Chapter 147 Burnt Ends: Ten Miles of Camellias
10 days after the end of the Autumnal Feast, it was the day of the wedding between Gan Qingjia and Qi Jianqiu, music from the wedding troop floated through the streets. To the civilians of the capital, the fanfare signified a new beginning for the young couple; only the officials of the court knew how much of a political effect this will cause.
As Qi Jianqiu"s best friend, Feng Luodi arrived at the Qi residence early in the day, watching from the side as the handmaidens busied about the preparations. Qi Jianqiu sat in front of the mirror, dressed in the traditional red wedding gown of a bride-to-be, her face ruddy from the excitement and nervousness. Her birth mother had pa.s.sed away many years ago, and the seat of the First Lady of the Qi household has been empty for many years.
Seeing the look of nervousness on the face of her friend, Feng Luodi stepped forward and took a hairpin from a handmaiden, putting it on Qi Jianqiu herself. Qi Jianqiu slowly relaxed and held Feng Luodi"s hands in her own.
“Luodi, I"m worried. What if…what if…”
Feng Luodi knew what she was worried about. The Minister of the Right has always disapproved of Qi Jianqiu"s relations.h.i.+p, and Qi Jianqiu was worried that he might have made things difficult for Gan Qingjia when he"d proposed to his daughter. If that was the case, it would be unavoidable for the Minister of the Left and his First Lady to resent her after the marriage. But Feng Luodi did not think that of the Minister of the Right.
“Don"t worry, you have to believe in Qingjia and your Father. I"m sure both of them have your best interests at heart; all they want is for you to be happy.” Feng Luodi spoke slowly, her words lending comfort to Qi Jianqiu.
As the handmaidens continued to help Qi Jianqiu with her preparations, Feng Luodi felt her lips curl upwards into a smile. She was entrusted a mission by Gan Qingjia: to settle any b.u.t.terflies Qi Jianqiu might have in her stomach. Their wedding will be one to remember, and Jianqiu will live happily ever after. That is one of my remaining wishes in this world.
Before long, the wedding troop had already reached the gates of the Qi residence. Letting down the red veil on Qi Jianqiu"s ceremonial headdress and covering her features, Feng Luodi gently led her best friend out of the room, towards the gate. The Minister of the Right stood outside the gate, his features soft and proud. Feng Luodi nodded at the Minister and slowly helped Qi Jianqiu onto the waiting carriage, as requested by the Minister.
Only then did Feng Luodi notice that the street outside the Qi residence was laid with white camellias, guards standing by at every turn. As far as the eye could see, the streets seemed to be paved with white camellias. She could hardly believe her eyes. Please don"t tell me that these white flowers stretch all the way from the Gan residence. He should know that white is an inauspicious colour! And to think that it"s such an important day…
A delighted gasp from Qi Jianqiu interrupted her thoughts. “He hasn"t forgotten, has he?”
Naturally, Feng Luodi knew of Qi Jianqiu"s fondness for camellias, but she"d never expected that Gan Qingjia would be able to convince his father of such an act, much less to do it for Qi Jianqiu regardless of how everyone else might view him. I have to give it to him then…
Feng Luodi mounted a palanquin behind the carriage, and the wedding troop quickly moved off towards the Gan residence, where the wedding was held. After the wedding banquet, the newlyweds were to stay at the Gan residence for a month, before moving to Gan Qingjia"s newly purchased residence. As the palanquin gently rocked, Feng Luodi relaxed a little and took the time to reorganise the things that have happened in the past few weeks. The proceedings of the court, the fall of the Heir, and most importantly, the Guqin: Burnt Ends.
That night, Feng Luodi had played the Guqin as soon as she"d returned to the Feng residence. The more the feelings between Feng Luodi and Situ developed, and the more she showed her love for him, the more she reminds herself of her mission to return home. She was selfish, not wanting to leave any regrets behind, but neither did she want to see the pain in Situ"s eyes. We"ll see when we get there.
Never for once did she think about how cruel she was, giving someone her love before taking it from him again. How painful that would be.
Feng Luodi closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She"d not had a good night"s sleep in a while, spending much time with Qi Jianqiu to ease her worries. That did not help when she"d just caught a cold in the beginnings of Autumn, a cold that she never fully recovered from. Suddenly, her palanquin came to a stop.
“What"s wrong?” Feng Luodi lifted the veil on the window and looked out to see a dozen men rus.h.i.+ng towards the wedding troop, the features cold and determined. The surroundings civilians quickly backed away as the guards surrounding the wedding trooped rushed towards the a.s.sailants. But before any real fight could break out, a few figures garbed in black swooped in from the skies, made short work of the dozen a.s.sailants and dragged them off into the distance.
The sudden change in situation stunned the onlookers as well as the guards. Feng Luodi quickly turned to a handmaiden beside her and nodded.
The handmaiden quickly called out. “Move off!”
Feng Luodi sat back in the palanquin, thoughts running wildly through her head. Weren"t those Situ"s Covert Guards? Had he expected this to happen beforehand? But who would be so brazen to interrupt the wedding? She shook her head hard as if to clear it, but the sense of unease rose in her heart. She"s had an ominous feeling ever since the Autumnal Feast, and the feeling only seemed to grow stronger as the days pa.s.sed.
The wedding troop quickly reached the Gan residence, where Gan Qingjia stood outside in the red clothes of the groom, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his bride-to-be. A grin lit up his face as soon as his hands touched those of Qi Jianqiu. Needless to say, Qi Jianqiu"s face was a shade similar to her gown, but it was well hidden under the veil of her ceremonial headdress.
The ceremony quickly went underway, and soon the bride was sent to the bridal chamber, while the groom went out to entertain the guests. Flooded with well wishes and toasts, Gan Qingjia spared a few words with each of the guests, regardless of their positions or statuses, or if he"d had bad blood with them before. To him, nothing was more important than giving Qi Jianqiu a perfect wedding.
Perhaps influenced by the joyous atmosphere in the antechamber, Feng Luodi smiled as well. To think of it, it was already her second time at a wedding ceremony in the Xuan kingdom. The first was that of the Crown Prince of Xianbei, where the Crown Prince and Situ joined forces to remove the possible obstructions to his succession of the throne.
It was also in the North when Situ bared his feelings to her, and she rejected them directly. Till this day, she could not say which of them had fallen for the other first. All she knew was that she"d backed off every time he"d advanced until she woke up one day to find him already inside her heart.
But fate is cruel, and soon all she will have left to remember of him, are their memories.
On the other side of the antechamber, Situ sipped his goblet of wine quietly. His eyes softened as he looked at Gan Qingjia, the joy radiating off his brother visibly. His eyes wandered through the hall, and finally found the person he was looking for in a corner. Perhaps because it was an important day for her best friend, Feng Luodi had dressed up in more lavish clothes that day. Her robe was a dark pink, interwoven with golden threads and outlined in maroon. The hairpin he"d given to her was high up in a bun on her head, and her face was lightly adorned with makeup. The jade earrings on her ears dangled gently as she moved.
Feng Luodi stood in a corner of the room, a gentle smile on her face. Like a lotus in the middle of Summer, she was a mixture of pride, confidence, purity, and playfulness.
That was the woman in his heart, the one he dreams of marrying.
An unheard sigh echoed through the room. There are only two wishes for Situ in this world: to a.s.sist his liege in his ascension to the throne, and the other is to spend the remainder of his life with her. The first might be fraught with dangers, but he was confident of achieving it. The second seemed near, yet he is at a loss.
What do I have to do to keep her by my side?
As she watched the proceedings quietly, Feng Luodi suddenly felt alienated from the world. As if feeling the warmth from someone"s gaze, she turned around to see Situ looking at her.