QYT - 14

“My lady, this new makeup is too heavy.”

“...Sir, you misunderstand.” Qing Wei paused slightly, “Your humble wife suffers from a facial ailment. This on my eye is not makeup, it’s a birthmark.”

“Not makeup?” Jiang Cizhou seemed disbelieving. He leaned closer, his voice filled with doubt, “How do I look at you... you seem a bit familiar?”

He was drunk, and his posture was very unsteady. Leaning forward in front of Qing Wei, he was about to fall onto her. Qing Wei instantly stood up, and Jiang Cizhou tumbled onto the bed.

Qing Wei kept in mind the plan she had devised earlier, reminding herself to be compliant, and said, “I accidentally bumped into you outside Donglaishun that day and spilled your wine. I have always been grateful for your generosity and not holding it against me.”

That voice...

Jiang Cizhou sat up: “I remember you now, you’re that... that...”

Qing Wei nodded.

“This, this...” Jiang Cizhou probably heard Qing Wei’s name from Wei Jue’s mouth. Half of his drunkenness instantly sobered, “This isn’t right. I married Cui Hongyi’s daughter, said to be named something like Zhiyue—”

“Your humble wife does indeed have a younger sister named Zhiyue,” Qing Wei explained. “It’s just that I have been fostered under my uncle’s care for these past few years, and my uncle regards me as his own daughter. I am the elder sister, and Zhiyue is the younger sister. How can an elder sister not yet married have a younger sister marry first? The letter from you, sir, only stated that you wished to marry a daughter of the Cui clan. As the eldest daughter of the Cui clan, it is proper for me to marry. This is proper etiquette, is it not, husband?”

Jiang Cizhou sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her, his drunkenness seeming to have dissipated a bit more. He nodded.

Qing Wei continued to fabricate: “If you, sir, wish to marry Zhiyue, it’s not impossible to rush to the Gao family before the wedding ceremony is complete, explain everything, and exchange Zhiyue back. But I fear my sister’s temper; if she can’t cope, she might slit her throat. A life is a small matter, but if things escalate, others will say the Jiang family is disloyal and two-faced, welcoming a new bride while harming their in-laws. Your reputation, sir, will be ruined for the rest of your life. So, my marriage here is truly a destined match from the Old Man Under the Moon; there was no other path to take.”

Her tone was unhurried, summarizing three key points: ethical principles, situational advantages and disadvantages, and acting out of necessity.

In short, she blocked all paths for him to break off the engagement.

Jiang Cizhou was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply. He rose, sat at the table, and picked up a wine pot to pour wine: “My lady is mistaken.”

Qing Wei humbly asked, “Where am I mistaken?”

“Where is this a match made by the Old Man Under the Moon?” Jiang Cizhou chuckled, “You and I are practically bound together by the Old Man Under the Moon with an immortal-binding rope, plus twelve matrimonial locks, which even the Kunwu Blade borrowed from Penglai cannot cut. Ruining someone else’s marriage invites thunder, ruining one’s own marriage brings down five thunderbolts. It doesn’t matter if we’re struck by lightning, I’m just afraid that when we reach the underworld, the Ten Kings of Hell will write our names on the Three Lives Stone... Are you not coming over?”

Qing Wei looked at him, unsure of what he wanted her to do.

Jiang Cizhou picked up the filled wine cup and handed one to her: “Better to face it head-on than cower and save your life. Let’s finish this nuptial cup; we’ll both accept our fate.”

Gathering courage to marry was one thing, but actually facing it was another.

Qing Wei sat opposite Jiang Cizhou, paused for a moment, and took the nuptial cup from his hand.

In the glow of the red candles, Jiang Cizhou leaned in, his arm encircling her wrist, slowly drawing closer.

The faint, clear scent of wine sprayed on her cheek. Qing Wei instantly lowered her gaze; all she could see was a gently swaying pool of wine in the cup.

Qing Wei had once waded through countless battles and blades alone, and had traversed the vast lands from north to south. When rescuing Xue Changxing from the dark prison in the south of the city, facing dozens of elite patrol guards with her life hanging by a thread, she had never been afraid, because she knew that one cannot catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger’s den, and everything comes at a price. But how to describe the difficulty of this moment? It was like standing on a cliff, leaping down, but forgetting to throw out the soft jade sword from her sleeve.

She didn’t know if falling would lead to life or death.

His breath grew closer, warm and slightly ticklish. Qing Wei suddenly closed her eyes and tilted her head back, drinking the wine in the cup.

Fortunately, once the wine was drunk, the arm around her wrist loosened. Jiang Cizhou also didn’t force her to perform any other rites. He put down the wine cup and went to the adjoining side room to wash up. When he returned to the bed, he pointed to his left eye while taking off his boots: “How did you get that?”

Qing Wei said: “I was born with it. It was just a small patch back then, but later, after a cold, it somehow became like this.”

She had no sense of being a new bride. She watched Jiang Cizhou take off his boots without helping him, and stood by, returning the courtesy by asking, “And your face?”

“There was a fire at home when I was a child,” Jiang Cizhou said. “Can yours be cured?”

Qing Wei shook her head.

Jiang Cizhou sighed deeply: “Alas, my lady, we are truly ugly together.”

Saying that, he patted the bed, indicating for Qing Wei to come and sleep.

Qing Wei had already prepared how to handle this matter. She first blew out the candles in the room, then in the darkness, she took off her wedding dress, let down her long hair, put on a clean white inner garment, and got onto the bed.

Jiang Cizhou lowered the bed curtains, pulled back the covers, and leaned over her, propping himself above her.

It was too dark inside the curtains. Looking over, Qing Wei could only see the silver half-mask still on his face, and smell a very clean scent emanating from him.

In the dimness, Jiang Cizhou called out, “My lady.”

His voice was actually very pleasant, deep and clear, with a slight hoarseness mixed in the darkness.

Qing Wei hummed in response.

Jiang Cizhou then said nothing more, slowly leaning down.

There’s an acupoint at the back of a person’s neck. A single strike there would cause immediate unconsciousness. Qing Wei’s hand, placed by her side, formed fingers into a blade. It seemed for the next few days, this would be her only way to deal with him.

Qing Wei raised her hand in the darkness. Jiang Cizhou suddenly lifted his head: “My lady, is there anything wrong with this husband not taking off his mask?”

“Your humble wife naturally feels it’s fine, but your humble wife and sir are a fated couple, with the Old Man Under the Moon as matchmaker. I only fear that the Old Man Under the Moon might think we are not sincere.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cizhou seemed to ponder.

After a moment, he said, “My lady is right. With such a match made in heaven, if we cannot be open with each other, it will surely offend the gods above.”

He turned over, sat up, straightened the bedding, and lay flat beside Qing Wei, “However, this husband fears scaring you if I remove my mask. How about we get accustomed to each other for a few days first, and when we are more familiar, it won’t be too late to do what needs to be done.”

Qing Wei said, “Yes, there’s a long road ahead; no need to rush for a moment.”