Chapter 47 Nightmare.
The bride and groom stayed at home, without the need for a sedan chair for the wedding, but everything else was provided in full, making it a grand and dignified affair.
Lingyi, her head covered by a veil and holding a red silk ribbon in her hand, was led to the front of the hall by the old beggar.
Someone loudly proclaimed, "—Bowing to Heaven and Earth!"
They paid homage to the emperor outside the capital.
"—Bowing to the parents!"
He bowed to the empty chair inside.
"—Husband and wife bow to each other!"
She turned and bowed, but upon seemingly touching the other person, Lingyi took a step back.
"—Send them to the bridal chamber!"
In the bridal chamber, the old beggar couldn't wait to lift the red veil. Upon seeing the bride, he was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together with a radiant face.
The official media, watching the couple, sighed inwardly at their misfortune.
Today's wedding is strange in every way. The groom is an old beggar who has always been idle on the streets, relying on begging for food and probably never having held a woman's hand in his entire life. He spends his days squatting in corners, staring lecherously at any young woman who comes near, earning him the contempt of others and being beaten many times for it. Who would have thought he would actually be getting married, and to such a beautiful and charming bride at that!
In the past two decades, state media have never seen such a beautiful bride, yet she married such a scoundrel!
The strangest thing was that a dignitary was present to watch the entire wedding.
In reality, even the official media didn't know who he was. The reason they called him a nobleman was because of the imposing air of nobility he exuded.
He said nothing, did nothing, and simply watched coldly as the bride stepped over the threshold and bowed to heaven and earth.
Even after entering the bridal chamber, he sat in the armchair, watching with an air of composure.
The official media wondered to themselves, "Could it be that he won't leave even if the newlyweds are having sex?"
Oh well, she can't interfere in the affairs of important people. Considering she received a large sum of money, she'll just do her job.
They uttered auspicious words: "May the nuptial cup bring you good fortune and a long and happy life together. Bride and groom, please drink the nuptial wine; may you live a long and happy life together until old age."
The old beggar came over to take the nuptial wine, and as he got closer, a foul stench wafted up. He was short, and the matchmakers could even see the pustules on his head. He was staring at the bride with a fascination, grinning and revealing a set of yellow teeth and a foul stench of saliva.
As a member of the official media, she mostly dealt with officials and wealthy people, or at least ordinary citizens, and had never seen such a disgusting person.
The official media almost vomited, and couldn't help but look at the beautiful bride with pity again. She was about to have her arms intertwined with the old beggar's and drink together, and they wondered how she could bear it.
To her surprise, the bride drank the nuptial wine expressionlessly, without showing any disgust.
The official media sighed inwardly, but still followed the ceremony. On the wedding bed were red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds, which symbolized "early birth of a son." The maids accepted these items, and the official media led them away.
As she left, she glanced at the nobleman still sitting in the chair, thinking to herself how strange the quirks of these powerful people were!
Thinking this to himself, he didn't forget to close the door, leaving the three of them inside.
The dragon and phoenix incense candles on the table bathed the room in a deep red glow. The old beggar was already itching with desire, stealing glances several times at Qin Lie sitting beside him, wanting to ask him to leave, but not daring to. — He hadn't forgotten why he had this predicament, and dared not utter a sound to break this beautiful dream.
He quickly realized, what's wrong with having more people watching?
The bride before him was as beautiful as a flower and exuded fragrance; how could he not be happy over such a small matter?
Let the man see if he wants; let him see how he can be so virile that he can drive this young lady crazy and make her unable to stop!
Thinking this way, the old beggar's pent-up desire, which had been dormant for years, hardened again, and he called out "beauty, wife, lady, madam" as he moved closer to Lingyi.
Lingyi instinctively got up to avoid him, but the old beggar, being old and consumed by lust, staggered and missed, unable to catch her for a moment.
Qin Lie rested his chin on his hand and chuckled, "On this joyous day, on our wedding night, it is only natural for husband and wife to consummate their marriage. What the princess did was truly inappropriate."
The words contained an implicit threat.
Lingyi turned to look at him, "Qin Lie, do you really intend to humiliate me like this?"
Qin Lie laughed with great satisfaction, "Isn't the princess most fond of getting married? I am merely fulfilling the princess's wish, how can it be considered a humiliation? Not to mention this one, I will definitely arrange many more for the princess in the future, and make sure the princess is a bride every night."
Lingyi questioned him: "I am Huan'er's mother, after all. What about Huan'er after you did this?"
Qin Lie's face turned cold. "You have no right to mention Huan'er! It's only been a few years, have you already forgotten how you abandoned your own child for your nephew? Now your beloved nephew is outside, waiting for your wedding night to save his life. Today I want to see what you're capable of for your nephew!"
Lingyi's chest heaved rapidly, but she remained silent and motionless.
The bright red bridal chamber was now as cold as an ice cellar.
Qin Lie regained his previous composure: "My patience is limited, and I don't have time to waste here with you. Princess, you need to make a decision quickly, otherwise I'm afraid even the nine fingers of the former crown prince's bloodline won't be enough for me to cut off."
Lingyi finally gave a bitter smile, "Qin Lie, you've won. Whatever you want, I'll grant it."
The old beggar was intimidated by Qin Lie's imposing manner as soon as he spoke, and froze on the spot, not daring to move.
Lingyi took the initiative to walk up to him and reached out to undo his belt.
The old beggar knew something was wrong; the man was relentlessly pressuring him, while the woman remained expressionless, making him feel utterly insignificant.
But the bride before him was as beautiful as a flower. She loosened his belt and helped him remove his wedding clothes, standing gracefully in front of him. Her fair and delicate face kept appearing before his eyes, so close. Knowing he shouldn't, his hand still unconsciously reached out and touched her face.
Lingyi instinctively wanted to back away, but she forced herself to stop, smiled sweetly at him, and said in a gentle voice, "Husband..."
That soft call made the old beggar's bones melt. He responded with an "Eh," forgetting everything else and only eagerly wanting to kiss her rosy lips.
Lingyi clenched her fists, neither dodging nor avoiding.
Aside from being ugly, old, and smelly, what difference is there between this old beggar and Qin Lie or Song Pingkou?
Ultimately, it's all beyond our control; just bear with it and it will pass.
Hasn't she already resigned herself to her fate? What else is she unwilling to risk?
Therefore, she simply closed her eyes, tilted her head slightly, and adopted a submissive and accepting posture.
Before any skin contact could be made, there was a sound of wood breaking, followed by a cry of "Ouch!" as a heavy object fell to the ground.
She opened her eyes and saw the old beggar lying on the ground groaning, with a broken handrail beside him.
Qin Lie stood up from the armchair, which now only had one armrest, his chest heaving as he glared at her, his eyes blazing with anger.
Upon meeting her gaze, his anger quickly subsided, replaced by a smile. "I originally intended for the princess to marry the most despicable man in the world, but I forgot that the princess is inherently promiscuous and available to all men. This is hardly torture; it will only bring you pleasure."
His words were so contemptuous, yet Lingyi remained unmoved.
If I were to be hurt by words at this moment, it would be a waste of all the hardships I've endured.
She could even laugh and retort, "Naturally, I can't compare to the late Madam, who was willing to kill herself to preserve her innocence. My worthless life is just right for some low-class trash."
This not only mentioned his wife, but also compared him to the beggar.
Qin Lie couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, "You're asking for death!"
His anger lasted only a moment, quickly subsiding after seeing her cold eyes. "The princess wants me to kill you... What? You don't even care about your nephew and child?"
Lingyi said, "You might as well kill me and Ji'an, and when you find Lin'er later, you can also kill him with one blow. Then I can reunite with them in the underworld, and I won't have to live in this world, where I am at the mercy of others, living in constant fear and suffering humiliation."
"Lin'er..." Qin Lie repeated the name, his expression suddenly turning cold: "Liu Lingyi, is he your only child?"
Lingyi bit her lip and remained silent.
The only person she felt guilty towards in her life was Huan'er. For the rest of her life, she could not make amends, nor could she even see him again.
Qin Lie hates her so much, I'm afraid Huan'er's life at home isn't easy either.
From beginning to end, it was her arrogance that led her to believe she could soften Qin Lie's heart. In her loneliness, she tried to grasp at a bit of blood ties, which ultimately led to her grave mistake.
Qin Lie looked at the tears welling up in her eyes and said sarcastically, "You insisted on leaving back then, even though I promised to raise him under your care, you still wouldn't stay. Why bother with this pretense of motherly love now?"
Lingyi felt utterly exhausted and unwilling to argue any further. "Whatever Your Highness says goes. I am now in Your Highness's hands and can be disposed of at will. I only hope that after Your Highness vents your anger, you will not take it out on me again."
Hatred gnaws at me like a venomous snake, piercing my heart and bones day and night.
Perhaps the hatred was too deep and too long, and when the time came to take revenge, one felt apprehensive about returning home.
Qin Lie's gaze fell on the dragon and phoenix candles in front of the window. The window frame and the wedding bed were all decorated with red ribbons, and the whole place was filled with the festive red color. She sat on the edge of the bed with her head down, as if it were still the day of their wedding eight years ago.
She was innocent and shy, while he was full of vigilance.
Now she wears a wedding dress, its colors even more vibrant than before, but her eyes are filled with only despair and helplessness.
With the past and present intertwined, he was momentarily disoriented, wondering which step he had taken wrong to end up in this predicament.
He subconsciously reached out to lift her face to get a clear look, but she dodged him like a snake, turning her head away, even less so than she had with the old beggar.
Hatred spread from his chest, tearing at his internal organs with excruciating pain. He spoke with sarcasm: "Princess, rest assured, no matter how depraved I am, I will never be interested in an unfaithful woman!"
Seeing her breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this, he became even more sarcastic: "The princess would rather go to the mountains with a beggar than despise me like this. But I no longer want to help you find happiness; I only want to force you to do what you can't. The more the princess dislikes me, the more I want to keep her by my side and watch you suffer day and night!"
.
Lingyi knew that he had only failed in one plan and had not yet started a new one.
Only now did she belatedly realize that he wanted to see her weep and regret her actions, but unfortunately, she was too heartbroken and reacted indifferently, failing to vent his anger. If she had another chance, she would definitely make him have his way.
Now she can only do whatever he says, lest she offend him.
It seems that she was only there to humiliate him by getting married, and he didn't sleep all night. The next morning, he had to rush back to the capital.
Qin Lie did not ride a horse, but sat in a carriage to handle military affairs. There were messengers coming and going, indicating that he was very busy.
Lingyi was also busy. When Ji'an's little finger was cut off and he developed a high fever, she took care of him.
Perhaps because he had not yet vented his anger and still thought that Ji'an was useful, Qin Lie summoned the accompanying doctor.
The doctor administered acupuncture, and he drank two doses of medicine along the way. When they arrived at the post station at night, his body was no longer so hot to the touch. The medicine had a calming effect, and he finally fell asleep.
Lingyi had been taking care of him during the day and hadn't slept for two nights. Even though she usually slept little and had many dreams, she couldn't stay awake any longer and soon fell asleep.
She had only been asleep for a short while when she was awakened by a violent cough.
She was momentarily dazed before realizing that it was Qin Lie from next door coughing.
The entire north building of the inn was occupied only by Qin Lie and his group. Of all the rooms, the area around Qin Lie's room was cleared out, but Qin Xiaoshan arranged for her and Ji'an to stay next to Qin Lie.
The inn's rooms weren't well soundproofed, especially late at night when she could clearly hear noises from next door.
Qin Lie coughed so hard it felt like the bed was shaking.
Lingyi waited patiently for him to calm down before closing her eyes again.
Before she could fall asleep, he started coughing again, just as violently and continuously as before, so intense that she felt like she couldn't breathe just listening to it.
In Lingyi's memory, Qin Lie had always been physically strong. Even in the harsh winters of Jizhou, he would at most wear a cloak over his clothes when it snowed, and rarely wore cotton-padded clothes. He never seemed to fall ill. However, after three years apart, he was in such a state. It seemed that the years of fighting in the north and south had indeed taken a toll on his health.
Even if he expends all his energy, he will still outlive her.
Lingyi didn't want to waste her energy on irrelevant matters; she just wanted to sleep peacefully.
Unfortunately, Qin Lie was not peaceful at all. His cough came in waves, and even Ling Yi, who covered her ears, could not escape it. Sometimes, she could hear him gagging when he coughed too badly. It wasn't until the middle of the night, when he was so exhausted, that he finally fell asleep.
With less than two hours left until dawn, Lingyi had no heart to complain anymore. Her eyes were already too heavy to keep open, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
I had barely fallen asleep when I was woken up again by Qin Lie. I didn’t know if he was dreaming or awake. He cried out several times in the middle of the night, his voice urgent and painful, followed by painful moans in his sleep that lasted for a long time.
He seemed to be trapped in a nightmare, though there were quiet moments, but all of them probably didn't last more than 15 minutes in a whole night.
After several days of this process, Lingyi's face was beginning to turn bluish-purple.
If his cough hadn't sounded so real, the nightmare wouldn't have been faked either, and Lingyi would have suspected that this was his way of taking revenge.
As she left the post station that day, Qin Lie happened to be in front of her, and she glanced at him.
Unlike the previous times, which were all at night, she was finally able to see him clearly. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and looked somewhat sickly.
As night fell, the coughing and screaming continued. Fortunately, Ji'an's fever had subsided and he was no longer taking calming medicine, but he was still too frightened to sleep.
When Lingyi entered the post station this time, she paid special attention and knew that there were two empty rooms on each side. She wanted to take Ji'an to stay in another room. As soon as she opened the door, Qin Xiaoshan, who was guarding outside Qin Lie's door, turned around and asked, "Princess, what's going on?"
Ling Yi said, "Steward Qin, we are not trying to escape—we can't escape anyway. We just want to change rooms to rest."
Qin Xiaoshan respectfully replied, "The princess's residence was chosen by the prince, and I dare not change it without his permission. Why don't you ask the prince? If he agrees, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lingyi slammed the door shut.
Qin Lie ignored her and Ji'an the whole way, treating them as if they were invisible.
This was exactly what she wanted. Ji'an's identity was too special, and she only wished that Qin Lie would never remember him.
The capital is not like Zhuozhou. The Qin family came from Jizhou and still used the same staff as the Han Dynasty, only the military officers were changed.
However, among the civil officials... Jizhou is, after all, a border region, and only a handful of the new emperor's former advisors are capable of taking on the main responsibilities. If the court wants to govern the country, it still relies on those old ministers from the previous dynasty.
These veteran officials had received the late emperor's favor, and some of their families had served the Han dynasty for decades.
In the past, Qin Lie deliberately let the seventh prince leave, forcing him to attack the capital.
The seventh prince was already deeply suspicious, and after being forced out of the capital, he became even more cruel and irritable upon his return, almost slaughtering all the threatening members of the imperial family in the capital.
Currently, Ji'an can be considered the sole heir to the Jiahe Emperor.
When Qin Lie attacked the capital, the old ministers showed no loyalty to the Seventh Prince, a criminal who had been imprisoned by Emperor Jiahe and launched a rebellion. Furthermore, the Seventh Prince's perverse and immoral actions made him a figure worthy of execution. Qin Lie, under the pretext of avenging his wife, emboldened these old ministers to stand idly by or even surrender. However, once Ji'an's whereabouts were discovered, it was hard to guarantee that some would develop thoughts of "loyalty to the emperor and serving the country."
For both public and private reasons, Qin Lie would never spare Ji An's life.
Therefore, even if Lingyi had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to ask Qin Lie. Qin Xiaoshan was so shrewd; what difference was there between him saying these things and making things difficult for her?
She closed the door and went back to her room, covering Gian's ears with the blanket and making do for the night.
The journey back to the capital was long, and this couldn't be a long-term solution. They couldn't sleep well at night, and the cramped carriage was unbearable during the day, making rest impossible. Adults could manage, but children certainly couldn't endure it.
That night, Lingyi opened the door again, feeling helpless, and asked Qin Xiaoshan, who was on night watch, "When did your prince contract the cough?"
Qin Xiaoshan replied, "Your Highness previously injured his lungs and internal organs, and refused to take his medicine properly, which led to his serious illness. As soon as the weather turned cold, he coughed incessantly at night."
"What about nightmares?"
"...After that injury, the prince had trouble sleeping at night, often only able to fall asleep close to dawn, only to be awakened several times, suffering greatly."
Lingyi asked, "Since it's so torturous, isn't there any way to alleviate it?"
That way, he won't have to torment others here.
Qin Xiaoshan did not answer immediately, but looked at her deeply before slowly saying, "It's a knot in my heart that's hard to untie, and there's no cure for it."
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