The bridal sedan chair came to a halt, and the curtain was pulled back.
Ye Xunyang took a deep breath, tore off the red bridal veil himself, and leaped out of the sedan with a nimble movement that caught the surrounding matchmakers and guards completely off guard.
“Young Master Ye! You cannot lift the bridal veil yourself! That is bad luck!” the matchmaker stammered, rushing forward to put it back on him, only to be stopped cold by a single glance from Ye Xunyang.
“Nanny, you do know I am a young master, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with a robust and energetic voice.
The matchmaker was momentarily left speechless.
“However, the Grand Preceptor said that not a single rule of this ceremony to ward off bad luck can be skipped; otherwise, it will harm the Prince’s health.” She muttered this under her breath.
Hearing her mention the Prince’s health, Ye Xunyang compromised. Who could argue when the other person was a Prince?
“Let us go, so we do not miss the auspicious hour.” Ye Xunyang readjusted the bridal veil and stepped into the Prince Jin Manor amid the crowd.
The manor was brightly lit and decorated with festive red lanterns, yet it inexplicably exuded a sense of desolation.
There were no halls packed with high-ranking guests, and no gathering of numerous visitors. Only a few expressionless guards and servants stood with lowered heads.
This looked nothing like a Prince’s grand wedding; it was far more rudimentary than an ordinary commoner’s wedding, which was truly perfunctory.
Ye Xunyang was led to the main hall, and the master of ceremonies’ mechanical ritual chanting echoed in his ears.
Ye Xunyang turned around and bowed slightly toward the sky outside the door.
There was no one beside him. Only a guard holding a rooster tied with red silk stood symbolically at his side.
He turned again and bowed toward the empty master seat.
Neither the Emperor nor the Empress Dowager was present, and not even a single royal clan elder representing the imperial family was in attendance.
As Ye Xunyang made his third bow to that rooster, the corners of his mouth could not help twitching.
As the legitimate eldest son of the grand commanding general and a martial arts prodigy among the younger generation in the capital—though perhaps not extraordinarily romantic, he at least ranked in the top ten of the men most desired for marriage in the capital—he had actually ended up bowing in marriage to a rooster.
After the ceremony was completed, he was led into the bridal chamber.
The room was luxuriously decorated, with red candles burning brightly, and embroidered quilts and pillows. The only issue was that a thick, heavy scent of medicine permeated the air.
“The Prince is indisposed and unable to greet you in person. Please forgive us, Your Highness,” the elderly head steward said with a bow, his tone respectful yet aloof.
“Your Highness? Me?” Hearing someone address him that way for the first time, Ye Xunyang felt there was nothing worse in the world than this.
“Yes, Your Highness. According to the imperial decree, you are the Princess Consort of Prince Jin’s Manor.”
“Oh well, whatever.”
Ye Xunyang waved his hand, not wanting to argue any further. He pulled off the veil himself, looked around the room, and asked politely, “How is the Prince’s condition?”
“It fluctuates. He suffered a high fever again today, and the imperial physicians are currently treating him,” the steward replied, lowering his gaze.
Ye Xunyang nodded, a shred of sympathy stirring in his heart for the Prince Jin he had never met.
He had once heard of what kind of demeanor Lou Jin possessed three years ago: both scholarly and martial, peerlessly handsome, and the Emperor’s most favored imperial son.
If not for that sudden and bizarre illness, who the crown prince would be today remained to be seen.
“Then I will go check on him?” Ye Xunyang started to stand up, only to be blocked by the steward.
“Please stay your steps, Your Highness. The imperial physicians have instructed that the Prince needs absolute quiet to recuperate. Please wait here. If the Prince’s condition improves, he will summon you.”
Ye Xunyang frowned, but he did not want to force the issue.
“Fine then, you may leave.”
After the steward withdrew, he paced back and forth in the room, pondering what to do next.
Since he had arrived, he would accept it as it was.
Since he had already married in, he would just act as this lucky mascot. Once the Prince recovered, couldn’t they just get a divorce? It would not be too late for him to marry a wife then.
Besides, if he could befriend this once-illustrious prince, and if the Prince really recovered in the future to fight side by side on the battlefield together, wouldn’t that be magnificent?
The more Ye Xunyang thought about it, the more brilliant he felt this idea was.
What husband-and-wife title? It was merely a matter of expediency. Brotherhood was the true path to longevity!
Late into the night, movement finally sounded outside the door.
Ye Xunyang immediately sat up straight, brewing in his heart how to discuss his plan with Prince Jin.
The door was pushed open, and a few guards slowly pushed in a wheelchair.
Seated in the wheelchair was a man dressed in bright red wedding attire, which made his complexion appear even more pale.
He lowered his head, his jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall and covering most of his face. Even so, his prominent nose bridge and beautifully sculpted jawline still revealed his peerless grace.
This was Prince Jin, Lou Jin.
The guards pushed the wheelchair to the center of the room, bowed, and withdrew, gently pulling the door shut behind them.
For a moment, only the two of them remained in the room.
The candlewick crackled and popped, and the atmosphere grew inexplicably stagnant.
Ye Xunyang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in a salute: “Your subordinate, Ye Xunyang, pays respects to the Prince.”
The person in the wheelchair slowly raised his head.
The moment he saw the other’s face, Ye Xunyang’s breath hitched.
It was a face pale to the extreme yet shockingly handsome.
His brows were like distant mountains, his eyes like cold stars, and his thin lips lacked any trace of color, yet they curved into an exceptionally attractive arc.
Those eyes were as deep as an ancient well. Though they ought to have been dimmed by illness, they were so sharp they seemed capable of piercing through a person’s soul.
“My beloved consort, no need for formalities,” Lou Jin spoke. His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried an indescribable magnetism.
Ye Xunyang choked on the words “beloved consort,” coughed once, and said solemnly, “Prince, since the two of us are already married, I will speak my mind directly.”
Lou Jin raised his eyebrows slightly, signaling him to continue.
“I know this marriage was meant to ward off bad luck for the Prince, and it is merely a temporary measure. Rest assured, Your Highness, I, Ye Xunyang, am definitely not a petty person who takes advantage of others in their time of weakness.”
“I observe that Your Highness possesses an extraordinary demeanor, and in earlier years I also heard tales of Your Highness’s heroic deeds, for which I hold deep admiration.”
“Why don’t we use this opportunity to become sworn brothers? Once Your Highness recovers in the future, we can get a divorce, and at that time fight side by side on the battlefield to protect our country. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
After this generous and impassioned speech, Ye Xunyang looked at Lou Jin expectantly, only to see the other lower his eyelids, cover his mouth, and break into a violent fit of coughing. His frail body trembled uncontrollably, as though he might fall apart at any moment.
Ye Xunyang hurriedly stepped forward and gently patted his back: “Prince, are you alright?”
Lou Jin slowly ceased his coughing, raised his pale face, and a trace of an unnoticeable smile flashed in his eyes before vanishing instantly.
“I appreciate your kind intentions, my beloved consort.”
His voice was weak, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.
“However, the Grand Preceptor said that the ritual to ward off bad luck must be genuine to take effect. We can discuss this matter another time.”
Ye Xunyang wanted to say something more, but seeing Lou Jin’s exhausted expression, he could not bear to press further: “Then Your Highness should get some good rest first. Recuperating is of the utmost importance.”
Lou Jin nodded, signaling Ye Xunyang to push him toward the bed.
Only then did Ye Xunyang notice that the wedding bed was exceptionally large—more than spacious enough for four or five people to sleep on.
“My beloved consort, would you help me to the bed?” Lou Jin extended a pale, slender hand, his tone as natural as if they truly were a deeply affectionate couple.
Ye Xunyang froze for a moment, but still stepped forward to assist him.
The arm he touched was much stronger than he had imagined, lacking the frailty one would expect from someone chronically ill. But upon second thought, Lou Jin had once been skilled in both scholarship and martial arts, so his physical foundation was naturally much better than ordinary people.
After settling Lou Jin onto the bed, Ye Xunyang stood in place, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Logically speaking, since they were husband and wife, sleeping in the same bed was only natural. Yet with two grown men squeezed onto a single bed, no matter how he thought about it, it felt awkward.
“Is my beloved consort not going to rest?” Lou Jin lay on his side, propping his head with one hand, his dark hair spread across the embroidered pillow. In the candlelight, his appearance was breathtakingly beautiful.
Ye Xunyang scratched his head and had a flash of inspiration: “Your Highness’s health has not yet fully recovered, and I am afraid my sleeping habits might disturb you. How about I make a bed on the floor?”
Lou Jin’s gaze darkened, but his tone remained gentle: “The night is deep and heavy with dew, and the floor is cold. If my beloved consort catches a chill, how could my heart bear it?”
He patted the empty space beside him.
“This bed is spacious enough; you and I can simply take our own sides.”
With things having reached this point, if Ye Xunyang refused again, it would only seem petty and affected.
He gritted his teeth and lay down fully clothed on the other side of the bed, keeping as far away from Lou Jin as possible.
The red candles flickered, and the room grew quiet enough to hear each other’s breathing.
Ye Xunyang’s entire body was stiff as he stared at the embroidery on the bed canopy, his mind a swirl of mixed emotions. He should have been drinking wine and practicing the sword with his soldiers at the border, yet now he was trapped in this embroidered cage, sharing a bed with a strange man.
Fate could truly be no more bizarre than this.
Just as his thoughts were running wild, the sound of steady breathing came from beside him.
Ye Xunyang turned his head to look. Lou Jin appeared to have already fallen asleep. Overcome by drowsiness and exhausted from the long day, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.