Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The Wedding.
On an autumn afternoon, Lin Zhen walked along the lakeside with heavy steps. The veil on her head was also held in her hand at that time. Her eyebrows were drooped and she looked tired.
The day before she was going to send Lin Yue away, Lin Yue disappeared.
Lin Zhen searched through all the places in his memory that Lin Yue might go, even the lake in front of him. It looked a bit desolate, but it was a place Lin Yue loved to visit when she was a child.
There was still no sign of Lin Yue.
"girl……"
Lin Zhen walked silently with his eyes lowered. He heard a man calling him softly. It was quiet and there was no one around except him, but Lin Zhen didn't want to respond.
"Girl, girl."
The voice sounded a bit urgent. Lin Zhen finally stopped and looked back, suppressing his impatience.
"Could you please... lend a hand?"
The man in blue was sitting in a wheelchair. When he saw Lin Zhen looking at him, he seemed a little embarrassed. His pair of white hands were placed on the handles and tightened slightly.
Lin Zhen looked at the gravel slope beside him, suppressed the emotion on his face, and slowly walked towards him.
She said nothing, but pushed the man's wheelchair up the slope. The wooden wheels were not easy to move on the gravel road, and the blanket covering his legs was often rolled into the wheel axle. Lin Zhen leaned over and folded the blanket up a little.
The moment Lin Zhen stretched out his hand, the man's hand also stretched out. He seemed to want to stop Lin Zhen's action, but it was too late. In the end, he just slowly retracted his hand hanging in the air, and secretly pressed down the corner of the blanket that Lin Zhen had folded.
"Who are you? Who allowed you to touch my son?!"
As soon as Lin Zhen pushed the man to the ground, a man quickly rushed out from the side. The man held a sword in his hand and used the scabbard to push Lin Zhen away, questioning him.
"Xinyi, don't be rude."
Lin Zhen was already irritated. She looked at the tightly-dressed woman who was protecting the man behind her and said coldly, "Since the young master is so noble, you should always stay by his side instead of using others as a scapegoat."
The woman called Xinyi left Lin Zhen speechless. After a pause, she knelt on one knee and said, "Xinyi failed to protect her master properly. Please punish me, sir."
The man in blue glanced at her and sighed, "You should apologize to this girl."
Xinyi stood up and reluctantly faced Lin Zhen, clasping her fists and saying, "I'm sorry for...offending you just now."
Lin Zhen's mind was full of Lin Yue's affairs. Jiang Cai's words were also about herself. Since she couldn't find Lin Yue, she took the opportunity to attack the woman.
Lin Zhen lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment, then turned and left.
Xinyi watched her leave, frowning and muttering, "What a proud woman."
After Lin Zhen left, the man's gentle face gradually darkened. He stared straight ahead and said calmly, "If you still can't remember my rules, pack up your things and return to Qizhou tomorrow."
"Xinyi knows her mistake. Please don't drive her away."
*
It was getting dark and gradually getting colder.
Lin Zhen sat on a stone step, she lay on her legs and buried her face in her arms.
"Girl—girl!"
Hongye finally spotted Lin Zhen's figure. Hearing her anxious voice, Lin Zhen suddenly looked up. In order to find Lin Yue, she hadn't eaten properly for several days. She stood up too quickly and felt dizzy, but she managed to stay steady.
"Found it?!" Lin Zhen strode forward and asked.
Hongye nodded happily, and then her eyes dimmed.
Lin Zhen frowned, "...What's wrong?"
Hongye slowly turned her head and looked behind her. Only then did Lin Zhen see a person standing not far behind her - Shizhu.
Her worst fear had come true.
"girl!"
Before Hongye could speak, Lin Zhen had already walked towards Shizhu. She took the reins from Shizhu's hand and galloped away on the horse he brought.
*
As they approached the General's Mansion, it was completely dark.
The whole street was crowded with people, and numerous sedan chairs and carriages of all sizes were parked along the alleys.
Lin Zhen had no choice but to dismount and walk.
The high walls near the General's Mansion are hung with red silk. There is a wedding in the General's Mansion today, and Ji Sui is going to marry a concubine.
As the most sought-after figure in the capital after the rebellion was quelled, his marriage naturally attracted the attention of many people and had been widely rumored in the city a few days ago.
Lin Zhen had also heard of it.
She was wearing the clothes of a female musician from the Music Bureau, so the person checking the visiting cards at the gate of the mansion thought she was someone sent by the Music Bureau and let her in without stopping her.
During the few months that Ji Sui came to Beijing, he always went to the Jiaofangsi to find Lin Zhen, but Lin Zhen had never come to the General's Mansion.
The house was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, making it look very festive, but Lin Zhen obviously had no interest in viewing them. She followed the flow of people towards the lobby.
The wives of officials were gathered in groups of three or five, talking together. Lin Zhen scanned the crowd inch by inch, but did not see Lin Yue.
Suddenly, someone called out something, and the crowd that had been evacuating rushed together, and Lin Zhen was also pushed forward.
She followed the crowd's gaze and saw Ji Sui, dressed in red, walking from the side hall into the lobby.
He seemed certain that Lin Zhen would come. After standing still in the hall, his eyes swept across everyone in the hall, finally landing on Lin Zhen's face. He curled his lips slightly and said to everyone, "I am very happy today. Thank you all for coming."
Lin Zhen looked at him as if nothing had happened, and then looked at the situation around her. She even had a suspicion that Ji Sui might be deceiving her and he might not know Lin Yue's whereabouts at all.
He brought her here just to let her watch him get married?
But she also knew that this madman could do it.
She thought she didn't have time to go crazy with him, so she clenched her hands and Lin Zhen wanted to turn around and leave.
"Look, the bride is coming out!!!"
When Lin Zhen passed by a woman, she suddenly shouted with joy. Lin Zhen lowered his eyes and did not stop.
"I want to see for myself what kind of beauty could surpass the Imperial Concubine's niece?"
"Oh, you don't know yet! I heard that she was the second daughter of the former Lin Mansion!"
"I also heard that although the eldest girl saved him back then, she also tortured him in every way in the mansion. It was all because of this second girl..."
The rest of the words were drowned out by Lin Zhen's ears. She suddenly turned around and looked at the woman in wedding dress in the center of the lobby.
The woman was holding a round fan and wearing a phoenix crown and a red robe, with only half of her face exposed.
It's clearly Lin Yue.
Tear marks appeared on her cheeks, but no one thought it was unusual. They just thought the bride was crying tears of joy.
The ceremony was carried out step by step. The concubine did not need to worship heaven and earth, and the ceremony was considered complete after serving tea.
Lin Yue, supported by her bridesmaid, slowly left the hall, and Lin Zhen immediately followed. No one stopped her on the way, allowing her to follow them to the main courtyard used as the bridal chamber.
Lin Zhen pushed the door open and walked in. Lin Yue was sitting on the couch sobbing. Seeing that it was Lin Zhen, she quickly stood up and called out, "Sister!"
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the general's bridal chamber!" the matchmaker shouted angrily.
"You all, get back!" Lin Yue ordered.
After all, Lin Yue is now the only female hostess of the general's mansion. They dare not disobey her. After hesitating and thinking, they all retreated.
Lin Yue threw herself into Lin Zhen's arms again, "Sister!"
In the past, when they were at the Lin Mansion, Lin Yue rarely got so close to Lin Zhen because of her cold personality. A trace of warmth passed through Lin Zhen's heart, but was immediately filled with anger.
He is really a madman.
"Sister...it's all my fault...I shouldn't have disobeyed Sister Hongye's instructions and returned home without permission, but I...I really miss Daddy..."
Lin Yue was captured by the patrolling Shenwu Camp for wandering around the Lin Mansion in the middle of the night, and happened to run into Shi Zhu. Her face was quite similar to Lin Zhen's, so Shi Zhu quickly suspected her identity and took her back to the general's mansion.
Lin Yue was very scared after being confined in the room for several days.
When she was in the Lin Mansion before, every time she ran into that young man, she would want to avoid him for no reason. He always gave her an inexplicable feeling of oppression.
It has been like this in the past, let alone now.
He was no longer that lowly slave, but a powerful general.
She had imagined many kinds of terrible punishments, but he did nothing to her. A few days later, a wedding dress appeared in her room.
The maid said that he wanted to take her as his concubine.
She naturally wouldn't believe that Ji Rui really wanted to marry her. His behavior was still as weird as when he was in the Lin Mansion.
She didn't know what Ji Wei wanted to do, and the more she knew, the more frightened she became.
"Sister...I want to leave here...take me away..."
Listening to Lin Yue's sobs, Lin Zhen's brows gradually furrowed. She reached out to help Lin Yue away and slowly wiped away the tears from her eyes. She stared into Lin Yue's eyes seriously and said to her, "Don't cry. I'm here, you'll be fine."
Lin Zhen's firm tone inexplicably made Lin Yue feel at ease, and her emotions gradually calmed down.
Lin Zhen helped her to the couch and took off the heavy phoenix crown on her head.
After a while, the door was pushed open forcefully. They both looked outside and saw Ji Bai walking in leisurely in a red robe.
"You two sisters have talked enough about your old love, it's time for this general's wedding night." As he spoke, he walked towards the couch.
Lin Zhen stood up and blocked Lin Yue behind him, his phoenix eyes fixed on Ji Sui.
"I have something to tell you."
Ji Sui chuckled: "A noble lady like Miss Lin, do you have anything to say to a lowly person like me?"
Although he said this, he stopped and did not approach Lin Yue again.
Lin Zhen signaled Lin Yue to go out first. She hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe her elder sister.
After Lin Yue left, Ji Sui leaned leisurely on the screen beside the couch with his arms folded, looking at Lin Zhen leisurely.
"What exactly do you want to do?" Lin Zhen asked.
"Do you think I'm just idle and have nothing to do? What for? Of course I'm getting married."
Lin Zhen didn't care about his answer at all and said bluntly: "Don't touch her."
"Okay." Ji Sui agreed surprisingly readily.
Before Lin Zhen could react, he lifted his thick long eyelashes, looked at Lin Zhen seriously, and said calmly.
"You take her place."
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