During the national mourning period, the Empress Dowager was naturally a bit unhappy about the wedding preparations in the palace. However, she couldn't refuse the insistent requests of the "Ninth Prince" and the Fifth Princess.
The Imperial Household Department, in an attempt to curry favor with the Fifth Princess, didn't dare to be the least bit negligent about the marriage of the County Mistress of Deqing. They spared no effort to make it a grand and decent affair.
Luo Xunlong, dressed in a red robe, sat proudly on a tall and sturdy horse, looking dapper and elated. Behind him, in the eight - carrier sedan chair, Cuihuan's eyes were red and swollen from crying. Her life had been full of hardships, but after the wedding ceremony, she would finally have someone to protect her! Moreover, she would be even closer to Miss Wei! Now, not only had she been granted the title of County Mistress, but she also received such a generous dowry. Overwhelmed with emotion, Cuihuan shed tears of excitement.
There hadn't been such a lively wedding in the capital for a long time, so a large number of commoners flocked to watch. The distance from the imperial city to the Su Mansion was only about two li, but the wedding procession seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
Wei Dongling, Lady He, Qi Jinlan, and Lvkou were sitting in the carriage. Along the way, they lifted the curtain to look outside.
This was Lady He's first time out of the palace in many years. Looking at the bustling streets filled with people, she sighed silently, "So many years have passed in a flash. The capital has changed so much that I hardly recognize it."
Wei Dongling patted Lady He's hand and said with a gentle smile, "Lady He, just wait for me. When I'm free, I'll take you wherever you want to go! If you don't want to return to the palace, you can stay at the Su Mansion today in the name of Cuihuan's foster mother..."
Lady He held Wei Dongling's hand tightly, her eyes glistening. Naturally, she didn't want to return to the palace that had confined her for most of her life! Just as Lady He was about to express her gratitude, Wei Dongling let out a surprised cry and quickly jumped out of the carriage window as if she had seen something.
The women in the carriage were stunned to see Wei Dongling rushing into an alley in a hurry. Jingzhe, who was sitting outside the carriage, immediately chased after her.
Jingzhe ran through the alley for a long distance. When she lost sight of Wei Dongling at a corner, she felt a bit panicked, afraid of losing her. But when she got out of the alley, she saw Wei Dongling standing at the crossroads in the distance, looking dejectedly into the distance. Jingzhe stepped forward and asked, "Miss Wei, what's going on?"
A look of confusion flashed across Wei Dongling's eyes. She murmured, "I seem to have seen Concubine Shu." On the street opposite, she had seen the curtain of a carriage flutter in the wind, and for a brief moment, she caught a glimpse of Concubine Shu's profile.
Wei Dongling was extremely anxious. She jumped out of the carriage and ran all the way. Unfortunately, the carriage on the other side was moving too fast. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the endless stream of carriages, and she didn't even have time to see which street it turned into.
Jingzhe immediately said, "I'll send someone to investigate right away!"
Wei Dongling glanced at the messy ground with so many different carriage tracks. How could they possibly find out the result? She sighed and said, "Forget it. It's Cuihuan's big wedding today. Let's not cause any more trouble. Maybe I was just seeing things." The two of them walked back dejectedly.
The Su Mansion was already decorated with lanterns and streamers, looking brand new. A crowd of onlookers had gathered at the gate, craning their necks in anticipation of the bride's arrival.
Wei Dongling led the women in through the back door.
Luo Xunlong and Cuihuan would soon serve tea to the elders, so Lady He naturally needed to prepare herself first. Wei Dongling helped Lady He into her boudoir to rest for a while. Afraid that Lady He didn't have any money on her, she quickly rummaged through her belongings and took out a stack of silver notes, so that Lady He could prepare red envelopes for the newlyweds.
There was a knock on the door. Then they heard Cheng Hao's loud voice, knocking on the door like a drum. He shouted excitedly, "Miss Wei! Miss Wei! I'm back!"
Lvkou quickly went to open the door for him. Cheng Hao walked in with a big smile and bowed to everyone. Wei Dongling raised her eyebrows and said with a smile when she saw the travel - worn Cheng Hao, "Well! It's better to come back at the right time than early!"
Cheng Hao laughed heartily, "It's a great joy for Brother Long to get married! I've been rushing back day and night just to be able to drink his wedding wine. I was so afraid of missing this auspicious day!"
Everyone burst out laughing when they heard this.
Wei Dongling covered her lips and said with a light laugh, "You've really worked hard! How's the matter in Jiangcheng going?"
Cheng Hao looked extremely confident and waved his hand, "Can't you trust my work?" On the way from Xiliang to the capital, Cheng Hao, who was carrying a large amount of money, was dressed in rags. He walked very cautiously, afraid of being robbed and losing everything.
The atmosphere in the room was very harmonious when suddenly there was an urgent knock on the door.
Before the people in the room could respond, A Cheng, who had been guarding the Su Mansion, called out in a hurry, "Miss Wei! Miss Wei! Are you done? Something's happened outside!"
Wei Dongling recognized that A Cheng's voice was trembling. She quickly stepped forward to open the door and asked, "What's making you so panicked?"
A Cheng rushed into the room in a flurry. Not caring about the formalities, he cried out in terror with a pale face, "Miss Qi... she... she tried to hang herself at the main gate!"
"What?" Everyone's faces changed drastically when they heard this.
It was Luo Xunlong and Cuihuan's wedding day today, but Miss Qi from the Qi Family actually tried to hang herself at the gate where there were so many guests? Was she here to ruin the wedding?
Qi Jinlan couldn't believe that her cousin could do such a thing. She quickly grabbed A Cheng's sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, "Is this true?"
A Cheng nodded desperately. Wei Dongling dashed out, and everyone followed suit.
At the main hall gate, several maids and nannies had already pulled Qi Jinxuan down from the round stool. She was lying on the ground, wailing loudly without any regard for her dignity. A crowd of onlookers had gathered around, whispering and pointing.
Wei Dongling heard some onlookers whispering in confusion, "Who's this pregnant woman? Could she be one of the groom's concubines causing trouble?"
"Exactly! Look at her belly. She must be at least six months pregnant! Alas, the groom only hears the laughter of the new bride and ignores the cries of the old lover!"
Seeing that the onlookers' remarks were getting more and more outrageous, Lin Baiwan and his son were unable to defend themselves. Wei Dongling was filled with anger. She pushed through the crowd and rushed forward, giving Qi Jinxuan two resounding slaps that stunned her on the spot.
Qi Jinxuan never expected that Wei Dongling would be so bold as to slap her in front of everyone! The maids and nannies were also shocked to see that it was the Fifth Princess who had struck. They all knelt on the ground and didn't dare to intervene.
Wei Dongling roared in anger, "Qi Jinxuan! When your Qi Family's mansion was raided, our Su Mansion took pity on you, having nowhere to go, and took you in out of old affection! Is this how you repay me? On the day of my adopted sister's wedding, you repay kindness with enmity and try to hang yourself at the main gate? Are you out of your mind? On this joyous occasion, you come here specifically to cause trouble, don't you? If you want to hang yourself, go do it at the gate of your Qi Family's mansion!"
The onlookers then suddenly realized. The woman lying on the ground was none other than Qi Jinxuan, the eldest daughter of the Qi Family, who had been robbed on her wedding day not long ago! She had disgraced herself by getting pregnant before marriage, and she had even been abducted on her wedding day! How could she now try to extort the Su Mansion?