Ajiao looked at the man before her and gave him a slight shove, tilting her chin as she asked, "And who might you be, Your Excellency?"
The words exploded in Liu Che’s mind, leaving him frozen and unable to move for a long time. At that moment, the waters of the Yellow Springs were still churning. Fearing the area was unsafe, Ajiao simply grabbed Liu Che’s sleeve and flew with him straight to the Reincarnation Department. The moment they landed, Liu Che gripped her sleeve tightly.
"Jiaojiao, do you really not recognize me? I am Liu Che. Your Ah Che."
Seeing his tight black robes and his frantic expression, Ajiao snorted inwardly. She turned to leave, only to see Wen Shu, Chang Qu, and several others rushing out from the Reincarnation Department.
"Ajiao!" Every ghost immortal working in the Reincarnation Department knew of her. In an instant, a crowd gathered, consisting of those who knew her and those who didn't.
Ajiao felt a bit dazed and asked, "Greetings, Excellencies. Where is Papa Shen?" She didn't see him anywhere.
Wen Shu replied, "Yun He is back. Lord Shen Zhi was summoned to the Houtu Main Hall, and we are on our way there now."
"He’s back? Back from his reincarnation?" Ajiao was stunned. In her memory, Yun He hadn't even been born yet. How could everything have changed after one sleep? He was back already?
Liu Che finally understood—Chen Ajiao was pretending not to know him on purpose. When he thought of how he had waited for her so fervently in the underworld for all these years, only for her to have the heart to play such a prank, a wave of indescribable emotion surged in his chest.
Once Wen Shu and the others had walked away, Ajiao turned to Liu Che with wide eyes. "Heavens, I didn't even realize you were dead. How long have I been asleep?"
Liu Che huffed, turning his face away and ignoring her. Ajiao stared at him for a moment, then walked up to him and cupped his face in her hands. "Alright, my Emperor. It seems I slept too long and my brain is a bit muddled. I can't quite figure out the time. Could you tell me?" Hadn't she self-destructed? How was she still alive? Just moments ago, she almost thought all of this was a dream.
Liu Che lowered his eyes for a long time before finally looking up. "Jiaojiao, your soul was shattered for forty-six years. I have waited for you for forty-six years."
Ajiao stepped back, her face full of disbelief. She stammered, "You... you... you're joking, right?"
Liu Che pulled her into his arms again and let out a long sigh. "You’re the one joking with us. Do you know how anxious I was? Do you know how heartbroken your mother was? Do you know how worried everyone was for you? And yet you still had the heart to crack jokes just now."
Ajiao remained silent in his embrace for a long time. She eventually reached back to hug him, her lips trembling as she sobbed, "I miss Mother. Ah Che, I want to go find Mother."
***
"Liu Che, I’m back! I want to eat peaches."
Ajiao, lying on the bed during her time off, felt not the slightest bit of embarrassment as she ordered Liu Che around. She and Liu Che were now colleagues. Her merit from killing the Black Dragon years ago, combined with her divine power—which had been refined after sinking to the bottom of the Yellow Springs for over forty years—allowed her to narrowly pass the test to become a permanent Ghost Messenger. Not only that, she had even been promoted.
As soon as she returned, she lay on the bed like a grand master, looking at Liu Che—who was still a "temporary worker"—and laughed heartily without restraint.
"Guess how my test results were?"
"You passed, of course. Otherwise, would you be laughing like this?"
Liu Che shot her a glance and obediently sliced the peaches, arranged them on a plate, and brought them over. Although Ajiao’s soul had gathered and she had regained human form, she still carried some hidden injuries. He knew the promotion test hadn't been easy for her; he was just glad she had passed.
Ajiao had been back for several days. Her mother had held her like a precious pearl for days before finally letting her out. Liu Che lamented that he had waited so many years, only to have to wait several more days just to see his wife.
"Open up." Liu Che used a silver pick to spear a piece of peach and held it to her lips. She took small bites from his hand.
After she finished one piece, Liu Che speared another and asked, "Jiaojiao, when shall we go to the Pavilion of Harmonious Affinities to register?"
"Register? Register for what?" Ajiao turned her head, looking puzzled.
"To get our marriage certificate from Lady Nüyi, of course." He fed himself a piece of fruit.
Ajiao looked at him for a moment, and her gaze suddenly darted away. she lowered her head, her voice muffled. "Let’s wait a bit. I feel quite tired. I’m exhausted today; I’m going to sleep for a while." Having said that, she closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head.
Liu Che: "..." What was going on? Was she putting on airs?
For several days in a row, Liu Che’s attempts to persuade Ajiao to register ended in failure. Not only that, Chen Ajiao was almost ignoring him. To make matters worse, he discovered that Ajiao had been promoted again. The Department of Judgment had officially appointed Shen Zhi as a Ghost Emperor, with five Lords under him and twelve Mirror-Bearing Officials. Ajiao had become an assistant to a Mirror-Bearing Official. She held an official tablet made of Zanku Wood, and the ten cloud-and-water patterns on it seemed to be mocking him.
Having no other choice, he swallowed his pride and went to find Lin Gao. "Go ask Chen Ajiao for me. What is wrong with her?"
Before long, Lin Gao returned. He sat down with a flourish and spoke bluntly: "Chen Ajiao... she probably has pre-marital anxiety."
"What is that?"
"It’s a feeling of tension, resistance, and rebellion toward the idea of marriage. She said that lately, she keeps remembering the days she suffered in the palace, and now she doesn't want to get married."
Liu Che: "But this..."
Lin Gao patted his shoulder. "You must bear the fruit of the seeds you sowed yourself. Good luck. Find a way to ease her mind."
Liu Che: "..." He truly regretted his past actions.
Lin Gao and his wife watched the drama of the Emperor chasing his wife in the underworld for many years. Finally, in the twentieth year, they saw the couple walking hand-in-hand toward the Pavilion of Harmonious Affinities.
He pulled Qu Yunxu, who was admiring flowers nearby, and quietly followed them. The Pavilion of Harmonious Affinities did not forbid spectators, so they proceeded smoothly without being stopped.
"Ah Che, if Mother finds out we decided to register on a whim and wants to hit someone, remember to stand in front of me."
"Of course. How could I let my wife be beaten?"
"Also... are you nervous?"
"I'm alright."
"I feel alright too, but remember to say your vows properly later."
Xiang Zhi, an attendant of the Nüyi Courtyard who was standing at the door and watching the couple hesitate to move, couldn't help but speak up: "Since you two aren't nervous, then hurry up and come in. You've been standing at the door for half an hour." She remembered that when Yun He went to the mortal realm to reincarnate, it was this Chen Ajiao who protected the ritual. She was indeed beautiful.
No wonder Yun He liked playing with her! Hmph! That bastard Yun He—he said he was leaving and he really left. By the time she returned from visiting relatives with Lady Nüyi, Yun He had already been born in the mortal realm!
A look of embarrassment appeared on Liu Che’s face as he pulled Ajiao and walked inside quickly. Under Xiang Zhi’s guidance, they bowed to the statue of Lady Houtu, bowed from afar to Lady Nüyi, and took their vows.
Ajiao looked at the vows before her and fell silent for a moment. She suddenly turned to Liu Che and said, "Ah Che, look closely. Once this vow is made, you cannot regret it."
Liu Che’s gaze swept over every word of the vow before finally landing on Ajiao’s face. "I have seen it clearly, and I have made my decision. I will not regret it."
"...In this life and this world, never to leave or forsake; for all eternity, to be pledged to one another."
***
"Ah Che, look at the guest list I’ve prepared. What do you think?"
Ajiao was hunched over the table, writing furiously. Liu Che walked over and picked it up. "...Wouldn't it be easier to just say you've invited everyone?"
Ajiao dropped her brush and leaned back. "I can't help it. It seems there isn't a single person in this underworld who isn't an old friend or a new acquaintance of Papa Shen."
"Then invite them all." The two laughed and played for a while before resignedly continuing to write the invitations. Unlike when Shen Zhi married the Princess of Guantao, Ajiao and Liu Che had already obtained their marriage certificate. This was just a supplementary banquet, so there was much less to prepare.
Shen Zhi insisted that his Ancient River Residence was spacious and offered it for the banquet. The young couple declined several times but couldn't sway their elder, so they eventually agreed.
On the day of the grand wedding, Lin Gao and Qu Yunxu were the first to arrive, followed closely by Yun He and Xiang Zhi.
The guests were greeted with full etiquette, and Ajiao and Liu Che led several of them into the courtyard.
Once Yun He and Xiang Zhi were seated, Lin Gao slowly shuffled over to Ajiao’s side. Covering his mouth, he whispered, "Did you know Yun He married two wives in the mortal realm?"
"I know." Ajiao pinched Liu Che’s hand and nodded imperceptibly. However, she didn't know what those two women were like after they died and came to the underworld; she had been too busy deciding whether or not to marry Liu Che at the time.
Furthermore, Yun He’s personality had changed slightly after returning to the underworld. To summarize, he wasn't as unreliable as before. According to Papa Shen, after dying once as a mortal, Yun He’s divine power had indeed become more refined, and his half-human, half-ghost body had undergone some changes. If nothing unexpected happened, Yun He would have to go through reincarnation again in a few years.
"Then do you know his second wife looked a lot like you?"
Liu Che suddenly turned around. "What did you say?" He snapped his head toward Yun He, who was talking to Xiang Zhi, and a surge of anger rose within him. This brat actually dared to covet his wife? Didn't he know that 'a father for a day is a father for life'?
Lin Gao ignored the Emperor’s fury and continued speaking to Ajiao, "I heard her name was Chen Zhi." He gestured toward that direction with his chin. "And from what I can see, the personalities of those two Empresses were quite similar."
Ajiao: "Wow!" Incredible. "Do Ghost Emperor Fei Kang and Heavenly Master Yun Yue know yet?"
"I heard they just found out. Otherwise, how would I know?"
Ajiao was so excited!
Liu Che felt that Ajiao’s behavior was unseemly, so he quickly pulled her away to continue greeting guests. When he had married in the past, he had never stood at the door to welcome guests himself. It was quite a novel experience.
One day, when Liu Che finally became a permanent official and went happily to find his wife, he discovered that his wife seemed to have been promoted again. He felt that he still had a very long way to go on the path of earning the right to support his family.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 执镜官 | Mirror-Bearing Official | A rank of official in the underworld bureaucracy. |
| 攒枯木 | Zanku Wood | A specific type of wood used for official tablets in the underworld. |
| 云水纹 | Cloud and water patterns | Decorative patterns on official tablets indicating rank. |
| 和缘楼 | Pavilion of Harmonious Affinities | The underworld's marriage registration office. |
| 女夷娘娘 | Lady Nüyi | The Goddess of Flowers/Spring, here overseeing marriages. |
| 婚笺 | Marriage Letter/Certificate | An official document certifying a marriage. |
| 香织 | Xiang Zhi | An attendant or official serving under Lady Nüyi. |
| 古河居 | Ancient River Residence | Shen Zhi's residence in the underworld. |
| 陈织 | Chen Zhi | The name of Yun He's second wife in his mortal reincarnation. |
