Chapter 14: Getting Married This Seventh Prince of the Pei Family is so handsome...

The phoenix sings in the morning sun, the auspicious time has arrived.

The wedding procession was ready to go, holding bottles, candles, incense balls, gauze and silk dowries, skirt boxes and clothing boxes. The bearers responsible for carrying the wedding sedan and flower baskets arrived late. After Pei Huaijin and Pei Huaian paid homage to the ancestral temple, they held the geese and prepared to go out to welcome the bride.

However, a eunuch from the palace came with the emperor's oral order and urgently summoned Pei Huaijin to the palace to discuss matters.

The imperial order was difficult to disobey, so the task of welcoming the bride had to be entrusted to his seventh brother Pei Huaian. Pei Huaijin took off his wedding dress, changed into an official robe, and followed the eunuch into the palace.

The people in the Shen Mansion saw that there was only Pei Huaian in front of the wedding procession, and there was no sign of Pei Huaijin. After learning the reason, they felt helpless but had no choice but to accept it.

The shadows from the window gradually moved eastwards. After the ceremony of laying the geese, the wedding procession in the front yard played drums and music to urge them to get ready.

A heavy crown and hairpins crowned Chen Youran's head, a gold-plated veil adorned with pearls and jade completely obscured her face. She could see nothing but a festive red before her eyes. She relied entirely on others to support and guide her until she reached the wedding sedan chair. She caught a glimpse of the red hem of a robe and knew it was Pei Huaian, her soon-to-be husband, holding the curtain for her...

Her heartbeat suddenly became rapid, and she subconsciously turned her head to see his appearance. The pearls on her veil collided with the movement of her head, making a clear and crisp sound, overlapping with his words "Watch your step". For a moment, she could not hear his voice clearly, nor could she see his face...

He leaned over and entered the wedding sedan. The people in the welcoming team sang songs to ask for red envelopes. After a lively moment, the two wedding sedans moved side by side. The welcoming team and the sending-off team merged into one team, like a red dragon, marching towards Pei Mansion in a mighty manner, becoming a grand sight in the city.

A gentle breeze rustled the curtains, and the wedding sedan rocked rhythmically with the bearers' measured steps. Shen Youran, who had been bathing and dressing since dawn, felt drowsy from the jolting of the sedan. Her head noddidly, and she was half asleep and half awake when the sedan suddenly took a sharp turn. She was uncontrollably thrown against the side of the sedan, and the phoenix crown on her head was knocked askew, causing her scalp to ache...

Then the sedan chair suddenly shook a lot, no longer as slow and steady as before. Now it seemed as if the bearers were carrying her at a rapid speed, making it impossible for her to sit still in the sedan chair.

There was a loud shouting outside the sedan chair, and Shen Youran heard Qinghe's sharp cry: "Someone is stealing my bride! Hurry and save my girl!"

Bride kidnapping?

Isn’t that what happens in the stories my mother tells me?

In this bright and clear world, with the sun and the moon shining brightly, there are still people who dare to kidnap the bride?

The incident happened suddenly. Shen Youran didn't care about etiquette. She lifted her veil and stuck her head out of the small window to see the situation outside.

The first thing I saw was my sister's wedding sedan, carried along with my own, rapidly heading down a deep alley. The four bearers were all incredibly strong and sturdy, and even with the sedan chairs on their shoulders, it didn't slow them down at all, their steps moving at lightning speed.

Looking back, another group of people, armed with knives, blocked the entrance to the alley, blocking the pursuing bride's party and the bride's escort. Although there were many people in the team, none of them had weapons that could fight. For a moment, they were blocked outside the alley, forming a huge blockade.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her sister sticking her head out of the wedding sedan. Shen Youran looked at her in panic, almost crying, "Sister..."

Shen Yunshu's face turned pale: How could she not guess who was behind today's incident?

I never thought he would disregard even the law and dare to do something as unethical as kidnapping a bride? If I had known he was so ruthless and crazy, I should have done something more drastic and sent him to prison for life.

But now is not the time to think about these things. Even though Shen Yunshu was panicking in her heart, she could only pretend to be calm and comfort her sister: "Don't be afraid, I'm here." Lu Yi came for her. If he really snatched her marriage away, she would definitely try her best to protect her third sister.

Just as I was preparing for the worst, I suddenly heard the sound of an arrow. A white feather arrow flew through the air and instantly penetrated the back of a sedan bearer. The man fell to the ground...

Shen Yunshu's sedan chair immediately lost balance and fell to the ground with both the person and the sedan chair.

The whistling sound of arrows rang out again, and three arrows were fired in succession. The people carrying the sedan saw that things were not going well and had to abandon the sedan and flee.

Shen Yunshu was thrown out of the sedan chair. Seeing her sister also climb out of the sedan chair, she threw herself into her arms with a pale face: "Sister, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, let's go." Shen Yunshu ignored the pain in her body and pulled her sister back to run away.

A gilded veil fluttered to the ground as they ran, while the other one was entangled with a phoenix corona and red hairpins, barely dragging behind them.

Fortunately, the wedding procession at the alley broke through the blockade and came to the rescue.

In the chaos, the maids and servants protected them layer by layer. Someone picked up the gold veil and handed it to Quanfu. Quanfu squeezed in, took a look at the two sisters, and then put the veil in his hand on Shen Yunshu's head. He also picked up the veil hanging on Shen Youran's red hairpin and covered her with it. Then he helped them back to the sedan chair and pointed out a few other people to carry the sedan chair.

However, the team couldn't leave for the time being because several people were injured in the chaos, especially the two dowry maids Qinghe and Qiongzhi, who were eager to protect their master. One injured her arm and the other twisted her foot. Pei Huaian assigned a few people to take the injured to a nearby clinic. One of the robbers had been caught, and the incident was truly egregious. Pei Huaian specifically assigned his attendant Qingwu to take him to the government office and request that the prefect investigate the matter thoroughly.

Only then did she find time to thank the young man with the arrow who had just come to her aid. "If it weren't for your help today, I'm afraid things wouldn't have turned out well. What's your name? If you have time today, could you come to my house for a drink? I'd like to thank you very much..."

The man holding the arrow had deep eyebrows and a strong face. His dark eyes glanced at the wedding sedan chair with the curtains drawn, and he said calmly, "My surname is Liang. I have something else to do today, so I won't bother you anymore..."

"Where do you live then? I'll treat you to a drink someday..."

"It's just a small favor, don't worry about it, sir." The man nodded slightly at him, then left with the bow and arrow in his hand.

Due to this sudden change, the team was delayed for a long time before setting off again.

The men carrying the sedan chair were weak, moving slowly and unsteadily. Shen Youran was shaken to the ground, and because of the shock she had just received, her expression was gloomy, and the joy and anticipation she had felt that morning had long since vanished.

It was almost night when we arrived at Pei Mansion.

With heavy eyelids, Shen Youran was helped down from the sedan chair, walked into the house on the green mat in front of the sedan chair, stepped on the saddle, sat on the empty tent, bowed to the incense table, and bowed to all the relatives. Then, she was surrounded by relatives and servants and went to the bridal chamber, waiting for the groom to come and perform the greetings and the bun-tying ceremony with her.

According to the procedure, Pei Huaian should come over soon, but Shen Youran waited for a long time, but only two maids came to bring food and tea, and said to her: "Young Madam, please have some food first. If you need anything else, please tell the maids at any time..."

Shen Youran was a little confused: “Pei…when will my husband come over?”

"I don't know, can I go and find out?"

Never mind, the person is right in the front yard, so there’s no need to ask.

Shen Youran said "No need", then ate something simple through the obstructive veil, solved the urgent problem, and then returned to the bed to sit quietly.

The bridal chamber was quiet, a pair of dragon and phoenix wedding candles burning quietly. The figure beneath the soft red gauze tent gradually tilted downwards. Soon, a sleeping figure appeared on the crimson mandarin duck quilt...

On the other side, Shen Yunshu also had her veil on her head uncovered. She knew that Pei Huaijin was in the palace, and as his younger brother, Pei Huaian could only welcome the bride on his behalf, but could not complete the rest of the ceremonies with her on his behalf. So she asked the maids serving in the room to go down first, as she wanted to be alone for a while.

Such a big thing happened that day, and she still felt a lingering fear. Although she suspected that person was behind it, she secretly hoped it was an accident. Otherwise, if he was found to be the one behind it, not only would his family be implicated, but she was also afraid that he would deliberately blame her after being exposed, which would make her life very difficult...

While pondering this mess, she vaguely heard the maids outside whispering something. Then a maid came in and said to her respectfully, "Young Madam, someone just came from the front yard and said that the old master's illness has relapsed. The seventh young master has gone to accompany the old master..."

"I understand." Although she was puzzled as to why Pei Huaian told her about his trip to accompany the old man, she changed her mind and thought that it was probably just a casual remark made by the maid.

"Then Madam, please rest first. I will go to the kitchen to bring some food..."

"Okay." Shen Yunshu responded casually without thinking too much, and fell into the trouble brought by Lu Yi again.

*

The sky was as black as ink, the moonlight was like frost, and Pei Huaijin returned to the Pei Mansion walking on the moonlight all over the ground.

The lights in the mansion were bright as day, and the red silk and brocade were everywhere, filled with joy.

When the servants saw him come back, they immediately got busy.

Shen Youran was helped up in a daze, thinking that she had only taken a short nap. She rubbed her eyes, forced herself to sit up straight.

Not long after, the bed beside him sank, and Shen Youran took a noseful of the refreshing and pleasant fragrance of agarwood.

The maids quickly stood in two rows and, following the procedure previously instructed by the ceremonial officer, handed the scale rod to the young master first.

Pei Huaijin took it, reached under the veil and gently lifted it, and a beautiful face with red eyes, more beautiful than a crabapple in the sun, appeared in front of him.

The phoenix crown inlaid with pearls and gems made her powdered and rouge-covered face look even more beautiful and delicate, but her eyes were sleepy and she looked at him with a bit of confusion, appearing a bit helpless.

The stunning glimpse I had at Hongqiao Bridge half a year ago overlapped with the beautiful girl in front of me.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

The clear and mellow voice fell into Shen Youran's ears, like the collision of pearls and jade, clear and pleasant.

Shen Youran stared at the other person in a daze: Big sister was not lying to her, this Seventh Young Master of the Pei Family really had a jade-like appearance, as clear and bright as the pine wind, water and moon, and was extremely handsome.

What is even more rare is that his eyes are clear and calm as water, without any trace of frivolity or vanity.

When I met him before at the temple fair at Daxiangguo Temple, he was still a slick person. I didn't expect that today he became serious and acted like a modest gentleman.

Shen Youran was secretly delighted. All the sleepiness, fatigue, and shock she had received during the day were swept away. She happily drank the wedding wine with the other party and performed the wedding ceremony.

As soon as it was over, a maid came forward to make the bed, and two others took her clothes and helped her to the bathroom to take a bath.

Since they had already showered in the morning, neither of them spent too much time on this matter.

When Pei Huaijin came back from bathing, the maids in the bedroom had already left, and the lights in the room were extinguished. Only a pair of dragon and phoenix wedding candles remained on the table, illuminating the slender and graceful bride beside the bed.

The person who has washed away all the makeup reveals a beautiful and elegant figure. She is less gorgeous and more soft and gentle, like a lily of the valley covered with dew, so quiet and beautiful.

She seemed to be very interested in a rope under the curtain. When she pulled it, the sound of crisp bells kept ringing outside.

"What is this rope for? I asked them just now, but they just laughed and didn't tell me..."

She turned her head and asked him, her bright eyes and white teeth looking even more charming in the candlelight.

Pei Huaijin walked over, pulled her to sit down, and freed the thin rope from her hand. The sound of the bell outside stopped abruptly.

He took her hand and explained to her: "It's for water."

The author has something to say:

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When I was writing this article, I was thinking about how to make the sisters' marriage exchange go smoothly. Because of the "Marrying the Wrong Man" drama, I wanted to design a different one, but I scratched my head for a long time and couldn't think of a better way. In the end, I just chose the wrong veil [panda head][panda head][panda head]