He didn't want to wrong Dou Akou.
Storm
According to the old almanac, the nearest auspicious day is in five days. If you miss this day, you'll have to wait another month.
Fu Jiuxin was unwilling to wait another month, so he found someone to match his birth date and time that very day. Several of his concubines assisted him, and they made preparations in a lively and bustling manner.
Gu Huaibi and Tang Xunzhen were kept behind to watch the ceremony. Tang Xunzhen was so excited, as if she were getting married herself, jumping around and pestering Gu Huaibi with questions. Dou Jincai was going to be a father-in-law, and he stood in front of the hall every day, holding a purple clay teapot, watching the young people with a happy smile. The concubines were busy embroidering purses, pillowcases, satin, and other embroidery items. Tang Xunzhen watched from the side, her hands itching, and she also embroidered a purse, albeit crookedly.
The Dou family was filled with joy.
Fu Jiuxin was writing wedding invitations that day.
Dou Akou was grinding ink for Fu Jiuxin, and as she did so, she leaned her head closer to him.
She was puzzled. They had changed their names and pretended to be an ordinary family that had just moved to Longfeng Town. It was impossible for them to contact the old acquaintances of the Dou family anymore, and they didn't know many new neighbors. Who could he write an invitation to?
The teacher's calligraphy was naturally very beautiful. Dou Akou studied under him for nearly ten years, but she didn't learn any of the style or spirit of his calligraphy. However, when she first saw the name made up of those beautiful characters, Dou Akou turned pale.
"Sir! This is—"
“Hmm.” Fu Jiuxin continued writing, “Your 'old friend'.”
For some reason, whenever Dou Akou heard Fu Jiuxin say the words "old friend," she always had a strange feeling of gritted teeth.
Dou Akou was on the verge of tears. Those weren't old friends at all; they were clearly those men, both reliable and unreliable, that Dou Jincai had been scouting for her all this time.
Hmm, look, the schoolteacher on the front street, the tavern owner's son in the back alley, and the last one is... the name of Scholar Huang.
Dou Akou felt guilty. She cautiously glanced at Fu Jiuxin's expression, but the master's expression remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.
He noticed that Dou Akou had stopped rubbing and raised an eyebrow: "Why did you stop?"
Ever since Dou Akou slept with Fu Jiuxin, her skin had grown thicker. She threw down the inkstone, happily rolled into Fu Jiuxin's arms, and squirmed, exclaiming, "Sir, don't be angry! I don't even remember what these men look like. Akou only has you as her man!"
Dou Akou's approach was correct—this trick of muddying the waters might not work on others, but it would definitely win over Fu Jiuxin—but she forgot to control the degree of restraint.
Her buttocks kept rubbing against Fu Jiuxin's legs, and the stray hairs on her head occasionally brushed against Fu Jiuxin's Adam's apple. After a while, Fu Jiuxin gradually felt a dry throat.
Once you've tasted the marrow, you'll know the true flavor. Only Fu Jiuxin himself knows the sweet and intoxicating taste of that day's lovemaking.
Fu Jiuxin closed his eyes and patted Dou Akou's bottom: "Don't move."
In late spring and early summer, Dou Akou had already changed into a thin shirt. Her plump and tender skin rubbed against her palm through the gauze fabric, and with a gentle squeeze, her hands were covered with smooth, creamy skin.
Fu Jiuxin originally wanted her to stop dawdling so that he could calm down, but unexpectedly it was like adding fuel to the fire, and with a bang, the sparks spread like wildfire.
"Ugh—" Dou Akou let out a short, startled cry, the last syllable of which was swallowed by Fu Jiuxin. Saliva mingled, and soon he was already trembling with excitement.
The two men's upper bodies were neatly dressed, but their lower bodies, hidden by the desk, were in a state of disarray. After a spring rain, a bamboo stalk outside the window was growing taller.
Amidst the boundless spring scenery, Dou Akou vaguely thought that she had just been grinding ink, but now she had become an inkstone, being carefully ground by the man immersed in lust, until finally a pool of thick ink was produced.
Tomorrow is their wedding day. Although it's rushed, thanks to Fu Jiuxin's efforts over the past few days and nights, the necessary preparations are almost complete. According to custom, the two are not allowed to see each other the day before the wedding.
Dou Akou was summoned to her room early in the morning by several concubines who gave her many instructions on what to pay attention to when she got married.
Second Aunt mysteriously pulled a small booklet from the bottom of the wardrobe: "Akou, this is for you, you'll need it tomorrow night."
Before she could stop her, Dou Akou curiously opened the book. After flipping through a few pages, she slammed the book shut, her face flushed crimson: "Auntie! I don't want this!"
Sir, you don't need this. This man, who is usually calm and composed, is domineering and forceful in matters of the heart. Last time, he even pinned her down on the desk... well, that position isn't even in this booklet.
Second Auntie thought she was just shy, made a few jokes about it, and then didn't insist that she accept it.
Then came the instructions from the third aunt. Without saying a word, she took out a bundle: "Akou, this is what I bought in Longfeng Town yesterday. Wear it inside tomorrow, and then put your wedding dress over it, understand?"
Dou Akou opened her mouth and stared wide-eyed.
The royal blue undergarment was made of a thin, sheer material. The areas that needed to be covered were only lightly adorned with a thin veil, which did not cover anything at all. The rest of the garment was patched with satin, but it would have been better not to cover anything at all.
Although Dou Akou's skin had thickened considerably, she still couldn't withstand such stimulation.
She could barely speak, and with trembling hands, she haphazardly stuffed the clothes back into her bundle, crumpled them into a ball, and threw them to her third aunt.
Third Aunt disagreed: "Akou, all men in this world, though different in character, are all the same in bed. I'm not worried that Jiuxin will dislike you, I'm worried that your figure won't be able to serve Jiuxin. Listen to your aunt, wear this tomorrow, and I guarantee he won't be able to leave you."
Dou Akou wanted to refuse, but her third aunt shoved the bundle into her arms and said, "Come on, come on, stop talking nonsense."
Dou Akou had no choice but to clutch the clothes and sneak back to her room like a thief.
That night, Tang Xunzhen insisted on sleeping with Dou Akou, saying that after she got married, he wouldn't have the chance to confide in his youngest daughter anymore.
Standing before the dressing table, she gently combed Dou Akou's hair, sighing, "Akou, I'm actually a bit older than you. Back when we were in Qingyong City, I always thought I'd get married before you. How old are you? Why are you getting married already?"
Dou Akou was puzzled: "Senior sister, you can get married right away if you want. Senior brother is a good person."
Tang Xunzhen lowered her eyes, looking at the crookedly sewn purse hanging from her waist. She had learned to make it a few days ago from the aunts of the Dou family. She had finished it, but she didn't know whether to give it to that person.
Xilie Fortress is a major martial arts sect, and Gu Huaibi is its young master. The sect has a strict hierarchy and many rules. The marriage proposal has been discussed and discussed again, but no decision has been made yet.
She sighed, looking enviously at Dou Akou's puzzled expression in the mirror: "Akou, it's a good thing that you don't understand my suffering. Just know that not every man dares to say he'll marry you without considering the consequences."
There are always so many considerations, so much hesitation and indecision. Xu Liren was like that, and so was Gu Huaibi. How many men can be like Fu Jiuxin, who yesterday resolutely said he would marry you, and today he is marrying you in a grand ceremony with eight sedan chairs, every word of his affection weighing a thousand pounds?
He was the young master of Siyou Kingdom. The identity of the young master's wife must have been carefully considered and compared by his subordinates before being chosen as the woman who could help him pave the way for his career. Yet he was so true to his word, so precious to his beloved, that he couldn't bear to let Dou Akou suffer even the slightest grievance.
"Sigh. Tomorrow is your big day, so I won't say anything discouraging." Tang Xunzhen shook his head, became excited again, and started to style Dou Akou's hair into several different styles.
The next morning, firecrackers went off.
The Dou family's small courtyard was decorated with lanterns and red silk, and neighbors outside the courtyard craned their necks to look inside.
Fu Jiuxin was generous, and the neighbors all received a lot of wedding candy and eggs. The people in the town were all simple and honest. They were grateful for Fu Jiuxin's kindness and worked hard to help him organize the wedding. The wedding was a lively and joyous occasion.
Several tables of wine were set up in the courtyard for those who had received invitations. Outside, a continuous feast was laid out, with large chunks of meat and big bowls of wine, so anyone could sit down and have a drink at the wedding.
There haven't been any weddings in Longfeng Town for several years, let alone one of this grand scale; almost half the town's residents came to join in the fun.
Amidst the laughter and chatter of the crowd, only the scholar Huang, who had been invited, had a dark expression—before him was a bowl of sour plum soup.
Amidst the cheers and jeers, Dou Akou, supported by several aunts, slowly walked out, dressed in bright red. The bride and groom already lived in the same courtyard; it was simply a matter of moving Dou Akou from her room to Fu Jiuxin's. In just a few steps, Fu Jiuxin bent down and scooped Dou Akou up in his arms.
The crowd erupted in cheers and laughter. Gu Huaibi shook his head and chuckled, "He looks calm on the surface, but he must be very happy inside. In the past, he would never have done something so out of line and impulsive."
He smiled and drank a bowl of wine. Just as he was about to drink again, his hand suddenly stopped, and his eyes quickly scanned the people around him.
Tang Xunzhen also noticed the fluctuations in the air and placed her hand on the whip at her waist.
"What's your background?" she asked Gu Huaibi in a low voice.
"I don't know." Gu Huaibi shook his head. He couldn't detect the other party's internal energy. "Don't make any rash moves."
He looked at Fu Jiuxin and Dou Akou in the courtyard. The two were bowing to heaven and earth. Regardless of whether the other party's intentions were good or bad, they had to wait until the two of them finished their ceremony before making any further decisions.
With a sudden glance, Gu Huaibi turned his head and saw a woman gracefully stepping into the room. Her beautiful face and slender figure were secondary; what truly captivated most of the men present was her voice. She said, "Ninth Brother, you're getting married, yet you didn't tell me."
Her tone was a mix of reproach and resentment, carrying a hint of extremely subtle melancholy.
Recalling the past
Uncle Chen is getting angry again.
Looking out her window, Liu Qingdai could vaguely see a group of young men kneeling on the floor of Uncle Chen's room. Among them, Su Luoyang was bound hand and foot and hung in the middle of the room, while Uncle Chen was whipping him.
"Cicada molting! You've grown wings and dare to disobey my orders! When you saved that demoness, did you ever think about the future of my Siyou Kingdom?! The young master was bewitched by that demoness, abandoning many affairs here, and even gave away the underground petrolatum mine of my Siyou Kingdom to the new emperor Xu Liqian. How will you bear the responsibility for this crime!"
Su Luoyang, his hands clasped behind his back, dangled in the air, still sporting a nonchalant expression. Hearing Uncle Chen's words, his eyes curved into crescents, and he chuckled, "Uncle Chen, even without Dou Akou, the young master might not be willing to take on this mess. Uncle Chen, you need to change your thinking. How much trouble can a woman cause? Is it really necessary?"
Uncle Chen was furious: "She's gone and ruined it! Now the young master isn't coming back at all, what are you going to do about it?!"
The noise inside was still deafening. Liu Qingdai leaned back and slammed the window shut, feeling utterly annoyed.
This wasn't the first time Uncle Chen had lost his temper. Ever since Fu Jiuxin declared that he would never return to the palace, he seemed to have aged considerably overnight.
Chen Bo's disappointment with Fu Jiuxin was obvious. He hated that Fu Jiuxin lacked ambition, only knew how to indulge in pleasure, and abandoned his future and country for a woman, making him unfit for great responsibilities. Liu Qingdai heard this so often that sometimes she would suddenly have different thoughts.
She thought, what a woman wants is a man who puts her first in his heart and is willing to give up his most precious possession for her. Those men who have the world in their hearts are thinking about power and wealth. Even if they leave a small corner for a woman, that woman is just a flower to adorn them after they have succeeded. Flowers come in all shapes and sizes, from bright and colorful to rich and elegant, so why be fixated on just one?
That kind of man is ultimately not a good match for a woman.
As the night grew quieter, the sounds from Uncle Chen's room also gradually subsided.
Liu Qingdai felt suffocated, so she opened the window again and looked at the full moon, wondering what Fu Jiuxin was doing at that moment.
He probably led Dou Akou by the hand, walking through the schools, academies, taverns, and inns of Longfeng Town, telling her about his childhood anecdotes. But in those years when he didn't yet understand love, it was clearly Liu Qingdai who accompanied Fu Jiuxin.
Liu Qingdai remembered very clearly that there was a heavy snowfall in Longfeng Town that year.
Early in the morning, she stood on her doorframe, holding a bowl of noodles, eating while gazing at the vast expanse of white snow. Then she noticed that a family had moved into the yard across the street, which had been empty for many years.
A carriage was parked in front of the courtyard. A woman with light makeup led a little boy and slowly stepped down from the carriage. Liu Qingdai looked around but couldn't find a man. It seemed they were an orphan and a widow.
The little boy being led by the woman seemed to sense someone watching him and turned around. Liu Qingdai was brazenly sizing him up when their eyes met unexpectedly, and she didn't know where to look.
He was dressed simply, even somewhat poorly, but the refined air about him made Liu Qingdai suddenly realize that he was different from her. He was not from an ordinary family; his temperament alone could not be cultivated by generations of wealth.
Liu Qingdai had never thought there was anything wrong with her eating while sitting on the doorstep with her bowl in her hand. At that moment, she suddenly felt ashamed of her poverty and vulgarity.
Longfeng Town is a small place, and the news of a new family moving in was the talk of the town for a month. The gossipy women found out the little boy's name was Fu Jiuxin, but they couldn't find out his background, only guessing that he was a lady from a wealthy family who had run away.
Lately, after eating, Liu Qingdai no longer goes out to play house or hopscotch with the other little girls in town. Instead, she squats on the threshold and observes the house across the street.
The house across the street was always very quiet. Most of the time, the gate was kept tightly closed, and the mother and son seemed to live a secluded life, rarely showing their faces. Both of them were very quiet, and Liu Qingdai sometimes wondered if the house across the street was still empty, and if the mother and son who moved in were just her illusion.
Occasionally, the courtyard gate would open, and Fu Jiuxin would come out to splash water or do something else. Then, after he returned to his room, the courtyard would fall silent again.
Liu Qingdai's mother nodded, saying that the woman across the street seemed sensible enough to know her sensitive status and shouldn't show her face in public; Liu Qingdai's father clicked his tongue, saying it was a pity about her good looks, after all, she came from a wealthy family, and was different from the women in town. Often at this point, the two would start arguing, and Liu Qingdai would suddenly feel disgusted with this kind of life.
My real encounter with Fu Jiuxin began on a quiet afternoon.
On a winter afternoon, the women gathered in front of Liu Qingdai's house, sitting on stools in the sun while sewing shoe soles. Fu Jiuxin's mother led him past the door. The women, who had been chattering about this and that, fell silent as Fu Jiuxin's mother slowly walked past them, exchanging knowing glances. Once Fu Jiuxin and his mother were out of sight, they spat on the ground, saying disdainfully, "Tch, look at the way she walks, swaying her hips like that, she looks like a vixen."
Upon hearing this, Liu Qingdai couldn't help but look at Fu Jiuxin's mother's retreating figure. So elegant and dignified, like a solitary orchid in a secluded mountain, she found the posture incredibly beautiful. She hoped that when she grew up, she could become a woman like that, for only such a woman would be worthy of Fu Jiuxin.
"Of course! She comes from a wealthy family. Do you think you're like her, swinging your breasts around looking for a man?" Another woman, known for her fiery temper, said with a laugh while chewing on sunflower seeds.