Chapter 4. The only thing on the bull's eye that was pale-colored was the beautiful woman on the bed. ...
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
That buzzing of mosquitoes is so annoying. I forgot to light incense before bed—Little Green?!
Su Xiaotang suddenly opened her eyes.
Only then did he realize that it wasn't the buzzing of mosquitoes, but a cacophony of voices. Listening closely, he heard them saying things like, "What a perfect couple!", "Wishing you a long and happy marriage!", "A joyous day!", "The groom is blessed!", "May he soon give birth to a daughter or a son for his wife!"... Then came a series of rustling sounds, like rain.
Su Xiaotang recognized the sound; it must have been some wedding candies and coins. Hearing passersby saying auspicious words, the servants walking beside the bridal sedan chair grabbed handfuls from their baskets and scattered them into the crowd… So, she was sitting in the bridal sedan chair right now?!
With everything pitch black and unable to see clearly, he realized he was being tossed about by the sedan chair. He tried to move his hands and feet, only to find they were tightly bound, and his mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth, leaving him only able to make muffled whimpering sounds.
At this critical juncture, what else could Su Xiaotang not understand... She never imagined that Xiao Lü was actually her father's person.
Su Xiaotang was filled with remorse.
Just as they were plotting their escape, the sedan chair suddenly stopped, the curtain in front of them was lifted, and bright light poured in instantly.
Through the veil, Su Xiaotang glimpsed a middle-aged man in red squatting down with his back to her, calling out loudly, "Please, groom, alight from the sedan chair!"
According to custom, the groom's feet cannot touch the ground before he is escorted to the bridal chamber from his father's house to his wife's house, symbolizing "not taking away the father's family's wealth." Therefore, a special "blessed person" is hired to carry the groom down from the sedan chair and all the way to the bridal chamber.
The title of "Full-Blessed Person" cannot be filled by just any man. It requires a middle-aged man who is healthy and has a mother, father, mother-in-law, wife, and daughter. This symbolizes passing on good fortune to the groom and wishing him to become a "Full-Blessed Person" with five blessings in the future.
Looking at that not-so-broad back, Su Xiaotang felt utterly hopeless at the thought of stepping into the Prince's mansion.
"Please, groom, alight from the sedan chair!" The woman, who had already received money from her stepfather, listened to his instructions. Seeing that Su Xiaotang was hesitant to move, fearing that something might go wrong, she repeated herself loudly.
Is the groom still asleep? That would be terrible.
Quanfu was getting a little anxious. Just as he was about to call out a third time, a heavy weight suddenly pressed down on his back, making it hard for him to breathe. He quickly grabbed the two legs and bounced them up. He thought to himself that this groom was heavier than the ones he had carried before. He must be very much loved by his father's family, so they didn't make him diet to lose weight.
If she was favored, why was she pushed out to be married off in place of another? I really don't understand these wealthy families.
As he grumbled to himself, Su Xiaotang on his back was also quite annoyed—
It wasn't that he didn't want to get out of the sedan chair quickly, but his hands and feet were tied tightly, and he was like a shrimp, unable to move. He had no choice but to break free of the ropes and tear off the strips of cloth before he could move. Otherwise, was he supposed to jump onto Quanfuren's back?
The mother and Prince Rui should thank him. Luckily, he was strong and managed to break free in time. Otherwise, if everyone had seen the groom sitting in the sedan chair and refusing to get out, the wedding would have been ruined.
—Su Xiaotang was completely unaware that she was also among the nine clans.
The man carrying him carried him steadily into the wedding hall. Su Xiaotang raised her eyes through the veil and saw her mother, dressed in official robes, and a woman in a bright yellow dragon robe sitting at the head of the table. Twelve tassels covered her face, and her long, colorful embroidered skirt trailed on the ground. She thought that this must be the emperor, and she couldn't help but shudder and shrink her neck.
The person at the head of the table frowned almost imperceptibly.
As soon as the groom entered, Su Aoshuang, who had been watching him closely, naturally didn't miss this action.
The only person who can make this gesture is...
"First bow to Heaven and Earth!" the master of ceremonies announced.
Su Xiaotang was then led around and bowed towards the door.
"Bowing to the parents twice!"
The two bowed to the head of the table.
"Wives and husbands greet each other!"
Su Xiaotang was already unable to see clearly because of the veil, and her sense of direction was also poor. She was flustered and almost turned her back to Prince Rui. Fortunately, she pulled the red silk and turned half a circle, so that she was back in a face-to-face position.
Seeing that the person opposite had already bent down, Su Xiaotang also hurriedly bowed down. However, since the two were already standing close together, and he was in a panic, he accidentally bumped into Prince Rui on the forehead with a thud. The pain made both of them gasp at the same time and involuntarily take a step back.
The hall fell silent instantly; even the suona player stopped playing, and no one dared to breathe.
Deathly silence.
Su Xiaotang covered his forehead, tears welling in his eyes—His Highness Prince Rui's head was really hard. That bump made his teeth ache, his head buzz, and his neck even elastically retracted into his body. He could almost hear the sound of his skull rubbing against each other, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
"Tsk...idiot."
It was clearly a very pleasant voice, like the sound of jade pendants and rings clinking together as women walked, but the disdain was palpable—especially since that disdain was directed at him.
Su Xiaotang suddenly felt a little wronged.
He was in pain too, and he didn't want it to be like this.
In the utter silence, suddenly, a chuckle came from the head of the table.
The loud female voice that Su Xiaotang had never heard before said, "Good fortune is coming, not bad."
As soon as the words were spoken, firecrackers exploded, drums roared, and all the musical instruments outside the wedding hall resounded in unison. The master of ceremonies breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and announced loudly: "Husband and wife, heads touching, may you grow old together! The ceremony is complete!"
Su Xiaotang was moved into the new house.
He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his rumbling stomach, and secretly took out the only piece of pastry from his sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth—it was something he had hidden away for a midnight snack last night, and he never thought he could use it to fill his stomach now.
He devoured the pastry, his crimson tongue darting out to lick his lips with lingering reluctance, savoring the sweet taste of the lip rouge, before quietly asking the servant standing guard beside him, "What time is it now?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is Shenshi (3-5 PM)."
The way he called out "Wang Fu" made Su Xiaotang feel extremely uncomfortable.
Shenshi (3-5 PM)... In other words, he hasn't eaten for eleven hours since he was knocked unconscious last night!
He's never been hungry for so long!
Su Xiaotang felt even more aggrieved, realizing he had completely ignored the pastry he had just eaten. He tried to lift the veil, but a servant hurriedly pressed him down, saying, "What are you doing? Only His Highness can lift this veil!"
"I'm so hungry, when is she coming?" Su Xiaotang said pitifully.
"Doesn't the Minister's residence provide you with food?"
—It was that voice again, so pleasant to hear yet so irritating.
Su Xiaotang was about to retort when her eyes suddenly lit up—
Yuan Mingjin took the wedding scale handed to him by the servant, and with a gentle lift, the red veil fell gracefully to the ground.
Her pupils suddenly contracted—
A very pretty small face, with willow-leaf eyebrows, sweet almond eyes, full under-eye bags, a slightly protruding nose, and beautifully shaped lips painted with bright lip rouge, but...
Yuan Mingjin frowned, her gaze fixed on the corner of his lips.
There were still some snow-white fragments left there.
Yuan Mingjin clenched his fists, which were hanging at his sides, without making a sound.
As she looked Su Xiaotang up and down, Su Xiaotang also mustered up her courage to look up and see what she looked like.
Upon closer inspection, they were dumbfounded.
The woman was tall with slender yet broad shoulders and a long neck. Her fingers, which were holding the scales, were long and thin with neatly trimmed nails. However, there were four thick, hard calluses on her palms near the base of her fingers. Her thumb was deeply grooved, and the skin at the base of her palms was rough and bulging. It was clear at a glance that she was a hand that often held a sword.
Above that was an oval face with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, slightly upturned eyes, pursed lips, and an unfriendly expression... staring intently at him.
She certainly had the air of a bull, and those diners weren't wrong... Beneath her long eyelashes were a pair of enormous, dark, and bright eyes, radiating cold light, exuding an imposing aura without anger, as if all the impurities in the world would be trampled under her feet.
Su Xiaotang was stunned and touched her face following her gaze, but there was nothing unusual.
However, as he moved, the crumbs of pastry were scraped away by his fingertips and fell onto the wedding dress. Yuan Mingjin's eyes widened even more, his eyeballs almost popping out, as if he had seen the dirtiest thing in the entire Tianyuan...!
Seeing that Su Xiaotang was still clueless and unaware, she immediately said with disgust, "Someone, carry him away to wash up. Make sure he's thoroughly cleaned from head to toe, or don't let him in!"
I've heard that the eldest son of the Su family is a model of noble men in the capital, and he bathes and burns incense three to five times a day. How come there are still crumbs of pastry left on the corners of his mouth? He's filthy.
It seems that rumors are just rumors and shouldn't be taken seriously.
After all that commotion, Yuan Mingjin had completely forgotten the stunning beauty she had when she first lifted the veil; all she could remember was the disgusting image of Su Xiaotang wiping the crumbs of pastry from the corner of her mouth onto her clothes.
She opened the window, and a cool night breeze rushed in instantly, gently caressing her face.
In the dim light, Yuan Mingjin saw that the courtyard to the west was brightly lit, showing no sign of going out. He didn't care much, returned to the table, sat down, and slowly drank a cup of tea.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaotang was carried into the bathhouse by the servants—they really carried her, so that she could lie flat like a board and the few sesame-sized crumbs of pastry wouldn't fall along the way.
But Su Xiaotang breathed a sigh of relief: thankfully, it was just a prank, and they didn't kick him out. His Highness Prince Rui is a really nice person.
Moreover... he recalled the person he had just seen, and couldn't help but crouch down and hide underwater, immersing his burning ears in the water to cool them down.
He had never seen such a beautiful woman before. Her entire demeanor was like that of a celestial maiden descended to earth. The lower half of her face was clearly radiant and full of affection, but her eyes and brows exuded a completely opposite heroic and aloof air, making his heart pound in his chest as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
While lost in thought, Su Xiaotang had been held down in the bathtub and rinsed from head to toe several times. Even his penis and the cage on top of it were thoroughly scrubbed with a soft brush, leaving him flushed but weak and unable to resist.
This lock cage is made of tanned leather, with ventilation holes and a layer of tung oil for waterproofing and maintenance. For hygiene and male development reasons, it is usually changed every seven days.
Every male in the Heavenly Origin Clan must wear this cage from a young age. Before marriage, the key is given to his mother, and after marriage, it is given to his wife for safekeeping.
Servants were tidying up the scattered inner and outer garments. One of them noticed a small jar in the pile of clothes and asked Su Xiaotang, "Your Highness, are these yours?"
Su Xiaotang was overjoyed when she saw it—wasn't this the brine she had scooped out last night?!
"Come here," he beckoned the servant, and whispered a series of instructions in his ear. The man obeyed and went straight to the kitchen without stopping.
After he had finished washing up, the servant wrapped him in a clean brocade quilt, used a silver tongue scraper to carefully scrape the coating off his tongue, served him with tooth powder to clean his teeth, rinsed his mouth with plum blossom tea, then had him chew chicken tongue fragrance, and finally gave him a five-spice pill, and that was the end of it.
The servant said softly, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. It's just that Her Highness... You'll understand later."
Su Xiaotang wasn't good at riddles, and she was carried back to her bedroom, completely bewildered.
Dragon and phoenix wedding candles burned in the room, their flames flickering and dripping with bright red tears. Red silk, red curtains, red pillows and quilts—everything was red to the eye.
Only the beautiful woman on the bed was pale-colored.
A note from the author:
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I'm overjoyed to receive so many more favorites and comments! I bow deeply in gratitude!
The use of "bull's eyes" to describe the female lead's eyes has historical roots. For example, Hera, the queen of the gods in ancient Greek mythology, is often described as having "bull's eyes and white arms." Bulls' eyes are indeed very beautiful! [upright-eared rabbit head]
Also, if you like my female-centric novels, you can check out my other book in my column, "The Immortal Master is So Cute (Female-Centered)," which is a female-centric fantasy novel! I planned to write a long novel of around 500,000 words (or more), but my current condition doesn't support writing such a long novel, so I'm taking a break and will continue when I'm feeling better. However, I've already posted nearly 30,000 words for preview! Please bookmark it if you like it~ [heart]
Second editor: It's in the final review stage! I was so scared, I was terrified it wouldn't pass. I didn't even write much, I was glued to the computer the whole time. Thankfully it passed! [crying emoji]
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