Once upon a time, Jing He had feared the wedding customs. He had doubted he’d find someone who loved him and who he could love and actually get married to them. He had also been scared that things might go wrong during the rituals on the wedding day and the ones before that. For example, what if the incense broke when he tried to ask for happiness?

Now, he was with Qiu Ling and the perfect wedding with his one true love was right ahead, only a few days in the future. He wasn’t afraid of anything going wrong anymore. After all, Tian didn’t have anything against their relationship so why would he cause the incense to break? And Qiu Ling was so dependable that he would ensure the other customs would go as intended as well. Plus, Qiu Ling’s family and part of his own were supporting them, further ensuring that they would have the wedding they wished for as much as possible.

He had no reason to be afraid or worry and could focus on the meaning of these customs alone: The way they symbolized their feelings for each other and their hopes for the marriage that would follow. And all of this was thanks to Qiu Ling. Thinking of that, Jing He smiled and turned to look at his soon-to-be husband.

Qiu Ling turned to look at him as well when he felt his gaze and his originally solemn expression lit up with a smile. He didn’t say anything though. This was meant to be a serious occasion, after all. He did reach out and took Jing He’s hand though.

The two of them quietly followed their own thoughts as they watched the smoke from the incense sticks rise into the air. Half an hour passed while they knelt on the ground until the last remaining smoke had dissipated. Only then did Qiu Ling get to his feet and pulled his lover up with a smile.

“It feels a bit like we are already in the process of getting married.”

The mortals tended to offer their respect to some deities they believed in. He knew that much. After all, he had prepared for his wedding with Jing He’s mortal incarnation during the trial as well. Of course, their customs were short and almost seemed casual in comparison to the detailed steps the full wedding of the gods required but he didn’t mind either way. The result was what counted, after all.

Although … Qiu Ling sighed and looked at the sky above. It was past midday and they hadn’t finished all of today’s rituals yet. While this wasn’t an issue in and of itself, it was a lot to do in one day.

He sidled up closer to his beloved, carefully examining his face. “Are you alright or is it too tiring? We could take a break first.” He knew that Jing He had always looked forward to this so maybe the excitement was making it easier for him to bear. Still, he didn’t want him to tire himself out. These customs should be a joy to go through, not a chore.

Jing He didn’t see any issue and shook his head at once. “Don’t worry. It’s not that bad. I … I am happy we are doing this.” In fact, if not for his father’s bothersome attitude and them having to hide this, he would have loved an even more elaborate wedding following the way his ancestors in the Heavenly Family had done this. After all, this was his wedding to the man he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Making that official … it deserved as much of a celebration as possible. It was a pity it couldn’t be but then, it was alright as long as Qiu Ling was the one at his side while following these customs.

He didn’t dwell on it and instead focused on the next part which would be their honoring of their ancestors. “Anyway, we can do that at my mother’s palace so we can rest right after.”

Qiu Ling nodded and didn’t insist either. Instead, he tightly held Jing He’s hand and led him back to the four people waiting for them to go back to the Heavenly Empress’ palace.

This time, the group didn’t split up as there would be no indication of what was going on as long as they weren’t seen at the River of Forgetfulness itself. And, well, the other four had paid attention to their surroundings the whole time and not noticed anyone. It should be safe to go.

Without having to take detours to sneak around, they made it back much faster than they had taken on the way to the Palace of Love earlier. As soon as they did, they prepared for the next ritual.

Bai Fen went to the inner rooms of the palace, retrieving a jade tablet that she had kept there since it was created. This was something every god received someday during their lives, often when they came of age or when they got married. The outside was engraved with just a few words of blessing but the inside contained the names of the respective god’s ancestors. In a way, it was their family’s history, although not everything was written down.

When she came back, Bai Fen continued to hold the jade tablet and sighed as she looked at it. “This can’t compare to that of your father’s family. When Qiang Yan and I fled back then, we didn’t have time to take the original so we could only make a new one with what we knew. Unfortunately, we were only children so apart from the two generations above, nothing is known.”

Their family’s history … she didn’t know how much her parents or grandparents had originally been aware of and how many names had been recorded when they got married. In their generation now, nothing much was left. Even the six names their two tablets contained had barely been recorded after thinking long and hard. The fact that this was the case was thanks to the previous God of War who reminded the two of them after taking them back. Otherwise, if it was later, maybe they wouldn’t have been able to do even this.

It was a pity to lose this much. Especially so when she thought of the tablet that was certainly passed down in her husband’s family. Thousands of years of history with hundreds of names were likely written down in them and yet, Jing He could not use it because his father didn’t care to listen to his thoughts and feelings and wouldn’t bless this marriage. She couldn’t make up for that at all.

The worst part was that, usually, the jade tablet one received was that of the parent of the same gender and the names recorded in it would also be those tracing that line. As such, it should have been his father’s tablet he received, with his grandfather’s bloodline as the one to follow back even further. That her son didn’t have that … it was likely the part of these customs in which they differed the most from what was the standard. Unfortunately, she couldn’t change it and could only hand him this tablet with four pitiful names.