On the nineteenth day, the wedding banquet was ultimately held in grand fashion. People in the streets and alleys rushed to spread the news, competing to watch the excitement on Zhengyang Avenue and Zhuque Avenue, blocking the long street until it was completely impassable.
Song Yan sat on horseback with a large red flower pinned to his chest. Seeing Song Yi occasionally reveal some awkward expressions, he inwardly scoffed. According to propriety, as a son, he indeed should be among those welcoming the bride. Last night, Song Yi had been so anxious about this matter that he developed cold sores at the corners of his mouth. Even in the middle of the night, he had sat in Song Yan’s Chuzhou Hall for most of the night, stammering and hoping that Song Yan wouldn’t be angry.
In truth, Song Yan didn’t have much feeling for Song Yi—he had been taken to Jinzhong when he was very, very young and had been raised by his maternal grandmother and uncle and aunt for two years. His deepest impression of Song Yi was just the evasive and shifty look in Song Yi’s eyes when he came to Jinzhong to bring him back to the capital, facing Cui Yingshu’s questioning and his maternal grandmother’s tears.
What happened afterward needn’t be mentioned. Because of his weakness and selfishness, Song Yi had always protected Li Shi and her daughter, nearly costing Song Yan his life. Because of this, his elder sister had always harbored resentment and had always been indifferent toward their father Song Yi.
Now that he had grown older and experienced more of the ways of the world, he gradually understood that maintaining a strained relationship wouldn’t benefit Song Chuyi. Although currently it was Second Old Master Song and Old Madam Song who made decisions in the Song family, and Song Chuyi had support for whatever she wanted to do, Second Old Master Song and Old Madam Song would eventually grow old. At that time, Song Chuyi’s maternal family would only consist of Song Yi and the new stepmother who was about to enter the household. He couldn’t let Song Chuyi be without a maternal family that could speak up for her and provide strong support. So he smiled and agreed to Song Yi’s request, changing his attitude toward him.
Song Yi led the bridal sedan chair around the city once and finally arrived at the main gate of the Earl of Changning’s residence at dusk. He helped the new bride down from the sedan chair and walked step by step into the flower hall.
After the ceremony, Song Yi had to go drink wine. Yin Yunduan breathed a sigh of relief. The matrons and maids nearby hurried over to serve her as she washed up, while softly informing her: “Only two maids and a few rough-work matrons are serving in the courtyard. They’re all waiting outside now for your instructions. Our dowry has already been carried into the private storeroom of the Second Branch’s main courtyard. Nanny Zhang is currently guarding it. We’ll take inventory after we get through these next couple of days.”
As she spoke, the maid Heye handed Yin Yunduan a towel to dry her hair while softly praising: “This Sixth Miss Song is truly a wonderful person. A few days ago during the theatrical gathering, she already informed you about the situation in this courtyard. Since we arrived, we haven’t had to rush around at all—everything has been handled in perfect order. It’s much more worry-free than being in our own home.”
In her own home, she couldn’t be worry-free—she had to be even more vigilant. Her adopted elder brother was actually alright, but her sister-in-law inevitably felt some jealousy, thinking that the Old Madam of the Earl of Guangen favored her biological daughter and gave her all the good things as dowry. Every time she looked at the dowry list, her face would fall three feet long. There were even worse things—on the day before the trousseau催促, taking advantage of the chaos, she actually made off with many pieces of jewelry from her jewelry box. Comparatively speaking, things at the Song family’s side were much cleaner and more worry-free.
The corners of Yin Yunduan’s mouth held a smile as she nodded slightly. Looking at herself in the mirror, she became somewhat lost in thought. In the end, she had still become someone’s second wife. In the past, she would never have imagined becoming someone’s second wife. In her heart of hearts, she had thought that at the very least, she should marry a suitable young man she fancied. But worldly matters were just like this—they couldn’t follow one’s wishes. If she had truly married the suitable young man in her heart, given what her maternal family was like, she probably wouldn’t have been able to even protect her own dowry. This momentary distraction lasted only an instant before she immediately rallied her spirits again, her lips constantly bearing a gentle smile.
Sixth Miss Song was reciprocating kindness with kindness. They were both people who wanted to live good lives. Since they wanted to live good lives, they should both be sincere with each other—that would make things easier to handle in the future. She had tested the waters several times before, and Sixth Miss Song had responded each time, so she had breathed a sigh of relief. Being able to maintain a good relationship with Sixth Miss Song was definitely a good thing—at least it would make things much easier with Old Madam Song.
The door creaked open, and Song Yi entered carrying the heavy scent of alcohol. When he caught sight of Yin Yunduan, he couldn’t help but first be stunned—earlier when he lifted the veil, Yin Yunduan had been wearing heavy bridal makeup, so thickly made up that he couldn’t tell what she actually looked like. Now that she had washed away all that heavy rouge and powder from her face, a fresh and beautiful face was revealed.
This kind of beauty was entirely different from Cui Shi’s pleasing appearance and Li Shi’s delicate prettiness—it was worldly beauty. He stood in the doorway, suddenly feeling somewhat at a loss.
It was Yin Yunduan who took a deep breath and softly called out “Second Master.”
The servants in the room withdrew in an orderly fashion and closed the door behind them. Yin Yunduan looked at Song Yi and burst into giggles, her voice soft and carrying a hint of coquettishness as she looked at Second Master Song: “Having all that thick powder smeared on stickily was really uncomfortable.”
Second Master Song couldn’t help but laugh as well. He stepped forward to study her for a moment, then nodded in admiration: “Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without adornment. This is truly extremely beautiful.”
Yin Yunduan was not someone without calculation. Her father had died early, and her mother was melancholy and sentimental, so she had to plan ahead for her mother from a young age. Her adopted elder brother at home wasn’t bad, but there was still that layer of separation. That one layer of separation was enough to give rise to many, many matters—her sister-in-law, her sister-in-law’s son, the family property, her dowry… every single matter was significant. If she wasn’t careful and cautious, treading on thin ice, she wouldn’t even know when someone might swallow her whole.
As for Song Yi, she had long ago borrowed her mother’s mouth to inquire countless times, and she knew full well what kind of person Song Yi was and what kind of girl he liked. Song Yi had an extremely weak character with soft ears. With him, one must never use harsh methods—just coax him and comply with him, that’s all. This kind of person was easy to subdue.
On the contrary, it was the pair of stepchildren and Second Old Master Song and Old Madam Song that she must treat with twelve parts worth of careful attention. Thinking this in her heart, the expression on her face became even more gentle and mild. Her face flushed shyly as she withdrew the hand that Song Yi was holding. With tears glistening in her eyes, she looked at Song Yi and pressed her cherry-like lips together, speaking extremely softly in Song Yi’s ear.
“Master, I’m entrusting my entire life to you.” She paused, her beautiful eyes revealing just the right amount of grievance and trepidation: “Yinyin lost her father at a young age and has had a difficult fate. From now on, I must rely entirely on Second Master…”
A feeling of tender protectiveness spontaneously arose in Song Yi’s heart. Holding Yin Yunduan’s hand, he squeezed it tightly: “Don’t worry!”
Yin Yunduan smiled through her tears and nodded with overwhelming shyness.
One must learn to be content. She had lost her father in childhood. Her mother hadn’t remarried and thrown her alone into a den of wolves and tigers, but instead had raised her to this age and found her such a wealthy and illustrious family—this could already be considered contentment. She must treasure her blessings.