Ever since the wedding date of the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month had been set, time seemed to pass with startling speed.
Once the Mid-Autumn Festival ended, autumn winds began slipping cold fingers down people’s collars.
The small boats that sold lotus seedpods along the waterways had disappeared. In their place came peddlers carrying shoulder poles, with sugar-roasted chestnuts hanging from one side and roasted ginkgo nuts from the other. Their baskets were so heavy that the carrying poles bent beneath the weight.
Their cries stretched long through the wind, the final notes trembling as though half of them had been carried away by the autumn breeze.
Lady Gao treated the wedding preparations as the most important matter of the year for the marquis residence.
The betrothal gift inventory was spread across her desk. She reviewed it line by line with a brush in hand, adding new entries even after the ink had dried.
The banquet menu was revised three times.
Every piece of furniture destined for the bridal chamber passed under her scrutiny.
As for the wedding garments, she personally inspected everything from the fabric to the stitching.
On the sixth day of the ninth lunar month came the ceremony of Na Cai—the Formal Proposal.
It was the first step in traditional wedding rites.
The groom’s family would send a matchmaker bearing a wild goose as a gift to formally request the bride’s hand in marriage.
Although this was largely ceremonial—the imperial decree had already been issued—the proposal was still an important matter of etiquette.
Lady Gao, however, made the occasion especially grand.
The matchmaker she selected was Madam Sun, wife of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
The Sun family shared distant kinship ties with the Changxing Marquis Residence.
Madam Sun was eloquent, meticulous, and famously skilled in social situations. Whenever she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, and once she started talking, few people could find a chance to interrupt.
The ceremonial goose came from one of the marquis family’s estates.
The fattest and strongest bird had been selected.
Maid Feng spent half the day with two servants trying to secure it.
Its wings were tied with red silk.
The goose struggled twice before finally giving up.
After it was placed inside a bamboo cage, it became much calmer, only occasionally letting out muffled honks that seemed to roll around in its throat.
Standing at the entrance of the flower hall, Lady Gao looked everything over from top to bottom before turning to Maid Feng.
“Go hurry A-Xian along. The auspicious hour for the proposal is almost here. Why hasn’t he shown up yet?”
“The Heir Apparent was in the study just now. Someone has already gone to fetch him.”
Before Maid Feng finished speaking, Ye Xian appeared at the far end of the covered corridor.
Lady Gao looked up.
Whatever she had intended to say vanished from her lips.
She merely stepped aside.
Today, Ye Xian wore a crimson patterned gauze Daoist robe beneath a deep blue ceremonial outer garment embroidered with auspicious cloud motifs.
A white jade belt encircled his waist.
Black boots covered his feet.
His hair was arranged flawlessly and secured by the bamboo-jointed jade hairpin.
Even the loose strands near his temples were perfectly in place.
The crimson was vibrant without being gaudy.
The deep blue was dignified without seeming dull.
Maid Feng had served in the marquis residence for more than twenty years.
She had seen the Heir Apparent in casual clothes, official robes, and worn household garments.
Today, however, he resembled a carefully polished sword.
All his sharpness was concealed within the sheath.
That only made him harder to look at directly.
“Let’s go.”
Lady Gao reached out and adjusted the collar of his robe.
The collar was not crooked.
She simply wanted an excuse to fuss over him.
Ye Xian mounted his horse.
The blue-gray stallion had accompanied him for years.
Today a strip of red silk had been tied to its bridle.
When the horse tossed its head, the ribbon swayed gently.
Ye Xian glanced at the crimson robe he wore.
Then he looked at the red silk tied to the horse’s head.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
In the end, he did not smile.
The proposal procession set out with drums and music.
The moment the suona horn sounded, the entire alley heard it.
The lantern-bearing attendants led the procession.
The musicians followed behind.
Then came the servants carrying trays covered in red silk. Beneath the cloth rested the lengthy list of betrothal gifts.
Behind them rode Madam Sun in her sedan chair.
Only then came Ye Xian on horseback.
The procession traveled through Chang’an Street.
Pedestrians stopped to watch.
A woman carrying a vegetable basket tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her.
“Oh my. The Changxing Marquis Residence.”
Several half-grown children darted from a nearby alley and began running behind the procession.
Their bare feet slapped against the stone pavement.
“Groom! Groom!”
The child in front shouted at the top of his lungs.
Ye Xian did not turn around.
His gaze remained fixed ahead.
His back was as straight as bamboo.
His hands held the reins steadily.
Even the blue-gray horse beneath him seemed affected, slowing its pace until its hooves struck the stone road in an even rhythm.
He had traveled this street countless times throughout his life.
In spring, people sold kites here.
In summer, chilled desserts.
In autumn, roasted chestnuts.
He had galloped horses down this street.
He had walked it through rainstorms.
He had even been scolded by the Late Marquis here.
Today he traveled it once again.
Music sounded behind him.
Red silk fluttered beside his saddle.
His fingers tightened around the reins.
Then slowly relaxed.
The horse seemed to sense something and flicked its ears backward.
Ye Xian reached out and stroked its mane.
Only then did the horse’s ears stand upright again.
When they arrived at the Gu Residence, Madam Sun descended from her sedan chair while Ye Xian dismounted.
The Gu Residence had already been decorated for celebration.
Red silk ribbons adorned the stone lions at the entrance.
The ribbons fluttered in the breeze, making the lions appear to be sticking out their tongues.
Two large red lanterns hung beneath the entrance plaque.
Candles already burned within them, casting a warm glow through the paper coverings.
Fresh red couplets had been pasted onto the doorway.
The ink still looked newly dried.
Gu Dezhao stood at the entrance to welcome the guests.
He wore his official robes.
The golden embroidered cloud-goose insignia upon his rank badge gleamed beneath the sunlight.
A smile rested on his face.
It stretched from the corners of his mouth to the lines around his eyes and even seemed to reach the strands of gray at his temples.
“This junior, Ye Xian, has come to present the formal proposal.”
Gu Dezhao looked at the young man standing before him.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Back in the old West City residence, this boy had barely reached his knees.
He remembered seeing him crouched beside a wall, coaxing little Zhaozhao while dirt stained his hands.
The boy had looked back and grinned at him.
Now that same child knelt before him.
His back was straight.
His voice was calm and steady.
Gu Dezhao offered no unnecessary words.
Instead, he stepped aside, opening the main entrance and gesturing inward.
“Heir Apparent Ye, please.”
The proposal ceremony was solemn and complicated.
From beginning to end, Ye Xian displayed not the slightest impatience.
Every bow was precise.
Every kneeling salute was meticulous.
He treated the ceremony with the same seriousness he displayed before the Emperor.
When the birth documents were exchanged, his fingers brushed the edge of hers.
His hand lingered there for a brief moment.
The folded red paper was neat and square.
The ink on the opposite side faintly showed through.
Upon that document were written her birth details.
The same name.
The same name as the crookedly written “Zhao” character embroidered onto that old pouch years ago.
He accepted the paper with both hands and placed it carefully onto the tray.
His movements were so gentle that it seemed he feared creasing the edge.
Gu Jinzhao waited in a side chamber connected to the main hall.
According to custom, the bride was not permitted to appear during the proposal ceremony.
She sat upon an embroidered stool with her back perfectly straight.
Through the carved lattice screen, she occasionally caught sight of a flash of crimson robes moving within the hall.
Once.
Then again.
Then once more.
“Miss, this is wonderful.”
“What’s wonderful?”
“Everything.”
In the front hall, the ceremony concluded.
The Gu Residence hosted a banquet afterward.
Ye Xian was seated in the place of honor while Gu Dezhao personally accompanied him.
The wine was aged Daughter’s Red.
The moment the clay seal was broken, the fragrance filled the entire room.
Gu Dezhao personally poured the first cup for him.
Ye Xian accepted it with both hands.
His cup remained slightly lower than Gu Dezhao’s.
Their cups touched gently.
He tipped back his head and drank it all.
The banquet soon grew lively.
Guests toasted one another.
Host and visitors alike enjoyed themselves.
Madam Sun told several amusing stories.
The Gu family’s steward hurried constantly between tables, replenishing wine and serving dishes.
After several rounds of drinking, Gu Dezhao’s face grew faintly flushed.
Holding his cup, he suddenly leaned closer to Ye Xian.
The wine nearly spilled as it sloshed inside.
“Heir Apparent Ye.”
His voice lowered.
As though he feared others might overhear.
Or perhaps feared that if he did not speak now, these words would remain buried forever.
“Back in the old West City residence…”
He paused.
“Your father used to come drink with me. The two of us once spent an entire night drinking in my study.”
A smile appeared on his face.
“He told me that his son spent every day having his sleeve tugged by my little girl. Said the brat complained constantly about how annoying she was.”
Gu Dezhao chuckled first.
“When I heard that, I said, ‘My daughter is young and foolish. Please don’t hold it against her.'”
He laughed softly at the memory.
“Your father slammed his wine cup onto the table so hard that wine splashed everywhere.”
Then his voice lowered.
“He said, ‘I’m not holding it against her. I’m worried that one day she’ll stop tugging his sleeve—and my foolish son won’t know what to do.'”
For a moment, the entire table fell silent.
Madam Sun’s chopsticks froze halfway to her mouth.
Gu Dezhao raised his cup and drank another half-cup.
His throat moved.
Whether from the burn of the wine or the weight of his emotions, no one could tell.
“Your father wasn’t wrong.”
He placed the empty cup on the table.
The base struck the wood with a dull thud.
“But more than ten years have passed.”
He looked directly at Ye Xian.
“You already know what to do now.”
“The Marquis, watching from heaven… should be able to see it.”
The hand holding Ye Xian’s cup tightened.
His knuckles turned white.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he raised the cup and drank it dry.
The wine burned all the way down his throat.
His eyes stung slightly.
Ye Xian rose to his feet and bowed deeply.
His gaze lowered.
When he finally spoke, his voice was lower than usual.
“Lord Gu.”
“This junior will take good care of her.”
The words came slowly.
One by one.
As though each syllable had been carefully weighed before being spoken.
By the time the banquet ended, night had fully fallen.
Ye Xian took his leave.
When he mounted his horse once more, the moon had already risen high into the sky.
A layer of silver moonlight blanketed Chang’an Street.
The blue-gray horse’s hooves struck the stone pavement with crisp, rhythmic sounds.
The hem of Ye Xian’s crimson robe fluttered gently in the night breeze, occasionally revealing the tips of his black boots beneath.
A stray cat lay curled at a street corner.
As the hoofbeats approached, it opened one eye and let out a soft meow.
When the sounds faded into the distance, it curled up again against the wall.
Resting its chin on its paws, it lazily flicked the tip of its tail.
In only a short while more,
the day of the wedding would arrive.