Chapter 298: 298. Storm and Heavy Rain

Translator: 549690339

Early in the morning, when Su Liang got up for exercise, she saw that Gu Ling’s room door was open, the quilt was neatly folded, and he was already gone.

At the same time, Duanmu Yi received a message that the spy monitoring Gu Ling had confirmed that he had left Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion at night and went to Su Mansion, where he spent the night and returned at dawn.

This led Duanmu Yi to believe that Gu Ling’s “sleepwalking” in the past few days was to meet Su Liang.

The fact was indeed the case, confirming the point that “the two were set for life due to the feelings that arose during the trip to Liang Country.”

“I originally thought he was a gentleman.” Duanmu Yi snorted coldly. He hadn’t even gotten married yet, and he went to Su Liang’s place to sleep? It made him see another side of Gu Ling.

However, one thing Su Liang overthought was that Duanmu Yi really did not intend to interfere with her marriage and had no plan to send someone to get rid of Gu Ling, at least for now.

As an emperor, Duanmu Yi has always been very restrained in terms of women. Even if he had the idea of letting Su Liang enter the palace, it was only because of the falling boulder, not because he had any lustful intentions towards Su Liang. This was also one of the reasons why Duanmu Chen’s words could persuade him.

Today, Nian Jincheng took a break and specifically went to the Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion to find Gu Ling. When he saw Gu Ling, he was holding a pair of specially made flower shears, trimming the trees brought from Yao City.

In the early spring season, grass and trees sprouted, and the gloomy Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion gained some spots of green.

“Aling, I wanted to come and see you yesterday.” Nian Jincheng walked over with big strides and got straight to the point, “This time you’re really getting married to Su Liang, right?” There was no place to hide around, so there was no need to worry about being overheard.

Nian Jincheng asked this because the first time he saw Su Liang, it was on the night of her marriage to Gu Ling in Su Family Village. And he had witnessed Su Liang and Gu Ling’s second fake marriage in Yao City of Liang Country.

Three times! If it’s another show, Nian Jincheng would probably not be able to resist punching Gu Ling to make him sober up.

Under Nian Jincheng’s eager gaze, Gu Ling snipped off a tree branch, bent down to pick it up, and said, “Here, this is for you.”

Nian Jincheng speechlessly took the leafless tree branch, “What do I need this

“Take it back to Yang Yu. If she wants to hit you, she can use it.” Gu Ling walked toward another tree with a faint expression on his face.

Nian Jincheng followed with a dark face, wanting to throw the tree branch in Gu Ling’s face, “Don’t try to change the subject! Answer my question! Are you really sincere about getting married to Su Liang?

Gu Ling nodded slightly, “Yes.”

Nian Jincheng’s face relaxed, “You are really getting married? When did you decide?”

“The night before the engagement. Su Liang proposed it.” Gu Ling said.

Nian Jincheng was somewhat surprised, “So Su Liang actively proposed to get married to you?”

Gu Ling nodded, “Yes.”

Nian Jincheng laughed, “Are you very happy?

Gu Ling did not speak, and Nian Jincheng took it as an acknowledgment.

“That’s great. Your matter with Su Liang is finally settled, and we can rest assured.” Nian Jincheng patted Gu Ling’s shoulder as if he had accomplished something significant, “Yang Yu said that when our two families have children, we will set up a marriage between them. You will not refuse, right?”

Gu Ling pointed the scissors at Nian Jincheng and said three words expressionlessly, “Impossible.”

Nian Jincheng frowned, “Why not?”

“My child, whether or not they want to marry, and who they want to marry, they will choose for themselves.” Gu Ling’s expression was faint. And whether he would have children depended entirely on Su Liang.

“Well then.” Nian Jincheng could only give up. He glanced at the only courtyard of Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion, “You might as well marry into the Su family. If the emperor has any objections, you can remove the plaque of Marquis Changxin Mansion and hang it on the gate of Su Mansion. This place will be just a garden. After you marry Su Liang, if you don’t want to be disturbed, you can come and live here occasionally.”

Gu Ling thought Nian Jincheng’s suggestion was not bad. Nowadays, more and more people were in Su Mansion, and he still missed the days when he and Su Liang lived as a couple.

From beginning to end, Gu Ling did not tell a single lie to Nian Jincheng, but he perfectly covered the secret between him and Su Liang.

Nian Jincheng didn’t even have a chance to drink tea and went home to report to Yang Yu with a tree branch.

When Gu Ling arrived at Yuanming Pavilion that night, Su Liang was fiddling with a pile of medicinal materials. She glanced up at him and continued to be busy with her work, “Today, Yang Yu came and asked whether our wedding is real.”

Gu Ling washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and naturally began to sort the residues of the medicinal materials that Su Liang had processed, “How did you answer?”

“If I dared say it was fake, Yang Yu would have definitely hit me.” Su Liang said with a light smile, “In a way, it is indeed true. We are getting married for the sake of getting married, not for any other purpose.”

She and Gu Ling used marriage to become married, so as to avoid the possibility of their marriage being interfered with.

Gu Ling nodded in agreement.

“Yang Yu was very happy. She said that there was too little time and I didn’t have any. She would be in charge of the wedding dress, new bedding and the like.” Su Liang said, “She asked me what kind of wedding dress I like so that the embroiderer can make it. I only had one request, to keep it simple. In Yao City, I was almost crushed by the phoenix crown and the sunset clothes.”

Gu Ling thought that he had originally planned to make a wedding dress for Su Liang himself, but now there was really not enough time. Besides, this time it was true for him, not for Su Liang. He had to do everything according to her, and it was secondary to establish their status first.

Su Liang raised his head at Gu Ling and smiled. “Great God, when we get married, would you like to wear a wedding dress for me to take a look? I won’t let anyone else see and I swear I won’t tell anyone. I’m just curious how beautiful you would look in women’s clothing.”

Gu Ling shook his head, “No.”

“Alright,” Su Liang expressed his regret. “I’ll find an opportunity to get you to agree in the future.”

Gu Ling: …perhaps, after they really become husband and wife…

Duanmu Yi thought that Gu Ling and Su Liang had become intimate before their marriage, but in reality, there was nothing ambiguous about their nightly rendezvous. Su Liang would teach Gu Ling what she had learned from Laobai about poison techniques during the day, and at the same time, she could consolidate her memory, achieving two goals at once.

Su Liang and Gu Ling’s marriage preparations were proceeding in an orderly manner. Both their close friends and family were busy preparing, but the two of them didn’t worry about it themselves.

It was well known that their wedding would take place in the Su Mansion, and after the wedding, Gu Ling would move into the Su Mansion. This was clearly a case of Gu Ling marrying into Su Liang’s family.

However, the special aspect was that both Su Liang and Gu Ling were people without families. Consequently, their actions had nothing to do with their families and no one could interfere, particularly when it came to financial matters. With no elderly or younger members or siblings in their families, they naturally had the freedom to do as they pleased.

The time quickly approached February 12th, and in three more days, it would be their wedding day.

As for their wedding ceremony, Old Master Qin and Lin Shuzhi had already completed the formalities on behalf of Gu Ling and Su Liang.

Several tens of boxes were filled with gifts from both Qi Jun and Ren Dong, but no one could determine the purpose of them, whether they were betrothal gifts or dowry, just as Su Liang had said. In the end, they brought them back to the warehouse.

That evening, Su Liang and Gu Ling discussed the process of their wedding day.

“I don’t mind marrying into the Marquis Chang Xin Mansion. But there isn’t even a proper place for the wedding there. So, it’s not convenient to entertain guests,” Su Liang said. There was only one courtyard suitable for living in at Gu Ling’s place, and the rest of the buildings had been leveled. It was now full of flowers, plants, and trees, making it a truly amazing garden.

“Wait for me, I’ll come over,” Gu Ling said.

“So, you’ll just ride a horse to my door by yourself?” Su Liang laughed as she said this, “It’s like you’re the one marrying me. Or should I be the one to pick you up?

Gu Ling shook his head, “Not alone.”

Curious, Su Liang wondered who else would be coming.

It turned out that Nian Jincheng insisted on accompanying Gu Ling.

Su Liang smiled, “You two have been brothers for many years. It’s fitting. As for betrothal gifts and dowry, let’s not bother with that. After all, what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours.”

Gu Ling nodded, and although this fact had always been true, hearing Su Liang say it still made him happy.

“Then let’s settle on this. I’ll take care of everything on my side, and you just need to show up on time,” Su Liang said. She didn’t care if people criticized them for not following traditions. They would set their own rules for their affair.

As for their bridal chamber, it had already been arranged in another courtyard in the mansion.

Originally, Su Liang wanted to use the courtyard where she and Gu Ling had previously lived, but “Ning Jing” had “died” there. In order to avoid others overthinking, they chose another courtyard.

Yuanming Pavilion could certainly be used as the bridal chamber, but since Su Liang was going to live there anyway, the bridal chamber would just serve a fleeting purpose for her.

“Hopefully, there won’t be any accidents in the next three days.” Gu Ling said this. As the wedding day approached, he felt unexplainably anxious and couldn’t wait for the day to arrive so he could complete the wedding ceremony with Su Liang and put his mind at ease.

Su Liang shook her head with a smile, “What kind of accidents could there be? Unless an enemy country invades and I’d have to go fight in a war. Even if such a thing happened, it wouldn’t be solely up to me.”

However, Gu Ling was thinking that if there really was a war, Duanmu Yi would definitely send Su Liang to fight.

The next day, early in the morning, Gu Ling left the Su Mansion and returned to the Marquis Chang Xin Mansion. After spending some time there, he went out alone, riding a horse to Huguo Temple.

Throughout his life, Gu Ling had spent a lot of time living in Huguo Temple. In the past, he would always calmly bypass the busy front hall and go to the back mountain to watch the sunrise or sunset, or to play against Master Pu Hui.

But today, Gu Ling unusually ventured into the front hall and lit three incense sticks, bowing before the Buddha, praying for his and Su Liang’s safe and smooth wedding.

When he met Master Pu Hui, Gu Ling asked him a question, “Master, have you observed any astrological signs recently? Are there any signs of unrest in the world?”

Master Pu Hui was quite surprised upon hearing this, ‘Why does Benefactor Xiaogu ask this?” They were well acquainted, and in Master Pu Hui’s impression, Gu Ling had never been concerned about such issues.

“Just asking.” Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent.

Master Pu Hui shook his head, “This humble monk doesn’t possess such knowledge and wouldn’t dare to speculate.”

Gu Ling didn’t inquire further, but played a few rounds of chess with Master Pu Hui before bidding him farewell.

When the large rock had first appeared in the back mountain of Huguo Temple, this elderly monk had witnessed its appearance and immediately informed Duanmu Yi, sealing off the news. Now, knowing that Su Liang was getting married to Gu Ling, he didn’t mention anything about the stone to him.

Therefore, Gu Ling believed that Master Pu Hui was an appropriate choice as the temple’s abbot. He showed loyalty to both Qian Country and Duanmu Yi. As a monk, especially a high-ranking one, it was hard to say whether he had truly achieved enlightenment. However, being aware of current affairs wasn’t wrong; after all, monks were people first.

Upon leaving Huguo Temple, Gu Ling ran into Little Monk Cheng Yun.

Last time they met was last year. Cheng Yun has grown taller, but he still has rosy lips and white teeth, and his beauty cannot be hidden by his ashy monk robe.

“Benefactor Gu.” Cheng Yun is more familiar with “Ning Jing” than Gu Ling, so he just stops and greets him before continuing on.

However, Gu Ling knew that Su Liang had just met Cheng Yun yesterday. It was Cheng Yun who learned that Su Liang was getting married and came down the mountain specifically to congratulate her. The little monk with a pure Buddhist heart genuinely considered Su Liang as his friend. When Su Liang asked about Yan Shiba, Cheng Yun said that the female benefactor had not reappeared. However, he received a letter from Ping’an Temple, and his master uncle returned to the temple after completing his roaming. He plans to leave Huguo Temple and return to Ping’an Temple in March.

Gu Ling returns to the mansion from the mountain and sees that Nian Jincheng has arrived. He brought the completed wedding robe for Gu Ling to try on. “Xiaoyu went to deliver Su Liang’s wedding clothes.” Nian Jincheng said. Gu Ling then asked, “Have you seen the wedding dress?”

Nian Jincheng snorted lightly, “What? If I see it before you do, will you hit me?” “I will.” Gu Ling nodded.

Nian Jincheng was speechless but immediately smiled again, “I knew it, you were just pretending before. You clearly like Su Liang a lot, but you refused to admit it! I didn’t see the wedding dress, Xiaoyu said that it’s for you to see! But don’t sneak a peek today, you have to wait until the wedding day.”

Gu Ling commented that Yang Yu is quite reliable.

He tried on the wedding robe, which fit perfectly. He took it off and put it away, thinking that the wedding was just the day after tomorrow, and nothing should go wrong…

“Aling, what’s wrong with you?” Nian Jincheng noticed that Gu Ling seemed a little distracted.

Gu Ling shook his head slightly, “It’s nothing.” But he felt anxious these days, an anxiety that he had never experienced in his life, perhaps due to concern leading to chaos and focusing too much on the matter at hand.

“Did you secretly go find Su Liang these past few days?” Nian Jincheng asked. Gu Ling countered, “What’s wrong with that?”

“You can’t see each other within three days before the wedding, or else it’s bad luck. Xiaoyu said that this is very important.” Nian Jincheng, who had experienced this before, shared his experience.

Gu Ling frowned slightly, ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” It has to be calculated from yesterday, but he went to see Su Liang last night. Nian Jincheng was taken aback, “I thought you wouldn’t believe this.”

He used not to believe in such things, but now Gu Ling was willing to do anything to ensure that he and Su Liang would successfully get married the day after tomorrow.

That night, Gu Ling hesitated several times and decided not to find Su Liang. Within the three days before the wedding, if he counted the current day, then he still hadn’t broken any rules.

As a result, just as Gu Ling was preparing to go to bed, he heard Su Liang’s voice coming from outside, “Great God, are you alright?”

Gu Ling: … He didn’t go, but Su Liang actually came over. He was touched but a little conflicted whether they should meet or not.

“Great God?” Su Liang knocked on the door again, “If you don’t say anything, I’m coming in.”

“Don’t.” Gu Ling said and felt something was odd.

Su Liang outside the door also sensed the strangeness, “Great God, what’s

wrong? Are you sick? Or is there a girl hiding in your room? If it’s the latter, it’s okay; I don’t mind.”

Gu Ling’s face darkened, what girl? Is Su Liang really not bothered by it?

“I’m taking a bath,” Gu Ling said.

“Ah? Oh.” Su Liang was a bit speechless, “Then you wash up and go to bed. I thought something had happened to you. I’m leaving now!”

Gu Ling listened to the footsteps quickly disappearing, and he silently slipped out the back window, following Su Liang all the way. Only after confirming that she had safely returned home did he turn around and leave.

Not having seen each other face-to-face doesn’t count as meeting… Gu Ling thought.

February 14th.

Qi Jun and Ren Dong are busy preparing for tomorrow’s banquet. Luckily, Song Qi helps to manage everything, or else it would be a chaotic mess. Time is tight, and Su Liang doesn’t care about anything, focusing solely on learning poison techniques from Old Bai.

“What a pity! My master won’t be back tomorrow.” Su Liang felt that when the old master returns, he would definitely be annoyed that they “behind his back” got married.

Old Bai nodded, “It’s inappropriate, You two should get married next year instead.”

Su Liang coughed lightly, “At this point, there can be no going back.”

Then Old Bai said, “Well, have a baby next year, and I’ll help you two look after it.”

Su Liang: … What the hell? Doesn’t want her to get married, but wants a grandchild?

In the evening, while Su Liang was having dinner with Old Bai, they suddenly heard a crisp voice from outside, “Aunt.”

Her eyes lit up with joy, and she put down her chopsticks and went out, only to see Zhengzheng running towards her.

Su Liang smiled and bent down, picking up Zhengzheng, “You’ve grown heavier.”

Zhengzheng giggled and said, “Grandpa says I’ve grown taller!”

Wan Hui walked over, looked at Su Liang’s expression, and smiled, “When we heard about your upcoming wedding, we hurried over and managed to arrive just in time.”

“Aunt is getting married to Uncle Gu, who is Uncle Ning getting married to?” Zhengzheng couldn’t help but ask, even though he had been told not to by Wan Hui. Children just couldn’t keep secrets.

“Zhengzheng.” Wan Hui frowned.

Su Liang, who had been prepared, didn’t change her expression, and smiled,

“You’ll find out when you see Uncle Ning.”

Zhengzheng sighed softly, “I wish Uncle Ning would come home soon!” He then whispered to Su Liang, asking if Uncle Gu was good.

Su Liang nodded, “He’s as good as Uncle Ning; you’ll like him.”

That night, Yang Yu and Lin Xueqing both came to sleep with Su Liang, planning to do her makeup and dress her up the next day.

Su Liang couldn’t refuse them, so she let them be. She originally wanted to inform Gu Ling not to come but, considering he didn’t come last night, maybe he won’t come today, and even if he did, knowing someone was with her, he would leave.

So under the arrangement of her two best friends, Su Liang went to bed unusually early.

Lin Xueqing and Yang Yu originally wanted to share some wedding experiences with Su Liang, but they didn’t expect that she wasn’t nervous or anxious at all and fell asleep quickly after closing her eyes…

Februarv 15th.

The weather was gloomy in the morning, looking like it was going to rain.

When Nian Jincheng saw Gu Ling, he was already dressed neatly in a bright red wedding robe, even wearing a jade-encrusted gold crown. The usually cold, celestial-like person seemed to have fallen into the mortal world, emitting a sense of warmth all around him.

“We’ll set off in half an hour.” Nian Jincheng said, sitting down in Gu Ling’s room, pouring a cup of tea, realizing it was cold, and putting it down again.

Seeing Gu Ling standing by the window, Nian Jincheng called out to him, “There’s still time; don’t stand.”

Gu Ling ignored him. Sitting down would wrinkle the wedding robe.

“It looks like it’s going to rain today. But as long as it’s not a storm, it’s nothing serious.” Nian Jincheng said.

Gu Ling still didn’t respond. A storm was nothing to him; it wouldn’t stop him from marrying Su Liang.

Nian Jincheng finally realized where the problem was. He stood up, walked over, and looked at Gu Ling’s expression, “Are you nervous?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “No.”

In hindsight, Gu Ling couldn’t remember what he did while waiting to leave that morning, probably because he didn’t do anything.

Finally, he heard Nian Jincheng say, “It’s about time; let’s go!”

The tense string in Gu Ling’s heart loosened a bit. He walked out from under the eaves, and though the sky was covered with dark clouds, it didn’t rain.

As Gu Ling rode away from Marquis Chang Xin’s mansion, many people lined the streets to watch. Gu Ling dressed in the wedding robe was so beautiful that it was hard to describe. No matter how many rumors there were about Gu Ling and Su Liang before, when they saw such a handsome man dressed up and riding a horse to marry Su Liang, everyone thought Su Liang had won big!

Halfway there, Gu Ling thought to himself that it was almost time, and he couldn’t wait to see Su Liang in her wedding dress. This time, it was a proper marriage, different from the previous two times.

“Su Liang?” Nian Jincheng’s voice suddenly sounded in Gu Ling’s ear.

Gu Ling was startled and saw a flash of red entering his field of vision, quickly approaching and enlarging.

It was Su Liang… but Gu Ling furrowed his eyebrows. She should be at home waiting for him; why was she outside?

Su Liang was dressed in red, riding her horse towards him. They met face to face in the bustling market.

“Why are you here?” Nian Jincheng asked, puzzled.

The onlookers praised the stunning beauty of the newlyweds, but they were also very confused: What was going on?

Gu Ling knew something must have happened. He looked at Su Liang, only to see a rare solemnity on her face, devoid of any joy. “The Yin Country army has invaded, captured Jiaye City, captured Lian Shun’s family, and Che Yun is severely injured. The emperor has summoned me to the palace, and today we may have to head south.”

Nian Jincheng tried to say that he could go instead but swallowed his words when they reached his lips. A general was severely injured; Su Liang had to go.

Gu Ling had always been unwilling to admit that he had a bad feeling about this wedding, but when his premonition came true at this moment…

“Alright.” Gu Ling took off the red silk flower tied to his horse’s head and held it in his hand. He didn’t know why he did this, or perhaps there was no reason at all. He just needed to do something to calm the storm inside his heart. “I’ll

accompany you..”