Nine Nights Owl Song

The eighth day of the third month in the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Luoyang, the residence of the Marquis of Dingyuan.

On the eve of the wedding, the Marquis's mansion was brightly lit.

Su Jiuge sat in her room, surrounded by a pile of gifts.

It wasn't a gift from guests—those have all been stored away—it was a gift from family.

Su Zhentian gave her a knife, not the narrow-bladed straight knife she usually used, but a short knife more suitable for wearing close to the body. The scabbard was made of ebony and inlaid with silver wire, and the character "Su" was engraved on the handle.

Su Zhentian put down his knife and left, saying only one sentence:

"The daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family cannot be without something to protect herself."

Su Jiuge picked up the short knife and examined it. The knife was very light, and the blade was very sharp; it was a good knife.

Su Chengzhi gave him a crossbow, which was smaller and more portable than the Wind Chaser he had made by hand last time.

The crossbow body is made of fine nanmu wood, the crossbow mechanism is made of refined iron, and the bowstring is made of dragon sinew.

Su Chengzhi said, "This can be hung on the belt, it won't get in the way."

Su Jiuge took it and weighed it in her hand; it was half the weight of the Wind Chaser Crossbow.

She hung the crossbow on her belt; it was the perfect size and didn't get in the way.

Su Chengen presented a wooden box, which contained a stack of silver notes, each worth a thousand taels, a thick stack of at least several dozen notes.

Su Chengen smiled. "When you're traveling, you can't always rely on others to treat you. Having your own money gives you peace of mind."

Su Jiuge looked at the silver note, then at Su Chengen.

"Second brother, have you emptied the Marquis's mansion of all its wealth?"

Su Chengen's smile deepened considerably.

"The Marquis's family is wealthier than you imagine. This is your due share; the previous sixteen years' worth have been made up."

Su Jiuge did not refuse and closed the wooden box.

Su Chengxun presented a calligraphy scroll. This time, he walked in confidently, holding the scroll with both hands and placing it respectfully on the table.

"Sister Jiuge, this is something I wrote over a month. Hang it in your room and look at it every day, and you'll know that your family is always by your side."

Su Jiuge unrolled the scroll, on which were written four large characters: "Peace and Joy." The handwriting was neat and elegant, with each stroke carefully executed.

Su Jiuge stared at those four characters for a long time before finally rolling up the scroll.

Su Wan'er also came, bringing a purse made of lotus-colored silk with an orchid embroidered on the corner, exactly the same as the handkerchief she had given to Su Jiuge.

She said, "It's filled with dried flowers, osmanthus. Carry it with you, and when you miss home, smell it, and it'll feel like you're at home."

Su Jiuge took the purse and sniffed it. The fragrance of osmanthus was faint and pleasant.

She looked at Su Wan'er's face. Su Wan'er no longer lowered her head and dared not look at her as before; she looked at Su Jiuge and smiled.

"Wan'er," Su Jiuge called to her.

"Um?"

"From now on, please take care of things at home."

Su Wan'er was stunned for a moment.

"Me? Aren't you coming back?"

Her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Su Jiuge said, "I will come back. But while I'm away, you need to look after them for me. Mother is getting old, Father is in poor health, and my eldest brother, second brother, and Chengxun all need someone to take care of them."

Su Wan'er smiled. "Okay, I'll keep an eye on it for you. Don't worry."

The Shen family arrived last.

She was holding a mahogany box, which was not large but looked very heavy.

Shen sat down beside Su Jiuge's bed, placed the box on her lap, and opened it.

Inside was a set of gold headdress—a phoenix hairpin, hair ornaments, earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet. Each piece was exquisitely crafted, with gold wire intertwined in cloud patterns and inlaid with rubies and jade.

Madam Shen said that this was given to her by her mother when she got married, and it had been with her for more than 20 years. Now it was being passed on to Su Jiuge.

Su Jiuge reached out and picked up the phoenix hairpin. The hairpin head was a phoenix with outstretched wings, and the feathers on the wings were as fine as hair, each one clearly visible.

"Mother, I won't wear these."

Shen smiled.

"I won't wear it; I'll keep it and pass it on to my daughter when I have her."

Su Jiuge looked at Shen Shi.

Shen smiled, but tears still streamed down her face. She quickly wiped them away with a handkerchief.

"Mother, don't cry. You can't cry on such a joyous day." Su Jiuge took Shen's hand and they intertwined their fingers.

"Mother, even if I get married, I will still be your daughter."

Shen's tears fell again.

This time she didn't wipe it away, she just let it flow.

Su Jiuge looked at the things on the table—knives, crossbows, silver notes, calligraphy and paintings, purses, and gold jewelry.

She packed them one by one into a wooden box and placed it under the bed.

I can't carry so many things on my body anymore, it's too heavy.

The old drunkard didn't come.

When Su Jiuge went to his room to find him, he was sitting by the window drinking.

A bundle lay on the table, already packed. The old drunkard put down his wine gourd when he saw Su Jiuge enter.

"Girl, you're getting married tomorrow. I've made up my mind. We'll move to your old courtyard, the one in Qianji Tower, first thing tomorrow morning. It's not appropriate for an old man like me to live in the Marquis's mansion. If people ask, you won't know how to explain it."

Su Jiuge sat down opposite him.

"You old drunkard, when did you start picking me up?"

The old drunkard paused for a moment.

"On the night you were born, the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, it snowed heavily. I brought you back to a dilapidated temple."

Su Jiuge looked at him.

"You found me the moment I was born, and you raised me for seven years. You're not only my savior, you're also my father."

The old drunkard's lips were trembling.

Su Jiuge said:

"Listen up, you old drunkard. You're my father now. I'm married, so you'll live wherever I live and go wherever I go. You can't go to that little courtyard alone. You're getting old; you can't be left alone."

The old drunkard looked down at the ground, his shoulders shaking violently.

He cried.

Su Jiuge took out the lotus-root-colored handkerchief from her waistband and handed it to him.

The old drunkard took it and covered his face with it, sobbing from under the handkerchief, like a child.

Su Jiuge sat next to him and did not leave.

After the old drunkard finished crying, he wiped away his tears with a handkerchief and looked at Su Jiuge.

"Girl, the only thing I did right in my whole life was picking you up from the snow."

Su Jiuge looked at him.

"You've done more than one right thing."

The old drunkard sniffed.

"What else?"

"You taught me martial arts, you taught me to read, you taught me how to be a person. Without you, I am nothing."

The old drunkard's eyes reddened again.

Su Jiuge stood up.

"Tomorrow you'll sit at the head table. I'll have someone come pick you up. Don't run away, don't hide, and don't say you're an outsider. You're Su Jiuge's father; no one can say you aren't."

The old drunkard looked up at Su Jiuge for a long, long time, and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll do as you say, girl."

Su Jiuge walked out.

The old drunkard sat by the window, looking at the handkerchief in his hand; the lotus-colored handkerchief was already soaked with his tears.

Su Wan'er came out of Su Jiuge's room and walked back to the west courtyard. Passing through the garden, she saw Shen Qing standing under the pomegranate tree. He was dressed in a black outfit, with a long sword hanging at his waist, arms crossed, looking at the moonlight.

Su Wan'er slowed her pace as she passed by him. Shen Qing didn't look at her, his expression as cold as a stone.

Su Wan'er didn't know why she stopped. Maybe it was because the moonlight was too bright, maybe it was because her feelings were too complicated, or maybe it was just because this person stood there like a tree that wouldn't move.

"Brother Shen," she called to him.

Shen Qing's gaze fell upon her, and he glanced at her.

Su Wan'er asked:

"Are you coming with us to Prince Zhao's residence tomorrow? Sister Jiuge is getting married there, so you'll be going too, right?"

Shen Qing did not answer.

Zhao Xiaohe peeked half her head out from behind a pillar and said with a smile:

"Sister Su, Brother Shen Qing is Sister Jiu Ge's shadow. He goes wherever Sister Jiu Ge goes." Shen Qing glanced at Zhao Xiao He, who stuck out her tongue.

Su Wan'er smiled. "Are you going too?"

Zhao Xiaohe nodded.

"Yes, I'll go. Sister Jiuge said I'll follow her from now on. She'll teach me martial arts."

Su Wan'er looked at her. The girl was only fourteen years old this year. Her eyebrows and eyes were curved, and her smile was like the spring breeze in March.

She wore a light green jacket and a silk flower in her hair, making her look as radiant as a lotus just emerging from the water.

"What's your name?"

"Zhao Xiaohe".

"My name is Su Wan'er."

Zhao Xiaohe ran over and took Su Wan'er's hand.

"Sister Su, you look so beautiful." Su Wan'er's ears turned slightly red.

Shen Qing walked out from under the tree and glanced at Zhao Xiaohe.

"It's time to go back."

Zhao Xiaohe stuck out her tongue, let go of Su Wan'er's hand, and skipped after Shen Qing.

After walking a few steps, she turned back and waved to Su Wan'er, who waved back.

Shen Qing did not turn around.

Zhao Xiaohe caught up and said a sentence

"Brother Shen Qing, slow down, I can't keep up," Shen Qing's pace indeed slowed down.

Su Wan'er stood in the garden watching the two figures, one tall and one short, disappear behind the moon gate.

Cold people, hot people, just right.

She turned around and walked towards Shen's room.

Su Jiuge returned to her room and sat by the window.

The moonlight shone through the window, illuminating her face, making it appear very white.

Tomorrow she's getting married; she never imagined this day would come.

I never thought about it when I was fighting for food with stray dogs in the abandoned residential area, I never thought about it when I was killing people in the Dark Pavilion, and I never thought about it when I was sitting alone in the stone house on Cangwu Mountain.

Now she's not thinking about whether her wedding dress is pretty, how lively the wedding is, or whether Xiao Yan will treat her well.

What she was thinking was—starting tomorrow, she would be someone else's wife. This was a status she had never possessed. She had a knife, a secret chamber, and the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion. Soon, she would have another husband.

Su Jiuge lay down and looked at the top of the tent.

She touched the hidden pocket on her waistband; all seven items were there.

I can't wear a waistband tomorrow because it's my wedding day.

She thought for a moment, then took out the wooden box from under the bed and put the seven items from the waistband into the box one by one.

Wooden box, gold medal, jade pendant, iron medal, two black lotus tokens, and a royal dagger.

In addition to the dagger given by Su Zhentian, the crossbow given by Su Chengzhi, the silver notes given by Su Chengen, the calligraphy and paintings given by Su Chengxun, the purse given by Su Wan'er, and the gold headdress given by Madam Shen.

It had turned into a huge pile. Looking at the contents of the box, Su Jiuge finally understood what Xiao Yan meant by "like a peddler."

She closed the box and stuffed it back under the bed.

Tomorrow is her wedding day, and she's bringing nothing but a straight knife. That's her rule.

She has a family now, and she keeps all the things her family gives her at home so they won't get lost.

When you're out and about, one knife is all you need.

The pomegranate tree outside the window swayed gently in the moonlight.

Su Jiuge closed her eyes.

Many people will come tomorrow, all the civil and military officials, and all the prominent figures in Luoyang.

She had to put on her wedding dress, go through the wedding ceremony, and offer toasts in front of so many people. It was much harder than killing someone.

The night watchman's drum sounded at midnight.

Su Jiuge turned over.

I have to get up early tomorrow.

She closed her eyes and waited for dawn in the darkness.

After tomorrow, she will be Xiao Yan's wife.

The eighteenth year of Yong'an, the eighth day of the third month, night. The eve of the wedding.

Su Jiuge is asleep.

The entire Dingyuan Marquis's residence was asleep.

The lanterns in the Marquis's mansion were still lit, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Tomorrow is an auspicious day, the ninth day of the third lunar month, Su Jiuge is getting married.