Chapter 25
In the Marquis of Jing'an household, Xu Kaicheng, on the other hand, had slept soundly. The entire marquis household had been bustling all night, and shortly after dawn it grew even livelier. The West Courtyard, however, remained quiet, allowing him to sleep until morning.
The customs of the Rong Dynasty differed somewhat from those of the true ancient past. It was not a genuine "dusk wedding." Rather, it resembled a modern ceremony—fetching the bride early in the morning, entering the doors before noon to bow to heaven and earth, hosting guests in the afternoon, and beginning the bridal chamber festivities in the evening.
Xu Kaicheng did not want to join the commotion, but as Xu Kaixuan's younger brother, he had no choice but to take part.
Dongzhu brought in the dark blue new clothes that Yang Wanhe had prepared long ago, and without caring whether Xu Kaicheng saw them or not, went straight to the small kitchen to fetch water. It was that same familiar scalding heat — water so hot it could flush a person's face red — but Xu Kaicheng alone didn't mind.
He washed his face and changed into the new clothes. After some thought, he decided not to use a hair tie today and instead wore a jade hairpin. After all, it was a grand occasion for the marquis household; he could not dress too shabbily.
Once ready, he slowly made his way out.
Although the custom here was also to fetch the bride in the morning, everyone was from the capital, so a round trip by sedan chair might not even take an hour. Thus, the marquis household still had to have breakfast and would only set out to fetch the bride around ten o'clock.
Xu Kaicheng had just arrived at the East Courtyard when Biyun pulled him aside to eat something from the small kitchen. After eating and drinking his fill, he set out with Xu Kaixuan's group of "brothers and colleagues."
---
The Song family
Song Yangfan and Madam Song wore ashen faces as they stared at the empty bridal chamber. On the table lay a single sheet of paper, not even placed in an envelope, with large characters written on it: "I will not marry that scoundrel!"
Song Yangfan and Madam Song had no mood now to guess what was going on with that scoundrel; they only felt as though the sky was about to collapse.
Song Yangfan was merely a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the family he was arranging a marriage with was the Marquis of Jing'an household—a noble family of the highest rank in the Rong Dynasty. If Marquis of Jing'an had not repeatedly declined the Emperor's rewards, the Marquis of Jing'an household would have long since become the Duke of Jing'an household.
All of that was secondary. What was truly fatal was that this marriage had been registered before the Emperor and was decreed by the Emperor himself.
Song Yangfan's vision went black, and he nearly fainted. Madam Song cried out in alarm and quickly steadied him. The matter of Song Yue fleeing the marriage was too significant. Aside from the maidservant who had come early to prepare for the morning washing, Madam Song had promptly controlled the entire household. Now, only the maid, herself and her husband, and one trusted momo knew of it.
Madam Song glanced at the sky; there was not much time left before the bride-fetching.
She shot a vicious look at the maid who had first discovered it. The maid was ashen-faced as well. Zhao Momo, who had watched Madam Song grow up since she was a child, sensed what she was about to do almost the instant her gaze shifted and quickly pulled her back.
"Madam, you mustn't!"
"Momo, what time is it now!" Madam Song's eyes were red, her hands and feet gone limp. To defy an imperial edict — this was something that could cost the whole family their heads.
Zhao Momo quickly waved her hand, lowering her voice even further. "Madam, have you forgotten? The back courtyard—Song Yao!"
The name "Song Yao" was squeezed out through gritted teeth, her voice sharp and piercing. Before Madam Song could even react, Song Yangfan reacted first. He glanced at the ashen-faced maid collapsed on the ground and also felt that Zhao Momo's idea was feasible.
First of all, both were his children, so he had not deceived the Emperor.
Most crucially, if Song Yao got into the bridal sedan today, even if the matter was exposed, it could be said that Song Yao, jealous of his elder sister's good marriage, had schemed to steal the match.
But if he sent a maid instead, that would be him, with full knowledge, truly deceiving the Emperor.
In an instant, Song Yangfan had weighed the pros and cons. He nodded to Zhao Momo and turned to leave the bridal chamber. After Song Yangfan left, Zhao Momo quickly explained the pros and cons to Madam Song.
There was no time to delay now. Although Song Yangfan had left, he had left two trusted servants stationed at the door. That move itself was a further sign of his tacit approval.
By the time Zhao Momo brought people to the back courtyard wall and dug out Song Yao, Madam Song had also left the bridal chamber. Two maidservants had drawn a large tub of bathwater—cold well water mixed with a little hot water—and directly stripped Song Yao and threw him in.
Fortunately, these people still knew the difference between men and women and did not remove his undergarments. Without giving Song Yao any chance to make a sound, Zhao Momo and two trusted maidservants scrubbed him as if they wanted to scrape off a layer of his skin.
The cold well water made Song Yao's face, which had just regained a bit of color, turn ashen again. Unfortunately, no one cared about that.
He was hauled out of the tub, and Zhao Momo, who knew of his physical condition, changed his undergarments separately. Just as the undergarments were on, a crowd swarmed forward and dressed him in the red bridal gown.
A thick layer of rouge and powder was applied, and his hair was pulled so hard it seemed they wanted to tear his scalp off. By the time the sound of firecrackers came from outside, Song Yao was already limp and had been laid beside the bridal bed.
The other servants in the room had already left, and the bridal matron had not yet entered. Zhao Momo pinched Song Yao's arm, waking the nearly unconscious person. "You don't want to spend your whole life in the Song family's back courtyard, do you?"
Song Yao's blank, silent eyes grew calm, and Zhao Momo understood — he had made his choice.
The sound of trumpets and drums came from outside. The Song family symbolically blocked the door for a moment, then let Xu Kaixuan pass smoothly into the inner courtyard.
Song Yue was the eldest daughter, and the Song family had just arrived in the capital. There were no brothers in the family, and the cousins of the clan had not come to the capital.
Zhao Momo and the bridal matron supported Song Yao, who wore the red veil, from left and right, and came out.
Xu Kaicheng stood in the crowd, watching the limp bride. A height slightly shorter than Song Yue's, and unable to stand straight, made him appear even more delicate.
The substitute-bride plot had indeed unfolded.
This was not a wedding between equals, and the Song family was exceedingly guilty. Zhao Momo forcefully supported Song Yao and directly put him into the bridal sedan. Xu Kaixuan, mounted on his tall horse, didn't even dismount. Seeing the scene, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, looking even more smug.
Trumpets blared and drums thundered. Song Yangfan and Madam Song managed to put on a trace of reluctance, then waved their hands to signal that the wedding party could leave. Everything went so smoothly that even the prepared lines for the best man to block the toasts went unused.
The bride-fetching was too quick, so on the return journey, the boy leading the horse was instructed to walk a little slower. Xu Kaicheng followed at the back of the crowd, observant and alert, somewhat afraid that something else might go wrong.
The bride-fetching and return journeys could not take the same route, so everyone had to make a large detour.
"How could this happen!" Xu Kaicheng, after all, was Xu Kaixuan's own younger brother and stood close to the group of colleagues. Moreover, Xu Kaicheng was deliberately paying attention to Xu Kaixuan's side.
Just past the halfway point, near the West City Gate, Xu Kaicheng saw Xu Kaixuan looking toward the city gate with a shocked expression.
Faster than anyone else, Xu Kaicheng pretended to casually push the person beside him, and with a chain reaction, made the whole group step forward several paces. Xu Kaixuan pulled the reins to stop his horse, but the boy leading it pulled him forward a few more steps.
Xu Kaixuan sat on his horse and, shockingly, kept turning his head to look back toward the city gate. His body leaned forward with the horse's momentum, while his head twisted back at a terrifying angle.
For a moment, everyone instinctively looked in the direction he was staring.
At the city gate, a beautiful woman looked at the groom with coquettish resentment in her eyes, then, when the groom looked over, resentfully turned her head and got into a carriage.
"..." Xu Kaicheng did not know whether he should say it or not—he felt his whole body going numb.
This plot development should have nothing to do with me, right?
"Let go!" Xu Kaixuan watched the woman get into the carriage without looking back, yanked the reins hard, and nearly pulled the horse-leading boy down.
Xu Kaicheng rushed over and pulled the boy away. "Brother, today is your wedding day!"
"Get lost!" Xu Kaixuan clamped his legs hard against the horse's belly, and Xu Kaicheng could only retreat again and again. The fine horse, still adorned with the big red flower, reared up on its hind legs and, in an exaggerated turn on the spot, galloped toward the city gate.
For a moment, even the sound of drums and gongs halted. Xu Kaicheng's face was panicked as he watched the bridal sedan bearers, who even seemed about to set down the sedan, and could only shout again. "That's... uh, my brother has an urgent matter and will be right back. Let's return to the residence first."
After the shout, the master of ceremonies, who had already caught on, quickly directed the procession to continue. But the scene that had just occurred made it clear to everyone what General Xu had gone off to do.
Xu Kaicheng cursed inwardly, wishing he could chase after them and cut those two people down. To recognize each other now of all times, at this critical juncture. If Xu Kaixuan really caught up to Song Yue, then Song Yao in the bridal sedan was absolutely finished.
The Song family would surely dump all the blame on Song Yao.
"Zhou Qi, Zhou Qi, go quickly." Xu Kaicheng could not go anywhere, and pressed his voice low to call Zhou Qi, who had come with the procession. Xu Kaixuan's colleagues, whether watching the show or not, deliberately or not, crowded toward Xu Kaicheng.
"Quick, go after him." The people crowding him even bumped his shoulder directly, and Xu Kaicheng could only put on an anxious, flustered look, pushing Zhou Qi and pointing toward the city gate.
Zhou Qi was no fool either. When his eyes met Xu Kaicheng's, he understood the meaning. With a wave of his hand, several guards followed and ran quickly toward the city gate. At the very back of the procession, there were also fine horses brought specifically to bolster the spectacle.
Zhou Qi and the others did not stand on ceremony. Each took a horse and galloped off.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar