At dusk, the meal began amidst a cacophony of laughter and chatter. Zhu Yixin was the first to voice her grievances, pointing a finger and accusing Wei Qingming of treating them like outsiders by keeping such a massive secret for so long. She insisted on a penalty, and the others quickly joined in, clamoring to ply Wei Qingming with wine. Wei-daren merely smiled. Fourth Sister declared that for every person she had deceived, she had to drink a jar—including Master, that made nine jars in total to atone for her "sins." Without a moment’s pause, she began pouring and drinking. By the third jar, I couldn't bear to watch any longer and declared that I would share the remainder with her.
Zhu Yixin, with one hand on her hip and the other tilting a jar to pour for Wei Qingming, slammed the vessel onto the table with a heavy *thud* upon hearing my words. She glared at me, her brows arched. "You’re not getting off easy either! Think of how I scurried about the Wujing Sect on your behalf when I first arrived, only to find out you knew the most important thing all along! Even if you drink five jars, it wouldn't be overdoing it!"
My temper flared up as well. I rolled up the sleeves of my priceless ceremonial robe and began a finger-guessing game with her—three bowls for every loss. Now it was Wei Qingming’s turn to be unable to watch. She reached out to stop me, but I quelled her with a sharp glare.
She stared at me for a moment, then suddenly swept an arm around my waist, hoisting me into her embrace right as I was mid-gesture. With her other hand, she casually grabbed a fresh, sealed jar of wine and said tonelessly, "We’ll finish the rest in our room."
Hong Lu, taking this as a command, bounced up and snatched a jar in each hand, scurrying off to the room to set them down. The crowd erupted in playful jeers and cheers. The Feng sisters, acting like little adults, stomped and clapped with the most enthusiasm. Lu Kaifeng looked on with a mix of amusement and helplessness; out of pity for his younger siblings, he quietly pointed out some nearly empty jars for Hong Lu to take, while Ren Xuzhou made a show of hurriedly refilling them. Zhu Yixin shouted, "Where do you think you're going?" and moved to give chase, but Qiao Songlin, ever the reliable one, pulled her back into his arms and pointed to the moon hanging in the center of the sky. "It’s late. We should all retire."
Dangling over Wei Qingming’s shoulder, I craned my neck back from a distance and shook my fist at Zhu Yixin in a show of defiance. "Next time, I’ll drink you under the table for sure!"
Zhu Yixin laughed heartily, accepting the challenge. She then pulled a bright crimson object from her robes and tossed it toward Wei Qingming from afar, shouting, "A-Qing, don't let her get too cocky!"
Without even looking, Wei Qingming casually raised the hand holding the wine jar's cord and hooked the object with her finger. It was the bridal veil that both Auntie Dong and Zhu Yixin had been so insistent on me wearing. I was already three parts drunk, so I giggled and kicked my legs, reaching out haphazardly to snatch the thing and try to drape it over Wei Qingming’s head instead. She naturally kept it out of my reach. It wasn't until we were halfway there that she saw through my intentions. She arched an eyebrow, revealing a rare, faint smirk. Leaning close to my ear, she whispered in a low, raspy, seductive voice, "Do you dare to bet with me? Whoever loses... wears it."
In the late autumn night, her breath was warm and tender, soaking into my burning ear. It carried a hint of wine; after all, she had downed nearly four jars. Even with her internal energy refining the alcohol, she was surely a little tipsy. I forced myself to sit up slightly, seeing her face in the hazy moonlight—clean as snow, her eyes narrowed ambiguously as if veiled in frost and mist, yet glowing like the rising eastern moon piercing the night as she leaned toward me.
I finally remembered what we were supposed to do once we returned to the room. A wave of shyness crashed over me. I lowered my head, not daring to look at her or even think about her. I could only manage a stubborn retort: "A bet it is! But in literature or martial arts, I can't best you in anything. If we bet, I get to choose the game!"
"Mhm." She let out a soft chuckle, still using that raspy, velvety voice to tease and scrape at my heart, like the soft white fuzz on the outside of a paulownia flower—it made one itch to the point of madness. "Then let it be Liubo, or Shuanglu, or something of the sort."
"Hmph! Liubo!" I laughed triumphantly. "Six years ago, at the end of that game during the Sacred Birthday Festival, you clearly threw the dice once and were about to lose, but because someone interrupted, you cheated and threw again! I haven't settled that debt with you yet!"
The corners of her mouth curled up. She lowered her gaze, pressing her lips against my cheek. Half-provocative, half-enticing, she whispered with deep meaning, "Fine. Whatever debts there are, we shall settle them all tonight."
Her words made my entire body flush hot. I buried my burning face into the crook of her neck, unable to utter another word.
Because the wedding had been rushed, my room served as the bridal chamber. There were no elaborate decorations, only some rustic and charming paper-cuts of "Flowers Blooming under a Full Moon" that Lu Lingfeng had made using techniques she learned in Qingzhou, pasted onto the doors. Wei Qingming flicked her sleeve to open the door, setting me down gently and steadily into a soft chair by the table. She turned back to slowly and softly bar the door, then raised her hand to cast several restrictions—wards against prying eyes and for soundproofing. Then, following her habits as a refined young lord, she lit the incense, brewed the night tea, and adjusted the lamps to the most comfortable level of dimness.
Her posture and actions were extremely calm, even deliberately slow. I watched her every move without blinking. It felt as if the flow of time had been stretched several times over, allowing me to more deeply experience her slow, meticulous sense of control as she prepared for this momentous occasion...
Finally, she drew that set of Liubo from her robes and spread it elegantly across the table. However, as if the wine was beginning to surge and she felt the heat, she used one hand to precisely arrange the pieces while the other casually unfastened the toggles of her ceremonial robe at her throat. A corner of the vermilion fabric fell away, revealing a small patch of her snow-white inner garment.
I didn't doubt for a second that, given her usual aristocratic discipline and strict etiquette, this move was entirely intentional. Yet, I still didn't dare look, much less meet her eyes. I could only reach out to help arrange the pieces.
The two of us were soon locked in battle. We had agreed beforehand that a single round was too much a matter of chance; it had to be best of three, or best of five. As for exactly how many rounds we would play, neither of us had finalized the number. Perhaps the matter was too significant, and even Wei-daren—who usually succeeded in everything she touched—shared my sentiment: if one were to lose, one needed an opportunity to play foul...
At first, things went smoothly. I occasionally took a sip of wine or tea to moisten my throat. I don't know if it was because Wei-daren’s beauty was right before me, causing my soul to wander, but I actually lost the first round. I focused with every ounce of my being for the second round, and after a long, fierce struggle, I managed to pull back a win.
In the third round, Wei-daren started with a ferocious momentum. By the midpoint, she was already far ahead of me. Sweat broke out on my forehead in anxiety. I gulped down wine, and hurried, soft whimpers unconsciously escaped my lips. It was her turn to throw the dice and move. She toyed with the three delicate crystal dice between her fingers for a moment, then suddenly squeezed her four fingers together with a burst of strength, crushing them all into powder and dropping them onto the table.
I looked up in astonishment, only to have my lips sealed by her as she stepped over, kissing me passionately. Her hands were no longer honest; gone was the previous gentlemanly restraint as they roamed over my back, sending shivers through me. After only two firm caresses, she shifted to a touch so light it was almost non-existent, a brushing sensation that made my very spine feel as if it were melting.
I truly couldn't endure this kind of torture. Feeling so overwhelmed I could almost cry, I used a wavering voice to complain to her: "How can you cheat? You have to..."
Before I could finish, she kissed me again. Wei Qingming reached back and snatched the seemingly all-important bridal veil, casually draping it over her own head. "I lose," she said, then picked me up and carried me toward the inner room.
Though it was perched on her head, because we were kissing, the silk cloth—over two feet wide—draped down and covered me completely as well. The dim lamplight, filtered through the red silk, was like light smoke in the twilight, staining our faces in threads of crimson. The entire world became a hazy dream, beautiful and enchanting. Everything else receded and dissolved, melting into the boundless night, leaving only this two-foot space for us to do as we pleased.
When my body touched the soft bed, Wei Qingming seemed to regain some clarity. She smiled and took my hand, leading me to gently move the obstructive veil aside. Countless waves of tenderness surged in my heart. Before my eyes, her gaze was clear, having returned to its usual warm and gentle state; even the traces of wine had completely vanished. She was always so disciplined; on a day like this, how could she truly get dead drunk and desecrate me?
I looked at her for a long time, and tears fell before I knew it. She gently kissed the droplets away, then reached up to remove the pearl hairpins from my head one by one. She carefully took off my two earrings without pulling at me at all, placing them meticulously into the vanity box. Then, she personally brought water to carefully wipe away my makeup.
"Qingming..." I embraced her, my love surging so strongly I couldn't help but call her name aloud.
"Mhm," she said. "I'm here."
I was the one to remove her crown and undo her topknot. I even giggled mischievously as I pulled away her belt, triumphantly tying it around my own waist. It was a redundant gesture; before long, we were both left in only our inner robes, tumbling together beneath the covers. After kiss upon kiss, there was no longer anything to worry about.
Finally, I held her face in my hands and told her over and over that I loved her.
"A-Zhi," she replied. "I love you too. I've loved you for a long time. I don't even know when it began. Only a silly little demon like you would dare to approach me. I couldn't hide, so I had no choice but to put you in my heart."
I pouted and scoffed at her. "I'm not silly! Didn't I manage to get the best person in the world?" Saying this, I remembered that she had first expressed her love to the Silver Lamp, and I couldn't help but feel a bit sour. "Wouldn't it have been better to say you loved me sooner, instead of letting someone else hear it first?"
She naturally understood what Master had done in the Pavilion of Falling Dreams, though she didn't know which memories we had viewed. Hearing this, she narrowed her eyes and smiled. "If I had known then that there would be such a trial, and that today would be like a dream, I certainly wouldn't have mentioned it to another." She then added softly, "If A-Zhi wants to know everything about me, I will give you everything."
I spent some time tracing her name on her chest with my finger, intending to start asking from the very beginning. "You were the seventh in the Wei family. Your original name was Qingyun?"
"Yes," Wei Qingming said. "My formal name was Qi. Min was my brother's name. Xiaoyan's name was Yu."
"'If it is like a cloud but not a cloud, like smoke but not smoke, swirling and dense, it is called Qingyun. When the virtue of a ruler reaches the mountains and hills, then the auspicious clouds appear,'" I recited to her playfully. "Qingyun is an omen of a ruler's virtue, also known as Qing-clouds. You truly are my dear Qing-qing."
She was amused by me, laughing as she pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. "You always say my sweet talk is cloying, but A-Zhi is the true master of it."
I remembered at the Sophora Village Inn, I heard Shopkeeper Tong call her A-Yun, just like her brother did. He must have been an old family acquaintance. I said, "From now on, I'll call you A-Yun too."
"Alright. When I was called that, I was still carefree, and my hands hadn't touched a drop of blood," she smiled.
I shook my head vigorously and said solemnly, "You are the best, no matter what version of you it is. I just feel that the courtesy name Eunuch Feng gave you is too aloof and cold, so ethereal that it feels untouchable, impossible to hold onto. It also contains a character of dark gloom, carrying a hint of misfortune."
She shrugged. "I was born a person of misfortune. Besides, for someone doing this kind of work, a fierce name is needed to suppress the baleful aura."
I playfully punched her. Thinking of the time she almost lost her life—and that was only what I had seen; who knew how many other times there were—tears welled up again. "That night of the Yin Corrosion Rain... Xian Shang..."
Wei Qingming understood immediately. She smiled slightly, picking up a lock of my long hair and sniffing it gently.
"That night..." She raised her eyelashes slightly, her gaze distant. Though it was a terrifying memory, her tone was gentle, carrying only a slight touch of desolation. "I was also just an ordinary person. I could feel fear, and I could feel despair. Combat relies on one's spirit. That man was indestructible, his defense impenetrable. His armor and weapons far exceeded my realm; he truly beat the fear into me. If I hadn't provoked him with a short blade at the end, causing him to discard his superior weapons, I could never have defeated him."
As she spoke, she took the Huanzhen flower I had given her from beside the pillow. I had taken it from her chest earlier; it turned out she had been wearing it close to her body all along. She familiarly stroked the five smooth petals and smiled. "If the flower A-Zhi gave me hadn't provided a warning a breath in advance, his first strike would have pierced my heart. My life was saved by A-Zhi."
"When I went to the Dream-Entry, I was truly in despair. I only wanted to die in the place closest to you. My only hesitation was that when the evidence was searched for the next day, it would surely cause you fright and sorrow. Moreover..." She chuckled softly. "I also wanted to remain in your memory in my most dignified form forever."
"But the moment I truly saw you, I suddenly became willing to believe that this was the will of Heaven. You were still so beautiful, so good, that I couldn't help but feel that a world with you in it seemed worth lingering in. So, I didn't want to die anymore."
"A-Zhi... in this life, I've taken too many lives, those who deserved it and those who didn't. Born under a lone star of calamity, I was never meant to have a good end. I had long since come to terms with that. But every time I hold you in my arms, I find myself praying to the heavens: let me live one more day, just one more day... let me hold you one more time, one more, and one more..."
"It is for you that I struggle so hard to live."
My tears slid from her porcelain-white skin. The autumn night was silent.
***
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