“Send the bride into the bridal chamber! The ceremony is complete ”
Yu Mu’an had been sitting on the bed for quite a while now, the noise and excitement of the wedding ceremony still echoing in her ears.
Her pounding heart gradually calmed, her clenched palms damp with cold sweat.
She had been reborn and successfully switched marriages!
At first, she had been worried about how to escape the fatal marriage that had cost her everything in her previous life.
Unexpectedly, her concubine-born younger sister had insisted on swapping marriages. That was when she realized this “good sister” of hers had likely been reborn as well.
Pretending ignorance, she went along with it and smoothly exchanged their fates!
In her previous life, she had poured her heart and soul into helping that scumbag rise to power.
In return, her sister and that scumbag, Han Shou, had an affair behind her back. Together, they framed her, had her limbs severed, and in the end, the scumbag beat her to death!
Since those two shameless lovers were so perfectly matched, then in this life, they could stay bound together from the very beginning no need to harm anyone else!
She wanted to see without her planning and support, could that useless scumbag still reach the heights he did in her past life?
Now, as long as her sister and that man consummated their marriage, one of the most important matters from her rebirth would be settled.
After that, she could deal with the next thing…
“Hurry up, hurry up! Keep it quiet don’t make too much noise!”
“What is that matchmaker doing? The wedding dresses were clearly so different in fabric how could she still mix up the bridal sedans…?”
“Stop complaining and move! Madam ordered that the switch must be corrected quietly!”
Hearing the commotion outside, her accompanying maid Anxin whispered, “Miss…”
Yu Mu’an yanked off her red veil and looked toward the outer room.
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone knocked on the door. A maidservant’s voice came, low and restrained: “Fifth Young Madam? Please open the door.”
Anxin looked flustered. “What do we do, Miss?”
Yu Mu’an raised a hand to silence her, glanced around, and her gaze landed on the back window.
She whispered a few instructions to Anxin, then turned, pushed open the window, lifted her skirt, and climbed out.
Anxin called out loudly, “Who is it?”
The servant raised her voice and repeated herself.
Anxin ran to the door, blocking it, pretending the lock was broken, fumbling with it for a long time.
“Oh dear, what’s wrong with this lock? I can’t open it…”
Another maid outside snapped impatiently, “Why lock the door for no reason?! You’re hopeless!”
The door rattled loudly as she shoved it.
The older servant scolded in a low voice, “Keep it down! Do you want everyone to hear?!”
The argument inside the bridal chamber soon faded.
Meanwhile, Yu Mu’an crouched low as she slipped into the back courtyard. Finding a low wall, she scrambled up it with hands and feet.
Bits of gravel fell from the wall as she climbed, and she vaguely heard a maid’s sharp voice questioning:
“What? She’s not there?! Why isn’t your young mistress in the bridal chamber on her wedding night?!”
Yu Mu’an’s heart tightened. Bracing her toes against the wall, she finally managed to climb up and straddle it.
Hurried footsteps bypassed the main hall and rushed into the back courtyard.
Anxin’s voice rang out angrily, “Who allowed you to barge into our courtyard?! Stop right there!”
“I’m checking on Madam’s orders! On such an important wedding night, where has your young mistress run off to?!”
Yu Mu’an crouched quietly on the other side of the wall, listening as they searched the courtyard before being driven away by Anxin’s anger.
She didn’t dare go back. Instead, she lifted her skirt and wandered through the darkness, deliberately heading into the darkest parts of the grove.
As long as she could stall for time once Anxin spread the news that “the two brides were mixed up but the marriage had already been consummated,” her mother-in-law wouldn’t be able to switch them back.
Walking along a small path in the garden, she deliberately chose the darkest spots.
She wasn’t afraid instead, her mind was full of questions.
It seemed something had gone wrong on her sister Yu Lin’s side?
Judging by the time, the groom should already have returned to the bridal chamber.
If that scumbag saw that the bride was the woman he loved, he should be happy so why had the mistake become known even to her mother-in-law?
Crack
The sound of a snapping branch jolted her from her thoughts.
Still pondering, Yu Mu’an instinctively stopped and looked toward the source of the sound.
It was early spring, and the plants had not fully grown.
The shrubs in the garden looked like skeletal claws, intertwined and within them lurked a large, pitch-black shadow.
A pair of dark, gleaming eyes stared straight at her.
Yu Mu’an’s heart nearly stopped. Cold sweat broke out across her back.
“What is that?!”
She shouted sharply, stepping back until her back hit a tree trunk.
The thing let out a low, beast-like growl and slowly moved closer.
Panicking, Yu Mu’an glanced around and spotted a broken branch nearby. She rushed over and picked it up.
Gripping the stick tightly, she stared at the shadow, her voice steady: “Stop playing tricks come out! Or I’ll call for help!”
With a roar, the shadow lunged at her.
Her pupils shrank. Fighting down her fear, she didn’t run, instead swinging the branch with all her strength!
Crack
The stick snapped in her hand.
In the faint light from a distant corridor, she finally saw clearly the shadow was actually a person!
Dressed in a lavish red wedding robe, with long black hair disheveled, thick brows and large eyes filled with feral aggression
Yu Mu’an froze.
The man before her… was her husband in this life Xie Jingyan.
Everyone knew that the great general’s son was no ordinary man. Xie Jingyan had trained in the military since childhood and at thirteen had led troops to victory, earning the emperor’s title as a brave young general.
But only those within the general’s household knew the young general had suffered an injury seven years ago and had lost his sanity.
Yu Mu’an cautiously stepped back, watching him carefully.
She slowly spread her hands, her voice softening:
“I don’t know if you recognize me. My name is Yu Mu’an. I’m your wife we just got married. Do you remember?”
But the man clearly had little reason left. His fierce expression didn’t change as he crouched, ready to attack.
“Who’s there?!” a voice shouted nearby.
Several sets of hurried footsteps approached.
“Quick, go check!”
Yu Mu’an didn’t have time to think. She grabbed him and crouched, pulling him into the dark bushes.
Two servants carrying torches ran over, followed by a panting maid it was the same one from earlier.
“Madam has ordered even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find the Fifth Young Madam tonight!”
The two servants quickly acknowledged.
After they left, Yu Mu’an finally came back to her senses. She had actually been bold enough to crouch here, holding down such a dangerous madman.
They were pressed tightly together she had practically leaned half her body against him to restrain him.
Their faces were close. In the cold night, she could feel his warm breath.
A subtle tension spread in the darkness.
Even through the thick layers of clothing, she could feel the firmness of his muscles…
The “madman” seemed confused by her sudden actions and didn’t attack her immediately.
She quickly pulled back a little and coughed lightly.
Lowering her voice, she coaxed him, “See? I can even play hide-and-seek with you~”
He looked at her suspiciously.
She knew she couldn’t keep hiding completely angering her mother-in-law wouldn’t be wise. It would be better to reveal herself soon.
“Come back with me later. If you do as I say, I can play with you anytime, alright?
If you don’t want to, I can disappear right now and won’t bother you at all.”
The man stared at her expressionlessly, then lost interest and looked away.
She had already died once she couldn’t even be afraid of a fool now.
After finally managing to switch marriages successfully, did they think they could switch back? Not a chance!
Yu Mu’an pulled him to his feet and strode forward without hesitation.
Wei Rui Pavilion was brightly lit.
Her mother-in-law, Hu Rui, sat at the head, her face full of anger.
Yu Lin knelt on the ground, sobbing softly.
Beside her, comforting her, was that scumbag Xie Jinghong.
Anxin ran in, out of breath. “Found her! Found her! My lady has been found!”
Yu Mu’an, still holding Xie Jingyan’s hand, hurried inside.
The moment she entered, she immediately knelt. “Your daughter-in-law went out to look for her husband and returned late. Please forgive me, Mother.”
The moment Hu Rui saw the two of them enter hand in hand, her expression instantly changed.