If Si Jiangchen didn't want to tell his secrets, no one could pry them out of him.
I was knocked unconscious by him and carried back to my room.
When I woke up, Granny Bai had already covered my face with a bright red wedding veil.
"Xiao He, Granny will lead you out to have the wedding ceremony now."
Granny Bai's hand holding mine was soft and warm...
Even until now, I still didn't feel like a bride.
The dancing red color in front of my eyes made me feel increasingly uneasy.
What on earth were Si Jiangchen and the others plotting? It seemed to be to his own disadvantage. And was I just a pawn in his scheme, unable to help him?
Qiu Zhuying's memorial tablet was in my sleeve. Si Jiangchen knew that it was impossible for the name of a woman who had been dead for many years to appear at the wedding scene.
So he asked me to bring it.
Since I was an orphan with no family, the place for my departure was set in Si Jiangchen's yard.
The place for the wedding ceremony was in the old Si family mansion, that is, the east courtyard where Si Cheng now lived.
The two yards were only separated by a small street about two or three meters wide. Granny Bai led me to the door, and my palm was immediately taken over by a broad, slightly cold hand with distinct knuckles.
"I've wronged you."
Si Jiangchen's voice came from above my head.
"It's fine."
I roughly knew that he thought I didn't ride in a bridal sedan chair and didn't get married as grandly as others. But he forgot that I had been wandering for so long. As long as I had three meals a day and a roof over my head, I already felt it was a kind of happiness.
Si Jiangchen held my hand firmly as we stepped onto the steps covered with red carpets one by one.
I could hear the noisy gongs, drums and other musical instruments in my ears, as well as many voices saying auspicious words like "Congratulations".
All I could see in front of me was a small piece of red carpet. When I was about to enter the main gate of my husband's family, a red copper charcoal brazier appeared in front of me. There were several pieces of silver-thread charcoal in it, emitting a dark red luster.
I was wearing a long dress. If I stepped over it, I was afraid my clothes would be burned. Just as I was hesitating, my body was suddenly lifted into the air.
"Groom, this is against the rules!!"
An old woman's voice came. It seemed to be the wedding mistress.
"My rules are the rules."
Si Jiangchen's voice was calm, and I couldn't hear any emotion in it. But I could already imagine the terrified look of the wedding mistress.
Sure enough, after that, there were no more obstacles for the bride.
I couldn't help curving my lips under the veil.
After walking through three courtyards, it seemed that we had arrived in front of the main hall. Suddenly, a string of firecrackers was thrown at my feet.
"Bang, bang, bang..." There was a burst of noise. Countless sparks and red debris exploded at my feet. I only felt my waist tighten, and Si Jiangchen had already picked me up instantly.
"Brother, this is to ward off evil spirits. You should put Du Xinghe down quickly."
It was Si Xirui's voice, with a touch of a young lady's coquetry. "Otherwise, you'll bring the evil spirits into our Si family."
"It doesn't matter."
I could already feel Si Jiangchen's chest heaving. It seemed that he wanted to scold his younger sister, but I quickly stopped him in a low voice.
What were these small firecrackers?
I had survived in the real guns and cannons of the chaos between officials and bandits...
I struggled out of Si Jiangchen's arms, lifted my red wedding shoes embroidered with twining branches and twin lotus flowers, and stepped on the still wriggling firecrackers like a snake, extinguishing the fire.
"Hey, how dare you step on the firecrackers! It's so inauspicious!"
Si Xirui shouted. "Don't really bring evil spirits into our Si family!!"
"Hehe."
I sneered in my heart. The real evil spirit was Qiu Zhuqing, her beloved aunt. She had killed their mother, but Si Xirui still regarded the woman who had killed her mother as a relative. Didn't she ever feel that it was abnormal for a married woman to visit her dead sister's house all day long?
"Xirui, don't make trouble."
Another woman's voice came... Li Mingyue?!
I was a little surprised and quietly lifted a corner of the veil. I saw that Li Mingyue was really standing with Si Xirui at the door, waiting for Si Jiangchen and me to enter.
Like Si Xirui, she was wearing a water-red dress and had red velvet flower ornaments on her head. However, Li Mingyue's eyes were slightly swollen from crying. Even with a lot of powder, she couldn't hide the red corners of her eyes.
This woman's parents had just died, but she still came to our wedding. Was she really not willing to give up on Si Jiangchen?
As I was thinking, I felt Si Jiangchen's fingers tighten slightly. He knew I was peeping, so I quickly put my hand down.
"Why is she here?"
I asked in a low voice. "Is she still not willing to give up on you?"
Si Jiangchen pinched my waist with his fingertips. "Silly girl... Do you think she's here to be a concubine?"
"Ouch..."
I was tickled by him and couldn't help shrinking into his arms to avoid his attack.
"Groom and bride, the auspicious time has come."
At this time, the wedding emcee had already shouted loudly. "First, bow to Heaven and Earth."
I was led by Si Jiangchen to turn around and bowed to the bright sunny sky outside the porch.
"Second, bow to the elders."
When Si Jiangchen and I turned around, he had already taken out the small mahogany memorial tablet from my sleeve and respectfully placed it on another master chair in the main hall.
"A Chen, what do you mean by this?!"
I heard Si Cheng's voice. He was trying to maintain the authority of the head of the family, but there was an obvious tremor in his voice.
"My mother also wants to see her son get married."
There was no emotion in Si Jiangchen's voice. "I think her spirit in heaven will be very pleased to see Du Xinghe."
"Shut up."
Si Cheng had already slapped the table and stood up.
But Si Jiangchen said coldly, "Father, don't forget that I have the Yin-Yang Eyes and can see her... She's very happy."
"Nonsense!! She's already gone!"
Si Cheng shouted loudly. "She's already vanished into thin air!!"
As soon as he said this, the originally noisy room suddenly fell silent.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what Si Cheng meant by saying this suddenly. Only I knew that Si Jiangchen had already started his revenge plan.
Could it be that... the irreversible things he had been plotting were for revenge for his mother?
Just as I was thinking, I heard a series of ghostly wails.
The temperature in the main hall dropped several degrees instantly.
"Brother-in-law... Si Cheng... I, I died so unjustly..."
Qiu Zhuqing's voice faintly rang out in the room.
The Si family was a traditional and prominent family. Naturally, Si Jiangchen was not the only one with the Yin-Yang Eyes. At this time, I could already hear a few gasps.
Someone exclaimed in a low voice, "That... Isn't that the aunt of the Si family? Why does she look like this in death?!"