The night was already deep, and the red candles had burned past the halfway mark. The relatives and female relatives had long since departed, leaving the spacious red, festive bridal chamber completely quiet.
The door was pushed open, and clear, steady footsteps walked firmly toward her.
Lin Yulan’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat, and she instinctively clenched her hands, which were folded in front of her and tucked inside her wide sleeves.
Xiaoqu, standing guard to the side, hurriedly curtsied in a panic: “Mar… Marquis, greetings to the Marquis!”
“Step down.”
“Yes…”
The man was standing right in front of Lin Yulan at that moment. Although she couldn’t see him through the bridal veil, Lin Yulan still felt an oppressive pressure bearing down upon her.
With her head lowered, she could see the tips of the man’s white-soled black boots from beneath the veil, adorned with auspicious rolled-cloud patterns woven in gold thread—luxurious and flamboyant.
She didn’t dare move at all.
Shao Xun’s appearance involuntarily floated into her mind.
In her previous life, she had actually seen him only a few times. Although they were connected by marriage, men and women had to keep their distance, and besides, Shao Xun’s relationship with Lin Wei was extremely antagonistic. They had been married for just over three years when Shao Xun died in a great fire.
Lin Yulan only vaguely remembered that the Marquis of Wuwei was a young man of exceptionally prominent stature and appearance. That aura of his, matched with his dissolute reputation, caused no end of people to sigh with a “What a pity!”
With the rustling sound of robes, the man sat down at the round table opposite her. After a moment, with a half-smile, sounding halfway between teasing and serious, he said, “Your Lin family is truly interesting.”
Lin Yulan was somewhat at a loss for words.
At the very beginning, when the two families discussed the marriage, the intended bride was Lin Wei, but it suddenly ended up being her instead, and the wedding date was even moved up. No wonder he sounded sarcastic.
In her previous life, he and Lin Wei had fallen out so bitterly. Lin Wei possessed a difficult temperament, and this Marquis was no different; no wonder the two of them could never get along.
In this lifetime, judging by his attitude, Lin Yulan didn’t dare harbor any extravagant hopes. As long as she didn’t provoke him, she figured they could live in mutual peace. Thinking about how his lifespan wasn’t long, she felt he was rather pitiful, which made Lin Yulan care even less about his sarcasm.
After waiting for a long time without seeing him lift the veil, the stiff posture she had maintained straight-backed ever since he entered began to wear on her. She couldn’t help shifting slightly, causing the bright red, vibrant veil to ripple gently, reflecting the festive candlelight filling the room.
Finally, the world before her eyes brightened. Lin Yulan raised her gaze slightly to meet a pair of dark, ink-black eyes. The man possessed clear and bright brows, a high bridge of the nose, and perfectly handsome facial contours, with his thin lips pressed slightly together, as if naturally exuding a trace of cold detachment. A faint, hard-to-read smile hovered at the corners of his lips, mocking and bantering.
In Shao Xun’s eyes, the richly adorned bride under the candlelight was gorgeous, delicate, and charming enough to be called an absolute beauty. This concubine-born daughter of the Lin family certainly grew up well—what a pity, why on earth did she have to marry him!
Lin Yulan waited for quite a while, yet saw no movement from the husband before her. Sighing inwardly, she carefully removed the glittering phoenix coronet herself and placed it to the side. With her dark, clear, watery eyes looking at Shao Xun, she spoke softly and gently: “This marriage is the command of our parents. Your concubine… just like the Marquis, is merely following the wishes of our elders.”
Shao Xun looked at her with a half-smile: “You certainly are a virtuous one.”
Lin Yulan also curved her lips slightly, saying softly, “The Marquis flatters me. In truth, your concubine lacks grand insight and doesn’t understand much, but at least I am clear on a few matters of reason and know a few things about the duties of a wife.”
“Duties, duties are good!” Shao Xun glanced at Lin Yulan, his gaze deepening as he smiled again: “I wonder how the Mistress plans to fulfill these duties?”
Lin Yulan instinctively felt that he was testing her, but then wondered if she was just overthinking it because she had entered an unfamiliar environment and was feeling overly nervous after leaving her boudoir.
Because this didn’t sound like something an unprincipled scoundrel who spent his days cockfighting and dog-racing would do—there was no reason for it.
Lin Yulan: “Glory and disgrace are shared together.”
“Then you’re wrong!” Hearing this, Shao Xun denied it without a second thought: “I have no glory for you to share, and whether you suffer disgrace or not has nothing to do with me!”
Lin Yulan: “…”
He truly was a dissolute scoundrel.
It would be a wonder if Lin Wei could ever get along with him.
Still, she felt the problem wasn’t too big.
“Your concubine’s meaning is that I will certainly mind my words and actions, keep my duties strictly in mind, and not disgrace the Marquis’s dignity in front of others. I also ask the Marquis to do the same. As for behind closed doors, the Marquis may follow your own heart; naturally, your concubine would not dare to say too much about the Marquis’s affairs.”
Shao Xun finally looked at her properly with a hint of genuine assessment.
After the betrothal cards were exchanged, he had sent people to secretly investigate this fiancée. Concubine-born daughter, unfavored, mother deceased. Cautious, quiet, and suppressed by her legitimate mother and younger sister to the point she couldn’t raise her head.
He had originally thought she would be weak and spineless, but it seemed his judgment had missed the mark.
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
“That certainly saves trouble. I don’t mind telling you a few more things.” Shao Xun possessed a rebellious streak; toward this marriage—which his grandmother had forced upon him using his deceased grandfather and parents—he held utmost resentment. He had arrived today full of anger and awkwardness, but unexpectedly, after entering the bridal chamber, more than half of his anger had evaporated without him even noticing.
Since his new wife was a sensible person, he didn’t mind showing her a bit of face. More importantly, he had a premonition that this bride greatly exceeded his expectations, and she would surely exceed the old dowager and the others’ expectations as well, which for some inexplicable reason made him look forward to things…
“If you conduct yourself properly and keep your place, you will naturally have whatever dignity is due to you in my domain. However, whether my second aunt and the old dowager will come looking for trouble with you is hard to say. I don’t mind lending a hand when I can help, but if you expect to rely entirely on my protection and want me to step forward and fight your battles for everything, I’m afraid that won’t work.”
The dark, underhanded schemes in the inner courtyard were countless; it was impossible for him to hover around the inner quarters every day, and he couldn’t protect her from everything.
These words didn’t sound pleasant, but they were the factual truth and also served as a reminder.
Lin Yulan nodded gently; she understood. Matters within the inner courtyard were naturally like that—a man simply couldn’t intervene, and wanting to establish oneself in the inner quarters relying entirely on a man was fundamentally impossible.
Clearly, the Marquis of Wuwei was a reasonable person. How on earth could Lin Wei have managed to reach a point of towering resentment and bone-deep hatred with him?
Yet, thinking of Lin Wei’s arrogance, selfishness, and foolishness, it somehow seemed to make sense again.
“Thank you for the reminder, Marquis. Your concubine understands the situation. Rest assured, Marquis, your concubine will not cause trouble for you. In the future, if the Marquis requires my cooperation with anything, please speak frankly; whatever your concubine is able to do, I will certainly do.”
As for matters that made things too difficult for her, well, those could be skipped.
Shao Xun let out a short, light chuckle: “Well said!”
She was an intelligent person.
Shao Xun stood up. “It’s getting late; you should rest early.”
Lin Yulan felt a surge of secret anxiety and was about to speak with tact when she saw him turn away to enter the side chamber behind the partition. She let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, he didn’t leave the bridal chamber entirely; otherwise, she feared she would be laughed to death tomorrow and find it impossible to take a single step in this household.