When her elder sister had her coming-of-age ceremony, she used a fine jade hairpin. At that time, Xie Linlang had looked on with nothing but envy. Yet now, gazing at the gold hairpin she had received, she felt utterly content.
Gold was good—gold was solid.
On the night of her coming-of-age ceremony, Xie Linlang slept soundly, clutching her gold hairpin.
Han Furen was a woman of her word. Having said she would handle Xiao Ji’s wedding arrangements, she threw herself into the task wholeheartedly. While overseeing the Xiao family’s purchases for the new marriage, she did not forget to send someone to inquire about the temperament of the Xie family’s third young lady.
To be honest, she did not hold much hope for Xiao Ji’s marriage prospects. The household of a Vice Minister of Revenue was of such high status; a young lady raised in such a grand mansion, even if a concubine-born daughter, would surely be proud and ambitious.
Could such a young lady, forced into this marriage out of necessity, truly be willing to settle down and live with Xiao Ji?
Xiao Ji was one of their own, so of course they saw everything about him as good, but they could not in good conscience claim he was a worthy match for the daughter of a Vice Minister of Revenue.
The fact that from the engagement until now, Xiao Ji had not even set foot inside the gates of Xie Manor spoke volumes.
Worried, Han Furen thought to make inquiries in advance. Knowing what the girl was like would allow for better preparation. However, the results of the inquiries left Han Furen’s heart half-chilled:
“They say the third young lady of Xie Manor is in poor health, constantly seeing Physician Li from Tongxin Hall.
I spent some silver to ask Physician Li. It’s said the third young lady falls ill once every season—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This winter, she hasn’t even gotten out of bed.”
Han Furen suddenly understood. No wonder the Xie family was willing to marry their daughter to a low-ranking soldier like Xiao Ji—it turned out the third young lady was a sickly girl from the start.
Furious, Han Furen went back to discuss it with Han Daren, who was also dumbfounded. But now the matter was settled; even Master Chen likely would not want to stir up more trouble.
“Master Chen has no intention of causing further difficulties. Now that things are finalized, even Master Chen would find it hard to go back on his word.”
Doing so would turn a justified position into an unjust one.
After much thought, Han Furen decided she must inform Xiao Ji. After all, it was her husband who had pushed for this marriage. Even knowing Xiao Ji was not one to confuse right and wrong, finding a sickly wife for a perfectly healthy man meant they bore some responsibility.
Moreover, Xiao Ji’s mother had passed away from illness. In those years, whatever little money Xiao Ji had went toward buying medicine. Now, just as life was finally getting a little better, here came a sickly wife. Where was the justice in that?
Yet when Xiao Ji heard, he only froze for a few seconds before asking, “Is it true she needs medicine all year round?”
Han Furen nodded angrily. “Yes, they say she falls ill every season.”
Strangely, upon hearing this, Xiao Ji actually felt somewhat relieved. He had thought it odd—a perfectly fine young lady from a noble family, no matter what, would not end up in his household. Now, at last, there was a reason.
The next day, Xiao Ji specifically went to the pharmacy to buy a new medicine decoction pot.
The ones his mother used before had long broken and were unusable. Besides, he felt it wasn’t quite right to have someone use what his mother had used.
Because of the matter of the Xie family’s third young lady being sickly, what had originally seemed like an extremely joyous event in the eyes of everyone at the guard station was now cast under a shadow.
The men under Xiao Ji’s command had even discussed swapping shifts with other teams on the day of the wedding so they could all join the bridal procession and lend their leader some face. Yet, the thought that their boss was actually marrying a sickly woman left them feeling even more aggrieved than Xiao Ji himself.
Even those who had previously envied or resented Xiao Ji for managing to marry a noble daughter from a vice-minister’s household despite his age now looked at him with pity.
How could someone be so unlucky?
The rumors grew wilder and more exaggerated, and before long, the entire Zhengyang Men Weisuo knew that the Xiaoqi of the third team was marrying a bride who was practically on her deathbed.
In short, Third Miss Xie was so ill she was nearly dead.
Only Xiao Ji, the person most directly involved, remained perfectly calm. The items to be furnished for the bride continued to be delivered to the Xiao household in an orderly manner.
Xie Linlang never got the chance to meet her future husband before the wedding. As the date drew near, she tried on the wedding gown with Xiao Qiu’s assistance, while Meixiang stood by, wearing her usual unchanging smile.
“Please don’t blame us, Third Miss,” Meixiang said. “Our family’s embroiderers have been busy lately making the wedding gown for the Eldest Miss, so yours had to be ordered from an outside embroidery workshop. Please try it on, and if there’s anywhere that doesn’t fit, we can still have it altered.”
Xie Linlang looked at her reflection in the mirror, clad in the wedding gown, and immediately noticed that the waist was far too loose.
But by delivering the gown at this time, Meixiang had left no room for alterations.
“There’s nothing that doesn’t fit. Thank you for your trouble, Sister Meixiang.”
The corners of Meixiang’s lips lifted slightly. “You’re too kind, Third Miss. This is what we ought to do.”
After Meixiang left, Xiao Qiu held the red bridal veil in her hands, tears streaming down her face. “Miss, how could the Legal Mother do this? You’re getting married in three days—there’s no time to alter the gown now.”
Wasn’t this deliberately humiliating the young lady?
Although Xiao Qiu had been sent by the Legal Mother, after spending so much time together and with only three days left before parting, Xie Linlang felt a pang of reluctance seeing her cry over this matter.
For once, she shared a few heartfelt words with Xiao Qiu. “Xiao Qiu, being able to wear bright red for my wedding truly makes me happy.”
Surely, her mother, watching from the underworld, would be happy for her too.
Xiao Qiu couldn’t understand how Third Miss could still smile.
Xie Linlang changed out of the wedding gown. Even though her marriage felt like a joke, she would do her best to leave no regrets. If the gown didn’t fit, she could simply alter it herself.
Seeing Xie Linlang take matters into her own hands, Xiao Qiu wiped her tears and picked up the needlework to help.
Somehow, they managed to alter the wedding gown to a perfect fit by the day before the wedding.
June 30th—an auspicious day for groundbreaking and weddings.
Dressed in a bright red wedding gown, Xiao Ji mounted a tall horse and set off with a group of brothers to fetch his bride.
Though they pitied Xiao Ji for having to marry a sickly woman, it was still a joyous occasion. The attendees were all in high spirits, and for a time, the lane where the Xiao family lived was bustling with excitement.
Xiao Ji was not stingy. Along the way, the procession played music and scattered wedding candies whenever they encountered children.
The lively bridal procession arrived at Qinren Lane and stopped in front of the residence of the Vice-Minister of Revenue. Most of the people in the procession were setting foot in an area where high-ranking officials gathered for the first time, but to avoid embarrassing Xiao Ji, they tried their best to remain composed and refrained from gasping in awe at the grand mansions.
Xie Manor did not open its gates until the sound of gongs and drums was heard. The steward blocked Xiao Ji and his party, who were about to enter, with one hand and said with a smile, “Don’t be in such a hurry, son-in-law. I’ve already sent someone to fetch the Third Young Lady. She’ll be here shortly.”
The wedding matron stood to the side, looking awkward. The men accompanying Xiao Ji, who usually guarded the city gates, were not known for their patience. One of them spoke up, “What kind of rule is this, not letting the groom enter?”
As the saying goes, even a servant of a prime minister holds the rank of a third-grade official. The steward forced a smile and said, “There are many women in the inner quarters of the manor, and the mistress is still recuperating from an illness. It’s best not to cause a disturbance. Please wait a moment.”
Just as he finished speaking, a figure dressed in bright red was seen being carried into the view of the crowd.