The crackling of firecrackers sounded outside.
"Congratulations, groom!" Congratulations came one after another. It should be Song Jiaye, who had come to fetch the bride.
Zhou Donglin stopped in front of the moon gate. He took the wedding veil from the maid's hand and gently covered Li Qiyu with it himself.
"Let's go. He's waiting for you."
Li Qiyu understood. After all, Zhou Donglin was an outsider. Although the Li family treated him like one of their own and there was no need to avoid suspicion, outsiders didn't know. If they appeared in front of outsiders together, they might be gossiped about.
Zhou Donglin was considering her feelings.
However, the panic in Li Qiyu's heart resurfaced after she realized that Zhou Donglin would stop here.
She stepped over the moon gate and walked two steps. Disregarding the instruction that the bride should not look back, she said, "Thank you for the hairpin. When I return to my parents' home three days after the wedding, I'll invite you to drink. You must give me the honor then."
"Don't worry. I'll be there."
No matter when and where, as long as she needed him, he would surely be there.
The maid urged her several times before Li Qiyu straightened up and walked step by step towards the main hall under the guidance of the maids.
Zhou Donglin watched Li Qiyu's figure disappear around the corner of the flower bushes and listened to the bustling noise coming from outside.
"Here comes the bride! Wish you a long and happy marriage and many children soon!"
Then came the crackling of firecrackers again.
The louder the crowd's blessings were, the lonelier Zhou Donglin seemed behind the moon gate. At this time, all the maids and servants in the yard had gone to the front hall to see off the bride, and he was the only one left in the back hall.
He walked back.
The back doors of the Li and Zhou families were next to each other. He could directly return to the Zhou family through the back door.
As he walked, he unbuttoned his outer robe, took off the dark - red robe, and carefully folded it.
He did it on purpose.
During the short journey walking side by side with Li Qiyu, in his heart, he had already married her as his wife.
So, he didn't want to send her out of the main hall.
On the one hand, it was to avoid suspicion.
On the other hand, he didn't want to break the little fantasy he had secretly created for himself.
It was a pity that the road from her boudoir to the moon gate was too short. He even felt that he hadn't even recovered from his thoughts when it was already over.
It was a pity that he could cover her with the red veil, but he would never be qualified to lift it.
He couldn't be her husband, but in his heart, she would always be his wife.
After Zhou Donglin returned home, instead of going back to his room, he went back to the study to read books.
He had read more books in the past few months than in his entire previous life. After all, he was their only son, and the prime minister's wife felt very heart - broken seeing him like this.
She felt even more heart - broken than when she saw him decadent and negative before.
The prime minister's wife waved the key in her hand. "Donglin, I stole the key to your father's wine cellar. Here, if you want to drink, just take some. It doesn't matter how much you drink today."
Zhou Donglin's expression was even calmer than the prime minister's wife's. "Mother, I don't want to drink. Besides, those jars of wine are father's treasures. If I really drink them, father will surely scold me."
"Don't be afraid. Mother will support you."
The prime minister's wife tried hard to liven up the atmosphere, but Zhou Donglin was obviously not in the mood. He soon immersed himself in the world of books.
The prime minister's wife could only reluctantly put away the key. The lively noise from the neighboring mansion came over. She couldn't bear to see her son's lonely figure.
"Or what would you like to eat? Mother will cook it for you."
Zhou Donglin had no choice but to close the book. He knew that if he didn't find something for his mother to do today, she would surely keep nagging until it got dark.
So, Zhou Donglin said, "Mother, I really have one thing I'd like to ask you for help."
Hearing that her son needed her help, the prime minister's wife naturally agreed without hesitation.
"Tell me. Even if you want the moon in the sky, I can get it for you."
"I'm not interested in the moon. I want to be an official."
"Be an official?"
"Yes." Zhou Donglin knew that he had never had this idea before. He was like a care - free person, and his father seemed to only want him to be a playboy and had never thought of letting him enter the officialdom. So now he had ambition but didn't know where to start.
Moreover, he had long heard that there were many intrigues in the officialdom. If he didn't have a guide, he was afraid... Not to mention protecting Li Qiyu, it would be difficult for him to even protect himself.
The prime minister's wife was in a dilemma. She said, "Son, why do you think so? It's already tiring enough for there to be one official in the family."
Not letting Zhou Donglin get involved in the officialdom was actually the result of a discussion between the prime minister and the prime minister's wife. On the one hand, the prime minister's position was already second only to the emperor. If his son also entered the officialdom, it would seem a bit like forming a clique for selfish interests.
The emperor valued the prime minister so much because the prime minister was very clear - headed when it came to power and interests.
Money was not the more the better. As long as the family had enough, that was fine.
As for family honor and the continuation of the party, those were things for a hundred years later, and the prime minister didn't care about them.
So he didn't hope that his son would follow in his footsteps. Instead, he hoped that Zhou Donglin would just live a simple and happy life.
The more useless he was, the safer he would be.
This was also the price the prime minister had to pay for being in his position.
The prime minister's wife was very embarrassed. She advised, "Your father wants to be an official because he has the world in his heart and wants to do practical things for the people. But you..."
The prime minister's wife knew her son very well. Her son had always had a simple mind. He didn't care about the country and the world at all. Even his concern about military and political affairs was because Li Qiyu went out to fight in battles and he was worried about her. When Li Qiyu was at home, all he could think about was Li Qiyu. He never thought about these things.
Facing his mother, Zhou Donglin had nothing to hide. He directly expressed his feelings, "Father does it for the world. I do it for Qiyu."
The prime minister's wife was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped. "That girl from the Li family is already married. You still miss her? What, are you going to miss her for a lifetime?"
The prime minister's wife thought that Zhou Donglin must have been sent by God to anger her.
Because after she asked this question, Zhou Donglin almost nodded without hesitation and replied, "Yes."
"You're hopeless. She's already someone else's wife. What can you do? Do you want to wait for her to divorce Song Jiaye? And do you know what Song Jiaye's identity is?"
The prime minister's wife stopped short here because this matter involved court secrets, so she didn't say much.
The prime minister's wife thought that her son was really crazy. "You... You're really going to piss me and your father off."