The Supreme Minister: Starting as a Live-In Son-in-Law at the Marquis's Estate

The bridal sedan did not enter through the main gate. The live-in son-in-law began his journey down a side alley.

Red silk, blood-bright, unfurled along the long street.

Glazed lanterns hung high above the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Dingguo Marquis’s residence. Golden beasts held tassels in their mouths, lighting the entire street as bright as day.

Drums and music filled the air, and guests crowded the gates. Everyone said it was a joyous occasion: the seventh branch of the Dingguo Marquis’s family was continuing its line. Yet the bridal sedan, decked in red from top to bottom, turned at the street corner and silently entered a narrow alley.

The alley was damp and shadowy. Uncollected snow lay on the blue stone paving, and several wild cats leapt over the wall, startling a flock of crows.

Gu Changqing stood at the alley entrance in an old scholar’s robe, washed pale with wear and fraying at the cuffs. A faded green sash was tied around his waist.

In his hand he held an old round fan. Its surface was mottled, but the words “unyielding spirit” could still be made out, written by his mentor before he died.

The wedding procession stopped before him, and the music abruptly fell silent.