The red candle is swaying, and the word "happiness" forms a pair.

Meng Chang'an, who stood in front of the wedding bed wearing a bright red wedding robe, never expected that things would develop to this point.

Of course, what she was wearing at this moment was not the phoenix crown and red robe that a woman should wear on her wedding day, but a wide red robe that should be worn by men.

"Prince Consort! Why are you still standing there? The auspicious time has arrived, why have you not lifted the veil for Her Royal Highness?"

After being urged by the maidservant beside her, Meng Chang'an finally returned to her senses in a daze.

The bedroom hall was filled with red silk, and the dragon and phoenix flower candles shone brightly, making it even more festive.

It's a pity that Meng Chang'an couldn't bring out any joy on this wedding night that should have made people happy.

After all, it is indeed not a happy thing for a woman to disguise herself as a man and marry in place of her brother at the risk of deceiving the king.

But now that the matter has come to this, Meng Chang'an can't do anything to escape from the battle. No matter how reluctant she was, she still chose to accept the wedding scale* from the elderly maid Auntie Hua** and walked closer to Her Royal Highness the Princess who was sitting beside the wedding bed.

*used to lift the veil, symbolizing the Dragon (auspiciousness) lifting the Phoenix (harmony), click the link to see the pic

**not sure if it's the name or the title of the maid leading the ceremony. The term used is 花嬷嬷(Huā mā mā) hua means flower, mama or momo is an elderly maid/ nanny, or a maternal aunt

When Meng Chang'an's wedding scale remained under the Princess' veil without any other action, the waiting maidservant, Yuechu, couldn't hold back and directly teased in front of everyone: "Prince Consort, Her Highness' veil has not even been lifted yet, and you're already looking enamored. After you see Her Highness' face clearly later, will you not lose your soul, and will you not even lose your soul drinking the wedding wine?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Chang'an suddenly chuckled.

What a joke! I am not fond of grinding mirrors*, so how could I possibly lose my soul to a woman?

*磨鏡 (mó jìng) euphemism referring to having lesbian sexual relations. 

Unfortunately, Meng Chang'an didn't dare to say these words in front of the maids and palace ladies sent by the palace. She didn't want to die, so at this moment, she could only make an effort to squeeze out a somewhat natural-looking smile. She replied with a clear conscience, "Her Highness is graceful and charming. In the past, I never had the chance to get this close to Her Highness. Now, with this rare opportunity, I could not help but take a few more glances. It was rude of me."

Under the veil, Li Qiubai playfully raised the corner of her mouth.

Ah, what a perfunctory response.

And on the side, Yuechu's smile became even more ambiguous. "But this long night is endless, is it not? Prince Consort, do you really fear not being able to see Her Highness' face clearly in this long, endless night?"

Long, endless night?

Are there too many opportunities?

Where is Miss Yuechu's train of thought going?

The fake smile on Meng Chang'an's face was almost unsustainable, and even the look she gave at Yuechu became more and more weird.

"Yuechu."

Fortunately, Meng Chang'an wasn't made uncomfortable for long. Under the veil, Li Qiubai lightly laughed and said, "Do not tease her* anymore."

* 'her' was written but since 'him' and 'it' is also 'ta' in Chinese there was no way to tell the gender in spoken language 

Mm, that is right, so as not to scare her away now.

Yuechu nodded thoughtfully.

After glancing at Meng Chang'an's increasingly stiff smile, Yuechu turned to her with a meaningful look and said, "Prince Consort, take a look, Her Highness is so protective of you! I hope you will not let down Her Highness' affection in the future!"

Meng Chang'an was so horrified by Yuechu's glance that for a moment, she couldn't even hold the wedding scale steady in her hand. In this inadvertent manner, she accidentally shook off the red veil from the Princess' head.

She couldn't quite figure out the depth of meaning in Yuechu's words. So, she continued to wear that hypocritical but polite smile, and with a poker face, she replied, "Miss Yuechu, rest assured, from now on, I will certainly take good care of Her Highness."

It's a pity that the speaker didn't mean it, but the listener paid attention.

When Meng Chang'an's words fell, the red veil also fell with them.

As soon as she lowered her head, Meng Chang'an had already met the eyes of Her Royal Highness the Princess and met the joy that could not be concealed in those eyes.

That expression of joy mixed with a little shyness only flashed in front of Meng Chang'an's eyes for a moment. Before she could take a closer look, Her Royal Highness the Princess had already calmed down to her original expression and put on her usual look of half-smiling but not smiling. With a similar posture, she raised her lips and said: "What is the matter, is the Prince Consort really smitten?"

After hearing the teasing in the Princess' words, Meng Chang'an immediately snorted.

Well, she knew this woman wouldn't let her off easily.

Meng Chang'an, who had been teased by Li Qiubai many times in the past few days until her face turned red, was uncharacteristically different this time. Relying on the rightful person's identity and the occasion, she boldly stepped forward, lifted Li Qiubai's chin, and smiled provocatively: "Yes. Ah, who made Your Highness so beautiful today?"

While talking, Meng Chang'an also touched the smooth and tender skin under her hands, her attitude was extremely frivolous.

After seeing this ambiguous scene, the dozens of palace maids standing in the hall lowered their heads consciously.

But to Meng Chang'an's disappointment, the Princess did not become angry because of this. Instead, she remained composed and calmly caught the hand that was causing mischief on her face, locking it in her palm. She raised an eyebrow and smiled as she gazed into Meng Chang'an's eyes.

"Oh? Is this Princess* not beautiful enough for the Prince Consort on regular days?"

*The term used is 本宫 (ben gong) lit. 'this palace', used by queens, concubines, crown princes, and princesses who had their own palace to address themselves. It basically means the royal 'I' or 'me'.or 'this Princess', and I'd be translating it as,'I' or 'me', just know that every time the Princess addresses herself, she uses this term

That charming smile actually made Meng Chang'an slightly startled.

By the time she regained her senses, Li Qiubai had already lightly caressed her hand, now resting on her fingertips. She continued to gently rub along her knuckles, back and forth, causing an itch that was hard to endure.

"Hm? Why does the Prince Consort not speak?”

Although Li Qiubai's voice was two points softer, the pressure on Meng Chang'an's knuckles was two points heavier.

The itch on Meng Chang'an's fingertips seemed to fall on her heart, making it beat like thunder.

The charming frown and smile of the person in front of her, coupled with the ambiguous movements that easily aroused people's imagination, finally made Meng Chang'an the first to be defeated.

By the time Meng Chang'an panicked and retracted her hands behind her back, her ears were already deeply red.

Only then did Li Qiubai curl up her lips with satisfaction.

"Ahem."

Even Auntie Hua, who is already quite old, couldn't help but blush when she saw the Princess and the Consort flirting in public like this. After breaking their gaze with a dry cough, she asked the palace maid behind her to present the tray in her hand, following the protocol to remind them, "Please, Princess and Prince Consort, share the wedding wine together!"

In this way, Meng Chang'an could breathe a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Li Qiubai would do something rash again in front of everyone, so she quickly took the ladle of the wedding wine that belonged to her, held the ladle of wine, and smiled at Li Qiubai: "Your Highness, please."

Taking the other end of the ladle of the wedding wine tied with a red thread, Li Qiubai didn't continue teasing Meng Chang'an. She simply replied, "Husband, please."

After saying that, the two of them drank the wedding wine in their hands together in tacit understanding.

The bitter taste spread on the base of Meng Chang'an's tongue and still failed to dissipate.

She couldn't help but frown slightly in disgust. When she looked up, she saw that the faint smile on the corner of the Princess' mouth never dispersed.

Why? Is it possible that the two ladles of wine taste different?

Otherwise, how could this woman drink bitter wine and still enjoy it?

Unfortunately, without giving Meng Chang'an a chance to confirm this guess, Auntie Hua had someone take away the remaining wedding wine, cut off a strand of hair from both of them and braid it into a knot before putting it in the brocade bag and presented it to the two of them in person.

"The great ceremony has been completed. This servant sincerely wishes the Princess and the Consort to grow old together and have a son soon!"

The rest of the palace people standing in the hall immediately followed Aunt Hua and shouted out together: "This servant sincerely wishes the Princess and the Consort to grow old together and have a son soon!"

Grow old together and have a son soon...

Because this congratulatory message reminded her of the sentence she had seen in a book, Meng Chang'an couldn't help but sneer.

The book once said: Tied together as a husband and wife, their love is beyond doubt.

But how could such a thing happen between her and her newlywed sister-in-law?

"Thank you for your kind words!"

Even if those congratulations were just a joke in Meng Chang'an's eyes, she had to accept them with a smile, pretending to be cheerful and stretch out her hand to take the big red bag in Auntie Hua's hand.

But before Meng Chang'an touches the satin surface of the brocade bag containing their hair, it has already been picked up by Li Qiubai beside her.

Young Master Meng, who had never had anything snatched from under her nose before, could not help but frown.

Looking along the slender jade hand, she saw that Li Qiubai had already held the big red brocade bag in her palm, carefully caressing the pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water* embroidered on the satin surface, and called out with a smile: Yuechu, reward!"

*Mandarin ducks are the ultimate symbols of love, devotion, affection and fidelity and marriage in Asia, especially in China, Japan and South Korea, since Mandarin ducks are believed to be extremely faithful to their partner.

The considerate maid naturally understands her mistress' thoughts better. Without Li Qiubai saying much, Yuechu already understood and said to Auntie Hua and the other palace maids, "Please follow me to the accounting room to receive your rewards!"

Mm, Your Highness, this is the wedding night that you have finally been looking forward to. How can you let these idle people stay and spoil it?!

Fortunately, the individuals sent from the palace to the Princess' residence were all quite perceptive. With Yuechu's subtle hint, they all tactfully withdrew along with her.

After all, this spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, and it's best to avoid anything that might spoil the scenery!

But now, in the bedroom that had been bustling for a while, only Meng Chang'an and Li Qiubai remained.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052

This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

After the footsteps outside gradually faded away, Li Qiubai got up and walked towards the dressing table. She only uttered softly as she passed by Meng Chang'an's side,

"Alright, everyone is gone, there is no need to keep forcing a smile."

Meng Chang'an paused for a moment, then followed her. By the time she caught up, Li Qiubai was already sitting in front of the dressing table, gracefully removing the heavy ornaments from her head.

"Sister-in-law is really joking." Meng Chang'an just leaned casually on the corner of the dressing table, folded her arms looked at Li Qiubai's laborious movements, and smiled: "Today is a big day for you and my elder brother after all. How can I, as a younger sister, put on a forced smile?"

"Sister-in-law?"

Li Qiubai squinted and casually tossed a golden hairpin she had just taken from her head onto the table. She turned to face Meng Chang'an with a half-smile and said, "Young Master Meng, do not blame me for not warning you. If you keep calling me 'sister-in-law,' and someone with ill intentions overhears and decides to remove your head, do not blame me for not saving you!"

"Why, can I not do it in private?"

"Do you still need me to teach you, a person of the martial world, that walls have ears?"

Mm, it seems to make sense.

But in this world of rivers and lakes*, how many can eavesdrop on her in person?

*refers to the martial arts world

"Then should I call you my wife?"

In this way, a smile slowly appeared in Li Qiubai's eyes.

Meng Chang'an disagreed but did not argue with Li Qiubai anymore. She only asked jokingly: "Then you will not call me sister-in-law?"

"What do you think, husband?"

Li Qiubai uttered the word "husband" with a melodious and charming tone to it. Not to mention ordinary men, even Meng Chang'an, as a woman, felt a tingling sensation upon hearing it.

"Then I'll trouble my husband to help her wife, so we don't delay our wedding night."

As Meng Chang'an looked at the wooden comb that Li Qiubai handed her, she couldn't help but feel like she was lifting a stone to hit her own foot.

She opened her mouth and finally closed it silently.

After all, calling out "wife," while joking was fine, but if she had to say it seriously, she still couldn't bring herself to do it.

Seeing Li Qiubai's smiling face, Meng Chang'an thought she was just teasing her again with playful intent. So, she decided not to say much more and simply took the wooden comb from Li Qiubai's hand. She obediently went behind Li Qiubai, continuing to remove the remaining golden hairpins and phoenix hairpins from her head. After undoing her intricately styled hair, she began to comb her long hair.

After all, it was just helping her sister-in-law with her hair. What's the big deal?

Thinking of this, Meng Chang'an felt a lot more comfortable.

During this time, Li Qiubai didn't say anything surprising. She simply watched in silence as the girl in front of the vanity mirror, dressed in a red groom's attire, combed her hair with focused attention.

The girl, dressed in a red groom's robe, was gradually blending with the vivid memory of the bold and brash red-clad girl she had encountered in the desert.

Xiao* Chang'an.

*Little

Amid her thoughts, Li Qiubai couldn't help herself and softly murmured, "Chang'an."

Meng Chang'an paused her hands, raised her head, looked at Li Qiubai in the mirror, and asked in confusion: "What is the matter?"

Li Qiubai's eyes still stayed on the person in the mirror, she couldn't bear to move away for a moment. Recalling what she saw in the desert, she slightly raised her lips and asked: "I heard that your master gained fame by openly marrying another woman with great fanfare when she is a woman herself. I wonder if they are both doing well now?"

At the thought of how her unreliable master had managed to drive her away this time, Meng Chang'an couldn't help but grit her teeth.

"Good, they are doing very well!"

Indeed, her master was the leader of a demonic sect, but what made her master famous wasn't the actions of the sect itself but the extravagant marriage with another woman. Meng Chang'an wasn't surprised that Li Qiubai knew about this, but she couldn't fathom why Li Qiubai would suddenly bring up her master without any apparent reason.

Although Meng Chang'an was often infuriated by her own master, her master was still her family. Now, being brought up by Li Qiubai without any apparent reason made Meng Chang'an a bit wary.

"Why did you suddenly bring this up, Your Highness?"

Facing the guarded and vaguely hostile look of the person in the mirror, Li Qiubai was not annoyed, she just turned around to face Meng Chang'an, and smiled.

"Do not worry, I mean no harm. I was just curious since you have been with them for so long, do you also know how women should engage in intimate matters with each other?"

Meng Chang'an was stunned for a moment.

Before she could react, Li Qiubai had already stood up and took the initiative to embrace Meng Chang'an's waist, leaning in close to her ear and whispering something softly.

"If you do not know how, then how should you and I consummate our marriage tonight?"

Hearing this, Meng Chang'an  blushed instantly.

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T/N: The master and her wife they were talking about are the characters from "Record of the Poison Doctor Pursuing Her Wife"

The term 'rivers and lakes' or Jianghu means martial arts world here, and i'll be using both terms.

Something to feed your imagination, the scene should be similar to this:

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Check out Glossary for terms/idioms/slangs I collected thus far, that you might also encounter here. Feel free to suggest addition and corrections (respectfully). 🖖🙇‍♀️