Chapter 5

Draped in a phoenix coronet and rosy-cloud cape, A'nan was married off just like that.

Between her past life and this one, A'nan had finally experienced what it felt like to be a bride.

It was just a pity that this bride was being watched with extreme tension by all her friends, family, and wedding guests, who were silently counting down the seconds of her life.

"How pitiful. I wonder if she can even make it through the wedding."

"Indeed. Although she is only a concubine-born daughter of the Prime Minister's house, she is still a young lady of a great family. She could have easily found a match in a modest household to be a mistress of the house. Why must her life end like this?"

"I heard the young lady of the Lu family is quite healthy. Perhaps she will be lucky and manage to survive the wedding night."

"No, no, no. Even if she survives the wedding night, there is still the future. As long as she is the Princess Consort of Su for a single day, she has no security..."

"And there's also the fact that he is cursed to lose his wives and has no heirs... Who knows if she can even bear children? A woman without offspring..."

"Sigh, just thinking about it is pitiful!"

...

Listening to the hushed whispers around her, A'nan’s face darkened. She desperately wanted to lift her veil and roar: This girl is currently brave enough to take down a rabbit! She’s just a little hungry...

Unfortunately, even her personal maid, Rucui, didn't believe it. She was staring at A'nan with a sorrowful gaze, constantly on guard against the various ways she might die.

A'nan was wearing three layers of wedding robes inside and three layers outside, with a heavy phoenix coronet on her head; she felt like she was suffocating. The Prince of Su was truly the Empress Dowager’s most beloved youngest son—just look at the ceremonial crown provided... Tsk, when she saw the massive South Sea pearls adorning the phoenix coronet, A'nan’s eyes were almost dazzled. Between the weight of the pearls and the coronet itself, A'nan’s frail little frame was nearly crushed.

A'nan struggled to support the heavy coronet, the red veil obscuring her vision. She could only mechanically hold onto the red silk ribbon. On the other side of the ribbon was a stranger, the current Emperor’s own brother, Chu Baning, the Prince of Su—her future husband.

To say she wasn't afraid would be a lie. Adding her two lives together, this was her first time getting married, and it was a blind marriage at that, with absolutely no power to refuse. As she felt anxious about her future life, those around her offered no comfort; instead, they looked at her with eyes that seemed to ask, "When are you going to die?" There was no sense of solace, so she had to prepare herself mentally.

She had heard that the Prince of Su detested women. She hoped he wasn't some Bluebeard; she still wanted to live a good life. If that didn't work out, she would just stay quietly in her own courtyard as a homebody after the wedding, handling some household chores, eating and sleeping to her heart's content, and enjoying the good times.

Of course, she would be a qualified, virtuous ancient wife and mother. If the Prince of Su had any needs, she would strive to recruit beautiful concubines for him—the third, fourth, or fifth—as long as he liked them. She wouldn't mind having more; she only needed to firmly hold onto the authority of the Princess Consort.

Lost in these wild thoughts, A'nan was escorted into the bridal chamber.

As she left, she heard a burst of lively commotion, seemingly saying something like, "She’s actually still alive? That’s truly unbelievable..."

A'nan twitched her lips. She was in good health; wasn't it normal for her to still be alive?

In the festive bridal chamber, A'nan sat on the new bed covered in longans, peanuts, and dates. Besides her four dowry maids, there were several elderly matrons in festive attire; she heard they had all come from the palace, representing the Empress Dowager.

A'nan felt incredibly hungry. From the moment she woke up in the morning, drank a sip of water, and ate a few snacks, she had been tossed about until now. Her stomach began to cramp, throbbing with pain.

Her stomach ailment was acting up again, and the heavy ceremonial crown on her head made it hard to breathe.

"Rucui..."

Hearing A'nan’s weak call, Rucui became as excited as if she’d been injected with adrenaline. "Miss, what’s wrong?"

The matrons around them were also startled. They had finally made it to the bridal chamber; was the bride going to drop dead here? No! They had come this far—at least let her consummate the marriage and let the Prince of Su get a taste of the meat before she died!

The matrons wailed in their hearts.

A'nan felt dizzy, her ears ringing, and her stomach aching; she was about to collapse. If she knew what those matrons were thinking, she would probably have wanted to slap them to death.

"Rucui, I'm hungry..."

Upon hearing this, Rucui calmed down. "Miss, please endure it a little longer. Once the Prince of Su returns, you will have food!"

Having served her mistress for so many years, Rucui knew of A'nan’s constitution—she couldn't go hungry. Rucui had originally felt pity for A'nan, but the Prime Minister’s wife had said that a woman only marries once in her life, and a bride cannot eat, as it is inauspicious! So, she told A'nan to endure it. Rucui thought that made sense, so she hadn't found a way to smuggle food to A'nan.

When A'nan heard this, she decisively fainted.

In an instant, the bridal chamber was in chaos.

Hearing that the bride had fainted in the bridal chamber, the guests who hadn't yet left were not alarmed; instead, they wore expressions that said, "This is to be expected." The Prince of Su’s steward rushed off to fetch the imperial physician. It was quite convenient, as the Emperor and Empress Dowager, fearing the bride might die halfway, had long ago dispatched an imperial physician to the Prince of Su’s mansion to be on call.

The Prince of Su, with a cold face, abandoned the people at the banquet and strode toward the bridal chamber.

The remaining guests looked on with understanding, thinking that the Prince of Su might be about to become a bachelor again, and they offered their deepest sympathies.

The Prince of Su strode into the bridal chamber and saw a group of servants in a panic, looking completely terrified. It wasn't their fault; after all, regarding this wedding, when they learned the day before that the young lady of the Lu family was still alive, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had been overjoyed. They then issued a death order: the wedding must absolutely, definitely be completed. If any accidents occurred, these servants would lose their heads!

The Prince of Su’s brow furrowed. He walked straight past the panicked servants. The room was lit with several floral candles, bright as day, and the Prince of Su immediately saw the bride in her red wedding dress lying on the new bed. Her pleasing apple-shaped face was deathly pale, looking as if she might depart this world at any moment. Her brows were tightly knitted, as if she were in great pain. Beside the bed, a maid was loosening the layers of her collar, revealing a fair, slender neck...

"What is going on?"

A low, masculine voice rang out. The chaotic bridal chamber seemed to find its backbone. The maids and matrons stepped forward to bow and pay their respects. One of the higher-ranking matrons said, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort suddenly fainted. It might be that the air is too stuffy, and she couldn't breathe." The old matron naturally couldn't say that perhaps the Princess Consort was dying again, so she had to find an excuse.

The Prince of Su’s brow was tightly knit.

"...Actually, actually, my Miss is also hungry..." Rucui, the maid who was loosening the collar, added quite foolishly.

In an instant, everyone in the bridal chamber looked at the mistress and servant with stunned expressions. The maids from the Prime Minister’s house lowered their heads in shame: could they pretend they didn't know these two?

The Prince of Su’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly. He glanced at the woman on the new bed and ordered, "Matron Qin, go to the kitchen and prepare something light and easy to digest for the Princess Consort."

"Yes!" Matron Qin, being very tactful, led the group of matrons away.

Rucui wrung out a wet towel to wipe A'nan’s face and secretly sized up the Prince of Su. She only felt that the man who had entered, dressed in his fiery red groom’s robes, looked incredibly spirited. His face possessed the unique, handsome beauty of the imperial family, even appearing refined and elegant. Although his expression was stern, his straight posture and the noble aura he exuded with every movement made one involuntarily want to submit and look up to him.

The Prince of Su walked straight over and said, "Move aside!"

Rucui was stunned for a moment, then nimbly jumped up, incidentally thrusting the wet towel in her hand into the Prince of Su’s hand, before lowering her head and retreating to the side.

The Prince of Su paused, looking at the wet towel in his hand. He couldn't help but glance at the maid who was so bold that she seemed brainless. Seeing her with her head lowered and eyes submissive, looking gentle and obedient, he twitched his lips. Finally, he lifted his robes and sat on the embroidered stool in front of the bed, continuing the action Rucui had just been performing.

The Prince of Su carefully examined the woman on the bed wearing the rosy-cloud cape: an apple-shaped face, skin white and tender, her small mouth slightly parted as she breathed softly. The layers of clothing beneath her long, fair neck had already been pulled open, revealing delicate collarbones that rose and fell with her breathing...

The Prince of Su quickly turned his face away, the tips of his ears slightly red.