Chapter 3 — My Father Became the Bride

Unlike other brides, who carried an auspicious token to the wedding, my father held the imperial decree in one hand and his teaching ruler in the other.

He tucked the ruler behind his belt and unfurled the bright-yellow decree before everyone.

Then he pointed out each line to the Duke. “It praises my upright bearing and outstanding scholarship, and says it hopes I will educate your son and guide the younger generation of your household. Is there a single character in here that names the wrong person?”

The Duke was about Father’s age, yet now he was so flustered he could barely speak. “…Even so, you can’t—”

Father didn’t give him a chance to finish. “The decree also requires the Shen household to send someone to marry. The Shen household register bears only my name. Naturally, I’m the one who must marry.”

The Duchess tried several times to speak, but couldn’t find a single argument to refute him.

They had asked for the decree, and the Empress’s side had chosen the wording. Now every line was being turned against them.

The Duke looked at the crowd gathering in the street, then at the phoenix seal on the decree in Father’s hand. He could only stand there stiffly.

To send Father away now would be tantamount to defying the decree. To welcome him in was too absurd. They were trapped whichever way they turned.

I didn’t see what happened next with my own eyes.

The wedding caused such a commotion that people discussed it everywhere, from taverns to teahouses. Our acquaintances took turns telling me what they had heard.

After Father came home, he told me plenty of details himself. I can only recount what happened in the order I heard it.

The stories that went around may have grown more colorful with each telling…

It’s hard to say.

Everyone believes the version they heard is the truest. I couldn’t tell which details had been embellished, either.

But several accounts matched on the key points: Father entered the house, held the wedding ceremony, and kept the Duke’s household awake all night.

Father wrapped the decree around himself and insisted on seeing the wedding through.

The Duke and Duchess took turns smiling ingratiatingly, begging him to return to the Shen residence. They even offered to accept any maid he chose to send in his place.

Father refused on the spot. “A marriage alliance between two families is a major matter. How could you settle for a maid just to get it over with? The bride must be of suitable status and proper bloodline to be worthy of your house.”

The Duke and Duchess exchanged hopeful glances.

They thought Father had only caused a scene to scare them, and that he would next send over a real Shen daughter.

Instead, Father took the bridal veil back from the matchmaker and lowered it over his head again. “The auspicious hour is nearly over. Let’s not delay any longer.”

The household staff blocked the entrance and refused to let him cross the threshold.

He immediately draped the decree over his shoulder and raised his voice above them all. “I am an official marrying under imperial command. Anyone who stops me today is showing contempt for imperial favor!”

The Empress’s decree had not specified which Shen daughter she wanted. It gave only two conditions: the person had to belong to the Shen household, and that person had to marry out.

Father met both conditions.

The Duke’s household dared not touch the decree bearing the phoenix seal, so they hurriedly pushed one of their guests forward to reason with him.

The man had no choice but to advise, “Lord Shen, it’s customary for a woman to be the one who marries into another household.”

Father glared at him. “Is it not enough for me to marry in? Are you now setting your sights on my wife as well?”

He drew his teaching ruler halfway from his belt. His words rang out, sharp and decisive. “A husband and wife marrying out together? There’s no such custom in the world!”

The would-be peacemaker was a Hanlin scholar, usually renowned for his eloquence. Now, after opening his mouth several times, all he could manage was, “…That’s not what I meant.”

They didn’t dare lay a hand on Father. Father, on the other hand, had nothing to fear.

He grabbed the wastrel, who was cursing nonstop, and dragged him from the main gate all the way to the wedding hall as if he were an unruly piece of luggage.

The Duke and Duchess refused to sit in the place of the bride’s parents, but the ceremony went ahead all the same.

After the bows, Father hauled his newlywed husband straight into the bridal chamber.

By custom, the groom was supposed to leave the bridal chamber after the ceremony and greet the guests.

But this wedding was so unusual that everyone who had planned to drink and tease the couple went off to gather the latest gossip instead. No one came to release the wastrel.

Father wound the red silk around him several times, tied him up tight, then used the flower at its center to gag him.

Everyone in the household was so stunned that, for a while, no one even thought to arrange things for the new bride.

Father waited a moment, then used the skills he had honed as a third-rank official to organize the banquet cleanup, see the guests out, and assign people to guard the courtyards.

Once everything was in order, he called for a guide and carried the heir toward the bridal chamber in one hand.

The wastrel had been drained by drink and women. No matter how hard he struggled, he was no match for the strength Father had built up during years of serving far from the capital.

Father might look like a frail scholar, but when it came to a scuffle, he was as solid as a wall.

At court, whenever he couldn’t win an argument, he dared to grab his ceremonial tablet and strike first. Facing a mere wastrel was nothing.

As they reached the bridal chamber, a maid suddenly appeared.

When she saw Father still carrying the second young master of the household, she turned around and tried to slip away.

Father said only two words: “Come back.”

The maid stopped at once and shuffled back with her head lowered.

The heir, still bound, let out anxious muffled cries and struggled even harder.

Father set him down. In a surprisingly gentle voice, he asked the maid, “Were you waiting here because there’s something you wanted to tell me?”

Stammering, she recited the message she had clearly memorized. “The concubine is feeling unwell and asks the Second Young Master to visit. Please, Madam…”

At the word Madam, she finally looked up at Father and could not bring herself to finish.

The young bride she had expected was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a man in an official robe stood before her, a teaching ruler tucked into his belt.

Still, Father went to see the concubine in his capacity as the household’s principal wife.

After hearing how the woman had no say in her own fate, he told her about what he had witnessed while serving far from the capital, about his own forced marriage, and about many remarkable women…