Chapter 14: Marriage 2 He is not as good as a sixty-year-old man? ...
Li Jianye is already impatient.
He heard the crackling sound of firecrackers and knew that Xie Wuhen had arrived at the Li family and was about to marry Li Shuli.
He doesn't have much time left!
Fortunately, Mrs. Wen woke up in time.
In the dim light, Mrs. Wen was dazed and her face was haggard, with only two faint phosphorescent lights flashing in her eyes.
The doctor said, "This man is nearing death. Please ask as soon as possible if you have any questions. If you are late, he will be gone."
Li Jianye urged impatiently: "You guys go out first."
Niu Er led the doctor out tactfully.
Li Jianye ignored the unpleasant smell in the room and walked a few steps to the bed. He asked anxiously, "Mrs. Wen, do you still remember the birthmark on Li Shuli's back?"
Mrs. Wen's eyes twitched, as if she didn't recognize the person in front of her.
Li Jianye frowned and had to ask again.
Mrs. Wen gasped for breath and murmured, "Birthmark?"
"Yes, there is a heart-shaped red birthmark on the left side of my back, on the butterfly bone."
Li Jianye suppressed his anger and tried to persuade her, "You watched Li Shuli grow up. You used to be there to help her bathe and change clothes. You must have seen the birthmark."
As he spoke, he handed her a piece of paper with the exact shape of the birthmark drawn on it.
Mrs. Wen seemed to understand, but her expression was much more cheerful than before.
She reached out and touched the red heart on the paper, tears welling up in her eyes: "Miss...Miss doesn't like this birthmark. She said...she must find a way to remove it."
Li Jianye's chest relaxed, and Mrs. Wen finally remembered.
Then his heart sank again: "Did she really remove it?"
Mrs. Wen shook her head helplessly. "Madam has thought of many ways for the young lady and... she has also sought help from many doctors, but no one has been able to remove it. It can't be removed. This is a birthmark, a mark... made by God."
"But now the birthmark on Li Shuli's back is gone."
Mrs. Wen still shook her head: "Impossible."
Li Jianye couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. Sure enough, this Li Shuli was fake.
"Mrs. Wen, someone has entered the Li family pretending to be Li Shuli. Please follow me into the house to identify her and find your real lady at the same time." As he spoke, he reached out to pull Mrs. Wen off the bed.
But Mrs. Wen was terminally ill and her body was as hard as stone, so he couldn't pull her.
As soon as he exerted a little force, he started coughing again, coughing so hard that he felt like he wanted to vomit out his internal organs.
Li Jianye finally stopped coughing, and when he tried to persuade Mrs. Wen, she fell into a trance again. She muttered to herself, and there was a hint of weirdness in her words: "I'm afraid... I'm afraid that my young lady has already reunited with the lady. This old servant... should also go..."
Her expression relaxed a little, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed, and she slowly closed her eyes.
Mrs. Wen is dead!
Li Jianye was unwilling, but he had already been prepared.
He took out the sealing mud he had prepared in advance, smeared it on Mrs. Wen's finger, and then pressed the finger heavily on the paper with the heart-shaped birthmark.
Li Jianye walked quickly and walked out of the house.
While the fake Li Shuli has not yet been welcomed out of the house and while the guests are crowded and in front of everyone, he wants to tear her mask to pieces. He wants to let Xie Wuhen see what kind of person he has married.
Of course, he no longer cared where the real Li Shuli had gone.
He also knew that Mrs. Wen was dead and there was no evidence to prove her wrongdoing, and the piece of paper with fingerprints in his hand was not very convincing, but at least it could make more people question the identity of the fake Li Shuli, and retaliate against the fake Li Shuli to a greater extent.
Li Jianye felt happy just thinking about it.
He suppressed his cough, strode quickly, and soon entered the mansion through the back door.
At this time, inside the mansion, Su He had already covered her head with a red veil and was led out of the archway of Yixiangyuan by the best man and Zhang Xiuhua.
Outside the archway, guests gathered and firecrackers rang out.
Through the thin red veil, she saw the tall man in a black suit walking towards her, surrounded by a crowd of people.
When they got closer, he reached out and held her hand.
The moment their skin touched, Su He instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but she held back.
These are a pair of warm men's hands, with thin calluses on the palms and strong knuckles.
Even though he was holding my hand casually, I could still feel the restrained strength.
The two walked side by side, slowly heading from the main courtyard to the gate of the mansion.
The guests were cheering: "May the newlyweds be as loving and affectionate as the phoenixes singing in harmony."
"I wish you a long and happy marriage, and may we enjoy the joy of love and happiness together."
There were also naughty children who picked up a basket of flower petals and waved them to the newlyweds.
The pink petals falling like rain are picturesque.
Suddenly, Su He felt like he was in a dream, with no place to come from and no way to return.
Li Jianye started jogging and did not stop even when coughing.
He must stop Li Shuli before she leaves the house.
He must ruin her reputation!
Li Jianye had already passed through the corridor in front of the main courtyard. After turning another corner, he would reach the avenue leading to the gate of the mansion. He only needed to stand on the avenue and shout to stop this happy event.
He was about to turn onto the main road, just a few steps away, and he held back his cough and quickened his pace.
But before he could turn around, he was hit hard by a club from behind.
Li Jianye struggled for a while and wanted to turn around to see who attacked him, but he really had no strength left. Then his body went limp and he fainted on the ground.
Fang Yicheng looked around. It was quiet everywhere and there was no one in sight.
Everyone followed the newlyweds to the gate of the mansion.
He snatched the piece of paper with the birthmark on it from Li Jianye's hand and dragged Li Jianye into the bushes nearby.
Fang Yicheng then came to the main road of the mansion, watched the newlyweds slowly walk away, and saw Xie Wuhen escorting the bride into the sedan chair amidst congratulations.
The warm wind blows, the branches and leaves rustle, and the petals fall.
The warm wind blurred his vision, he clenched his fist secretly, turned and left.
The wedding procession, with drums and music playing, marched from Li's house to Xie's house in a mighty procession.
All the officials of the Xie family gathered together, and even the emperor sent eunuchs to deliver gifts.
As soon as the bride got out of the sedan chair, the house was filled with the sound of firecrackers and endless congratulations.
Xie Wuhen clasped his fists and bowed, thanking everyone one by one. Then he took the bride's hand as before and walked towards the main hall.
In the main hall, Xie's mother Xu Nanzhi was already sitting high up in the hall.
The chair next to her was empty, reserved for her late husband Xie Lei.
At this time, the house was crowded with people inside and outside, and Xie Jin, the second branch of the Xie family, was also helping his nephew to socialize.
The newlyweds were surrounded by the crowd and entered the house. Amid the joyful cheers of the best men, they bowed to heaven and earth, to their parents, and finally the couple bowed to each other.
Xu Nanzhi's face was filled with relief, and she said, "May my son and daughter-in-law have a deep and lasting love and be together forever."
The best man shouted again: "Send her to the bridal chamber..."
After entering the room, Su He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She got up early this morning and went through a lot of trouble, but she still hasn't had a decent meal. Now it's almost the evening hour and she is already starving.
But now that I'm a newcomer, how can I be rude to you?
Zhang Xiuhua noticed something was going on and found an excuse to ask the two maids to leave the room temporarily, leaving only Chunlan in the room. She then took out a pancake she had brought with her, tore off half of it, and passed it to Su He from under her veil: "Miss, please have some food first."
Su He was puzzled: "Why did Auntie only give half?"
The whole pancake is only the size of a palm.
Zhang Xiuhua quietly reminded him, "Miss, you're going to spend the wedding night with your husband tonight. If you eat too much, your stomach will get upset. Then... you might make a fool of yourself."
Su He sighed and raised her hand to lift off the red veil.
Zhang Xiuhua was startled and hurried forward to stop him, "How can you lift the veil by yourself? You have to wait for your son-in-law..."
Su He held the veil in her hand.
She said solemnly, "Aunt, I told you not to take this marriage seriously, and don't worry about things that don't exist."
Zhang Xiuhua choked with sobs and was speechless for a moment.
Lian Chunlan lowered her head silently, not knowing what to say.
Although they knew that this marriage should not be taken seriously, when everyone around them took it seriously, they could not help but fall into the inertia of making the fake become real.
Su He added, "If we take it even a little bit seriously, we will be bound and fettered when we want to leave in the future."
Zhang Xiuhua felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.
A woman's marriage is always like her second life, but this girl seems not to take it seriously. She is full of pity, but there is nothing she can do.
Zhang Xiuhua finally handed the other half of the cake to Su He.
This is not just half a piece of cake, it is also her helplessness and compromise.
After Su He finished eating the pancake and drank a cup of tea, he finally felt better in his stomach.
It was already dark, and red candles flickered in the house.
Outside the house, there was a lot of noise. The guests were laughing, chatting, playing finger-guessing games, and drinking. The whole Xie Mansion was like a boiling soup pot.
It was not until the hour of Xu that things outside the house gradually became quiet.
Soon after, the sound of approaching footsteps was heard. It was the groom.
Zhang Xiuhua was quick to put the veil back on Su He's head.
But in a moment, Xie Wuhen, dressed in a formal suit, pushed the door open and walked in.
He walked steadily and had a calm expression, looking as if he hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol.
A woman led several maids and followed behind him. The woman held a wine pot and a wine cup in her hands, which seemed to be the wedding wine prepared for the two of them.
Xie Wuhen glanced at Su He, who was covered with a veil on the edge of the bed, hesitated for a moment, turned around and sat on the brocade stool in front of the bed, facing Su He.
The old woman reminded him with a smile: "Master, it's time to take off the veil for the bride."
The maid immediately stepped forward and handed over a scale, which meant everything went well.
Xie Wuhen took the beam scale and picked up the veil from Su He's head with a casual move.
Under the flickering red candle, Su He looked at the famous Shaoqing for the first time.
In fact, she had met him before, but each time it was either through darkness, distance, or a hazy veil. Only at this moment, in this place, did she look him in the eye at such a close distance, without any obstruction or hindrance.
This is the face of a handsome man!
He is fair, handsome, and has a dignified appearance. His deep facial features hide calmness and depth.
He smiled slightly, with one corner of his mouth tilted upwards. His voice was gentle and pleasant, like the sound of a clear spring. "Miss Li, we meet again."
The old woman immediately reminded him: "Young Master, you should change your words and call me 'Madam'."
Xie Wuhen changed his words happily: "My wife, we meet again."
Su He lowered his head in polite response.
The old woman stepped forward, pouring wine and praying, "The two newlyweds, please drink this wedding wine quickly. Drink this wedding wine, and you will spend the rest of your life together. May your love last forever, and your family be filled with happiness. May the wine be strong, and your descendants be prosperous."
The newlyweds both took the wine cups and drank from each other's arms.
The old woman then said a string of smooth and auspicious words before putting away the wine cup and leaving the house.
Xie Wuhen looked around the room and casually ordered, "All of you leave."
All the maids in the house filed out.
Only Zhang Xiuhua and Chunlan remained motionless in panic, and both looked at Su He.
Su He also said, "You guys go out too."
Only then did Zhang Xiuhua pull Chunlan and go out, looking back every few steps.
There were only two people left in the house.
Xie Wuhen spoke first: "I am afraid that Miss Li may feel it is abrupt to ask for her hand in marriage in front of the emperor." After saying that, he stood up and took two steps back, clasping his fists and bowing apologetically.
Su He replied, "I come from a humble family. To be able to marry a Shaoqing, a man of both civil and military talents and a distinguished reputation, is a blessing earned through many lifetimes. I don't think it's rude."
"Miss Li, you are too kind."
He changed back to his original address, a faint smile playing on his face. His eyes revealed an innate sense of superiority and confidence, perhaps even arrogance. "To be honest, I, Xie, had no intention of marrying in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I accidentally learned that the current Shangshu Ling, Zhou Ping, who is over sixty years old, was interested in marrying Miss Li. To repay Miss Li for the 'meal' she had given me that day, I, Xie, took the initiative to propose to her in front of the emperor, hoping to free Miss Li from the marriage with Zhou Ping."
Perhaps it was his confidence and superiority that hurt her.
Or maybe she saw the shadows of other people in his confidence and superiority, such as Du Yuting, Zhou Yuanze, and Li Shuli.
She asked in return: "Why do you think that marrying you would be more fulfilling than marrying Zhou Ping?"
Xie Wuhen was stunned, as if someone had suddenly poured a basin of cold water over his head.
He is not as good as a sixty-year-old man???
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