Chapter 26
Xu Kaicheng's business was not yet finished. Having sent Zhou Qi to chase Xu Kaixuan, he then pulled over the capable momo by Wei Cai'e's side and signaled her to return to the marquis residence first to report.
Of Wei Cai'e's two trusted momo, the one who had come out today was the more capable and diligent Qian Momo. The bride-fetching procession still had to make a detour before returning, so Qian Momo could take a shortcut back first.
Thinking that Qian Momo was older, Xu Kaicheng also pulled over a young servant and two maids to run back with her first.
In just the blink of an eye, Xu Kaicheng had done everything he could. Others only saw that the marquis household's unfavored Second Young Master had stepped up in a crisis. Only Xu Kaicheng knew how great his urge to vomit blood was at this moment.
He pretended to be anxious and truly used small movements to urge them on. The onlookers beside him were even more "anxious" than he was. The grand detour that was supposed to take half an hour was finished in less than half that time, arriving at the marquis's residence.
Xu Kaixuan, as expected, had not returned.
Xu Kaicheng stood to the side, speechlessly looking at the sky, even wanting to shrink back into the crowd and continue being his invisible self.
Suddenly, a group of maids and old women rushed out from the marquis household's main gate, swarming forward. They did not even pull him back inside the gate—right there on the street, a group of people barely formed a human wall and directly put another set of red wedding robes on him.
"..." Speechlessly looking at the sky, indeed.
Xu Kaicheng rolled his eyes skyward without even trying to hide it, and the crowd who had followed back to watch the spectacle laughed even harder.
"The Eldest Young Master has received urgent orders. We ask the Second Young Master to stand in for his elder brother." Zhao Guangming stood on the steps of the marquis household's main gate, his voice loud and clear. With that one shout, no matter what others thought inwardly, at least outwardly they dared not say anything.
Xu Kaicheng had a large red flower pinned to his chest. Compared to Xu Kaixuan's frame, the wedding robes looked especially loose on him. His mouth twitching, he was pulled to the bridal sedan. The household had already set up a fire basin at the entrance.
He took the wooden arrow handed by a servant and shot the sedan door. The bridal matron recited a string of congratulations. The sedan door opened, and Xu Kaicheng was pushed forward to lift the curtain.
Song Yao sat limp in the bridal sedan, as if without a shred of strength.
"Hey, look — why does this bride seem so listless? Don't tell me she's another sickly one?"
"What do you mean 'another'? Hasn't Young General Xu only married this one?"
"Hehehe, you don't know, do you? Ever since the engagement with the Song family was set, first it was the Marquis, then his wife, and just recently I heard even the young general's birth mother, Madam Wei, has fallen ill too. Don't you think this young miss of the Song family and Young General Xu might be jinxing each other?"
"Bah, you can't say things like that carelessly!"
The man said they shouldn't say things like that carelessly, yet he said it louder than anyone else.
No one knew where the voices had come from, but after hearing them, everyone gathered at the entrance of the marquis residence nodded thoughtfully.
Facts speak louder than words — in just a few short months, one person after another in the marquis household had fallen ill.
Now this eldest young miss of the Song family also looked sickly and frail. But many people had seen her before, and no one had ever heard that she was in poor health.
More and more people were talking about it, and even Zhao Guangming, standing on the steps, could catch some of what they were saying. But he just stood coldly to the side, as steady as a mountain. Only when his eyes landed on Xu Kaicheng did his expression shift slightly.
Xu Kaicheng seemed to be pushed forward to the bridal sedan. Normally, a groom would extend his hand to help the bride down, and then the matchmaker would hand them each a red silk ribbon.
But Xu Kaicheng wasn't a normal groom in the usual sense. Strictly speaking, the person inside the bridal sedan was actually his sister-in-law. So he could only stand in front of the sedan, looking completely helpless.
Zhao Momo, sharp as a fox, hurried forward and helped the bride out of the sedan. The matchmaker placed one end of the red silk in each of the "newlyweds'" hands. Xu Kaicheng stood off to the side, pulling the red silk so tight it was stretched taut.
Zhao Momo didn't dare let go at all, supporting Song Yao as they headed into the marquis residence. As they stepped over the fire basin, Xu Kaicheng seemed to walk too fast, yanking the red silk and making the bride stumble.
The bride was fine, but Zhao Momo, who was supporting the bride, ended up with one foot on the step and one foot off, and fell down first. She didn't let go of Song Yao's hand either, dragging him down to the ground with her.
"Wah!" A chorus of gasps rose from the crowd. Everyone watched the scene before them with shining eyes.
The marquis household's grand wedding was full of twists and turns — an absolute spectacle.
Xu Kaicheng, already a meter ahead, had to rush back and haul the bride up by the arm. As the bride swayed unsteadily, the red veil slipped off and fell straight to the ground.
Song Yao and Song Yue already looked strikingly alike, and with the monkey-bottom-red rouge and powder on his face, even someone familiar with them wouldn't necessarily be able to tell them apart.
Those eyes, lifeless as dead ashes, burst with brilliant light the moment they saw the person standing before him. Song Yao's eyes reddened as he stared straight at Xu Kaicheng. Xu Kaicheng, as if he didn't recognize him at all, grabbed the red veil that had nearly fallen and quickly covered Song Yao's head again.
On the steps, Zhao Guangming's eyes narrowed quickly, and slowly, a faint smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
Zhao Momo scrambled up from the ground in embarrassment, and this time supported Song Yao even more carefully. And Song Yao, for his part, seemed to have gained strength, walking much more smoothly.
Finally, they entered the marquis household. Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
Xu Kaicheng still wore that utterly lifeless expression as he led the way to the main hall with the red silk in hand. Wei Cai'e stood to the side, her face flushing red then pale, her gaze toward Xu Kaicheng filled with venomous resentment.
But with Xu Gandang seated in the place of honor, she didn't dare utter a sound.
The guests already present in the main hall carried far more weight than those outside. Though the Emperor himself had not come in person, his most trusted eunuch, Wang Xi, sat quietly beside Xu Gandang.
Only after the newlyweds entered did he politely decline Xu Gandang's invitation, rising with a smile and stepping to the side.
Two-thirds of the officials who attended the morning court were now seated on either side, and several princes were even present in person. Zhao Momo's limbs went weak and her vision darkened.
Those figures whom she had only ever seen her master treat with the utmost respect—now they stood filling the room, as if making up the numbers.
"The bride brings good fortune—the marquis's spirits have improved greatly!" Someone in the crowd of guests shouted, earning an approving glance from Xu Gandang.
The master of ceremonies had likely been instructed beforehand. He rattled off endless auspicious words but refused to proceed to the next step. Xu Kaicheng stood to the side, his soul seemingly wandering beyond the heavens. If not for the red silk in his hand, he looked ready to go straight to sleep.
The bride stood for quite a while. Zhao Momo could feel the high heat beneath Song Yao's clothes, and the smile on her old face grew more and more stiff. Her grip on Song Yao's arm grew tighter, afraid something else would go wrong.
One cup of tea's time passed, then two—a long while went by. Beads of sweat dripped dramatically from the master of ceremonies' forehead. Xu Gandang's expression grew uglier and uglier. He shot Wei Cai'e a look full of venom, but though her legs were trembling, she stubbornly refused to back down.
The princes began sipping their tea, hiding the smirks on their lips behind their cups. The high-ranking officials who were seated kept their eyes down and their composure perfect, calm as still water. But the others standing in the hall had no such self-control.
Chattering and clamoring continued endlessly, then slowly, eerily, fell silent.
Xu Kaicheng stood two meters from the bride, pulling the red silk taut. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, at one moment staring upward as if his soul had drifted to the heavens, the next looking down utterly lifeless.
A full half hour passed. The bride's legs gave out, Zhao Momo couldn't hold him up, and the veil tumbled to the ground again. Xu Kaicheng turned back in a daze and met Song Yao's eyes. Only when the veil hit the floor did he seem to snap back to himself, letting out an "Ah."
That "Ah" seemed to flip some kind of switch.
Xu Gandang's expression was grim, radiating threads of killing intent. "Begin."
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