With her hand still cocooned in Xi Chen's, Ye An, without an ounce of hesitation and the force of a thousand certainties, breathed, "Let's get married tonight."

In the space between seconds, Xi Chen reached a tender hand to the nape of Ye An's neck, pulling her into a kiss so gentle like she was the world's most precious gem that he was afraid to make even the tiniest scratch on. He nipped at her bottom lips carefully before sweeping the smallest of his tongue lightly at the corner's of Ye An's lips to coax her into allowing his entry and she relented immediately. The kiss was warm like the mellow morning sun and sweet like the dulcet tones of guqin, each brush of lips and each glide of tongue like the soothing caress of a longtime lover. When it was over, they rested their foreheads on each other to catch their breaths. Their ardent gazes only held each other as if they were the only two people who existed in the entire world. Xi Chen, with the softest smile sprouting on his face, answered, "Let's do that. Let's get married tonight." 

*******

Since then, the day had transformed into a whirlwind of activities. The head monk took it upon himself to plan the ceremony when Ye An and Xi Chen had informed him of their decision. With the limited time, the head monk concluded that it was enough to organize a simple ceremony and it was quickly decided that the ceremony will take place at the top of the temple under the audience of the moon and the stars as the head monk officiate the union.

When Ye An had come to, half of the day was gone. The light filtering in through the window of her hut was closer to dusk than noon. Ye An was alone with Auntie Yu Lan as she sat at the bamboo table with the elderly woman standing behind her as she combed Ye An's hair. Auntie Yu Lan had brought with her a small copper mirror of which Ye An was watching the elderly woman through the reflection on its uneven copper surface. 

Up until half an hour or so, Auntie Yu Lan had been busy decorating the hut that they were currently in with a few of her friends who were also around her age. Traditionally, the marital night was supposed to be spent at the husband's residence. But since Ye An and Xi Chen were already sharing the hut, this place would be where they would spend their first night as a newlywed couple. Therefore, the walls were peppered with red papers with the words "Double Happiness" to bless the newlyweds. From the corner of her eyes, Ye An could also spy the set of wooden mandarin ducks with their beaks touching each other on the neatly-made bed. Besides the wooden mandarin ducks,  a canopy of red tulle was also draped over the entire bed with a thin string holding up the middle of the fabric so that the material tented over the bed frame. Ye An blushed as her thoughts strayed to her upcoming wedding night. She gave herself a mental shake as she returned her focus to Auntie Yu Lan.

"Thank you for doing this for me." Ye An uttered quietly. Both Xi Chen and her had announced their decision to be wed to only a select few people. She knew that she wanted a simple wedding and announcing it to the entire community would've escalated the wedding to something less intimate. Despite the smaller pool of people, her heart was full at how everyone welcomed the news so readily. Well, most of them anyways. She had informed Prince Adlai because she felt the political obligation to and because he was Xi Chen's cousin and by extension, Sze Chang was also invited to the ceremony. Prince Adlai was ecstatic, but Sze Chang's reaction was a little lackluster if a bit surprised. Not that it bothered Ye An. She still didn't know where their friendship stood, much less their familial ties. But she wasn't going to allow that to dampen her spirits when Auntie Yu Lan was more than happy to volunteer to prepare Ye An and help her dress for her wedding when she and Xi Chen broke the news to her. 

Auntie Yu Lan widened her eyes in surprise for a fraction of a second before shaking her head, "Thank you for letting me do this for you." 

As the comb glided smoothly through Ye An's dark hair, she noticed that there was a hint of moisture in Auntie Yu Lan's eyes as the elderly woman continued, "It's been a while since I told anyone this story.. But I once had a daughter." 

Ye An was stunned to silence but quickly recovered. "What happened to her?", she asked with the gentlest voice that she could muster.

Auntie Yu Lan smiled sadly. "I lost her to a sickness. Everything happened so fast. One minute she was a happy, giggly, and healthy baby. Then the next, she was burning up and throwing up. We couldn't bring her temperature down or even keep any milk in her small body. We tried everything. But we couldn't save her in the end."

 Ye An could feel the trembling in Auntie Yu Lan's hand that was combing her hair. She reached out to hold the elderly woman's hand. "She knows. She knows how hard you've tried."

Auntie Yu Lan's smile was still sad but at least the downwards tilt was lifted ever so slightly as she looked at Ye An through the mirror's reflection and patted on her hand in a maternal gesture. "I hope she does. The only thing I regretted was not holding her for long enough. If I knew that I would lose her so early, I might've held her longer when she fell asleep in my arms, when she woke up in the mornings and reached for me, when she looked at me like I was the most important person in her life. I was no longer able to conceive after losing her. Some healers said that it was due to stress, some said it was because of the trauma. And now I'm too old to conceive anymore."

Ye An didn't know what to say. She knew that whatever she said in consolation would have been one of the many that Auntie Yu Lan have heard of. So she merely squeezed the elderly woman's hand. It was a gesture that didn't go unnoticed because Auntie Yu Lan held Ye An's hand in both hands and squeezed right back as if thanking Ye An.

As Auntie Yu Lan let Ye An's hand go, her voice turned solemn. "My advice to you is to hold on to whatever that gives you happiness."

Hold on to whatever that gives you happiness. Governess Hsu had also told her the same thing in her own words many months ago. That felt like a lifetime ago. Ye An let her thoughts travel to the governess. Looking at Auntie Yu Lan's reflection in the mirror, Ye An could see a mirage of all of the women layered within the elderly lady. It was a tribute of all of the women who came before Ye An. There was Governess Hsu who had brushed Ye An's hair when she was younger like Ye An was her own daughter. There was Ye An's biological mother who had bestowed her hopes and blessings in the form of Ye An's name. And finally, there was her grandmother who has never extended any form of soft motherly touch but still loved fiercely in her own way. There were so many women before Ye An and there will be so many more after her.

"I'm thinking of moving to the southern plains when everything is over." Auntie Yu Lan's announcement cut through Ye An's reverie like a spear through waters. "Ruliang tries. And I'm grateful that he brought me here after what happened with our daughter because this place has given me so much peace and happiness. But to be frank, I'm not too fond of the weather here. After living here for over fifty years, I think I'm finally ready to leave." The smile on Auntie Yu Lan's face didn't quite reach her eyes but there was a tentative hope behind her eyes. "I heard that the southern plains is warm all year, even in winter. Their coldest weather is just a chilly morning that eventually morphs into a balmy afternoon."

"I'll bring you and Teacher Ruliang there when everything is over. Both me and Xi Chen. Maybe we could start a new life there together." Ye An declared without any hesitation. 

Auntie Yu Lan's hand stopped. Ye An felt like mice were scuttling in her chest as she waited for Auntie Yu Lan's answer. When she didn't utter a single word, Ye An's eyes lowered to her fidgeting fingers and stuttered, "O- or I could make arrangements for your accommodations. We could go our separate ways and you don't need to be constantly bothere-" Ye An started rambling out of nerves. Little did she know that Auntie Yu Lan was watching her with soft affection. Like everyone else, she just found out that Ye An was the emperor but Auntie Yu Lan knew her as Miss An, the maiden her husband had found many weeks ago who went from a listless young woman to this vibrant person in front of her for far longer than she knew that she was the emperor. So instead of asking whether Ye An should return to the Imperial Palace, Auntie Yu Lan hugged her which surprised Ye An when she felt Auntie Yu Lan's quivering body hugging her from behind.

"Thank you. I would be more than happy to start a new life with both you and Xi Chen in the southern plains. And I'm betting that Ruliang does too." A single tear slid down Auntie Yu Lan's cheek as she held Ye An. 

Ye An couldn't help her trembling lips and tearing eyes as she nodded and returned Auntie Yu Lan's hug. "It would also be my good fortune to have you both in my new life as well."

Auntie Yu Lan let go and gave Ye An a watery smile. This time, her smile finally reached her eyes as she smoothed Ye An's hair. "Well, what a mess we're in. Let's fix your make up. Your wedding is in a few hours and we still need to dress you after this."

With a mirrored smile, Ye An answered. "Let's."

*******

Standing at the base of the stairs leading to the top of the temple, Ye An could hear the chatter of the small crowd drifting down. Everyone who was invited to the ceremony was already waiting for her entrance. As she lifted her veil carefully and looked up the flight of stairs, Ye An peeked a sliver of the night sky splattered with flecks of stars. It was a clear night and the air was slowly warming from the upcoming spring season. Or maybe the warm air was from the lanterns that was lit up because Ye An could see the dancing flickers of the lantern light at the top of the stairs. Ye An huffed a nervous breath.

"Don't be nervous." Auntie Yu Lan smiled while adjusting the folds of Ye An's wedding robes, a simple red dress robe with minor gold accents and a matching sash that Auntie Yu Lan had procured from one of the women who had her wedding just last year. "Xi Chen is probably jittery too." Auntie Yu Lan continued in an amused tone as she pulled at the red veil that covered over Ye An's head and face so that it was now as perfectly symmetrical as the eye could see. "As he should be. A man should be nervous on his wedding day so that he does a good job caring for and loving his wife during the course of the marriage. Why do you think Ruliang is such a devoted husband? He was trembling like the last leaf on the tree on our wedding day."

Ye An chuckled at the image, the veil draping over her face puttered with the laugh, her nerves eased instantly.

"Are you ready?" Auntie Yu Lan asked softly.

Not trusting her voice, Ye An gave the smallest nod as to not undo Auntie Yu Lan's efforts in adjusting her veil. She then lifted the exquisitely embroidered hand fan with both hands and covered her veiled face with it with a ramrod straight posture.

Auntie Yu Lan held onto Ye An's elbow to guide her up the stairs.

The crowd quietened as Ye An cleared the stairs. On her side, Auntie Yu Lan announced the arrival of the bride. Ye An couldn't see anything but her steps. However, based on her sense of direction, she had deduced that they had ended up at the space right in front of the enormous bell that the head monk showed her during their tour of the area when they stopped. Auntie Yu Lan let go of Ye An's elbow. Men boots appeared at the periphery of Ye An's vision and she knew that it was Xi Chen. A fond smile curved on her face because Xi Chen was indeed jittery as predicted by Auntie Yu Lan, the toes of his boots were currently doing nervous tappy-taps. The movement was so controlled and with his long robes, no one would've noticed unless they were looking directly at his feet.

The head monk announced, "We're here to celebrate the union of Xia Xi Chen and Lee Ye An."

Ye An raised her eyebrows at the use of Xi Chen's real surname, Xia, instead of the surname that he had been using all this while, Yun. It was probably Xi Chen's request. She would've to asked him about it later.

"Now, the bride and groom will be bowing to the heavens, their ancestors, and each other for a blessed union." The head monk continued. 

Auntie Yu Lan returned to take the hand fan from Ye An and replaced it with a cup of wine before the head monk bellowed. "First bow to the heavens and the earth."

With the cup of wine in her hands, Ye An bowed as she was. She could hear the rustle of Xi Chen's clothes and knew that he had bowed as well. A cooling night breeze picked up as the head monk bellowed the second time, "Second bow to the ancestors."

Usually, there would've been ancestor plaques for the second bow. But since they were miles away from home, bowing to the sky and earth will do. Both Ye An and Xi Chen gave their second bows. Wisps of the night breeze fluttered Ye An's veil. As the soft fabric caressed her cheeks, Ye An would like to think that it was a blessing by not just the generations of imperial family, but also Governess Hsu. Tears emerged at the corner of her eyes as she had the thought.

Oblivious to Ye An's tears behind her veil, the head monk bellowed a final time. "Third bow to each other."

Ye An shuffled so that she was now facing Xi Chen and she could see from his boots that he was also facing her. His nervous tic was gone and Ye An knew that it was ridiculous but she somehow felt his determination just based on how his feet were planted on the ground and could already picture the face that he must be making. She pursed her lips to rein in her incredulous laugh as she bowed, already forgetting her earlier melancholic thoughts. Just like that, her mind was back to the present. It's official. Xi Chen was now her husband and she was his wife. 

Her eyes pooled on its own at the surreal truth but the tears stopped in their tracks because Xi Chen had picked her up, one arm supporting her back and another at the back of her knees, and caught her by surprise. The crowd whooped.

"What are you doing?!" Ye An whispered urgently, her face blushing, as her hands instinctively wrapped around his neck, the wine sloshing out of the cup that was still in her hand. Luckily her reflexes were strong from the hours of training and she managed to fling the liquid away from them by some miracle.

"I'm bringing my wife home." Xi Chen answered as he stepped towards the stairs. Someone had rung the gong to send them off. But despite the reverberating ringing, Ye An could hear the boyish glee in Xi Chen's voice that she had never heard before and couldn't help but smile as she snuggled closer which made Xi Chen hold her tighter. In a low voice, Xi Chen's voice rumbled in Ye An's ears. "Oh, the things we'll do when we reach our hut." Ye An flushed behind her veil at those words.

As they cleared the top of the stairs, Ye An and Xi Chen looked the part of a happily married young couple to the crowd. At least for tonight. Tomorrow, tomorrow they will start their journey to battle.

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Writer's note: Ok poll, Should I or should I not write about their wedding night? >_>>>>>