Chapter 13 Come to me and I will definitely make you happy, never...
(Thirteen)
Chu Li will always remember the day she married into the Shang family. The Shang family made a grand gesture for her, welcoming her, a beggar, into their home in a lavish manner.
She ate the best meal she had ever had in her life, and she still remembers it clearly. On the table was tender and fragrant braised pork knuckle, sliced and piled up like a small mountain, with a few chrysanthemum leaves on top; stewed eel with goji berries; deep-fried quail; shrimp ball and tofu soup; colorful chestnut cakes; and a lotus leaf plate held by a white porcelain fairy boy, filled with various candied fruits and dried fruits.
Chu Li ate so much that she almost couldn't fit into her wedding dress. Two old women and maids helped her put it on. She was wearing a heavy and ornate phoenix crown with pearls and jade on her head, and red coral beads dangled from her forehead. When they swayed, she couldn't see anything in front of her.
There was a time when she dreamed of having a new dress. For Chu Li, clothes that others had thrown away, as long as they weren't too old or too tattered, were her new clothes.
That wedding dress was the most beautiful garment she had ever seen.
After putting on the embroidered shoes, she couldn't even walk properly, and twisted her ankle three times on the way to the wedding ceremony.
The room was filled with low chuckles.
She knew those people were laughing at her. Chu Li was very sensitive to people who looked down on her; she could tell what they were laughing at her with just a glance.
The men and women there, dressed in luxurious silk robes and adorned with jade bead rings, regarded her as an alien, a wild monkey in human skin.
I really want to kill them all.
Only later did Chu Li realize that those people were not only laughing at her, but also at Shang Xinglan.
The most outstanding and promising young man of the Shang Dynasty, the one most likely to become an immortal, actually married a beggar in order to ascend to heaven. He even carried her into the Shang family with such a grand and ostentatious display, treating her like a goddess and providing her with the best food and drink. It's the most ridiculous joke ever.
Before Shang Xinglan, the people in the Shang family who had been searching for the Heavenly Yin Fate were either royalty or cultivation geniuses. Their powerful alliances were the envy of others.
But when it came to him, it was as if fate had played a cruel joke, forcing the privileged young master, who had lived a life of ease and comfort, to be forever bound to a dirty, smelly, rude, and barbaric beggar.
Chu Li only remembered that she was very unhappy at the time, and the malicious stares from those people made her feel uncomfortable all over.
Anxiety, nervousness, disgust, curiosity... a jumble of emotions surged into her heart. She didn't know where to put her hands or how to take her steps. She had completely forgotten everything the maids and servants had taught her. Then, a teacup rolled off someone's table, and Chu Li accidentally stepped on it, lost her balance, and fell to the ground.
The bright red bridal veil slipped from her head, revealing her helpless and flustered expression to everyone.
Someone must have done this on purpose. Where did the teacup come from?
She was furious and embarrassed, so she grabbed the teacup and smashed it on the ground, shattering the merchant's face along with it.
"What a disgrace! How could such a woman be worthy of the eldest son of a merchant family?"
"No matter what, she shouldn't have lost her temper in public. She has no manners or etiquette at all..."
The voices and eyes of those people felt like needles piercing her body.
"What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
No one had ever taught Chu Li how to do it.
She was like a wild beast, barging into the prestigious family's mansion with arrogance and recklessness, and everything she did was wrong.
"I'm not marrying him," Chu Li thought fiercely to herself. "No matter what prestigious family he comes from, I'm not marrying him."
Anyway, Shang Xinglan definitely won't like her. She might even despise and bully her just like these people. Rather than put up with this, it would be more enjoyable to go back to the streets and live her carefree life!
She lifted her skirt, about to get up.
Suddenly a hand reached out in front of me.
Slender, fair hands—it was clear at a glance that the other person had never done any rough or heavy work, nor had they ever been exposed to the cold; they were like beautiful jade.
Chu Li was stunned for a moment, then looked up.
Shang Xinglan chuckled softly, sunlight streaming down his face, his smiling eyes sparkling like gold. He looked at her tenderly and said softly,
"Come, let me hold your hand."
At seventeen or eighteen, Shang Xinglan was at the peak of his youthful vigor and carefree spirit. And to make matters worse, he also possessed a very handsome face.
It was only after Chu Li handed him her hand that he realized what he had done.
Shang Xinglan bent down, brushed the dust off her knees and the hem of her dress, picked up the crimson bridal veil, and looked at her with a deep smile, "So eager to see me?"
Chu Li stared at him blankly, her face quickly turning red. The anger and frustration she had felt earlier inexplicably vanished.
"Are you my husband?" she said subconsciously in a low voice, "Why don't you seem like him?"
That was the first time she met Shang Xinglan. Chu Li originally thought that the person she was going to marry was a decrepit old man.
"Um?"
He lowered his head slightly and listened intently. "Doesn't it sound like what?"
Chu Li gripped the hem of her clothes, her face flushed even more, and her voice became soft, "He doesn't look like an old man, he's quite handsome."
As soon as the words were spoken, not only Shang Xinglan couldn't help but laugh even more, but the others also burst into laughter. Some teased her for her sharp eyes and discerning eye, saying that Shang Xinglan was the most handsome man in the Northern Territory and the best young man in the world. They said they would see how he turned out in the future.
The tense atmosphere gradually eased amidst laughter.
He suppressed his smile, unfolded the bridal veil, and solemnly and carefully covered her head with it.
His gentle voice reached my ears.
“Ah Chu is even prettier. I’ll take a closer look after the wedding ceremony.”
Shang Xinglan held her hand throughout the entire wedding ceremony, using just the right amount of force to gradually calm her restless heart.
No one, including Chu Li herself, expected that Shang Xinglan would gladly accept her as a beggar wife whom he had never met before, and would cherish her as the apple of his eye.
The plot is so incredible that it wouldn't even be written in a storybook, and no one would believe it if you told it to them.
That's so fake.
How could such a good thing happen to her?
There must have been an ulterior motive. He must have been reluctantly taking her hand to save face for the business.
Chu Li was so used to being disliked and having a terrible life that her first reaction to happiness was to warn herself that it was a trap.
That happiness, so close yet so elusive, was absolutely not for her.
In the first half of her life, Chu Li struggled to even have enough to eat and wear. She only wanted to survive, so she never seriously considered what kind of person she should marry if she were to get married.
Now that I think about it carefully, perhaps she was only suited to marry someone with a bad personality, a heavy heart, and no sense of right and wrong.
Looking at it this way, Wuming is actually quite suitable.
She didn't sleep well all night; all the past events kept coming back like a nightmare, clinging to her and refusing to leave.
When Chu Li opened her eyes again, there was a knock on the door.
She dragged her tired body out of bed, kissed the sleeping baby on the forehead, and then slowly went to open the door.
Outside the door, Gu Ye looked at her with a smile and brought out a wedding dress embroidered with gold.
Chu Li glanced at it casually and could tell that the clothes were worth at least a thousand gold pieces.
These scoundrels are really rich; I wonder how many people they've robbed and murdered.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Madam. I hope you will continue to support me in the future." He politely cupped his hands in greeting, then said with a hint of teasing, "The wedding will begin soon, and from now on we will be family."
Chu Li silently accepted the wedding dress and slammed the door shut in front of Gu Ye.
Gu Ye was turned away, but he wasn't angry or annoyed. He smiled and knocked on the door again, "It definitely has to be changed, otherwise the master will come in person."
Although he still didn't understand what his master liked about Chu Li, his opinion had changed quite a bit after witnessing Chu Li kill someone.
He's decisive and efficient, quite forceful. If she had a stronger temper and didn't cry all the time, he'd like her even more.
Inside the room, Chu Li threw her wedding dress on the table in a huff, when she suddenly heard the baby's weak voice coming from the bedside.
"Mother, what happened?"
"It's okay, Yinyin, go back to sleep."
She didn't tell the little boy that he would soon have a cruel and heartless stepfather, and Chu Li would never allow Yin Yin to call Wuming his father.
Anonymous? Does he even deserve it?
A vile, filthy, and universally despised devil is utterly unworthy to be the father of her child.
She hated the devil, and the thought of marrying Wuming made her stomach churn and feel nauseous. If she had to give a reason, it was probably because Wuming's temperament was too similar to hers—he loved to feign innocence and was also insidious and shameless.
Chu Li suddenly lowered her eyelashes, her gaze falling on the bright and dazzling wedding dress. The hem was embroidered with seven phoenixes with outstretched wings and branches, and gold-stamped silk threads were interspersed on the cuffs and lapels, inlaid with coral, glass, jade and other colored pearls.
With a nostalgic touch of her fingertips, Chu Li stood there in a daze for a long time before slowly reaching out to spread the wedding dress out and flatten it.
So beautiful.
It looks very similar to the dress she wore on her wedding day.
After a long while, Chu Li stared at herself in the mirror, dressed in her wedding attire, lost in thought for a long time.
She twirled around carefully, holding onto her skirt like a little girl, chuckled softly, and then quickly suppressed her laughter.
Gu Ye's increasingly impatient voice came from outside the door. Chu Li looked at herself in the mirror, pursed her lips, rubbed her eyes, and gently placed the memorial tablet next to the mirror.
I'm wearing this beautiful outfit again.
Is Shang Xinglan pretty?
*
It was a rare sunny day, with not a cloud in the sky.
Shang Xinglan sat in the courtyard, holding scissors and smoothly cutting open the red paper. The torn pieces of paper fell one by one to the side of her boots, and in the end, only a neat and smooth "囍" character remained in her palm.
He lifted the double happiness symbol with satisfaction and gently pasted it on the small window.
His fingertips gently brushed across the red paper, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, a smile he himself was unaware of.
Seven years ago, he stood by the window in the same way, gazing at the double happiness symbol on the lattice window.
Third Uncle said they had finally found the woman of the Heavenly Yin, and also reminded him that several families who were usually at odds with him would be attending the wedding, so he must not make any mistakes.
Unfortunately, something still went wrong that day.
The marriage was arranged too hastily, so it was the first time Shang Xinglan had met his wife. He didn't know what she looked like or what her personality was like. He only knew that her name was A Chu.
Achu's embroidered shoes had rather high soles. When the matchmaker led Chuli to the wedding ceremony, she wore a red wedding veil and walked unsteadily, stumbling along.
He watched her struggles and clumsiness the whole time, muttering to himself, "Be careful, don't fall. Great job, great job, it's okay to walk a little slower..."
A Chu did not disappoint him. Every step she took seemed to be carefully considered before she put her foot down. Just as she was about to reach him, Shang Xinglan breathed a sigh of relief when a wine glass flew through the air, as if it had been timed perfectly, and rolled right where Chu Li was about to land.
His expression changed drastically, and he was about to stop them, but it was too late.
Achu fell heavily to the ground, her bridal veil slipped off, revealing a small face filled with surprise, doubt, panic, and helplessness.
The girl's youthful face was adorned with inappropriate bright red makeup, and her expression became even more unpleasant due to anger and grievance.
Shang Xinglan froze on the spot.
He recognized that face.
Many years ago, a little girl stood in front of him, looking disheveled, with her hand covered in scars. She was too timid to even lift her head and tremblingly offered him a bowl.
"I heard that you provide plenty of porridge. Can I have another bowl? Just one bowl."
Perhaps because they were of similar age, he felt particularly distressed and ordered someone to give her an extra bowl, along with some money and silver.
The next day, she never came to collect the porridge again.
I heard that it was because several male beggars beat her up, stole the silver from her, and dumped her body in a mass grave.
Some people say that she was clutching the money bag that Shang Xinglan gave her when she died.
Although it was completely empty inside.
It's all his fault.
It was all his fault. If it weren't for his negligence, that girl wouldn't have been targeted because she had money.
Shang Xinglan could never forget that face.
Unexpectedly, she was still alive.
How did he survive that day? He dared not think about it.
By the time Shang Xinglan came to her senses, A Chu had already picked up the teacup on the ground and smashed it there in a fit of rage, like an injured wildcat, baring its fangs and claws in a show of ferocity, pretending that it was not easy to bully.
My breathing seemed to stop at that moment, and my chest felt bloated and painful.
As if guided by fate, Shang Xinglan reached out to her uncontrollably.
Ah Chu, come this way.
come to me.
This time I will definitely bring you happiness, and I will never break my promise.
A note from the author:
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