“Yu Zhiguang and Xue Shen

A harmonious couple, happily married on the fifteenth day of the ninth month.”

As the marriage certificate arrived, Huang Fu, a eunuch from the Empress Dowager’s side, arrived with an invitation to the palace banquet three days later.

Fifteen minutes later, Huang Fu, his face green with anger, was escorted out of the mansion by Xue Shen’s guards.  Unbeknownst to him, Xue Shen, who had refused the palace banquet under the pretext of wedding preparations, didn’t look much better either. He stared blankly at the marriage contract, reading it three times from beginning to end.

The wedding at the General’s mansion and the Yu residence was hastily arranged, but lively nonetheless.

The guests were clearly divided: boisterous military officers on one side, and quietly refined civil officials on the other.

They usually glared at each other in court.

Today, however, they were celebrating together.

Yu Zhiguang, in her splendid wedding attire, sat in her bridal chamber, her makeup more vibrant than usual.  She was so nervous she almost wrinkled her skirt, only calming down when Yuanbao brought a booklet of illustrations on sexual positions left by the wedding matron.

“Miss…do you need to look at this? Madam instructed you to look at it again before nightfall.” Yuanbao was also trying to stay calm.

Yu Zhiguang lifted her veil herself, glanced at the intertwined figures in the illustrations, and her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, “No, put it away.”

She and Xue Shen wouldn’t be consummating their marriage yet.

It was because of her that Xue Shen was injured and unable to accept the Empress Dowager’s arranged marriage, and he had used his proposal to her as a way to refuse.  Similarly, she and Xue Shen didn’t need to face the awkwardness of consummating their marriage so soon.

Thinking of this, Yu Zhiguang relaxed, even finding herself examining the spacious bridal chamber of the General’s mansion.

She quietly took a stroll.

On the simple yellow rosewood dressing table sat a bronze mirror.

The mirror’s base was unusually high; from her height, she could only see the top of her head in it while sitting, and only her waist while standing.  It was impossible to see her face in it.

The moon-shaped door of the canopy bed and the rosewood tables and chairs seemed miles apart.

Two unfamiliar octagonal cabinets stood against the west wall, with a large gap between them, filled by a small hunting scene screen, like a border between two warring states.

Yuanbao followed closely, holding the red veil Yu Zhiguang had lifted, her eyes wide with surprise: “The bridal chamber in the General’s mansion is so spacious, almost twice the size of Miss’s room. It’s just…just…”

She couldn’t describe the strange feeling.

Yu Zhiguang thought for a moment, “It’s like all the objects were hastily put together, to fill the space evenly.”

What a grand yet haphazard General’s mansion.

“Exactly!” Yuanbao nodded vigorously, her words perfectly capturing the feeling.

As the two were whispering, footsteps approached from outside, mixed with the boisterous shouts of men, getting closer to their room.

“Let’s make some noise!”

“A wedding needs to be lively!”

“We have to make a lot of noise in this bridal chamber, ha ha ha.”

“Tiger’s right…”

Yu Zhiguang instantly darted back to the bed.

Yuanbao frantically covered her with the red veil.

The six-panel screen doors were covered with white cotton paper, showing the silhouettes of a group of people.

Yuanbao, like a mother hen protecting her chick, spread her arms in front of Yu Zhiguang, ready for action, but the thin doors remained firmly shut.

Yu Zhiguang quietly lifted her veil again.

The figures on the white cotton paper became more agitated, Xue Shen’s closest comrades, invited to the wedding, were shouting:

“Aren’t we supposed to make some noise, Tiger?”

“Yeah, let’s wait for the General to come, going in now would scare the bride.”

“Why don’t we wait for the General to come together?”

“You fool, if the General knows, we won’t even be able to get close to the bridal chamber!”

“Yingjun, where’s the General? Why is he taking so long?”

“He’s drinking with the brother-in-law, he should be here soon.”

“Uh, I think I need to pee.”

“Chicken! We agreed, whoever leaves first is a coward!”

“You’re all such cowards, watch me. The boss won’t get another drink tonight unless… hey, who pushed me in—don’t—push!”

The overloaded doors burst open.

Yu Zhiguang quickly lowered her veil, catching sight of a figure stumbling in, followed by an unnatural silence, then slow footsteps.

“I pushed him.”

“We can start now.”

Xue Shen’s voice was low, softer and more relaxed than usual.

The man who had said he needed to pee backed down: “I’m going to the toilet, you guys go ahead.”

“How did I get here? Wow, I’m completely drunk.”

“Jinrong invited me for a walk after dinner, the General’s mansion is big, I got lost, ha ha ha, happy wedding, General, we’re going back.”

“Leaving already? Yingjun?”

“Ugh!” Chen Junying, the sergeant who had loudly demanded another drink from Xue Shen, took a deep breath, “Look at my big mouth, I’m already talking nonsense.”

His name was Chen Junying, but everyone in the camp called him Yingjun, so much so that even Xue Shen would read his name out loud during roll call.

“Listen,” Xue Shen’s voice turned serious, adopting his usual military tone, “From tallest to shortest, form two lines, at attention—”

Yingjun wailed: “…General!”

No one could interrupt Xue Shen’s “march.”

As soon as Xue Shen finished speaking, Yu Zhiguang heard a flurry of hurried footsteps, then the sound of uniform steps. Chen Junying led a group of defeated men, marching away from the inner courtyard at a rapid pace.

He risked asking again: “General, where are we headed?”

Xue Shen said in a low voice: “Yulin Tavern, put it on my tab.”

The dejected group instantly came alive, bursting into laughter: “Understood! Thank you, General!”

The bridal chamber became much quieter.