The man Jiang Qiao had described as “having eyes but failing to see” was adorned with flowers and dressed in red, sitting upright on horseback with a smile on his lips. His tall, slender figure was somewhat pale, but by the aesthetic standards of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he was considered a rare beauty among men.
Jiang Qiao tilted her head and stared for a good while, unable to find any flaw in his appearance. She could only say resentfully, “I knew he’d be this type of useless pretty boy.”
Jiang Si was amused: “Third Sister, you’re mistaken. Many people are now praising the touching love story between Third Young Master Ji and the commoner girl. I heard someone even wrote a popular novel based on their story.”
Jiang Qiao’s expression turned strange. After holding back for a while, she said, “I’ve read it. Whoever wrote that novel must be out of their mind. Fourth Sister, you shouldn’t pay any attention to it.”
She thought to herself, it must have been written by some poor scholar who randomly made things up. They even portrayed their Earl of Dongping’s family as the evil force preventing true lovers from being together, and even wrote that despite breaking off the engagement, Fourth Sister still couldn’t forget that good-for-nothing Third Young Master of the Duke An’s family.
Although the characters in the novel had different names, anyone could easily figure out who they were based on.
It was infuriating.
Come to think of it, it was because Fourth Sister had gotten caught up in such an annoying situation that whenever Jiang Qiao saw her now, she felt somewhat sorry for her. She couldn’t bring herself to bicker with her as they used to.
“I’ve read that novel. It’s written quite intricately,” Jiang Si said. At this moment, thinking of Ji Chongyi, she felt no ripples in her heart.
She had never had feelings for that man, even in her previous life. Before marriage, her longing for him had only stemmed from vanity.
Now that she had completely let them be together, she only hoped they would remain true to each other so that hundreds or thousands of years later, they might truly leave behind a beautiful story for future generations.
“Fourth Sister, you don’t mind?” Jiang Qiao’s gaze followed the approaching procession.
“Why should I mind about someone who has nothing to do with me?” Seeing Jiang Qiao watching intently, and with nothing else to do while their carriage waited by the roadside, Jiang Si decided to join her in watching.
Jiang Qiao wasn’t one to be overly sentimental. Seeing Jiang Si’s attitude, she felt relieved and started discussing with her: “Fourth Sister, do you think all men who look like the Third Young Master of Duke An’s family are inconsistent in their words and actions?”
“Why do you say that?”
Jiang Qiao sneered, “Isn’t the Heir of Marquis Changxing also of this type?”
Jiang Si took a careful look at Ji Chongyi, who was now close by in his red wedding attire, and gave a fair assessment: “The Heir of Marquis Changxing leans more towards the effeminate side, while Third Young Master Ji’s eyes appear much more upright.”
Jiang Qiao looked at Jiang Si in surprise, muttering, “Fourth Sister, you are—”
For a moment, Jiang Qiao didn’t know what to say.
Perhaps by coincidence, Ji Chongyi, sitting on his tall horse, happened to glance in their direction.
The streets were crowded with spectators on both sides, and many carriages were waiting by the roadside due to the blocked path. Yet, Ji Chongyi’s casual glance happened to fall on this particular green-curtained carriage.
A jade-like hand lifted the carriage curtain, revealing a young lady inside who was looking out the window with an indifferent gaze, her beauty unparalleled.
Ji Chongyi, in his red wedding attire, was momentarily stunned as his horse carried him forward.
The girl he had just seen was truly beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen in his life.
As a normal man, Ji Chongyi couldn’t help but have this thought flash through his mind. Of course, beyond this brief admiration, there was nothing more. His heart was quickly filled again with the joy of soon being married to his beloved.
This was just like most people’s thoughts: no matter how beautiful the scenery by the roadside, it doesn’t belong to you. Once seen, it’s just seen.
But at this moment, an unexpected event occurred.
A black and yellow whirlwind swept through the crowd. Before anyone could react, it had bitten… the tall horse’s behind.
Even though the horse chosen for the wedding procession was naturally of a gentle temperament, no horse could endure such a bite on its backside. The stallion immediately reared up on its hind legs.
Poor Ji Chongyi, who had been feeling proud and content, was caught off guard by this sudden change. He flew off like a bright shooting star.
Screams immediately erupted from all around.
Fortunately, there were many people in the wedding procession and even more spectators. The airborne Ji Chongyi was caught by the onlookers.
Jiang Qiao was dumbfounded: “Fourth Sister, someone’s trying to snatch the bride!”
Jiang Si was equally stunned. After a moment, she said, “It’s not bride snatching, it should be… causing trouble…”
What was Erniu doing?
As if sensing Jiang Si’s thoughts about his motives, the big dog looked towards the carriage, proudly shaking its fur.
People finally saw clearly that the culprit behind this incident was a large dog.
“Quick, kill this mad dog!” shouted a guard from the wedding procession.
Someone who knew the customs called out, “We can’t kill it! It’s not auspicious to see blood on a joyous day. Just chase the beast away!”
The horse, still in pain and kicking its legs, thought to itself, “… Isn’t the blood on my backside still blood?”
Several guards immediately moved to surround the big dog.
Jiang Qiao, nervous, tugged at Jiang Si’s sleeve: “This is bad, the dog is in trouble!”
Jiang Si: “…”
What’s with Third Sister’s concerned tone for Erniu?
“Let… let it go…” Ji Chongyi stood up, his face dark.
Falling off a horse because of a dog during his wedding procession was too embarrassing. In this situation, leaving quickly would be best. Did they need to have a big fight with this dog?
Unfortunately, while the groom had thoughts of letting the matter rest, the big dog had other ideas.
The dog leaped through a gap in the encirclement, snatched the groom’s ceremonial hat in its mouth, and took off running.
The spectators were so shocked by the dog’s audacity that no one thought to stop it. After a while, looking at the groom’s bald head, they burst into laughter.
Ji Chongyi’s face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Along with his anger, he felt a sense of bewilderment.
These days, all he heard were his father’s scolding and his mother’s sighs, along with the dissatisfied looks from his brothers and sisters, even though they didn’t say anything directly.
The home was still his home, but in his eyes, it had gradually become unfamiliar. The pervasive oppression brought by that unfamiliarity had almost driven him mad.
He had been constantly comforting himself, thinking that if he could just hold on until the wedding, everything would be fine. In the future, if he studied hard and achieved something, who would still criticize him for marrying a commoner?
But he never imagined that the joyous event he had been looking forward to would be marred because of a dog.
He was probably the most embarrassed groom ever!
“Third Young Master, please mount the horse again,” the steward brought another horse, advising in a low voice.
Ji Chongyi nodded reluctantly and silently mounted the horse. As the procession became lively again, with wedding money and sweets being thrown about, the festive sound of the suona in his ears had lost its spirit.
Jiang Qiao, peering out the window, sighed after recovering from her shock: “Whose dog is causing such trouble?”
Well done!
Jiang Si, however, didn’t respond. Her gaze moved past the crowd and fell on one person, her heart filled with confusion.
Why was Yu Qi standing in the crowd watching as if this had nothing to do with him?
In her previous life, he had attended Ji Chongyi’s wedding.