Marrying your mortal enemy
Chapter Fourteen
Seeing the two people looking serious after receiving the script, Gu Ling couldn't help but chuckle. He gave them a thumbs-up and teased, "Good luck with your performance."
The sound of gongs and drums rang out again. Zhou Yulin wanted to jump out of the carriage but found that her body seemed to be controlled by something and she could only stay in the carriage. Amid the noise, she lifted the curtain and watched Gu Ling's figure gradually disappear into the crowd. His mouth seemed to move, but she could no longer hear what he said.
In desperation, she randomly picked up the script that had been given to her for free by the roadside. Unlike last time, this time she easily turned to the first page.
[Dear traveler, welcome to Jinling.]
[The play you will be performing in this time is—The Substitute Bride]
[Your identity is: Qin Liu, the third young lady of the Qin family]
[Character Profile: Cowardly, timid, and lacking in assertiveness]
There's a line of smaller print below that specifically reminds you.
Special reminder: Please do not be out of character (OOC), otherwise it will affect the performance of the play and cause serious harm.
Background: You appear to be the third daughter of the Qin family, born out of wedlock. However, many years ago, your mother manipulated things and switched the daughter of the Prince's Mansion and the third daughter of the Qin family, who were born at the same time. Therefore, your true identity is actually a daughter of the Prince's Mansion. Today's bride should have been your eldest sister, but because she was pregnant, in order to avoid being blamed by the Prince's Mansion, the Qin family made you, the third daughter born out of wedlock, marry in her place.
Just before the wedding, your adoptive mother told you the whole truth. Only then did you realize that today's groom was your half-brother.
Please give your performance a chance to make the plot develop logically.
Substitute marriage literature may be late, but it will eventually arrive.
Zhou Yulin felt that if she had a mother tongue, she would be speechless.
Zhou Yulin sat in the bridal sedan chair with a dark and gloomy expression. She didn't look like she was going to get married, but rather like she was going to attend a ghost marriage, or going to kill the groom at the wedding.
It's just orthopedics, I can handle that.
It's just a substitute marriage, I can explain that.
Once she arrived at the scene, Zhou Yulin changed her mind.
The immersion in this play is so strong that Zhou Yulin's hands are already shaking.
"Come, come! Please let the groom carry the bride over the fire basin."
"Is the groom shy? Why isn't he coming forward?"
The matchmaker's teasing voice undoubtedly added fuel to the fire for Zhou Yulin's situation.
The first rule for actors: Always be yourself; remember, you have to steal the show. So, the following scene unfolded: under the watchful eyes of everyone, the cool and quiet groom didn't move, while the bride, standing beside him, raised her hand and timidly asked, "May I carry the groom over?"
Good heavens, even a matchmaker who's seen it all doesn't know how to answer. You'd say it's a character breakdown, but one of them is playing the cowardly, timid type, and the other is playing the aloof, cold type.
Although she's timid, she's madly in love...
So it seems like there's nothing wrong with the bride carrying the groom across?
This scene would look really weird...
I bet...
Having waited too long for a response, the woman under the red veil began to sob, her body trembling slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I hurt my husband's dignity. It's all my fault, it's all my fault."
The matchmaker was about to offer some words of comfort when, the next second, Zhou Yulin experienced the feeling of being suspended in mid-air. Wow, she was being lifted up!
The sound that fell into my ears was steady and familiar.
"Hold me tight." The aroma of cold tea enveloped her, just like that night many years ago.
She snuggled into the boy's arms.
Zhou Yulin's face, hidden beneath the veil, instantly darkened. How could it be him?!
In just three seconds, Zhou Yulin accepted the current situation, deliberately hugging the other person tightly, but actually gripping his neck tightly with her hands, as if she was especially afraid of falling. However, she spoke in a sweet and understanding voice, "Husband, is it tight enough?"
Based on the force, Chen Muyao could conclude that Zhou Yulin was settling a personal score.
She wasn't afraid that if she hugged too tightly, she wouldn't be able to breathe.
He lowered his eyes, and could almost imagine the mischievous glint in the eyes of the girl under the red veil, playful and lively. For some reason, it felt as if a small spark had suddenly ignited in his chest, causing waves of pain.
"Alright, the groom can now carry the bride across the fire pit."
The matchmaker began urging the marriage process to proceed.
Upon hearing this, the girl in his arms hugged him even tighter, almost hanging on him. Chen Mu pursed his lips, his cold face growing even colder, feeling somewhat displeased; she seemed to distrust him.
Having played the matchmaker for so many years, the scene before her still made her exclaim in admiration, "It's a feast for the eyes!" The young man was barely in his early twenties, his brows and eyes carrying a hint of aloofness, yet his face was anything but bland. Today, dressed in red, he was like a painting that had been subtly tinged with vibrant color, his appearance suited to both heavy and light makeup.
Chen Muyao was a man with red lips and white teeth. A faint tenderness lingered between his brows as he looked at the woman in his arms. But that tenderness quickly vanished like wisps of smoke, and he returned to his cold and aloof demeanor.
The groom was handsome and refined, with a graceful and elegant appearance, and a serene and divine air.
The bride in his arms had a beautiful figure; her slender arms and neck, slightly exposed, were as white as jade. She was thin but not overly thin, just the right amount of beautiful. The fiery red veil obediently covered the girl's head, and Chen Muyao held her firmly, taking one step, two steps, and a third step to cross the brazier completely.
The matchmaker quickly realized what was happening and went up to read out the following procedures with a smile.
"Congratulations to the newlyweds on crossing the fire pit. I believe that for the rest of your lives, you will be able to overcome any obstacles and grow old together."
Zhou Yulin: ...However, I don't want to grow old with him.
It's quite normal to chase someone to the ends of the earth.
Having been given a second chance at life, Zhou Yulin felt that her skin had become much thicker.
If she had been forced into a fake marriage with Chen Muyao in her previous life, she would have first crippled the person who suggested it, and then crippled Chen Muyao himself.
At the moment, Chen Muyao didn't say much, so Zhou Yulin naturally wouldn't either.
After a while, a red embroidered ball was stuffed into Zhou Yulin's hand. Through the red veil, Zhou Yulin could barely see her red shoes and the red embroidered ball.
No, assuming the other party's identity is indeed that of a half-brother, shouldn't I not go through with the marriage?
With the wedding ceremony just around the corner, Zhou Yulin felt that things couldn't go on, and she needed to make a difference.
But then I thought, as a timid woman, would Qin Liu openly confront this matter in front of everyone?
No, she couldn't even provide concrete evidence that she was the young lady of the Crown Prince's family. Besides, on her wedding day, such absurd words would only make her a laughingstock, which was certainly not what she wanted.
So, let's get married first, and then everyone go back to their own homes.
"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"
With that shout, Zhou Yulin tightened her grip on the embroidered ball. She neither knew nor could see Chen Muyao's expression. These two people, whom countless people jokingly compared in their past lives, could be sworn enemies, friends, or adversaries; the only impossible relationship they could have was that of Daoist partners.
Zhou Yulin recalled how many women had slipped love letters to Chen Muyao in her past life. Once, Zhou Yulin had also played a prank and slipped one to Chen Muyao. Unfortunately, the person involved happened to witness the entire act, and they could only awkwardly exchange glances. Just as Zhou Yulin was about to walk away...
Hearing the young man sneer, "I didn't realize that Junior Sister Zhou was so deeply in love with me. I thought you had poisoned me and were trying to kill me."
"Or do you think you're better than them?"
He looked with interest at the anger in Zhou Yulin's eyes and said slowly, "I'll accept your trust, but you should still prioritize your studies, junior sister."
"Don't fall in love too early, it's good for you, me, and everyone else."
Just like when he calls her "Miss," the words "Junior Sister" always carry a hint of ambiguity and teasing when he says them, but his arrogant and aloof demeanor doesn't seem like he's flirting.
It sounds more like he's criticizing someone.
And who is his junior sister?!
He's just taking advantage of himself.
Why isn't the bride bending down?
The matchmaker smiled and was about to step forward to say a few words, but Chen Muyao stopped her and quietly stated, "She can do it herself."
"So, let her do it herself."
Chen Muyao's gaze lingered on the woman beside him, and without even realizing it, he gripped the embroidered ball tighter, his fingertips turning slightly white.
"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"
The suona horn sounded again, and the two of them bent down in unison. Gu Ling, who had just rushed over to watch the show, witnessed this scene and immediately took out the photo stone he had just bought for a few taels of silver at the entrance to record it.
Thankfully, I was wise enough not to wear that white veil today. The wedding of these two was actually quite pleasing to the eye. Especially Chen Muyao—her eyebrows, her demeanor, her figure—Gu Ling wanted to shout, "Please, keep this permanent skin, okay?"
"No, I disagree!" A woman dressed in a loose pink robe, still with the hairstyle of a young maiden who had not yet been married, shouted, raising her arms.
Gu Ling: Hey, where did this clown come from?
However, he knew the rules of Jinling: spectators must not get caught up in the drama.
"I disagree!" The woman's sudden intrusion caused everyone present, including the Qin family patriarch, to turn pale. He couldn't help but shout, "Qin Xin, what are you doing here?"
The woman clutched her stomach, pointed at the groom, and said something that left everyone speechless: "Your Highness, the child in my belly is yours."
Gu Ling: What? Such a thing exists?
Zhou Yulin: What? There's such a good thing!
Zhou Yulin even wanted to give up the stage for this great show.
I knew I was just an extra!
"Sister, I know you've liked the prince for many years, but you can't tell our parents that you were the one who had a one-night stand with him!"
These words left Zhou Yulin, who was already feeling a bit stuffy under the red veil, completely bewildered.
What? I like the Crown Prince? How come I didn't know?
What is "a fleeting spring breeze"?
Did he and I have a one-night stand?
It wasn't written in the script either.
Zhou Yulin was so frustrated by those words that she practically burned out her CPU. She just collapsed to the ground and said, "Hey, I'm fainting. You can't do anything to me now, right?"
Unexpectedly, Qin Xin took a big step forward and hugged Zhou Yulin's fallen body, saying, "Sister, I'm pregnant."
Zhou Yulin: ...
"I'm almost out of strength, little sister." The implication is clear: I'm pregnant and I haven't fainted yet, so you can't faint either.
Goodness, you're even better at moral blackmail than I am.
There was no way to pretend to faint, so Zhou Yulin had to cover her face with the veil and stand up straight again. Her fingers inevitably touched Qin Xin's clothes, who was holding her, but it was only a slight brush against the corner when she heard a sound of falling backward, followed by Qin Xin's heart-wrenching cry, "Sister, why did you push me?"
Zhou Yulin: Maybe I should just pretend to faint.
It may not work, but it's at least useful.
Gu Ling became somewhat anxious. He could see clearly that Qin Xin was obviously trying to frame Zhou Da Meiren!
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