Chapter 13

Li Mu’s brain automatically shut down when she was called to wake up.

Washing, changing clothes, applying makeup, and doing her hair—the first set of clothes she wore wasn’t the wedding dress because, in the morning, she had to go to the ancestral hall to kneel before the ancestral tablets. After kneeling, she could rest a bit and eat something before changing into the consort’s attire, waiting for the groom’s party to arrive in the afternoon.

Recently, Li Mu had been vomiting everything she ate, so she only managed to drink a few sips of sweet soup to barely fill her stomach before being pulled away to change clothes again.

The consort’s attire in this dynasty was the same as that of an imperial consort, consisting of a grand robe, a phoenix coronet with flower hairpins, and other ceremonial garments, all of which had been sent from the palace to the Li residence during the betrothal ceremony.

In the afternoon, the people from King Yan’s residence came to fetch the bride. King Yan entered the hall and performed the four-bow ceremony to Li Mu’s parents.

Li Wendao and Madam Qian received and returned two bows, and then it was Li Mu’s turn to enter the hall and perform the four-bow ceremony for her seated parents.

Li Mu kept her eyes down, not looking at what King Yan looked like. She completed the entire process of leaving her maiden home as if in a dream, leaving the Li residence where she had lived since transmigrating.

Unlike common folk weddings, a King’s wedding required not only the six rites but also bringing the consort into the palace for an audience and receiving the imperial decree before heading to the King’s residence.

Throughout the entire process, Li Mu felt like a computer running a pre-programmed sequence, following a series of pre-written codes without knowing anything else. She didn’t feel hungry despite not eating, didn’t feel uncomfortable despite sweating through her heavy clothes, and didn’t even feel tired.

Fortunately, Li Mu had already established a persona of a quiet fool, so not many people noticed her abnormal behavior.

As for those who did notice, they pretended not to see.

After the complex ceremonies ended and they arrived at King Yan’s residence, it was already dark. Another set of procedures followed, and the banquet finally began. Li Mu was taken to the bridal chamber and sat on the wedding bed that had been prepared by a good fortune woman a few days earlier.

The bed was scattered with many festive fruits. At first, Li Mu didn’t feel anything, but as her brain slowly rebooted, she began to feel the discomfort under her buttocks, the hunger in her stomach, the heat from sweating all over, the headache from the heavy headdress, and the exhaustion that made her feel like she could faint at any moment.

Fortunately, the summer in this era wasn’t as hot as before she transmigrated, or she would have already suffered from heatstroke and bid farewell to this troublesome journey.

Li Mu’s distressed brain rebooted only to crash again, her thoughts scattering like dandelions blown by the wind—

This dynasty resembled the Ming Dynasty in many ways. Hopefully, it wouldn’t coincide with the Little Ice Age. One heard that it even snowed in Guangdong during the Little Ice Age. Maybe it’s better to end it sooner.

Li Mu thought hazily. It took several calls from Qianyun and Feixing, who had accompanied her to King Yan’s residence, for her to hear them.

Li Mu looked up blankly and heard Feixing say, “His Highness has prepared hot water for you to bathe and sent a message saying that now you’re home, there’s no need to adhere to those torturous rituals. Do whatever makes you comfortable. If you need anything, just instruct Nanny Liu.”

Qianyun added, “Nanny Liu is waiting outside. Just call her if you need anything.”

Li Mu didn’t speak. With Qianyun and Feixing’s help, she removed the flower hairpins and phoenix coronet, then slowly slipped into the bath. She was too exhausted to lift a finger, so she didn’t take over the tasks from Qianyun and Feixing as usual, letting them wet her hair and wash her back.

The warm water soothed her tormented spirit. After getting out of the bath and changing into light clothes, Li Mu felt a bit more refreshed, and her stomach no longer churned, making her want to vomit.

At that moment, Nanny Liu brought in some food. Qianyun was delighted, “It’s all your favorite dishes.”

Feixing, feeling guilty, served Li Mu a bowl of tofu soup and added some lotus root slices and shrimp balls cooked in chicken broth.

Li Mu ate slowly until she was half full, fearing that overeating after being hungry for so long would make her uncomfortable and that her previous condition of vomiting everything she ate might return. Fortunately, her stomach remained calm this time, and she didn’t throw up.

The festive fruits on the bed had been cleared away while Li Mu was eating. After finishing her meal, she wanted to walk around the room as usual, but her legs were too weak after just a few steps. She decided to sit back on the bed and massage her sore thighs and calves.

Whether it was the exhaustion of the past few days or finally overcoming the hardest part, Li Mu felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. As she massaged her legs, her hands grew heavy, and she slowly leaned to one side.

Feixing quickly supported Li Mu and gently laid her on the bed while Qianyun helped remove her shoes and lifted her legs onto the bed.

Qianyun’s movements were swift, but she hesitated and asked Feixing in a low voice, “Is it okay for her to sleep like this?”

Feixing replied, “It should be fine. Didn’t His Highness say to do whatever makes her comfortable?”

Both were unsure but didn’t know whom to ask. They had followed Li Mu to King Yan’s residence, but Nanny Liu, who was unfamiliar to them, had been called away by Steward Wu, leaving just the two of them.

After some thought, Qianyun and Feixing decided to let Li Mu sleep for a while and wake her when His Highness arrived.

Worried that Li Mu might catch a chill, they sat by the bed and carefully dried her hair.

Li Mu slept until midnight. When they heard that the banquet had ended, they hurriedly woke her and gave her a cup of hot water.

The hot water cleared Li Mu’s mind. Qianyun wanted to redo her hair and makeup, but before she could get the powder and comb, Nanny Liu’s voice came from the door, “Is the consort inside?”

The door opened, and Li Mu looked towards the voice.

To force herself to get through the entire wedding ceremony without fainting or vomiting, Li Mu had abandoned all distracting thoughts, feeling as if she were dead, with no desires or needs. She hadn’t even looked at King Yan’s face.

Seeing the man’s appearance clearly now, she couldn’t help but be startled. She remembered Lin Qiwu’s comment about King Yan, not about him being decent despite his flaws, but the one she had said with a worried expression while staying at the Li residence: “My brother is weak. Don’t hold it against him.”

Weak? The kind of weak that can kill many?

Did Lin Qiwu misunderstand what “weak” meant?

Li Mu was speechless. She watched the man she had seen in the forest at Mingtai Temple walk towards her, wondering if this marriage was because she had witnessed him killing someone. Then she heard him ask, “Just woke up?”

Li Mu saw Qianyun and Feixing retreating and nodded slowly.

He smiled, “You look much better than this afternoon. It seems you don’t dislike me too much.”

Li Mu’s inability to eat or sleep had reached Lin Que’s ears. He still had a headache, and if Li Mu truly disliked him, their married life wouldn’t be as pleasant as he had hoped. But Li Mu had fallen asleep on their new bed, so maybe she didn’t dislike him. Perhaps she just didn’t like the elaborate wedding ceremony.

Hearing Lin Que’s words, Li Mu finally realized that her fear of the wedding ceremony had likely been misunderstood by many as dissatisfaction with her marriage partner.

Li Mu felt a pang of guilt—considering his lifespan, she was satisfied with this unfamiliar marriage partner. To clarify, she shook her head and said, “I don’t dislike you.”

At least not now.

Lin Que’s mood improved, “That’s good.”

As they spoke, someone brought in more hot water. Lin Que, who liked cleanliness, had just come from the banquet and couldn’t avoid smelling of alcohol, so he went to take a bath first.

After bathing, Lin Que, with his hair still damp, sat beside Li Mu, who had been given a cup of calming soup.

The scent of the soup was familiar—it was the sour jujube kernel calming soup Li Mu drank every night.

Li Mu drank the soup in one gulp, then saw Lin Que hand her a bowl of warm water.

Li Mu wasn’t used to being served, so she rinsed her mouth while thinking about whether to grab the towel from the tray herself. The distance was close enough for her to reach, and there was no need for someone else to help. But then she thought, what if the towel wasn’t meant for her? Wouldn’t it be rude to grab it?

Li Mu’s social anxiety made her cautious, so she didn’t move. In the end, Lin Que handed her the towel to wipe her mouth, and she regretted not acting sooner.

After Nanny Liu left with the bowl, only the two of them remained in the room. Lin Que asked Li Mu to help dry his hair. Feeling awkward after being served the medicine, Li Mu reciprocated by taking a towel and sitting cross-legged behind him, gently drying his slightly damp hair.

The wedding candles still burned quietly, and the atmosphere in the room was peaceful and harmonious, unlike the ambiguous and romantic mood expected in a bridal chamber. Lin Que asked her, “Do you have a courtesy name?”

She did. Coincidentally, her courtesy name was the same as her name before transmigrating.

Li Mu slowly recited the two characters, feeling an inexplicable familiarity— “Weixi.”

Li Weixi, with many strokes in the characters, showed that her parents hadn’t considered her well-being when naming her. In elementary school, she was always the last to finish writing her name on the textbooks.

Ancient people had many rules for choosing courtesy names. Some courtesy names had the same meaning as the given name, while others had completely opposite meanings.

“Weixi” referred to the scene of the morning sun just appearing, which was the opposite of “Mu” (dusk). Coincidentally, her coming-of-age ceremony was held after she transmigrated. It wasn’t a grand event, just a family meal with each member giving her a gift. Later, not many people called her by her courtesy name; most used her ranking or given name.

“Weixi?” Lin Que repeated Li Mu’s courtesy name.

Li Mu was stunned again, feeling as if she had returned to her pre-transmigration days. After a while, she responded, “Yes.”

Lin Que: “My name is Lin Que, courtesy name Bu Wei.”

Li Mu had heard this from the female officials teaching her etiquette.

Lin Que continued, “I have an adopted son named Yan’an. He was studying in Yangzhou and returned recently.”

Li Mu knew this too.

“I adopted him when he was three years old.”

This, Li Mu didn’t know. It wasn’t mentioned in the book.

Lin Que explained, “That year, the late emperor sent troops to surround the Lin family and took my younger brother to threaten my mother and me, who were leading troops in Xuanfu. Only Qiwu escaped, entrusted to a neighbor by her nanny.”

Li Mu’s thoughts struggled to keep up with the massive amount of information.

Lin Que continued, “When I returned, the Lin family was gone. The nanny’s family and the neighbors were all killed, leaving only the neighbor’s three-year-old child and one-year-old Qiwu, who were pushed through a dog hole. The child had to bring Qiwu back home at night, crossing his parents’ bodies and hiding in a rice jar.”

“Later, my mother took Qiwu, and I adopted the three-year-old child, who became Yan’an.”

After explaining Yan’an’s background, Lin Que turned and explained why he was telling her this: “I thought you should know about the family matters to avoid being in the dark. There are too many things to explain at once, so I’ll tell you more gradually. Is that okay?”

Li Mu met Lin Que’s gentle, smiling eyes and slowly nodded.