Chapter 30: The Crippled Young Lady (Thirty)
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Chapter 30: The Crippled Young Lady (Thirty)
Now that she had been betrothed by imperial decree, Su Kui was no longer among the candidates for the imperial selection. That very evening, she left the palace with the Old Madam.
To her surprise, Green Waist was sent in soon afterward the following day. Once again, Su Kui was forced to marvel at Jun Mo’s immense influence.
Ever since the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, Grand Tutor Feng had not once shown Su Kui a pleasant expression.
In the past, he had at least made some effort to conceal his indifference toward her. Now, he no longer bothered, and his face openly displayed his disgust.
The wedding had been set for the ninth day of the following month. Su Kui could not understand why Jun Mo was in such a hurry. Apparently, he had consulted a master to match their horoscopes, and the ninth day of the next month was an auspicious day, especially suited for marriage.
Although Grand Tutor Feng had announced that he would not prepare a dowry for her, Su Kui did not care in the least.
The Old Madam and Feng Zheng would never stand by and watch the family’s only legitimate daughter be married off empty-handed. Besides, even if Grand Tutor Feng’s words were harsh and he truly had no desire to provide a dowry, he could not afford to lose face.
This was not the time to offend the Regent Prince, either.
Everything was being prepared with frantic haste. Her heart had not been particularly nervous at first, but the urgency of the preparations gradually made her anxious.
Her chest tightened again and again as Su Kui struggled to calm her racing heartbeat. After all, this was the first wedding of her life.
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Who would have thought it would be so utterly unconventional—
Time flew like a white colt flashing past a narrow gap. In the blink of an eye, the ninth day of the ninth month had arrived.
Everywhere she looked, red stretched as far as the eye could see, dazzling and flamboyant like the seductive, glaring spider lilies blooming along the road to the underworld.
Outside the courtyard stood row upon row of dowry chests, their boxes covering the ground. Gold, silver, jewelry, houses, land deeds, porcelain, and antiques filled them in quantities too numerous to count.
A large portion of these things had been provided by the Old Madam. The rest had come from her elder brother, Feng Zheng. Only the few remaining, worthless items had been reluctantly produced by Grand Tutor Feng.
It was plain to see how much he despised his own daughter.
Su Kui’s extravagantly furnished boudoir was crowded with maids and matrons. One after another, they hurried about, checking this and inspecting that, terrified that something might be forgotten and spoil the auspicious occasion.
“With the first stroke, may your marriage last until the end of your days; with the second, may your hair turn white together; with the third, may your halls be filled with children and grandchildren…”
The matchmaker held a tourmaline comb in her deft hands, singing an auspicious blessing with every stroke.
Through the silver mirror, Su Kui gazed at the girl reflected within it. Her skin was as smooth and luminous as polished jade, her brows shaped like distant mountains washed in ink. Her lashes were long and thick, her nose small and delicately raised, her lips full and crimson. A mass of glossy black hair poured down her back.
All of it gave Su Kui an inexplicable sense of unreality. Which lifetime’s self was the real one? The two faces were utterly different, yet within the hazy depths of her eyes, they slowly overlapped.
She let out a long breath.
Was she really about to be married?
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It still felt somewhat unreal.
The Old Madam sat upright in a pearwood chair, gazing warmly at the joyous scene before her. Memories of the past seemed to replay themselves before her eyes.
From the moment the child had wailed her way into the world, through her first stumbling words, from an ignorant little girl to a charming young maiden—it had all happened in the briefest flash.
She was old now. Even her granddaughter was about to be married.
The Old Madam had no other ambitions. Children and grandchildren had their own blessings. At her age, she no longer cared about glory or riches; she wanted only harmony among her descendants and the happiness of sharing the family together.
She hoped that the Regent Prince had truly meant what he said at the banquet, from the bottom of his heart. In the future, there would be only one mistress in the prince’s residence, and he would treat Yan’er well.
“The auspicious hour has arrived!”
The long cry seemed to come from somewhere outside. In an instant, firecrackers exploded with deafening cracks, while voices offering congratulations rang out without pause.
[Grinning face] The next chapter will be the wedding night—hehehe~
Thank you, my dear readers, for all your votes. And thank you to the young lady who gave me a reward. I can’t reply because I’m using my phone, so I’m expressing my thanks here. It’s the first reward I’ve ever received in my life, and I’m absolutely overjoyed~
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