The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 49
“Wenxuan.” Li Yiran was very happy to see his younger brother. “Good boy, you’ve settled down so quickly!”
“Hehe, fate can’t be stopped!” grinned like a child in front of his brother.
Looking at his unconcealed happiness, Li Yiran truly felt glad for him. It’s a blessing to marry the right person…
He sighed lightly, and Li Wenxuan, ever perceptive, noticed it. “Brother, what’s wrong? Are you worried about something?”
“No, how could I be worried on your wedding day?” Li Yiran smiled and patted his head.
Speaking of the wedding, Li Wenxuan couldn’t stop laughing. “Xiaoman is a great person. You and brother-in-law will definitely like him. By the way, did brother-in-law go in to rest?” He peeked inside.
Li Yiran’s smile faded slightly. “Your brother-in-law is pregnant. Traveling would be inconvenient for him, so I asked him to rest at home.”
“Oh, that’s fine. The baby’s more important. Xiaoman and I will visit another day.” Noticing the change in his brother’s expression, Li Wenxuan quickly shifted the subject. “Brother, did you see Le ge’er? He’s so much fun these days…”
As he listened, Li Yiran smiled without realizing it.
When it was time for dinner, Father Li came down from the mountain, washed his hands, and walked into the main hall. Seeing his two sons together, he brightened. “Yiran, you’re back!”
“Father, I’m back!”
“Still busy with official duties? It’s rare to have time off—stay home and rest for a few days.”
Li Yiran just smiled and didn’t respond. He didn’t have the final say when it came to government work, and it was already a great privilege to attend Li Wenxuan’s wedding banquet.
In truth, he had something else on his mind.
The year their grandfather and grandmother passed away, he had just earned the title of (scholar), full of youthful pride. But fate wasn’t kind—after mourning was over, the household could no longer afford for him to continue his studies.
He later became an aide (shuye) to the county magistrate, and through circumstance, married the magistrate’s nephew. Since then, he had remained in his post as a scholar-serving clerk.
The provincial examinations were held every three years, and next year was another big examination year. He had never given up; he refused to let trivial duties consume his life.
If he could quit being a legal advisor and focus on his studies for a few months, he believed he could climb even higher. After Wenxuan’s wedding, he planned to bring it up and see how the family responded…
To marry Tian Xiaoman, the Li family had already prepared everything. The banquet supplies were all ready.
Li Wenxuan had originally wanted to use for Tian Xiaoman, but the distance between Willow Slope and Xing Tian Village was too great. If they tried, the bearers would collapse before halfway.
So instead, he focused on decorating Daxia—the horse—with fine red ornaments, and even replaced all the drapery with red silk.
Two days ago, he received the wedding clothes sent from the Tian family. As soon as he got them, he couldn’t wait to try them on.
They fit perfectly. Xiaoman really understood him! (Though he selectively forgot that Tian Amu had also measured him that day.)
Once he put them on, he didn’t want to take them off. He secretly made up his mind that all his clothes in the future would be made by Tian Xiaoman!
On the sixth day of the eleventh lunar month, an auspicious day for everything, Li Wenxuan led the procession and set off from Willow Tree Slope, music and drums all the way.
Tian Xiaoman was dragged out of bed early and bathed in a tub. By the time he came out, his whole body was red, like a cooked prawn.
Dressed in bright red wedding robes, he sat before the dressing table as the “auspicious Amu” began the ritual.
To Tian Xiaoman, the “face-opening” process felt downright brutal. The “auspicious Amu” used five-colored silk thread and tweezers to remove every bit of fuzz on his face—it was painful he thought he might die!
But when he touched his skin afterward and felt how smooth it was, he cheered up again.
After that came the makeup. When he saw the red pigment being brushed onto his face, his heart nearly stopped. Was the goal to make him look like a monkey’s backside?
“Grandmu, don’t make it so red—just a little bit, alright?”
Hearing this, Tian Amu quickly cut in. “Grandmu, don’t listen to him. The redder, the more prosperous! Redder is better!”
Tian Xiaoman was helpless. He couldn’t argue—there was no winning this argument. If he protested again, his Amu would probably grab his ear—wedding day or not.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, face red as if painted onto a wall, Tian Xiaoman wailed silently inside. He just hoped he wouldn’t scare Li Wenxuan to death!
After the makeup was done, there wasn’t much left to do. The “auspicious Amu” was politely ushered out by Tian Amu to have tea, leaving Tian Xiaoman, Yang Xiaoguo, Liu Sheng, and An Jing alone in the room.
An Jing was an old childhood friend of his and also the ge’er son of Master Tian Shou’s apprentice, Tian Yi. Their whole family had come back for the wedding.
As his name implied, An Jing was gentle and intelligent. Sitting at the bedside, he smiled warmly as Liu Sheng teased Xiaoman.
Once the others had left, Liu Sheng crept over, closed the door, and bolted it.
The others looked at him curiously.
He gestured for them to come closer and pulled something from his sleeve.
When everyone saw it was a book, they weren’t impressed at first. Three of them were terrible at reading, and only An Jing knew a decent number of characters. He took the book from Liu Sheng and flipped it open—then instantly blushed and tossed it on the bed.
“Liu Sheng, why are you showing us this kind of book?!”
Liu Sheng grinned wickedly. “Xiaoman’s getting married, isn’t he? Don’t we all want to learn this stuff early?”
He climbed onto the bed, picked up the book, and shoved it back into An Jing’s hands.
An Jing looked like he was holding lit firecrackers—ready to explode. He didn’t know whether to throw it or keep holding it.
Tian Xiaoman and Yang Xiaoguo had been sneaking peeks.
Curious, Yang Xiaoguo sat beside An Jing, took the book, and flipped through it. “Hey… why aren’t the people in here wearing clothes?”
An Jing covered his ears and shut his eyes—refusing to look or listen.
Tian Xiaoman heard that and rushed over. “Let me see! Let me see!”
He snatched the book and flipped through it himself. Because of the heavy makeup, it was impossible to tell whether he blushed, but his face felt burning hot. Even so, he pushed past his embarrassment and kept reading.
Tonight is my wedding night. If I don’t know anything, won’t I embarrass myself in front of Wenxuan?
Liu Sheng leaned close, whispering explanations as they studied the pages together.
Yang Xiaoguo, losing interest quickly, settled back to snack on the plate of wedding sweets.
An Jing sat with his head down, ears red as fire, lost in his own thoughts…
Storyteller Valeraverucaviolet's Words
Finally managed to get around to translating this novel. Sorry for the long hiatus. I had to finish the other novels first before I can focus on this one. Advanced chapters, as my usual trend, will drop monday to saturday. Free chapter will drop every thursday and saturday.