Chapter 85: I Come to See You Off
The wedding officiant’s face changed color when she saw the Crown Prince’s procession halt at the bridgehead.
She quietly leaned closer to the bridal sedan and whispered, “What should we do? Aunt Jinshu, the Crown Prince’s procession is blocking the way.”
Jinshu truly hadn’t expected such a thing to happen on her wedding day.
She must have felt the same as her.
She had expected someone to cause trouble, but not that the person would be the Crown Prince.
Jinshu said, “Act according to the situation.”
The wedding officiant squeezed the red wedding handkerchief in her hand, her face creasing into a smile as she bravely stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“Greetings to Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”
“This is the bridal sedan carrying a Ru Ren on her way to Prince Duan’s Mansion. I humbly ask, Your Highness, are you intending to cross the Rui Shou Bridge, or, or will you be stopping here for a moment…”
Normally, when families encountered a wedding or a funeral, they would graciously yield the way, and the host family would offer auspicious gifts, such as wedding candy, and exchange pleasantries. Conflicts only arose with exceptionally unreasonable families.
But the other party was the Crown Prince. The current dynasty had strict hierarchies, so if the Crown Prince wished to cross the bridge, the wedding procession would have to yield.
If the Crown Prince stopped at the bridgehead, the wedding procession would have to take a detour. There was no way the Crown Prince would yield the road.
The wedding officiant thought of various ways to handle the situation…
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince in his imperial carriage remained expressionless and casually uttered a single sentence.
“I am also going to Prince Duan’s Mansion; it’s on the way.”
Since it was on the way, there was a matter of who went first and who went second…
The Crown Prince was of higher status, so naturally, he should go first.
The wedding officiant plastered a fawning smile on her face, bowed nervously, and paid her respects.
“Then please, Your Highness, proceed first…”
The Crown Prince slightly curved his lips and raised his voice, “After all, it is Imperial Brother’s joyous occasion. It would be improper for me to steal the spotlight. Let the bridal sedan go first; I will escort the bride!”
The phrase “I will escort the bride” was spoken with resounding force and absolute dominance.
The wedding officiant, however, felt a tremor of fear.
In Shangjing City, which family’s daughter’s wedding would warrant an escort from the Eastern Palace?
And which family’s wedding procession would dare to go in front of the Crown Prince?
Your Highness, the Crown Prince, this would cost her her life!
The wedding officiant wished she could kneel and kowtow to the Crown Prince, begging this ancestor to leave quickly…
Li Zhao, however, was not joking. He leisurely waved his hand, signaling the Eastern Palace procession to line up on both sides. The vermilion umbrellas and dragon flags were arranged in order. The spectacle was already awe-inspiring, and when juxtaposed with the wedding sedan, it became even more magnificent, as if a scroll depicting a prosperous era of harmonious unions was unfurling before their eyes…
Everyone who witnessed this scene could not help but exclaim in admiration!
What was the Crown Prince up to?
Even if he had a grievance with Prince Duan, he shouldn’t have interfered with his wedding!
It was too absurd!
The Crown Prince had a bad reputation, so it seemed understandable that he would do something like this to displease Prince Duan.
But there were countless ways to displease Prince Duan; why escort his Ru Ren to her wedding?
The neighborhood constables and common folk were all utterly bewildered.
Xue Sui, seated inside the bridal sedan, remained completely silent.
Jinshu didn’t know what the Young Lady was thinking…
But she could imagine that after being spread by the common folk, today’s events would undoubtedly be embellished into all sorts of colorful romantic tales or storytelling versions…
Li Zhao, however, was completely unconcerned.
A group of tall, upright guards protected him like an impenetrable wall.
His eyes were slightly narrowed, a faint smile playing on his lips. He leaned leisurely in his carriage, his long fingers gently tapping the armrest as if keeping time with the wedding music…
Of course, Xue Sui in the sedan was the same.
Her hands were clasped on her lap, her expression calm, silent.
The most frightened people were the knights-errant in the wine shop by the bridge who had been paid to cause trouble.
And the sedan bearer who had tampered with the sedan, knowing it would break on the Rui Shou Bridge…
–
“Boss, what do we do?”
The knights-errant in the wine shop looked at the Crown Prince’s procession and exchanged glances.
While traveling in Shangjing, they might not recognize Li Zhao, but they recognized the insignia of the Eastern Palace.
The leader of the knights-errant was a burly man with a thick beard.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Forget it, the situation is not right. Let’s retreat!”
Everyone thought about it and laughed, slapping their thighs.
“Right!”
“The boss is brilliant!”
“So we’ll earn these two hundred and fifty taels without doing anything…”
Some felt it was improper and mumbled.
“But boss, we took the employer’s money…”
The burly boss glared at him, “What are you afraid of? The employer didn’t say they wanted the bride’s life, just to disrupt the wedding and humiliate her… Once the sedan breaks, the scene will inevitably descend into chaos, and the bride will be humiliated enough. We won’t be considered to have broken our contract…”
This wouldn’t be considered breaking the contract?
The employer had said they were to go up and hijack the bride and make her lose face.
The knights-errant looked at each other.
The burly boss looked at the gleaming dragon flag of the Eastern Palace.
He spat fiercely, spitting his phlegm onto the ground.
“Damn it! At worst, we brothers will go hide in Luocheng for a year or half. That employer was generous; they clearly came from a wealthy family. These scoundrels, who do so many unsavory things, have the nerve to come after us?”
“Let’s go! Let’s retreat! Let’s retreat!”
Once the boss gave the order, everyone immediately agreed.
Offending the employer would at most result in a bad reputation, and they could just move elsewhere.
Offending the Crown Prince meant the extermination of nine generations of their family!
“Let’s go to Qunfang Tower for some drinks!”
The knights-errant took off their masks and were about to leave.
Just then, a lean man with a ring-hilted saber slowly ascended the wooden stairs, his gaze fixed on them.
He wore no official robes, only a fitted outfit, his eyes sharp and piercing, exuding an unyielding aura.
“Good sirs, where are you headed?”
The leader sternly asked, “What business is it of yours?”
The newcomer was Guan Ya. He sneered.
“The Military and Horse Department is strictly investigating Xizi spies. I suspect you are Xizi scouts!”
“Damn it, what Xizi or Nanzi? Don’t try to scare your grandpa…”
The knights-errant put on fierce expressions and were about to resort to violence.
Unexpectedly, the sound of countless footsteps echoed from the corridor, and a group of heavily armed Imperial Guards, as if they had been waiting there, trapped them like a turtle in a jar…
The men were dumbfounded!
They were arrested without having done anything at all.
–
The area by the Rui Shou Bridge was bustling with people.
The wedding procession played music, and several stout men in red short jackets puffed out their cheeks, blowing the wedding music with all their might.
The sounds of gongs and drums intertwined, and they joyfully proceeded onto the Rui Shou Bridge.
“Shake the sedan!”
The sedan bearers’ voices were high and clear, piercing through the clouds.
At this shout, the crowd burst into laughter.
“First shake, for auspiciousness and good fortune!”
“Second shake, for a destined good marriage!”
“Third shake, for a house full of descendants!”
“Fourth shake…”
Crack!
Amidst the rocking and creaking of the sedan, a sharp, piercing “crack” suddenly sounded, instantly drowning out the wedding music and the commotion.
The sedan, decorated with red silk, suddenly split at the connection between the bottom sedan pole and the sedan body.
The sedan pole broke in the middle, and the sedan body tilted forward violently—
The sedan bearers, unaware of what had happened, stumbled and fell. One, trying to steady himself, grabbed the sedan curtain, tearing the silk fabric with a rustle and revealing a corner of the bride’s attire.
“Ah! The bridal sedan broke!”
“How could a perfectly fine bridal sedan break on the bridge? This is the Rui Shou Bridge; it’s inauspicious!”
“Inauspicious, inauspicious! A broken bridal sedan is a terrible omen!”
The wedding officiant was stunned.
A sedan bearer bent down and picked up the broken pole, his face also blank.
“This is truly unbelievable. We checked it inside and out before setting off, and there wasn’t a single flaw. How did it break?”
Three sedan bearers were clueless.
Another sedan bearer pretended to be clueless.
With such an incident, not only were they a laughingstock to the public, but more importantly, what should they do now?
They couldn’t possibly make the bride walk to Prince Duan’s Mansion, could they?
As everyone was discussing where to find a replacement sedan…
they heard the bride inside the sedan speak.
“How far is it to Prince Duan’s Mansion from here?”
The wedding officiant bowed and replied, “Replying to Sixth Miss, it’s still about three to five li.”
Xue Sui said, “It’s not far. I’ll walk.”
Before her voice faded, the bride, holding her wedding fan, slightly bent and emerged from the sedan. Her clear eyes glanced subtly towards the wine shop by the bridge, and she slowly stepped over the broken sedan pole…
Everyone stared with wide, dumbfounded eyes.
The wedding officiant wanted to stop her.
“Sixth Miss Xue, changing to another sedan won’t take much time.”
Xue Sui said, “Wouldn’t changing sedans be even more inauspicious?”
The wedding officiant hesitated.
She had indeed never heard of a bride changing sedans midway through a wedding…
Some onlookers praised the bride for her composure and the demeanor of a noble lady, while others made mocking remarks, and whispers of her being a jinx could be faintly heard.
Xue Sui seemed not to hear them, her back as straight as green bamboo, her steps steady and composed. Each step was unhurried, dignified, and elegant. The wedding fan in her hand partially concealed her exquisite face, her clear eyes bright and resolute, as if everything around her was irrelevant…
Li Zhao’s voice arrived at the opportune moment.
With a hint of playful amusement.
“I can lend you my imperial carriage; consider it a wedding gift.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
The Crown Prince’s intention was too obvious. He could lend his imperial carriage to the bride. But how could a Ru Ren of Prince Duan’s Mansion be married in the Eastern Palace’s imperial carriage?
It was well known that the Eastern Palace and Prince Duan’s Mansion were at odds. Li Zhao’s appearance here at this time, while seemingly offering help, was, in the eyes of those who understood, no different from coming to disrupt the wedding with hostility towards Prince Duan…
Whispers and murmurs constantly reached their ears, buzzing like a swarm of insects.
Xue Sui’s expression remained calm, and she slightly bowed towards Li Zhao.
“Thank you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. Sixth Miss cannot accept such a grand gift.”
“Is that so?”
Li Zhao clenched his fist tightly, his eyelashes slightly raised.
After a pause, he smiled with an air of arrogant pride and noble grace.
“What if I say, Sixth Miss Xue, that you can accept it?”
Xue Sui said, “Your Highness, this is not in accordance with propriety. If one oversteps, the order of things will be disrupted. Sixth Miss dares not break the rules and defy the world!”
After saying this calmly, she strode forward, walking with composure towards Li Zhao’s procession.
On and off the bridge, everyone fell silent with solemnity.
All eyes turned to the slender woman in the middle of the crowd. Her skirt fluttered, her hair ornaments swayed, she was light and composed, her smile faint. Though walking among the crowd, she seemed detached from the mortal world, standing alone.
Li Zhao remained seated in his imperial carriage, unmoving.
The dim daylight cast his entire figure in and out of shadow.
Although the sun had not yet set, a bone-chilling cold seemed to permeate the wind on the Rui Shou Bridge.
As the bride drew closer…
Li Zhao said, “Make way!”
Lai Fu was stunned.
After his eyelids twitched a few times, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“The Crown Prince has ordered! Make way for the bride!”
I’m late, sorry. Second update at dinner time. Mwah~~
