Chapter 6 Chu Jianshan's "Marriage"

The next day, at dusk, the servants began to pack up, as the Liang family's wedding party would arrive soon.

Ji Shi teased Chu Jianshan from the side, "Hey, bride, do you need to touch up your makeup?"

Chu Jianshan ignored him and simply asked, "Has Miss Tang settled in?"

"Don't worry, I gave her double the dose of the sleeping powder, I guarantee she'll sleep soundly tonight."

"It's time, let's go," Cheng Yuan reminded him.

Chu Jianshan didn't rush to do anything. Instead, he picked up the red paper on the table, pursed it to his lips twice, and then casually put the veil on, making it look a little crooked.

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but reach out and tug at his veil twice, then, as if realizing something, quickly withdrew his hand.

The maid from last night opened the door and carefully helped Chu Jianshan out. The matchmaker outside, seeing them emerge, quickly put on a smile and shouted, "The bride is leaving!"

Ji Shi, who was hiding behind the door, almost burst out laughing, but Cheng Yuan pinched him in time.

Fortunately, Miss Tang's parents were not around, and she had no relatives or friends, so there were no people to accompany her to the wedding; otherwise, they would have had a lot more trouble.

Chu Jianshan was helped out of the gate, where Liang Shide was waiting for the bride to get into the sedan chair.

As he stepped across the threshold, a gentle breeze blew by, revealing half of his face. Chu Jianshan quickly adjusted his veil, waiting for Liang Shide's reaction.

To everyone's surprise, the man didn't react at all. However, Chu Jianshan was certain that the man had seen the scene, but since he didn't react, he temporarily attributed it to his bad angle, which prevented him from seeing the man's face clearly.

As soon as Chu Jianshan got into the sedan chair, he immediately removed his veil and secretly lifted the curtain slightly to look back, making sure that Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi had caught up.

"Lift the sedan chair—"

The matchmaker shouted, the sedan chair was lifted, the suona horns began to play, and the procession swayed and staggered forward.

The Liang residence was not far from the Tang residence, but by the time they arrived at the Liang residence, it was already dark. Not long after, he got out of the sedan chair and was helped into the bridal chamber.

Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi also sneaked in, hiding in the bridal chamber while everyone outside was busy drinking at the wedding.

Chu Jianshan lifted the veil, picked up the peanuts and longans that had spilled on the bed, and tasted two of them. They tasted pretty good.

Ji Shi hurriedly called out, "Hey, I told you to eat less, what if you get caught later?"

Chu Jianshan glanced at him, then popped two more into his mouth and tossed a few more to Ji Shi, who then fell silent.

The three of them hadn't eaten since last night and were indeed quite hungry.

"Ah Yuan, do you want some?" Ji Shi tried to give Cheng Yuan a few more, but Cheng Yuan shook his head, indicating that he didn't want any.

"Actually, I'm quite curious," Chu Jianshan suddenly said, one foot still on the stool, showing no resemblance to a bride.

"What?" Cheng Yuan replied.

"You said this Liang Shide is just a scholar, where did he get such a big mansion?"

"Is that even a question?" Ji Shi chewed a couple of peanuts and muttered, "This isn't Liang Shide's money; it must have been given to him by that richest man, Tang!"

Chu Jianshan remained noncommittal and then asked, "Why is this Miss Tang so kind to him? If what the fortune teller said is true, Liang Shide is a notorious man. What does Miss Tang see in him?"

Ji Shi thought for a moment and then tried to say, "Appearance? This person is quite good-looking."

"Not necessarily." Cheng Yuan immediately denied it: "As the richest woman, what kind of man can't she get? Why would she waste her fortune on someone like that?"

“That’s true…” Ji Shi nodded, then stuffed two more mouthfuls of peanuts into his mouth, only to have them slapped away by Chu Jianshan.

"I told you to eat less, there really won't be any left later."

"You ate it first!" Ji Shi was furious. This person actually dared to turn the tables on him!

"Greetings, son-in-law! Oh dear, son-in-law, please be careful not to fall."

A commotion came from outside the door; it must be Liang Shide about to come in.

The three immediately became alert. Cheng Yuan quickly pulled Ji Shi to hide in a corner hidden by the curtain, while Chu Jianshan hurriedly pulled his legs back, put his skirt away, and then touched his phoenix crown, feeling that something was missing.

"My veil, my veil!" Chu Jianshan said to the two of them in a low voice.

Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi hurriedly returned to help him find the veil. Outside the door, Liang Shide was about to push the door open.

"Here! Here!" Ji Shi was the first to find the veil that was under the blanket, and he shoved it directly onto Chu Jianshan's head before rushing back.

With a creak, the door opened.

Liang Shide staggered in from outside, carrying a bottle of wine in his hand, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit.

Seeing the beautiful woman sitting obediently by the bed, Liang Shide smiled broadly and stumbled toward her.

Chu Jianshan sat motionless with his head tilted to the side. Why was his head tilted? Because when Ji Shi put the veil on his head earlier, he had pulled the phoenix crown askew, and Chu Jianshan could only stabilize it this way.

"My wife, you have no idea how happy I am today!"

Liang Shide didn't go over, but sat down at the table halfway there and drank a couple more sips of wine.

"Only someone like my wife is worthy of this scholar..."

"They all say I'm unfaithful, but what do they know!"

"This scholar is a genius of unparalleled talent, and as handsome as Pan An..."

He mumbled something for a long time, but it was impossible to understand what he was saying. Chu Jianshan was getting impatient and almost wanted to lift the veil and restrain him.

After an unknown amount of time, Liang Shide picked up the scale bar on the table, staggered over, and prepared to lift Chu Jianshan's veil.

Liang Shide suddenly stopped when the veil was only half lifted.

He said calmly, "Wife, why aren't you saying anything today?"

Chu Jianshan was speechless. Nonsense, how dare I speak!

Now he can only wait for him to get closer, then grab him, without letting the outsiders notice anything amiss.

"Oh...I understand." Liang Shide spoke again, bending down and slowly approaching him.

"It's because...you're not Tang Yi at all."

Chu Jianshan's pupils shrank instantly, and his heart skipped a beat. The next second, he directly used his hand to forcefully lift the veil, trying to restrain Liang Shide.

But Liang Shide was faster. He had a dagger hidden in his sleeve and was too close to Chu Jianshan, so Chu Jianshan had no time to dodge.

Just as the dagger was about to pierce his body, the Flowing Sound Sword was a step faster and blocked the tip of the dagger.

Chu Jianshan rolled over on the bed to avoid Liang Shide's movements.

The phoenix crown fell off during the tug-of-war between the two, and Chu Jianshan's hair was no longer secured, becoming somewhat disheveled, with a few strands hanging down in front of his cool and aloof eyebrows.

Cheng Yuan sheathed his Flowing Sound Sword, quickly took a few steps to block Chu Jianshan, and placed the sword against Liang Shide's neck.

Chu Jianshan straightened his clothes, looked at the unperturbed Liang Shide, and asked, "You knew all along that I was an imposter?"

Liang Shide sneered and said, "I'm not so stupid as to not see through your little tricks."

Cheng Yuan ignored his pleasantries and asked directly, "What is your relationship with Yue Yan, the most beautiful courtesan at Zui Chun Lou?"

"Her? She's nothing but a whore. She saw I had money and thought she could come with me. She doesn't even know what kind of person she is. She's been ridden by thousands and trampled by tens of thousands. Does she think she's good enough for a scholar like me? Don't even think about it!"

"What about Hua Rong? Do you know her?"

Why should I, a scholar, tell you?

The next second, the Flowing Sound Sword was even closer to his neck, leaving a faint bloodstain.

Liang Shide was still scared after all. He swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "She...she is that bitch's friend, and also works at Zuichunlou. I heard Yueyan say that when she first came here, she was bullied by others, and it was Yueyan who took her in. Because of this, Yueyan also stood against everyone. When that bitch wanted to elope with me, she even tried to persuade her to stay."

"So, the rumors are true, and Miss Yueyan really was going to elope with you?" Ji Shi added from the side.

"She threw herself at me! I didn't want her in the first place, but she was willing to redeem herself to come with me. How can you blame me for that?"

"Lies!" Ji Shi wanted to continue arguing with him, but Chu Jianshan stopped him.

"Don't waste time. Since he knew our plan and still dared to come alone, he must have a backup plan. Let's tie him up first."

However, before Cheng Yuan could put away his Flowing Sound Sword, it was propelled out by an invisible force and pierced the wood beside the bed.

The three were also thrown apart by this force. Chu Jianshan, who had no spiritual power to protect him, crashed directly into the low cabinet, causing the vase on the cabinet to fall to the ground.

"Chu Jianshan!"

Cheng Yuan called out to him, and Chu Jianshan shook his head slightly, indicating that he was alright.

"What's going on?" Ji Shi asked. "Escape Demon? Didn't you say that Escape Demons are harmless?"

“It’s not a demon-escaping creature.” Chu Jianshan struggled to his feet, leaning on the cabinet, and explained, “It’s a six-tailed jade fox.”

Sure enough, the next second, a pure white fox jumped to Liang Shide's side, and then transformed into a human, a bewitching woman.

Seeing this, Chu Jianshan understood everything. No wonder he always felt that there was something wrong with Miss Tang when they were at the Tang residence, as if she was being controlled by someone. Also, when Ji Shi felt someone touching him outside the door, it might not be the demon, but the fox demon. It was highly likely that Liang Shide already knew about their plan last night.

The six-tailed jade fox is born on the snow mountain and is not commonly seen at the foot of the mountain. Its characteristics are that it is born with high demonic power and is extremely good at bewitching people's hearts. He had wondered before why Tang Yi could take a liking to Liang Shide. If this fox demon had the help, then everything would make sense.

Liang Shide quickly retreated and hid behind the screen, shouting, "You damned demon, why are you only coming to save me now!"

"Be careful, she's not easy to deal with," Chu Jianshan warned.

"What fox demon? I'll take you down today!" Following Ji Shi's lead, he picked up his sword and charged forward.

Just as the sword was about to pierce her, the fox demon vanished instantly, leaving only a few wisps of white mist swirling around the three of them.

Chu Jianshan carefully observed the white mist, hoping to find the fox demon's location.

But the next second, the fox demon appeared beside Cheng Yuan and gathered her demonic power to strike him.

Cheng Yuan reacted quickly and raised his sword to defend, but was forced back three steps by the enormous demonic power. Ji Shi also rushed over, and the three fought fiercely.

Chu Jianshan had no spiritual power, so he wouldn't go and cause trouble. Besides, the fox demon's strength lay not in fighting, but in its ability to control people's minds.

Just as Chu Jianshan was about to speak up to warn them, he saw Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi being blasted apart by the fox demon's demonic power. The fox demon seemed to be only staring at Cheng Yuan, and then instantly moved in front of Cheng Yuan, staring intently into his eyes.

"Cheng Yuan! Don't look into her eyes!"

Chu Jianshan shouted at him and hurriedly ran over.

But it was too late. The color of Cheng Yuan's pupils slowly changed, becoming the same as that of the fox demon.

The next second, a strong wind blew by, and it seemed to carry rain and snow with it, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.

When the three of them opened their eyes again, they were no longer in the bridal chamber. Instead, it looked like a dilapidated house that had been uninhabited for a long time.

"It's an illusion," Chu Jianshan reminded him.

But when he turned his head, he saw a scene that was once so familiar...