Chapter 36: The Date. What Was Precious Was His Sentiment.

That afternoon, Su Zhenyue saw the marriage certificate that had been registered with the authorities.

Shen Ji had brought it back from the government office.

In addition to the signature marks of the bride, groom, and matchmaker, it now bore an official government seal.

Su Zhenyue looked up curiously. “This… this counts as registered?”

“Yes,” Shen Ji nodded slightly.

In the current dynasty, a private marriage certificate already had legal effect. But the capital region was different from other places. Whether it was a marriage certificate or a deed for a property sale, people would specifically go to the government office to register it and add an official seal for an extra layer of security.

Today, Shen Ji and the marquis estate’s steward had gone to the government office together, representing the bride and groom respectively, to present the marriage certificate and have it registered.

The matter had gone quite smoothly.

After returning, Shen Ji brought one of the copies of the marriage certificate to the West Wing Courtyard.

“This is wonderful.” Su Zhenyue held the marriage certificate, looking it over and over before handing it to Nanxing and telling her to put it away carefully.

Nanxing accepted the order and quickly departed, leaving only the two of them in the courtyard.

With his hands behind his back, Shen Ji looked at a parasol tree in the distance and said in a seemingly casual tone, “I hear there’s a lantern festival tonight. It’s supposed to be very lively.”

“Does Cousin want to go?” Su Zhenyue blinked, asking hesitantly, “Or do you want me to go with you?”

Shen Ji raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Su Zhenyue pondered for a moment, then said softly, “I hear this year’s lantern festival is running for three consecutive days. How about we go tomorrow night?”

“Hm? Why tomorrow night?”

Today was the actual Lantern Festival.

“I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m a little tired and don’t want to go out today,” Su Zhenyue said, her mind spinning as she found a decent excuse.

Shen Ji had helped her immensely, and when he invited her to the lantern festival, she should have agreed immediately. But she truly had neither the energy nor the mood for it today.

It wasn’t just because she hadn’t slept well last night, but also because she was still thinking about the matter of the bestowed marriage.

In that long dream, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month—tomorrow—she had received the imperial decree for the marriage. Although she was now engaged to Shen Ji, she still couldn’t quite feel at ease.

She didn’t know if the Grand Princess had given up on the idea.

Seeing the look on her face, Shen Ji had no reason to doubt her. He simply said, “Alright, then get some rest.”

Tomorrow night was fine. In any case, they would have many more Lantern Festivals in the future.

“Mhm.”

That night, Su Zhenyue did not sleep soundly, drifting from one dream to another.

In one, the emperor still bestowed the marriage. She refused and was thrown in prison, implicating Shen Ji in the process.

In another, Shen Ji pulled her along as they eloped. A cliff lay before them, and pursuers were behind them. There was truly no way up to the heavens and no door into the earth.

…

Su Zhenyue awoke with a start, her forehead drenched in cold sweat.

She gave up on sleeping, sitting up in bed with her eyes open, wrapped in her quilt until dawn.

The next day, Su Zhenyue’s heart was in her throat. She barely ate any breakfast, terrified that someone would suddenly summon her to receive an imperial decree.

Fortunately, by the hour of weizheng, nothing had happened.

The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally, slowly, settled back down.

She remembered that in the dream, the imperial decree had arrived at the Gu family’s residence on the morning of the sixteenth. It was already weizheng.

It seemed this calamity had likely been averted.

How wonderful.

Joy filled Su Zhenyue’s heart, yet she couldn’t stop her eyes from turning red.

“Miss, what’s wrong?” Nanxing, who was beside her, jumped in fright.

Su Zhenyue smiled, a little embarrassed. “It’s nothing, I’m just a bit hungry.”

Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Nanxing didn’t press, only sighing, “How could you not be hungry? You haven’t been eating properly these past few days. How about this, Miss, you wait here. I’ll go to the kitchen to see what there is to eat and bring some over.”

Su Zhenyue nodded, a look of anticipation on her face.

Before long, Nanxing returned with a few delicate side dishes and a bowl of small wontons.

Su Zhenyue was famished. She ate every last wonton in the bowl and a good portion of the side dishes as well.

With food in her belly and no worries on her mind, she felt a rare sense of relaxation. The long-hidden exhaustion washed over her, and her eyelids felt almost too heavy to keep open.

After a simple wash, Su Zhenyue instructed Nanxing, “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me if anything comes up.”

Then she went to rest.

Who would have thought that when Su Zhenyue next awoke, it would be pitch black.

She opened her eyes in the darkness, stunned for a moment, then called out softly, “Nanxing? Nanxing!”

“Miss, you’re awake?” Nanxing answered, followed by a rustling sound.

Then, a lamp was lit.

Su Zhenyue had a vague sense that something was wrong. “What time is it?”

“It’s already the hour of zi.”

Su Zhenyue sucked in a sharp breath and asked in a small voice, “Did… did anyone come looking for me while I was asleep?”

“Young Master Shen came by in the evening. When he learned you were still sleeping, he left again and told us not to wake you.”

Su Zhenyue’s eyes fluttered shut. This was bad, she thought.

She had politely declined yesterday, and today she had slept through everything. Those who knew would say she was just sleepy; those who didn’t would think she was making excuses to put him off.

But she hadn’t expected to sleep all the way into the next day.

Forcing herself to calm down, Su Zhenyue asked, “Nanxing, do you think the front courtyard is locked by now?”

“It was probably locked at the third quarter of the hour of hai.”

The Jing An Marquis Estate was large. For safety, the front and back courtyards were locked at night and opened again in the early morning.

Su Zhenyue fell silent, thinking that the lantern festival must have long since ended.

Although she could argue that Shen Ji had told them not to wake her, the fact that she had slept straight through the end of the festival was still rather inexcusable.

Nanxing studied her expression, feeling a little uneasy. “Miss, should I have woken you up earlier?”

Others might not know, but as her personal maid, Nanxing knew that her mistress had been weighed down by worries lately, unable to eat or sleep in peace. Today, seeing her sleep so soundly for once, and with Young Master Shen’s instruction not to wake her, she had let her mistress sleep on.

“It’s fine,” Su Zhenyue said, mustering the energy to comfort Nanxing. “You can go to bed.”

Nanxing was still worried and remained standing by the bed, her face hesitant.

“It’s really fine.”

“Mhm.”

Despite her words, after Nanxing left to rest, Su Zhenyue still got dressed and went into the courtyard to look.

The direction of Qingfeng Courtyard was pitch black.

Su Zhenyue sighed and returned to her room.

Early the next morning, she headed straight for Qingfeng Courtyard.

Shen Ji was in the courtyard, practicing with his sword.

Su Zhenyue knew nothing of martial arts, but she saw a flash of snowy white sword light dance up and down as he moved, his presence imposing.

She stood quietly in the distance. Only after he finished his form and stood still did she approach to apologize with utmost sincerity. “I’m sorry, Cousin. I slept too soundly last night. By the time I woke up, it was already the hour of zi.”

Even she felt embarrassed as the words left her mouth.

Shen Ji looked up at her, his gaze deep, his expression unreadable. He only asked, “When did you fall asleep?”

“Almost the hour of shen.” Su Zhenyue gave a sheepish smile and asked cautiously, “You didn’t wait long last night, did you?”

“Not long,” Shen Ji said, his tone light as he lowered his head to wipe his sword.

Su Zhenyue let out a soft sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she thought.

Unexpectedly, he looked up, his gaze drifting over her as he added unhurriedly, “It was only from dusk till dawn, that’s all.”

At his words, Su Zhenyue’s face instantly flushed red. She lowered her head slightly and said in a small voice, “I’m truly sorry. My fault, my fault.”

Shen Ji studied her closely, seeing her rosy cheeks and bright, watery eyes. Her complexion was clearly much better than it had been in the past few days.

It seemed she had rested well.

In truth, he wasn’t very angry. It was just a lantern festival. If he had truly been set on going, he would have had someone wake her yesterday.

But seeing her so nervous, Shen Ji found it amusing and felt like teasing her. He lifted his chin slightly. “What’s the use of just saying sorry? What about compensation?”

“Compensation?” Su Zhenyue was stunned for a moment, but her reaction was swift. “Yes, there’s compensation.”

She took out the jade pendant with the newly tied tassel and presented it to him in her palm. “Cousin, I’ve tied a new tassel for your jade pendant. Take a look, do you like it?”

Now that the marriage was settled, the jade pendant that had served as a token should be returned to him.

After a thought, she added, “Also, tonight is the last night of the lantern festival. Shall we go tonight? I promise I won’t oversleep again tonight.”

Shen Ji’s gaze lingered on her palm for a moment. He took a few steps forward, untied the tassel from the pendant, and placed the pendant back in her hand. “The tassel is nice. But the jade pendant was left by my mother for her future daughter-in-law. You don’t need to return it to me.”

Su Zhenyue’s lashes trembled. “Oh.”

Fine, it was alright if he just accepted the tassel. As for the jade pendant, she would keep it for now and tie another tassel for it later.

Clutching the tassel in his hand, Shen Ji asked, “What time tonight?”

“Hm?” Su Zhenyue’s spirits lifted, knowing he was asking about the lantern festival. “How about the hour of youzheng?”

“Alright, youzheng it is.”

Having learned her lesson from the day before, Su Zhenyue specifically instructed Nanxing before her afternoon nap, “Wake me up if it’s been more than two quarters of an hour.”

“I know, Miss, don’t you worry.”

Sure enough, not long after she lay down, Su Zhenyue was woken up.

It was still early before youzheng. After a simple wash, she began to slowly pick out her clothes.

It would be cold at night, so thick clothes were a must.

It was inconvenient to be out, and the lantern festival would be crowded, so the simpler the hairpins, the better.

Nanxing and Doukou helped her, giggling to themselves.

“When the moon is over the willow tips, a date is set for after dusk,” Doukou recited slowly, then asked deliberately, “Miss, I haven’t read many books. Is that how it goes?”

Su Zhenyue shot her a look, saying peevishly, “Yes, that’s right, that’s how it goes.”

Doukou giggled.

Su Zhenyue felt a little helpless. It was just a trip to see some lanterns, yet the two of them were this excited.

She herself was actually quite calm and not particularly looking forward to it. She was mainly going to accompany Shen Ji. After all, she was truly grateful to him and didn’t want to go against his wishes in small matters.

Su Zhenyue also offered to take Doukou and Nanxing with them, but they refused.

“No, no, Miss. If we want to go, we’ll go by ourselves,” Nanxing said, waving her hands repeatedly.

The Lantern Festival was an occasion for unmarried couples to meet openly. Bringing two maids along would be so inconvenient. She reckoned she wasn’t that clueless.

Doukou chimed in with her agreement.

Seeing their reaction, Su Zhenyue didn’t insist.

At youzheng, Shen Ji appeared outside the West Wing Courtyard right on time.

By then, Su Zhenyue was also ready.

The two of them left together through a side door.

Because of the three-day lantern festival, many of the masters and ladies of the estate had been going out. Thus, the page at the gate didn’t ask many questions.

Night had just fallen, and the streets were already a sea of lanterns.

Every household had lanterns lit by their doors, and the people walking on the streets all carried decorative lanterns.

Back at home, Su Zhenyue had thought she wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. But once she was out, she felt an inexplicable sense of joy.

The night breeze was cool, the sky vast. She let her mind go blank and followed the flow of the crowd.

Storybooks, nightmares, the bestowed marriage… Su Zhenyue temporarily pushed aside all the unpleasantness of the past few days. She curiously and greedily admired all kinds of lanterns, regretting that she only had one pair of eyes, which wasn’t enough to see everything.

Wait, where was Shen Ji?

Wasn’t he right beside her a moment ago?

A wave of panic hit Su Zhenyue, and she hurriedly looked left and right.

“Over here.” Amidst the noisy crowd, Shen Ji’s voice sounded from behind her.

Su Zhenyue turned her head and saw him standing right behind her.

Less than a foot away.

Under the lantern light, the young lady’s skin was as fair as jade, and a flame seemed to dance in her dark, clear eyes. But Shen Ji could clearly see his own reflection in them.

The voices of the crowd were a deafening roar, but he could hear his own heartbeat, growing louder and louder.

Shen Ji suddenly felt very glad for his decisiveness back then—no matter what the future held, at least he had secured the title first.

Otherwise, who knows who she would be watching the lanterns with right now.

A thought stirred in Shen Ji’s heart. He took a step forward and, as if afraid she couldn’t hear, leaned slightly closer to her ear. “Don’t worry, you won’t get lost.”

Perhaps because he was too close to her ear, Su Zhenyue felt as if she could feel the warmth of his breath. A strange tickle washed over her. Her body stiffened, and she shivered, randomly replying, “Oh, okay.”

Shen Ji had already stepped back again, maintaining a distance of just over a foot from her.

Not too close, not too far.

Su Zhenyue felt a strange sensation in her heart but couldn’t put her finger on it. She didn’t dwell on it and continued to admire the lanterns, though she now kept an eye on Shen Ji beside her from time to time.

He didn’t disturb her viewing, nor did he talk much. He only occasionally shielded her from the surging crowd. When he saw a special lantern, he would explain the story behind it.

It had to be said, he was indeed an excellent companion. He was learned, eloquent, and quick-witted.

Today was the last day of the lantern festival, and many of the riddle-guessing activities had not yet ended.

Su Zhenyue didn’t like to join in the excitement, but she loved to watch it.

As they passed by the entrance of Chunfeng Restaurant, a group of people were gathered there, guessing riddles.

Su Zhenyue also ambled over. Her gaze was instantly captivated by the zoetrope lantern that was being offered as the prize.

The galloping steeds on the lantern were exceptionally vivid.

She vaguely remembered when she was little, during the Lantern Festival, her rabbit lantern had broken. Her father had bought her a zoetrope lantern, but she was young then and stubbornly refused it, insisting that her broken rabbit lantern be made exactly as it was before.

Thinking of the past, Su Zhenyue was a little lost in thought.

Just as she was hesitating about whether to go up and guess a riddle herself, a cry of surprise erupted from the crowd. “Heavens! This young lady guessed them all!”

Su Zhenyue was startled. She looked closely and saw it was a young lady wearing a veil hat.

The owner of Chunfeng Restaurant was all smiles as he presented the zoetrope lantern to the young lady. The crowd clapped and cheered.

Su Zhenyue felt a pang of regret.

What a pity, she was a little too late.

Shen Ji glanced at her. “You want it?”

Su Zhenyue was slightly surprised. How could he tell? Was it that obvious?

Seeing her silence, Shen Ji asked again patiently, “That lantern, did you want it?”

Su Zhenyue sighed. “I did want it a little. But she’s already won it. It’s not like another one can just appear, right? Forget it.”

Shen Ji said unhurriedly, “It can’t just appear, but I can make you an identical one.”

“Eh? You know how to make a zoetrope lantern?” The surprise in Su Zhenyue’s eyes grew.

Shen Ji smiled faintly, his tone light and breezy. “Of course. It’s not that difficult.”

Remembering how he had made the crossbow, Su Zhenyue figured he might really have this skill.

It was getting late, so the two of them didn’t linger outside for long, returning to the Jing An Marquis Estate before the hour of hai.

Su Zhenyue didn’t know if making a zoetrope lantern was difficult or not. But the next afternoon, Shen Ji did indeed have Ping An deliver one.

It was shaped like a palace lantern with patterns pasted on the outside. When a candle was lit inside, the steeds began to gallop, looking incredibly lifelike.

Ping An grinned. “Our young master just finished making it and had me rush it over. Miss Su, do you like it?”

He had thought from the beginning that the young master and Miss Su were a good match. Now that they were engaged, he was probably the happiest person of all.

What did this prove? It proved that he, Ping An, had good judgment.

“Did your young master really make this?” Doukou asked curiously. She had thought only specialized craftsmen knew how to make such lanterns.

“Could this be fake?” Ping An got a little worked up. “I saw my young master make it with my own eyes. I was the one who found the bamboo strips and wooden sticks.”

Doukou examined the zoetrope lantern more closely and praised with genuine feeling, “Young Master Shen is truly amazing.”

“Of course. My young master is a rare genius. Whether it’s studying or martial arts, there’s nothing in this world that can stump him,” Ping An said, deliberately glancing at Miss Su, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

Doukou wasn’t entirely convinced. How could someone be good at everything? But then she thought, he was praising her future master-in-law, so she suppressed her doubts and nodded in agreement. “Right, right, Young Master Shen is amazing.”

Su Zhenyue paid no mind to their conversation, her gaze fixed on the zoetrope lantern, lost in thought.

After Ping An left, she went to Qingfeng Courtyard again.

The sunlight was lovely today. Shen Ji was standing in the courtyard, holding a book. Seeing her approach, he wasn’t the least bit surprised, only smiling slightly. “How is it?”

The principle behind a zoetrope lantern was extremely simple. Once the materials were gathered, it had taken him less than half an hour.

“The zoetrope lantern is wonderful. I like it very much.” Su Zhenyue nodded and thanked him sincerely. “Thank you, Cousin.”

What was precious was not just the lantern, but the sentiment behind it.

He was such a good person and treated her so well. She truly didn’t know how she could ever repay him.

Shen Ji’s smile faded slightly as he looked at her intently. “You don’t need to thank me. It’s just a lantern. I made it simply because I know how, and I wanted to.”

His gaze was too scorching. Su Zhenyue subconsciously avoided it, composed herself, and found an excuse. “Mhm, I was just worried about distracting you, Cousin, and making you lose focus, especially with the Spring Examination approaching.”

Shen Ji let out a soft laugh, an eyebrow raised. “Don’t worry, I have it under control.”

Su Zhenyue smiled. “That’s good. I’m still waiting for you to top the examination lists.”

She didn’t want to ruin his future because of her.

Of course, she didn’t need to worry too much about Shen Ji’s academic talent. What she was truly worried about was the great calamity that awaited him later.

No matter what, she had to help him avoid it.

A person like him deserved to live a long life.