Wife Doting Addiction：My Abducted Tsundere Husband

Chapter 47: There’s Something to Play With Now!

 

The entire front courtyard of Ji Manor was filled with guests, all from notable families in Shengjing. Wealthy merchants came to give congratulatory remarks, as did spokesmen sent by governors of the imperial court.

Prince Yu, Prince Zhao, and Prince Rui all sent servants to deliver gifts, though none of the princes appeared in person.

Though the Ji family was a mere merchant family, they controlled over seventy percent of Daliang Country’s economy. The Ji family was not to be underestimated, a fact that was understood by many of the court factions. The wedding was a prime opportunity for different court factions to express their desire to ally with the Ji family.

A rather large sign that read “Joy” was pasted onto the central wall of the main hall. The hall itself was large enough to fit well over a hundred people and was adorned by carvings on the pillars, paintings on the ceiling, a red carpet that covered the floor, and red silken decorations. There were room-dividers, as well as chairs built of mahogany, adorned with copper rings and golden edges. The main hall was refined and elegant, drawing compliments from all who entered.

The two young masters of the Su family who came with the wedding procession looked upon everything in Ji Manor with both admiration and envy. There was a trace of pride in their eyes, almost as if a daughter of the Su family marrying into Ji Manor meant that their status would be elevated as well.

The altar table in the center of the hall displayed the memorial tablets of Ji Yuxian’s parents. The Second Mistress sat on the side, upon a grand chair garnished with floral carvings. She wore a shirt woven of silver thread, with golden edges and date-colored designs, and a silk skirt with auspicious floral patterns. A jasper hairpin rested in her hair, elegant and refined.

The Second Mistress smiled warmly as she watched Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu enter. She turned to the Master of Ceremonies and nodded.

The Master of Ceremonies announced loudly, “The time has come!”

The noisy main hall immediately quieted down.

“The bride and groom’s first bow will be to Heaven and Earth! May their fortunes last a lifetime!”

Su Jiu turned around with Nanny’s assistance and bowed.

“The second bow will be to Father and Mother! Their grace surpasses that of Heaven!”

Su Jiu and Ji Yuxian stood side by side and bowed, facing the front.

“Finally, the bride and groom will bow to one another! Joyfully they unite in blissful marriage, and will love one another until old age!”

Su Jiu lowered her eyes and looked at the hem of the groom’s red robe and his black boots. At that moment, she felt a tangle of emotions. Who knew weddings were so complicated!

If one day she took all of the Ji family’s wealth and ran away, would everything they’ve done today become a big joke?

Joyfully unite in blissful marriage?

Love one another until old age?

Ha!

“The ceremony is complete! Escort the bride to the bridal chamber!”

Following a shout by the Master of Ceremonies, joyful cheers once again erupted in the surrounding area. The Second Mistress stood up with a warm, gentle smile.

“I wish the couple many children. The more children, the more fortune!”

Nanny and a few of the bridesmaids giggled as they led Su Jiu towards the back courtyard.

Shangguan Yu, who was following Madam Shangguan, looked at the bride with blazing eyes. “She seems like an ungracious woman,” she said coldly. “I don’t understand what Cousin sees in her.”

Careful to go about unnoticed, Shangguan Yu stepped back a step, and lowered her voice, “Is everything ready in the back courtyard?”

The little servant girl Liuqin immediately nodded her head. “Don’t worry, Miss. I placed everything there myself!”

“Nobody saw?”

“No.”

Shangguan Yu nodded, and together with Liuqin, turned to follow the bride to the back courtyard.

Madam Shangguan looked back and asked, “Yu’er, where are you going?”

“Mother, why don’t you go enjoy the wine and the banquet?” Shangguan Yu replied. “I’m going to talk a stroll in the back courtyard. There’s no harm in some wedding day mischief.”

“Don’t you misbehave!” Madam Shangguan said with a slight tone of disapproval.

She knew her daughter fancied the Eldest Young Master of the Ji family. Her husband once considered marrying Shangguan Yu into Ji Manor, but the Ji family looked down on them, and so there was nothing more they could do.

“Alright!” Shangguan Yu replied impatiently. She raced ahead.

The bridal chamber was arranged in the Perched Phoenix Pavilion, the closest chamber to Ji Yuxian’s bedchamber. They passed through several corridors and gardens on the way and walked for nearly five minutes. Along the way, there were no sounds other than the chattering of the bridesmaids.

“Ji Manor is indeed the wealthiest in the district. Look at this garden! It’s bigger than our entire house!”

“How ignorant and poorly-read you are! Let’s not speak of the entire garden at the moment. All the artificial mountains in this garden were transported thousands of miles here from the top of the Water-Cloud Mountain! The very path below our feet is paved with jade stones harvested from the depths of the seas!”

“Oh! I hear stones from the Water-Cloud Mountain are magical! I must pay my respects later!”

Laughing and chattering, the group entered the Perched Phoenix Pavilion and led Su Jiu towards the bridal chamber.

The engraved mahogany doors of the wedding chamber were decorated with more characters that read “Joy.” The bridesmaid leading Su Jiu said, “Young Mistress, you must push open the doors yourself for good fortune!”

Su Jiu nodded, stepped forward, and reached out a hand to push open the doors.

Nearly at that exact moment, a porcelain basin, balanced on top of the doors, fell down.

“Ah!”

The bridesmaid nearest to the front screamed, and without any regard for Su Jiu, quickly stepped back. In a moment, the porcelain basin would tip over, and the entire basin of water would spill over Su Jiu’s head.

Nanny was startled too and hastily tried to push Su Jiu away so the basin of water would fall on her instead.

Su Jiu wrinkled her brow. Though she could not see what was happening, learners of martial arts were always more sensitive in the five senses. Without needing to look, she pushed Nanny behind her with one arm, and the other arm quickly reached up to catch the falling basin. With a twirl, the basin landed safely in her hand.

Her reaction was very quick, and her movements were fast as well. By the time the basin landed in her hand, the others still hadn’t figured out how she had moved so quickly.

Chang Huan stood at the very back of the group. By the time he detected that something was wrong, Su Jiu had already caught the basin. He exhaled a breath of relief. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a young lady hidden behind a tree next to the corridor. With a cold chuckle, he gave the basin in Su Jiu’s hand a swift kick.

The bridesmaids had just calmed their nerves when they suddenly saw the basin fly into the air and soar over their heads. They heard a “clink-clank.”

“Ah!”

Two sounds and the basin landed perfectly on the young woman underneath the tree, soaking her completely from head to toe.

“Miss!” Liuqin screamed and then quickly removed the basin from the young woman’s head. She was on the verge of tears. “Miss, are you alright?”

The basin had come down quite forcefully, and with the added douse of water, Shangguan Yu nearly fainted. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, and she muttered, “Liuqin, what just happened?”

“It’s Miss Shangguan!’ The startled bridesmaids swarmed around Shangguan Yu. “Miss Shangguan, what are you doing here?”

Nanny followed them, knowingly perfectly well in her heart what had happened. She feigned a look a concern and said, “I don’t know how this happened, a basin of water just fell from the top of the doors! The servant-girl was afraid the basin would injure Young Mistress, and so she kicked it out of the way. What a coincidence it landed on Miss Shangguan!”

Liuqin pushed Nanny away. “Go away! It’s clear you all did this on purpose!”

Shangguan Yu was soaked from head to toe. She shivered violently when a cold breeze blew by, and her face was terribly pale. She stammered, “You… you… how dare you dump a basin of water on me!”

“Miss Shangguan, you blame us unjustly! Chang Huan really didn’t see that you were behind here. And anyway, how did a basin of water appear on top of the door? I will immediately report this to the Chief Housekeeper. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and give Miss Shangguan an explanation!” Nanny said, looking as innocent as can be.

Chuang Huan stood in the corridor and chuckled coldly. She leaned against the wall at Su Jiu’s side and said, quietly, “Chief, we’re gonna have fun in the future!”

How enlightening it all was, inside these grand doors and grand courtyards. Were these women all bored?

So bored that they would resort to such stupid tricks?

Su Jiu quietly lifted up a corner of her veil and looked at the miserable Shangguan Yu. Her lips curved into a smile. Fun, indeed!