Chapter 104: The Lawful Wife
Yu Yeqing's tone was resolute, as if he was terrified of hearing a refusal. Song Hemei felt that if she hadn't reached out in time to pull him back, he might have turned and walked away at that very moment, fleeing from the answer he didn't want to hear.
She spoke to him seriously, "You made the decision on your own without even asking me. If Jilang hadn't been glaring at you today, when were you planning to tell me?"
Yu Yeqing lowered his gaze, his expression somewhat pallid. The hand she held tightened its grip.
"I…"
He pressed his lips together, his heart tangled in hesitation. It seemed as though he had made some kind of decision, and his whole demeanor gradually slumped into dejection. "If you're unwilling, I, I can choose not to force you. But you should at least give me a time limit or some demand, so I know what I need to do."
He looked at her mournfully, his voice tinged with hoarseness. "Otherwise, it's not fair to me."
Song Hemei sighed in frustration. "Fair or not, where has your mind wandered? Having our marriage certificate sent through official channels is a trivial matter, but can we not do it in Changzhou? My elder brother's case was still tried by you. It hasn't been that long. The officials in the prefectural office still remember me. If they suddenly see our marriage certificate, it won't look right."
Yu Yeqing was momentarily taken aback. "That's your concern?"
"Of course. What else would it be?" Song Hemei narrowed her eyes and leaned in close to him. "I know your mind is running wild with baseless thoughts again. Put them all away. I'm not going to argue with you. You just need to know that I also want to marry you."
Yu Yeqing's long lashes trembled. He paused for a long moment, as if only then understanding her words. The next instant, a smile curled at the corners of his lips. He pulled her hand abruptly, causing her to stumble into his embrace.
"Song Hemei."
Caught off guard by his calling her name, Song Hemei felt an odd sensation—like a goose feather gently brushing against her heart, stirring a faint itch.
She mumbled in response, "What?"
"You are wonderful."
"Oh? So marrying you makes me wonderful? And if I didn't want to marry you, would I be terrible?"
Yu Yeqing hadn't anticipated such a question. He fell silent for a moment, then said, "No. No matter what, you are wonderful."
She had been teasing him, but he answered with utter seriousness.
Song Hemei buried her face in his chest, feeling a wave of shyness. She had to give him a light punch on the back before shoving him away and walking toward the house.
"Spare me the sweet talk. If you can stop jumping to wild conclusions about me in the future, I'll already be burning incense to thank the heavens."
With her back to him, she raised a hand to touch her cheek—it was indeed hot. She flicked her handkerchief open to fan herself.
Yu Yeqing slowly followed behind her, responding with a simple "yes" to every word she said.
"I haven't even done or said anything yet, and you're already pinning all sorts of nonsense on me. If this happens again, I really will get angry."
"Yes."
"And about the marriage certificate—if you have any future plans, talk to me first. You have your impulsive moments where you don't think things through, and I can help you think them over."
"Yes."
Song Hemei stepped into the room. "Yes, yes, yes—are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
She leaned against the round table, lifting her head to look at the man before her.
His tall frame blocked most of the sunlight streaming in from the doorway, and his deep, penetrating eyes were brimming with profound affection. "I'm listening."
Song Hemei felt her heart soften under his gaze, and she couldn't bear to scold him any further.
After a brief silence, another thought occurred to her. "Maybe we should just get the marriage certificate issued and skip the wedding ceremony altogether."
Yu Yeqing was visibly taken aback. "Why?"
Song Hemei looked away. "After all, I was once married into the Shao family. In a place like Changzhou, a second marriage isn't exactly something to be proud of. There's no need to make a big show. Don't get me wrong—I don't care about what others think. But when I really think about it, it's better not to have a ceremony. You once lived as a guest at the Shao residence. Someone might use that to gossip about you. If too many unpleasant rumors spread and eventually make their way back to the Capital, that wouldn't be good."
Yu Yeqing fell silent. For a long while, he did not respond.
Song Hemei thought it over carefully, then took his hand and tugged him closer.
She asked first, "Marriage is really nothing more than that—fetching the bride, bowing to heaven and earth, then entertaining the guests. So much of it is just for show anyway. Did you give out a lot of wedding gifts in the past? Don't just stand there—say something."
Yu Yeqing's Adam's apple bobbed. Only then did he speak. "I don't have many relatives. In the past, I was just a junior. After my parents passed away, I didn't keep in touch much. Among officials, the only wedding gift I've given so far was to the Prefect."
Song Hemei thought for a moment. The Prefect he mentioned must be the one he rushed back to Linzhou for—the one who had half-adopted a son-in-law for his daughter.
She complained indignantly, "It's all your fault. If you had told me earlier when you left Changzhou, I would have just waited for you at home. You wouldn't have had to chase after him and waste a wedding gift for nothing. Now it's really gone—you'll never get it back!"
Yu Yeqing looked at her with lingering grievance. "If you think it's not appropriate to hold it in Changzhou, then let's do it back in the Capital. I want to marry you."
His words fell one by one, heavy and firm. They weren't the syrupy sweet nothings of a lover, yet Song Hemei felt her heart beat even faster.
Back then, Shao Wen'ang had spoken of romance and moonlight, painting married life as an immortal fairy tale. But in reality, his true plan had been to let her enter the household first, get pregnant, and then sound out his parents' permission before they could have a legitimate marriage certificate.
In comparison, the phrase "I want to marry you" landed with a resounding weight, as if carved deep into his bones, immutable no matter what.
Song Hemei gently shook the hand she was holding. "Marry me then—I'm not saying you can't. I just don't think it needs to be so troublesome."
She made a quick calculation, deciding to find a way to appease him.
"You said that without a marriage certificate, the longer we wait, the more things can go wrong. So why wait until we return to the Capital to file it? Aren't we heading to Pingzhou in a couple of days? Let's get married right there. As for what I said about not having a ceremony—I just mean we don't need to do anything lavish or ostentatious. You're not here to collect wedding gifts. You and I can change into our wedding robes, bow to heaven and earth, and then kowtow to your parents. That's good enough to count as a formal rite."
Yu Yeqing still seemed hesitant. "But I feel like I'm wronging you."
He had witnessed the scale of the Shao-Song wedding with his own eyes.
Back then, the Song family was wealthy—it was no exaggeration to call it a dowry stretching ten miles. The Shao family, unwilling to be outdone by the bride, had also spared no expense in their lavish arrangements.
The more boisterous that day had been, the more insignificant he had felt—so small that he couldn't even compare to a single pebble on the Song estate's ground.
He dared not think: if he were truly fortunate enough to marry her, what could he possibly give her?
He had only a few acres of good farmland and a rundown house. He had nothing.
But now he had something—a residence, wealth. He could hold a ceremony even more extravagant than the one three years ago. Yet it seemed that opportunity had already slipped away.
His dejection and regret were too plain to miss. Song Hemei could feel it. She simply leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Actually, I don't like weddings."
"There's so much that goes into a wedding. On the Song family side, many of our ties have been broken over these past few years. If they found out I'm marrying you, they'd probably come crawling just to curry favor with you. You know Jilang is still young, holding up the family name all on his own. If those scheming people keep clinging to him, how could he handle it? Not to mention—"
Her voice paused, and she coaxed him gently, "Not to mention that the couple isn't supposed to see each other for the days leading up to the wedding. But I don't want to be apart from you. How could I bear not seeing you? So it's better not to have a big affair. Let heaven and earth witness our marriage, let your parents witness it—that's enough. No one ever said a simple wedding isn't valid. Do you think the people in your village never marry?"
She held him and swayed slightly. "Alright, alright. Wedding ceremonies aren't all that interesting anyway. And besides, you could say I'm already half-married to you."
Yu Yeqing, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke. "What do you mean, half-married?"
As he returned her embrace, his chest vibrated gently with his words.
Song Hemei pressed her face against his chest. "Well, isn't marriage just fetching the bride and the bridal chamber? You already took half of that. The day I saw you, I was still wearing my phoenix coronet and red bridal robes. My mother spent a lot of silver to have an embroiderer make them. Shao Wen'ang barely got a look at them—you saw them all."
Yu Yeqing's body stiffened. He fell silent again.
But Song Hemei could hear his heart thumping loudly in his chest.
She couldn't help but find it amusing. "What? Are you shy?"
Yu Yeqing swallowed hard, pulled her even tighter, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. His voice was muffled. "But I hardly even looked."
There was regret in his tone. "I felt it was too disrespectful to you. I didn't dare look much."
"Then there's nothing to be done about that." Song Hemei teased him. "You didn't dare do a lot of things that day. You should thank me."
Yu Yeqing obediently said, without even asking what for, "Thank you."
Song Hemei gently patted him twice on the back, a wider smile on her lips. "Alright, let go of me now. I need to go see my parents. If nothing comes up, I'll go with you tomorrow to pay respects to your parents."
Yu Yeqing gave a muffled "mm" in acknowledgment. When he released her, he still kept hold of her hand. "I'll go with you to pay respects to Old Master Song."
The smile in Song Hemei's eyes faded slightly. She had no intention of discussing it with him. "No need. It's enough for me to go alone. It's not like they don't know you. There's no reason for an extra meeting."
She withdrew her hand, smoothed out her rumpled clothing, and patted herself down. After all, she couldn't go see her parents covered in wrinkles—it would look as if she were deliberately trying to provoke them, signaling what she had been doing in her room.
Having found Yu Yeqing something to do, she had the prepared gifts delivered to her parents' courtyard.
As she walked along the path, Song Hemei's heart was perfectly calm. When she reached the courtyard, her mother was already waiting for her.
She curved her lips into a smile. "Mother, what perfect timing. Lord Yu has prepared quite a few gifts for you and Father. He was very thoughtful."
Her mother did not move. She remained hidden in the shadows, like a frozen clay Bodhisattva.
"Have you made up your mind? You're going to spend your life with him? Mei-niang, a first marriage is always best—Shao…"
"Mother, I am not negotiating with you."
Song Hemei turned her back to her. "Today is the last time I come back. I'm leaving with him for the Capital."
She let out a breath. The smile at the corner of her lips did not fade. "Say something nice, Mother."
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