Chapter 98: The Evening Before the Wedding

“Tomorrow is indeed an auspicious day,” Gu Ning’an said with a nod and a smile. “Since the wedding is tomorrow, even if Patriarch Ren hadn’t invited me, I would have shamelessly stayed to share a cup of celebratory wine.”

“Sir, now that’s being too formal!” Patriarch Ren leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “Others may not know, but how could I not know that you’re the savior of my Ren family?”

“Don’t just mention a cup of wine—if you asked for all the Ren family’s assets, I’d willingly hand them over!”

“Patriarch Ren flatters me. It was merely a small gesture; there’s no need to dwell on it.” Looking around, Gu Ning’an noticed there wasn’t a single 喜 (xi, “happiness”) character displayed yet. He chuckled and said, “Since the joyous characters aren’t ready, why not let me write them?”

“That would be perfect…” Before Patriarch Ren could finish, a servant approached, holding a thick stack of 喜 characters. He smiled as he presented them. “Master, these are from the most renowned calligraphers in Jiangling, written in cursive, clerical, and semi-cursive scripts…”

Cough! Cough!

Patriarch Ren suddenly burst into a coughing fit, spitting out a thick glob of phlegm that landed squarely on the stack of 喜 characters.

“M-M-Master! These cost one hundred taels of silver…” The servant, staring at the phlegm-soaked papers, trembled slightly.

Patriarch Ren wiped his mouth, looking embarrassed. “My throat was unbearably itchy, and I couldn’t hold it in… No matter, throw them away. Using tainted 喜 characters is bad luck.”

“Understood.” The servant, though reluctant, gave a stiff nod and quickly left with the ruined papers.

Seeing this unfold, Gu Ning’an smiled wryly. “Patriarch Ren, there’s no need for theatrics. I already said I’d write them, and I won’t back out just because there are many characters to write.”

“A hundred taels of silver isn’t a small amount—what a pity…”

Caught in the act, Patriarch Ren awkwardly scratched his beard and chuckled sheepishly. “You’re absolutely right, Mr. Gu…”

“So, when shall we start?”

Seeing Patriarch Ren’s eager demeanor, one might think he was the one getting married.

Gu Ning’an smiled. “Let’s begin now.”

“Excellent!”

“Prepare the brushes! Prepare the ink! Prepare the red paper!”

At Patriarch Ren’s command, a maid quickly brought out the four treasures of the study along with a stack of red paper.

Once the red paper was laid flat on the stone table, Patriarch Ren eagerly took charge of grinding the ink.

Before long, the ink was ready. Gu Ning’an picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped it lightly into the inkstone, and, with a fluid motion, wrote a 囍 (double happiness) character in one go.

Lifting the paperweight, he gently waved the red paper in the air to dry the ink. Handing the completed 囍 character to Patriarch Ren, he began working on the second sheet in the same manner.

As Patriarch Ren stared intently at the 囍 characters Gu Ning’an wrote, he seemed to catch a faint, dazzling glow emanating from the strokes.

These characters were extraordinary, no less impressive than the Peace and Safety inscription!

How could that brat Li Xunshan have such good fortune? When I got married, no such master wrote 囍 characters for me!

While Patriarch Ren was lost in his thoughts, Gu Ning’an had already set the brush back on the inkstone and smiled. “It’s done. Two characters, just right for placing on either side of the courtyard gate.”

“Huh?” Patriarch Ren pointed at the thick stack of blank red paper in his arms and pouted, “There are still so many places that need decorations…”

Hearing this, Gu Ning’an chuckled and said with a meaningful tone, “When water overflows, it spills. Two 囍 characters are more than enough.”

“You’re absolutely right, Mr. Gu.” Carefully holding the two 囍 characters, Patriarch Ren grinned. “I’ll go put them up right away!”

“Mm,” Gu Ning’an responded, then glanced around until he spotted Wei Hai in the crowd, busy directing the setup.

Just as Gu Ning’an was about to walk over to chat, Patriarch Ren, who had barely taken a few steps, came back hesitantly.

After a moment of deliberation, he cautiously asked, “Mr. Gu, if my wife and I were to hold another wedding, would you write a 囍 character for us too?”

“Just one character will do!”

Truly, merchants have a unique level of shamelessness… Amused, Gu Ning’an teased, “If you’re considering taking a concubine, I’d be happy to write one for you.”

“A concubine?” Patriarch Ren shivered and quickly waved his hands. “Forget it, forget it—let’s just skip the 囍 character altogether…”

With that, he glanced around to ensure his wife wasn’t nearby before dashing off with the 囍 characters to the courtyard gates.

“Move that lantern a bit to the side!”

“Hey! You can’t hang those streamers like that—they need to be upright!”

“This peony is already wilting. The Ren family has money—go get a fresh one!”

Wei Hai wasn’t just working hard himself but was also enthusiastically directing the servants, his meticulous attitude resembling that of a parental figure overseeing the wedding.

“Brother Wei, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Hearing Gu Ning’an’s voice from behind, Wei Hai turned and scratched his head with a laugh. “These servants are all young and careless in their work.”

“This is a big day for the Li kid. As his elder brother, I have to put my heart into it, don’t I?”

Gu Ning’an nodded. “With a brother like you, Mr. Li is truly fortunate.”

Flattered, Wei Hai’s grin widened. “Mr. Gu, have you eaten yet? If not, I’ll have the maids cook you a bowl of sweet dumplings—red bean filling, nice and sweet.”

“Then I’ll definitely have to try them. Take your time; I’ll find my way to the kitchen.” With that, Gu Ning’an headed off toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was bustling with activity. A group of maids, along with Madam Ren, were busy making sweet dumplings.

When Madam Ren saw Gu Ning’an enter, she quickly stood up to greet him. “Mr. Gu, would you like some sweet dumplings? We just made these.”

“I came here specifically for the sweet dumplings,” Gu Ning’an replied with a smile, walking over to the stove to start a fire and boil water himself.

“Mr. Gu, how could we let you do this?” Madam Ren, wiping her hands with a damp cloth, stepped forward, intending to take over.

“Oh!” Gu Ning’an raised a hand to stop her and said, “Madam Ren, I’m already being thick-skinned enough to cook my own sweet dumplings. Don’t stand on ceremony with me. You go ahead with your work, and I’ll take care of myself.”

“This…” Madam Ren hesitated, but Gu Ning’an grinned and added, “Are you worried I’ll eat too much if I cook for myself?”

“Of course not…” Madam Ren quickly reassured him. “If you’d like to do it yourself, feel free. Cook as many as you want—there’s plenty of dough to go around.”

As the water began to boil, Gu Ning’an used chopsticks to gently drop the plump, white dumplings into the pot. Smiling, he said, “Rest assured, Madam Ren, I won’t hold back.”