Suddenly, Mu Run felt that the sound had become much quieter and was not so unbearable.
He released his grip and faintly heard Liu Lao Er and Qiao Dongzi talking, interspersed with a barely audible low male voice. Liu Lao Er and Qiao Dongzi treated the owner of the voice with great respect, without a trace of the joking and banter they had displayed on the road.
Could this person be the bandit leader?
Mu Run was curious to see what this guy, whom his subordinates called the number one pervert, looked like, so he could avoid him if they ran into each other again.
The bridal sedan chair had windows, and she reached out to lift the curtains...
It wasn't lifted!
It's a fake window that's been sewn shut!
Mu Run: "..."
Since we can't see anyone, let's just listen secretly.
Mu Run pressed his ear against the sedan chair wall, concentrating all his hearing, and finally managed to hear something.
The voice, seemingly that of the leader, said: "After the wedding ceremony..."
After the wedding ceremony? Could it be that the action took place after the wedding ceremony?
Suddenly, the sounds of music and drumming grew louder again, and the bridal sedan chair continued its journey, startling Mu Run back to her senses.
Outside the bridal sedan chair, people gathered in small groups to watch the spectacle.
"Why is the Cao family holding another funeral?"
"What funeral? This is a happy occasion! How can you talk like that? You can't stand to see others doing well."
"Oh, I didn't realize you were new to our county, were you?"
How did you know?
"Every local knows about the Cao family. They married four daughters-in-law in half a year, and four of them died. The young master of the Cao family is a particularly jinxed wife!"
"Huh? So fierce!"
"That's right. In the surrounding villages, even if you sell your daughter to a brothel, at least she'll have food to eat. But marrying into the Cao family is like selling your life! People will gossip about you behind your back."
There were all sorts of people talking, chattering away, and some even deliberately raised their voices so that Mu Run inside the bridal sedan chair could hear them.
Mu Run had already decided to escape, so their words only strengthened her resolve. She even secretly hoped that the bandits would act sooner rather than later, to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Soon the bridal sedan chair came to a stop, the music grew louder and louder, and more and more people gathered around to watch the spectacle and gossip.
A smiling bride entered the bridal sedan chair.
Mu Run, whose head was covered by a veil, heard the matchmaker recite a few auspicious words before helping her out of the sedan chair.
This is quite different from the procedure that Xinlian's aunt taught her in her memory. It seems that several steps have been omitted, such as kicking the sedan chair door, shooting flower arrows, and scattering lucky beans.
When she entered the house, Mu Run lifted her skirt and stepped over a huge brazier, almost burning her clothes. She also broke a thick stack of tiles before being taken to the bridal chamber, skipping even the most important wedding ceremony.
Without a wedding ceremony, is this a marriage proposal or a concubine arrangement? Mu Run is also a bit unfamiliar with this ancient set of etiquette.
After pulling off the red veil, Mu Run looked around the room. The character for "double happiness" was pasted on the window, and red silk ribbons hung from the beams. A brand-new wedding quilt was laid on the carved pillars and canopy bed, with some auspicious fruits scattered on it, such as peanuts, dates, longans, and melon seeds.
Suddenly, voices came from outside, and Mu Run listened intently.
"...The last young mistress only lived in this house for seven days. Guess how many days she can live? If you guess right, I'll buy you a pound of osmanthus cake."
"Three days! I just saw the bride, she was so thin she looked like a chicken carcass, three days would be an exaggeration."
"Alright, if she dies within three days, you win. If she dies after three days, I win, and you buy me a pound of jujube paste cake, how about that?"
"No problem, I'm looking forward to your osmanthus cake."
"Maybe she can hold on for three days."
"You still don't really understand our young master. Alright, I'm going to the front now."
"Go ahead, I'm going to the backyard to fetch water."
The footsteps faded into the distance. Mu Run frowned and looked around the room again.
Unlike the feeling before, this time she inexplicably felt that the room was filled with an eerie atmosphere, along with a faint, almost imperceptible, fishy stench. Following that stench, she searched the room, finally standing in front of the wedding bed. Looking at the bright red wedding quilt scattered with peanuts, dates, longans, and melon seeds, she hesitated for a moment, then reached out her hand.
The wedding quilt was slowly lifted, revealing the mattress underneath, which was also brand new.
Suddenly, her gaze fell upon a piece of paper nestled in the seam of the bedding…
"Knock knock knock~" The knocking sounded on the door.
Mu Run was startled. She first put away the paper, then rearranged the disheveled wedding quilt, and said, "Come in."
A pretty little girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old, came in carrying a bowl of noodle soup. She was very quiet, as if she was afraid of being discovered.
Mu Run blinked his dark eyes and calmly said, "Hello."
"Uh..." The little girl was stunned. She had expected to see a crying bride, since the wedding was too simple and there was no wedding ceremony. It was as if she was just waiting to die.
"Is this noodle soup for me?" Mu Run smelled the aroma of the scallion noodle soup, and her stomach rumbled honestly.
Although she didn't want to eat anything, her body was starving, reminding her that she needed to eat, otherwise she would be in trouble if she couldn't run anymore.
The young maid replied, "Yes, it's for the young mistress."
Hearing her voice, Mu Run realized that this was the girl who had bet that she could live for more than three days. No wonder she brought her food; she probably wanted her to survive for three days so she could earn that pound of jujube cake.
There was a white egg lying in the soup. Looking at the egg, Mu Run asked, "What's your name?"
“My name is Hongmi. My mother said that the year I was born, the red rice in the fields had a bumper harvest, so she named me Hongmi. You can also call me Xiao Hong, young mistress.”
"Thank you for bringing me food."
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