FID – Chapter 784

Chapter 784 – Even the dogs have gone silent

Wei Lan twitched at the corner of his mouth.

This focus was all wrong.

He was holding Dahong’s hand so obviously — and no one even noticed?

“They’re doing great, doing great. Nannan lived in the King’s Manor for a long time before, so she’s perfectly used to it. No one in the royal family would dare give her trouble; the prince protects her well. Our Lord treats Nannan like his most precious treasure.” Wei Lan smiled as he spoke, raising the hand he was holding and swinging it back and forth.

See that?

See that?

The Liu family: “……”

“At last, someone has managed to tame this fool. Aunt Hong, you’ve worked hard,” Liu Zhiqiu shook his head.

Wei Lan immediately glared. “What fool? What do you mean tamed? Zhiqiu, are you looking to throw hands?!”

Liu Zhiqiu tilted his head up to look at the sky.

Fight with Uncle Lan? What kind of idiot would do that?

Uncle Lan might act silly, but his fists were no joke.

The Liu family all broke into amused laughter, long accustomed to Wei Lan’s unpredictable antics.

Grandma Liu, along with Chen Xiulan and Du Juan, came forward and pulled Wei Hong inside. Her face was cold, but her cheeks were flushed red.

“You two aren’t young anymore. Back when we saw you bickering every day, we used to worry. But now, it’s all turned out well at last. So, when are you planning to get married?”

Liu Muqiu also came over, beaming. “Aunt Hong, once you and Uncle Lan set a date, I’ll embroider your wedding dress!”

“That’s right, we need a proper wedding outfit. Let’s have a good formal ceremony and settle the marriage properly!” Wei Lan was so happy that his eyes practically disappeared into his grin.

“What wedding dress? We’ve lived with blood on the edge of blades; we don’t fuss over such things. A simple ceremony will do,” Wei Hong said.

Both she and Wei Lan were orphans.

In fact, everyone in the Shadow Guard Battalion had no parents, no family — completely alone.

Just having a home was something they’d never dared to dream of before.

In their line of work, death could come at any time. From the moment they became Shadow Guards, none of them had ever imagined that one day they might settle down and build a family with someone.

Now, being able to step away from that life was all thanks to the Prince’s grace.

But it also meant they could never return to the Shadow Guard Battalion again.

“How could it be simple?” Grandma Liu snapped, cutting off the sour ache rising in Wei Hong’s heart.

“No one in our Liu family courtyard marries off so plainly. A marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event. No matter what, it has to be grand and joyous. You don’t know, but the whole village is actually waiting to drink your wedding wine!”

“That’s right! Since you’ve both decided to be together, leave the wedding preparations to the family. You two just have to wait for the ceremony and the bowing rites — don’t worry about anything else!” Grandpa Liu laughed heartily, his eyes full of relief and joy.

Wonderful — all the young ones in the family had found their places and partners. Seeing that made the elders’ hearts content.

What do elders wish for most?

Nothing more than harmony in the family, and to see the younger generation establish their careers and start families of their own.

Once the two elders had spoken, Chen Xiulan and Du Juan also began discussing arrangements.

“We already handled weddings for Zhixia and Nannan, so we’re familiar with the process. Leave the purchasing of wedding supplies to the two of us. Dalin and Erlin will be in charge of the banquet and guest invitations. As for decorating the bridal chamber, let’s leave that to Zhiqiu and Muqiu. And the wedding dress, we’ll leave that to Muqiu as well. Her embroidery skills are excellent. In a month or two, she should be able to finish it. As for small things like the wedding quilt and pillowcases, we can ask the village women to take care of those.”

“This old man doesn’t have many other skills, but I’m good at choosing wine! I’ll select the wine for the wedding banquet. I’ll go to the distillery and pick the best-tasting batch!” Not wanting to be left out, Elder Jiu eagerly took on a task, and incidentally lined up some benefits for himself.

With the wedding as the topic, the Liu family grew more and more animated in their discussions. Even Elder Jiu joined in enthusiastically. Meanwhile, the two people at the center of it all were left with nothing to do.

There really wasn’t anything they needed to handle themselves. All they had to do was wait to bow at the wedding ceremony.

Wei Hong’s eyes widened slightly, and for the first time in years, the coldness in her gaze melted into a surge of warmth that quickly reddened her eyes.

Wei Lan, normally so quick with his words, fell unusually silent at that moment. He rubbed his nose hard to force away the sudden tightness and sting in his chest.

They were outsiders. Only a family like the Lius would treat them as their own, worrying about everything for them.

There was nothing false about this affection.

After a moment of thought, Wei Lan spun around and ran back to his room. When he returned, he was carrying a clay jar, which he stuffed directly into Grandma Liu’s arms.

“Elder Madam, these are the silver notes I’ve saved over the years, along with some gold ingots. Use this for buying wedding supplies and hosting the banquet. It should be enough.”

“Oh my, let me have a look!” Liu Zhiqiu immediately leaned over and started rummaging through the contents of the clay jar. There was a thick stack of silver notes and about a dozen gold ingots, packing the jar to the brim.

Zhiqiu’s eyes sparkled with envy. “Uncle Lan, you made this much money selling sesame flatbreads?”

“Of course! My skills aren’t just talk. They became a real trademark! If I hadn’t come to the Liu family courtyard, I wouldn’t have retired so soon. The customers wouldn’t have let me go! Hahaha!” Wei Lan boasted, laughing loudly.

Wei Hong gave him a swift kick, knocking the laughing man flat on his face.

Shameless.

Selling flatbreads and earning tens of thousands of taels? What a load of shit!

Inside the house, the chatter and playful bickering continued, laughter echoing nonstop.

Having already organized two weddings in the past, the Liu family was exceptionally efficient this time.

In just a few days, nearly everything was bought and ready.

When the carriage brought everything back, quite a few villagers followed along to join in the excitement.

The whole village had known since the very first day that Dahong and Dalan from the Liu family courtyard were getting married.

Everyone was delighted by this marriage.

The villagers had seen plenty of ‘Hong-Lan’ squabbles over the years.

They often fought from the courtyard to the rooftop, and from the rooftop all the way into the neighbors’ vegetable gardens.

By now, even the village dogs didn’t bother barking when they saw the two of them fighting.

They’d seen it too many times.

Though they fought, everyone still believed these two were meant to be together.

In the past, it hadn’t been obvious on the surface, but those with experience could clearly see the chemistry between them.

They had feelings for each other, and it was inevitable that they’d end up together in the end.

To celebrate their marriage, the villagers kept sending gifts to the Liu family courtyard.

There was all sorts of stuff: handmade shoes, tassels to hang from sword hilts, red strings braided into the character for happiness, and even a little boy’s crooked, hand-written scroll wishing them ‘a hundred years of harmony,’ and so on.

The gifts weren’t expensive. Some even made people smile wryly when they saw them, but each one carried heartfelt blessings.

Wei Hong carefully placed all these items in the cupboard of their new room, preserving them as cherished keepsakes.

In a lifetime, it was rare to encounter people so genuine, and the people of Xinghua Village were exactly that.

It was her and Wei Lan’s good fortune.

So they cherished it more than anyone else could understand.

By the time news of their wedding reached the capital, it was already early April, just as spring was beginning to blossom in the city.

When Wei Zi received the letter, his expression didn’t show much change, but for that entire day, everyone in the Shadow Guard Battalion could feel the light-hearted, buoyant energy radiating from their leader.

All of them had chosen this way of life.

Wei Hong and Wei Lan being able to find happiness together was an exceptionally rare case.

Everyone was genuinely happy for them.

Even if, from now on, there might not be much contact between them anymore. Some feelings, as long as you carry them in your heart, are enough.

At the end of April, Wei Hong and Wei Lan received a wedding gift sent from the capital.

It was a stack of silver notes, nothing else.

The Shadow Guards had lived lives balanced on the edge of a blade, drenched in blood. This money, earned with their very lives, was given as their wedding gift.

It was the only gift the Shadow Guard Battalion could offer, and it carried the greatest weight.

Wei Lan and Wei Hong remained silent for a long time.

In the end, they lowered their heads and smiled, their eyes brimming with tears.