NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
Chapter 46: The Grand Wedding (2)
The closer they were to the outer courtyard, the louder the commotion outside became. The sound of the firecrackers was deafening. Sounds of congratulations, joyful cheering, and requests for payment combined, and continuously resounded in Su Jiu’s ears.
Led by a nanny and bridesmaid, she saw nothing but the color red before her eyes. She wasn’t particularly nervous. Rather, she thought this all to be quite amusing.
Su Wenqian walked over with the two young masters of the Su family and said to Su Jiu a few words about how wives ought to behave. His gentle manner of speaking once again brought tears to Madam Su’s eyes as she stood nearby.
After everything was taken care of, the Su family joined to escort Su Jiu out the door.
Outside, people crowded together to watch. Amidst the thundering percussion, womenfolk shouted in the commotion and the faint sound of weeping could be heard.
Meanwhile, few of the maids giggled and chatted amongst themselves.
“Eldest Young Master looks quite handsome today. Nobody in the city of Shengjing can compare to him!”
“Our Miss Su is fortunate indeed to have found such a good husband!”
“How I envy her!”
—
Ji Yuxian rode on horseback. The black color of the steed contrasted with his bright red robes. Eyes that slanted slightly upward hinted at a smile. His thin lips were a deep red, possessing a seductive beauty even greater than that of a woman’s. A proud, cool manner only added to his virile quality. Devilish charisma mixed with noble elegance, his beauty was divine indeed.
He dismounted his horse and stepped towards Su Jiu. His eyes landed on Su Wenqian and with a slight smile, he said, “Father-in-law!”
Su Wenqian nodded. “Good. Now I give you Yuejiu’s hand in marriage.”
“Don’t worry, Father-in-law. I will take care of Jiu’er.” Ji Yuxian gazed at the tassels on the bride’s veil, lightly swinging from side to side. His eyes shone brightly.
“Good! Good!”
Su Wenqian nodded his head.
With a red cloth blocking her view, Su Jiu could not see the man standing before her. Yet, she could almost feel his breath. His scent was quite aromatic and alluring.
What a prize! she thought gleefully. There’ll be nothing left when I’m through with you!
With a jolt, the bridal sedan was steadily lifted off the ground.
In the front of the procession, Ji Yuxian mounted his horse once more. Servants of Ji Manor distributed silver, causing an uproar of cheering in the surrounding area.
The bridal sedan slowly moved forward. The wedding procession of Ji Manor formed a line that stretched along half the entire street. Interested eyes watched from either side, and swarms of people bustled to and fro. The street was even busier than it was on holidays!
Su Jiu’s bridal sedan was accompanied by Chang Huan and the nanny on one side, and the bridesmaids on the other. It was followed by Su Jiu’s dowry. Aside from the trunks of dowry that had already been replaced with rocks when Miss Su first came to the capital city, the other four trunks were newly added by the Su family.
After all, the entire city was watching the marriage to Ji Manor. The Su family couldn’t let the dowry appear too shabby.
The long line, amidst the thundering drums, moved in the direction of Ji Manor. Onlookers crowded the streets, almost as if the entire city had come to watch the wedding procession.
Yet on this day, Robes Square was unusually silent. Since that morning, Lan Zhihui had been sitting at her desk, painting and staying seated for nearly four hours.
The room was extremely quiet. The sound of distant firecrackers was faintly audible.
Qinxiang brought some freshly-washed fruits into the room and said quietly, “Miss, rest for a moment.”
“Hmmm,” Lan Zhihui absentmindedly replied, massaging her sore wrist.
“Many of the embroidery maidens went out to watch the wedding procession on the street. I heard the Eldest Young Master looks extraordinarily handsome today. Even the horse he’s riding is decorated today, with a big red flower on his head.”
Abruptly, Qinxiang shut her mouth when she saw Lan Zhihui appeared unhappy with this news.
After a while, Lan Zhihui put down her brush and bent over the painting to blow the ink dry. “Come look,” she said with a slight smile. “How is the painting?”
She had painted a bamboo scene. The bamboo stalks were tall and elegant, stretching to the sky as if they were trees. The proud bones and nature of the bamboo were admirable indeed.
“Beautiful! The bamboo leaves layer beautifully and the stalks, though straight, portray a meaning of their own. The painting is in itself, a poem. Your finest work of art, without a doubt!” Qingxiang, having following Lan Zhihui for many years, knew a thing or two about paintings. Her compliments were from the heart. “Miss, if you display this painting, it would put those scholars in shock again.”
Lan Zhizhui smiled. “Store it away when the ink dries and give it to Eldest Young Master next time he comes.”
“Ah, so it’s a gift for Eldest Young Master! No wonder!” Qinxiang giggled knowingly.
“It’s not what you think. He’s getting married, so I should give him a wedding gift. Gold or silver items are too typical, so my painting will have to do.”
“Yes, a painting painted by you personally is more valuable than anything else. I bet Eldest Young Master will hang it somewhere special and look at it at least eight times a day!”
“Oh, you! What good are you, other than for bickering?” Lan Zhihui glared at Qinxiang.
Qinxiang giggled and then stepped forward to gather the painting.
Lan Zhihui stood before the window and absentmindedly listened to the joyful suona horns playing outside.
The wedding procession took a detour around the city and took nearly two hours before arriving at Ji Manor. Inside the bridal sedan, the comfortable gentle rocking had put Su Jiu to sleep.
The sedan came to a stop. Amidst the deafening firecrackers and cheers, Ji Yuxian swiftly dismounted his horse and stepped towards the bridal sedan.
He kicked aside the sedan curtain with embroidered lotuses and reached out a hand. He abruptly froze.
Inside, the young woman in the bridal gown leaned against the wall of the sedan, fast asleep and lightly snoring.
In that split second, Ji Yujuan thought to himself that marrying this woman might have been the first wrong decision of his life.
With the veil separating them, Ji Yuxian pinched the bride’s face. “How about you return home to continue sleeping?” he said slowly, in his alluring voice.
His cool hand startled Su Jiu awake. She straightened her posture. She could not see past her veil but felt that the bridal sedan had stopped moving. “Nanny, have we arrived?”
Ji Yuxian took a deep breath and grabbed her hand to lead her out.
Startled, Su Jiu instinctively tried to shake the hand away.
His hand, wrapped around hers and cool as jade stone, was not holding hers very tightly. Yet, Su Jiu couldn’t shake her hand free from his grip. She did, however, wake from her nap. She stood up suddenly and with a “thump!”
Her head knocked into the sedan’s door frame.
Ji Yuxian chuckled lightly and tugged at her hand, leading her out of the sedan.
Su Jiu lifted a hand to rub her forehead as she took a moment to collect herself. She looked down at her feet, following Ji Yuxian out the sedan.
Crowds of people filled the surrounding area. After Ji Yuxian led her out the sedan, the nanny and bridesmaids immediately stepped forward to take Si Jiu’s hands. They led her forward as she stepped over the basin of fire and into the front doors of Ji Manor.
Above her head, a bright red lantern hung from the ceiling. This moment was the beginning of Su Jiu’s life as Young Mistress of the Ji family.
The crowd swarmed loudly around the bride and together, everybody walked towards the festively decorated main hall.