Having taken Nanzhi back to her room, Pan Yucheng came out to drink the toasts.

Yudie stayed to keep Nanzhi company.

"Old Pan, congratulations!"

"You've only just married. Don't come with me when I go south this time. Stay and keep your bride company properly."

The plan for going south had been to take Pan Yucheng along.

But he had only just married, and dragging him off to a battlefield at a time like this was not fitting.

Pan Yucheng said nothing.

The truth was that he had already talked it over with Nanzhi. He was going. He could not be easy in his mind if he was not at Ning Chen's side.

Everyone had been shouting about drinking Pan Yucheng under the table, but nobody actually pressed him.

Tonight Pan Yucheng belonged to his bride.

When they had drunk about enough, they broke up of their own accord.

Ning Chen went with Pan Yucheng to the bridal chamber to collect Yudie.

They reached the door, and Ning Chen waited outside.

He was a man. It was not proper for him to go into Pan Yucheng's bedchamber.

"Ning Chen, come in a moment!"

Ning Chen was startled, and then he walked in.

When he saw the state of things inside, his forehead filled with black lines.

Yudie and Nanzhi had fallen across the bed, drunk out of their senses.

The two of them had been telling each other how hard these years had been.

From the courtesans' quarter to their free standing now, and each of them having found a man she cared for — it could be counted as the bitter past and the sweet come.

They had talked and talked until they wept, and wept and wept until they had drunk too much.

Ning Chen laughed, went over and gathered Yudie up, and said, "Old Pan, joy of the bridal chamber to you!"

Pan Yucheng looked at the drunken Nanzhi and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

Ning Chen found it a little funny too. The night of the bridal chamber and the red candles, and the bridegroom had…