Chapter 28

Chapter 28

At 11:30 PM, Huang Lan followed her mother-in-law to the Qi family home with a lantern to help Lu Yuan prepare for her wedding.

The woman who dresses the bride holds symbolic importance—she must be over fifty, married with living spouse, and blessed with children and grandchildren, symbolizing harmony, prosperity, and longevity for the newlyweds.

It wasn’t time yet, so everyone gathered by lamplight in Old Lady He’s room to chat.

Huang Lan’s mother-in-law, who would comb Lu Yuan’s hair, was called Aunt Fu by Old Lady He. Naturally, Huang Lan’s father-in-law was referred to as Uncle Fu.

Aunt Fu and Old Lady He chatted animatedly.

Lu Yuan spoke quietly with Huang Lan.

Huang Lan asked, "After you marry Qi Cheng, will you consummate the marriage? I heard from Dashan that even though Qi Cheng is unconscious, he's well-endowed. So, will you two go through with it?"

Lu Yuan: …

She was taken aback by the boldness of the question.

After a moment of silence, she replied vaguely, "Qi Cheng won’t stay unconscious forever—he’ll wake up eventually. Everything else can wait until then."

Huang Lan said in surprise, "Are you really so sure he’ll wake up?"

Based on the current situation, Lu Yuan explained, "Qi Cheng is conscious and can even open his eyes. There’s a 70% chance he’ll fully regain consciousness."

Most of the time, Qi Cheng was aware, indicating strong activity in his cerebral cortex, which significantly increased his chances of recovery. Moreover, his strong will to live further improved his odds.

Huang Lan thought for a moment and asked, "What if Qi Cheng wakes up and refuses to acknowledge you as his wife?"

Lu Yuan smiled calmly. "I have skills; I can earn my own living. Even if he doesn’t accept me, I can support myself and the two children."

Given her circumstances, she couldn’t avoid certain responsibilities—especially raising these two children.

Huang Lan frowned slightly. "But aren’t you afraid people will gossip if he calls off the marriage? Your reputation might suffer."

Lu Yuan chuckled. "Is my reputation good now? There’s already plenty of talk about me."

Huang Lan considered this and realized it was true.

After a pause, she added, "Don’t worry. Even though I’m talkative and can’t keep secrets, I’d never say anything bad about you."

Lu Yuan smiled. "I believe you, sister-in-law."

After chatting a while, Aunt Fu said, "It’s time. Take a seat in front of the mirror."

Old Lady He hoped the auspicious wedding ceremony might awaken her grandson, so she had spared no expense. Not only had she bought a bronze mirror, but she had also specially hired a wedding officiant.

The officiant functioned like a modern-day master of ceremonies. According to Huang Lan, hiring one in the countryside required at least twenty wen in a red envelope. For a family like the Qis, it would cost double.

The amount Old Lady He spent on this wedding today equaled how many embroidered handkerchiefs she’d need to sell to make up the cost.

Lu Yuan sighed softly but didn’t ask further.

She sat before the mirror and looked at her reflection.

Only half a month had passed, so there couldn’t be any dramatic changes. The face in the bronze mirror still had slightly hollow cheeks and eye sockets, with sallow, dull skin.

The parts of her skin not exposed to the sun were quite fair; with proper care, she could likely regain her former complexion.

Lu Yuan had originally planned to focus on filling her stomach before worrying about beauty.

Still, it’s human nature to love beauty.

Aunt Fu picked up the comb and stood behind Lu Yuan, gently brushing her long hair from roots to ends.

In a soft, rhythmic chant, Aunt Fu recited—

First comb: from start to end, may wealth and honor come without worry.

Second comb: from start to end, may the couple be free from illness and sorrow.

Third comb: from start to end, may children and grandchildren flourish with blessings and long life.

Final comb: from start to end, may the couple cherish each other till their hair turns white.

Hearing these words, Lu Yuan felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

She missed home.

She wondered how her family would feel if they knew she had been married off in another world.

After a moment of melancholy, she took a deep breath and told herself not to dwell on it.

No matter where she was, she had to live well and move forward.

After finishing the hair-combing ritual, Aunt Fu left with Huang Lan.

Lu Yuan returned to her room to rest.

Originally, Old Lady He had wanted her to sleep in the bridal chamber, but the children started crying when they couldn’t find their mother, so Lu Yuan had to take the lantern and return.

Although a few double-happiness (xi) characters were pasted in Qi Cheng’s room, there was still no festive atmosphere.

She set down the oil lamp and sat on the low bamboo bed near the ground.

Both children had tears in their eyes, pitifully calling out “Mom.”

Lu Yuan held one child in each arm and comforted them, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here. I just went to the restroom.”

The two children snuggled close, sniffling, in their mother’s arms. Lu Yuan sighed softly.

She had been single for twenty-four years, and suddenly became the mother of two children. Even after half a month, she still hadn’t fully adjusted.

Yet, while comforting them, she also found comfort in their presence.

Lu Yuan didn’t remember when she fell asleep, but half-asleep, Old Lady He woke her.

Lu Yuan sat up, drowsy, and asked, “Didn’t you say the ceremony would be at dusk? Why are we getting up now?”

She had stayed up late the night before and had hoped to sleep longer today.

Old Lady He said impatiently, “We need to tidy the room, get Sheng Geer ready, and you need to bathe and change clothes.”

Lu Yuan glanced outside at the bright daylight and wondered— if they were just getting up now, how many hours remained until dusk?

After a moment, she slowly freshened up, also brushed the two children's teeth with willow twigs and wiped their faces with a towel.

Once these tasks were done, she went into the kitchen to prepare the morning meal, only to find it had already been made.

There was congee and egg and rice-bran cakes.

Old Lady He carried out the straw mats the mother and children had been sleeping on from her grandson’s room and said to her, "Today you’re the bride-to-be, so don’t do any work."

Lu Yuan: "What about the clothes..."

Old Lady He: "I’ll wash them, and I’ll do the cooking too."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan was instantly delighted.

Did that mean she could rest the entire day?

But soon, Lu Yuan wasn’t smiling anymore. There were no means of entertainment here, no one to chat with, and she couldn’t even go outside. With only two children who didn’t understand anything by her side, she quickly grew bored.

Old Lady He and Old Man Li were busy moving the bamboo bed from Qi Cheng’s room to hers.

Old Man Li gave Qi Cheng a sponge bath and dressed him in an old but relatively nice set of clothes.

Watching them bustling in and out, Lu Yuan wanted to lend a hand, but Old Lady He repeatedly shooed her away to rest.

Bored, Lu Yuan took some grass to feed Big Red.

In the yard, Big Red held its head high, its feathers glossy from Old Lady He’s grooming, with a red cloth tied around its neck.

This stand-in groom seemed even more spirited than the one lying in bed inside.

After Old Man Li left, Lu Yuan went into Qi Cheng’s room to take a look.

Though Qi Cheng wasn’t wearing wedding robes, Old Lady He had carefully sewn red trim along the collar and cuffs of his clothes.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Qi Cheng, tidied up for the day, looked much more alert.

She leaned down and listened to his heartbeat against his chest. After just a moment, she suddenly straightened up, looking at him in surprise: "What did you eat? Your heart is beating so fast!"

Suspecting she might have misheard, Lu Yuan leaned in again to listen.

It was true—his heart was pounding as if trying to leap out of his chest.

Lu Yuan hurriedly checked his eyes and counted his heartbeats.

The rate was over a hundred!

She immediately said to him, "Whether it’s a physical issue or something you’re thinking about, you need to calm down. If your emotions stay heightened and your heart rate stays this high, it could be very dangerous."

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yuan placed her hand over his heart and gently rubbed up and down, as if to calm him.

She spoke softly, "If you’re this worked up because of the wedding today, we can discuss it again once you wake up. If you think this marriage is absurd, we can separate."

"And those things I said about taking liberties with you earlier—they weren’t serious. They were just words to try and stimulate you awake, so don’t get too agitated."

Lu Yuan persuaded him for a long time until she felt Qi Cheng’s heartbeat gradually slow down, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

From the looks of it, Qi Cheng must be unhappy with this marriage. That’s why, upon learning today was his wedding day, he grew so anxious, desperate to wake up and stop this farce.

Lu Yuan reasoned again: "Your grandmother sees me as your lucky star and is counting on this wedding to bring you luck. So today’s ceremony is something she is determined to do."

Finally, Lu Yuan started playing the victim: "I don’t have any identification papers, and I only have a little over a hundred coins to my name. If I leave the Qi family, it might mean certain death."

"At least let the three of us get through this winter. We can leave when spring comes."

She rambled on, unsure what Qi Cheng was thinking, but relieved that his heartbeat was gradually stabilizing.

Lu Yuan turned and sat on the edge of the bed, letting out a sigh.

That had nearly scared her to death.

Qi Cheng’s condition was already unusual. If his heart rate stayed elevated, it could seriously endanger his life.

Since his heartbeat returned to normal after her words, did that mean he agreed with what she’d said?

Originally, she had thought that if he was willing to make it work, she could give it a try. But given his reaction, it seemed he was completely unwilling.

Still, it didn’t matter. After all, she had helped him and his grandmother. If Qi Cheng woke up, even if she settled in Weishan Village or Ping'an Town, he would likely lend a hand, ensuring she and the children weren’t bullied.

No matter what, she had nothing to lose.

Once she figured that out, Lu Yuan felt not a trace of worry.

Old Lady He peeked into the room and, seeing her sitting there, quickly shooed her away: "What are you doing in here? Get out. Don’t come back before the ceremony."

Lu Yuan got up and left the room. Due to a blind spot, she never noticed the faint trembling of his fingers hidden under his sleeve.

Old Lady He warned her not to wander off and had Lu Yuan wait in her room with the children.

Chun Hua had been quiet all day, clearly upset about her mother’s wedding.

Lu Yuan had said all she could but couldn’t cheer Chun Hua up. Only time would help her accept it.

After a long, tedious day, the sun finally began to set.

The village chief and an elderly man in his seventies arrived to serve as witnesses.

If it were anyone else unconscious, these two would likely refuse to witness the wedding.

But Qi Cheng was different—many in the village owed him favors, so they couldn’t say no.

Though the Qi family wasn’t hosting a feast, a crowd of villagers had gathered outside the fence.

They’d heard of using a rooster as a stand-in groom but had never seen it firsthand. They weren’t about to miss this eye-opening opportunity.

The Qi home had no main hall, so the ceremony was held in Old Lady He’s room.

Inside, three ancestral tablets were placed on the table.

Lu Yuan hadn’t noticed where these tablets were usually kept.

Squinting at the traditional characters, she guessed they belonged to Qi Cheng’s grandfather and parents.

The wedding officiant held the rooster, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Once the time came, the officiant called out, "The bride and groom take your places."

Lu Yuan turned to look at the rooster in the officiant’s arms. Their eyes met, and she suddenly felt a wave of awkwardness.

In her twenty-four years of life, she had never imagined her first wedding would be with a rooster.

"Kneel and offer incense."

Lu Yuan offered incense to the ancestral tablets, and the wedding officiant's resonant voice rang out again: "Kneel, bow once, bow twice, bow thrice."

Although the wedding ceremony was already a simplified version, Lu Yuan still found it overly elaborate.

She had thought that the wedding ceremony would simply involve bowing to the heavens and earth, then to the parents, and finally to each other as a couple. She hadn’t expected there to be so many steps.

There was no sound of suona horns, and even the onlookers remained silent. Only the wedding officiant’s voice was clear and loud.

After completing these steps, it was finally time for the three bows that Lu Yuan was familiar with.

Lu Yuan had just knelt down and bowed to the heavens and earth with the very spirited rooster when, before she could even stand up, a loud "thud" suddenly came from outside, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.

The sound was particularly clear in the quiet surroundings.

The five people in the room froze in succession, all stopping what they were doing.

The wedding officiant was the first to regain composure. Thinking that one of the onlookers outside had fallen, she said, "The ceremony must not be interrupted—it would be inauspicious. Let’s continue."

Lu Yuan’s expression became determined, and she immediately raised her hand to stop them. "Wait!"

That sound... it seemed like...

It came from next door!

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yuan ignored the wedding officiant’s attempts to stop her and rushed out of the room, heading straight for the house next door.

Old Lady He, seeing her sudden reaction, seemed to realize something in an instant. Her pupils widened sharply, and she stood up abruptly, hastily hurrying out after her.

The three people left in the room looked at each other in confusion but still followed them out.