The next day.
After finishing up their breakfast, Master Ru introduced Yi Chen and Feng Yu to their ceremonial teacher.
She looked like a strict middle-aged woman, and from the way she was dressed and carried herself, it was clear that she gave great attention to detail.
"This is Madam Lin. She will be acting as your ceremonial teacher for the next few days," Master Ru paused and, turning towards Yi Chen, continued, "She's also going to act as your guardian in engagement and marriage ceremonies."
Yi Chen gave a slight nod at this information, and when Master Ru gestured for the two of them to greet her, both Yi Chen and Feng Yu respectfully bowed towards her while clasping their hands.
"Greetings, Madam Lin,"
However, instead of an acknowledgement, what they received was their first lesson.
"What's with your fists? As a man, your hands should be much firmer. Why is your back curved as well? Straighten it up!" Madam Lin's piercing voice echoed in the hall.
'…shit,' Yi Chen thought to himself, realising that his next few days were going to be anything but relaxing.
He followed the instructions given by Madam Lin and somewhat improved his posture.
However, she didn't stop at that and instead changed her target. Turning towards Feng Yu, who was still in the bowing position, she said.
"Your bow is at a much deeper angle than needed. As the town head's daughter, you should pay close attention to these minute details. Reduce it by ten degrees!"
"Yes, Madam Lin!" Feng Yu replied with a bitter expression under her veil as she followed her instructions.
'What the hell? Are there even angles to bowing?' Yi Chen freaked out when he heard Madam Lin's words as he tried to guess at what angle he was currently bowing…but failed miserably.
"Madam Lin, I'll be leaving them in your care," Master Ru said.
"Yes, Town head. I'll teach them everything that they need to know in the given time," Madam Lin answered seriously.
Master Ru nodded at her words and, turning towards Yi Chen and Feng Yu, said, "Alright then, practice well the two of you."
There was a hint of amused expression apparent on his face as he said that before leaving.
Starting then, the torturous Ceremonial training began, in which both of them were made to learn about all the activities in sequence that were going to take place during their engagement and also the wedding ceremony.
Much to their irritation, just learning wasn't enough as Madam Lin ensured that they were able to repeat everything by heart afterwards.
This was soon followed by training in different types of bows, how to present gifts and offerings, how to light incense sticks and various other intricacies that would make a normal person feel like dozing off.
For the next four days, Yi Chen and Feng Yu went through this rigorous training together, which helped them bring more closer to each other.
During this period, Yi Chen didn't forget to cultivate. He kept at it until late at night, not minding the lack of sleep he was receiving.
'I'll sleep all I want when I'm strong enough to protect myself and others,' that was one of the many thoughts that kept him going in those exhausting nights.
As a result, in just this short period, he had unlocked Six Qi points in total.
Both Master Ru and Feng Yu were full of praise for his dedication towards cultivation. Seeing such supportive expressions on their faces further motivated him to do better.
"I received Elder Gu's letter in the evening," Master Ru said as he placed down his chopsticks.
Feng Yu and Yi Chen, who had already finished their meal, nodded at his words.
Seeing that he got their attention, Master Ru continued, "He'll be arriving in the morning, so you won't be having any Ceremonial training tomorrow."
"That's a relief…" Yi Chen muttered under his breath, which, although low, was clearly audible to Feng Yu, who was sitting right next to him.
An amused smile formed under her veil as she continued to listen to her father's next set of words.
"Elder Gu doesn't like being pestered with a lot of questions, especially from young people. So, I'll handle most of the talking tomorrow, and you all should only answer questions that have been addressed to you. Understand?"
Master Ru asked seriously.
"Yes, Father,"
"Yes, Father-in-law,"
They answered in unison and, with a subtle nod from Master Ru, the dinner was finally over.
"God! We finally don't have to suffer under Madam Lin anymore!" Yi Chen exclaimed in relief while walking shoulder to shoulder with Feng Yu, who had taken her veil off when they were alone in the garden.
"Indeed. Her way of pointing out our errors for hours never fails to ruin my mood," Feng Yu nodded as a sigh escaped her lips.
If one paid close attention to them right now, they would notice that compared to four days ago, they were walking in much closer proximity to each other, and the air of comfort around them had also increased.
"I still remember you almost tearing up when Madam Lin kept correcting you for bowing one to two degrees higher or lower…at that time, your appearance was really a sight to see, haha," Yi Chen chuckled as he remembered the incident from two days ago.
Feng Yu snorted in irritation and countered, "At least I wasn't the one who fell to his face while attempting an ancestral bow…"
"Hey! It was my one hundred and sixty-sixth time doing it that day! All my muscles had given up on me by then," Yi Chen tried to reason it out, which ended up further amusing Feng Yu, and she let out a chuckle.
Realising she was chuckling at his antics, Yi Chen could only sigh in embarrassment.
'I lost the game the moment I tried to defend myself…sheesh,' he snorted in regret and tried to change the topic.
"So, aren't there any normal astrologers in the town? Why are we calling someone as respectable as Elder Gu to just match our horoscopes to decide on our wedding date?" This was also a question that had been growing in his mind for a while now.
"Oh, you didn't know? For Cloud reading of course!" Feng Yu answered matter-of-factly.
"Cloud reading?...is this something like determining our fate by seeing the clouds?" Yi Chen asked doubtfully with a surprised expression.
"Yes, but instead of our individual fate, Elder Gu will be using the clouds to gauge our shared fate as a married couple," Feng Yu said with an expectant smile before talking about some other things.
'Shared fate…cloud reading…' Yi Chen thought over it for a moment before turning his attention back to Feng Yu.
The two then spent some quality time together before calling it a night.