The wedding procession hurried on. After traveling for a while, they reached the main road that turned toward Guo Village. Zhang Xiaolong looked at the sky and said, "It's still early, and we've already covered more than half the journey. We should have no problem making it back to Guo Village. Let's rest for a moment, then make one final push home."
Aside from Zhang Xiaolong, Zhang Xiaohua, Liu Qian, and Liu Yueyue, everyone else in the procession had been traveling on foot. Not to mention the sedan bearers, who had been carrying people and were already exhausted, even the musicians had been hauling instruments weighing several pounds as they hurried along, and they were worn out as well. The moment they heard the word "rest," they immediately went to the roadside, plopped down in the grass, and poured water from their gourds or skins to quench their thirst.
The bridal sedan was carefully carried beneath a large tree by the roadside, and the bearers went off to rest. Zhang Xiaolong dismounted as well and walked to the sedan with Zhang Xiaohua. He took two water skins from beside his stirrup, gave one to Zhang Xiaohua to drink from, and held the other as he walked up to the sedan. He said to the person inside, "Qianqian, you must be thirsty. Would you like some water?"
Liu Qian did not speak, but the bridesmaid Liu Yueyue spoke first. "My sister is probably not thirsty. She's still savoring that twin lotus from earlier. Why are you only thinking about your bride? Aren't I in this sedan too? Why don't you ask whether I'm thirsty?"
Zhang Xiaolong had only met Liu Yueyue a few times. Liu Qian had told him before that this cousin of hers had a frank and straightforward nature.