46. Under The Stars
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The Xu Family prepared for two weddings, and so did the Zhang family!
Except... One of the grooms was missing...
Zhang Luoyin was spotted leaving Yue City, and no one had seen him since!
It was even more alarming, as his strange 'granduncle' and a few of his household servants had left with him, carrying several chests!
"No way he ran off, right?!" People were beginning to wonder.
Meanwhile, in the Xu Mansion...
"Hmph!" Linhua smiled triumphantly. "Can that trash be compared to my Cheng gē ge? Now he dares to run away. I want to see how Weiyan will hold her head high on the wedding day!"
The entire wedding was indeed a plot by Zhang Furen to shame Luoyin and Weiyan, so Linhua was pleased when the Zhang family showered her with more than fifty wedding gifts, all packaged exquisitely in reds and golds, and delivered to the Xu Manor by Zhang Cheng himself.
"Wah, I'm so envious!" The maids all looked on in admiration, as Zhang Cheng came to greet his in-laws properly.
"Compared to a certain someone." One of the older maids jeered at Weiyan, and the rest snickered behind their hands.
"I hear Zhang Luoyin is still nowhere to be found!"
"Can this even be called a wedding?"
"I suppose the *three bows will be all she can get!"
(*Wedding ceremonial bows)
The older maids tittered whenever Weiyan passed by, but Weiyan was used to things like this, and she ignored them.
"Shouldn't I just kill a few of them?!" Tong asked in frustration, but Weiyan simply smiled at her.
"Pay them no mind. The simpler the wedding is, the faster it will be." She said, heading to the Xu training grounds.
"3rd Miss! You're still in the mood to train?! Aren't you worried that Zhang Luoyin ran away?!"
Weiyan halted.
She didn't think Zhang Luoyin was the type to do such a thing, but couldn't help an inkling of doubt, afterall, 'One may know a person's face, but not their heart'...
Zhang Luoyin had rejected her in the past, so she had no guess why he suddenly proposed marriage now, but whatever his reasons, he might have changed his mind and run away...
But as she had done most of her life, Weiyan simply buried her worry and resumed walking.
"If he runs away, he runs away." She said.
Besides, training was the only way she knew to take her mind off things...
As the wedding approached, Lord Xu had arranged equal dowries for Linhua and Weiyan, sending both to the respective household.
Linhua was a bit disappointed, but Zhang Furen reassured her.
"There are always ways to undo the done." She said, and then sent over more gifts to Linhua, so the difference would be clear.
The day before the wedding, Lord Xu worriedly waited for Zhang Luoyin, but still saw no sign of him.
'I will trust him this once, since tomorrow is the promised day!' He thought to himself. 'If he embarrasses my Yanyan, I will never let him off!'
To be safe, Lord Xu insisted on buying Weiyan a large number of gifts, so her carriage would not travel alone.
The next day was the wedding!
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Meanwhile, somewhere under the stars...
Luoyin stood at the edge of a cliff, staring up at the sky, his impending wedding weighing on his mind.
His marriage to Weiyan was an unavoidable arrangement, but it was a marriage, nonetheless, and the thought left him with an unpleasant taste.
It wasn't that he had a problem with Xu Weiyan...
Xu Weiyan had stabbed him on Caoyang, yes, but from the eye-eater incident, it was clear she had been manipulated in some way...
Since then, she had protected 'Zhang Luoyin' numerous times, though he might not like her motives, and she has shone through as a strong and dependable disciple.
Any normal mortal would see such a match as a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes! And as 'Zhang Luoyin', marrying Xu Weiyan was not a loss at all...
But he wasn't just Luoyin. He was Yin Bailong.
With thousands and thousands of years spent pining for just one woman.
He sighed.
Beside him, Yinying shook his head, sending a few loose strands of fur to the ground.
"Xiaobai, it could have been worse. If Xu Weiyan weren't an enemy, this would be a blessing! Her face alone brings the words 'blooming flowers and pure jade' to mind!" He teased in an attempt to lighten Luoyin's spirits.
"LaoYing! Go away if you're here to tease me!"
"I'm here to cheer you up!" Yinying morphed into his human form and placed a hand on Luoyin's shoulder.
"Little boy, I've known you all your life. From when you resembled a tiny white snake with little horns, to your first majestic dragon transformation, I've watched you handle worse situations than this.
"The original 'Luoyin' wanted this wedding, and by tomorrow, you would have solved one of the grievances at least!"
"What kind of man has love as a grievance?!" Luoyin asked angrily.
~"Ho? Isn't Yan Liwei a grievance from your past?"~ Yinying gently reminded him through telepathy, because 'Yan Liwei' was another name they could not risk saying aloud.
But hearing the name from someone other than himself, sent Luoyin into his memories, ferrying him off to a distant place...
~
Yin Bailong opened a set of wide intricate doors, and stepped into a room far too elaborate for the mortal realm.
A bedchamber decorated from floor to ceiling in white and golds...
Auspicious gifts lay here and there, and there was a large double symbol of 'Happiness' on the wall...
On an ornate bed, a lady sat in silvery-white wedding robes, decked in intricate jewelry and a pure diamond phoenix crown...
Her hair fell around her like an inky sky, dotted with crystal gems resembling stars...
Her face was half covered with a sheer white veil, and her lips were painted an enticing ruby red... A glaring splash of colour to the whites and golds surrounding them.
Bailong felt his breath hitch and a warm feeling settled in his heart, as he reached out and picked a small gold twig which he slowly lifted to raise her veil, his heart racing...
But her image suddenly faded, leaving the veil floating to his hand, and Luoyin opened his eyes in the present.
No matter how hard he tried to see her face, something always happened to stop it!
"Laoying, I can't help my guilty feelings..." He began, his voice heavy with sadness. "Back then, I promised to wed only Weiwei in my lifetime, but I must break that promise tomorrow." A tear ran down his cheek. "I can't even see her face to apologize properly!"
Yinying simply patted his shoulder.
"Little boy," He began when Luoyin was calmer. "The Sky Emperor's punishment is absolute..."
To punish 'Yin Xiaolong' an ancient relic had been used to wipe Yan Liwei from existence, with only a handful of core deities to remember her.
As for Bailong and her family, they cruelly allowed them keep her memories... But for eternity, they would never recall her face...
"Xiaoyin, you promised to only marry her in your lifetime... But you kept that promise till the end.
"This is a new life. I don't particularly like Xu Weiyan, but she seems like a decent person, and I'd rather see you with her, than witness you endlessly trapped in the past...
"You already gave several lifetimes to 'her'... Let go now, and fulfil your duties as 'Zhang Luoyin'!"
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The Wedding Day!
The entire Xu household was awake far earlier than it had been in years.
Both brides had to be 'primed and polished', so the maids ran around trying to prepare them.
Usually, only Tong looked after Weiyan, but for the day, Madam Xu had directed three other maids to prepare Weiyan.
Tong personally monitored the maids, making sure they didn't try anything, and under her watchful eye, Weiyan took a hot and scented bath.
One's mother was supposed to comb her hair on her wedding day while invoking blessings with every stroke of the comb.
But as an orphan, Weiyan didn't even expect it.
"3rd Miss, I'll comb your hair!" Tong said. "I refuse to believe I love you any less than most mothers! Let Madam Xu comb 2nd Miss's hair! I hope the comb breaks!"
"A-Tong!" Weiyan reprimanded, but she couldn't help a small laugh, as Tong combed her hair, making sure she got in at least ten blessings!
Then Tong styled and pinned up her hair with a small phoenix head crown.
Tong also insisted on being the one to apply rouge and powder to Weiyan's face, and then she painted her eyes and made her press her lips on a brilliant red petal.
"Wah!" Tong stepped back to admire her handwork. "3rd Miss, I'll make you up daily from now on!"
Weiyan just shook her head, then looked at the mirror.
She gasped softly.
Tong had painted her face expertly well, and Weiyan looked at her.
"A-Tong, where did you learn these things?"
Tong flushed. "Ehehe, actually, I was moping around after you left. The Lady who sells rouge and face ointments to the 2nd Miss approached me one day and said:
"Rather than mope around, use the time to learn something she will need when she returns."
Tong sighed. "She said 'When', not 'if', and I held on to that hope. I was inspired and thought of your wedding day, so I begged her to teach me and she agreed!"
Weiyan smiled at her and took her hands. "She helped you spend lonely days and pass troubled times. Remind me to seek her out and reward her."
"3rd Miss!" Tong was feeling a bit teary-eyed.
Weiyan looked at her reflection again, and felt her spirits lift, despite the fact that Zhang Luoyin was still missing...
Whatever the case, it was her wedding day.
She could only hope things went well!
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