The sky was completely dark, and red candles were lit in the room.
Aunt Xu and Madam Hu could not stay long and had already left.
Li Chansiu was still wearing his red wedding clothes, sitting at the edge of the bed, quietly watching the candle flame before him.
Sitting like this at the bedside covered with bright red wedding quilts, waiting for someone to return, felt very strange, as if he truly had married the other person.
But he could not simply go to rest either. Pei Er was still outside toasting guests. If he were in his male identity at this moment, he should be outside toasting alongside Pei Er.
No, that was not right. If there were no need to conceal his identity, he would not be getting married at all. Wasn’t that putting the cart before the horse?
Li Chansiu shook his head and smiled at himself.
At some point, the noise outside gradually receded. Just as he was still staring at the candle flame in a daze, the heavy cloth curtain of the room was suddenly lifted.
He snapped back to himself and turned his head.
In the swaying candlelight, he sat quietly beside the bright red wedding quilt, dressed in red. His features were rendered even more radiant by the glow. Those eyes, like clear snow in the mountains, looked over suddenly, pure and tranquil.
Pei Er’s tall figure stood by the door. The hand lifting the curtain suddenly paused, his gaze slightly stunned.
In truth, Li Chansiu’s contours were not as soft as those of most women. It was only because he had not yet reached his coming of age, his bone structure not fully matured, and because his features were naturally striking, with a faint smile often on his face deliberately softening his expression, that he appeared like a woman and did not arouse suspicion.
But from another angle, one could see a hint of sharpness in the line of his jaw. Once fully matured, the softness would likely recede, revealing an entirely keen beauty.
Yet under the dim yellow candlelight at this moment, Pei Er only felt that Miss Shen before him possessed an added layer of haziness compared to daytime.
Everything before him seemed like a misty dream. The person before his eyes was like an otherworldly immortal from a dream, like a reflection of flowers in a mirror or the moon in water. He could not move, nor did he dare touch. It seemed that if his fingertip so much as brushed lightly against the scene, the dream would shatter.
Perhaps because he had stood too long, Li Chansiu finally could not help speaking, his tone carrying his usual faint smile and gentleness: “Why aren’t you coming in?”
In an instant, like a pool of water rippled by wind, the dream was startled awake.
Pei Er suddenly came to himself, blinked, and only then seemed to awaken from a great dream.
Yes, it was not a dream. He had truly married Miss Shen.
He let down the curtain. His gaze did not shift for even a moment as his upright figure walked toward her step by step.
Perhaps because he was too tall, when Li Chansiu was enveloped by his shadow, he inexplicably felt a kind of invisible pressure. Catching the faint scent of alcohol from him, he unconsciously lifted his chin slightly, gazing upward in a way that would not let himself be overwhelmed in bearing, and asked, “Did you drink a lot just now?”
Naturally, he could have stood up as well, but Pei Er was indeed somewhat tall.
Pei Er almost subconsciously shook his head, but then, thinking of something, hesitated and nodded instead. After a pause, he added, “I changed my clothes.”
That was why the smell of wine was not so strong.
Seeing that his usually handsome and cool face was now tinged with a light drunkenness, and that his eyes seemed to know only how to look at him, somewhat unfocused, Li Chansiu thought to himself: It seems he drank too much.
It made sense. The men in the military camp could all drink heavily. Even if Pei Er had wanted to drink less, he likely could not withstand their enthusiasm.
He just did not know how clear-headed the other party still was, whether he would understand what was said later.
He shifted slightly to the side, allowing Pei Er to sit down at the edge of the bed as well. Then he turned sideways and, from beneath the quilt behind him, took out the warm jade bracelet Pei Er had given him yesterday and handed it over.
“I forgot to say yesterday, this jade bracelet, I cannot accept it. You should return it to the shopkeeper and get your money back.”
Pei Er’s gaze had been resting lightly on him the whole time, as if afraid to disturb him. Only when he saw the bracelet being handed over did he finally frown slightly.
“It can’t be returned,” he said, shaking his head in a lie. His eyes drifted to the silver hairpin in Li Chansiu’s dark hair, and he thought to himself,
When he earned money in the future, he would also buy Miss Shen such a silver hairpin.
Li Chansiu frowned at his words. “Even so, I still can’t accept it. You should keep it. When in the future there is someone you wish to give it to…”
It did not seem quite appropriate to say that either. He paused, then changed his words: “When you have time to go to the county town someday, you can pawn it at a shop.”
At least that way he could exchange it for some money.
As he spoke, he once again handed the bracelet over.
Pei Er lowered his head to look at it, then finally accepted it.
Li Chansiu let out a slight breath of relief.
But the next moment, Pei Er suddenly caught his hand and slipped the jade bracelet onto his wrist.
For a moment, he was so startled he forgot to react. Pei Er’s slightly calloused fingertips pressed against his wrist. The rough touch brought a faint prickling numbness.
Yet the other withdrew his hand quickly, as if that brief contact had been only an illusion.
“Then help me keep it for now,” Pei Er said, looking at him.
“It’s all kept in this room anyway. Whether you keep it or I do, it’s the same. But you know, my memory isn’t very good. Later I might forget where I put it, so you’d better keep it for me. If someday I can’t remember, you can tell me.”
He looked at Li Chansiu earnestly. When speaking of his poor memory, he even seemed rather troubled, his eyes carrying a haze of drunkenness.
Li Chansiu found it somewhat amusing. The other had only lost his memory once after an injury, how could he possibly lose it again every so often?
Still, Pei Er was right. The bracelet would be kept in this room anyway; it was fine if he kept it.
More importantly, Pei Er really did seem drunk. There was no need to argue over this matter.
He quickly removed the bracelet, placed it into the cabinet by the bedside, then turned back and informed Pei Er.
Pei Er looked at him with unfocused eyes, not blinking for an instant.
Li Chansiu paused, then suddenly thought of something and hesitantly asked, “By the way, how shall we rest tonight?”
At this, Pei Er’s gaze finally moved, slowly turning toward the bed covered in bright red wedding quilts.
Seeing this, Li Chansiu suddenly grew nervous. His throat felt slightly dry as he reminded him, “You should still remember, we agreed before that I only needed to marry because of the marriage order and Centurion Jiang’s harassment, so…”
“Yes, I remember it all,” Pei Er nodded.
Li Chansiu immediately relaxed. Just now, he had nearly thought the other intended to consummate the marriage.
Yet just as he let down his guard, he heard Pei Er continue, “I know Miss Shen was compelled by circumstances to marry, and I know you did not choose me out of liking me. But I am very fortunate to have been chosen. I have also heard that not all couples in this world marry because their hearts are already in accord. Some even marry with certain purposes in mind. So Miss Shen need not worry. Being able to marry you is already a blessing to me. I do not mind these things. If… if you are not yet accustomed, we can take it slowly. After spending more time together and becoming familiar, we can speak of it then.”
He rarely spoke such a long stretch of words. After listening, Li Chanxiu was completely stunned, staring at him blankly for a moment.
No, this wasn’t the same meaning as what he had said before.
What he had meant at the time was that, because of other reasons, he had no choice but to get married, so this marriage was a fake marriage.
But Pei Er’s meaning was that although he had chosen to marry the other person for ulterior motives and not because he liked them, Pei Er knew all this and didn’t mind…
Completely misunderstood!
Li Chanxiu’s mind, rarely, fell into confusion, and he suddenly pressed his brow with a headache.
It was also his own fault. At the time he had said, “You should be able to guess, I’m doing this because of the marriage decree and Centurion Jiang…,” and Pei Er had quickly said, “He understands, he knows, he’s willing.” And afterward he had said twice more, “He knows, he’s willing,” and then…
And then Li Chanxiu assumed he truly understood what he meant, that they were going to have a fake marriage.
But now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all. Pei Er hadn’t understood his meaning.
Well, that made sense. The other party had lost his memory, and occasionally was a bit… not very clever. Wasn’t that the very thing Li Chanxiu had first taken a liking to?
The more Li Chanxiu thought about it, the more his head hurt. They had already reached the step of the bridal chamber on the wedding night, how was he supposed to explain now that he meant it to be a fake marriage?
After Pei Er finished speaking and saw that he hadn’t made a sound for a long while, he hesitated and spoke again, “Then… shall we settle in for the night?”
Even his wording was rather refined.
Li Chanxiu was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and decided he still had to explain it clearly.
“You, you didn’t understand what I meant earlier,” he said hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. “What I meant at the time was that we’re having a fake marriage.”
He took a deep breath before finally saying the last sentence.
Pei Er’s expression froze, and then visible disappointment settled over his face. His eyelids lowered slightly as well, and he said in a low voice, “I see.”
Li Chanxiu pressed his lips together. “…Sorry. I should have explained it more clearly at the time.”
Pei Er shook his head and said, “It’s my fault. I misunderstood then and even interrupted you.”
“……”
For a moment Li Chanxiu didn’t know what to say either. The room suddenly grew quiet, and the atmosphere gradually became stiff.
Suddenly, a faint pop broke the silence. The red wedding candle on the table spat out a small burst of sparks that vanished in an instant, yet broke the stalemate.
Pei Er cleared his throat lightly and said, “Then I… will go sleep in the side room tonight.”
As he spoke, he stood up from the bedside, his gaze sweeping around the room as if to see whether he could find a quilt to carry away.
But the old quilts in the room had all been taken to the military camp by him yesterday. Only the two newly made bright red wedding quilts remained on the bed.
Li Chanxiu also felt it was inappropriate. In the side room, aside from some farming tools, there was only a golden eagle. There wasn’t even a bed.
In such cold weather, if Pei Er went to the side room, would he have to huddle together with that eagle to keep warm?
But at this hour, it was impossible to return to the camp either. Moreover, on the first day of marriage, on the wedding night, if the groom went back to the military camp to sleep, what would everyone think?
Li Chanxiu didn’t want to create trouble, and… after all, he was a man.
So he gritted his teeth and said, “You should stay and sleep. There are two quilts, we can each use one.”
Pei Er’s eyes clearly brightened, though his expression remained hesitant. “But if we do that…”
“It’s fine. As long as we don’t cross boundaries with each other,” Li Chanxiu said.
After all, outwardly they were already husband and wife. Whether they had actually done anything or not, other people would assume they had. Besides, he was a man, there was no need to worry about reputation and the like.
The only concern was that his cross-dressing as a woman might be exposed. Fortunately, they could each use one quilt and sleep separately without sharing the same covers.
However, thoughts were only thoughts,
By late night, the cold set in.
They each had only one quilt. The room, unlike when they were at the military camp, had no charcoal brazier. Li Chanxiu had always been sensitive to the cold, and since his cold poison had only recently flared up, he was currently in a weakened state.
Very soon he was awakened by the cold. Curling himself into a ball, he tried to wrap the quilt tightly around himself. But one quilt simply wasn’t thick enough. The chill seeped through the cotton stuffing and into his body, and he couldn’t help clenching his teeth as he suppressed his shivering.
“Miss Shen?” Suddenly Pei Er’s voice sounded in the darkness, full of concern. “Are you cold?”
Then he reached out and pressed his hand against the bulging mound of quilt that was trembling slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly stood up.
Li Chanxiu stiffened briefly. Sensing him approach, he was just about to say something when suddenly there was a weight on him,
Pei Er had placed his own quilt over him as well.
The cold seemed to be shut out a little at once. Enduring the chill, Li Chanxiu turned his head slightly, but in the darkness he couldn’t see the other person. His voice still trembled a little as he said unsteadily, “You, you gave me your quilt. What about you?”
Pei Er fell silent. After a long while he said, “I’m not cold.”
That was obviously a lie. He wasn’t some immortal who didn’t fear the cold.
But since Li Chanxiu had asked like that, how else could Pei Er answer? Say he was cold, then Li Chanxiu would return the quilt, and then they would push it back and forth, he insisting, the other insisting, until both of them froze and caught a chill?
Li Chanxiu grasped the clothes on his body. They felt thick enough, unlikely to expose anything. Finally gritting his teeth, he lifted a small corner of the quilt and said, “You should come in and sleep too.”
At once, bone-piercing cold air poured in through the lifted opening. Li Chanxiu shivered from the cold and said through chattering teeth, “It’s very cold. Hurry up.”
There was hardly any warmth inside the quilt to begin with. If it stayed lifted, the cold would keep invading him.
Pei Er seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon the corner of the quilt was lifted even wider, and a warm body slipped inside.
Li Chanxiu had just been shivering from the sudden cold; the next moment he was surrounded by warmth.
He stiffened, instinctively wanting to pull some distance away.
But Pei Er quickly seized his hand. Noticing the icy chill of his fingers, he suddenly gripped them more tightly, enclosing all five of them, and said, “Why are they so cold?”
Even though it was pitch dark before his eyes and nothing could be seen, Li Chanxiu could imagine that when the other person said this, he must have been frowning.
Immediately afterward, Pei Er’s arm reached behind him, his warm palm pressing firmly against the middle of his back as he drew him over into an embrace.
Li Chanxiu directly crashed into his arms, and then his lower legs were also grasped and lifted upward a bit. Before he could react, both his hands and feet were seized by Pei Er and pressed into his embrace to warm them, his back also tightly held by the other. His whole person was like he was hanging on the other, being held in his arms.
…Not like, he was already pressed tightly against the other’s chest at this moment.
In the darkness, Pei Er seemed to stroke the long hair that had fallen outside the quilt and become somewhat cold, but it also seemed like he was only groping, wanting to help tuck the quilt more tightly around him.
“Sleep,” he heard the other say beside his ear. His voice was hoarse, but there was an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Li Chanxiu’s hands were clenched tightly, pressed in the other’s arms. Only a layer of not very thick inner clothing separated the back of his hands from the other’s chest.
From the initial astonishment, to later not knowing what to do, to now already being unable to break free…
Li Chanxiu widened his eyes in the darkness. Even through the fabric he could feel the body heat and steady heartbeat constantly coming from the other… it seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.
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