The Night Before the Wedding, My Fiance Asked Me to Comfort His White Moonlight - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The moment Madam Lu left, Lu Mansion descended into complete chaos.

The guests scattered quickly.

People in the capital loved watching a spectacle, but they feared even more that the spectacle might splash onto them.

By the time I was helped into the Pei family carriage, the sky had already grown dark.

My bridal veil had been removed long ago.

I sat inside the carriage, still clutching those two pieces of candied fruit.

When Pei Shu climbed in, the first thing he did was hand me a cup of warm tea.

“Drink a little.”

I took it from him.

There were slices of ginger in the tea, warming it just right.

I looked at him.

“Vice Minister Pei really came prepared.”

Pei Shu sat across from me, his back and waist perfectly straight.

“You can call me by my name.”

I deliberately asked, “What about calling you Uncle?”

The hand he was using to hold his teacup paused.

All of a sudden, I felt that perhaps this man was not always so unshakably composed.

Pei Shu looked down at his teacup and said in a low voice, “That would not be very appropriate.”

I laughed softly.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone road. Outside, the commotion from Lu Mansion could still be faintly heard.

I asked, “Did you know all along that Madam Lu would make a move during the wedding?”

“I knew she would make a move, but not at which step.”

Pei Shu said, “That is why I stayed at Lu Mansion all last night.”

I thought of how quickly he had appeared at Lizhao Courtyard.

“You were guarding Shen Jiaojiao the whole time?”

Pei Shu lifted his eyes.

“I was guarding you as well.”

I was not instantly moved.

Instead, I asked him, “Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Pei Shu fell silent.

Outside the carriage, someone was taking down the red silk in front of Lu Mansion. A wooden ladder knocked against the stone steps, thudding again and again.

“I lacked evidence.”

His voice lowered a little.

“And I was afraid of alerting the enemy.”

I looked at him.

“So you just watched me put on the wedding dress?”

Pei Shu pressed his fingers against the corner of a document. His knuckles turned white.

“Yes.”

He did not try to make it sound better for himself.

“I owe you for this.”

He did not take the opportunity to say anything more.

He only took a folded sheet of paper from his sleeve.

“This is your way out.”

I opened it.

There were two clauses written on it.

First, if I was unwilling to enter the Pei family, Pei Shu would, within three days, go to His Majesty to confess his fault, take responsibility for the hasty proposal, and let me return to Song Mansion.

Second, if I was willing to stay, the Pei family would make up the Three Letters and Six Rites and marry me again properly through an official matchmaker.

The handwriting was lean and forceful.

It did not look as if it had been written in a rush.

I looked up at him.

“When did you write this?”

Pei Shu answered, “Before you bowed for the wedding ceremony.”

The guarded place in my heart was struck by that piece of paper.

Lu Jingci was always saying, later.

Later, he would explain. Later, he would make it up to me. Later, he would give me an answer.

Pei Shu put the choice in my hands first.

I folded the paper back up and did not return it to him.

“Then what about you?”

Pei Shu looked at me.

“What?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

He was silent for a very long time.

So long that I thought he was going to hide behind propriety again.

But then he said quietly, “I do.”

A very short answer.

More real than any pretty words.

I looked away and took a sip of ginger tea.

It was a little spicy.

Spicy enough to make the tips of my ears grow warm.

When the carriage stopped at the entrance to Pei Estate, Old Madam Pei was already waiting.

She did not have anyone tease us on our wedding night, nor did she make any matrons come in to check the rules.

She only had the kitchen bring me hot congee, then had a maid lead me away to wash up.

“You are tired today. Sleep first.”

I looked at her.

“Old Madam, you aren’t going to ask me anything?”

Old Madam Pei smiled.

“Ask what?”

“Ask about me and Lu Jingci. Ask whether I am willing to stay.”

Old Madam Pei patted my hand.

“If you want to speak of it, you naturally will.”

“If you do not want to speak of it, then the Pei family does not rely on interrogating its daughters-in-law to get by.”

My eyes stung. I hurriedly lowered my head.

A maid led me into the bridal chamber.

The red candles in the room were still burning, but there was none of that suffocating incense that filled Lu Mansion.

On the table were plain congee, side dishes, and another plate of candied fruit.

I picked up a piece and could not help but laugh.

Pei Shu was a clumsy sort of person when it came to remembering things.

All he knew was how to place them before my eyes, again and again.

Late that night, Pei Shu did not enter the room.

He slept in the outer chamber.

A folding screen stood between us.

After I finished washing up and came out, I saw him sitting beneath the lamplight, reading through case files.

The black outer robe he had worn during the day was still draped over his shoulders.

I asked, “Handling official business on your wedding night?”

Pei Shu looked up.

“I cannot sleep.”

I walked over and sat down across from him.

“Afraid I’ll run away?”

He closed the case file.

“Afraid you will have nightmares.”

I froze for a moment.

He pushed a small bronze bell toward me.

“If you are frightened in the night, ring it.”

I looked at that little bronze bell, and a part of my heart softened.

“Pei Shu, acting like this will make it very easy for someone to misunderstand.”

He asked, “Misunderstand what?”

I stared at him.

“Misunderstand that you like me.”

Pei Shu did not look away.

The candle flame flickered.

His voice was very low.

“That is not a misunderstanding.”