Chapter 39: The Wedding

~~~

After much preparation, the day of the wedding arrives.

“This is ridiculous.”

Liu Jin’s words are not without merit. Even though the wedding will start in a few hours, the young child is not with his wife. He’s not even inside the main house. Instead, he’s, well…

“Now, now, Little Brother. It is tradition.”

Liu Jin glares at Xiao Nan as he grabs hold of the tiled roof to push himself up. He has already climbed all the way up to the fourth floor, but he’s still far from his goal. Meanwhile, Xiao Nan seems to have no problems climbing the massive structure that is the main house.

“Elder Brother, my young age may be showing, but I fail to see the point of this tradition,” Liu Jin says once they finally reach the top. His goal lies a few feet away.

A pair of red shoes.

“It is simple, Little Brother. My cute little cousin waits for you without any shoes to wear. Thus, it is up to the groom to find the shoes,” Xiao Nan says with mock seriousness as Liu Jin goes to pick them up. “The shoes cannot be hidden just anywhere. The difficulty the groom has in finding the shoes must equal the quality of the bride. My cousin is a fine bride, so having you climb to the top of the main house is as easy as I could make it.”

Liu Jin sighs but does not bother arguing.

The truth is, Xiao Nan did make this easy for him. It could have been much worse.

They could have put Xiao Fang in charge of hiding the shoes.

“We could have used Xiao Fang. In fact, he was quite eager to be chosen for this,” Xiao Nan says, echoing Liu Jin’s thoughts. “By the way, I heard what happened between the two of you.”

A moment of silence falls between. No one other than Liu Jin, Xiao Fang, and Elder Hui had been in that hallway, yet Liu Jin is not surprised to find Xiao Nan knows.

“… did I act rashly, Elder Brother?”

Xiao Nan considers his question for a second before shrugging. “Who knows? Perhaps. Perhaps not. This might be a good thing in its own way.”

“Elder Brother,” Liu Jin begins after some hesitation. “When I talked to Xiao Fang… Elder Hui was with him. He seemed to approve of the idea of annulling the marriage.”

Xiao Nan frowns. “That is… It is best if Little Brother doesn’t concern himself with that.”

“Elder Brother?”

“Some things are happening that Little Brother doesn’t know about. Some things are happening that even this Xiao Nan didn’t know about. Otherwise, I’d have never introduced Elder Hui to Little Brother. Regardless, they are not things Little Brother should worry about too much. Today is your wedding. It is fine to focus on that and nothing else.”

“If Elder Brother says so, then this Liu Jin will do so.”

The young child closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“It is time I pick up my bride.”

~~~

Xiao Shuang waits for him on her bed. She wears a two-piece dress with long sleeves and a skirt that would doubtlessly trail behind her if she were standing up. The dress is of a deep crimson color with gold patterns trailing across its length. Her face is covered by a red veil. A small gasp escapes her lips upon seeing him. Immediately, a red and gold fan goes up to cover her face, leaving only her blue eyes visible through the veil.

Swallowing a little too loudly, Liu Jin approaches her with her shoes held in his hands. His face feels entirely too warm, doubtlessly from all the climbing Xiao Nan made him do. Yes, that sounds logical.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Jin kneels before her. Xiao Shuang extends her leg towards him in a manner that is almost shy, her hands pulling at her skirt to reveal her foot. It is small, bare, and really shouldn’t mean much.

Liu Jin’s face burns.

There are attendants around them. Liu Jin knows that much, yet at the moment, they might as well not exist. Liu Jin feels as if they don’t matter at all. The only two people in the room are him and Xiao Shuang. His hand almost trembles as he reaches out to grab her ankle.

Her skin is soft.

It should not be important. The minor detail should just be filed away at the back of his mind, yet he cannot put it aside. It is not the first time Liu Jin touches a female. He has helped his father with many female patients in the past. He has even seen some of them in various states of undress.

By comparison, this is not even worth talking about. It isn’t as though he is kissing Xiao Shuang or holding her against him. He is just putting on her shoes. It is tradition. Nothing more. The groom must put the bridal shoes on the bride’s feet. Doubtlessly, there is some deep meaning hidden behind the act, one which Liu Jin cares little for. As far as Liu Jin is concerned, this ritual is just another item on a checklist.

It feels intimate.

The shoe goes in. Liu Jin is not sure how long it takes him to put it on, merely that he breathes a sigh of relief once the task is done. Xiao Shuang’s foot goes down. Then she lifts the other one, and the process repeats itself.

Once both shoes are on her feet, Liu Jin extends his hand to her. Xiao Shuang grasps it as she rises from her bed. Usually, the groom would take the bride to his home, where the wedding ceremony would be held.

However, this is not a normal ceremony.

For Liu Jin to take Xiao Shuang to his home is nothing less than laughable. It is unthinkable for the daughter of the Xiao Sect’s Patriarch to marry in the small clinic he calls home. Liu Jin loves his home, but he has no trouble understanding and accepting this.

Instead of being held in his home, the wedding is to be held in the main house. Thus, Liu Jin only has to lead his bride to the first floor where everything is ready. The main hall has been decorated for the occasion. Red, naturally, is abundant, as is proper for weddings. There is not a single dark color in sight. Images of dragons and phoenixes decorate the walls, the hopes that the groom proves to be a dragon among men and the bride a phoenix among women.

As Liu Jin and Xiao Shuang enter the room, the eyes of all the guests turn to them. It is not just those who belong to the Xiao Sect who are present. Prestigious people from all over Eastern Port City have been invited.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it’s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Once the bride and the groom are in their proper place, the ceremony begins. Words are being said, but Liu Jin is only half listening. Thankfully, there have been many rehearsals. By now, he could go through the whole ceremony in his sleep and not miss a step.

Liu Jin kowtows three times. One to the Heavens. One to his wife’s family. One to his bride.

It is only after this that Xiao Shuang lowers her fan. His hands reach towards her veil and lift it, revealing her face to him for the first time that day. The nuptial wine is next. He and Xiao Shuang drink from the nuptial cups, which are tied by a red string. They cross their arms to exchange cups and drink once more.

The attendants give each of them a knife. Liu Jin cuts a lock of his hair, and Xiao Shuang does the same. The chief attendant then ties the locks together and places them in a small red bag. Like that, the two are joined. Two beings who were once separate are now one.

They are married.

~~~

The wedding banquet has lobster, chicken, fish, duck, and many other delicious-looking dishes.

Liu Jin would like nothing more than to eat. Unfortunately, tradition has to be kept. The guests are all arranged in tables of ten, and Liu Jin must go around and greet each of them. Such is the duty of the groom. Thankfully, Xiao Nan is merciful enough to accompany him on this task.

“The next table has the leaders of the Choi and Du Clans. Both of them are fairly wealthy and subordinate to our Xiao Sect,” the older teen explains in a low voice as they make their way to the table. “Their sons are with them.”

“They are Core Disciples, right? I remember that from the notes.”

Liu Jin had to memorize the names of all the important guests. It wouldn’t do for him to make a fool of himself with a careless remark.