Chu Chengchao
The wedding procession proceeded in a grand procession to the First Prince's residence. Lu Yun Chu withdrew her gaze, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Everyone says a wedding is the most important moment in a woman's life, yet she felt lost. It seemed her life had come to an end. What was next? Besides being someone's wife, what else was left of her life?
She remembered Chu Qin standing high above her, looking down at her. She also wanted to see the world she dreamed of, but what would that world be like? If she didn't have to get married and could become a general, what kind of life would she lead? She didn't know.
She had heard countless dreams and glimpsed a wider world, yet she remained a frog in a well. She didn't want to get married, but if she didn't, she didn't know how to live her life. Now that she was married, she still didn't know.
Qingliu asked in a low voice what kind of person the eldest prince was. She could only smile bitterly. She didn't know. No one really cared about her future. She didn't know what kind of personality he had, whether he was tyrannical, or even what he looked like.
Qingliu asked her the same question she'd asked countless times: what kind of prince she hoped for. She still couldn't answer, just as she couldn't answer how she wanted to live her life. No one had told her what it meant to be human, what it meant to be a woman, what it meant to be a man, what marriage was; she knew nothing. She only knew she was going to get married, and that wasn't her decision. Whatever the prince was like, it seemed to be her fate.
But is this really her fate?
When they arrived at the Crown Prince's residence, someone helped her out of the sedan chair. There were many people in front of her, but their figures were all blurry.
She mechanically performed the rituals that had been taught to her. When she bowed, she was transported back to the dog hole years ago, and the innocent voices of children still echoed in her ears. On this day, she shed tears for the first time.
While everyone celebrated, she sat alone in the room, listening to the distant laughter and commotion, so far removed, as if it had nothing to do with her. Indeed, what did all this have to do with her? She was merely performing a play on stage; who she was acting in was unimportant, what mattered was the joy and sorrow of the audience.
After an unknown amount of time, the door was pushed open, and the eldest prince, drunk, was helped in. She removed her veil and paced helplessly around the room, secretly glancing at the eldest prince lying on the bed, muttering something under her breath.
She leaned closer to listen and heard it said, "Cheng'an, you drink! You little rascal, just you wait..."
Thankfully, it's a living person who can speak human language.
She sat at the table, stealing glances at him. She didn't dare to look at him openly; she could only lower her head and secretly raise her eyes to see what he looked like.
Fortunately, he seemed like a mild-mannered person at first glance. Although not handsome, he was definitely a normal person. It's just that his right cheek was covered by a mask, and I don't know if it was injured. He wasn't very tall, and he didn't have the imposing aura of a prince. He seemed like an ordinary person, occasionally talking in his sleep.
Seeing that he was just an ordinary person, Lu Yunchu felt relieved. However, appearances can be deceiving; someone who seems easygoing might be hiding something else, so she still had to be careful.
At midnight, the eldest prince suddenly started coughing and vomiting, which startled her. Fortunately, someone came to deal with it quickly. Seeing his furrowed brows due to discomfort and the nauseating smell in the room, Lu Yunchu felt relieved. A person who drinks, talks in his sleep, and even vomits when drunk is probably not too complicated. Old foxes like the Crown Prince and the Emperor are unlikely to vomit.
The next morning, the eldest prince was sleeping too soundly to get up and was finally shaken and helped up. He opened his eyes, rubbing his forehead, and screamed as soon as he saw Lu Yunchu, startling her so much that she jumped up and bowed. After looking at him for a while, he finally concluded, "Oh dear! Little sister, what's wrong with you? Why are you still wearing that red dress! With that dress and your eyes that look like you haven't slept for ten days, I thought you were a ghost!"
Lu Yunchu was speechless for a moment. She left silently to change her clothes. Before she left, the First Prince's voice came: "Did I say something wrong? Girls, I'm so sorry to have troubled you yesterday. I promise I won't drink so much again... It was too uncomfortable... It's all those brats' fault!"
His voice was exceptionally loud and could be heard clearly from a great distance.
Qingliu found it hilarious, especially the term "sister": "He calls everyone 'sister.' If I didn't know, I wouldn't believe he's a prince. This is really interesting; life won't be boring from now on!"
Zai Yu still seemed worried: "You don't understand. This is a man of great wisdom. The fact that you and I find him strange shows that his strategies are far superior to ours."
Lu Yunchu didn't know what kind of person this was, and didn't dare to speak on the way to the palace. When the eldest prince saw her, he asked her if she was tired yesterday, and then enthusiastically introduced the etiquette of the palace.
"It's so annoying! Just saying one wrong word causes so much trouble... Sigh, the border is better. Although it's tough, at least we don't have to deal with all this nonsense all the time. I just don't understand, what can we do without these formalities? Can't we survive? They're all just bored! Sending them over to fight for a couple of days would eliminate all this fuss... Ugh... This damn belt! It's killing me! I need to find a chance to escape quickly. I dread seeing Father and Mother the most; I can't understand a word they say. What a bunch of idiots..."
He kept muttering to himself, occasionally tugging at his belt. Seeing that Lu Yunchu was just looking down, he muttered softly, "Oh well, this girl is kind of pitiful, she doesn't know how to talk... What's wrong with her?"
Lu Yunchu didn't want to speak. She could act like a statue, but she couldn't say anything nice. She would rather she really be mute. She hadn't spoken much with the men in her family over the years and really didn't know how to start a conversation. But this eldest prince seemed quite interesting, so she couldn't help but comfort him in the end: "If you're feeling unwell, loosen your belt. It might make you feel better."
The eldest prince immediately shook his head, looking troubled: "No way! I think all those men look good in them, so I want to look good too! You have no idea how long it's been since I wore such nice clothes... Sigh, it seems you have to pay the price for beauty! By the way, what's your name? You can just call me Chengchao! Don't you think my name is nice?"
Lu Yunchu couldn't help but smile. This prince seemed quite easy to get along with. She replied softly, "Lu Yunchu."
Chu Chengchao's eyes widened at first, then he scratched his head, scratching endlessly. Finally, he stopped, blinking his not-so-bright eyes: "Wow! It seems the rumors were true! Your father is quite infatuated, but I find it disgusting! Do you know that your father used to like my aunt, the one who killed Princess Ye Jiyun, the one who killed the King of Mobei!"
Lu Yunchu had met people who spoke directly before, but never one this direct. She knew everything, but still shook her head. The palace was close at hand. Chu Chengchao smiled at her: "These are all pointless entanglements of our parents' generation. Just listen for fun. I'll tell you the story later when I have some free time. It's a really disgusting story; after hearing it, you'll definitely want to change your name!"
When it was time to get out of the sedan chair, Chu Cheng'an jumped down first, then turned around and reached out to help Lu Yunchu.
The Emperor and Empress were waiting for the two of them, and Lu Yunchu hurriedly bowed. The Emperor did not appear as majestic as he had imagined; he was merely handsome in appearance. He smiled at Lu Yunchu and even praised the two for their good relationship.
Chu Chengchao scratched his head again, his voice booming, "What you're saying is so cheesy, I'm embarrassed!"
The emperor smiled again, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then dismissed the two men.
Chu Chengchao stamped his foot as soon as he left the palace, and only after getting into the sedan chair did he sigh. His usually cheerful face showed a hint of melancholy: "Don't let his easygoing nature fool you, actually... sigh... they say there's no blood ties in the royal family, and I think it's true... I wonder how my mother is doing? If she sees me getting married, I don't know whether she'll laugh or cry..."
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