After an unknown amount of time, a slightly older female member of the royal family finally broke the silence, "The bride and groom are really as fond of joking as ever. Don't miss the auspicious time on this wonderful day, hurry up and drink the nuptial wine!"
At this moment, the matchmaker in charge of giving instructions came to her senses, and the maidservant next to her served the nuptial wine that had been prepared in advance.
The two cups of nuptial wine are connected by a red silk thread, and the clear liquid inside symbolizes the union of husband and wife in the future.
Jiang Xuelin and Fu Hanlai were now in a dilemma. Regardless of their previous thoughts, they had no choice but to drink the wine under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Seeing that the two still looked shocked, the guests who had come to watch the newlyweds in the bridal chamber breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the wedding night is usually lively and people will tease the newlyweds, the situation was special at this time. All the jokes and praises that were originally intended to be made were swallowed back. Seeing that the two had finished drinking the nuptial wine, the other guests did not dare to stay any longer and quickly found an excuse to leave first.
Even though they didn't know why the two of them had said those things, everyone felt something was off, and they knew that there was probably something else going on regarding this marriage that they didn't know about.
However, this concerns the face of the royal family, so some things are naturally best left unsaid.
Once the guests had all found excuses to leave the bridal chamber and dared not cause any more trouble, Jiang Xuelin and Fu Hanlai fell silent again, exchanging bewildered glances.
Knowing what had happened, Zilu looked at her two masters with some anxiety in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face at all.
Two red candles, each as thick as a baby's arm, burned in the quiet bridal chamber, adding a touch of liveliness to the suffocating atmosphere. After an unknown amount of time—perhaps a lifetime for the two of them—Jiang Xuelin finally spoke.
"Didn't you run away from your wedding? Why are you here?"
Fu Hanlai looked at Jiang Xuelin in silence, unsure of what to do.
Jiang Xuelin wasn't one to dress up much, and usually left most of her grooming to her maids. But today was her wedding day, so she was dressed up in her finest attire.
She was still wearing a heavy phoenix crown, with a veil draped over it. The intense colors of the crown made her face even more radiant and beautiful under the candlelight, giving her an extra touch of allure she hadn't shown before. The beauty mark under her right eye was particularly striking, drawing the attention of those around her.
"I'm asking you a question! What are you doing here? Didn't you run away from your wedding?"
Fu Hanlai snapped back to reality, shifting his gaze from Jiang Xuelin's face, and finally answered her question, "I came back because I heard you ran away from your wedding and thought the marriage was doomed. You didn't deceive that useless Ping An, pretending to run away to trick me into coming back, did you?"
As the conversation progressed, Fu Hanlai couldn't help but become suspicious.
Jiang Xuelin: "..."
What a coincidence! I also heard that the Prince of Ping's heir had run away from his arranged marriage, and I thought the marriage wouldn't work out, so I rushed back to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence to change into my wedding dress and prepare to leave!
"I also heard that you ran away from your wedding..."
Fu Hanlai: "..."
Jiang Xuelin: "..."
They looked at each other in bewilderment once again.
What a coincidence!
How could they both be so coincidental, rushing back as soon as they heard about the other's elopement?
Thinking of this, Jiang Xuelin looked at Fu Hanlai with a reproachful gaze, "You ran away from the wedding, so why did you come back?"
"I wanted to say that too. You ran away, why did you come back?"
—Is it because you don't want to take responsibility for running away from your wedding day?!
That's for sure.
As bitter rivals who knew each other very well, the two exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other's thoughts, cursing under their breath.
What kind of mess is this?!
What a coincidence!
What a coincidence!
What should we do now?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the ancestral worship ceremony was held, the veil was lifted, and the nuptial wine was drunk. All that's left is to wait for tomorrow to pay respects to the ancestors and officially be included in the family genealogy.
Although they haven't been added to the family genealogy yet, now that we've come this far, there's no way they can back out.
Oh right, tomorrow I will also have to formally pay my respects to Prince Ping and his wife, and afterwards I may have to go to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager.
Thinking about what they would face tomorrow, the two looked at each other in bewilderment again, each blaming the other and feeling that it was all the other's fault and that they were completely innocent.
Zilu, who was waiting nearby: "..."
Although servants are not allowed to speak ill of their masters, I still have to say that both the young master and the young lady bear responsibility!
Both are available!
Jiang Xuelin felt a headache coming on.
She never expected things to turn out this way; she had married into the Prince Ping's household in such a muddle-headed manner!
Just like that, by some twist of fate!
She's married into the family!
At this moment, she couldn't help but recall that earlier that day, when she was about to leave the city, the city gate was suddenly blocked. It was said that a fugitive had escaped, and in order to prevent the fugitive from escaping the city, they were conducting a thorough search of people who had left the city. Judging from her mother's reaction after she returned to the mansion, it shouldn't have been her father who did it.
...So that's what the Prince Ping's mansion did to find Fu Han, who ran away from his arranged marriage?
So this matter is naturally Fu Hanlai's responsibility, right?
If it weren't for him, she would have left the city long ago!
Just then, someone arrived from the front. It was a trusted steward of Prince Ping. He called out from the doorway, saying that Prince Ping had instructed Fu Han to hurry to the front to greet the guests.
After the groom finishes drinking the nuptial wine, he still has to go to the front to offer toasts!
Upon hearing this, Fu Hanlai rushed off without saying a word.
He couldn't stay here any longer, so he decided to find an excuse to slip away. He'd have to figure out what to do next.
After Fu Hanlai left, only Jiang Xuelin and her servant remained in the bridal chamber.
Jiang Xuelin was extremely frustrated, but she knew that the situation was hopeless and she could only think of a solution after Fu Han returned. She felt utterly hopeless.
"Zi Luo, come help me take off this crown. It's so heavy, it's hurting my neck."
Upon hearing this, Zilu immediately stepped forward to help remove the heavy phoenix crown from Jiang Xuelin's head and loosen her hair to make her more comfortable. Only then did she hesitantly call out, "Miss..."
What if word gets out that you and the young master said those things in front of the guests today?
You can imagine how the entire capital will react when they find out that you two ran away from your wedding!
Jiang Xuelin was also very troubled; she didn't want to think about this alone for the time being.
This was a matter between her and Fu Hanlai. She didn't have to worry about it and be anxious, while Fu Hanlai didn't have to think about anything and just waited to come back in the evening to hear her ideas.
Absolutely not!
Given the current situation, if she's going to be bothered, she should wait until Fu Han comes back so they can both worry about it together!
Zilu: "..."
My girl...
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