Beiyuan
The auspicious time had passed and noon was approaching, but there was still no movement at the door.
Princess Lian'an's face grew colder and colder.
The lively atmosphere in the courtyard was replaced by the soft chirping of crickets.
"It's already this late, why haven't they come to fetch the bride yet?"
"Could it be that they're not coming?"
"I knew it! How could a peasant girl possibly marry the Eighth Prince of the current dynasty? Even becoming a concubine in his household would be an immense blessing."
Most of these people were Princess Lian'an's neighbors from the same village. They were suddenly brought to Beiyuan by the Eighth Prince to attend the wedding and witness Princess Lian'an's happy moment of rising to prominence, but they never expected to see a joke.
This instantly dampened the enthusiasm of those who wanted to curry favor with Princess Lian'an.
Some people even gloated.
The whispers naturally reached Princess Lian'an's ears. Her face turned pale, and she gripped the jade ruyi tightly in her hand, her eyes revealing a sinister glint: "Go and investigate again!"
Su Jing trembled and hurriedly stepped back to greet him, explaining in a loud voice, "His Highness was just delayed by some matters. He has already sent someone to tell you that he will arrive shortly. Please be patient."
Another hour passed, and it was already afternoon.
The sound of a child crying came from the courtyard.
"No, my son is sleepy, I need to take him back to rest." A peasant woman stood up, hugging her baby, and headed out.
Seeing this, the others also stood up and swept the entire table.
Once someone took the lead, the others were not to be outdone and began to scramble for it.
"Ouch, my big pork knuckle."
"This fish looks good, I'll take it with me..."
"well!"
During the incident, some people even got into a fight over a large pork knuckle.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
Su Jing was stunned: "Stop! Stop it, all of you!"
The group was arguing so fiercely that they didn't listen to Su Jing at all. Before long, the ground was covered with scraps and leftover food.
The wails continued.
The women grabbed each other's hair and collars, rolling around on the ground. The one who had been wronged sat on the ground cursing loudly.
Seeing that the courtyard was out of control, Su Jing hurriedly returned to report. Princess Lian'an naturally heard the noise as well. She stood on the threshold with a livid face, holding her belly with one hand, and gasped as she looked around.
"Princess, you should go back now." Su Jing stepped forward to help her.
Princess Lian'an felt a lump in her throat as she watched her wedding, which she had been eagerly anticipating, turn out like this. She wished she could faint.
"stop!"
He suddenly let out a loud shout.
The scene suddenly fell silent.
The woman sat on the ground with her mouth wide open, swallowing back her sobs, staring blankly at Princess Lian'an in her red wedding dress.
Princess Lian'an ordered her guards, "Get these insolent servants out of here!"
If it weren't for the fact that she was getting married today, she would have loved to beat everyone up and kick them out.
"Chase us away?" The woman stood up, dusted herself off, and curled her lip. "You've probably forgotten that back then you couldn't afford to eat and knelt on the ground begging me for food. Now that you're rich and powerful, you've forgotten about us poor relatives. You're so heartless."
"That's right. If my family hadn't taken pity on you and given you some wild vegetable buns, you might have starved to death on the streets long ago."
"You heartless wretch! We were the ones who dug the grave for your mother's burial!"
Each insult was like a dagger stabbing into her heart, ruthlessly tearing away Princess Lian'an's fig leaf.
"Xu Lingqing, don't think that just because you're a princess now you can wash away the past. You used to sleep in a pigsty..."
"Shut up!" Princess Lian'an stared intently at the old man who had spoken, her eyes flashing with murderous intent, which frightened the man into shutting up.
Princess Lian'an gripped the doorframe with one hand and clutched her lower abdomen with the other. A tearing pain shot through her lower body, almost causing her to lose her balance. She gritted her teeth and glared angrily, "I am no longer the Xu Lingqing of the past. If you dare to spout any more nonsense..."
“We were just telling the truth. When did we talk nonsense? Oh, you've become the Eighth Prince's consort, and you've certainly changed your attitude.” The woman put her hands on her hips and said, “We've come all this way, so we can't just leave like this. How about this, we'll give each of you a hundred taels of gold, and we promise to keep quiet about your affairs from now on.”
"How dare you threaten the princess!" Su Jing reprimanded.
The woman scoffed, her eyes darting around, completely ignoring Su Jing's words. She stared intently at Princess Lian'an: "Princess, you should think this through. You saved someone from the cliff back then, and this favor isn't just yours alone."
Princess Lian'an's pupils suddenly contracted, and she looked at the woman in disbelief.
The woman's face revealed a sinister smile, as if to say, "If you don't give it to me, I'll reveal your secret to the world."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Princess Lian'an wished she could sew the woman's mouth shut. She was both angry and furious. Today was her wedding day, and she couldn't let such a trivial matter ruin the ceremony.
“Aunt Zhang, come here, I have something to say to you privately.” Princess Lian’an’s expression suddenly changed, and her tone became gentle: “Fellow villagers, if it weren’t for your care, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I should repay you.”
Hearing this, Aunt Zhang smiled smugly and walked over to Princess Lian'an: "That's right. Scholars say that when one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. We should also benefit from it. We all grew up in Xingshan Village, so why make things awkward?"
When they reached Princess Lian'an and saw the coldness in her eyes, they instinctively stepped back, but it was too late.
Suddenly, her collar was grabbed. Princess Lian'an took two steps back and hid behind the door. She lowered her voice and said, "Who gave you the audacity to threaten me? If I lift a finger, your whole family will be dead!"
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