Chapter 40 - Exchanging Cups*
[*T/N: 交杯酒 jiao bei jiu: formal exchange of cups of wine between bride and groom as traditional wedding ceremony]
As night fell, the shadow cast by the candlelight swayed on the paper panels of the window.
Fu Wu Tian walked into the inner room with a steady pace. At a glance, he saw An Zi Ran sitting on the edge of the bed. The youth"s hands were placed on his lap, and the calm face was illuminated by the candle. His heart thumped. Then he walked over.
An Zi Ran noticed someone coming in and looked up. He saw the handsome and tall Fu Wu Tian approaching, and his hands clenched slightly. Even he could not explain it. They were obviously acting, but he was really a bit nervous. He already had this feeling when Fu Wu Tian carried him down from the sedan chair.
An Zi Ran did not want to admit that he was experiencing the feelings of a newly wedded bride. But the thumping of his heart told him the truth of the situation.
"w.a.n.g fei." Fu Wu Tian stood in front of him and called him.
An Zi Ran glared at him. The first time, Fu Wu Tian called him that they were in front of everyone, so An Zi Ran could not refute him and not give him face. But he even dared to call him that a second time. Now they were in private. There was only the two of them. Even if they were acting they didn"t have to put on a show all the time.
"w.a.n.g ye, although I married you, don"t forget our agreement."
Fu Wu Tian nodded incomparably serious. "w.a.n.g fei, I have not forgotten."
An Zi Ran: "…"
Fu Wu Tian reached out to him and said, "Come out with me for a bit, I will introduce you to a few people."
An Zi Ran thought he had heard sounds from outside, and guessed that a group of people had come to disturb the bridal chamber. Hearing Fu Wu Tian"s words he understood what he meant, and couldn"t help but accidentally arch his eyebrow.
Fu Wu Tian did not wait for him to answer. Using a strength that would not hurt him, Fu Wu Tian grabbed one of his arms and gently pulled him up. The two went out together.
The soldiers were pushing each other forward. No one wanted to be the first one to stick his head out. The most tragic one was that heckling youth. Because he was the youngest of them all, he was taken for granted by them. On this happy day, he was crying and sulking. Guan Su gave him a teasing word and everyone was ungrateful towards him.
When Fu Wu Tian and An Zi Ran appeared, they quieted down in an instant. As if they were back in the army again, they all stood ramrod straight. All eyes were twinkling as they aimed at An Zi Ran.
It"s not that they"ve never seen An Zi Ran. Everyone saw An Zi Ran when he first visited the Fu palace, however, the perspective at that time was of a completely unrelated stranger. Now it was different. This person will become the general"s w.a.n.g fei and spend the rest of his life with the general.
"These people are all my subordinates. They will come by often in the future. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with them, so that you can call them by name when you next see them." Fu Wu Tian spoke his purpose and once again caused An Zi Ran to arch his brow.
They were only putting on a show; did they need to be so serious?
Despite his doubts, An Zi Ran did not show it.
The gathered crowd was also very surprised. Only now did they know that the general wanted to introduce them to the w.a.n.g fei. To be so unofficially serious, they were surprised by the turn of events. They immediately took measure in their hearts. It seemed that w.a.n.g ye was very likely to be serious. Originally, they thought that there may be something going on behind the scenes, for example, the lao w.a.n.g ye was forcing Fu Wu Tian or the like, but it would seem they were thinking along the wrong path.
The young man that had a more excitable temper immediately stood up and said in a loud voice, "I am Shao Fei. I am very glad to make your acquaintance, w.a.n.g fei. Please advise me in the future!" The formulaic language was set off by his grinning expression.
Following his lead, the others introduced themselves one by one. Except for two people who did not come, Fu Wu Tian"s subordinates who were also his trusted aides were here, and of course there were some people who simply could not make it to the wedding ceremony (due to their duties).
Although An Zi Ran had doubts in his heart, he still made sure to remember everyone.
Then, the crowd that was thinking of coming to disturb the bridal chamber was driven out by Fu Wu Tian. In the end, nothing was done, no pranks were played. It was just for the w.a.n.g fei to be familiar with their faces in the future.
Although the crowd was disappointed, it was also within their expectations. If the general really allowed them to disturb the bridal chamber that would be unbelievable.
Looking at the door closed in front of them, Shao Fei looked disappointed. He really thought they could heckle the couple for fun. He certainly was naïve. Just one look at his expression and other people were able to guess at his thoughts. They couldn"t help but think that it was funny. But in the military camp, you needed such a simple and naïve buffoon. They didn"t like those who had too much thoughts and schemes within their hearts.
"Ah, that"s right, why haven"t we seen Zhong Yue?"
Shao Fei reacted and finally found that there was one person missing. As soon as his words came out everyone turned quiet. He was bewildered. "How come you guys aren"t saying anything?"
Guan Su leaned his arm against a pillar of the corridor. A smile crossed his lips. "Little Brother Shao Fei, first take care of yourself before thinking of asking after other people"s matters."
[T/N: They"re not biological brothers of course. It"s just a term of address that denotes the age relation between two people.]
Shao Fei was dispirited. "I was only asking lightly."
"Okay, okay, don"t talk nonsense. If we wait for the general to come out and see us still loitering around we will be noted down. Let"s go quickly!" A veteran soldier hurriedly pushed him out, and a foggy Shao Fei was pa.s.sively pushed away.
Back in the bridal room, finally only the two of them were left.
Fu Wu Tian brought An Zi Ran over to the table. The table was covered in a red cloth embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. On top, sat a pair of dragon and phoenix candles. Nearly half of the candles were already burned away. There was also a jug of wine and two small and delicate crystal cups on the side. He picked up the wine jug and poured two cups of wine. Then he picked up one of them and handed it to An Zi Ran.
"w.a.n.g fei, next is exchanging cups of wine."
An Zi Ran did not take the cup right away. He stared at Fu Wu Tian without blinking. He rubbed his eyebrows. "We are not really husband and wife. There is no need to exchange cups and drink wine."
Fu Wu Tian took his hand and handed the cup to him personally. Calmly, he said, "Although I have promised you, but since we are married and have pledged our vows to heaven and earth, then we are a true couple. We still have to exchange wine cups."
An Zi Ran stared at the cup in his hand and unavoidably felt a bit disheartened.
It felt as if from the time he set foot in Jun Zi City, everything slowly derailed, and now, he has completely deviated from the track of his plan. Seemed like he could only accept his fate now.
Fu Wu Tian picked up the other cup of wine and took the initiative to cross his arm with An Zi Ran"s arm. With his gaze fixed on the youth he said, "w.a.n.g fei."
An Zi Ran was entangled. Since he couldn"t escape he might as well go along with it and drink the wine. In any case, it"s not like Fu Wu Tian could take him in any way, so in one breath he downed the cup of wine.
A spark of delight flashed across Fu Wu Tian"s eyes. He bowed his head and prepared to drink the cup of wine. Just as the cup touched his lips, he paused for a moment. Then soon after, he drank the wine, until not a drop was left.
Although they were close to each other, An Zi Ran did not notice this small action.
[T/N: Fu Wu Tian is going to drink you dry An Zi Ran! Ah~ I just love how the ML calls our MC w.a.n.g fei. It"s so cute how AZR is annoyed by it. Lol.]
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