Lu Yu helped Shen Xuan up, letting him lean against her, and continued to comfort him softly.
It seemed she had done something to frighten him just now. She would ask Sister Li next door if she had broken any local customs.
"I've prepared firecrackers, so be mentally prepared and don't be startled later," Lu Yu said, treating him like a fragile treasure, afraid to speak loudly lest she scare Shen Xuan.
Firecrackers? Shen Xuan didn't understand why there would be firecrackers when he heard the words.
Lu Yu's eyes scanned the crowd and she successfully found Sister Li. She gave her a look, and Sister Li hurried into Lu Yu's yard, lit the fuse, and set off the firecrackers in one go.
Even with Lu Yu's warning, Shen Xuan flinched and tightly gripped Lu Yu's clothes.
Lu Yu's actions caused the surrounding neighbors to chatter. Firecrackers were not cheap, and it was unheard of for families in the village to be willing to spend money on them.
Shen Xuan stood there, startled like a piece of wood. Setting off firecrackers for a wedding signified the bride's great importance to the groom, usually only happening when a woman married her desired partner or when the man was particularly doted upon by his father's family. She...
Seeing Shen Xuan standing there motionless, Lu Yu walked up to him with a smile and covered his head with a red cloth she had been holding.
Lu Yu whispered in Shen Xuan's ear, "I didn't expect you to come without a veil, so..."
Shen Xuan, as if frightened, thought Lu Yu was blaming him. Before Lu Yu could finish, he quickly began to explain, "I'm sorry, I, I..."
Shen Xuan stammered, realizing his mistake, and lowered his head dejectedly, waiting for Lu Yu to get angry. It was his fault, after all. The first meeting after a new groom's wedding should only be with his future wife.
His mother, however, used his earlier disgrace as an excuse and hadn't prepared anything for him, nor had he paid attention to it himself.
Now, being seen by everyone in the village in public, he had embarrassed Lu Yu in front of everyone.
Lu Yu chuckled as she saw Shen Xuan speaking incoherently like a startled little beast.
"Alright, don't be scared. I'm not blaming you. I just wanted to say this red cloth will serve as a veil for now. Please don't mind it."
Lu Yu reached out, took Shen Xuan's sweaty hand, and led him slowly into the house.
Inside, the ancestral tablets of Lu Yu's mother and father were placed at the head of the room. Lu Yu led Shen Xuan through the wedding rituals, chanting, "First bow to heaven and earth..." with great solemnity.
After leading Shen Xuan into the bridal chamber, and fearing he might be uncomfortable, Lu Yu lifted the veil and then went out to the courtyard to collect the paper scraps from the firecrackers. She then went to Sister Li's house.
A couplet written by Lu Yu herself was pasted on the door of the bridal chamber: "The phoenix and dragon sing in harmony, watching as they fly wing to wing; husband and wife's love binds them together."
Shen Xuan was not an uneducated man, so he naturally understood the meaning.
Upon entering the room, a lotus screen by the table immediately caught Shen Xuan's attention. Shen Xuan paused and then looked away.
Beyond the screen, the view was of red silk curtains, hanging from the bed to the floor. Inside the bed curtains was a rosewood bed with lotus carvings, matching the screen by the window. The bed was adorned with a bright red quilt depicting mandarin ducks playing in water and pillows with dragon and phoenix patterns, clearly prepared with great care by the person who decorated it.
Shen Xuan returned to the table and saw the longan, lotus seeds, peanuts, and red dates laid out. Shen Xuan's eyelashes twitched a few times as he sat on the stool and looked at the "囍" characters pasted on the window.
Every decoration in the room showed the meticulous preparation of the owner, filled with the atmosphere of a new marriage.
Shen Xuan could hardly believe that the uneducated Lu Yu could have done something like this.
No one had ever gone to such great lengths to prepare something for him. A hint of sweetness bloomed in his heart.
"What are you thinking about?" Lu Yu's gentle voice came from the doorway.
Shen Xuan quickly stood up, lowering his head, his hands unconsciously clutching the hem of his clothes.
"Don't be nervous, sit down." Lu Yu casually sized up Shen Xuan. It wasn't appropriate to stare at someone you had just met.
Shen Xuan exuded an scholarly aura, with a tall and slender build, unlike the other men in this place who only knew how to adorn themselves with makeup.
"I was wrong earlier. I didn't think things through and scared you. Don't worry, I will never divorce you." Lu Yu had learned about the plight of men in this female-dominated world from Sister Li.
In this female-dominated society, men's status was even lower than that of women in ancient times.
Men could be bought and sold at will, beaten and scolded. They could only marry one wife in their lifetime. If a woman behaved inappropriately with a man and then refused to take responsibility, their family would often force the man to hang himself for the sake of reputation.
If a woman divorced a man, he would be forced into military prostitution, enduring torment until death. If the man resisted or took his own life, his family would also be implicated.
"Also, that day, I was out of my mind. I'm sorry, I will definitely..."
"Young Master! Young Master!"
Lu Yu's words were interrupted by Afu's shouting.
Afu barged in without even knocking. Shen Xuan subtly glanced at Lu Yu's expression and quickly walked out of the room before Lu Yu could react.
Upon seeing Shen Xuan, Afu was about to speak when he saw Lu Yu following closely behind. He lowered his head and dared not speak.
A sudden premonition of misfortune welled up in Shen Xuan's heart. He took a large step forward and grasped Afu's hand, disregarding Lu Yu's presence beside him.
"Did something happen to my maternal grandfather?"
Afu secretly glanced at Lu Yu and nodded eagerly, "Young Master, Master Li is not doing well. The head of the Li family hopes you can return to see Master Li one last time."
Shen Xuan stood there in a daze, large tears instantly falling from his eyes.
How could this happen so quickly? He hadn't found a way to cure his maternal grandfather yet.
If his maternal grandfather couldn't make it, this would be the last time he saw him. He had to go, he absolutely had to go.
Shen Xuan abruptly turned and knelt before Lu Yu, grabbing the hem of her clothes. As he spoke, he was already sobbing uncontrollably, "Wife, please, please let me go see my maternal grandfather, please."
Lu Yu pulled him up, "I'll go with you."
Then, she borrowed an ox cart from the village and quickly headed towards the Li residence.
Shen Xuan leaned into Afu's embrace, weeping profusely, his face pale.
"Don't worry, my mother was a doctor, and I know medicine too. Trust me, don't be afraid."
Lu Yu's identity before transmigrating was a divine doctor in modern times. She was born into a medical family and later, with her superb medical talent, invented a set of "resurrection needles" that saved many lives at the time.
This set of needles could maximize the body's Yang energy to fight against illness, extending life by nearly a month, allowing time to wait for the best treatment opportunity.
They finally arrived. Shen Xuan jumped off the cart and stumbled into the main gate, running towards his maternal grandfather's bedroom.
His grandfather lay on the bed, his eyes constantly looking towards the door. Seeing Shen Xuan finally, he smiled with relief and tried to reach out to touch Shen Xuan, but he could no longer do so.
At that moment, Shen Xuan was on the verge of collapse. He knelt on the ground and cried out loud, tears blurring his vision. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see his maternal grandfather's face clearly.
"Xuan'er, your maternal grandfather is holding on by a thread just to see you again. Hurry and talk to him." His maternal grandmother looked twenty years older.
Lu Yu caught up and, disregarding the gazes of others, rushed to the bedside to feel Master Li's pulse.
"This is pulmonary tuberculosis. It can still be saved. I'll use acupuncture to keep him alive for now, and then proceed with treatment." Lu Yu took out the needle bag she had brought with her before leaving.
The head of the Li family reached out to stop her, staring at Lu Yu, forbidding her from using acupuncture. Lu Yu was uneducated and knew no medicine; how could she let Lu Yu casually perform acupuncture on her beloved?
Upon hearing this, Shen Xuan felt like he had grasped a lifeline. He tugged at the hand of the head of the Li family, "Grandmother, please let her try. This is our last hope, please, let her try."
"I really can. My mother taught me, and I can definitely save him."
"Fine, fine, then you try." The head of the Li family seemed to give up, turning her head elsewhere.