The occupants of the Lord Protector’s Manor realized that it was just a false alarm and the incident had nothing to do with them. Only God knew whose family’s marriage sedan did those black-clothed men hijack. When Ning Xueyan woke up and rested for a while, the porters started carrying the sedan as normal. The incident left Ning Zu’an so nervous that he dispatched several of the manor’s guards to protect Ning Xueyan’s wedding entourage.
Prince Yi’s Manor also received news of the sedan hijacking but Prince Yi didn’t stay out to receive the guests. His magnificent wedding robe appeared to be the handiwork of the palace, but it was the same one that Ning Xueyan had embroidered. It had the design as the robe that the palace had embroidered for him.
Ao Chenyi stood in front of the mirror in his wedding robe and looked at his reflection with satisfaction. When he heard voices outside his door, he languidly walked out with his long hair draped over his shoulders. He found the Third and Fourth Princes pacing back and forth in the corridor. Seeing him, they immediately walked over to him and said, “Uncle, something serious happened! The marriage sedan has been hijacked!”
Both princes had come to the manor to receive the guests in their uncle’s place. After hearing about the sedan incident, they rushed here to inform Ao Chenyi.
“The sedan has been hijacked?” They couldn’t see even a trace of anxiousness on Ao Chenyi’s expression. His elongated, narrow eyes appeared amused. His handsome face looked unperturbed; rather, he appeared to have heard something interesting instead. He turned his slender body around and returned to his room serenely. “I wonder who has fallen for my consort and wants to steal her for himself.”
“Uncle, we still don’t know that yet. I heard the culprits are a group of men in black. They escaped as soon as they kidnapped the bride. There are still no clues about them at the moment,” Ao Mingyu said, following closely after his uncle into the room.
“Uncle, you should send your men to see what’s going on. Maybe they’re still somewhere nearby. After all, it’s not easy to go on the run with a hostage,” Ao Mingwan added, sounding just as worried. He also followed behind Ao Chenyi.
“Don’t panic. What’s the point when the kidnapping has already happened? Being hasty doesn’t help.” Ao Chenyi sat down on a wide chair, looking calm. He looked like he was watching a show, a show that had nothing to do with him.
“Uncle, aren’t you going to look for her?” Ao Mingwan was so panicked that his forehead was sweating. He looked at his uncle in disbelief, despite knowing that his uncle didn’t regard this marriage highly and even tried to break off the engagement. He had been overjoyed at the news then, vowing to protect her if her engagement was broken.
Little did he imagine that the engagement remained firm and she had no choice but to marry his uncle. What upset him most was his uncle’s lack of concern at this point in time. He felt both sympathy and anger. A woman as fine as she was should marry a man who would treat her better; his uncle didn’t deserve the position!
“That goes without saying, but only one sedan has been hijacked. Isn’t there still another one? You’ll have to at least let me finish my wedding before I go looking for that hostage!” Ao Chenyi replied, sounding unconcerned. His handsome face appeared somewhat solemn as he patted Ao Mingwan’s shoulder. “Marriage is an important event in one’s life. I’ve been waiting too many years for this.”
This time, even Ao Mingyu wanted to scold his uncle. What was the point of the wedding now that the bride had been kidnapped? Here he was, worrying that Ao Chenyi would find out about his involvement in the kidnapping, but it seemed that Ao Chenyi didn’t care at all. That suited him; his concern alone was enough. Although he couldn’t give her an official title, he would surely treat her well to compensate her.
Ao Chenyi’s gaze turned imperceptibly colder as he looked at his nephews’ conflicted expressions. The cold smile on his face made him look like a hungry and ferocious beast.
“Come and help me. I want to see my bride now,” he ordered Eunuch Zhu lazily. It wasn’t until he stood up that he noticed that his hair had yet to be combed. It seemed that aside from putting on the wedding robe, he hadn’t done anything of substance.
A group of servants came in, helping him wash up. When he sat down again, he finally found the free time to ask Ao Mingyu, “Which of my brides did someone fall for and kidnap?”
He looked like someone who was on the shore calmly watching a drowning person; it made Ao Mingyu deeply resentful of him.
Ao Mingyu’s expression had returned to its usual tranquility as he replied respectfully, “It’s Fifth Young Lady Ning. Her sedan was hijacked as soon as they left the manor.” Since his uncle was still so calm, there wasn’t any point for an “outsider” like him to panic. After all, they only came here to entertain the guests.
At that moment, a servant of the manor came running in and knelt in front of Ao Chenyi. “Your Highness, Commandery Princess Xianyun’s sedan has arrived. The auspicious hour is here as well. They’re inviting you to start the wedding.”
Commandery Princess Xianyun was the princess, so her wedding time was set a little earlier than Ning Xueyan. The auspicious time had arrived, so Ao Chenyi was invited to kick down the sedan’s door, welcome the bride, and start the wedding ceremony.
“Let them wait. I’m going to find my consort. How could I face others if I just let someone kidnap her?” Ao Chenyi said earnestly and stood up as if a realization had suddenly dawned on him. However, his inattentive expression had betrayed his true feelings.
“Uncle, I’ll go and take a look,” Ao Mingwan said, biding Ao Chenyi farewell. He couldn’t stay here any longer; he wanted to check the situation with the guards that he had brought over. Ning Xueyan might be far gone by the time his uncle finally did something.
“Uncle, I’ll take my leave as well.” Ao Mingyu had given up on his uncle as well. He followed Ao Mingwan out of the room. Either way, he had already relayed the letter; it was Ao Chenyi’s decision that counted from here on. In fact, he wished that Ao Chenyi disliked Ning Xueyan even more. That way, his men would be able to take her farther away without Ao Chenyi ever finding out.
Commandery Princess Xianyun’s marriage sedan stopped in front of Prince Yi’s Manor all by itself.
Commandery Princess Xianyun was crestfallen; she had stayed in the sedan for far too long, so long that the cheers that resounded when she had first arrived were gone.
Her mouth felt dry as she hadn’t had anything to drink the entire day, but she didn’t have much appetite despite her empty stomach. All she felt was a sense of melancholy, making her feel so uncomfortable that she wanted to yell.
The bright red veil before her eyes and the swaying golden and silver pearls in her hair symbolized her new status as a married woman. Most importantly, her groom was Prince Yi. However, why hadn’t he come and kick down the door to welcome her? Before leaving home, her mother had reminded her that the auspicious time was about to arrive and even ordered the sedan porters to increase their speed so as not to miss the timing and ruin her life.
What was happening? The auspicious hour had long passed and Prince Yi was still nowhere to be seen.
After staying in the sedan for God knows how long, the matron of honor knocked on the door and said softly, “His Highness is here!”
Before she could regain her composure, someone kicked the sedan door so hard that she nearly fell. She immediately grabbed the sides of the chair to stabilize herself. Her heart was racing and for a moment, she was filled with fear.
She instinctively grabbed the strip of red silk cloth that the matron of honor was handing her and borrowed the matron’s strength to get on her feet. The porters let down the sedan and the matron helped her step out. It was so quiet outside that she didn’t feel like they were celebrating a happy occasion.
She didn’t know why things would turn out this way. Shouldn’t happy occasions be celebrated with excitement?
The ceremony went on as it was supposed to. Of course, she was the only one who kowtowed during the husband-and-wife kneeling ritual. As a prince, Ao Chenyi couldn’t possibly kowtow to her.
He didn’t send her off to the bridal chamber either; it was two wedding matrons who helped her walk to the inner courtyard. No one would inconvenience Prince Yi with such a matter and he also wasn’t the kind to send Commandery Princess Xianyun to the bridal chamber properly.
Sitting on the spacious bed, all Commandery Princess Xianyun could see was still the red veil that prevented her from seeing her surroundings. Until the veil was removed, she had to sit still on the bed.
The wry smile on her face reflected her sadness. She neither knew what was going on outside nor when Prince Yi would come in. This wedding wasn’t at all joyous. She felt frustration building up inside her. Inexplicably, she gritted her teeth as the rim of her eyes turned as red as the veil that covered them.
“Commandery Princess… Princess, please get some rest. They’ve sent word that it’ll be a long time before His Highness will come here, so you may rest. Don’t tire yourself out,” her personal maid, Xiangrong said softly.
Commandery Princess Xianyun dragged the veil off her head with force, causing the golden and jade pearls to sway wildly as if trying to escape. Ultimately, the pearls landed on the red brocaded veil, scattered but still together.
“Princess, why are you… You should be careful.” Xiangrong and her fellow maid, Qiuhuan, were frightened.
Commandery Princess Xianyun straightened her aching back and looked at the pair of red candles in front of her. Half of the wax had already melted, leaving tear-like droplets around them. The sky outside had also darkened. She had been busy for nearly the whole day.
“What about… the other side?” Having stayed silent the entire day, Princess Commandery Xianyun’s voice appeared somewhat hoarse.
“The Consort’s side said that something was wrong, only to say that they were fine later. His Highness is personally checking on them.” Xiangrong didn’t dare to say that Prince Yi was still staying in Consort Ning’s place.
Earlier, when rumors were rife that Consort Ning’s marriage sedan had been hijacked the moment that they left the manor, Xiangrong had been overjoyed for her mistress. The fact that the prince was marrying both consorts at the same time was ridiculous in the first place. Look, even heaven was punishing Consort Ning for daring to marry the prince on the same day as her mistress.
After such a commotion on Consort Ning’s side, the kicking of Commandery Princess Xianyun’s sedan door was naturally delayed and she had to spent nearly four hours waiting outside the manor. It was said that Prince Yi had spent the time looking for his unwedded consort. Of course, Xiangrong and Qiuhuan dared not to tell her this.
There were both deferred and urgent matters. Although Ning Xueyan was a consort, it made sense for Prince Yi to search for her after she was kidnapped.
Still, there was no explanation as to what happened afterward…
