Chapter 4

Cui Jiu was invited to my wedding. While helping the groom get past the bridal gate, he composed several splendid, memorable poems. The young women barring the door were so dazzled by his charm that they barely resisted before letting him in.

The men were less easily satisfied. My brothers and cousins blocked the way with staffs. The groom, Pei Yao, stepped forward alone, swept seven or eight staffs together, and pressed down with his arms, taking every one of them. Finding themselves disarmed in the blink of an eye, the men shouted and charged. With a few casual twists of his hands, Pei Qi sent them spinning like tops and tumbling into a heap. The garden filled with the young women’s cries and everyone’s cheers.

I had heard that Pei Qi had lived beyond the frontier for years, was a skilled horseman and archer, and possessed astonishing strength. Judging by this display, he really was formidable.

My sisters, who had gone ahead to scout, came back to whisper in my ear. Pei Qi was indeed a bear of a man, they said, with three heads, six arms, a blue face, and fangs. One blow from those fists the size of bowls would smash anyone present to pieces. And those blue eyes—the longer you looked at them, the more frightening they became.

They gathered to tease me, lamenting that a lovely flower was being planted in cow dung. How would I ever get along with such a rough man after the wedding?

But I regarded Pei Qi as my lifeline and had long since prepared for the worst.

So what if he was a wild bull? Better than that sanctimonious Cui Jiu. Better still than a cup of poisoned wine in the palace.

The groom arrived. Hiding my face behind a fan, I was carried on Father’s back to the bridal sedan. I glimpsed a figure nowhere near as massive as my sisters had described, but could not make out his face.

When I stepped out of the sedan and prepared for the groom to carry me into the Duke of Cheng’s residence, I froze at the sight of the beautiful young man before me, black-haired and blue-eyed.

Who was this? Where was the great black bear with the blue face and fangs?

His face had a strong, angular shape, yet his features were exquisitely fine, almost luxuriantly beautiful. There was nothing feminine about him, though, with that air of a man accustomed to killing. His blue eyes were vast as the sea. Even his magnificent red robes could not outshine his looks.

I was so astonished that I forgot to breathe, let alone take his offered hand.

Seeing me stare, he lowered his lashes slightly, withdrew his hand, and abruptly turned his back to me, bending his knees.

I had scarcely climbed onto his back when he stood. In alarm, I flung my arms around his neck. His steps paused, then resumed as before.

As we entered the gate and approached the brazier, I tried to reach for him, but he was walking swiftly ahead without looking back.

He was half a head taller than I was, his long legs moving briskly. I gathered my skirt and hurried after him. Behind me, Qiuying failed to keep up. The train slipped from her hands and was about to fall into the brazier.

Qiuying cried out. Pei Qi whirled around, caught me beneath the arms with astonishing speed, and lifted me, sending me “flying” two steps forward.

I looked back at my train. It rose in a lovely wave, floated over the bright yellow flames, traced a graceful arc, and settled slowly onto the red carpet.

The guests’ cheers thundered around us. To me, the world seemed quiet, the noise far away.

The moment my feet touched the ground, my heart still racing, he released me as hastily as if he had been burned and rubbed his fingertips together. He was about to stride off again when he glanced back and saw me running after him with my long train in my hands. At last realizing something was wrong, he pressed his lips together, tightened that handsome jaw, and slowed down.

I seized the chance to catch up.

At the saddle we were meant to step over, he started forward, then seemed to remember something. He glanced at me and hesitantly offered an arm.

I took his forearm. The muscle beneath my fingers was firm and strong, utterly unlike the men I usually met. Up close, even the spirits and sandalwood could not mask that faint scent of… musk.

My breath caught. I forced my unsteady legs over the saddle, only to trip on my skirt again and fall into a solid pair of arms.

When I looked up, Pei Yao’s finely shaped chin was right before me. Another inch and my nose would have touched his Adam’s apple.

The next moment, he set me firmly upright, said, “Watch where you’re walking,” and strode away again without looking back.

I sighed.

Beautiful as my husband was, he apparently did not care much for me.

Fair enough. Even I disliked the idea of using my marriage to win over the Pei family for my aunt. Having been so effortlessly dragged into our schemes, how could they feel no resentment?

Even after I had bowed to his elders and sat on the bridal bed beneath its canopy, I could not settle down. His sea-blue eyes kept appearing before me. My hands could not forget the firmness of his arm beneath the silk, and his unmistakable scent seemed to linger at my nose…

A blue-faced brute with fangs?

Bah. Those little liars.

I was lost in thought, biting my lip to keep from smiling, when Qiuying rushed in, flustered. “My lady, something has happened. The duke himself unwrapped a painting Ninth Young Master Cui sent. But… but…”

Already uneasy, I forced myself to remain calm. “But what?”

“Besides his own name, the painting also… also bears yours…”