Chapter 53: No One Will Read a Late-Night Update

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Chapter 53: No One Will Read a Late-Night Update

Chen Yuan wasn’t so obsessed with this mystical stuff that he would cast a divination whenever he had nothing better to do, just to see what was happening around him. So, as far as he was concerned, the conversation between Sis Li and Yu Shenliu that day remained a secret. He knew nothing about it.

A few days later, when Sis Li personally delivered the formal wedding clothes, he didn’t even see her. Instead, Yu Shenliu took the clothes to him, watched as he tried them on to make sure they fit, and then went to see Sis Li off. Although Chen Yuan felt that Yu Shenliu’s way of handling things was rather discourteous, Sis Li and Yu Shenliu were quite familiar with each other, and this wasn’t really his business, so Chen Yuan said nothing.

It wasn’t long before the wedding date they had arranged arrived.

The wedding procession was to begin at noon. Since he could at least be considered part of the bride’s family, Chen Yuan naturally stayed at Yu Shenliu’s house, waiting for people from Sheng Kong’s side to come and take Huo Shu away.

Looking around, aside from the women’s Hanfu, which came in all sorts of styles and brilliant colors, Chen Yuan had to admit that, frankly speaking, he found the custom of having all the male relatives from the bride’s family wear Wubian robes, the formal attire traditionally worn when setting off to war, absolutely brutal.

Even more brutal was that some of these men had bandages wrapped around their hands, while others kept making chopping motions. At a glance, it was obvious they intended to teach Sheng Kong, the audacious fellow who had dared to snatch their little sister away from home, a lesson.

Over the past few days, Chen Yuan had specifically looked into the wedding customs of this world. The groom would actually be beaten up by the bride’s male relatives, and avoiding it depended on how many attacks the groom’s friends could block and how quickly the groom could make his escape.

Chen Yuan seriously thought about what would happen if he got married in this world, then shuddered.

Put simply, these people were basically thinking: “That kid who stole our girl is our enemy,” right?

If he ever married a girl in the future, Chen Yuan felt that the first thing he would have to do was find out what the men in her family were like and how many of them there were.

If there were a whole crowd of men like this, all radiating murderous intent, Chen Yuan felt that, although he couldn’t exactly be called frail, he still wouldn’t be able to handle them. And the key problem was that he didn’t have any brothers to take the hits for him.

As for friends, just look at Sheng Kong and Huo Jian. Uh… well, neither of them seemed particularly reliable.

The only one who was even somewhat dependable was Yu Shenliu. But although he was tall, he didn’t have much muscle.

All looks and no brawn.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Yuan silently developed a fear of marriage. His own wedding was still who knew how far off in the future, but there was probably no harm in thinking about it in advance, right?

Probably.

Yu Shenliu looked around the room. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he couldn’t help feeling fortunate that his home was a split-level and fairly spacious. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known how to fit so many people in.

His gaze then fell on Chen Yuan beside him.

There was no denying that Chen Yuan suited traditional clothes. Perhaps it was a matter of temperament? Chen Yuan understood Chinese culture far better, after all, so his whole person carried a certain charm, quiet and gentle, that naturally made people fond of him.

Of course, in some people’s eyes, that same quality came across as a distant aloofness that kept others at arm’s length. But at least Yu Shenliu liked Chen Yuan exactly as he was.

On the other hand, seeing Chen Yuan dressed in layer upon layer of formal robes always gave Yu Shenliu the feeling that he was looking at a precious piece of candy. Wasn’t something sweet wrapped layer by layer in exquisite candy wrappers what made it seem precious?

His mind was already turning over these little thoughts, but not a trace of them showed on his face. He lowered his head and said to Chen Yuan, “Yuanyuan, why don’t you go over to Xiao Shu?”

Actually, Chen Yuan was feeling a little awkward standing beside Yu Shenliu at the moment. After all, everyone around him was gearing up to teach Sheng Kong a lesson, and they all knew one another. Chen Yuan was the only one who kept receiving curious looks from everyone.

No matter how composed he was, it still made him feel a little out of place. Yu Shenliu’s suggestion was considerate. Chen Yuan knew Huo Shu, after all, and if he went over now, he could also explain some of the wedding customs and taboos to her. That would give him a perfectly good reason to go over.

Still, he was a government official, after all. His eye for these things was remarkably sharp. Chen Yuan couldn’t help marveling at Yu Shenliu’s keen observation, never realizing that the only reason Yu Shenliu noticed so much was because it was him.

He calmly turned and went to find Huo Shu.

Watching Chen Yuan leave, Yu Shenliu calmly ignored the suspicious looks from the group of rough men around him. Who was that young man? He had already been there when they arrived, and apparently even lived at Yu Shenliu’s house.

Everyone knew there were only a few people who could stay there, so who was he? At that age, there was only Huo Jian, but everyone obviously knew Huo Jian.

The young man was wearing a Pibian hat, so he couldn’t be one of Huo Shu’s relatives, could he? If not, why was Yu Shenliu being so gentle with him? Could it be… surely not… maybe…?

Whatever they thought, few were actually bold enough to ask Yu Shenliu who Chen Yuan was. As the leading figure of the Yu family in their generation, almost everyone followed his lead, so they could only speculate among themselves.

They hadn’t expected to come to a wedding and stumble upon such juicy gossip.

Just as everyone was dying of curiosity but didn’t dare ask, someone suddenly appeared in front of Yu Shenliu.

Sis Li! Hurry up and ask who that young man is!

For an instant, that became the collective thought of everyone nearby.

Sis Li glanced around and saw everyone staring at her. She cleared her throat twice before looking at Yu Shenliu.

“So… you’re really that confident about your Yuanyuan?”

Your Yuanyuan? Everyone’s ears perked up. That affectionate nickname certainly made it sound like the young man and Yu Shenliu had an unusual relationship.

“Or is it that you’re just that confident you can win him over?”

Sis Li’s next sentence was just as explosive. The men had already suspected something, but this left them completely stunned. What? Yu Shenliu actually had someone he liked?! That young man?

Everyone’s expressions twisted.

Yu Shenliu had always been mature and level-headed. These people had even privately thought he might never truly fall for anyone. After all, they simply couldn’t imagine him sweet-talking someone or coaxing them during a romance.

But apparently, they had been wrong. Even an otherworldly oddity like Yu Shenliu could have ordinary human emotions after all.

Come to think of it, that calm demeanor of the young man’s really did complement Yu Shenliu’s usual manner quite well.

The only thing worth mocking was that someone as cunning and scheming as Yu Shenliu, with all his tricks up his sleeve, had actually failed to win the other man over.

He was still pursuing him?

Sis Li continued, “No, wait. You’re still only secretly in love with him.”

Yu Shenliu’s wounds were being poked one after another, but he remained perfectly composed. He looked at Sis Li calmly and asked, “Sis Li, what exactly are you trying to say?”

“Actually, I just wanted to tell you that your sister is keeping Xiao Shu company, too.” In other words, Chen Yuan had just walked straight into the tiger’s den.

Yu Shenliu merely smiled. “I know. But my sister knows where to draw the line.” His sister knew he was still only secretly in love with Chen Yuan, so the meddling mother-in-law scenario Sis Li was hinting at definitely wouldn’t happen.

His sister wasn’t the sort to get in his way. Besides, although Yu Shenliu was good at scheming, he had very little experience when it came to matters of the heart. Having his sister lend a hand wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Having no idea what else to do with Yu Shenliu, Sis Li raised an eyebrow. Fine. She might as well go see what was happening with Chen Yuan.

Meanwhile, the women who had heard from Huo Shu about how amazing Master Chen was were discussing with the mystic how much metaphysical significance there was in a traditional Chinese wedding.

“So the reason people in ancient times wore red for weddings was to ward off evil?” Yu Zhi asked, tilting her head slightly.

“That was certainly one of the reasons,” Chen Yuan replied. “The clothes worn during a wedding generally carried auspicious meanings.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Huo Shu, who was dressed and ready, making everyone else look at her too. She immediately became a little embarrassed.

“A longevity lock represents a long and stable marriage.” Chen Yuan smiled as he looked at the gold lock at Huo Shu’s neckline. “And on an occasion like this, gold is better than silver. Silver is simply too plain.”

As Yu Zhi listened to Chen Yuan explain everything so calmly and fluently, she couldn’t help thinking that her little brother certainly had good taste! This young man named Chen Yuan was an impeccable match in every way.

She had no idea how Yu Shenliu had managed to win him over. They were even living together now.

“The mirror hanging over the chest is an exorcising mirror. It’s meant to keep the bride free of anything undesirable.” Chen Yuan pointed to it before continuing. “And this pouch over the shoulder is called a ‘descendants pouch.’ The name says it all. It represents a blessing for children, wishing the couple a house full of sons and daughters.”

Chen Yuan could tell from Yu Zhi’s features that she and Yu Shenliu were similar. She also carried herself with the refined bearing of a proper young lady from a distinguished family. She was an approachable woman, and as Huo Shu’s mother, she looked surprisingly young, barely much older than Yu Shenliu.

“The silver bracelet on her arm is what’s called a ‘settling-hand silver’ bracelet. It means that after a daughter marries, she’ll never have to worry about lacking money.”

As Chen Yuan spoke, he reminded Huo Shu, who was sitting in a chair, “When Xiao Jian carries you to the car later, be careful not to let your feet touch the ground. It’s taboo.”

The reasons for this were complicated, and Chen Yuan couldn’t really explain them all. Simply put, a bride was supposed to remain completely pure and untainted, so she shouldn’t come into contact with dust.

On the other hand, there were some rather strange myths and legends claiming that if a bride’s feet touched the ground, the Earth God or some other such deity might snatch her away as his bride.

Even more difficult to explain was that, according to the historical records Chen Yuan knew of, there had been many documented cases of brides being carried to their weddings only for the earth to split open halfway along the way, swallowing the bride before the ground closed up again without leaving so much as a crack.

Chen Yuan knew these legends, but he had never witnessed anything like that himself, so he didn’t dare make any claims. Still, he had always taken the customs surrounding marriage seriously, especially those passed down through the ages.

“What a lively scene!” Sis Li came in with a smile. “A’zhi, are you ready?”

Yu Zhi nodded. “Mm. We’re just waiting for them. Though I hope those guys go easy on him. It’ll be troublesome if they beat the groom senseless.”

“Mm, good.” Sis Li nodded, then turned to Chen Yuan. “Does the outfit fit? The last time I came over to deliver it, Yu Shenliu kicked me out because I was apparently in the way, so I didn’t even get a chance to ask you about it.”

“In the way?” Chen Yuan looked confused. Sis Li hardly seemed like someone who would get in the way. Everyone had been free that day, so how could she have been in the way? And in the way of what?

Before he could think about it any further, Sis Li changed the subject. “But to be honest, I’m a little worried.”

The abrupt change of topic left everyone somewhat confused.

“Well, I only heard about it yesterday. Apparently, Zhou Qin seems pretty interested in you. So…” Sis Li shrugged and looked at Chen Yuan.

“Who’s Zhou Qin?” Chen Yuan stared at her in confusion. He barely knew anyone in this world, and he had never even heard of the person she was talking about.

“Another fortune-teller, more or less,” Sis Li briefly explained before turning toward the doorway. “Looks like the wedding party is here?”

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