During the Grain Buds season, the most prosperous city in the Rong Kingdom, Rongchu Water City, welcomed a grand event. The Pei family, the city’s most famous merchants, had their Little Young Master, Pei Ziying, about to be married!
Rongchu City was built along the water, and its common folk relied on fishing, textiles, and water management for their livelihood.
As the head of the Four Great Clans of Rongchu City, the Pei family naturally monopolized dozens of wharfs, controlling the lifeblood of the entire Rong Kingdom’s water transport. One could say they were rolling in wealth.
Speaking of the Family Head of the Pei family, Pei Lianyi, he was an even more enviable figure. He started in business at thirteen, a stunning talent. At sixteen, he attended a solitary meeting and could go head-to-head with a General who had used troops to seize the waterways. By twenty, he had single-handedly transformed Rongchu into the Rong Kingdom’s premier illustrious city, making even the court wary.
And yet, such a legendary person was actually going to marry his beloved son off to a man whose family had fallen from grace—and that man was another man! This truly made the common folk drop their glasses in shock and buzz with discussion.
Some said Pei Lianyi had been unstable ever since his wife died…
Others said he was obsessed with wanting a ready-made son! That’s why he’d do something so bizarre as taking a live-in son-in-law for his only son.
Still others wondered if the Little Young Master Pei was ill and needed an auspicious marriage, even if it was a male-male union, to counteract the bad luck?
As the wedding day approached, amidst the swirling rumors, everyone turned their attention to that live-in son-in-law. They said the Huo family lad, catching a ride on the Pei family’s coattails, had stumbled into luck as blindly as a fish caught in the dark.
The man Pei Lianyi had forced on his son was none other than the only son of the Huo family, who were up to their ears in debt in the business world—Huo Jingzhao.
Huo Jingzhao’s ancestors had been hunters, later switching to running a restaurant. Initially, the business was smooth sailing, but good times didn’t last. The Old Master Huo picked up some unclean habits and quickly squandered the family fortune. By the time the business passed to Huo Jingzhao’s father, all that remained was a restaurant barely surviving.
Misfortune never comes singly. After Madam Huo fell seriously ill and the restaurant was mortgaged by Huo’s father, the Huo family went downhill from there.
With the family business in decline, the burden fell on the eldest son, Huo Jingzhao. At twenty-four, Huo Jingzhao was at the prime age for intelligence and hard work.
Everyone thought he could lead the Huo family back to prosperity. But to their surprise, Huo Jingzhao had absolutely no talent for business, even more clueless than a street stall vendor.
Simply put, he was too honest, too set in his ways.
No matter when, even if someone was brawling in the restaurant or refusing to pay, Huo Jingzhao would always meet them with a smiling face, never arguing or losing his temper. Not only that, he was charitable and generous, often giving silver and meals to the poor, saving many lives.
Rongchu City was overflowing with materialism, and everyone said there were no honest merchants. In the public’s eyes, a soft-tempered, good-natured man like Huo Jingzhao would be lucky not to lose his last pair of pants. How could he ever manage any big business?!
And Pei Lianyi’s son, Pei Ziying, was a genuine little tyrant. Huo Jingzhao being picked by the Pei family as their “ideal husband” was a joy for one family and sorrow for another.
Entering the deep waters of a wealthy house leads to hardship. Huo’s mother worried that her son would suffer bullying in the Pei family and was bedridden several times because of this matter.
Rumors of selling a son for glory ran rampant. Huo’s father, feeling the sting of public scorn, also drowned his sorrows in drink all day.
Huo Jingzhao himself had no particular reaction. He went about his usual routine of doing chores at home, going to the academy to write letters for others, and occasionally heading to the wharf to move cargo and get some fresh air. It seemed he had long been prepared for the marriage.
Thus, this wedding, which had so captivated the public’s attention and fueled countless teahouse discussions, drew closer amidst the sweltering heat and noise of summer.
At noon, under a blazing sun, a bridal procession stretching nearly ten li, like a cluster of red dragons, stopped outside the Huo residence.
According to custom, Huo Jingzhao was first to lead the procession to the Pei Manor to pick up the Little Young Master Pei, and then return with him to the Huo family home to bow to heaven, earth, and parents.
Since Huo Jingzhao was a matrilocal son-in-law marrying into the bride’s family, the Pei family provided the manpower and resources for the procession.
The eight-carrier sedan chair was inlaid with emerald beads, shimmering a cool, clear wave under the scorching sun.
For the only son Pei Lianyi cherished most, this wedding was extravagantly lavish to the extreme. Dozens of chests filled with gold and jade were carried along, dizzying to behold.
But faced with a city draped in red silk and festive colors, Huo Jingzhao was not as excited as the common folk. He still strictly adhered to custom, politely refusing the servant’s offer of a horse and instead walking the distance to the Pei Manor gates in the unbearable midday heat.
“Hey, that Huo lad is really so stubborn…!”
Watching the groom walk until half his clothes were soaked with sweat, the servants waiting outside the Pei Manor all exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.
And when the man finally arrived at the entrance, the crowd collectively gasped at his face.
Though today was a joyous occasion, a live-in son-in-law’s status was lowly. According to custom, Huo Jingzhao wasn’t allowed to outshine the Little Young Master Pei. So he wore only a red gauze robe embroidered with a water-and-cloud pattern, a black belt inlaid with lustrous yellow dragon jade, and simple black brocade boots embroidered with a Falcon totem on the side. This outfit would be considered quite grand in an ordinary household, but outside the Pei Manor gates, it screamed only two words: shabby!
Even so, Huo Jingzhao’s tall, lean figure and handsome face made it difficult for anyone present to look away.
With the hot wind rustling around him, his soft smile as he lowered his lashes was like a cool, gentle breeze, carrying a natural air of warmth and refreshment.
No wonder the little beggars at the beggar temple sang: How high is the sky? Not as high as a man’s heart. The Huo family bore a fine son, gentle, cultured, and good. Do not bully this fine son, for fortunes turn like the river, now east, now west.
However, after today, stepping across the threshold of the Pei Manor, Huo Jingzhao would no longer just be the son of the Huo family.
“The new Son-in-law has come to fetch the bride!” Seeing Huo Jingzhao halt by the sedan chair, the Wedding Officiant at the door cried out loudly.
“Many thanks.” Huo Jingzhao cupped his hands in a bow to everyone. His voice was as gentle as his person.
Watching his dark, deep eyes, like pools of water, all the women present felt their hearts race and faces flush.
The Wedding Officiant returned the gesture and cried again: “The Groom kicks the sedan chair—”
“Kick the sedan chair—! Kick the sedan chair—!” The surrounding crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of Little Young Master Pei, also joined in the urging.
Huo Jingzhao straightened up then, smiling. “Right away.”
Saying this, he raised his right foot, aimed at the firmly shut sedan chair door.
The onlookers held their breath, watching this scene expectantly.
With Huo Jingzhao’s powerful kick, a “Thump!” sounded, and the wooden door of the sedan chair instantly shattered into splinters. The Wedding Officiant, seeing this, quickly shouted, “Please come out, Newlywed!” But there was no movement from within the sedan chair.
When the officiant called for the third time and there was still no answer, the bridal attendant beside the chair could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and, trembling, lifted the red curtain.
“No… it’s bad! The Little Young Master Pei… he’s gone!”
A cry of alarm, and the entire crowd erupted. The empty sedan chair compartment, now exposed for all to see, made everyone freeze in disbelief.
Huo Jingzhao stood in place, silently gazing at the wedding robe inside the sedan chair that had been cut to shreds. His handsome face showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
For a newlywed to flee on the day of their wedding—no family could endure such shame!
The previously jubilant area outside the Pei Manor gates immediately descended into chaos. Some frantically dispatched people to search for the Little Young Master’s whereabouts, others cleaned up the shredded clothing, and still others, with the joyful event now canceled, clamored to pack up and return home…
And in a corner they overlooked, the courteous and handsome groom looked up at the plaque of the Pei Manor. A trace of coldness flickered in the depths of his dark eyes.
Inside the manor beyond the threshold, Pei Lianyi was watering flowers in the backyard when he received the “dreadful news” of his son’s escape.
It was the peak of summer. The rosy Crystal Room reflected a slender, fair figure.
This person was dressed in expensive, milky-white Floating Light Brocade. His long, raven-black hair cascaded down his slim waist like a waterfall, tied at the end with a red cord. He was barefoot among the full bloom of flowers, carrying a somewhat lazy, just-woken-up air.
Spring water dripped from the watering pot in his hand onto a magnolia. When he turned around, his dignified face was even more captivating than the orchid by three degrees.
His eyes were long and narrow, his nose high and straight, his lip line exquisitely sculpted. His skin and bone structure were maintained like a maiden in the inner chambers, yet his movements and gestures carried the erect, imposing manner of a mature man.
“Master, something… something’s happened…” At that moment, the Steward cautiously approached the entrance of the Crystal Room and spoke softly.
Pei Lianyi stroked the petals with his hand and said calmly, “Speak slowly.”
He cherished these flowers dearly. Even on the day of his beloved son’s marriage, he was unwilling to entrust them to others, having to see them drink their fill of water himself.
Another reason was that he believed the people in his manor would handle things properly.
With him in charge, nothing would ever go out of control. It had always been this way.
