Chapter 39: Getting Married

Chapter 39: The Wedding

Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Zhao An ushered Hu Sheng and his entourage into the house, their precious gifts carried in alongside them.

But once the door was shut, Zhao An looked at Hu Sheng with a hint of trepidation. "Won't these things bring trouble to my home?"

Unexpectedly, Hu Sheng replied, "It's fine. I'll be living here from now on. Didn't we agree I'd marry you? Of course, I should move in with you." He then glanced towards Zhao An's bathroom. "Besides, your house is much more comfortable than the mountain."

Bathroom... Zhao An shook his head, quickly banishing those unsettling thoughts. He then spoke seriously, "But you still have thousands of people on the mountain."

Hu Sheng, however, remained unfazed. "It's alright. I can go up the mountain every day. After all, I'm very fast on my feet."

Right, he'd forgotten again—this was a world with *qīnggōng* (light-foot technique), not bound by Newton's laws. Since Hu Sheng declared he would move in, Zhao An immediately relaxed. Seeing that it was getting late, he quickly called Qintong and Uncle Hai to help prepare lunch.

Zhao An had Qintong boil a pot of water, then picked up a wild goose and headed to the yard to slaughter and bleed it. Hu Sheng paid him no mind, having already unchained the big black wolf, intending to take it for a walk.

Li Dake crouched beside Zhao An, asking pitifully, "Are you really going to kill this wild goose?"

By then, Zhao An had already begun plucking feathers from the goose's neck. "Of course, I'm going to kill it. If I don't, wouldn't that waste A-Sheng's thoughtful gesture?"

Although this creature looked very much like a duck, and Hu Sheng said it tasted similar, Zhao An was still curious.

Curiosity, therefore, demanded a taste—perfectly reasonable.

Seeing Zhao An's eager expression, Li Dake could only inwardly grumble that the two of them were a perfect match.

Back when Hu Sheng was in the northern frontiers, he once shot down a wild goose. Li Dake had sighed and said, "Wild geese are devoted partners. If one dies, the other won't live alone."

Then he watched as Hu Sheng drew his bow again, shot down the other goose, and said cheerfully, "Now they can be reunited in my stomach."

Although Li Dake inwardly criticized Hu Sheng for being a buzzkill, his stomach was empty at the time. After the two geese were roasted over the fire, he devoured both necks and heads by himself, leaving the carcasses for his wife. As freeloaders, they could only make do with the scraps.

Today, the lavish feast Zhao An prepared was quite impressive, with no shortage of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. So Li Dake managed to snag a goose leg and a wing, thoroughly satisfying his cravings.

Surprisingly, all these dishes were prepared by Zhao An himself. Who knew the young man had such great culinary skills? Hu Sheng had truly struck gold.

Thinking of Zhao An's virtues, beyond his cooking, he also remembered to send grain seeds to the mountain stronghold. Even if it was just some sweet potato vines, it was the thought that counted.

And Zhao An's toilet was so convenient. He even promised that once the weather turned cold, he would build a large bathhouse on the mountain so everyone could shower.

After lunch, Hu Sheng sent away the people who had come down the mountain with him. Uncle Hai took Qintong into the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Zhao An conspiratorially leaned close to Hu Sheng’s ear and asked, "When exactly is our wedding day?"

"It's tomorrow. Li Dake already announced it earlier. Didn't you hear?" Hu Sheng pulled Zhao An to sit facing him. "Don't look so lost. If you think it's too rushed, I won't force you."

Zhao An immediately replied, "No, tomorrow is perfect." Then his face flushed. "I just wasn't diligent enough in my studies, so I didn't understand the wedding document Mr. Li wrote."

"Hahaha~" Hu Sheng laughed heartily. "You actually call Li Dake 'Mr. Li'? That guy is quite the troublemaker. His writing is full of classical allusions, referencing wedding dates from ancient legends without specifying an actual date. It's understandable that you didn't get it. If I hadn't set the date myself, I wouldn't have understood either. He just can't help showing off his knowledge occasionally. You'll have to bear with him."

Zhao An felt that Hu Sheng was just comforting him, but he took the opportunity to drop the subject, not dwelling on the fact that Hu Sheng and Li Dake had conspired to trick him. Instead, he worried, "If we're getting married tomorrow, what should I wear? And the wine I brewed—we said we'd use it as wedding wine, but it hasn't been transported up the mountain yet."

Hu Sheng had, of course, already prepared the clothes, but he hadn't thought about the wine. This was his first wedding, after all, and there were many things he might have overlooked. But it wasn't an unsolvable problem. Before Li Dake and the others had gone too far, Hu Sheng used his *qīnggōng* to catch up with them.

Half an hour later, Li Dake and the others returned to Zhao An's house. Upon smelling the rich, enchanting aroma of the wine, their initially reluctant expressions immediately turned into genuine smiles, and they scrambled to carry the wine jars.

Zhao An watched nervously from the side, afraid that someone might slip and break a jar. How could Hu Sheng stand by and let Zhao An worry? He stepped forward and swatted away the dirty hands touching the jars.

In the end, they fought among themselves to select five winners. Each carried two jars of wine and happily headed back up the mountain. Those who didn't win could only follow dejectedly. Bringing up the rear was Li Dake—despite his years of training on the frontier, he was still the weakest fighter in the group. The others, considering his role as the strategist in charge of distributing provisions, had gone easy on him, but he still ended up with a swollen eye.

The next day at noon, Li Dake appeared with that swollen eye to officiate Hu Sheng and Zhao An's wedding. Although his voice was loud and steady as he proclaimed, "First bow to heaven and earth," Zhao An couldn't help thinking, *Why couldn't someone else do this? For example, Feng Shaoping, who was standing to the side grinning foolishly, would have looked much more presentable.*

But as the red silk in Hu Sheng's hand swayed, Zhao An quickly gathered his focus and bowed deeply with him toward the distant mountains and the vast sky.

"Second bow to the parents." Only the memorial tablets of Zhao An's parents were present, but the two still bowed deeply. As he lowered his head, Zhao An silently vowed to live well, to be with the person he loved, and to be happy forever.

When they both raised their heads and turned to face each other, they found smiles etched into every inch of their skin. Yet they were still so overjoyed that their eyes shone like stars, and they seemed to glow with happiness.

"Bow to each other." This bow was deep and meaningful. Zhao An suddenly recalled the sweet nothings—or rather, vows—Hu Sheng had once told him: they would be united in marriage witnessed by heaven, earth, and their loved ones.

"Ceremony concluded." Since both were men, there was no need to escort one to the bridal chamber while the other waited alone. Instead, they both joined the guests, drinking and laughing together.

Because there were so many people, the wine served that day was quite diluted, and the wedding decorations were rather simple. Yet Zhao An felt as if he were drunk—he couldn't stop smiling. When the moon reached its zenith, and Hu Sheng accompanied him back to their room, he still couldn't suppress his laughter. Now that they were alone, he asked, "May I kiss my groom?"

Hu Sheng kissed him on the mouth and said, "Of course." Zhao An naturally kissed back, but Hu Sheng had already started undressing him. His disheveled black hair spilled over the red wedding robes, and the sight alone was enough to set one's blood boiling.

That night, both Hu Sheng and Zhao An were overly excited, to the point where they reached their climax before even getting to the main event. But this frenzied, intoxicated feeling quickly reignited their desires, leading to a night of passionate entanglement.

Zhao An didn't know when he passed out. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on an unfamiliar large bed. Fortunately, the rest of the room's furnishings were familiar—it was Hu Sheng's room, but with a new bed.

Zhao An was momentarily confused and tried to push himself up, only to realize that what he was leaning on wasn't the bed but a firm, elastic chest muscle.

Looking up, he met Hu Sheng's bright blue eyes—it seemed he had been awake for a while. Zhao An reached out and touched the skin beneath his hand, realizing that this chest muscle now belonged to him, and he could touch it whenever he wanted.

"[Two hundred harmonious words here, hoping to unlock.]"

Still, it was no use. He felt as though his waist and legs had lost all strength, as if he had carried a hundred-pound weight up and down stairs all day.

Seeing him whimpering in pain, Hu Sheng quickly pulled him back and began massaging his lower back. With a hint of reproach, he said, "Last night, I said we should sleep, but you kept clinging to me and kissing my eyes. Regretting it now?"

But Zhao An was not one to regret. He glared back at Hu Sheng, only to twist his waist again. "Ouch!" he cried, collapsing back onto Hu Sheng's chest.

He didn't realize how enticing the flush at the corners of his eyes was or how disarming his hoarse voice sounded. Fortunately, Hu Sheng knew how to care for him. After dutifully massaging his waist for a while and seeing him relax, Hu Sheng got out of bed. "I saw Auntie Zhang stewing fish porridge. I'll bring some up for you."

"Mhm." Zhao An felt too exhausted to utter more than a grunt.

He spent the entire day lying in bed, only managing to go downstairs for dinner by evening.

But because he had slept all day, he found himself wide awake after dark. Tossing and turning in bed, he forced Hu Sheng to pull out a sheet and wrap him up like a burrito.

Yet Zhao An still wriggled on the bed like a silkworm, eventually resting his head on Hu Sheng's chest and exhaling a warm breath. "You gave all the sheets to me. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Hu Sheng stroked his head and said, "I know you're saying the opposite, but go to sleep now."

But going without on the second night of marriage was just too inhumane. Just as Zhao An was thinking this, he got a light smack on the butt. "Don't rush. We have decades ahead of us."

Hu Sheng thought for a moment, then reached for an ocarina, a traditional Chinese instrument, on the bedside table. "Let me play a tune for you."

Zhao An had heard Hu Sheng play before and immediately nodded. "Okay. If you play for me, I'm sure I'll fall asleep quickly."

The ocarina's melody was low and distant. If Zhao An hadn't been in such a joyful mood, he might have sensed its solemn grandeur. But his heart was too full of happiness, and he soon drifted off to sleep to the soft, haunting tune. After finishing the song, Hu Sheng pulled him closer, letting Zhao An rest his head on his arm.

Even though he had slept all day, the exhaustion from the previous night needed time to fade. So Zhao An slept deeply again that night.

When he woke up the next morning, he was once again a lively young man. But this time, Hu Sheng wasn't waiting by the bed. Before Zhao An could feel disappointed, he heard earth-shaking roars coming from outside.

He threw on some clothes and went to the window to look out. Today, the camp was conducting formation charge drills. The sight of the battle formations, like giant beasts, kicking up clouds of dust, was far more impressive than the small-scale training in Zhao Village.