NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49
Chapter 49: What’s Consummating?
The bridesmaids made their way through the corridor, and immediately after leaving Perched Phoenix Pavilion, they saw Chief Housekeeper Yu, who happened to be passing through the back courtyard.
“Chief Housekeeper!” The bridesmaids respectfully greeted him.
“Bridesmaids, why are you here instead of keeping the bride company in the bridal chamber?”
“Ah, well,” the bridesmaids chuckled, and one replied, “the bride said she doesn’t need our services anymore, so we’re leaving a bit early.”
“Yes, we’re just leaving a bit early!” the other bridesmaids spoke in unison.
Chief Housekeeper Yu glanced into the courtyard and nodded his head. “Very well. I’ll send for somebody to escort you all back. Fetch your reward money from the front courtyard.”
“Alright!”
“Thank you, Chief Housekeeper!”
The bridesmaids were thrilled to find out they would be paid even though they hadn’t kept the bride company. They happily headed towards the front yard.
The front courtyard suddenly grew louder, and among the ruckus was the shrill voice of a eunuch. Perhaps the eunuch was sent to the banquet to bestow gifts on behalf of the palace.
In addition to the status already held by the Ji family in the country of Daliang, the daughter of the Ji family was a consort favored by the Emperor. On the day of Ji Yuxian’s wedding, it was expected that the Emperor or Consort Ji would either make an appearance or send gifts.
Chief Housekeeper Yu hurried to the front courtyard to take care of the guests.
Hearing that somebody from the palace had come to the banquet, everybody in the back courtyard rushed to the front courtyard to see what was going on. Qiao An, Hu Daopao, and Ah Shu took this opportunity to sneak into Perched Phoenix Pavilion.
The courtyard was large but organized neatly, and so it was not difficult to find. The three followed the corridor and knew that the most festively decorated room would be the bridal chamber. Careful checking if other people were present in the bridal chamber, Qian An looked around, and then knocked on the doors.
Nanny came to the door, saw that it was the three of them, and immediately opened the doors wide. “Come in, Sirs!”
The three slipped into the room.
Su Jiu and Chang Huan were still busy eating. Su Jiu grinned when she saw the three of them, and gestured. “Come, let’s eat together.”
The three were still disguised as servants from the Su family. Hu Dapao and Ah Shu leaped right onto the chairs and began devouring pastries.
Qiao An grinned. “The first step of the plan is complete!”
They had managed, unbeknownst by the Su Family, to successfully marry Su Jiu into Ji Manor. They were one step closer to success.
Hu Dapao spoke through a mouthful of food, “When I was carrying the chests of dowry, I saw what was inside. Two of the chests were filled with gold, silver, and jewelry. The other two were filled with silks and porcelains. They’re all in the east wing of this courtyard!”
If they took those four chests of dowry, they would become filthy rich without even robbing the Ji family!
“But we still need to think about how to move the four chests of treasure out of Ji Manor undetected,” Qian An said with a wrinkled brow.
“We managed to sneak ourselves here. Sneaking out a few chests should be easy!” Su Jiu chuckled, and pour a cupful of wine. “Let’s drink!”
Nanny quickly stopped Su Jiu’s hand. “Miss, you can’t drink this wine. This is the wine for the cross-cupped wine ceremony. It’s for you and Young Master Ji to drink together later.”
“Cross-cupped wine?” Su Jiu started. “How does one drink cross-cupped wine?”
“You’ll understand how when the time comes!” Nanny grinned.
Ah Shu asked, “After drinking, what if Young Master Ji wants to consummate the marriage?”
“What’s consummating?” Su Jiu asked as she snacked on sunflower seeds.
Chang Huan, who stood nearby, asked, “Is it like punching a hole through the wall, so the two of us can escape from Ji Manor?”
“Uh….”
Qiao An and Nanny shared a look of embarrassment. It wasn’t until that moment that they discovered something.
They had all forgotten a minor detail in their plan. What if Young Master Ji wanted to consummate the marriage?
To sleep with him, or not to sleep with him, that was the question.
But the bigger issue was, would Young Master Ji be irritated if Su Jiu refused to sleep with him?
And if Su Jiu, not knowing better, slept with him, how would they explain what had happened to her in the future?
The atmosphere became awkwardly silent. Su Jiu stared at them, waiting for an answer.
Hu Dapao suddenly grabbed a candlestick, and said with surprise, “Whoa, these candlesticks are made of gold!”
And with that, he bit the candlestick.
Qian An quickly changed the subject. “Don’t fool around!”
He turned to Su Jiu and said, “Chief, the Su family wants to leave a few servants here to take care of Miss Su. We volunteered to do this. So in the future, though we can’t eat and live together as we did in the past, we’re still going to all be in the same courtyard. We’ll look out for each other.”
The Su family came to Shengjing City hastily. Their journey was long, and they brought very few servants. The two mistresses brought along only one servant girl each, so there were very few servants to leave at Ji Manor.
No matter what, Su Yuejiu was a daughter of the Su family. Nanny was the only person by her side who came from the Su family. Fearing that she would be lonely in Shengjing city, the Su family had planned to purchase a few more servants to take care of Su Yuejiu. They worried about their daughter, and they also worried the Ji family would think the Su family lacked servants.
As soon as Su Wenqian mentioned this, Qiao An volunteered to stay in Ji Manor to take care of Miss Su.
Seeing that Qiao An and the others were energetic and honest men, Su Wenqian agreed for the three of them to remain.
“We cannot stay here for too long. Chief, you only need Chang Huan at your side. We’ll go to the front courtyard. If you need anything, send Chang Huan,” Qian An said.
“Don’t worry, Commander-in-chief. I’ll protect Chief.” Chang Huan smiled obediently.
Seeing that nobody was outside, the three pushed opened the doors and left, quickly leaving the back courtyard.
Su Jiu had forgotten all about her question regarding consummating the marriage. Having eaten until she was content, she looked at the comfortable cotton blanket on the bed. A wave of drowsiness hit her. She said, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Wake me up when that Eldest Young Master comes here!”
“Chief, let me help you with the blanket!” Chang Huan raced to the bed to help.
Nanny looked at Su Jiu, who was lying comfortably in bed. She shook her head with a sigh. This must be the most comfortable bride in the world, she thought to herself.
Other brides would be busy from morning to night, fearful that even breathing too loudly would cause others to laugh at their mannerisms.
Nanny let Su Jiu do as she pleased. As for Nanny, she listened closely to what was happening outside. The moment somebody came, she would wake Su Jiu up.