Mei Qingxue, who had been tortured for half an hour, slumped against the chair with droopy eyelids. The two venerable matrons, both in their fifties, highly experienced in female etiquette and having once taught royal princesses and county princesses, were staring intently at Mei Qingxue, who was sitting in such a slovenly manner. Their wrinkled faces showed no sign of leniency.
"Miss, your break time is over. It's time to continue practicing your sitting posture..." One of the shorter matrons stepped forward, speaking in a flat tone after glancing at the hourglass.
Mei Qingxue rolled her eyes in annoyance. Although she wasn't fearless, in all these years since her time - travel, she had rarely been afraid of anything. But...
She cast a helpless look at the two matrons standing in the room like two immovable mountains. Mei Qingxue felt that she was truly scared. She had lived ten lifetimes! But in the previous nine, she had lived in modern society, in an ordinary family where people were more casual in their daily lives. How could she be expected to learn such useless etiquette now!
"Matron, please let me rest a bit longer. I'm so tired that I can hardly move." This was no different from the sitting - posture drills during military training!
"Miss, there is a set curriculum for each day, and you only have less than a month left. If you don't study hard, you may not be able to finish it all. You must understand that you are going to marry into the royal family. Etiquette is of utmost importance... If you make a mistake, it could lead to..." The matron rambled on for what seemed like a million words.
"Alright, alright, I know. I'll start right away, right now!" Who cares about being a royal daughter - in - law? Does this lady look like she wants this?
The month before the wedding passed in a "horrible" etiquette training for Mei Qingxue. During this period, she tried to escape from the Prime Minister's Mansion several times but was always stopped by the people Mrs. Mei had stationed at every gate. To prevent Mei Qingxue from leaving the mansion during this time, Mrs. Mei even ordered Mei Haoxuan, who usually had a few days off each month, not to see his sister. She was afraid that he might be soft - hearted and take his sister out after being "sweet - talked" by her.
Finally, the poor second miss of the Prime Minister's Mansion reached the end of her ordeal. Tomorrow was the wedding day. Usually, she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow during this period, but for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep tonight. Was it because she hadn't been tortured by the matrons today? Or was it because she had eaten too much?
Tomorrow, she would become someone's bride, but she seemed to be completely unprepared. It felt like an incredible dream, and she was afraid that when she woke up, everything would turn into a bubble.
So, every morning when she opened her eyes, she would pinch herself hard. The pain on her thigh told her that this was not a dream. Tomorrow, Mei Qingxue would marry a man who would probably never stand up straight for the rest of his life!
"Alas, why am I so unlucky? Why do I have to marry a man who might kick the bucket at any time... I wanted to have a good love affair in this lifetime. Even if we couldn't be together, at least we would have some beautiful memories. But now that I'm getting married, all my hopes are shattered..."
She closed her eyes, and the masked face of the Jade - faced Gentleman flashed through her mind. She really regretted not tearing off his mask when she had the chance. Now that he was gone, if he no longer wore the mask in the future, they might pass each other on the street without recognizing each other. It was truly sad... That was her first love in ten lifetimes!
Although they never got together, she believed that was her first love!
She tossed and turned all night, thinking about this and that, and finally fell asleep in a daze.
"Has the miss not woken up yet? Hurry up and wake her up. We can't afford to be late today."
"Alright, I'll go right away, Yueru."
"All of you, be quick. If you're negligent, you'll pay the price."
The commotion outside the house woke Mei Qingxue up from her dream. She opened her eyes hazily and saw through the window paper the figures scurrying around the yard. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, and she didn't know what all the fuss was about.
She might have gone to bed too late last night, and she still felt extremely sleepy. Screw them. She'd just take a nap first.
"Miss, stop sleeping. Get up quickly." Yueru was very insistent today. She pulled Mei Qingxue out of the covers. Today was a very important day for the entire Prime Minister's Mansion! If anything went wrong, it would be a big problem! Especially if the one who caused the problem was the protagonist of the day!
"It's not even dawn yet. Why are you all in such a hurry? At least let me sleep until dawn, okay?" Mei Qingxue mumbled under the covers like a spoiled child.
"Miss! Today is your wedding day. How can you be so indifferent?" Yueru had received instructions from Mrs. Mei. No matter how sleepy the miss was, she had to be pulled out of the covers before dawn!
"It's just getting married! Is it really that big a deal!" Mei Qingxue was so annoyed by the noise that she couldn't sleep anymore. She threw off the covers and said angrily. She didn't really want to get married in the first place, and now all this fuss was just too much. She'd secretly make a voodoo doll of the emperor and curse him next time!
"Of course it is a big deal! Miss, get up quickly. The bath water is ready for you. You must smell nice!"
Mei Qingxue had no choice but to get out of bed and let them do their thing. First, she took a bath, then she got dressed and had her makeup done. After that, she was going to pay respects to her parents.
The embroidery skills of the most famous embroiderer in the capital were truly remarkable. On the blood - red silk cloth, several lifelike phoenixes seemed to leap out. Compared with ordinary phoenix embroidery, the phoenixes embroidered with gold and colorful threads exuded an air of arrogance. There were also several budding purple - gold flowers embroidered on the collar and cuffs, with the purple - gold flower vines twining around the front of the wedding dress. The long skirt dragged on the ground, and with a gentle turn, the skirt fluttered like a blooming red peony.
Mei Qingxue's long black hair that reached her waist was neatly coiled up behind her head. A golden phoenix crown was placed on her hair bun. A bright red beauty mark was dotted on her smooth forehead. Her delicate lips were naturally red, and her big, watery eyes were full of charm when she looked back.
The gilded belt around her waist accentuated her slender waist, making her already curvy figure even more prominent. Although she was only sixteen years old, Mei Qingxue was about 1.65 meters tall due to her good development. Her long, straight legs were truly a sight to behold. Even a celestial maiden from the ninth heaven would pale in comparison to her beauty at this moment.
The maids and matrons who were doing Mei Qingxue's makeup stared at her in a daze many times. It was said that the second miss of the Prime Minister's Mansion was extremely beautiful, and now they could see that the rumors were true!
"Miss, you are so beautiful today! The Sixth Prince will surely be captivated by you!" Yueru woke up from her daze. Since she was more familiar with Mei Qingxue on a daily basis, she was less shocked than the others. However, no matter how many times she saw her miss, she would always be enchanted by her beauty.
Mei Qingxue, who was almost asleep, was startled awake by Yueru's excited compliment. The maids and matrons who had been in a daze also came to their senses.
"Miss, everything is ready. Next, you'll go and pay respects to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's wife."
"Okay, let's go then."
Mei Qingxue yawned gracefully and stood up. But as soon as she moved, she felt like dying. What the hell was this! Could someone tell her how heavy the thing on her head was? And could these clothes not be so tight? She could hardly breathe. Wasn't it ridiculous if a bride was strangled to death by her wedding clothes?
"Why are these clothes so tight? Loosen my belt for me. I'm really uncomfortable." As she said this, Mei Qingxue reached for the belt on her body.
"Oh, my miss, you can't do that. There are a total of eight pieces of wedding clothes. If they're not tight, they won't look good. It's only for a short while. Please bear with it, okay?"
Eight pieces! Damn it! No wonder it was so tight. Why wear so many clothes for no reason! It was really killing her!
It usually only took about ten minutes to walk to the main hall, but Mei Qingxue felt that it took her at least half an hour today. It was all because of these clothes on her body, which made her suffer so much extra pain!
As soon as she entered the room, she saw her father and mother sitting on the main seats. A gentle smile appeared on Mei Qingxue's lips. From now on, she wouldn't be able to see the people she loved most in this world every day like before. She had always remembered the love and care they had given her over the years.
"Father, Mother..." Mei Qingxue didn't consider herself a sentimental person, but in this situation, her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears when she looked at her parents.
Mrs. Mei was already sobbing uncontrollably. Her red and swollen eyes stared intently at Mei Qingxue, who was kneeling in the room, as if she was afraid that her daughter would disappear if she didn't look at her more.
Mr. Mei also felt that his throat was blocked, but he still said in his usual tone, "Xue'er has grown up. From now on, you'll be someone else's wife. You mustn't be as willful as you were at home. Do you understand?"
"Xue'er understands."
"Alright, it's almost time. Go quickly."
Mei Qingxue stood up, took a lingering look at Mr. and Mrs. Mei, and then walked towards the door. At the door, her brother Mei Haoxuan was already waiting for her.