Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The dizziness in Wen Shuse's brain had not completely subsided, but his heart was clear. He knew that the arrow had been shot and there was no turning back. He must not waste his efforts. He forced himself to be strong and followed his aunt's instructions, holding the round fan close to his face. He had no idea that his aunt and the maid had been gagged, and the groom opposite had been replaced by someone else, just like himself.

"Bow to heaven and earth."

"Bow to your parents."

"Husband and wife bow to each other."

"The ceremony is over..."

After the three bows, Wen Shuse did not feel the nervousness of a bride, but only felt relieved after the ceremony. The ceremony had already been held, and even if the eldest master wanted to regret it, it was useless.

The burden on my shoulders was instantly relieved. I had heard Xiangyun say that the eldest son was handsome, but everyone has a different view of beauty. What if it happened to be someone I couldn't appreciate...

With a thought, he subconsciously moved the fan in his hand away.

Before she could see clearly, several maids suddenly rushed over, held her arms, as if they were also afraid that she would be discovered, turned around with her, and hurried to the backyard.

The front hall and backyard of Xie's house were separated by a hanging flower gate, with the same red lacquer door panels, but different from the general door style of the main gate, with hanging columns and columns in front of the door hanging on both sides under the eaves, with colorful petals carved on the column heads, colorful and exquisite. The bride also walked through the hall paved with red silk, and on the corridors on both sides, there were many female relatives watching the excitement.

Hearing the noisy voices, Wen Shuse didn't dare to look around anymore. She lowered her head and stared at the ground below her feet. Once upon a time, she was also one of them.

When the eldest son of the Ming family next door got married, she went there, but was very sad because she could not see the bride's face.

She secretly decided that when she became a bride, she would show half of her face from under the round fan so that everyone would scream and make a sensation.

Unfortunately, it doesn't go as planned...

If she took down the round fan today, not only would there be no fun, but the scene would probably be as quiet as a thousand mountains with no birds flying away.

I have lived an upright life for seventeen years, but this is the first time I have done something against my conscience. My heart is pounding and I feel really ashamed.

The voices in my ears were inexplicably noisy, my pace quickened, and I didn't even count how many thresholds I had crossed. The dizziness in my head gradually faded away, and I became more and more clear-headed.

The nanny who was leading the way finally stopped crossing the door and led her to turn left and go up to the corridor.

"Grandma, watch your step."

The surroundings were quiet. Wen Shuse turned his head slightly. On the left side of the corridor, there was a white wall with green tiles. On the top of the wall, there were small windows with spiritual patterns built in rows. Green banana trees could be seen inside. As people approached, there was a sudden movement among the banana trees, and several colorful birds flew out, and the crisp sound of birdsong was endless.

After entering the yard from the side, the sound of birds singing became clearer.

The eldest son likes to raise birds?

Wen Shuse suddenly recalled that when several people came to see Ming Wanrou that day, Third Master Xie was holding a bird cage in his hand.

Later...the birdcage seemed to be lost and the bird flew away.

Wen Shuse pursed her lips, trying her best to suppress the corners of her lips that wanted to curl up.

Life is full of joy, this is her usual style. Look, she can still be happy in such a tense situation.

I am like a clay Buddha crossing the river, but I still have the leisure to watch others laugh at me. I quickly close my eyes and throw the unlucky person out of my mind, and pay attention to every tree and blade of grass around me.

But this courtyard was beyond her imagination. The big courtyard contained small courtyards. Walking along the way, there were pavilions, towers, flower ponds and waterside pavilions. It was like a real garden.

After coming out from under a shady rockery, Wen Shuse was completely lost.

After turning many corners, the nanny stopped in front of a door with a three-cross ball pattern and turned to help her. "Grandma, be careful with the door threshold."

Wen Shuse took a step forward and moved the round fan slightly down half an inch.

At the entrance, there is a dark lacquered short-legged table with an upturned head, on which is placed an inkstone and a few closed paintings. Only a bamboo woven cushion is placed on the main seat. Behind him is a row of diamond-shaped carved mullion windows, with the diamond-shaped holes in the middle occupying most of the space. The several rolling curtains above are rolled up, allowing a large amount of light to shine in and onto another table under the window, on which is placed a variety of tea sets.

At first glance, you can tell that this is a scholar's house...

"Third Master, Third Master, I'm late..." A voice suddenly came from his ears. Wen Shuse turned his head in surprise and almost bumped into the birdcage in front of him.

It is a starling with colorful green bodies.

Wen Shuse stared at the bird for a moment, and before he could come to his senses, the maid beside him explained in a panic, "It's because they knew that the eldest master and grandma were getting married today, so the third master sent someone to send this bird over to make it more lively."

Wen Shuse didn't like birds very much, especially chirping birds, so he looked away with a hint of disdain, thinking it was a false alarm, and continued to walk inside, holding on to his fan.

Who knew that the mynah bird was a talkative person, "Third Master, Third Master..."

"You beast, shut up." The maid broke out in a cold sweat, wishing she could pry open its two sharp beaks. She hurriedly took Wen Shuse into the inner room.

The partition between the inner room and the outer room was a lattice door, which was covered by a curtain and a beaded curtain. Two doors were opened, and the curtain was retracted by a golden hook, leaving only a red beaded curtain, which was lifted by two maids inside, respectfully waiting for the bride to pass. After passing through the beaded curtain, there was another mandarin duck green gauze floor screen in front of us. After going around it, we saw a carved beam bed with a red curtain hanging, a red mandarin duck cloud brocade quilt on the bed, and a pile of dried fruits such as longan, peanuts, red dates, etc. on the red mattress.

The maid helped Wen Shuse sit on the wedding bed, "If you are tired, put down the fan first, drink something and eat something to fill your stomach."

Dafeng has been stable for more than 20 years, and the customs have gradually become more relaxed. Girls are not as harsh as before, and there is no rule that the bride cannot eat on the wedding day.

From the time the bride was picked up in the morning to the time she entered the house, it seemed fast, but in fact, most of the day had passed.

Wen Shuse had no intention of putting down the fan. He sat there steadily, carefully looking for the figures of Aunt Qing and Qiuying.

"grandmother?"

"I'm not hungry." After looking around for a while, she didn't see anyone, and didn't even hear a sound, so she had to ask, "Madam, have you seen my aunt and the maid who followed me?"

The maid smiled, "Don't worry, grandma. The old lady has specifically instructed us to entertain the people of the Wen family. I have arranged for Aunt Qing and Madam Qiuying. They are having dinner and resting in the backyard." She then said, "My surname is Fang. If you have any instructions, please come to me directly."

Wen Shu was stunned.

Take a break for dinner?

At this critical moment...

Seeing her doubt, Nanny Fang took a step closer to her and whispered, "Madam, now that you have married, you are a member of the Xie family from now on. I might as well tell you that there is an unwritten rule in the Xie family that the first night after the bride enters the house, the people serving in the room must be the servants of the husband's family..."

Wen Shu was stunned. How could there be such a rule?

"Grandma, put down the fan..."

Wen Shuse leaned back quickly to avoid Nanny Fang's sight and said, "I'm not tired." She was still confused. Aunt Qing had been more nervous than her along the way. Would she be willing to leave her alone?

At this time, Aunt Qing and Qiuying were indeed "properly" arranged, with the table filled with good wine and delicious food, but the door was locked.

The damn robbers dragged the two out without saying anything and brought them directly to this place. They said politely, "Aunt and wife, please rest here first. Don't worry about grandma."

No one knew where this place was. It must be a remote corner with no one around. Aunt Qing shouted until her voice was hoarse, but no one paid any attention to her.

Qiuying was still shaking the door, "Is there anyone here? Someone come." When she was tired, she turned around to look at Aunt Qing, who looked pale. She pouted and was almost crying. "Aunt, what should we do? I'm afraid that the Second Lady and the Third Master have already finished their wedding ceremony, and the Second Lady doesn't even know about it..."

It would have been fine if she hadn't reminded him. But once she had, Aunt Qing got angry again. "People's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. The Xie family is also a famous and wealthy family. Look at the immoral things they have done...

Qiuying didn't dare to say anything. Her family wasn't kind and honest. Aunt Tongqing suggested, "Why don't we just tell them that it's the Second Lady who's here..."

Confess first and rescue the second lady.

"No way." Aunt Qing rejected it outright. She had thought about this matter a long time ago. The Xie family could come up with such a dirty trick of replacing one thing with another, so they must have been eyeing the eldest lady's reputation.

If they knew in advance that it was the Second Lady who was coming, they might turn hostile on the spot and carry the Second Lady back intact, and then find a way to put the blame on the Wen family. By then, let alone marrying the Third Young Master, the Second Lady's reputation of being rejected in marriage would probably make her a laughing stock in Fengcheng, Zhongzhou, and even the entire Dafeng. Not only would she never be able to get married in this life, but the Wen family would also be unable to hold their heads up.

After thinking about it carefully, I realized that this matter seems to be something I can only swallow in silence.

"Poor Second Lady, when she took the fan, she saw that the groom was replaced by another man. She didn't know what would happen..." Aunt Qing was startled. This Second Lady's temper was not that of an ordinary person.

No, she has to go and persuade and comfort him first.

Aunt Qing stood up again and knocked on the door with Qiuying, "Someone come." However, the iron lock was locked tightly and did not move at all.

A maid who was hiding outside the window on the back wall was already stunned. The look of astonishment on her face seemed as if she had seen a huge secret. She was speechless and hurried to the room of the first lady Wu, holding up her skirt.

Mrs. Wu was suffering from a toothache and was unhappy with everyone. Everyone in the room lowered their heads and dared not speak, but the sounds of suona and gongs outside could not be blocked out and still reached their ears.

Just as I was feeling upset, the maid rushed in, "Madam."

Wu was furious. "You are so flustered and unbecoming. Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"

The maid took two steps back, but she couldn't control her mouth. She raised her head with bright eyes and said, "Madam, I found something incredible."

Wu covered half of her face with her hands and looked at her sideways.

The maid hurriedly approached her, leaned close to her ear, and whispered something. Wu's pupils trembled, and she turned her head to stare at the maid, "Did you hear it clearly?"

The maid bent down and said, "I heard it clearly. Aunt Wen and the maidservant are still locked up in the side room in the west courtyard."

Mrs. Wu couldn't quite believe that there was such an immediate retribution. She was stunned for a moment and stayed there for a long while before the expression on her face slowly calmed down and a happy smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

It’s not the eldest lady of the Wen family, but the second lady.

This is really retribution.

Last night, the biased old lady pretended to be dead, called everyone to her side, and began to arrange her "afterlife", and forcibly took away the eldest son's marriage and gave it to the third son.

In all her years of life, this was the first time she had seen such an unreasonable ancestor.

The eldest wife of the Wen family is now an official in the capital, the Minister of Works of Siping. If Chengji marries the eldest wife of the Wen family, when he goes to the Eastern Capital in the future, with the care of his father-in-law, will he have to worry about not being able to gain a foothold?

What can I do? I have already made arrangements for my 'afterlife'. How can my descendants not listen?

He swallowed his broken teeth and was so angry that his toothache came back. Fortunately, God has eyes and man proposes, God disposes. Who could have expected that the Wen family would also have a new person.

This is going to be lively.

The retribution came too quickly. Wu suddenly regained her spirit and asked a maidservant in front of her, "Where is the groom? Has he returned to the backyard?"

The maid hurried out to investigate and soon came back to report, "The Third Young Master was pulled back from the wine table and just entered the yard."

Mrs. Wu glanced at the dark sky outside and forgot about her toothache. She stood up and called the servants around her, "What are you still standing there for? Let's go and take a look."