Ch5 - Qiao Yingze

Most of the people welcoming the bride buzzed and caused a loud commotion all over the city. Although the palanquin chairman who received red envelopes lifted the palanquin very steadily, it still frequently shook, causing Gong Zhuoliang to subconsciously doze off from time to time. He had to keep holding his crown, and try to stay awake so he could focus his mind and think some ways on how he would deal with tonight’s event.

As the sound of the firecrackers crackled, finally, the palanquin reached its destination and was now being carefully placed on the ground. Gong Zhuoliang hurriedly made the red veil fall in front of his face and properly sat down. After a while, the palanquin door was suddenly pushed open which suddenly caused a roar of laughter outside, then the people outside were heard gently explaining something to a man named Qiao Yingxuan, saying it was inappropriate to kick open the door like that and so on and so on. Then another voice was heard, coming from a man, clear and bright with a hint of embarrassment, who in return told the people outside to keep quiet so as not to scare the bride. 

Gong Zhuoliang’s sight was completely covered with the red veil so he could only imagine and guess the spectacle of the cheerful festivity outside the palanquin, but then it suddenly caused his mood to become a little complex.

He suddenly thought that when everybody found out that the so-called ‘daughter-in-law’ who’s sitting within the big red palanquin and the one who will be coming through their threshold was actually a man, he couldn’t help worrying just how they would vent their anger later on……

Suddenly feeling his sleeves being pulled, when Gong Zhuoliang lowered his eyes and looked from under the veil, he saw a tender hand of a child grabbing his sleeves. He immediately knew that it was Ruo Lan right after hearing her say: ‘Young Lady, please come out of the palanquin‘

Gong Zhuoliang let his sleeves be pulled out three times before finally deciding to step out of the palanquin door together with her. 

As soon as Gong Zhuoliang stepped out of the palanquin, he was supported by the Chaperone and was told to walk over the fire brazier and jump over the horse saddle, before he finally stood on the red carpet. And then he saw the back of a figure clad in red, squatting in front of him, while the Chaperon started chanting beside him, and then the other placed Gong Zhuoliang’s hand on the red figure’s shoulder

Gong Zhuoliang subconsciously laid down on Qiao Yingxuan’s back, and then he saw from under his red veil that the other was also wearing a wedding dress, only, he was not holding a red ribbon. Gong Zhuoliang was suddenly a little curious about the appearance of the younger Qiao. He had already automatically regarded this pair of brothers as the male version of the Qiao sisters.

Unfortunately, under the cover of his red veil, he could only see the other’s shoulders. At this time, Qiao Yingxuan raised and stood up with Gong Zhuoliang on his back who subconsciously wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, causing a chuckle from the other party.

“Don’t be afraid, my big brother is a good person. He will certainly not wrong you in the future, so I hope you will treat him better as well.”

Considering Gong Zhuoliang’s actions as shyness, as Qiao Yingxuan carried the kid’s body which was too thin for him, he whispered those words in a way that only the two of them could hear using a kind and gentle tone. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Mn……”

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The better they treat him well, the harder they will be hit once they know the truth.

Gong Zhuoliang only hoped that his father-in-law and mother-in-law would have a similar attitude as the Gong family. At least they will not have any good feelings for him and will not be good to him, in that way, it’ll also be easier for him to deceive them***…… Why does it feel like I’m being such a masochist?

Qiao Yingxuan carried Gong Zhuoliang until they finally reached the wedding hall. Then he helped him land on the right position, before retreating back, handing over the bridegroom’s position to his elder brother—— Qiao Yingze.

Hearing laughter and urging from the crowd below the audience seat, Gong Zhuoliang knew that it was at this moment when the groom had to hand the red ribbon tied with a flower ball to himself. This was the first time the groom and the bride met each other, and he could notice that the other party was a bit shy. Gong Zhuoliang’s attention was fully concentrated on him, and he didn’t know what he was so nervous about.

Finally, the figure approaching in a red dress arrived. Gong Zhuoliang looked down and stared at his own sleeves under his red veil, and then saw a pair of beautiful hands holding and reaching out a ribbon to him. 

It was thin and slender however he couldn’t see the rest since it’s barely exposed in his sleeves. But he could see that the fingers looked meticulously cared for, and the complexion of his skin was very fair and clear. He could only guess the character of the person itself by looking at the owner’s hand, that’s why Gong Zhuoliang couldn’t help but be more curious about the appearance of his ‘Husband’…. Beauty is always loved by everyone, and Gong Zhuoliang who’s very open-minded to this is not an exception. For him, in beauty, there should be no difference between men and women.

Suddenly, the hand that reached out to him halted. Gong Zhuoliang heard an awkward cough from the other party, and then the audiences who’d been watching the two cheered even more loudly for them. Gong Zhuoliang became quite worried for the person in front of him.

As he internally and repeatedly reminded himself to be calm and reserved, Gong Zhuoliang planned to reach out for the ribbon and get it by himself.

But then Qiao Yingze’s hand finally grabbed the small hand under Gong Zhuoliang’s sleeve and placed one hand on the silk ribbon to hold it, and then the connected red silk ball is now hanging down between the two of them. 

The hand….. felt so good, ah

Gong Zhuoliang has a bit of a hand fetish, but not too severe. The reason for it is kind of due to his pretentiousness, since it was because of how elegant some idol had been when playing the piano. Later on, it got to the point when he started to like stroking and squeezing his little editor’s hands, but anyway, Qiao Yingze’s hands were to Gong Zhuoliang’s liking.

After the time passed similarly on how it took an incense to burnit was finally time to worship the heaven and the earth.

Gong Zhuoliang walked towards the main halls of the heaven and earth after hearing the oral command of the Celebrant. Once the two couples finished worshiping each other, the audience below instantly cheered and clapped their hands.

There’s this known custom called ‘robbing in this era, and that is, whomever bowed to worship first will be the one managing the household in the future. There was this rumor―which is more like a joke― that during one wedding, the newlywed husband and wife were fighting over the matter which then caused the Groom to be furious at the end and left the hall with a swirl of his sleeves. 

Gong Zhuoliang doesn’t care about these things, and so he only knelt down right after the Celebrant finished declaring the couple’s worship, but unexpectedly, the person beside him only managed to bow after him, yet his face was still wearing an undisturbed expression after that.

Although he couldn’t see the other person’s face through the red veil covering his face, Gong Zhuoliang felt as if he could hear the other person’s voice saying: I’ll yield to everything you say in the future….

For some reason, Gong Zhuoliang’s heart tightened. Although this was such a little detail for him to notice, Gong Zhuoliang could still sense the genuine gentleness of the person who’s kneeling in front of him. If he were to actually marry a real woman, that would’ve been really good. What a pity.

Gong Zhuoliang wasn’t given a long time to fall into a deep trance. As soon as the choir finished singing, the audiences’ blessings instantly exploded within the hall. Don’t even think about rushing to your bridal chambers and getting a good night’s sleep, in fact, Gong Zhuoliang’s headache was only about to begin. 

The next thing the newlyweds will have to do is to bow down to one elder and to another in accord to the list provided by the Celebrant…

Although the Qiao Family’s relatives did not stay over in the city for long, the relatives that the old Maser Qiao called over had already moved in for the past few years as a palace official while only a few defected. And so they kept kneeling all the way to the end until Gong Zhuoliang started getting a little dizzy.
　　
Subconsciously, Gong Zhuoliang looked over at Qiao Yingze from under the red veil and noticed that his figure was somehow a little shaky. Out of reflex, Gong Zhuoliang hurriedly supported the other’s arm. Because he didn’t want some trouble to happen today, even after they knelt down and already stood up, he kept supporting him in order to give him some more power to hold on.

Observing Gong Zhuoliang’s small actions from the eyes of the audiences, it naturally caused a burst of laughter to them. But it was unknown whether the laughter was out of provocation or jealousy. In a deprecatory way, the Groom today is somehow more ‘delicate‘ than the Bride.

Gong Zhuoliang is not the type of person who took seriously what cheap people say, but when he noticed that Qiao Yingze’s body suddenly froze upon hearing those words, he subconsciously patted the hand holding his arm. And then he sensed that the other party seemed to take a look at him. Right after a moment, the other party suddenly grasped his hands and then pulled him in to continue kneeling down in front of an another elder. 

“…”

Guessing that the other seemed unwilling to let go of his hand, Gong Zhuoliang felt quite awkward, but he couldn’t free himself from the other so he had no choice but to let the other keep holding him. They kept this posture the whole time right until the worshipping ended and then they’re finally approaching the bridal chamber.

As they approached their bridal chamber, there was an another particular ritual that they must act out.

Five sacks were laid on the ground, and the Groom will have to lead the Bride to walk over it with the silk fabric, then they would take turns to use those five sacks to pave their way. This ritual actually meant ‘Inheriting the Ancestral Lineage‘ and ‘To Encounter the Five Generations‘, or something…. 

Right when Gong Zhuoliang saw those five stacks, it instantly caused him to mentally make a face of: 囧…. After all, he really couldn’t fulfill this task at all…..

Finally, they safely arrived at their bridal chamber. Gong Zhuoliang sat firmly beside the bed and the Chaperone immediately came over with a weighing pole, then asked the Groom to lift his red veil. Gong Zhuoliang instantly adjusted his expression, relaxed his brows and made a genuine gaze to put on an honest expression.

After a moment, the top of his crown was lightly tapped, and what immediately appeared in front of Gong Zhuoliang was a face that was elegant and handsome, like a crown jade.

….What a beautiful young man ah… 

The person in front of him could be sixteen or seventeen years old, and although his face was already quite mature, his facial features still had the kind of childishness of a teenager. It was unknown whether it was due to his recovery from a serious illness or his nurturing height, but Qiao Yingze’s figure looked very thin. His face is pale and a bit haggard, but it’s this weak temperament that shone his delicateness, giving people an urge to protect and take care of this pale beauty from the bottom of their hearts.
　　
At least for Gong Zhuoliang― who is a grown man to some extent― towards Qiao Yingze who he met for the first time, a sudden small fleeting desire to protect the person in front of him has started to grow in his heart.

Under the gaze of the other’s eyes, Gong Zhuoliang noticed that the young handsome man on the opposite side of him was blushing while those eyes that were originally gazing at him had already slightly moved away. Gong Zhuoliang blinked, realizing that he must’ve been staring too brazenly and quickly lowered his eyes, sighing in his heart. This person is more pleasing to the eye than he’d expected, and his nature seems to be good, so he must be easier to deceive….Communication! It’s good to start off with communication, ah!

After taking off the red veil and going through the process of sprinkling lotus seeds and longans, a bunch of relatives and friends immediately rushed into the bridal chamber. Seeing Gong Zhuoliang’s appearance, they were full of admiration and praise while they lamented how enviable Qiao Yingze is for marrying such a beautiful girl which made him a little embarrassed. The Groom’s face also turned even redder than his. 

But even so, Qiao Yingze still didn’t forget to protect his little wife, and did his best to stop everyone’s teasing and blocked those who created trouble for Gong Zhuoliang. At first, Gong Zhuoliang only responded to them with an awkward polite smile, but as they became more of a nuisance, he really couldn’t care less anymore and started acting flirty and touchy with Qiao Yingze, while in secret, Gong Zhuoliang frowned at them.

Although he was told before that during the wedding night would be the most chaotic time, as a bride, he was repeatedly warned that he shouldn’t be angered easily, otherwise he would lose his image of generosity and be mocked at, and so on and so on.

However Gong Zhuoliang was really not used to shrunk down whenever people started speaking obscene words at him, especially when some of them would pull wicked tricks on him, and lastly when their claws tried to touch Qiao Yingze.

As Gong Zhuoliang rolled his eyes, he embraced Qiao Yingze’s waist and started snuggling into his arms. He was using his body to block those hovering claws that were about to touch them, and then he gave them a bright smile, causing those guests who hadn’t yet laid a finger to the Bride to leave with regret. 

When everyone finally dispersed and had now crowded at the front hall for the drinks and feasts, the room finally had some more space and everything quieted down. Qiao Yingze instantly sat by the bed when he finally couldn’t endure it anymore and huffed softly as a string of sweat flowed down his forehead.

Originally, after the wedding was over, the Bride and the Groom had to go out of the chamber to toast with the guests, keeping each other company throughout the whole banquet, them they could come back again for a drink, finally finishing the ceremony. But Qiao Yingze’s body couldn’t hold it anymore, so the only choice left for them to make is to ask for the younger brother be the one to entertain the guest to take their place. Qiao Yingze has been able to hold on until now, and this is already much better than everyone had expected.

“Are you okay?”

Qiao Yingze’s pale face made Gong Zhuoliang a little worried. He was hesitating whether to help him to lean over the bed or not but the next moment, he was awakened by the two words that the other man said and almost twitched. 

It was a voice that was extremely gentle, filled with indulgence: “My wife…”

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TL/N:
My heart literally raced two times for Qiao Yingze!! He’s so sweet aaaa! ♡(> ਊ <)♡

And we'll finally get to read Qiao Yingze's dialogues and thoughts by next chapter~~
Please look forward to it~ ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)