"Naturally, I must ask Miss Gu a few questions. Only when we are satisfied will we allow you to enter and marry your husband," Xu Miao, having had some contact with Gu Yitong through Lu Yu, answered first.
"The first is a riddle. Wait a moment." Xu Miao couldn't remember the riddle Lu Yu had given her, rustling, she took out a piece of paper Lu Yu had written for her earlier from her collar. "A family of eleven, a family of twenty, when two families join, all worries will be gone!"
Zheng Yu, standing behind Gu Yitong, listened and smiled faintly.
In fact, Lu Yu had already told her the entire sequence of steps, including the answer to this riddle, just in case Gu Yitong couldn't answer.
After all, these gate-blocking rituals were just for good luck, not to actually prevent Gu Yitong from taking Afu away. She had made thorough preparations. If Gu Yitong couldn't guess it, she would tell him, but it would give her something to tease Gu Yitong about later.
Gu Yitong, of course, would not give her the chance to tease him. After a moment of thought, he quickly smiled and spoke with confidence, "The answer to this riddle is the character '喜' (xi)!"
On the joyous occasion of a wedding, whether it was the riddle's phrasing or its answer, it was bound to be festive. By carefully selecting from it, finding the correct answer was not difficult.
However, he would settle accounts with Lu Yu later.
"Miss Gu answered correctly. The second question is to throw arrows into the pot. Miss Gu must successfully throw ten arrows within the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, achieving perfection, to win the competition."
Actually, Lu Yu had gone easy on this question too. She knew Gu Yitong was skilled at arrow throwing and didn't want to make things too difficult for him, only asking for ten points.
Hearing this question, Gu Yitong's lips curved into a smile. Lu Yu said ten points, but there was no rule that it had to be a direct hit into the pot to count as ten points; other combinations could be used.
However, Gu Yitong didn't want to. He wanted to give Afu a true perfect score.
In arrow throwing, "having a start" counted as two points, "piercing the ear" as four points, "scattering" as five points, "double ear" as six points, and only "touching the rim" counted as a full ten points.
Gu Yitong turned, picked up the headless arrow Lu Yu had prepared for him, raised his arm, and with speed, accuracy, and moderate force, the arrow he threw leaned against the mouth of the pot without falling to the bottom. Success!
"Ten points for touching the rim!"
"Miss Gu, you have excellent skills. The third item is the red envelope," Xu Miao said with a smile.
Zheng Yu, receiving Gu Yitong's signal, took out a stack of red envelopes from her collar and handed them out with smiles. The last one was for Gu Yi. Zheng Yu smiled dotingly and placed two red envelopes in Gu Yi's hands.
Gu Yitong let out a soft scoff upon seeing this, and with a beaming smile, walked into the room, scooped up Afu, who was sitting on the bed with his head covered by a veil, into his arms, and walked steadily at the forefront.
Afu, suddenly picked up, let out a soft gasp. Even though he knew the person in front of him was Gu Yitong, his heart skipped a beat. His hands instinctively clutched the front of Gu Yitong's clothes, and his usually steady breathing became rapid.
"Don't be afraid, it's me."
Gu Yitong sensed Afu's entire body tensing and knew he was nervous, so he spoke to comfort him.
Although these were only four words, they brought Afu immense peace. These words seemed to possess a magical power, allowing Afu to relax and trust the person holding him wholeheartedly.
Gu Yitong gently placed Afu into the sedan chair and did not immediately get out. Instead, he took out a plate of pastries from the side of the sedan and placed it on Afu's lap, guiding Afu's hand to feel the plate of pastries.
"You haven't eaten anything all day, have you? Eat quickly. It will take some time to reach the mansion. Eat with peace of mind, and you can just leave the rest in the sedan chair."
"Mm," Afu responded softly.
Gu Yitong seemed to sense his inner thoughts and rubbed the hand on his lap. "Don't worry about etiquette or anything like that. Your health is important, eat something first."
Without waiting for Afu to act, he picked up a pastry and handed it to him under Afu's veil. The veil couldn't be lifted yet. Gu Yitong thought for a moment, then lowered his head, as if trying to see through the gap.
Afu, sensing Gu Yitong's movement, eagerly bit into the pastry in Gu Yitong's hand. Realizing what he had just done, he quietly blushed, fortunately hidden by the veil.
Afu slowly raised his hand, reached under the veil, held the pastry in Gu Yitong's hand, and gave a soft response, indicating he understood.
Seeing Afu nod in response, Gu Yitong smiled and left the sedan chair with peace of mind.
Afu was indeed very hungry. He hadn't eaten a single bite since this morning, and now, smelling the fragrance of the pastries, his stomach began to growl.
The new groom was not allowed to eat on the wedding day. From the moment the veil was placed on his head until after he alighted from the sedan and performed the bowing ceremony, the groom had to enter the bridal chamber and sit in the bridal room, not allowed to move around freely.
After the veil was placed, only the bride could lift it. This caused many inconveniences. To avoid needing to use the restroom, naturally, one could not eat from morning until night.
Over time, this also became a custom. After lifting the veil, some food could be eaten, but brides were generally impatient, so many men still couldn't eat on their wedding day.
Afu held the pastry in his hand, his heart warming slightly, and ate it in small bites.
Upon arriving at the Gu mansion, the eunuch outside the sedan chair handed a red silk ribbon to Afu. Afu knew it was the "tying red."
Each holding one end, and led by Gu Yitong, Afu slowly exited the sedan door.
Fearing Afu's discomfort, Gu Yitong directly omitted many of the usual rituals. He carefully led Afu into the main hall for the bowing ceremony.
They bowed to the ancestral tablets of Gu Yitong's deceased mother and father, and to Afu's father, Wang Tian.
Afu was no longer Shen Xuan's servant, so there was no reason to bow to Shen Xuan. As a free person, he bowed to his own elders. Wang Tian, unable to refuse, reluctantly took the seat of honor, but he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles. No one had paid him respects yet, and he was extremely nervous.
"The ceremony is complete! Escort them to the bridal chamber!" As the master of ceremonies announced this, applause erupted from the surroundings, accompanied by people's blessings. Faintly, one could also hear the teasing of the medicinal boys from the clinic.
Gu Yitong personally accompanied Afu back to the bridal chamber. Knowing that Afu couldn't see the way, Gu Yitong slowed his pace, gradually pulling the red silk ribbon in his hand, shortening the distance between them until Gu Yitong held the hand that was tightly gripping the ribbon.
Her warm palm possessed a special power that made Afu unconsciously want to draw closer, to let go of all his defenses, and to rely on her with peace of mind.
With a creak, the door was pushed open.
Gu Yitong led Afu to the bedside, carefully helped him sit down, turned to pick up the scale rod from the table, walked back to the bed, and slowly lifted Afu's veil.
"This..."
Afu was startled. He heard Gu Yitong's footsteps as he turned to leave and thought he was going out to toast guests. He hadn't expected him to lift his veil directly.