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Shen Qingqiu led his new bride through the doors of his Bamboo House. It was fairly modest for a man of his status, with a main room, a bedroom, and a smaller side room, but it was tastefully decorated and more than luxurious for someone who had once been used to much less. If his wife requested it, he'd be willing to renovate the building, but that would be an inconvenient disruption, and for now he thought it was plenty big enough for the two of them. She, at least, was used to living in close quarters with numerous others, and it wasn't as though there would be potential children to take into consideration. He barely tolerated most of his disciples as it was.
"Does my husband wish to unveil this wife?" she teased him once the doors had been shut behind them.
"Very well," he agreed. "We may as well follow some traditions in this marriage." He lifted the veil to reveal the smiling face of Jia Xie, until recently one of the flowers of the Warm Red Pavilion.
Shen Qingqiu hadn't particularly considered marriage before. Not since his broken engagement to Qiu Haitang, which he hadn't had any say in at the time. But then one of the brothel girls he'd patronized fairly often had approached him, telling him of a man who had become determined to redeem her and who wouldn't take no for an answer. She trusted Shen Qingqiu not to mistreat her, she'd said, and she'd proposed that if he'd buy out her contract instead, she could be at his disposal any night he wished instead of only when he could sneak away down the mountain. And now, mere weeks later, they were wed. Only time would tell whether they would come to regret it.
The two of them parted to ready themselves for bed. Shen Qingqiu had cleared out the side room for her to use for such things. It wasn't as though they'd never seen each other all but unclothed in the past, but if they were going to make this marriage work, some privacy wouldn't go amiss. Once they'd changed out of their formal red wedding robes, they rejoined each other in the single bedroom. Perhaps it would have been expected by some for the married couple to keep separate bedchambers, but Shen Qingqiu had a reputation as a lecher already, and sleeping apart would defeat the purpose of the marriage.
"We will introduce you to Qing Jing Peak as their shimu tomorrow. This master's martial siblings will no doubt insist upon harassing us in the coming days in the name of welcoming you to the sect," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stave off the headache he would inevitably develop.
Jia Xie didn't attempt to make excuses for his martial siblings, to suggest that they they would have good intentions. After all, she'd heard enough of his complaints about the sect leader and the Bai Zhan War God to suspect how they'd behave. She also had every reason to be partisan in this matter; Shen Qingqiu was the one who had saved her and whose life she was now tied to. Leaning backwards on the bed, she held her arms open for her new husband. "It will be easier to face with a good night's sleep. Come to bed, husband."