Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 52: Bridal Chamber
After the terrible experiences of the past two days, despite the noises all around her, Ye Youyu no longer had the impulse and longing she had when she was a young girl getting married. Her heart was filled with coldness and tranquility.
She was wearing a veil, went through the formalities of worshipping in the hall, and was then sent to Ritianju.
Although Ye Dalin promised that Ye Youyu could bring more servants with her for the wedding, in the end, Ye Youyu only decided to bring Dongxue and Changzi. The servants who would be accompanying the Third Young Lady were informed in advance, so Chunrui also arranged accommodation for Dongxue and Changzi. As for the level of treatment, it would have to wait for the Young Lady and Haoguan to discuss before deciding.
After welcoming the bride into the newly decorated Ritianju, Chunrui arranged Changzai in the outer room and left Dongxue inside to serve him, and then they all left.
Dongxue looked at the decoration of the bridal chamber and thought, "This decoration is suitable for the young lady's taste." She walked forward and asked, "Young lady, do you want to eat something or drink some water?"
Ye Youyu said from under the veil: "After tonight, you must change your words in front of others."
Dongxue reflected and thought, "Yes, if I bring the Ye family's title here, maybe the Wu family will be unhappy." She had just arrived here, and she had been behaving very carefully and properly all the way, for fear of making any mistakes and giving people a chance to talk about her.
The master and servant waited for the dragon and phoenix wedding candles until the big red candles were half burned, and then they heard several maids outside shouting, "Hao Guan."
Dongxue had been sitting crookedly on a chair. She stood up immediately after hearing the voice and waited at the door. Then she saw Wu Chengjian come in dressed in festive attire, with a drunken look on his face. Dongxue bowed quickly and said, "Sir."
Wu Chengjian hummed, the sound was yangping, Wu Qi, who was helping Wu Chengjian in, snorted, and Dongxue quickly changed the topic: "Hao Guan."
Wu Qi had already helped Wu Chengjian inside. Wu Chengjian waved his hand and said, "Everyone go out. I'm not drunk."
Dongxue thought to herself: "If he says he's not drunk, he must be drunk." But she didn't dare to disobey, so she followed Wu Qi out.
After Wu Qi came out, he said to Chun Rui, "It's not my business to manage maids, but there are some rules. You have to talk to people about them later."
Chunrui knew that this was directed at Dongxue, so she agreed.
Dong Xue's heart skipped a beat, and she thought to herself, "He's using me to establish his authority. I've always heard that Wu Qi is the most trusted confidant of Hao Guan, and it's true."
Before she finished her thought, she heard someone chuckle, "What rules? Our Zuoyuan, oh, no, it's called Ritianju now - why does this name always feel weird... What did I say? Ah, when did we have any rules in Ritianju? The young master himself said that in our room, no rules are the rules, hehe."
Dongxue was very surprised and couldn't help looking up. She saw a beautiful maid covering her mouth with a handkerchief and laughing. Wu Qi was embarrassed by her retort in public, but he didn't get angry. Dongxue thought to herself, "Who is this?"
Then Chun Rui scolded with a stern face: "Xia Qing, what are you talking about!"
Xia Qing pursed her lips and said, "I know. You just want to establish your authority in front of the newcomers. But why bother? Can't you just live your life as usual? You have to do this. Living in the same courtyard , they are uncomfortable. How can we be comfortable ourselves?"
After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving Wu Qichunrui there. It was really unruly.
Dongxue looked a little dazed, wondering if this maid had a special status, or if there were really no rules in Hao Guan's room?
The situation was a little awkward for a moment, and Wu Qi didn't want to stay any longer, so he came out.
Ritianju is much larger than the left courtyard of the Xiguan mansion. There are seven or eight rooms of different sizes for the maids to live in, and four side rooms on the left and right outside for the servants to live in. After Wu Qi came out, he saw the servants standing in two rows waiting there - now that Haoguan's young lady has finally married, after tonight, the rules of Ritianju may have to be adjusted, so the servants all came to wait for Wu Qi to speak.
Wu Qi glanced and saw Changzi, and sneered: "Okay, I'll let you follow me anyway."
Changzi smiled and stammered, "Seventh Brother. In the past, because of Third Young Lady, Grandma, I have offended you a lot. Please don't be offended. From now on, I, I, I will listen to Seventh Brother."
Although Wu Qi didn't like him, he had followed Wu Chengjian since he was a child, so he knew the importance of things. He also saw that although he stuttered, he spoke obediently and well, so he didn't bother with him at this time. He just said, "Since you followed the Third Young Lady here, you are a member of the Wu family, a member of Ritianju, and a member of Haoguan. Slowly get familiar with the rules here and do your job well. I, Brother Qi, will forgive those bullshit things that happened in the past."
Changzi was overjoyed and said, "Yes, yes! Thank you, Brother Qiqiqiqi."
He stuttered so badly that the servants beside him all laughed. Wu Qi said angrily, "He stuttered on his own will? What are you laughing at! Today is the day of Hao Guan's great joy, so I will let you off. If anyone dares to make fun of him in the future, I will slap him in the face if he laughs!"
All the servants fell silent at once, and Changzi looked at Wu Qi with a look of true obedience.
Wu Qi waved his hand and said, "Let's all go. Changzi's share will be determined tomorrow based on what Haoguan and the Third Young Lady think. Leave two to keep watch, and the rest can go to sleep."
All the servants responded in unison.
Outside the bridal chamber, the maids and servants were all preoccupied with their own concerns. Inside the bridal chamber, Ye Youyu remained calm and motionless. Because it was so quiet, she could only hear a few words from Wu Qi and Chun Rui outside the door. After Xia Qing spoke, Wu Chengjian laughed twice, and it seemed that he was not offended at all. Ye Youyu thought to herself, "The one who dares to laugh in public at this time is probably his favorite maid."
Then he saw a pair of boots approaching. Ye Youyu thought his heart had cooled down, but somehow, he still held his breath when he saw the boots approaching.
A lucky pillar lifted the veil, and the bride and groom finally met under the candlelight.
Ye Youyu looked up at Wu Chengjian, feeling dazed for a moment. This person, this face... He had been haunting her for so many years, and now he was finally her husband. This was something she had never dared to think about before, but now she felt complicated instead of happy, like a sauce stand collapsing, with sourness, danger, and bitterness all mixed together.
Wu Chengjian looked down at Ye Youyu, not knowing whether it was because of the alcohol, but his mind was slightly shaken. He thought to himself, "Such a pretty and smart daughter, Ye Dalin actually favors Ye Haocai. He is really blind." He also saw that although she was wearing heavy makeup, she still couldn't hide the fact that her face was obviously much thinner than the last time they met. It was obvious that she had been tortured during this period. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her and thought to himself, "It's hard for her."
However, when he opened his mouth, he said, "It's really beautiful. This business is worth it."
When Ye Youyu heard the word "business", her heart suddenly became blocked for no reason. Her complicated feelings were swept away, and her whole state of mind returned to calm. She raised her eyelids and saw Wu Chengjian's face flushed, with spring in the corners of his mouth and the smell of alcohol coming out of his mouth. She smiled and said, "Yes, with the help of Hao Guan's power, we both made money."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "You still call me Haoguan!" He leaned over and whispered in Ye Youyu's ear, "I will be your husband from now on."
Ye Youyu stood up, and quietly stood three feet away from Wu Chengjian, and said with great respect, "Good luck to my husband."
Wu Chengjian fell down and sat on the bed, laughing, "What are you doing?"
Ye Youyu said: "This is called treating each other with respect, and treating each other with respect."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "The idiom 'treat each other with respect as if they were guests' is nonsense. If a couple treats each other like guests, then they are outsiders, right?"
Ye Youyu said, "If it were a normal couple, it would be ridiculous, but if it were between us, wouldn't it be just right?"
Wu Chengjian narrowed his eyes slightly. He had a good alcohol tolerance and was experienced in the entertainment industry. Even when he was half drunk, he could still think. He immediately understood what Ye Youyu meant and said with a smile, "Okay, we are all smart people. Let's take advantage of today's wedding night to get things straight."
When Ye Youyu heard the words "wedding night", she couldn't help but feel a little sad. How could she talk about it openly on such a beautiful day? However, she didn't show any trace of sadness on her face, and said, "Hao Guan, didn't we originally plan to take me as a concubine? Why did I become your legal wife?"
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Whether you are a concubine or a wife, as long as you get married, your virginity will definitely be gone, so is there any difference? If there is any difference, it is better to be a wife than a concubine, right?"
Ye Youyu said, "I can sell it. Then according to our agreement, I can get out of it in a few years."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "You can also divorce your wife. And if you marry for the first time, you must obey your father, and if you marry for the second time, you must obey yourself. That way, not only can you take away some property, but even Ye Dalin can't control you anymore."
Ye Youyu was slightly startled when he heard this, and then he said, "So, it was me who took advantage."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Of course, I, Hao Guan, am not only fair in doing business, but also honest."
Ye Youyu chuckled twice, but did not comment, saying: "Why did the Hao official give me this advantage? Please explain clearly. There are usually traps in inexplicable advantages. Cai Shiwen is a lesson not far away, and Xie Yuanli died with his eyes open. I dare not take advantage of the Hao official."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "If I say that I like you, think you are good-looking, and actually like you a little bit in my heart, so I simply give you a higher status and make you my principal wife, do you believe it?"
Ye Youyu said, "I don't believe it."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Actually, there is someone in my heart. Do you know this?"
Ye Youyu asked, "Is that the one on the Huachai ?"
Wu Chengjian said, "But because of her background, my current situation, and... in short, I can't marry her. But if I don't get married, my family, my clan, my business, my relatives, my friends, my superiors, and my subordinates will definitely keep bothering me about this issue. I didn't want to harm other girls because of my own concerns, but you just happened to put forward that condition yourself. However, taking you as a concubine will be of no use to me, but marrying you as a wife will shut them up. So this matter is convenient for both you and me."
"So that's how it is. This reason is reasonable." Ye Youyu said, "It's just that being a concubine is not so bad. Haoguan will find a small courtyard for me, and I can just close the door and live my own life without any hindrance. But being a wife will cause a lot of troubles."
Wu Chengjian said, "Of course, being a concubine is easy, just entertaining people with your beauty. But as my principal wife, the Third Young Lady of the Wu family, you have to act according to the Third Young Lady's rules, and you have to shoulder all the responsibilities that the Third Young Lady should shoulder."
Ye Youyu said: "Wouldn't it be a big loss for me?"
"If you just want to get out of this mess, then being my concubine is enough, but you want more than that, right?" Wu Chengjian said, "It would be difficult to protect the Sixth Concubine of the Ye Family for her whole life with just a concubine of Yihe and Xing Haoguan. It would be even more difficult to make your mother happy and respectable in the Ye Family."
Ye Youyu was silent.
Wu Chengjian said, "But the Third Young Madam of the Wu family is different. I give you the burden, and I will give you the corresponding authority and respect. I will not give you less than a penny of what the Third Young Madam deserves. With this authority and respect, you should be able to accomplish many things you want. Is this fair?"
"Fair, very fair. Let's just stay like this from now on." Ye Youyu bowed again and said, "Officer Hao, we have a pleasant cooperation."
Seeing her frail posture when she bowed, Wu Chengjian's drunken heart suddenly became agitated, and he suddenly stretched out his hand, and Ye Youyu was pulled into his arms by Wu Chengjian.
Ye Youyu was shocked: "Hao Guan... what are you doing!"
Wu Chengjian touched her face and said with a hint of alcohol, "The rite of Zhou Gong, to continue the family line, these two things should also be the responsibility of the Third Young Lady, right? Madam, how about... let's perform the ceremony."
After hearing what Wu Chengjian said, Ye Youyu was speechless for a moment. However, no matter how she thought about it, she seemed to have no reason to refuse. Besides, she had been mentally prepared for this matter before she got married, so she closed her eyes and nodded.
