In the blink of an eye, it was already late February.

Spring had come early this year. New leaves sprouted from the branches, and the winter jasmine flowers swayed proudly in the spring breeze.

Yun Chu had barely slept all night. She had just dozed off for a moment when someone pushed her awake.

“Chu’er, stop sleeping, quickly get up.”

Seeing Yun Chu turn over and burrow into her blankets, Lin Shi could only pull the covers away.

“Today is your great joyous day. Don’t miss the auspicious hour. Tingxue, Tingfeng, pull your mistress up.”

The two maidservants came forward, one on each side, helping Yun Chu sit up.

Yun Chu struggled to open her eyes.

Last night, some women from the clan had come to keep her company and talk, discussing the ways of getting along with one’s husband after marriage. They had chatted until nearly midnight.

Although she had married once before, that didn’t mean she had experience. She was still nervous when she should be nervous, still couldn’t sleep when she couldn’t sleep.

She thought of many, many things—events from her previous life, things that had happened in this life. Various matters flashed through her mind like a galloping horse viewing flowers…

Yun Chu sat before the mirror while two auspicious matrons did her makeup, their mouths full of festive words.

By the time her bridal makeup was finished, she was mostly awake. Under the matrons’ attendance, she put on the elaborate and complex wedding dress.

This wedding dress was completely different from the one six years ago.

Back then, she had married down. Considering the Xie family’s reputation, her wedding dress had been embroidered according to a modest household’s standards—lacking in grandeur.

But this current outfit… Because the marriage had been arranged too hastily, it was organized by the Ministry of Rites with embroiderers, working together with the Yun family’s embroiderers. A hundred embroiderers had completed this exquisite and magnificent wedding dress in just a month and a half.

The entire wedding dress was covered with gold and silver thread. The patterns were mandarin ducks, hundred flowers, double happiness, clustered branches… emphasizing a hundred years of harmony and blissful contentment.

“So beautiful!” The auspicious matron couldn’t help but praise. “Wearing this outfit, even the title of the Capital’s First Beauty seems insufficient for Miss.”

By this time, the sky had already brightened.

Various women from the Yun family came in one after another to add to Yun Chu’s trousseau.

Most brought a bolt of cloth, a hairpin, or a bracelet—just as a gesture.

Yun Ran, who had married out, also returned. She had specially prepared trousseau gifts for her eldest legitimate sister. Besides a complete set of hair ornaments, she also gave a red embroidered undergarment she had personally embroidered for Yun Chu.

Yun Chu asked with a smile, “How have you been lately?”

Yun Ran leaned close to Yun Chu’s ear and whispered shyly, “A few days ago the physician examined me—I’m with child, just over a month along. My husband said we can’t tell anyone until three months have passed. I’ve only told Mother and Elder Sister. You must keep it secret.”

Yun Chu looked at her younger sister’s appearance—her smile containing springtime warmth. After four months of marriage, she could still have such a smile, which was enough to show that the Dai family truly treated her well.

She had given her younger sister a completely new and happy marriage.

She could be happy too.

While a group of people accompanied Yun Chu in conversation, they heard the sound of firecrackers from the front courtyard.

Yun Chu knew—Chu Yi had arrived.

The Yun residence had long been filled with guests, and many more continued to arrive in succession. The carriages and horses were all jammed up, and the servants had been working to clear the way. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the wedding procession’s arrival.

The sound of firecrackers came in waves.

The sound of gongs and drums filled the air.

Chu Yi, dressed in red groom’s attire, dismounted from his tall horse adorned with a large red flower.

At the main entrance of the Yun residence, besides the guests, were the Yun family’s men. Led by Yun Ze, seven or eight Yun family brothers blocked the entire entrance.

This was a marriage custom in the capital. When the groom’s side came to fetch the bride, the bride’s brothers needed to pose questions to test the groom before allowing him to take the bride away.

After the matchmaker spoke a few auspicious words, Chu Yi stepped forward and bowed with cupped hands. “Lord Yun, please instruct me.”

Yun Ze stood on the steps, hands clasped behind his back. “My Yun family’s test is divided into literature and martial arts. Which does Your Highness choose?”

Chu Yi nodded slightly and spoke. “Literature.”

Yun Ze was slightly stunned.

Six years ago, on the day Chu’er married Xie Jingyu, he had asked the same question, and Xie Jingyu had also chosen literature.

The same answer, yet it reflected completely different personalities.

Xie Jingyu had read many books, so choosing literature was not at all strange.

Prince Pingxi was a military general, yet he also chose literature…

“Very well, Your Highness, please listen to the question. For the first question, I will give the first line of a couplet. Your Highness need only match it with a second line.” Yun Run spoke calmly from the side. “Walk, walk, walk, walking and then stopping.”

Chu Yi had learned martial arts from childhood. Although he had also studied at the Imperial Academy, he was not skilled in this area.

He paced back and forth twice before speaking. “Gaze, gaze, gaze, gazing at clouds unfurling.”

Yun Run’s fingers paused.

The original second line of this couplet was “Sit, sit, sit, what harm in sitting,” which formed a clever artistic conception with the first line.

Chu Yi’s second line was slightly inferior, but it completely reflected Chu Yi’s state of mind at this very moment. He probably wanted to say “gazing at Yun Chu,” but to avoid being too direct, it became “clouds unfurling.” A line of poetry says “gazing at clouds rolling and unfurling at the horizon”—he had cleverly used this concept.

“Your Highness’s second line is quite wonderful.” Yun Run smiled and stepped back, allowing another Yun family member to come forward.

Yun Yi stepped forward and bowed with cupped hands. “Your Highness, here is a question. Suppose Your Highness is traveling and reaches a fork in the road, not knowing whether to go left or right. By each road stands an elder, but one always tells the truth while the other only tells lies. Moreover, Your Highness can only choose one person to ask one question. How can Your Highness find the correct road?”

As soon as this question was posed, the guests nearby were somewhat confused.

One tells the truth, one tells lies. The key is that you don’t know which is which, so you don’t know if the answer to your question is true or false.

This question was too tricky.

Yun Yi was somewhat pleased with himself. He had searched through several ancient texts to find this difficult question.

He thought Chu Yi would request a hint.

Who would have expected that Chu Yi’s lips curved up as he slowly spoke. “I would ask the elder on the right: if I asked the elder on the left, what would he answer?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Yun Yi was stunned. A military man who fought in battles had such a clever mind?

Chengxu, standing behind Chu Yi, scratched his chin. “What does that mean, what does that mean? I don’t understand…”

Chu Yi was getting married today and was in an extremely pleasant mood. He explained, “If the elder on the right only tells the truth, then he would answer with the wrong road. If the elder on the right only tells lies, he would also answer with the wrong road.”

Chengxu was bewildered. Why was it that such a simple question left him somewhat unable to figure it out…

“Your Highness has excellent reasoning.” Yun Yi admired him and let someone else come forward.

Among this generation of Yun family men, only Yun Ze and Yun Run excelled in studies. The questions posed by the others were relatively easier. Chu Yi overcame all obstacles until he reached the last person—Yun Ze.

Yun Ze’s expression was somewhat complex.

The scene of Xie Jingyu fetching his bride six years ago was still vivid in his mind. Clearly he had been that year’s top scholar, yet with similar questions, his answers had been unsatisfactory.

Unable to answer would have been one thing, but he had even shown displeasure.

Fearing things would look too bad on the wedding day, the matchmaker had smoothed things over and ended the test early.

Why hadn’t he noticed back then that Xie Jingyu was completely unworthy of being a husband?

Yun Ze looked at Chu Yi. Their gazes met.

Both were intelligent men. Both understood the emotions in the deepest part of the other’s eyes.

After a long while, Yun Ze stepped aside. “Your Highness, please enter.”