After Mu Wanqing kissed him, her heart pounded wildly. A blush spread across her cheeks, and her already rosy face became even more radiant with bashful beauty.
Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly pushed him away and said softly, "We... we still haven't drunk the nuptial wine."
Song Qingshu wrapped an arm around her slender waist, finding it soft and boneless beneath his hand. He could not help staring foolishly at her beautiful face. "How could the nuptial wine taste as good as you?"
"I'm not wine," Mu Wanqing replied. Hearing her beloved's praise filled her with joy. "But we cannot skip the nuptial wine. My mother said that a gourd is split into two ladles, called jinyin, and the bridegroom and bride each take one to drink from. Only then is the final wedding rite complete, and only then will husband and wife receive Heaven's blessing."
Song Qingshu froze. "Wasn't entering the bridal chamber the final step?"
"After we drink the nuptial wine, you can do... whatever you want..." By the end, Mu Wanqing was so bashful that she nearly buried her head in her clothes.
Her voice was incomparably soft, especially with that boundless shyness in it. Song Qingshu's desire flared, and he nearly turned into a wolf on the spot. Yet he knew perfectly well that, for women, a sense of ceremony mattered most. If they did not drink the nuptial wine, it would become a lifelong regret for her.
So he suppressed the urge in his heart and drew the wine flask and cups over with a gesture. At times like this, he could not help marveling at the benefits of a martial arts world. No matter how advanced a technological society was, personal martial arts could sometimes be far more convenient.
He handed Mu Wanqing a