Chapter 204: Miss Hu is Dead
The next step was the wedding ceremony. Jiang Jingyan had been brought over early by the yamen runners. His wounds hadn't been treated, so he couldn't make any big movements. To prevent him from saying anything that might bring bad luck to the wedding, Hu Wen had ordered someone to give him a drug that would temporarily silence him.
Everyone waited for a long time, but the bride was nowhere to be seen.
An official from Yangcheng muttered under his breath, "Why hasn't the bride arrived yet? Is she planning to call off the wedding at the last minute?"
The man was not happy. He had just come across a niece at a banquet. He hoped the marriage would fall through so he could save on the dowry money.
Hu Wen shot him a cold glare. It was a great misfortune that the marriage had changed, and the woman would find it difficult to find a good match afterward.
Hu Wen would not allow anyone to say such things about his daughter.
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, someone quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Oh dear, which family doesn’t have a wedding ceremony at the husband’s house when their daughter gets married? Only our Yu’er has the guts to actually take the Jiang family’s son-in-law as her husband. Although it’s still a wedding ceremony, today the bride is ‘marrying’ the groom. My sister-in-law always values these customs, so I’m afraid she hasn’t quite grasped the etiquette yet, which is why it’s taken a little longer.”
Others followed suit and started speaking as well.
"Yes, yes, the daughter's attire has been adjusted, so it's alright if it takes a short while. Everyone here is a relative."
Boomerangs are everywhere in life. Hu Wencai used his relatives' names to get a group of officials in Yangcheng to give him money as a "bonus gift," and then they used the same words to shut him up.
We're all family, it's too much of a distance to get angry over a few words, isn't it?
Hu Wen flicked his sleeves and told the butler to go to the backyard to see what had caused the delay.
No sooner had the housekeeper left than a round-faced old woman rushed in anxiously.
Hu Wen scolded sternly, "Can't you see all these distinguished guests? So scrambling around, how can you be a good employee?"
The old woman was both shocked and saddened; her fat face was all scrunched up, making her look both comical and pitiful.
"Master, please go and check the backyard."
Hu Wen was filled with doubt and uncertainty. This round-faced woman was his wife's capable assistant and always did things in an orderly manner. Why was she suddenly so flustered? Could it be that something major had happened in the backyard?
From the moment the old woman entered, Su Zhenzhen felt a vague sense of unease. Her gaze fell on Jiang Jingyan, who was being held by the yamen runners. He looked like a chicken with its neck caught, his face contorted in a deathly expression.
At this moment, the guests in the front hall began to discuss whether the bride would really call off the wedding at the last minute.
This is truly, truly courting death.
Hu Wen has already sent out the news that he wants to marry a son of the Jiang family to his daughter. The Jiang family's collateral branches must have heard the news, but there are two reasons why they haven't made a move yet. First, there is some distance between the capital and Yangcheng; second, the other side is unaware of Yangcheng's situation and dares not rashly come to demand an explanation.
Furthermore, Hu Wen is, after all, a prefect of a prefecture officially appointed by the Jiang Dynasty. The Hu family has produced a general named Hu Buwei. The Hu family's daughter is more than a match for the Jiang family's son. The only problem is that the title of "marrying into the family" doesn't sound very good.
If Miss Hu were to back out of the engagement at the last minute, it would be tantamount to trampling on Young Master Jiang's face.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the collateral branches of the Jiang family usually have a low profile; that's because the direct imperial family holds sway over them. During the siege of the capital, the aristocratic families paid a heavy price to eliminate the rebels. Meanwhile, the collateral branches of the Jiang family remained on the sidelines, perfectly hidden from the public eye, and no one knows the extent of their family's strength or influence today.
But one thing is certain: it's best not to offend anyone.
The round-faced old woman looked anxious, her lips moving but she hesitated to speak, clearly having something she couldn't say in public.
Hu Wen walked up to her in a few steps and leaned close to her ear.
The old woman whispered a few words, and Hu Wen's face immediately turned pale. He turned to look at Chunzhi in horror.
The officials in Yangcheng were all in cahoots with Hu Wen, and they had a very good understanding of each other. Seeing Hu Wen's expression, they immediately had a guess in their minds and began to feel uneasy.
In an instant, all eyes were on Chunzhi.
Su Zhenzhen was no exception.
That old woman just said that the young lady is dead.
The young lady is dead?
In the prefectural governor's mansion, who could possibly have the ability to kill the prefectural governor's daughter? Not to mention that this marriage was arranged by Chunzhi herself.
Why would Chunzhi kill a young woman who had no grudge against her? The most reasonable explanation is that today's banquet was a trap. She wanted to lure all the officials of Yangcheng to the prefect's mansion, kill them all, and then smear the blame on Jiang Jingyan, so that she could get away from this wedding banquet unscathed.
Not only could it frame the collateral branches of the Jiang family, but it could also eliminate the powerful families of Yangcheng—a brilliant two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.
Hu Wen had clearly considered this possibility, hence his anxiety. If that were truly the case, what chance would these Yangcheng officials have?
As for why the old woman didn't say it directly, firstly, she was afraid of alerting the other party, and secondly, the news of the marriage had already spread, so for the sake of both families' reputation, the wedding ceremony had to be held whether or not.
But a housekeeper in the backyard would never have such political acumen.
Su Zhenzhen's eyes turned slightly cold. There was a master in the backyard of the prefect's mansion. She wondered if he was related to the death of Miss Hu.
Su Zhenzhen did not doubt Chunzhi. With her current strength, she could easily tell whether a person had a life debt to repay.
Those who died at Chunzhi's hands were all barbarians and some hostile forces; they were just serving their own masters, so it can't be considered a matter of life and death.
Chunzhi can be described as very clean.
The officials in Yangcheng were filled with regret. If they had known that Hu Wen had the audacity to ask for money for his daughter's dowry in the first place, they should have just walked away. That way, they would have had a legitimate reason to leave and wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess.
Who among those vying for power isn't a genius? Although they didn't hear the old woman's whispers, Hu Wen's expression said a lot.
Chunzhi, with her extraordinary martial arts skills, naturally heard those words.
When Su Zhenzhen looked at her, she was still peeling nuts without changing her expression.
No one spoke, and the air seemed to freeze. At this moment, whoever spoke first was likely to be the first to be targeted.
Suddenly, a sneer rang out, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound. It turned out to be Jiang Jingyan, who was half-dead.
Jiang Jingyan finally mustered up some energy, and used it all to curse people.
“A room full of grown men, yet they were timid and hesitant in front of a woman.”
These words were like cold water thrown into a hot oil pan, instantly causing an explosion.
The tense emotions of everyone suddenly found an outlet, and they vented them all on Jiang Jingyan.
They really know how to say the most offensive things. Su Zhenzhen has really opened her eyes. These people are able to become officials because they are educated. She never expected that when scholars curse, they would also insult the whole family.
There is another reason: the actions of the officials in Yangcheng were undoubtedly a way of showing Chunzhi their stance, indicating that they were absolutely united with her in their hatred of the enemy.
Chunzhi arranged for the Jiang family's son to marry into the family, meaning Jiang Jingyan would only receive the treatment of a live-in son-in-law.
Please, considering their obedience, do not go so far as to exterminate them.
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