Sitting before a bronze mirror, Jun Huang let the girls put makeup on her face and draw a red dot between her eyebrows. She lowered her eyes with a faint smile tugging her lips. The girls gasped and crowed once she put on the wedding gown and the phoenix cap.

“You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve seen,” marveled the older woman. “The groom is fortunate to marry a beauty like you.”

Jun Huang bashfully lowered her head without a word.

Nan Xun emerged in a red robe followed by a group of men joking about stealing the bride. The girls laughed and bypassed the usual procedure to urge Jun Huang out of the room.

Nan Xun’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Jun Huang. He stared at her shy smile dumbly, overwhelmed by joy.

Complicated rituals for formality’s sake didn’t suit them. Jun Huang and Nan Xun went straight to bowing to the heaven and earth then at each other with Qi Yun as their witness. She was then brought to the newlywed bedroom, while...