In just two days, all the snow on Shenwu Mountain had melted away. That sable coat had only been worn twice before it was put back in the closet, waiting for the next winter.

It was as if the heavens had suddenly shut the door on the wind. In barely a day or two, the air had turned warm again.

This must be the last snow of the winter.

A few li from the mountain manor, Liu Xiaolou was hiding deep in the woods. He wore a hastily made straw hat and a black cloth over his face, eyes fixed on the winding mountain road below.

The large pit in the middle of the road was well covered. No way anyone would notice it. He turned to check the makeshift tree-mounted crossbow he’d set up nearby. Everything looked fine.

But noon had come and gone, and there was still no sign of the carriage. A flicker of impatience crossed his face. Today was the day of the wedding. He’d slipped away in secret and couldn’t afford to stay here for long.

Just as he was growing anxious, the sound of hoofbeats reached his ears. A carriage rounded the bend into the mountain pass. Liu Xiaolou’s heart leapt. He was just about to—

He froze, tossed away the straw hat, yanked off the black cloth, and ran straight down into the road, blocking the carriage.

The horse reared up, whinnying sharply, and the carriage came to a sudden halt.

A man stepped down. It was Butler Song.

Surprised, he said, “the new—” but after a quick glance into the carriage, he corrected himself: “Young master, what are you doing here?”

Liu Xiaolou laughed. “I’m here to see Brother Dong off, of course. Thinking about how we won’t know when we’ll meet again after today… well, it makes me a little sentimental. Huh? Uncle Song, what are you doing here? Wait, did I get it wrong? This isn’t Brother Dong’s carriage?”

Butler Song smiled. “Young Master Dong was injured at the manor. Even though it happened during a friendly match, the master still feels guilty. He asked me to personally see him home and explain matters to the Dong family.”

Then he turned toward the carriage. “Young Master Dong, Liu is here to send you off.”

A furious voice burst from inside. “Get him out of here! I don’t want to see him! Go.... cough, go!”

Butler Song spread his hands helplessly at Liu Xiaolou. “Young master, you see how it is.”

Liu Xiaolou sighed. “If Brother Dong can’t forgive me, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll come to Qishan another day to offer my apologies in person. Uncle Song, please take good care of him on the road so his injuries don’t get worse.”

From inside the carriage, Dong Wei shouted, “Oh, I’ll be waiting! If you dare come to Qishan, you’ll see what I’ll do to you!”

Butler Song leaned into the carriage to calm the injured Dong Wei, then looked at Liu Xiaolou’s downcast face and nodded. “I’ll take Young Master Dong back to Qishan first. It’s not far. Ibe back before nightfall. Don’t worry, Young Master”

Liu Xiaolou said no more. Taking the reins himself, he led the carriage partway down the road. Once it had disappeared from sight, he hurried back to the big pit he’d covered earlier. Pulling the covering aside, he shoveled the dirt back in, tamping it down until the road looked as it had before.

Still, freshly filled earth never quite matches the old. Only time could wear away the difference.

After dismantling the homemade tree-mounted crossbow hidden in the woods by the road, he finally headed back to the manor.

That had been close. He’d almost given himself away. Looked like his easygoing father-in-law still held the Dong family of Qishan in high regard. He’d have to think things through more carefully from now on and take the long view.

He’d barely stepped inside the gates before a few servants spotted him. One of them tore off toward the inner quarters, shouting, “We found the young master! We found him!”

The rest swarmed around Liu Xiaolou, hustling him toward the Gualu Hall, talking over one another:

“Where have you been all day, young master? We’ve been worried sick!”

“The guests are already here to congratulate you…”

“Only half an hour left. Hurry and change your clothes!”

“Why are you covered in dirt?”

“Get the water ready for his bath!”

“Fetch Butler Lin. Bring the guest list for the young master to hear…”

From the moment Liu Xiaolou stepped through the gate, he ceased to belong to himself. Servants and maids crowded around him, pulling and pushing until they’d herded him into a side courtyard next to Gualu Hall. In an instant, every stitch of clothing, down to his undergarments, was stripped away.

Before he could even get his bearings, he was shoved into a big wooden tub, scrubbed from head to toe by several elderly maids wielding stiff brushes. The next thing he knew, he was spun around like a top on a thick blanket, and by the time he stopped, he was swaddled in layer after layer of bright red wedding robes.

Steward Lin, who was in charge of greeting the guests, held a large ledger and read out their names while several unseen hands worked on arranging Liu Xiaolou’s hair.

“Luo, steward of internal affairs for the Danxia Sect’s inner court, given name Xin… Elder Mao of the Mao Altar, given name En… Old Master Wang of Xunxi, given name Zhi… Cai of Longhu Lake, given name Jiucheng… Master Xin the Third of Hongdu, given name Buqi, accompanied by his two sons, Xin Feng and Xin Bao… Eldest son of Shiziling, Jiao Hu… That concludes the Danxia delegation. From Dongheng Town, the Jia family… from Fuzhou, the Qian family… from Wutong Mountain, the Lotus Stronghold… the Xiong family of Huagou… the Zhaiyue Sect… the Zhemei Sect… the Fuhu Gate… Daoist Leiming of Mingyu Temple… These are all esteemed houses and allies of our Su family…”

As Lin read the list, Liu Xiaolou tried his best to commit the aforementioned guests’ faces to memory. He might never need it, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Just then, someone pushed aside the curtain and entered. A man in his early forties, dignified in bearing, his features faintly resembling Su Zhi’s. The servants and stewards immediately bowed and addressed him as “Second Master.” This was Su Zhi’s younger brother, Su Xun.

Su Xun’s expression was stern as he glanced around. “Hurry it up!” Then he turned his disapproving gaze on Liu Xiaolou. “Today is the day of the Grand Dual-Cultivation ceremony. Where did you run off to?”

Liu Xiaolou lowered his head. “It was my fault. I went to see off a friend and came back late.”

Su Xun gave a sharp “Hmph.” “If you mess things up again, watch your hide.”

There was nothing Liu Xiaolou could do. As a live-in son-in-law, his status was low. In front of the servants, he could still put on half the airs of a young master, but with the stewards he was more or less on equal footing. And if it came to the attention of the Su family proper, there’d be no difference between him and the household help. All the more so when the one scolding him was the head of the second branch. So he could only swallow his pride and answer meekly, “Yes.”

Su Xun reminded him once more, “Faster! Don’t miss the lucky hour!” With that, he flicked his sleeve and strode off.

The room immediately erupted into chaos again. Those with actual tasks threw themselves into their work; those without any bustled back and forth as if they were just as busy. The maids, servants, and elderly attendants stopped treating Liu Xiaolou like a person entirely, and instead like a display mannequin. Dab here, pinch there, press here, adjust there; until he was dizzy and bewildered.

This “dual cultivation” ceremony was all for show, a public announcement that Fifth Lady Su was now married so other families could stop coveting her. The preparations might have been rushed, but the ceremony itself was lavish.

In a crash of drums and gongs, Liu Xiaolou was herded out, down the covered corridors, and dragged to the back door of Gualu Hall. At the booming calls of the master of ceremonies, he was half-shoved, half-pulled into the main hall.

Outside, firecrackers crackled in a deafening wave. Inside, the hall was packed with guests come to watch. Amid the good-natured heckling, he saw her for the first time. His bride in name, standing right across from him, no more than a few steps away.

Su Xi’s head was covered by a scarlet bridal veil, her figure swallowed in layer upon layer of bright red wedding robes, hiding both her shape and her face. First time seeing her, and yet it was almost as if he hadn’t seen her at all.

At the loud prompting of the master of ceremonies, Liu Xiaolou bowed to Su Xi, whom he had never met before this moment.

For an instant, a strange, absurd thought stirred in his chest:

So… this means I’m married now?