"Have you heard about my second brother's affairs?" Huangfu Yu asked in a low voice, then stared at him intently, scrutinizing every single expression.
Nan Xuzong met his eyes. He looked at him, thinking that if he wanted to examine him, he would have to ask if he was willing to be tested! "Sixth Prince's meaning is beyond my understanding, Xuzong is clumsy." Nan Xuzong looked at him with curiosity.
Huangfu Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not afraid to speak frankly to Prince Nan. I don't know why, but Mother asked me to take advantage of the day that Second Young Master Nan is marrying a concubine to search for Second Prince's whereabouts." The people around were very noisy and wouldn't notice what the two of them were talking about. If you looked from a distance, you would still think that the two of them were just talking.
Nan Xuzong looked at him with surprise. "You mean, the Second Prince has disappeared?"
Huangfu Yu looked at his expression, his eyes revealing surprise, but he knew the occasion, so he kept his voice low and didn't let anyone know about their conversation.
Huangfu Yu said, "I don't know, maybe my second brother is hiding somewhere laughing! Hehe, never mind, let's drink!" He raised his wine cup as he spoke. Nan Xuzong was slightly surprised, then seemed to give up, raised his wine cup, clinked it with his, and drank.
Ji Wushang looked towards Nan Xuzong's side and saw that Nan Xuzong and Huangfuyu seemed to be drinking together amicably, so he ignored them and went to the side of the road to call Hongfei and Cuiwu over, and also asked Zhu'er and Xian'er to come. The four maids obediently went to do their work.
Just then, another burst of firecrackers sounded outside the door. Everyone around immediately stopped what they were doing, stood in their positions, looked outside, and waited for Nan Jinxue to carry the bride in.
As a woman of the Marquis of Jinnan's household, Ji Wushang naturally stood with her sisters-in-law, including Aunt Leng, Aunt Jin, Nan Xianxian, and Nan Zhaoxue.
As Nan Xianxian watched Ji Wushang approach, he stumbled and bumped into her clothes. Nan Xianxian immediately dodged away, asking, "What are you doing?"
"Oh? What are you saying about me?" Ji Wushang steadied himself. "Your clothes are a bit dirty, look." As he spoke, Ji Wushang pointed to a stain under her skirt, which made the originally gorgeous pink robe look ugly and dirty.
If anyone saw this, they'd laugh themselves to death! A concubine's daughter from a noble family should be pampered, so why would she come out wearing such dirty clothes?
"How could this be? I... I checked it when I came out, and there's nothing dirty. This dress is very pretty!" Nan Xianxian was a little anxious, but it was impossible to go back inside to change her clothes... What should she do?
Ji Wushang looked at her, "It's just a little bit, wipe it with a handkerchief and see." As she spoke, she was about to take out her silk handkerchief when Aunt Jin immediately pulled Nan Xianxian aside, "How could you be so careless? Let Aunt Jin take a look."
Ji Wushang smiled, put away her silk handkerchief, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. She had kindly given her a chance, but the girl herself did not appreciate it, so she could not be blamed.
Aunt Jin thought it looked like some dust, so she quickly used her silk handkerchief to wipe it. Sure enough, it looked a bit cleaner, and Nan Xianxian breathed a sigh of relief.
Nan Jinxue dismounted in front of the gate, then turned around and walked to the sedan chair. After kicking the sedan chair, he carried Zhao Yirou on his back and walked towards the main hall.
Zhao Yirou leaned against this warm body, feeling the broad shoulders, and her heart was still slightly touched. However, Nan Jinxue's heart did not flutter at all; it was just a routine matter, without the slightest tenderness.
Everyone in the main hall turned their attention to them. Because Nan Jinxue was marrying a concubine, while the rules for concubines weren't as strict, there were still some procedures. Upon entering the house, the groom still had to carry the bride across the brazier. When Ji Wushang and Nan Xuzong got married, this procedure wasn't performed because Nan Xuzong had difficulty walking.
For Nan Jinxue, carrying Zhao Yirou on her back, crossing the fire pit was naturally a very simple task.
Looking at this scene, Nan Xianxian couldn't help but feel that the bride being carried was herself, while she imagined the person carrying her was the Sixth Prince, Huangfu Yu.
Ji Wushang glanced at Nan Xianxian's dreamy eyes, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Go forward, go forward!"
At this moment, Nan Xianxian felt that she didn't know why she had to walk up. The people around her watched Nan Xianxian go forward and didn't know what she was thinking. However, Aunt Jin was too late to stop her because Nan Xianxian had already walked to the other side.
Nan Jinxue carried Zhao Yirou across the brazier and walked into the hall to perform the Heaven and Earth Ceremony. But at that moment, Nan Xianxian stepped forward and slapped Zhao Yirou across the red veil, yelling, "You slut, you don't deserve to marry him!"
Everyone around was shocked. Zhao Yirou covered her face in surprise, her red veil flying off after being fanned by Nan Xianxian!
Nan Jinxue exclaimed in surprise, "Xian'er!"
"Brother, don't marry her!" Nan Xianxian glanced coldly at Nan Jinxue. "A woman who is so unfaithful and abandoned her chastity before marriage, does she really think she can marry into our Marquis's mansion? It's wishful thinking!" Nan Xianxian pointed at Zhao Yirou and blurted out these words in a very fast-paced manner, leaving everyone's jaws dropping to the ground!
Zhao Yirou isn't a chaste woman? Then why would the second young master of the Marquis's mansion marry such an unchaste and impure woman?
The Minister slammed his hand on the table and stood up from his high seat, shouting, "Insolence!"
"Am I lying? What, Miss Zhao, are you afraid to speak? You filthy woman!" Nan Xianxian was furious, demanding an explanation in a sharp voice, "If you want to marry into our Marquis's mansion today, you'll have to ask us if we agree!"
"Nan Xianxian!" Nan Jinxue gritted her teeth, the three words seeming to burst from between her teeth. Everyone around was staring at the group, never expecting that there was something fishy about this marriage! Judging from the looks of it, it seems that the Minister of State coerced and bribed the Second Young Master Nan into marrying her?
Nan Xuzong's face twitched. This Nan Xianxian was really ruthless, actually causing a scene at the wedding hall... Nan Xuzong looked at Ji Wushang, who was expressionless, as if she already knew everything. Nan Xuzong thought for a moment. Just now, she walked over, and then... Hehe, this little woman, wonderful, wonderful!
At this moment, the Marquis immediately gestured to Aunt Jin, who was standing to the side, and then said with a smile, "Lord Zhao, it was Xian'er who got drunk. It was my wife's fault for not disciplining her properly. I'm sorry to have made you all laugh at me!"
"What? I'm drunk? I'm not drunk! I'm perfectly sober!" Nan Xianxian sneered. "Zhao Yirou, you know perfectly well what you've done! I thought you were a very upright person! I never imagined that you were thinking of choosing a husband for your tattered body, and you just happened to fall in love with my second brother. So you used the excuse of giving gifts and asking for lodging to come here. I never imagined that you would scheme against my second brother that night, trying every means to make him take responsibility for you! How can a woman as unchaste and impure as you be worthy of entering the gates of our Marquis's mansion!" Nan Xianxian was being pulled by Aunt Jin, but Aunt Jin was, after all, a bit older, while Nan Xianxian was in a state of frenzied excitement, so naturally Nan Xianxian's strength had the upper hand.
Zhao Yirou was furious. "What kind of 'good concubine's daughter' are you! You're always framing the people in this household. Don't think I'm an outsider and don't know. You're incredibly ambitious and only want to become the mistress of this Marquis's mansion! Did you marry into the Marquis's mansion because you were afraid I would harm you? You're the shameless one! I'm innocent! Don't try to slander me!" Zhao Yirou immediately knelt down before the Minister, crying, "Grandpa! Waaah!"
"Lord Jinnan, you've certainly given birth to a fine daughter!" Minister Zhao coldly stared at the Marquis of Jinnan, who felt utterly bewildered. Looking around at the people whispering amongst themselves, was there any point in continuing the marriage?
"Nan Xianxian, get out!" Nan Jinxue knew the seriousness of the situation. If she continued to make a scene like this today, everyone would be convinced that Zhao Yirou was not innocent. For such a woman of questionable character to marry him would be a humiliation. For a man of status to marry such a "broken shoe" as a concubine would surely lead everyone to suspect that Nan Jinxue was incompetent and needed to climb the social ladder by marrying into the Ministry of Rites!
The Marquis of Jinnan's mansion and Minister Zhao's mansion will immediately become adversaries. Even if Zhao Yirou marries him, she will still harbor resentment! When that happens, the news will spread to every corner of the capital, and things will become even more complicated!
Everyone viewed this marriage with various motives. Unexpectedly, what was originally a small matter—the second son of a marquis marrying a concubine—caused such a huge uproar. Although the matter was small, it reflected the struggle between the forces behind it.
Nan Xianxian was also furious at this moment, "Second brother, you don't need to worry so much. She's not a virgin, why do you want to marry a woman like that!"
"Smack!" Nan Jinxue stepped forward and slapped Nan Xianxian to the ground. "Get out!" Aunt Jin was genuinely surprised. "Second Young Master, please speak properly. How could you be so heartless as to push Xian'er down!" She quickly helped Nan Xianxian up, but Nan Xianxian had already fainted on the ground. Aunt Jin was even more furious. "Xian'er has fainted!"
"Hurry up and send her back to her courtyard!" Marquis Jinnan was practically spitting blood. What were these people doing?! Had they all taken the wrong medicine?
Nan Jinxue sneered, "She slandered my bride, how can I easily forgive her!"
Zhao Yirou was slightly satisfied after hearing this, but when she saw the gazes of the people around her, they were all looking at her with strange or scrutinizing eyes, which made her feel like she was being pricked by thorns!
Nan Xianxian, I will make sure you live a miserable life! If I, Zhao Yirou, do not avenge this, I swear I will not be a human being!
Aunt Jin suppressed her anger. "Nan Jinxue, you have guts! You actually slapped your own sister to the ground for a slut! How could you do such a thing! One day, I will make you regret it! Zhao Yirou, you wait, Xian'er is telling the truth. There will come a day when everyone will know that you are a woman who has lost her chastity, a woman who sleeps with anyone!"
"Hurry up and get down!" Seeing Zhao Shangshu's expression, Marquis Jinnan quickly told Aunt Leng, Nan Zhaoxue, and Ji Wushang, who were standing there dumbfounded, to come forward and pull the person back into the courtyard.
Ji Wushang quickly stepped forward, "Auntie, let's go to the side first. The Third Miss will definitely be alright." Several maids also quickly helped Nan Xianxian back. Aunt Jin waited coldly for Nan Jinxue and Zhao Yirou, and finally returned to the inner courtyard.
Aunt Leng was secretly delighted by the scene. She hoped that things would get chaotic so she could get around to doing other things!
Once Ji Wushang saw that things were almost settled, he quickly told the matchmaker to get the newlyweds to complete the wedding ceremony.
The farce ended just like that, but its impact was far-reaching.
Within a few days, everyone in the capital knew about this incident. Although it was uncertain whether Zhao Yirou was a virgin or not, it would certainly have some impact on her reputation, and naturally, the Zhao Minister's residence would be perceived as tainted...
That's a story for later, let's not talk about it now.
As night fell, the bright red candles were lit. Nan Jinxue was a little drunk, and his cronies kept pouring wine into his mouth. He didn't refuse, wanting people to know that he, the Second Young Master Nan, could show off his nobility and power by drinking more.
The Marquis was chatting animatedly with those high-ranking officials and ministers, naturally not caring about so many other people's business.
Ji Wushang had been working tirelessly all day, taking care of the guests and ordering the servants around. Nan Xuzong felt sorry for her. Being the mistress of the house was too exhausting; it would be better to let someone else do the work so that Ji Wushang could have time to rest.
But in the end, he sighed. What he feared most was that once she wasn't busy, she would hibernate again, just like she was in the carriage, as if her blood had stopped flowing... Compared to that, he would rather stimulate all her fighting spirit, all her senses and interests, than let her lie tightly in his arms and slowly disappear...
Nan Xuzong was slightly flustered. At this moment, Huangfu Yu came over with two wine cups and a pot of wine. "I didn't see Prince Nan drink much today. Is something on your mind?"
"Hehe, Sixth Prince, drinking is about moderation and state of mind. Moderation is key, there's no need to drink too much. As for the state of mind, without her, how can I enjoy drinking?" As she spoke, she made no attempt to hide her doting and longing for Ji Wushang, her eyes turning to the busy figure.
Huangfu Yu followed his gaze to Ji Wushang, who was instructing several maids to clean up the table after the guests left and to have someone add more dishes and wine to the Marquis's table.
Huangfu Yu was slightly taken aback. What a virtuous wife and loving mother! No wonder the Prince of Nan dotes on her so much. A woman like this can at least hold up half the sky!
"Then Prince Nan will drink with me?" Huangfu Yu raised the wine cup in front of him, sat opposite Nan Xuzong, and filled the cup to his own capacity.
Nan Xuzong glanced at Huangfu Yu, "Sixth Prince, you should return to the palace as soon as possible." Nan Xuzong didn't forget to remind him, "There are many things that will probably require your attention, Sixth Prince." He still needed to report Huangfu Ting's matter to Empress Yao!
Huangfu Yu listened and recalled, "Hehe, good, good!" After saying that, he put down the wine cup and wine pot, and walked out with a smile.
Ji Wushang watched from a distance, thought for a moment, and decided not to see him off. Instead, he called his second uncle, Nan Aoyu, who was standing nearby, to see him off. Nan Aoyu would never refuse such a request.
Sure enough, Nan Aoyu happily went forward to see Huangfuyu off.
Huangfu Yu looked at him with a cold tone, and when they reached the door, he refused to let him see him off and went straight back to the palace.
Nan Aoyu felt frustrated and said, "I must seize the opportunity in the future!"
Ji Wushang looked at the sky outside; it was already Hai Shi (9-11 PM)... It was time to disperse! Ji Wushang noticed that Nan Xuzong was still looking at him with gentle eyes, so he walked to his side. "Why don't you go back first? It's getting cold. I need to move around a bit to keep warm. You've been sitting here the whole time; you should be careful not to get too cold." As he spoke, Ji Wushang sat down slightly in front of him, looking into his dark eyes.
Nan Xuzong smiled and said, "I'll be waiting for you. It won't be cold."
"I have a little something to take care of, then I'll head back. If you can't wait, you can go back first." Ji Wushang's eyes looked a little strange, and Nan Xuzong could tell what was going on just by looking at him. "You should be careful."
"Don't worry." Ji Wushang smiled. Hadn't no one noticed what he'd just done? What a great performance!
When Nan Xianxian wakes up, things will get even more interesting. Zhao Yirou will be the first to target her. Tsk tsk, it's really messy. Watching such a show makes me feel pretty good!
Nan Xuzong nodded. "I'll wait for you here."
"Okay." Ji Wushang stood up, but Nan Xuzong immediately pulled her hand and drew her into his arms. Ji Wushang was slightly surprised, "Zong, someone's watching!"
"No." Nan Xuzong smiled and kissed her lips, his eyes burning with intense desire.
Ji Wushang broke free; this was the main hall! Although everyone was pretty drunk, it would be a laughing stock if others saw them behaving so inappropriately.
Nan Xuzong watched her leave with a smile, thinking to himself, "Three days already, I've endured it for too long!"
But seeing how tired she was, and how busy she still was, my heart ached. If I were to push her too hard later, would she be able to handle it?
Nan Xuzong was a little depressed.
Ji Wushang looked at the pot of wine that the maid had brought over and walked up to it. "What's this?"
"Your Highness, this is wine for the Second Young Master," the maid said.
"Let me see." Ji Wushang said, slightly rolling up her sleeves and reaching forward to uncover the wine. The maid, of course, didn't know what she was doing and thought she was just checking the wine. The medicinal powder under Ji Wushang's fingernails had already fallen into the wine.
Ji Wushang examined it carefully. "Hmm, this wine smells quite good. Just a little bit is enough for the Second Young Master."
"Yes." The maid breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ji Wushang had checked and found no problems. "Yes." She immediately took it to Nan Jinxue's direction.
Ji Wushang escorted the drunken guests back to their respective residences. During this time, it was clear that Nan Jinxue drank the wine, while most of his drinking buddies had already passed out, and those who hadn't fallen out couldn't even hold their wine glasses.
"Someone, help the second young master into the bridal chamber!" Ji Wushang ordered, then commanded the others to quickly send the rest away.
Ji Wushang sent a maid to invite Aunt Leng over, and Aunt Leng was very happy to help the Marquis back to her own courtyard.
Ji Wushang found it all amusing. He wondered what their expressions were when they knew he was infertile yet still tried so hard to take advantage of the Marquis. He hadn't forgotten that delicious meal! This was all their own fault!
Nan Jinxue was helped into Yuxue Garden by her maid.
At this time, Yu Xue Garden was divided into east and west sides. The east side was where Ji Yinxue lived, and the west side was where Zhao Yirou lived. The annex was the residence of the two maids, Youlan and Shuipei.
After Nan Jinxue was helped into Yuxue Garden by her maid, who was Ji Wushang's person, she naturally listened to her and left quickly after helping Nan Jinxue to the courtyard.
Nan Jinxue was completely disoriented at this point, utterly drunk. She turned around, pointed to the east, and asked, "This is... the bridal chamber?"
She turned around again, "No, I'm wrong, I'm wrong!" She waved her fingers, "No! This is the west, the bridal chamber!"
He stared blankly for a long time, then turned to look at the room to the east. "This is it!" he exclaimed, and stumbled inside.
Ji Yinxue's revelation that she was not pregnant this morning was not immediately told to the rest of the household, so not many people know about it yet. Now, the Marquis, who is aware of the matter, is drunk and has naturally forgotten about it.
Zhao Yirou had been waiting in the new house for a long time, but Nan Jinxue hadn't come. She couldn't help but feel resentful. She thought to herself, "Could it be that he really thinks I schemed against him?" But to be honest, she was the one scheming against Nan Xuzong, not him. She was the one who was schemed against and that's why she gave herself to him!
After a long while, Zhao Yirou finally couldn't hold back any longer and lifted her red wedding veil. Damn it, what happened during the day had made her furious. Before even having the wedding ceremony, Nan Xianxian had slapped her across the face? And she'd even knocked her red wedding veil off! This was extremely unlucky! If she was unhappy in her marriage, she would definitely make Nan Xianxian pay!
Nan Jinxue entered the "new house" and found a woman lying motionless on the bed!
Nan Jinxue was immediately overcome by the effects of the alcohol, which, combined with the stimulant drug Ji Wushang had given him, made him instantly furious. "You bitch! You actually went to sleep first?!" he shouted, and immediately stepped forward to grab Ji Yinxue's collar.