In the main hall, the bridegroom had entered the bridal chamber and had not shown his face again.
After three rounds of drinks, someone finally couldn’t hold back and whispered, “Why did Pingyang Hou only pay respects to Old Marquis Xiao’s memorial tablet during the wedding ceremony, but not to his legitimate mother, Madam Sun?”
“You don’t know about this?” The person beside him leaned closer. “Pingyang Hou isn’t actually Old Madam Xiao’s own son.”
“Now that you mention it, I recall that if Old Marquis Xiao were still alive, he would be in his eighties this year. But Old Madam Xiao… she looks to be just over sixty?”
“Exactly! Old Madam Xiao isn’t the original wife, and she couldn’t bear children. Xiao Lin was forcibly adopted under her name by the old marquis!”
“No wonder there’s such distance between mother and son… Judging by Pingyang Hou’s attitude toward Old Madam Xiao, he must have suffered quite a bit in his youth.”
“Who says otherwise!” The speaker clicked his tongue twice and shook his head with a sigh. “The inner courtyards of these noble mansions… they devour people without spitting out the bones!”
“…”
When men gossip, they surpass even women.
Though the tables were laden with fine wine and delicacies, none could rival the private affairs of the marquis’ household as a topic to accompany the guests’ drinks.
Looking at the red silk decorations filling the courtyard, Xiao Yunhe felt increasingly vexed. He found a secluded spot to drink alone.
Hah…
So what if they’re married?
That Xiao Lin is nothing but a cripple!
As long as the marriage isn’t consummated, they aren’t truly husband and wife!
They aren’t truly husband and wife!!
Mingyue… Mingyue will eventually remember his kindness and beg for his forgiveness!
When that time comes…
When that time comes, bound by those elders and rules… don’t, don’t blame him if he can only make her a concubine!
Xiao Yunhe raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. Moonlight fell on his sharply defined face, the mistiness in his eyes clearly visible.
“Mingyue…”
“Su Mingyue… you have no heart… What did our more than two years of feelings mean to you?”
“What exactly did I, Xiao Yunhe, do wrong? How could you bear… how could you bear to hurt and betray me like this?”
“How could you bear it?”
Xiao Yunhe was heartbroken, downing cup after cup of strong liquor, hiccupping incessantly.
He vaguely felt that he should have been the one wearing the wedding robes today! He couldn’t imagine how shy and charming the face beneath the red bridal veil must be…
Behind a pillar, Liu Ying, who had mostly recovered, watched his despondent appearance with an increasingly gloomy expression, nearly tearing the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
Some things Brother Yunhe needed to see with his own eyes to completely give up hope! But she couldn’t be the one to say it…
She quickly devised a plan to kill two birds with one stone: first, to make Xiao Yunhe abandon any illusions about Su Mingyue; second, to ruin Su Mingyue’s reputation, ensuring she could never hold her head high in the marquis’ household again!
“Shuisheng…” She beckoned to a servant boy nearby and whispered a few words to him.
“Don’t worry, Miss Cousin, this servant will handle it perfectly for you!” Shuisheng happily accepted the silver.
He glanced around, bent down to grab a handful of dirt and smeared it haphazardly on his face, then hurried toward Xiao Yunhe.
“Wah wah wah… Young Master, you must go to the kitchen and see!”
“Because… because the marquis called for water, everyone wanted to earn a few extra rewards, and the kitchen workers actually started fighting…”
“What did you say?” Xiao Yunhe staggered to his feet.
His eyes bloodshot, he grabbed the servant by the collar. “Who did you say is calling for water?”
“That cripple… what does he need water for?!”
…
In the bridal chamber, Su Mingyue and Xiao Lin did not bathe together.
The Pingyang Marquisate had deep courtyards and winding paths. Apart from the Dulan Courtyard where Pingyang Hou resided, Su Mingyue’s Xuanmao Hall had the best location and was the most spacious—there was no shortage of places to bathe.
However, with Xiao He and Xiao Tao guarding outside the door, Xiao Lin was pushed back into the bridal chamber by Qing Jiu, whose face was dark with anger, after his bath.
Although Qing Jiu was displeased that two young girls dared to openly monitor his master… he could somewhat understand.
After all, today was the wedding day of the Marquis and his lady. If others learned that the newlywed Marchioness was already being neglected by the Marquis on her first day, it would inevitably invite gossip and make life difficult for the lady in the future!
He would endure it!
Hearing the sound of the wheelchair rolling, Su Mingyue quickly hid the booklets prepared for her by the Imperial Household Department—the ones with illustrations of little figures.
Blushing, she went to the door to greet him.
She wondered… would Xiao Lin’s frail body be able to withstand it if she…?
Xiao Lin did not trust Su Mingyue, placing more faith in the physician from the medical clinic.
In her previous life, she had only taken Xiao Lin’s pulse twice. This life was the same… so far, including the time in childhood, she had only examined his pulse twice. She did not understand her husband’s condition well.
But tonight… no matter what, she had to consummate the marriage!
With Xiao Lin’s body so fragile it might collapse at a gust of wind, who knew when he might suddenly pass away!
Whether it was a boy or a girl, conceiving a child would be fate’s blessing. If she couldn’t bear one, she could secretly adopt…
Otherwise, as an orphaned girl, how could she ever contend with the wolves and tigers in the mansion? How could she plan to leave the Capital City?
In this lifetime, she absolutely must not meet the same fate of dying unjustly or prematurely!
Some things had to be done even if it meant sacrificing dignity.
“You may leave. I will take care of the Marquis,” Su Mingyue said in a tone that brooked no argument.
She directly took the wheelchair from Qing Jiu’s hands.
Hearing this, Xiao He tugged at Qing Jiu’s sleeve and pulled him out.
However, the smile on Xiao Tao’s face had clearly vanished… She leaned close to Su Mingyue and whispered a few words.
From an angle no one could see, Su Mingyue’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. She confirmed with Xiao Tao in a hushed voice, “Is Liu Ying really planning to make me lose face and be humiliated on my wedding night?”
Xiao Tao nodded: “Miss… Madam, what should we do next?”
Su Mingyue’s eyes darkened abruptly. She had originally thought that since this was her own joyous occasion, if trouble really arose, it would inevitably damage her dignity, so she might as well let them off for now…
Who would have thought that while she wasn’t scheming against them, Liu Ying would have the audacity to plot against her!?
“Heh…”
She let out an almost imperceptible cold laugh, whispered a few words to Xiao Tao, then firmly closed the door behind her. She didn’t notice that Xiao Lin, sitting in his wheelchair just a few steps away, had slightly raised an eyebrow.
In the courtyard, Xiao He was still dragging Qing Jiu along: “Brother guard, don’t worry! Although my lady doesn’t know martial arts, she does have some brute strength. She’ll definitely be able to take good care of the Marquis!”
What a joke! Her lady was born with divine strength. Although she didn’t know martial arts or how to use weapons, during festivals she could single-handedly lift a black pig weighing nearly two hundred jin… let alone the Marquis’s skinny frame!
Qing Jiu’s brow was tightly furrowed, his expression grim. The Marquis had always been vigilant, never allowing any living creature to sleep beside his bed… Oh dear, he was worried for this new mistress!
Xiao Lin was merely frail, not disabled.
Dressed in the bright red sleeping robe specially tailored before the wedding, he climbed onto the bed himself and, with a flick of his sleeve, extinguished the candle by the bedside.
“Rest early. Tomorrow, the entire household will come to pay their respects to you.”
Though Su Mingyue was young, her seniority was high.
By the time dawn broke, even Xiao Hongyi—that self-important eldest master of the Pingyang Marquisate and her father-in-law from her past life—would have to respectfully address her as “Aunt”!