Xie Fengxi’s father, Xie Zhiyuan, moved among the guests, exchanging pleasantries. Everyone was still watching to see what would come of the little incident during the wedding ceremony. Some were practically hoping something embarrassing would happen to the Xie family, and they kept craning their necks, paying close attention to the commotion.
Xie Fengxi was the first to emerge, and his expression was far from pleasant.
In these times, men were permitted to take concubines, so marriage was generally arranged by parents and matchmakers, with little thought given to personal feelings. Xie Fengxi, the notorious little tyrant, had always been rebellious and difficult to discipline since childhood. Therefore, no one was particularly surprised that his parents had arranged a wife for him.
What surprised everyone was that his bride was Jin Mingzhu.
Prince Shun’s Residence had once enjoyed boundless glory, but the greater its former splendor, the more pitiful its present decline appeared. Meanwhile, Xie Zhiyuan’s political career was steadily advancing, and his influence was at its peak. No one had expected him to choose the former Princess Jin as his son’s bride.
Jin Mingzhu had been engaged to Lu Mingshu since childhood, and their engagement had only been broken off a few days earlier. Yet in such a short time, she had already married into the Xie family.
If she had been marrying the sickly Xie Qinglin, it would have been understandable. But her groom was the young and reckless Fourth Young Master, Xie Fengxi. In the eyes of outsiders, she was like a phoenix that had found a lofty perch, climbing into an even more prestigious family.
Consequently, many people were waiting to see the newlyweds make fools of themselves. However, when Xie Fengxi emerged, he said nothing and simply walked straight out of the main hall.
They had only just completed the wedding ceremony. What was going on?
While everyone was discussing the matter, the bride also emerged.
Jin Mingzhu wore her red bridal veil, and a maid supported her as she slowly walked out.
Madam Xie beamed at the guests. “It’s nothing! These two have known each other for years. They’re just having a little quarrel!”
The bride remained silent and followed the maid. Madam Xie lowered her voice to give a few instructions before having someone escort Mingzhu to the bridal chamber.
After the wedding ceremony, the master of ceremonies had still been missing one final announcement. Now, he finally shouted it.
“Escort the newlyweds to the bridal chamber!”
After calling out, he felt something wasn’t quite right and looked directly at Madam Xie. She smiled cheerfully. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Fengxi may be a little young, but he’s a groom now. Once he’s married, I can finally stop worrying about him. From now on, I won’t bother managing him anymore.”
Everyone burst into laughter, and the earlier incident was quickly forgotten.
Jin Mingzhu lowered her gaze and followed the maid to the bridal chamber.
When they arrived, she could vaguely see two women scattering peanuts, red dates, and other things across the bed through her red bridal veil. As they scattered them, they recited auspicious blessings. The maid beside her covered her mouth and giggled before speaking to Mingzhu.
“Our young master is still so young. These people are far too impatient.”
“…”
At least Xie Qinglin was an adult. Even if they truly became husband and wife, it wouldn’t have mattered. But Xie Fengxi? What kind of situation was this?
Mingzhu still hadn’t figured out how to handle their relationship. However, she had promised Madam Xie that she would remain in the Xie residence for the time being and help persuade Xie Fengxi to behave himself.
Of course, in return, she would receive what she wanted… money.
After entering the bridal chamber, Mingzhu sat on the wedding bed and began chatting with the maid beside her.
“What’s your name?”
“Replying to Young Madam, my name is Zao’er.”
“Your name goes rather well with my maid’s. Her name is Xing, Shanxing.”
“Really? What a coincidence! Then has Young Madam’s maid stayed behind at home?”
“…”
Mingzhu had only been reminiscing and had accidentally let the words slip.
Her maid, Shanxing, had been utterly loyal to her. The two had been as close as sisters.
However, Shanxing wouldn’t appear in her life just yet. Mingzhu wouldn’t meet her until she began taking over Zhengliang Pharmacy.
Zao’er was very talkative. She also wanted to become closer to her new mistress, so she eagerly told Mingzhu about everyone in the Xie household.
“Our Madam is very open-minded, so Young Madam really doesn’t need to worry. She just wanted Fourth Young Master to get married early so someone could keep him in line and stop him from behaving so recklessly. Everyone in the residence is doing well, except Third Young Master, whose health is poor. Everyone has to be especially careful around him…”
After an unknown amount of time, someone called Zao’er away. Another servant, Nanny Wu, remained in the room arranging the dishes.
There was already nothing to look forward to about this marriage. Now that the groom had unexpectedly changed, Mingzhu was even more disappointed.
She leaned against the side of the bed and gradually drifted off to sleep.
The noise of the guests in the courtyard slowly faded into silence.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she sensed someone standing in front of her.
Mingzhu jolted awake and immediately straightened her back.
Before she could even raise her head, someone abruptly lifted the red bridal veil from her face.
Xie Fengxi was still wearing the wedding attire from that morning. He stood before her, looking at her expressionlessly.
Their eyes met.
He tilted his head, his delicately shaped eyebrows lifting slightly. “What? You got married without even knowing who your groom was?”
Madam Xie must have told him what had happened, so Mingzhu saw no reason to hide anything.
“Matchmaker Zhao made a mistake when arranging the marriage. I thought I was marrying your older brother, which is why I agreed.”
She was sitting while he stood.
Looking down at her delicate features, Xie Fengxi spoke indifferently. “Do you know why no one came to fetch the bride this morning?”
Mingzhu cooperated with his question. “Why?”
Xie Fengxi replied, “Because I didn’t want to get married. My mother had someone tie me up.”
Well, he hadn’t wanted to marry her, and she hadn’t wanted to marry him.
Yet through this ridiculous misunderstanding, they had somehow become husband and wife.
Mingzhu raised her face, meeting his gaze without the slightest intention of avoiding it.
“But whether you wanted to or not, there’s nothing you can do about it now. Both our names are written on the marriage certificate. No matter how unwilling we are, the fact remains that we’re married.”
She was remarkably calm.
Hearing her words, Xie Fengxi nodded, turned around, and walked over to sit at the table.
“As long as you understand that.”
Mingzhu: “…”
Xie Fengxi hadn’t eaten anything all day.
Without paying Mingzhu any attention, he immediately began eating the dishes by himself.
Nanny Wu returned after fetching some wine. Seeing him already eating, she hurried over to the table.
“Oh, my Fourth Young Master! You’re supposed to eat together with your bride! And there’s wine too!”
Mingzhu hadn’t eaten all day either, but she had no appetite.
Nanny Wu couldn’t very well scold her own young master, so she went over to invite Mingzhu instead.
“Young Madam, why don’t you come and eat something too? Although our young master is still young, and drinking wine might not be entirely appropriate, it’s not as though anyone has forbidden him from drinking, is it?”
Normally, newlyweds were supposed to drink the ceremonial cross-cupped wine together.
But drinking that with Xie Fengxi?
Forget it.
Jin Mingzhu took off her shoes and lay down on the bed without removing her clothes.
“I’m not eating.”
She really was exhausted.
Although weddings in this era were much simpler than those during the Qing dynasty, she had still needed to rise early. She had barely slept the previous night.
Just as she was about to get some proper rest, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.
Laughter drifted in from outside.
“Fengxi! We’ve come to see you!”
Mingzhu sat up again.
Judging from the reactions of everyone in the Xie family, the misunderstanding really had been Matchmaker Zhao’s fault.
Even Xie Fengxi’s friends had known that he was the one getting married.
She could only blame herself for failing to notice anything. She hadn’t even bothered to look at the marriage certificate.
Now, through an unfortunate twist of fate, she had become Xie Fengxi’s wife.
All she could do was make the most of the situation and consider everything else afterward.
Soon, Qin Shan and Zhao Fengnian rushed inside.
Xie Fengxi was still sitting at the table, eating. The two immediately took seats on either side of him.
They were young boys, after all, and their emotions were written plainly across their faces.
Although Qin Shan and Zhao Fengnian sat beside Xie Fengxi, their eyes were fixed on Jin Mingzhu.
Her makeup was exquisite today, and dressed in traditional Manchu bridal attire, she possessed a striking, almost untamed beauty.
Following Qin Shan’s gaze, Xie Fengxi also glanced at Mingzhu.
When he turned back, he discovered that both his friends were staring at her, practically mesmerized.
He promptly smacked each of them on the back of the head.
“What are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a bride before?”
Qin Shan gave a couple of awkward laughs before turning to nudge Fengxi.
“What’s going on? I heard there was some trouble during your wedding ceremony. They won’t even let us make a fuss in the bridal chamber anymore. Otherwise, quite a few people wanted to come!”
Xie Fengxi casually accepted a cup of wine from Nanny Wu, took a sip as though it were water, and set it down.
“Go on, get lost. Find somewhere else to fool around.”
Zhao Fengnian snickered beside him.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you afraid we’ll tease you, or are you afraid we’ll tease your bride?”
Xie Fengxi turned and raised his hand.
Zhao Fengnian was so startled that he immediately jumped away.
Still wandering around nearby, Zhao Fengnian continued looking at Mingzhu.
“Don’t take offense! Fengxi and I are good friends. We’ve been messing around together since we were little. Now that you and Fengxi are married—ah, no, I mean, now that you’re his wife, we should get to know each other too! I’m Zhao Fengnian.”
This was the man who would become Xie Fengxi’s number-one lackey in the future.
In her previous life, he had frequently helped Xie Fengxi with his schemes and had caused Jin Mingzhu no small amount of trouble.
Mingzhu nodded. “I know you. You’re the grandson of Old Doctor Zhao from Zhengliang Pharmacy.”
Zhao Fengnian hadn’t expected her to recognize him.
He immediately broke into a delighted grin.
“That’s right, that’s right! But how do you know me? We live on opposite sides of the city. I thought you wouldn’t know who I was! Hahaha! How could you…”
Seeing his reaction, Qin Shan also turned toward her.
“Then does this pretty young lady know who I am?”
Of course she did.
He was Xie Fengxi’s scheming adviser.
Mingzhu nodded. “Qin Shan.”
Good heavens!
He hadn’t expected her to know him either.
Qin Shan smiled and looked toward Fengxi.
“Well, I never expected that! Then you must know Fengxi too, pretty lady. Otherwise, why would you marry him? Right? You’ve known each other since childhood, haven’t you?”
Xie Fengxi picked up his wine cup again.
As he tilted his head back to drink, he glanced at Mingzhu.
Her expression remained indifferent.
“No. I don’t know him. We didn’t know each other before either.”
Xie Fengxi immediately stood up.
“We’re leaving!”
Qin Shan and Zhao Fengnian hurried after him.
“Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going? It’s your wedding day!”
Xie Fengxi walked away without looking back.
He took both his friends with him.
Mingzhu lay down again.
It was better that he had left. She was exhausted and had no desire to entertain anyone else.
Nanny Wu chased after Xie Fengxi, urging him to return, but she couldn’t bring him back.
In the end, she could only return and report the situation to Mingzhu.
Jin Mingzhu lay on her side with her back facing the servant.
By now, her temper was beginning to flare.
“Leave him alone. You can go too. I want to sleep for a while.”
It wasn’t even dark yet.
Since she had some time to herself, she intended to think carefully about everything that had happened today.
The whole situation was utterly absurd.
What should she do from now on?
How should she face Xie Fengxi?
How was she supposed to remain in the Xie residence as his wife?
All of these were problems she needed to consider.
However, perhaps because she had been so exhausted over the past several days, she fell asleep almost as soon as she lay down.
She slept straight through until evening.
By then, all the guests had been seen off.
Madam Xie had stubbornly insisted on keeping the marriage intact. She hurriedly summoned her husband back to their room to discuss what they should do about this daughter-in-law who had married the wrong son.
By the time Xie Fengxi returned from his adventures outside, it was already past eight in the evening.
Not daring to disturb his parents, he went straight back to the bridal chamber.
A dim lamp burned inside.
Neither Nanny Wu nor Zao’er was there.
He quietly closed the door and glanced into the room.
There wasn’t a sound.
As Xie Fengxi walked farther inside, he began unfastening the buttons of his clothes.
Only when he reached the bedside did he seem to remember that his bride was supposed to be there too.
He stopped.
Jin Mingzhu was still wearing her wedding clothes.
She had one arm tucked beneath her head and was sleeping soundly.
It seemed she had also forgotten that she was now married.
Xie Fengxi stepped forward, pulled his arm out of his sleeve, and tossed his wedding robe onto Mingzhu.
Jin Mingzhu’s eyes flew open.