"What is all this noise?!" a harsh, aged voice boomed from the inner archway.
The servants immediately pressed their foreheads against the cold stone. Madame Bai, Madame Liu, and the concubines all turned instantly, their arrogant posture vanishing into rigid, nervous bows.
Stepping into the courtyard was Old Madame Bai—the family matriarch. She walked with a heavy dragon-head cane, her face lined with deep, hardened wrinkles. Her eyes were sharp, cold, and entirely devoid of warmth. Behind her stood two stern-faced older maids.
"Old Madame!" Madame Liu called out quickly, putting on a fake, aggrieved face. "The An family swapped the brides! Look at this mess—"
BANG!
Old Madame Bai slammed her heavy wooden cane onto the stone floor, cutting Madame Liu off instantly.
"I have ears! I do not need your loud mouth to explain what I can see with my own eyes!" Old Madame Bai snapped, her cold gaze sweeping over the scene. She looked at the crying An Yulan in her cheap red dress, then glanced briefly at An Yimei draped in golden silk beside the mountain of gold.
There was no joy or pride in Old Madame Bai’s eyes upon seeing the primary dowry. To her, this entire display was nothing more than a messy, embarrassing spectacle brought on by a low-ranking family.
"Look at the time!" Old Madame Bai barked, staring sternly at Madame Bai. "The auspicious hour is passing! Why are you all standing around like fools in the yard instead of starting the wedding rites in the ancestral hall?!"
Madame Bai lowered her head slightly, holding back her pride. "Mother, we were just about to lead the brides inside."
"Then do it!" Old Madame Bai ordered coldly. "Where are the groom sedan chairs? Bring the two boys out immediately!"
A young servant boy stumbled forward from the inner corridor, his face pale and sweating profusely. He fell onto his knees before Old Madame Bai, trembling violently.
"R-Reporting to Old Madame!" the servant squeaked out. "Eldest Young Master... Eldest Young Master Bai Zhengyu refuses to leave his courtyard!"
Madame Bai’s face stiffened.
"Refuses?" Old Madame Bai’s voice dropped into a dangerous register.
"Y-Yes, Old Madame," the boy stammered, not daring to lift his head. "Eldest Young Master said... said his legs are dead, the weather is cold, and he has no interest in sitting in a crowded hall to bow with a stranger. He told the messengers to bring the bride’s shoes to his courtyard later if she survives the night, but he will not step outside."
Snickers broke out among the relatives under the pavilion. Madame Liu hid a vicious smirk behind her sleeve, while Lady Chen sneered openly.
An Yimei stood completely still under her heavy golden crown. She didn’t flinch, nor did she feel humiliated. Her modern, calculating mind was already processing the news.
Love Rate: 0%. Status: Strangers.
The system box flickered briefly before her eyes:
[TARGET: BAI ZHENGYU]
[Status: Confined to Northern Courtyard / Cold & Hostile]
[Current Favorability: 0%]
[Notice: Target actively avoids social contact and distrusts the household.]
She didn’t expect him to come out and smile like a foolish hero. A man whose legs were ruined and who lived surrounded by greedy, venomous relatives had every reason to be bitter, paranoid, and cold. Winning his favor was not going to be a simple task, it was going to be an uphill battle.
"Hmph! Useless cripple," Madame Liu muttered under her breath just loud enough for Madame Bai to hear.
"What about the second boy, Wenliang?!" Old Madame Bai demanded, her face dark with frustration. "Where is he?!"
"I-I am here..." a slurred, shaky voice called out from the archway.
Everyone turned to look.
Bai Wenliang stumbled into the main hall, supported by two nervous young servants. His dark red wedding robes were untidy, his hair was slightly crooked, and an overwhelming, bitter stench of cheap alcohol filled the air around him. His face was flushed red, his eyes bloodshot and half-closed.
He was completely, utterly drunk.
An Yulan gasped in horror, taking two steps back. Her face turned white as she stared at the man she had thrown a massive, life-altering tantrum to marry. This was the "brilliant future scholar" she had fought her sister for? He could barely keep his eyes open!
"Wenliang!" Lady Chen cried out in panic, rushing over to pull her son’s sleeves. "Why did you drink so much before the ceremony?!"
"Aiya, Mother... stop nagging," Bai Wenliang slurred, waving a careless hand and nearly falling over. He belched loudly, his breath smelling of strong liquor. "It’s just... just a wedding. Why get so worked up?"
Old Madame Bai’s face was dark enough to cause a storm. But the hour was late, and breaking the ceremony entirely would make the Bai family a laughingstock across the whole capital.
"Enough!" Old Madame Bai shouted, her voice echoing off the high beams. "We are already used to Zhengyu’s absence! Bring the family rooster to stand in for the Eldest Branch! Complete the bows now!"
A servant hurriedly ran out and brought back a big, red-crested rooster tied with a red ribbon to represent the missing groom, Bai Zhengyu.
An Yimei looked at the rooster, then looked at the drunkard Bai Wenliang stumbling through his bows beside a weeping An Yulan.
The ancestral hall was cold and filled with the heavy smoke of burning incense.
At the center of the hall, the big red-crested rooster flapped its wings wildly, squawking loudly as the servant holding it struggled to keep it still. A bright red silk ribbon was tied around its neck a pathetic, absurd stand-in for the absent eldest grandson.
Standing beside the bird, An Yimei remained completely still in her heavy golden robes. Her face beneath her veil was impassive, her back as straight as a bamboo stalk.
Behind them, the gathered relatives could barely contain their delight.
An Yulan, despite her own swollen eyes and plain cotton dress, leaned toward her mother-in-law, Lady Chen, and sneered loudly.
"Look at her," Yulan whispered, her voice carrying across the quiet hall with bitter joy. "She was forced to bow to a chicken! Sister spent all afternoon acting like a queen over a few boxes of gold, only to marry a rooster on her wedding night!"
Lady Chen covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief, letting out a sharp, mocking chuckle. "A rooster is quite fitting for her, don’t you think? At least the bird has two working legs! That is far more than the man in the Northern Courtyard can boast!"
Madame Liu and her daughters joined in, whispering and giggling behind their sleeves.
"If the chicken lays an egg tomorrow, should we congratulate the First Branch?" one cousin mocked softly.
"Careful, don’t insult the bird," another added with a smirk. "The rooster actually came out to the hall today. That makes it far more dutiful than Eldest Nephew!"
An Yimei heard every single insult, but she did not blink, nor did her hands tremble within her long golden sleeves. Beside her, Qinqin was biting her lip so hard she tasted blood, her eyes burning with angry tears as she glare at Yulan.
Meanwhile, the "brilliant scholar" Bai Wenliang was making an absolute spectacle of himself on the other side of the hall.