Chapter 38 – Wedding
After that awkward incident, their relationship actually grew even stronger.
Gu Wenzhu felt sorry for Xia Yi’s pre-wedding nerves, which had left him unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.
He figured it was due to Xia Yi’s insecurity, so he became even more tender and considerate in their daily life.
Upon reflection, Xia Yi realized he truly didn’t believe Brother Zhu would do such a thing, so he temporarily put aside the birthmark issue and focused on preparing for the wedding.
It felt like they were already enjoying a honeymoon before the actual wedding.
Gu Wenzhu had now become a skilled carpenter and tailor.
In just a month, he not only crafted a set of furniture, but in the evenings, he also made a set of padded clothes for both himself and Xia Yi to wear on their wedding day.
Since they didn’t have much money to spare, neither planned to make the traditional red wedding garments. Instead, they opted for two sets of everyday wear.
Although Gu Wenzhu thought Xia Yi looked good in purple, Xia Yi firmly protested and personally picked out the fabric: one bolt of dark blue and one of ocean blue.
With the wedding day fast approaching and the weather fair, Gu Wenzhu decided to fill a basket with sunflower seeds, dried fruits, and candies. He led Xia Yi to go door-to-door, delivering wedding invitations.
At each house, Gu Wenzhu would grab a generous handful from the basket, explain the reason for their visit, and then head off to the next household amidst well-wishes from the homeowners.
Before they realized it, they had arrived at the old house.
Gu Wenzhu’s heart burned with anger at the sight. The last time Xia Yi had thrown a tantrum in the middle of the night, it was definitely due to Meng Wanzi and Qi Zhou, those two Daoist cultists from the local Immortal Sect.
Who knows what nonsense they had been feeding Xia Yi, making him believe more and more in their tales of the cultivation world.
Recently, Gu Wenzhu had been keeping a close watch on Xia Yi, following him closely whenever he approached the old house. He wouldn’t leave Xia Yi’s side for a second.
When Xia Yi spoke with Meng Wanzi and his disciple, Gu Wenzhu would stand silently behind him, his cold stare threatening to freeze the two of them on the spot.
The pair had long since noticed Gu Wenzhu’s hostility and were utterly baffled by it. They did their best to keep a low profile, avoiding Xia Yi unless necessary and steering clear of Gu Wenzhu’s watchful eyes.
When Xia Yi did visit them, they would exchange a few brief words before sending him off as quickly as possible.
Seeing Xia Yi stop in front of the old house, Gu Wenzhu’s expression darkened.
Even on the wedding day, it seemed impossible to avoid seeing Meng Wanzi and Qi Zhou, those two Immortal Sect followers. How unlucky.
“Let’s go invite old Meng.” Xia Yi cheerfully stepped forward to knock on the door.
Getting married in this world with no family or friends of his own, Meng Wanzi, as a half-mentor, had to be invited, along with Qi Zhou.
“Who is it?” A deep, muffled voice came from inside. It didn’t sound like Meng Wanzi or Qi Zhou but more like Er Niu, a villager.
Xia Yi exchanged a glance with Gu Wenzhu and knocked again. “Is Old Meng home? It’s Xia Yi.”
“Oh, it’s Xiao Yi.” With the sound of approaching footsteps, the courtyard door swung open, revealing Er Niu, a tall, sturdy young man.
Er Niu, holding the door handle, smiled warmly at them, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth. “Wenzhu, Xiao Yi, come in and sit down. Old Meng is out gathering cow dung right now; he’s not home.”
Xia Yi was stunned, and after a while, he stammered, “Elder Meng still goes to collect manure?”
“Yeah. Uncle Wang calls for him every day, and they go together to gather manure for composting the fields.”
Gu Wenzhu lengthened his face, listening to their conversation in silence. The Daoist faction from Fangxian was getting bolder, not only treating his old house as their hideout but now dragging Er Niu and Uncle Wang into it too.
Er Niu suddenly realized he’d been blocking the doorway and quickly stepped back, making room. He warmly invited them, “Come in, come inside and we can talk.”
He acted almost like half the host.
The courtyard was already arranged quite neatly. Not only had the stone-paved ground been scrubbed so clean it could serve as a mirror, but even each bamboo stick in the fence had been wiped spotless.
In one corner of the courtyard, a makeshift rockery had been built, and beside it stood a large jar, covered with several bright green water lilies.
“Here, have some tea,” Er Niu warmly brought over two bowls of water, handing them to Xia Yi and Gu Wenzhu.
Xia Yi took a look and saw a few unidentified herbs floating in the water.
“It’s ‘g?nhuáng grass’,” Er Niu explained. “Xiao Zhou didn’t like the local tea, even when I bought some from the county, he still wouldn’t drink it. So I dried this ‘g?nhuáng grass’ to use as tea. He said it tastes quite refreshing.”
So particular.
“Gu Beicheng, who’s here?” A lazy voice accompanied by yawns came from inside the house, and Qi Zhou appeared, clearly just waking up.
“It’s Xia Yi and Wenzhu. They’re getting married and came to invite you and Elder Meng to the wedding feast,” Er Niu quickly explained with a grin.
“You two? Getting married?” Qi Zhou’s eyes slowly widened, his face full of disbelief. “But you two are both… men, right?”
“And so what? Why can’t a man marry a male wife?” Xia Yi’s face darkened as he coldly responded.
Qi Zhou stood there dumbfounded, utterly speechless, clearly shocked to his core.
“Gu Beicheng, do men marry men around here?” After Xia Yi and Gu Wenzhu left, Qi Zhou turned woodenly to Er Niu.
“No, not really,” Er Niu said with a sheepish grin.
“Oh, that’s good,” Qi Zhou said, heading towards the bathroom. “Though I have to say, some men in your village look quite strange, all painted up with powder and rouge.”
The world was really going downhill.
Before entering the bath, Qi Zhou turned and casually instructed, “Come help me with my bath.”
“Right away.”
Over the next few days, several village women came to help out at home, including a couple of g?’er (men with feminine attributes).
Xia Yi was busy alongside them, cooking meat, steaming buns, and killing chickens, keeping him spinning in circles. Meanwhile, Gu Wenzhu was running back and forth to the county every day on Old Zhang’s horse cart, buying all sorts of wedding supplies.
One day, after finishing his tasks, Xia Yi remembered the lettuce he had neglected for several days and decided to go check on it.
As he stepped out of the village, he saw Elder Meng and Uncle Wang. Each of them held a bowl of water and a tobacco pipe, squatting on the ridge between fields, smiling and chatting.
When they saw Xia Yi, Elder Meng tapped his tobacco pipe against the sole of his shoe, tucked it into the hemp rope belt around his waist, clasped his hands in the sleeves of his coarse cotton jacket, and cheerfully greeted him, “Little Xia, have you eaten?”
Xia Yi: …
Before he knew it, the wedding day had arrived, and Xia Yi was woken up by Gu Wenzhu before dawn.
Still groggy, Xia Yi tried to swat away the hand gently tugging at his face and buried himself deeper under the blanket, leaving just a few strands of black hair showing on the pillow.
The blanket was slowly pulled away, and Gu Wenzhu’s amused voice whispered in his ear, “Husband, it’s time to get up.”
The word “husband” made half of Xia Yi’s sleepiness vanish. Still smiling to himself, he snuggled deeper into the blanket, laughing silently.
“Husband, today is our wedding day. You need to get up and get ready to marry me,” Gu Wenzhu teased, his fingers lightly tickling the pink, plump earlobe in front of him.
Xia Yi couldn’t hold back anymore. He opened his eyes and turned over.
Gu Wenzhu stood at the bedside with a broad smile, dressed in a brand-new dark blue robe, with a corsage of ‘Thanksgiving cactus’ and ‘asparagus fern leaves’ pinned to his right chest.
His black hair was neatly tied up, and he stood tall and handsome.
Xia Yi instantly shook off all his drowsiness, grinning foolishly as he held out his arms, making a gesture for a hug. “Wife, you look stunning today.”
Gu Wenzhu couldn’t help but smirk and indulgently pulled him out of the bed.
His embrace carried a hint of the fresh morning air, making Xia Yi, who had just emerged from the warm blankets, shiver.
Seeing him tremble, Gu Wenzhu quickly grabbed the new clothes hanging by the bed and draped them over him. “Get up. Aunt Li and the others are already here.”
“Alright, I’ll go help out too,” Xia Yi said as he slipped his hands into his sleeves, hurriedly getting dressed.
Gu Wenzhu wanted to remind him that according to tradition, the bride was supposed to stay in the bridal chamber all day. But seeing Xia Yi’s excitement, he opened his mouth and then closed it again.
Xia Yi hadn’t wanted to marry in the first place, so there was no need to restrict him with these customs. Let him do whatever makes him happy.
Today, Xia Yi wore a sea-blue outfit to match Gu Wenzhu’s dark blue, with a matching corsage on his chest.
The two corsages of ‘Thanksgiving cactus’ had been picked from Qi Zhou’s yard the night before, with the vibrant red buds just about to bloom, causing Qi Zhou to wince in pain as they were plucked.
After being left in a bowl of water overnight, the bright red petals had fully unfurled, still adorned with a few glistening droplets of water.
They made Xia Yi’s fair skin seem even more porcelain-like, and his delicate features all the more striking.
The two exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.
As the mood between them grew more intimate, Gu Wenzhu leaned in and planted a light kiss on Xia Yi’s forehead. “Come on, let’s go outside.”
By now, the sun had climbed high, and the courtyard was bustling with guests.
In the village, whenever someone held a wedding, no one would go to the fields. The entire village crowded into Gu Wenzhu’s small yard, chatting and nibbling on sunflower seeds amidst the lively celebration.
When the time was nearly right, the wedding ceremony began.
Since neither of them had parents, Meng Wanzi and Uncle Wang sat in as elders, accepting the couple’s bows and tea.
As the announcement of the ceremony’s completion echoed, the courtyard filled with the loud crackling of firecrackers. Gu Wenzhu quickly reached out to cover Xia Yi’s ears.
In Xia Yi’s mind, 179 played the wedding march, shouting excited congratulations and wishes for them to have children soon.
Xia Yi placed his hand over the back of Gu Wenzhu’s, squinting as he looked outside. Confetti was flying, resembling a rain of flowers.
In a moment of quiet, he discreetly wiped the corner of his eye on his sleeve.
‘Dad, Mom, I’m married now. I’ve found someone to spend my life with. You can rest easy.’
Suddenly, warm breath grazed his ear. Gu Wenzhu bent down and whispered something quickly.
The firecrackers were too loud, so he didn’t catch it.
Xia Yi turned, questioning Gu Wenzhu with his eyes.
Gu Wenzhu’s bright eyes looked at him, and he repeated it.
This time, Xia Yi saw the words on his lips: “I love you.”
—
