Chapter 119 Wedding Ceremony

Marrying Xie Wuyou was a forced choice, a bitter pill that the Yongning Marquis's family had to swallow in order to preserve their reputation!

Now, she has to face her parents, who act like shrewish street urchins, making a scene in front of everyone!

This is simply rubbing the face of Wei Zikai and the Yongning Marquis's mansion into the ground repeatedly!

He reined in his horse, neither dismounting immediately nor speaking.

Only the knuckles of the hand holding the reins were slightly white from the force.

At the teahouse entrance, Xie Chengzong saw Wei Zikai and, as if seeing a savior, immediately put on a fawning and aggrieved expression, rushing to the horse's side.

"My dear son-in-law! My dear son-in-law, you've finally arrived! Look at this! Look at these scoundrels in the teahouse! And that unfilial daughter of Xie Wuyou! They're blocking your mother-in-law and me from going in to see the bride off! This... this is outrageous! My dear son-in-law, you must stand up for us!"

Wang rushed over, wailing, "Zikai! My good son-in-law! Wuyou is so immature, you can't abandon us! We are your father-in-law and mother-in-law!"

Wei Zikai felt extremely aggrieved! Looking at the growing crowd of onlookers pointing and whispering, he wished he could turn his horse around and leave immediately!

This marriage is better off not happening!

But he knew he couldn't.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the nausea in his heart, his voice distant:

"The auspicious time has arrived, please do not miss it."

"no!"

Xie Chengzong was not about to give up. He would not leave until he had this cup of tea and his status as father-in-law was confirmed!

“My dear son-in-law! This cup of tea must be drunk here today! That’s the rule! Xie Wuyou doesn’t acknowledge me as her father, but do you not acknowledge me as your father-in-law either? Without me, where would she be? Without her, could you have married such a good wife?”

His words were utterly shameless, as if Xie Wuyou were some rare treasure.

Wei Zikai's face instantly darkened!

Just when the tension was at its peak—

The window on the second floor of the teahouse creaked open!

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it!

Xie Wuyou was standing by the window, dressed in her wedding gown.

Her gaze fell on Xie Chengzong and Wang Shi's faces, which were filled with greed and ugliness.

There was no anger, no resentment, only a deathly silence.

"Xie Chengzong, Wang Shi. I, Xie Wuyou, here today, sever all ties with you! From now on, we go our separate ways! I don't need your support in life! I don't need your burial in death! Your good son, Xie Wulu, is your lifeblood! Hold him and live out the rest of your lives in peace! If you continue to harass me, I will take you to the authorities!"

Xie Wuyou's gaze shifted to Wei Zikai, whose expression was constantly changing:

"Wei Zikai! The auspicious time has passed! How long are you going to keep watching the play down there?! Are you going to marry me or not?!"

Wei Zikai's face instantly turned from green to white, and then from white to red!

He, a dignified general, was rebuked and questioned in front of the entire city by his soon-to-be wife!

"Marry me!" Wei Zikai practically spat out the word through gritted teeth!

He suddenly flipped off his horse!

"Stop them!"

He shouted sternly at the guards of the Marquis's mansion in the wedding procession, pointing at Xie Chengzong and Wang Shi, who were still trying to rush forward.

Several fierce guards immediately stepped forward and, without any hesitation, dragged the crying and struggling Xie Chengzong and Wang Shi aside.

Wei Zikai didn't even glance at the "parents-in-law" again. He straightened his garish wedding attire, put on a stiff smile, and strode towards the teahouse entrance.

Inside the teahouse.

Wang Jinbao squatted down.

Xie Wuyou leaned against his not-so-broad back expressionlessly.

——

"Lift—the sedan chair—!"

The sounds of suona horns and gongs rose again, but they could not bring out a trace of joy.

The bridal sedan chair was lifted up.

Wei Zikai mounted his horse, his face so gloomy it could drip water, and with a spur of his horse, he took the lead.

The wedding procession, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression, slowly drove away from the teahouse and headed towards the Yongning Marquis's residence.

Inside the sedan chair.

Xie Wuyou sat upright with his eyes closed.

This day, which she had looked forward to every day, has now turned out like this; the wedding is a joke.

The man she's going to marry doesn't love her at all, and his parents are bloodsucking parasites!

The future seemed predictable. She knew that after that incident, Wei Zikai would definitely marry her, but how he would treat her after marriage was something only she knew behind closed doors.

But this was her only path. Becoming the daughter of an official was her obsession, and because of her status, she was often ridiculed in Jinling.

Xie Wuyou opened his eyes, which were once again filled with longing.

Once she marries into the family, she will become a daughter of an official, and she will obtain the status she has always dreamed of.

As for what the future holds, that's not something she can consider right now.

The sedan chair swayed slightly as it drove toward that deep mansion that was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Lanterns and colorful decorations were hung in front of the Yongning Marquis's residence.

The vermilion gates were wide open, and the steward and his servants stood before the steps, their faces bearing a perfunctory, respectful smile.

However, when the bridal sedan chair landed in front of the main gate of the Marquis's mansion, the steward and servants couldn't help but show a flash of disdain in their eyes.

Everyone in the Marquis's mansion knew how Xie Wuyou had gotten this marriage.

I've only ever seen men force themselves to marry, never women force themselves into marriage.

That's truly shameless.

Inside the Marquis's residence, there were no deafening firecrackers, no boisterous cheers; it was as if the event was being carried out perfunctorily.

The atmosphere was awkward.

The sedan curtain was lifted.

Xie Wuyou walked out on his own.

She straightened her back, a barely perceptible tension deep in her eyes.

The threshold of the Marquis's mansion was very high. The bride had to step over a brazier before her husband personally led her inside, to show that the husband's family had accepted her and that it was the beginning of her status as a wife who had risen through her husband's influence.

Wei Zikai stood on the steps, dressed in a crimson wedding robe, his posture upright and graceful like a jade tree in the wind.

He looked at Xie Wuyou, who was walking down from the bridal sedan chair alone, his face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water. After all, he was a person who couldn't stand up to the rules and didn't even know the proper etiquette.

Wei Zikai suppressed the urge to storm off and extended his hand.

Xie Wuyou raised her hand and gently placed her fingertips on Wei Zikai's cold wrist.

The moment our fingertips touched.

Wei Zikai's wrist tensed almost imperceptibly, as if it had been touched by something dirty.

The two appeared to be on good terms but were actually at odds, like prisoners forcibly tied together. Under the complex gazes of the stewards and servants, they stiffly stepped across the brazier, a symbol of exorcising evil spirits, and entered the heavy gate of the Yongning Marquis's residence.

Inside the door lies another world.

With its carved beams and painted rafters, and deep courtyards, it exudes the heritage and majesty of a century-old noble family.

The servants stood silently, hands at their sides.

The main hall was solemn.

Marquis Yongning, Wei Zheng, sat upright in the main seat, his face serious and stern, scrutinizing his new daughter-in-law as she entered.

Lady Wei, the wife of the Marquis, sat at the lower end of the table. A smile graced her well-maintained face, but the smile did not reach her eyes. When her gaze swept over Xie Wuyou, it carried a hint of condescension and disdain.