he looked like. The pearls and jades on her veil chimed with a crisp, clear sound as she moved, blending with his words, “Careful, watch your step.” For a moment, she didn’t quite catch his tone, nor could she see his face…
She bent down and entered the bridal sedan. The wedding party outside began singing to ask for red envelopes. After a round of lively fun, two bridal sedans moved forward side by side, with the wedding and bridal escort processions merging into a single grand team. The long, red procession was like a dragon winding its way majestically toward the Pei residence, becoming the greatest spectacle in the city.
A gentle breeze lifted the sedan’s curtain as it swayed rhythmically to the bearers’ steady pace. Shen Youran, who had begun her preparations at dawn, was lulled into drowsiness by the movement. Her head kept nodding; half asleep and half awake, she was suddenly thrown against the side of the sedan by a sharp turn. Her phoenix coronet was knocked askew, tugging painfully at her scalp…
After that, the sedan jolted even more violently, no longer steady and measured. It felt as though the bearers were now sprinting with her, so fast she couldn’t even sit upright inside.
Outside, chaotic shouting erupted. Amid the commotion, Shen Youran heard Qing He’s shrill voice: “Someone’s kidnapping the bride! Help my lady, please!”
Kidnapping the bride?
Wasn’t that the sort of thing that only happened in the stories Mother told her?
Under the bright, clear heavens and the blazing sun, did anyone really dare commit such an outrageous act?
The suddenness of it all left Shen Youran no time for ceremony. She lifted her veil and poked her head out the small window to see what was happening outside.
The first thing she saw was her elder sister’s bridal sedan, being carried at breakneck speed alongside hers down a deep alleyway. The four sedan bearers were all burly and strong. Even with the sedan on their shoulders, their pace was swift as the wind.
Looking back, she saw another group of people blocking the alley with knives, preventing the wedding and escort parties from following. Although there were many in the procession, not one held a weapon, and so they were stuck outside the alley, a dense, helpless crowd.
From the corner of her eye, she saw her sister also peering out from her own sedan. Shen Youran, panicked and helpless, called out, nearly in tears, “Sister…”
Shen Yunshu’s face turned pale. How could she not guess whose scheme this was today?
She hadn’t expected he’d disregard the law, daring to attempt such a shameless, outrageous thing. If she’d known he would sink to this, she should have ensured he’d spend his life rotting in prison.
But now wasn’t the time for regret. Even as Shen Yunshu’s heart was in turmoil, she forced herself to remain calm for her younger sister’s sake, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.” Lu Yi was coming for her. If he truly succeeded in stealing her away, she would do everything possible to protect her third sister.
She was bracing for the worst when suddenly the twang of a bow sounded, and a white-feathered arrow flew through the air, striking one of the sedan bearers in the back. The man fell instantly…
Shen Yunshu’s sedan immediately lost its balance and crashed to the ground, bride and all.
The whistling of arrows came again—three in rapid succession. Realizing things were turning against them, the sedan bearers abandoned the sedans and fled.
Shen Yunshu was thrown out of the sedan, and saw her sister crawling out of hers, her face deathly pale as she threw herself into Shen Yunshu’s arms, “Sister, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Shen Yunshu ignored her own pain and pulled her sister to flee.
One golden bridal veil fluttered to the ground as they ran; another, tangled by the phoenix coronet and jeweled hairpins, trailed behind them.
Fortunately, at that moment, the wedding party at the entrance of the alley broke through the blockade and came to their rescue.
In the chaos, maids and servants shielded the sisters, someone picked up the golden bridal veil, and handed it to the lucky woman in charge. She squeezed in, glanced at the two sisters, then placed the veil on Shen Yunshu’s head. She then gathered up the other veil from Shen Youran’s hairpins, covered her as well, and helped them back into the sedans, appointing several people to carry them.
But the procession couldn’t move on right away. Several people had been injured in the chaos, especially the two handmaidens, Qing He and Qiong Zhi, who were most eager to protect their mistresses—one injured her arm, the other sprained her ankle. Pei Huaian selected a few people to escort the wounded to a nearby clinic.
One of the kidnappers was caught. This was a grave offense, so Pei Huaian specifically ordered his attendant Qing Wu to take the man to the magistrate and request a thorough investigation.
Only then did he have a moment to thank the young archer who had acted so bravely, “If not for your intervention today, things could have gone terribly wrong. May I know your name, and would you join us at the manor today to celebrate? I must thank you properly…”
The young archer’s features were striking, his profile stern, his black eyes glancing at the sedan with its curtains drawn. He answered coolly, “My surname is Liang. I have other business today, so I won’t intrude on your festivities…”
“Where do you live, then? I’ll come invite you for a drink some other day…”
“It was nothing, no need to keep it in mind.” The young man gave a small nod, then left with his bow and arrows.
Because of this sudden incident, the wedding procession was delayed for quite some time before setting off again.
This time, the sedan bearers were not as strong; their pace was slow and unsteady. Shen Youran was shaken so much she grew dizzy. Still in shock from earlier, she felt listless, all the morning’s joy and anticipation gone.
By the time they reached the Pei residence, it was nearly nightfall.
Shen Youran, heavy-eyed, was helped out of the sedan. She stepped onto the blue mat laid at the sedan’s feet and entered the door, crossed the saddle, sat beneath the ceremonial canopy, bowed at the incense table, and paid respects to her elders and kin. Then, surrounded by relatives, servants, and maids, she was ushered into the bridal chamber to await the groom for the bowing and hair-binding rites.
According to custom, Pei Huaian should have come soon, but after a long wait, only two maids arrived to deliver food and tea, telling her, “Young Madam, please have some supper. If you need anything, just call for us…”
Shen Youran felt a bit puzzled. “When… when will my husband be coming?”
“We do not know, Madam. Shall we go and inquire?”
Never mind, he was just in the front courtyard anyway; there was no real need to ask.
Shen Youran said, “No need,” and then, still hindered by the cumbersome veil, she ate a little, relieved herself, and returned to sit quietly on the bed.
The bridal chamber was quiet. A pair of dragon and phoenix candles burned steadily, casting shadows under the soft red canopy. Soon, there was a new bride, fast asleep atop the deep red mandarin-duck brocade quilt…
Elsewhere, Shen Yunshu’s bridal veil had likewise not been lifted. She knew Pei Huaijin was still in the palace; his younger brother Pei Huaian could only stand in for the greeting, not for the rest of the ceremony. So, she instructed the maids to leave her alone for a while.
After all that had happened during the day, she was still unsettled. Though she suspected who was behind it, deep down she hoped it was only a random disaster. Otherwise, if it was traced back to him, her family would be implicated, and if he turned vengeful upon exposure, she too would suffer…
Troubled by these tangled worries, she vaguely heard the maids whispering outside, then one entered and respectfully reported, “Young Madam, a messenger from the front courtyard just came—Old Master’s illness has flared up again, and the seventh young master has gone to keep him company…”
“I understand.” Though she was puzzled as to why Pei Huaian’s visit to the old master was being reported to her, she decided it was probably just the maid speaking without thinking.
“Then please rest, Young Madam. I’ll fetch you something to eat from the kitchen…”
“All right.” Shen Yunshu replied without much thought and sank back into worries about Lu Yi.
The night was as black as ink, the moon as pale as frost. Pei Huaijin returned to the Pei residence, bathed in silvery moonlight.
The entire house was ablaze with lanterns, bright as day, draped in red silk and brocade, festivity everywhere.
The maids and servants, seeing his return, quickly bustled about their duties.
Shen Youran was gently awakened, thinking she’d only napped for a short while. She rubbed her eyes and forced herself to sit up straight.
Soon, the bed beside her dipped with someone’s weight, and she caught the faint, pleasant scent of agarwood.
The maids quickly formed two lines as instructed by the ceremonial officer, and handed the wedding scale to the groom.
Pei Huaijin took it, gently lifted her veil, and revealed a delicate, rosy face—eyes reddened from rubbing, more lovely than an apricot blossom after rain.
The phoenix coronet, encrusted with pearls and gems, made her powdered and rouged face appear all the more beautiful and refined. Yet her eyes still looked sleepy and dazed, gazing at him with innocence and confusion.
The fleeting glimpse on the Hong Bridge half a year ago overlapped with the beautiful bride before him now.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
His voice was clear and warm, like jade chimes, ringing in Shen Youran’s ears, pure and pleasing.
Shen Youran stared at him in a daze. Big Sister had told her the truth—the seventh young lord of the Pei family really was as handsome as jade, as clear and bright as the wind among pines or the moon reflected on water. He was extraordinarily good-looking.
Even more rare, his eyes were bright and serene, without the least hint of frivolity.
When they’d met at the fair in Daxiangguo Temple, he’d seemed rather glib. She hadn’t expected that, when serious, he would be such a gentleman.
Delighted, Shen Youran felt all her fatigue and fear from the day disappear, replaced by joy as they drank the wedding wine and performed the hair-binding ritual together.
As soon as it was done, maids came to tidy the bedding. Two more brought clothes and helped her to the bath.
Since both had already bathed that morning, neither spent much time on it.
When Pei Huaijin returned from bathing, the maids had already withdrawn. The lamps were out everywhere in the room except for a pair of dragon and phoenix candles on the table, casting light on the slender, graceful bride by the bed.
With her makeup washed away, her pure, delicate beauty was even more apparent, less showy but more soft and graceful, like a lily of the valley kissed by dew—quietly beautiful, impossible to look away from.
She seemed intrigued by a cord hanging under the canopy, tugging it so that a clear bell rang from outside every time.
“What’s this string for? I asked them earlier, but they just laughed and wouldn’t tell me…”
She turned to him, her bright eyes and white teeth glowing even more radiantly in the candlelight.
Pei Huaijin went over, sat beside her, and gently untangled the cord from her hands; as he did, the bell outside fell silent.
Taking her hand, he explained, “It’s for calling for water.”