Time elapsed so quickly that Su Muge’s wedding day was arriving.
Since the Emperor granted the three marriages on the same day, Su Muge, Su Jingwen, and Meng Shushu would get married on the same day.
With two daughters marrying the princes at the same time, Su Mansion was greatly honored and had been busy early in the morning.
Concubine Hai was found pregnant not long ago, so Old Lady Su asked her to stop keeping the house and to intently nourish the fetus.
Since An was Su Jingwen’s biological mother, on her wedding day, Su Lun sent people to An Mansion to take An back.
Having been keeping the house for quite a while, Zhao could manage and organize everything in perfect order under such chaotic circumstances.
Only after dawn did Su Muge wake up, but she was unwilling to get up.
“Miss, come on, you can’t sleep late on your wedding day.”
Su Muge was pulled out of her quilt by Yueru and others. After taking a bath and burning incense, she was dressed up. Only then did she become a little soberer.
Su Muge opened her sour eyes and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She was stunned for a moment.
She … was to get married?
Without any struggle and resistance, she couldn’t believe that she was even a little bit… expectant?
With Su Muge’s previous request and Yueru’s repeated reminding, the makeup mama didn’t give Su Muge a heavy makeup.
After the foundation was put on, the birthmark in the corner of her eye was completely invisible. After careful nurturing in Su Mansion during this time, she had been much plumper and her cheeks were even more mellow and ruddy.
“Miss, you are so beautiful.”
“Miss, have something to eat; otherwise, you’ll be hungry in a while.”
Xinlan brought up a plate of steaming pastries.
Su Muge ate half of it.
After a while, the noise from outside became louder and louder. Xinche walked into the room while rubbing her hands and said with a smile, “Second Prince has come to pick up the second Miss. The King of Jin must be on his way.”
“Come on. Put on the headdress.”
“Miss, hold the apple.” Yueru put an apple into Su Muge’s hand.
With the sound of firecrackers, Su Muge could hear the movement of Su Jingwen.
She unconsciously tightened her hand holding the apple, trying to calm herself down.
Xia Houkun was the elder. Although he was marrying a concubine, it was understandable that he would come earlier.
But it was unexpected that Xia Houmo was so late that he missed the auspicious time!
The people waiting in the room became a little anxious.
“Maybe he had encountered some troubles on the way. He will come soon.” Seeing the downcast atmosphere, the wedding mama laughed to ease the embarrassment.
“Yes, Miss, are you hungry? Do you want to have something to eat?”
Having been full after eating the pastries, Su Muge had no appetite now. “No need.”
“I, I’ll go out to see if the King of Jin is here.”
The apple held by Su Muge was getting hotter and hotter, but her heart was gradually colder and colder.
“He is coming. The King of Jin is coming!”
After nearly two quarters, Xinche shouted excitedly in Peachblossom Courtyard.
“Come on, the Rani of Jin, hurry to go out with me.”
The wedding mama held Su Muge up, took her to the door, and carried her on her back.
With the joyful music in her ear, Su Muge could no longer cheer up.
“The bride gets on the bridal sedan chair.”
Su Muge was sent into the sedan chair. Since the auspicious time had been missed, she was even unable to say a word to Zhao before hurrying to Jin Mansion.
Sitting on the swaying sedan chair, Su Muge had completely calmed down.
Three princes got married at the same time, which was a great event for the people. Almost all the people in the city gathered around the street to observe the ceremony.
When the bridal sedan chair reached the gate of Jin Mansion, the wedding mama shouted again. “The groom kicks the sedan chair.”
With a bang, Su Muge almost fell out of the sedan chair.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and she heard a cold voice in her ear. “Come out.”
Su Muge kept her feet and got out of the sedan chair. The wedding mama found Xia Houmo had no intention to hold Su Muge’s hands, so she stepped forward with a smile and to put the red silk into Su Muge’s hands.
After performing the formal wedding ceremony, Su Muge was sent into the bridal chamber. The room was cold without even a brazier.
“Congratulations to the Rani of Jin.”
“Yueru.”
“Yes.”
Yueru stepped forward to put a heavy purse into the wedding mama’s hands. The wedding mama accepted it happily and went out to attend the wedding feast.
Su Muge brought Yueru, Xinlan, and Xinche as well as several maids and mamas that Zhao had prepared for her to Jin Mansion.
Jin Mansion was originally very empty, and no one would come to celebrate the wedding in the bridal chamber at this time. So, Su Muge, Yueru and others were left alone in the desolate bridal chamber.
Yueru couldn’t help being annoyed that Jin Mansion didn’t even send Su Muge some hot water.
“Miss … no, Your Grace, I’ll go to see if there is a brazier to keep you warm.” Su Muge was afraid of cold, which was known to them all.
“Okay.”
Su Muge put the apple in her hand on the table.
“Xinlan, take down the phoenix coronet on my head. My neck is almost broken.”
“Okay.”
Judging from Xia Houmo’s attitude today, he was much unlikely to come this night. Why would she torture herself?
“The people in Jin Mansion are too impersonal. I don’t believe there is no brazier!” Yueru, who went out for a brazier, entered the room with a sullen face.
“Sister Yueru, what’s wrong?” Xinlan asked.
Yueru went to ask for a brazier, but the people in Jin Mansion said that the King of Jin never used brazier in his room!
“How can there be no brazier in such a big mansion?!”
How could it be? When she came here to dress Xia Houmo’s wounds, there were two braziers in the room.
“Well, without brazier, there is always hot water.”
“I’ll go and ask.”
It was acceptable to have no brazier, but it would be intolerable to have no hot water.
When Yueru came in with hot water, Su Muge had taken off her wedding dress and put on a casual cotton gown.
“Your Grace, you …”
“Come on, help me remove the makeup on my face first.”
“Your Grace!” The King of Jin hadn’t come to uncover her headdress yet! She still had to put on the phoenix coronet after a while!
“Hurry up! These things make me so uncomfortable on my face.”
Yueru could only remove the rouge on her face.
She didn’t sleep well last night and got up too early this morning. Su Muge yawned and was a little sleepy. She lifted the quilt, swept the longan and lotus seeds on the bed to the ground, and lay down.
“Your Grace!”
Seeing that Su Muge was serious, Yueru and others were a little anxious. If the King of Jin came in and saw her like that, he would be mad!
“Hush, don’t make a noise. I’m sleepy. Let me sleep for a while.”
Su Muge thought that she couldn’t fall asleep easily. But after lying down, she felt even sleepier on the soft quilt and fell asleep quickly.
Yueru and others could only clear up the things on the ground and look at Su Muge helplessly who had fallen asleep in bed.
The door of the room was pushed open and a cold blast rushed in. Yueru and others looked back and saw Xia Houmo standing at the door in a wedding dress.
“Your, Your, Your Royal Highness, pay my respects to you.” Yueru raised her voice deliberately, hoping to wake up Su Muge on the bed. But she was disappointed. Su Muge was sound asleep!
Xia Houmo glanced at Su Muge lying in bed coldly.
“Your Royal Highness, please forgive our Miss … the Rani. She is too tired …”
“Go out.”
The cold voice made them shiver inexplicably.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness…” Yueru prayed for Su Muge silently in her heart and left.
Su Muge was sleeping soundly in the soft quilt. Suddenly, a cold air attacked her and she was instantly woken up.
She shrank her body subconsciously and opened her eyes in a trance.
“Xinlan, it’s so cold. Give me an extra quilt.”
In cold weather, she would feel more secure with thick quilts on her body.
Su Muge didn’t get a response for a while. She gradually became soberer and listened to the movements in the room. It was … so quiet! So scary!
Could it be…
Su Muge promptly sat up from the bed and suddenly met Xia Houmo’s cold eyes.
Xia Houmo was still wearing a dazzling wedding dress. She originally thought the bright color would be unsuitable for him, but she was wrong. Xia Houmo standing in front of her was so handsome that she couldn’t look away.
Under the candlelight, his flickering profile made her unable to move her eyes.
“Your Royal Highness … you’re here.”
Xia Houmo sat at the table, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it up.
“You feel so at ease that I don’t have to uncover your headdress.”
“I … didn’t expect you to come back so quickly.” She even didn’t expect that he would come!
Xia Houmo filled the glass, walked up to her, held her chin, and poured the wine into her mouth.
“Eh!”
A spicy and choking smell made Su Muge cough uncomfortably.
“Cough, cough, cough …”
It was different from the fruit wine used for banquets; it was the strongest liquor. After drinking the glass of wine, she felt her internal organs burning.
Su Muge pushed Xia Houmo’s hand away. Her mouth was full of the bitter taste of the liquor.
“You protest against me in this way to show that you don’t want to marry me?” Xia Houmo threw down the glass and sat down beside her.
Feeing the cold air on his body, she shivered inexplicably and wrapped herself in the quilt subconsciously.
Her reaction, in Xia Houmo’s opinion, was a resistance to him.
Xia Houmo’s dark eyes turned even darker.
Nobody would be happy to be rejected for marriage, not to mention the arrogant Xia Houmo. He must have hated her in his heart.
To explain?
Su Muge thought it unnecessary since Xia Houmo would never believe the truth in her mouth.
Su Muge’s silence made Xia Houmo even angrier. He reached out to pull her into his arms, rolled over, and pressed her…
