Chapter 43

The marriage of Su Qi, the eldest son of the Su family, in Jiangling City’s Rui yu Silk Estate caused quite a stir on the twenty-eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

Not to mention that the Su family itself was considered wealthy in Jiaozhou, but just half a year ago, the Su family’s legitimate daughter married the chief of the Eastern Bureau, and their status was completely different.

Before dawn, Jiangling City was still shrouded in darkness, but the Su family’s mansion was brightly lit. The servants in the mansion started to set up tables and chairs for the banquet in an orderly manner.

This time, the Su family invited many guests, and the banquet tables were set up from the inner courtyard to the front courtyard, the hall, and the side rooms. Except for the women staying in the inner quarters, every other place was filled with festive tables, red cloth, and paper-cut decorations.

At the entrance of the mansion, the stone path was already prepared with a wedding sedan and a red horse for the groom. They were just waiting for the groom to come out and ride the horse to the Zhou family to marry the bride.

The entire Su residence was immersed in a festive atmosphere. However, at the entrance of the study room, the matchmaker, pacing back and forth, had a worried expression. She occasionally peeked inside, looking anxious.

Perhaps because she had waited for too long, the matchmaker lightly knocked on the wooden door. “Master Su, we should hurry to welcome the bride, or we might miss the auspicious time.”

Upon hearing a muffled sound coming from inside the room, the matchmaker’s worries eased slightly. According to the saying, when parents make the decision and the matchmaker speaks, Master Su should be able to handle his own son. If this matter failed, she feared she would never be able to work as a matchmaker in Jiangling City again.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Rdpkel vbl pvweu, Fw Ykdtel pyv clbkde bkp elpj okvb yd ydtau lmralppksd, obkzl Gwdvkl Hbys pvsse clpkel bkx, nsxqsavkdt bkx yde xyppytkdt bkp pbswzelap.

Xd vbl qzssa kd qasdv sq vbl elpj, vblal oyp y uswdt xyd jdllzkdt. Brsd nzspla kdprlnvksd, bl csal y pzktbv alplxczydnl vs Gwdvkl Hbys.

Tkp qynkyz qlyvwalp olal ekpvkdnv, okvb pbyar lulcasop yde y rklankdt tygl. Tkp lulp, qkmle sd vbl taswde, nyaakle y nbkzz. Gv vbkp xsxldv, bkp lmralppksd alxykdle kdekqqlaldv, yde bl bye clld jdllzkdt qsa byzq yd bswa okvbswv vbl pzktbvlpv clde kd bkp cynj.

“Fw Ck, okzz usw xyaau sa dsv?”

“R osd’v xyaau.” Fw Ck’p hsknl oyp nsze yde alpszwvl.

Ebld bl oyp ypjle vs alvwad bsxl lyazu kd vbl xsadkdt, bl vbswtbv psxlvbkdt bye byrrldle kd vbl qyxkzu. Ebs oswze byhl lmrlnvle vs pll vbkp pnldl?

“Tlb, byhl usw yzz tsdl xye?” Fw Ykdtel lmnzykxle ydtakzu. “R yx uswa qyvbla, yde R yaaydtle vbkp xyaakytl qsa usw. Ebyv aktbv es usw byhl vs alqwpl?”

“Ck’la, esd’v xyjl uswa qyvbla ydtau. Qlvvkdt xyaakle kp y xyvvla sq vkxl. Ebu yal usw alpkpvkdt?” Gwdvkl Hbys pvayktbvldle Fw Ykdtel’p cynj yde qasodle yp pbl zssjle yv Fw Ck.

“I told you earlier that I don’t want to marry the cousin from the Zhou family. I only consider her my younger sister; why should I marry her?”

“If you have someone you like, I’ll let you marry her,” Su Mingde said in frustration. “But I ask you, if you don’t tell me, are you planning to remain unmarried your whole life?”

Su Qi replied coldly, “I won’t marry.”

“You!” Su Mingde slammed the desk with his palm, then quickly drank a bowl of tea to calm his anger. It was a joyous occasion, and he didn’t want outsiders to witness this embarrassing scene.

Zhao Yiniang held her chest with one hand and hurriedly walked to Su Qi’s side, feeling suffocated. Everything was prepared, but she didn’t expect the problem to arise from her own son.

She wanted to help Su Qi up and persuade him with kind words, but he seemed stuck to the floor and refused to get up.

This frustrated Zhao Yiniang, and she said, “I asked you to marry a wife, someone who would care for you. How can you be so ignorant? You are the only son of the Su family. We are counting on you in the future, but you act like this to defy us?”

“I won’t marry.”

“Fine.”

Su Mingde sneered, “Someone, tie up the young master and take him to the bridal chamber!”

…

The study room was filled with noise, unaware that the outside was already lit with the faint light of dawn. Relatives and guests nearby began to arrive, one by one, at the door.

While Su Mingde was still trying to persuade Su Qi, as the mistress of the house, Yu Qingniang, who had already reached an old age, had fewer restrictions. Since the main guests had not yet arrived, she could reluctantly stand in the front courtyard to greet them on Su Mingde’s behalf.

She could see the wedding procession outside the gate, still waiting and not moving. Yu Qingniang was getting increasingly anxious.

Although she disagreed with Su Qi’s child being adopted by Su Mi, now that things had come to this point, she didn’t want the Su family to truly lose face. As for what would happen in the future, as long as Su Mi didn’t agree, there was nothing Su Mingde could do either.

Yu Qingniang suppressed her worries and, with Chunlan by her side, greeted the guests who came to offer their congratulations. It was still early in the morning, and not many had arrived yet. If they waited a little longer, Su Mingde would definitely have to come out.

With her mind preoccupied, she became absent-minded when there were fewer people around and almost didn’t notice Li Xiuyuan approaching.

“Mother-in-law.”

Yu Qingniang looked up abruptly and saw that it was Li Xiuyuan. Her expression turned cold. “Hmm, Xian’er is resting at the residence in the capital.”

“Yes, I also arrived in Jiaozhou this morning,” Li Xiuyuan said, glancing around. “Mother-in-law, is the Lord here?”

Ever since Yu Qingniang learned about the incident in the past, she has developed a grudge against Li Xiuyuan. Now that he brought up Su Mi, she thought he still had ulterior motives. She couldn’t help but frown and say, “He’s not here.”

Seeing Yu Qingniang’s expression, Li Xiuyuan guessed that Su Mi had told her about the incident with the drugged wine. If that was the case, he became even more worried. If she could tell Yu Qingniang, then she could tell the Lord as well.

He truly regrets it now. Though he had ulterior motives, he valued his life even more.

Su Mi married the chief of the Eastern Bureau, and Li Xiuyuan had heard the rumors about the chief. How could he dare to provoke him?

That’s why he truly wanted to meet the chief this time. When Su Xian came out of the chief’s residence before, Su Mi didn’t leave any assurances in the end. He felt uneasy and thought that if he could meet him today, he could establish a closer relationship.

After all, to what extent could an eunuch dote on a woman? If he could win the chief’s favor, even if Su Mi mentioned that matter, he wouldn’t be easily controlled.

But today, the chief wasn’t present, so his plan fell through.

Yu Qingniang glanced at him, sensing that he was contemplating something unpleasant. She spoke coldly: “Go inside and sit. No need to stand here.”

“Yes, thank you, mother-in-law.”

After seeing Li Xiuyuan, Yu Qingniang became even more agitated. To her surprise, another headache-inducing person arrived: her nephew from her maiden family, Yu Zhiqiu.

“Aunt…” Yu Zhiqiu looked at Yu Qingniang and called out softly.

He had fair skin, and his pale face was covered with a thick, plain cotton robe. He appeared to be a delicate young scholar. In his hands, he held a red gift box, much smaller than the one Li Xiuyuan carried.

The Yu family ancestors held a minor official position as a county magistrate, so they could be considered scholars. However, they were extremely poor, which didn’t hinder Yu Qingniang from marrying Su Mingde. On the contrary, it even resulted in a marriage arrangement.

But after Yu Zhiqiu passed the imperial examination, Yu Rongshi broke the engagement.

Yu Qingniang’s eldest brother had passed away early, and she didn’t know what to say to her nephew. She sighed and instructed Chunlan to accept the gift and lead him inside.

However, Yu Zhiqiu seemed to have something to say. He hesitated and stood in place, saying, “Aunt, has Mi—cousin returned this time?”

“Yes, Mi’er returned last night,” Yu Qingniang replied flatly.

“Aunt, actually, it was my mother who broke off the engagement without my knowledge. I…” Yu Zhiqiu stammered. He actually admired his cousin, Su Mi, a lot. He had seen her a few times when they were children, and she was beautiful with a gentle speaking voice, like a fairy. He had known since childhood that they were destined to marry each other. But who would have thought…

Yu Qingniang interrupted, “Don’t speak of this.”

As the number of guests increased, Yu Qingniang glanced at the door and noticed that the bridal sedan seemed to have left. Did Master convince Su Qi?

“Chunlan, go and see where the Master went.”

“Yes, madam.”

Just as Chunlan was about to respond, Su Mingde appeared in the front hall with a smile on his face. He was dressed in a royal blue silk jacket and comfortably conversed with the guests as he passed by.

Yu Qingniang glanced behind him and took the opportunity when no one was paying attention to pull Su Mingde to a corner of the side hall. “Master, where is Qi’er? Did he go to welcome the bride?”

Inside the side hall, Su Mingde’s expression was no longer as pleasant as it was outside. “I had him tied up in the bridal chamber. I had my cousin’s grandson go to welcome the bride. I don’t know who he resembles, being so stubborn.”

“But when they arrive, what about the ceremonial entrance?” They couldn’t let someone else’s man perform the ritual.

“I had someone prepare a rooster. We’ll say Qi’er couldn’t make it back in time and use the rooster for the ceremony.”

Such customs were quite popular among merchants. After all, they often traveled and could be delayed for a day or two, missing the auspicious time.

Yu Qingniang sighed softly. “Well, alright.”

“By the way, did you talk to Mi’er about that matter?” Su Mingde suddenly remembered the matter of adoption when Su Qi was mentioned.

“Let’s wait for a while. There are people watching outside,” Yu Qingniang said, turning her head and walking towards the door, resuming her role as the hostess.

…

Although most of the women stayed in the backyard, the maidservants going in and out could always bring news. The news of Zhou’s daughter performing the ritual with a rooster also spread.

Aunt Zhao, who was previously angered by Su Qi, now had no appetite and remained silent. She was usually noisy, but today there was no sound, making the atmosphere at the table dull.

Observing this scene, Su Mi thought of Qin Yan. If it weren’t for meeting him back then, she would have been forced into the bridal chamber like Su Qi.

Ah, I wonder if the chief has arrived in Chenzhou now.

***

At the gate of the main city of Chenzhou, a gatekeeper sat on a wicker chair, resting his feet on the stepboard of Qin Yan’s carriage, with a dry blade of grass in his mouth.

He shook his head and said, “Do you think you can just pass through here without asking me anything beforehand?”

“Oh? What do you need to inquire about?” A voice emanated from the luxurious carriage, sounding as melodious as a jade stone hitting a copper vessel. It made the gatekeeper involuntarily want to sit up straight. But upon second thought, this single-horse carriage was indeed luxurious, but it belonged to a wealthy merchant. It couldn’t be compared to his own modest official status, which was barely associated with the realm of officials.

It was rare to encounter a wealthy person, and if he didn’t make a profit now, he wouldn’t pass this month’s “assessment and performance evaluation.” The gatekeeper tried his best to display some authority, straightening his neck and saying:

“What do you need to inquire about? Inquire about the rules! I suspect that you’re harboring a fugitive in the carriage. Either you dismount and let me inspect, or I will impound your carriage and lock you up in the prison cell.”

Feng Bao, observing the gatekeeper’s smug appearance, couldn’t help but let out a soft snort. He then pulled open the curtain for Qin Yan, and the gatekeeper immediately saw the man sitting diagonally inside.

The man was dressed in a brocade robe; his appearance was handsome, and his eyes were as clear as a spring, exuding a misty aura.

His left hand casually toyed with a jade hairpin, his slender and distinct fingers gliding over the tip of the hairpin. The jade color of his fingers was even more lustrous and beautiful than the hairpin itself.

He chuckled lightly, placing his right hand lazily on the silk cushion behind him and raising his head in a lazy manner, saying:

“I’m in a hurry. Why don’t you tell me how much you want?”

The gatekeeper, seeing such a handsome and charismatic man for the first time, was slightly stunned before quickly regaining his composure. Frowning, Feng Bao took out a silver pouch from his bosom and impatiently stuffed it into the gatekeeper’s hand, saying:

“Is this enough? Let us enter the city quickly.”

The gatekeeper received the pouch of silver in his hand, and someone actually handed it to him so readily. Greed suddenly arose in his heart.

“No, it’s not enough…!”

Qin Yan smiled and asked, “How much more do you want?”

The gatekeeper greedily looked at Qin Yan’s hand and said, “I want the jade hairpin in your hand!”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yan’s hand abruptly stopped, and when he lifted his eyes to look at the gatekeeper at the city gate, all traces of a smile disappeared from his face.