“Pay attention, folks—this is absolutely the biggest scandal of the Da Ye Dynasty this year, bar none!”
Outside the Yunyang Marquis Mansion, a crowd gathered around a wedding sedan, buzzing with speculation and questions.
“The heir is truly fortunate—taking two brides at once, marrying two wives in one go!”
“Marrying two is one thing, but why didn’t he lead both inside for the ceremony? Why leave Miss Ju outside?”
Two brides, two wedding sedans arriving simultaneously, yet Heir Yun only led his cousin Bai Yanling inside for the wedding rites, leaving his other wife, Ju Yue, abandoned outside the Marquis Mansion.
It had already been two hours.
“Why would he do that?” someone asked, puzzled.
“Because Miss Ju is too beautiful!”
A plump, middle-aged woman revealed the answer.
Her best friend’s daughter’s best friend worked in the Marquis Mansion, feeding the fish in the pond, giving her an absolutely reliable source of information:
“Heir Yun says that when choosing a wife, virtue matters most—he cares least about a woman’s looks! Miss Bai is as gentle and pure as a chrysanthemum, refined and virtuous, so the heir values her more and chose to perform the ceremony with her first.”
The crowd saw through it clearly.
“In my opinion, the heir isn’t valuing virtue—he’s protecting his reputation! He’s afraid people will call him lustful!”
“That makes sense! But no matter what, he can’t just abandon the bride outside. Isn’t this blatant bullying?!”
Someone then asked, “What about her family? In a situation like this, wouldn’t the Ju family stand up for the bride?”
The plump woman summed it up in a few words: “Miss Ju married above her station!”
Ju Yue’s family background was not high—her father served as a Vice Minister of Rites.
As the daughter of a mere fourth-rank official, being able to marry into the Marquis Mansion was considered an incredible stroke of luck by the entire Ju family.
All they hoped for was that the Marquis Mansion wouldn’t call off the marriage or cut off their ladder to the heavens. Why would they care whether the girl felt wronged or not?
With the in-laws looking down on her and her own family weak, everyone could already foresee Miss Ju’s future plight in the Marquis Mansion.
Forget the future—even now, being left by her husband at the entrance for two hours without being led inside for the ceremony, under the watchful eyes of the public, was enough to drive anyone to fury.
Truly, the gears of fate had just begun to turn, yet the chain of her life had already fallen apart.
The crowd let out long sighs, casting pitying and sympathetic glances toward the wedding sedan in their midst.
The sedan stood there alone, abandoned. The matchmaker and sedan bearers, feeling humiliated, had all run off.
Beside it stood only a chubby, simple-minded maid, looking utterly clueless.
The wind blew past, scattering a few withered petals, amplifying the sense of desolation to the fullest.
Just then, the sedan curtain was lifted by a pale hand, and the bride slowly emerged from inside.
As Ju Yue appeared, the surroundings fell into complete silence.
Beautiful!
Too beautiful!
Her face was exquisitely perfect, flawless from every angle.
How could there be such a stunning person in the world?
The crowd was stunned by the bride’s appearance, but before anyone could speak, the matchmaker came rushing over in a panic.
“Oh my goodness! Bride, how could you come out? And you’ve even lifted your veil? What are you doing? Go back inside at once!”
Only then did everyone realize—this girl had actually lifted her own veil!
She lifted her own veil?
Oh, this girl is about to stir up trouble!
The crowd collectively perked up, their eyes fixed intently on Ju Yue.
The plump woman stepped forward, eager to fan the flames, and asked, “Do you need help, girl?”
“If your family won’t come, all of us here will be your family!”
“Just say the word, girl, and we’ll all help you. Let’s charge in and give them hell!”
Adding fuel to the fire, fanning the flames.
Other aunties and grannies chimed in as well.
“That’s right! The most important thing for us women is to stand up for ourselves! If you don’t hit them hard enough to hurt, they’ll never learn what respect means!”
“Let’s charge in right now, flip their tables, and smash their wedding hall!”
The crowd gathered around, offering suggestions left and right: “Since Heir Yun doesn’t even know how to appreciate beauty, what’s the use of keeping his eyes? Just… poke out both his dog eyes!”
One of the aunties made a gesture. “Then reach down, grab, and crush…”
By then, under the vast sky and boundless wilderness, two balls would be soaring through the clouds…
Ju Yue nodded, identified the direction, and walked steadily forward, step by step.
But the direction she was heading wasn’t toward Yunyang Marquis Mansion.
A plump auntie tugged at her. “Hey, hey, bride, you’re going the wrong way! The Marquis Mansion gate isn’t over there! Where are you going?”
Ju Yue’s tone remained slow and deliberate, but her words were startling: “I’m going to beat the Dengwen Drum.”
The crowd froze.
Ju Yue: “The current emperor loves his people like his own children, and I’m practically his daughter. The emperor certainly won’t stand by and watch his own daughter suffer such humiliation. He’ll stand up for me and see justice done!”
“So I’m going to beat the Dengwen Drum and lodge a complaint with the emperor!”
The crowd: …That makes perfect sense.
The plump auntie clutched Ju Yue’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go, growing anxious:
“You mustn’t, girl! Do you know that no matter who you are or whether you’re in the right, beating the Dengwen Drum means you’ll be caned?”
“A full thirty strokes! Your delicate skin won’t be able to take it!”
“Yes, yes!” The matchmaker broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly tried to stop her:
“One stroke, and blood will spurt two feet high! Aren’t you afraid?”
“For heaven’s sake, stop making a scene. Hurry back and sit in the bridal sedan! The heir will be out to greet you soon.”
Ju Yue had just traveled from the modern era, and her mind was still foggy.
The original owner had died of sheer anger in the bridal sedan. Having just taken over this body, she hadn’t fully adjusted yet, so her expression seemed somewhat vacant.
Her speech was soft and unhurried, giving others the impression of an unshakable calm, as if she remained unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before her.
“One stroke, and blood spurt two feet high?” she asked.
The matchmaker nodded solemnly. “Mhm!”
Ju Yue paused. “Beating the Dengwen Drum means thirty strokes?”
Matchmaker: “Mhm!”
Ju Yue extended her hand, measuring out the distance bit by bit. “One stroke, two feet… two strokes, four feet… thirty strokes…”
Her gaze gradually lifted, and her head followed suit.
Everyone’s eyes lifted in unison, mentally calculating the height along with Ju Yue: “Thirty strokes… oh, sixty feet…”
Ju Yue let out a heartfelt exclamation: “That’s quite a spurt…”