Chapter Four is now a done deal.
"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"
"Bowing to the parents twice!"
"Husband and wife bow to each other!"
"The ceremony is complete; escort them to the bridal chamber!"
An absurd marriage that was impossible yet became a reality is now a foregone conclusion. Meng Jinyao did not become the wife of the heir apparent, but instead became the wife of the Marquis of Changxing.
The guests were all bewildered, feeling that of all the wedding banquets they had attended, this one was the most spectacular. It provided them with new topics of conversation during their leisure time, and they were, in fact, eyewitnesses who had witnessed it firsthand.
It must be said that Meng Jinyao has a good eye. Gu Jingxi is outstanding in both ability and appearance, and has now been appointed as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. If he hadn't injured his body while saving the emperor and developed a hidden illness, and hadn't been interested in marriage since his fiancée broke off the engagement, Meng Jinyao wouldn't have had the chance to pick up the pieces.
The people from the first and second branches of the family were also stunned. The matter happened too suddenly. They never expected that Old Madam Gu would agree to such an absurd thing. And Gu Jingxi, who was always strict, had married his originally intended daughter-in-law. Tomorrow, their family would become the laughing stock of the entire capital.
Before they could even fully process what was happening, Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi were already moving on to the next step of their wedding ceremony: entering their bridal chamber.
Originally, the wedding night was to be taken to Gu Xiuming's courtyard, where the wedding bed and other decorations had already been prepared. Now that the groom has changed, they are naturally being taken to Gu Jingxi's courtyard.
After lifting the red veil, the newlyweds drank the wedding wine according to the ceremony. Gu Jingxi glanced at his new wife and saw that she was calm and composed. If one ignored her tightly clasped hands, one would think that she was really as calm as she appeared. After all, she was just a girl of about ten years old. He didn't want to make things difficult for a young girl, so he said, "I will go and greet the guests first. If you are hungry, have the maid fetch some food."
Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement: "Okay."
After Gu Jingxi left, Meng Jinyao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her palms were sweaty from being so nervous, and her heart was still pounding. She had turned the tide after a terrible start and achieved a relatively satisfactory result. The bad hand she was dealt had suddenly started to look promising.
The future is uncertain, but she will try her best to live and make the most of each day. She was brought into this world by her mother's life at great risk, and she wants her mother's spirit in heaven to rest in peace.
She looked around at her surroundings. Gu Jingxi's bedroom was exactly what a man's bedroom should look like: simple furnishings, sky-blue curtains, and neatly folded brocade quilts.
Ningdong and Qingqiu were summoned in to serve her. They saw their young lady sitting there blankly, clearly shaken by what had happened that day. It was so absurd that even a storybook wouldn't dare to write it like this.
Ning Dong's eyes reddened with heartache, glistening with tears, and she choked out, "Miss, you've suffered so much. What kind of mess is this? The young master used to seem so gentle and refined, but I never imagined he would be such an unreliable and irresponsible person."
Meng Jinyao shook her head gently, let out a long sigh, and said unhurriedly, "It's not bitter. I've turned misfortune into blessing. If I had simply broken off the engagement and returned to the Meng family, my stepmother and father wouldn't have let me off the hook. If I had followed the Gu family's wishes and continued the wedding, I definitely wouldn't have gained my husband's love if I had married Gu Xiuming. If I had to choose between the second and fourth young masters, and the latter was forced to marry his brother's fiancée, I might not have been able to live a good life either. Marrying Lord Gu is just right. Lord Gu is of noble character, and I would have become Gu Xiuming's elder. He would have to call me 'Mother' from now on."
Qingqiu chimed in, “You’re right, young lady. Relatively speaking, this is the best outcome. Lord Gu is an upright man and will certainly not mistreat you. At the very least, he will give you the respect due to a legal wife. Both the eldest and second branches of the Gu family are born out of wedlock. Apart from the old lady, you are the most honored woman in the Gu family.”
Meng Jinyao reminded me, "I am now a married woman, so I am no longer a young woman. You should all change how you address me."
Ningdong and Qingqiu responded in unison, "Yes, Madam."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com