Lotus Born from a Corpse - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time Gu Changheng and I finished the wedding ceremony, my palms were slick with sweat.

He could barely stand. When it came time to bow to Heaven and Earth, Gu An practically had to hold him up to help him bend his waist.

Old Madam Gu watched him, her eyes devoid of any pity.

Instead, she looked as if she were afraid he wouldn’t last until the ceremony was complete.

When the mistress of ceremonies called for us to be sent to the bridal chamber, Gu Changheng suddenly grabbed my wrist.

His fingertips were terrifyingly cold.

“I can walk on my own.”

Gu An tried to persuade him in a low voice. “Young Master, your body…”

Gu Changheng shot him a look.

Gu An immediately shut his mouth.

He led me toward the back courtyard, pausing with every step.

The hem of his wedding robes dragged across the floor tiles, leaving a faint trail of moisture.

I caught a whiff of a faint, fishy scent of water.

It smelled like mud churned up from the bottom of a lotus pond.

When we reached the end of the corridor, he stopped.

“It’s not too late for you to regret this.”

I looked at him. “Your Gu Family took the debt notes for my shop. You’re telling me it’s not too late now?”

He lowered his eyes. “The debt notes are in my room. I can give them to you.”

“And then?”

“Leave.”

He always spoke in short bursts.

But within that single word was hidden a heavy, profound exhaustion.

I asked, “Why are you helping me?”

He didn’t answer.

From outside the corridor, Old Madam Gu’s voice drifted over.

“Changheng, it’s your wedding night. What kind of behavior is it to leave your bride standing in a draft?”

Gu Changheng’s fingers tightened.

I turned to look.

Old Madam Gu approached, leaning on a maidservant’s arm, a lukewarm smile fixed on her face.

She looked at me, her tone gentle. “Zhaoying, Changheng has been ill for a long time and has a strange temperament. Please be patient with him.”

I said, “A sick man should call for a doctor, not take a wife.”

Old Madam Gu’s smile faded slightly. “Did your master never teach you that a new bride shouldn’t talk back?”

“She did.”

“And yet you still dare?”

“She also taught me that when a patient’s complexion is wrong, one should first ask about the symptoms, not the etiquette.”

Old Madam’s hand, which was fiddling with her prayer beads, paused.

“The daughters of the Jiang Family are indeed bold.”

I could hear the hidden meaning in her words. “Does the Old Madam know my family?”

She glanced at Gu Changheng. “Just old stories.”

Gu Changheng suddenly spoke up. “Grandmother, it is late.”

Old Madam Gu smiled. “It is indeed time to rest.”

She turned to me. “Zhaoying, no matter what you hear tonight, do not leave the room.”

“And do not light a third lamp.”

I asked, “Why?”

She looked at me, her voice still slow and measured. “The Gu Family does not like brides who ask too many questions.”

Gu Changheng stepped in front of me, shielding me. “She is not a member of the Gu Family.”

Old Madam Gu’s expression turned cold. “Once she has bowed in the ceremony, she is.”

I looked at the grandmother and grandson.

One looked like a corpse just fished out of the water.

The other looked like a Buddhist shrine draped in human skin.

They both knew things that I did not.

Once the door to the bridal chamber was closed, Gu Changheng immediately let go of me.

He retreated to the side of the bed, gripping the bedpost, his shoulders trembling as he coughed.

I walked over. “Give me your hand.”

He turned his head away. “No need.”

“I am a doctor.”

“You aren’t here to cure me.”

“Then what am I here for?”

He lifted his eyes to look at me.

Beneath the silver mask, that eye was a deep, dark void.

“To die.”