Chapter 3: Tailoring New Clothes, Making Wedding Garments

Chapter 3: Tailoring New Clothes, Making Wedding Garments

"Am I the one getting married, or are you?" Xie Jingxing's voice was icy cold.

Qiu Changyu quickly apologized: "My apologies, I overstepped."

As he spoke, he drew a secret letter from his sleeve and presented it to Xie Jingxing. "General, this is urgent news from Jiangnan. Your deduction was correct—by starting with Ning Xishi, we indeed found the whereabouts of Wang Meng's older sister."

Xie Jingxing crushed the beeswax seal and extracted the secret letter from the bamboo tube. It meticulously detailed the complete history of a maidservant in Ning Xishi's service, from her appearance at his side three years ago up to the present day.

Xie Jingxing's sword-like brows remained impassive: "So Ning Xishi goes to Jiangnan each year for three to six months?"

"Yes. His maternal family is renowned in Shaozhou, Jiangnan, as wealthy merchants with deep pockets. His grandfather, Qin Du, once conducted silk trade for the Directorate of Ceremonies during the late emperor's reign." Qiu Changyu had evidently done his homework on Ning Xishi. "Ning Xishi has been in poor health since birth. The winters in the capital are bitterly cold, and he has never been able to endure them, so he goes to his maternal grandfather's home in Jiangnan to recuperate."

Xie Jingxing looked at Qiu Changyu.

Qiu Changyu immediately understood Xie Jingxing's intent and said: "His frail health cannot be faked. Minister Ning and his wife are famous throughout the capital for doting on their youngest son. Ning Xishi has indeed been sickly since childhood—every well-known physician in the capital has taken his pulse, and even imperial physicians have examined him. I've already had the medical records from the Imperial Medical Institute copied, and they will be delivered shortly."

It was precisely for this reason that Ning Xishi went to Jiangnan each year to spend the winter.

Qiu Changyu thought of something else and added: "The literary atmosphere in Jiangnan is rich, and with it comes a certain licentiousness among pedantic scholars. Visiting courtesans, keeping concubines, and openly taking male lovers under the guise of 'study boys'—these are things scholars in the capital don't dare speak of openly, but in Jiangnan they are commonplace. They even celebrate such behavior as cultured, calling it a romantic tale."

Therefore, if the secret letter truly stated that Ning Xishi had kept Wang Meng's sister as his mistress on the side, it might not be considered morally depraved in Jiangnan.

But then again, who could blame Wang Meng? For three years he had fought fiercely on the battlefield, earning one distinction after another, rising from a common soldier to squad leader, then to centurion, and even to vice chiliarch—all promoted step by step by the general.

Now, that bastard emperor, seizing on Wang Meng's desire to avenge his sister, had promoted him another rank—he was now a full fifth-rank chiliarch.

Wang Meng was adamant that his sister had been defiled by that good-for-nothing playboy, and he wanted the wastrel to get what he deserved. Moreover, the emperor had surely promised Wang Meng some reward, so he now served the emperor's cause body and soul.

—To make that wastrel Ning Xishi a male bride, destined to spend his life under a man.

Now that would be revenge!

Therefore, as long as Chiliarch Wang Meng was around, no one would dare touch a single hair on Ning Xishi's head before the wedding.

Wang Meng was determined to make Ning Xishi know what it feels like to be bullied.

Qiu Changyu was pondering the various parties' attitudes toward this matter when he suddenly noticed the general staring at him. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts: "I'll leave you be, General."

The study door closed once more, and only then did Xie Jingxing put down the secret letter.

It did not explicitly state whether Ning Xishi had anything physical with Wang Meng's sister, Wang Liniang, but just the plain facts were enough to suggest a close connection between them.

For instance—

"In the late autumn of Zhenqing's eleventh year, Ning Xishi traveled to Shaozhou. Caught in heavy rain on the road, he rested for one night in Wang Liniang's shop, departing the next morning for his maternal grandfather's home."

Resting for one night—a man and a woman alone—how could that not invite deep speculation?

[In the winter of Zhenqing's eleventh year, Wang Liniang's clothing shop was doing a brisk business. Her former husband, Li Rui, came looking for her, hoping to reconcile with his wife. Putting on his best behavior, he recited love poems at her doorstep, hoping she would change her mind. But then, when Ning Xishi learned of this, he sent men to beat Li Rui severely. He declared, 'Come once and I'll beat you once; next time I'll break your bones.']

Interfering in another couple's affairs, acting out of jealousy—truly shameless.

Xie Jingxing delivered his verdict with thin lips: "A shameless playboy."

Though he favored men, he had no fondness for a naturally promiscuous youth—at just seventeen, already fighting over a woman and even beating her former husband.

Not to mention being forced into marriage with such a person.

Xie Jingxing tossed the secret letter aside, revealing a strikingly lifelike sketch on his desk.

If Qiu Changyu were present, he would surely recognize the youth in the portrait—with clear brows, a slight smile curling at the corners of his lips, carrying a hint of roguish charm—as Ning Xishi.

Who knew how long that portrait had been sitting on the general's desk.

·

In the chiliarch's office of the Imperial City Bureau, the air was thick with the stench of alcohol.

"Killing that little brat would be too simple—one slash and it's done. I want him to suffer worse than death." Wang Meng downed a bowl of hard liquor, his eyes bloodshot. Ever since learning of his sister's whereabouts, he'd been unable to sleep, consumed by hatred. Every time he thought of his sister, his heart ached as if a knife were twisting in his chest.

He would make that wastrel pay!

And his brother-in-law—he had only gotten separated from his sister years ago when they were fleeing a disaster. Now his sister had been bewitched by that wastrel and refused to return with her husband.

Once that wastrel became another man's plaything, his sister would surely be heartbroken and willing to return with her husband to live a proper life.

Wang Meng's subordinate centurion smiled ingratiatingly: "Brilliant! This not only delivers a companion to the general's bed, but also renders Ning Xishi useless as a man, while allowing you, Chiliarch, to achieve your revenge—three birds with one stone, a triple win!"

"Exactly right. Pour me some wine."

"At once!"

Wang Meng downed another bowl of hard liquor, a sinister and eerie smile curling at his lips: "Once the general tires of him, I'll slice him into a thousand pieces."

The centurion pouring his wine shuddered involuntarily.

·

These past few days, Ning Xishi had been pondering the original plot.

With Imperial City Bureau soldiers guarding outside, no one could enter or leave his courtyard except his personal attendant Dongshuang, who brought him meals. Ning Xishi enjoyed the peace.

But that peace was clearly about to end today.

Just as Ning Xishi was dozing on the golden-threaded couch by the window, he was awakened by commotion outside the door. Through the open casement window, he saw soldiers leading two people inside. Both carried soft and hard measuring tapes—they appeared to be tailors.

What for? Could they be making his wedding garments?

The moment he thought of truly obeying the imperial edict to marry a man, potentially walking the same path as in the original story, Ning Xishi felt those people were harbingers of death.

Before he could react, the soldiers had already opened the door and brought the tailors in.

They showed not a shred of respect for Ning Xishi.

"This is our young master's room! What do you think you're doing? How dare you!" The young attendant Dongshuang was the first to jump up in protest.

"What are you, to dare speak to your grandpa like that?" The soldier, incensed that even a servant dared to bark at him, strode over—apparently preparing to strike Dongshuang.

Ning Xishi coughed once, rose from the couch, and subtly stepped between the soldier and Dongshuang. Though far from the soldier's muscular build, his brows carried the natural defiance of youth.

"He is my personal attendant who will accompany me in marriage. In the general's household, he'll rank as a head maidservant. Can you claim authority over the general's estate?"

From a tree branch outside, the general's spy drew out his brush and frantically began recording Ning Xishi's words, which would be delivered to General Xie Jingxing's desk that very night.

Though the soldier was irritated by Ning Xishi's tactic of invoking the general's name, he held deep respect for the general's household. He withdrew his clenched fist and glared at Dongshuang: "Next time you see me, mind your tongue."

Then he turned to the two tailors, who were trembling like quails, and said: "Come over here and take measurements for the future Lady General."

The two tailors shuffled over and fussed and fumbled over Ning Xishi for a good while. They tied the hard rulers into a cross shape, had Ning Xishi stand still while they took measurements again and again, and recorded the data. Then they had him go behind the screen to take off his outer robe so they could measure his arms, legs, and everything else more precisely.

While the tailors were recording the measurements, the two soldiers watched from the side. When they saw Ning Xishi's leg length data, they couldn't help silently cursing to themselves.

This guy's about the same height as them, so how come his legs are that long?

And that waist—tsk, it's only half as slim as theirs. No wonder they call him the capital's famous pretty boy—all looks, no substance.

Ning Xishi was put through the wringer for half an hour, feeling like his body was about to fall to pieces, before the two tailors finished all the measurements, bowed, and took off.

Watching their retreating figures, Ning Xishi said, "Make sure my wedding robes come out looking good, okay?"

He'd probably only tie the knot once in this lifetime, so he might as well dress up nicely for it.

The spy in the tree pulled out his little notebook and continued recording.

Dongshuang, however, gave him a look of pure disappointment: "Second Young Master, are we just going to accept our fate?"

He lowered his voice with effort: "We oughta be planning to bolt from this marriage."

Ning Xishi: "..." Those three waves of spies are all highly skilled martial artists—dude, you're going to get me killed along with you.

Not that he'd ever even thought about running from the marriage; even if he gave it a thousand second thoughts, the emperor's word was law on this betrothal—if he ran, his whole family would be exiled to Ningguta.

Hadn't his dad already gone to kneel outside the Imperial Study, begging the emperor to change his mind?

Even his mother, who never gave a damn about social rules, didn't dare bring up the idea of fleeing. This Dongshuang had some serious balls.

If it weren't for the fact that Dongshuang had been with him since childhood, and Ning Xishi was sure the guy was just simple-minded without any ill intent, he'd suspect the man was sent by someone with malicious intentions to harm him.

"Run from the wedding? Live a life on the run, never seeing the light of day?" Ning Xishi held his waist, "Measuring for clothes has never been this exhausting before. Ugh, my back hurts—help me to the gold-threaded couch."

This gold-threaded couch was specially crafted by his maternal grandfather, who had sought out the best carpenter in Shaozhou. The filling was made from the finest, softest down plucked from deep within the wing feathers of wild ducks.

This wasn't just about spending money—his grandfather had people catch wild ducks for over a year just to make this one gold-threaded couch, and then he'd sent it to the capital with eager anticipation.

One gold-threaded couch, worth more than a thousand gold pieces!

Ning Xishi lay down comfortably, and Dongshuang quickly fanned him.

Ning Xishi looked out the window, trying hard not to glance at the spy from the general's mansion who thought he was hiding so well, and thought to himself: "Seventeen years—I've been raised like a pea princess. I can't endure a single day of hardship outside."

Ning "Pea Princess" Xishi said: "Don't ever mention fleeing the wedding again. This young master has decided to prepare for marriage in peace and go to the general's mansion as the 'head of the household.'"

The spy in the tree: Write, write furiously.

==========Author's Note:==========

Goodnight, my darlings~