Fu Rou turned her head and faced the dresser mirror. “Give it to her.”
Ziyun had no choice but to retrieve the account book. As soon as she turned around, Old Maid Chang had snatched it over and handed it to Third Madam.
“The sedan from the Chen family has arrived.” First Madam of the Fu family said as she entered the room with her daughter, Fu Jun, supporting her arm. Oblivious of the exchange that has just occurred, she called out joyfully, “Is everything ready?”
Fu Rou got up to greet them.
Fu Jun helped Fu Rou up and quietly reminded her, “Younger Sister, once you get to your husband’s home, you can’t behave as you have before. You must control your temperament and be filial to them.”
Fu Rou let out a soft sound of assent. Fu Rou grabbed onto a circular fan as she lowered her eyes and covered her face. She suppressed the coldness in her eyes and allowed herself to be escorted.
Meanwhile, Sheng Chumu followed Du Ning and had reached the Chen family.
First Lady Chen, who had long forgotten what Du Ning looked like, enthusiastically asked him about his official position and what his rank was. Du Ning expressed that he was currently still studying and only had some friends that were government officials.
First Lady Chen did not believe him and took it as Du Ning being modest. “As the saying goes, to meet the prime minister, you must first go through the seven ranks below him. Nephew, since you are close to them, you must be at least rank five, no, rank four?”
Sheng Chumu burst out laughing, “First Lady Chen, you must know a lot.”
It was then that First Lady Chen noticed him. “This is--”
Sheng Chumu joked as he self-introduced, “According to your logic, I guess I will be rank nine?”
First Lady Chen raised her eyebrows as she seemed to look down on him, “Rank nine is somewhat low, but I guess it is still a government position. You can still help keep up our appearance for today.”
Sheng Chumu held back his laughter and winked at Du Ning.
“Aunty, is the new bride’s household special?” Du Ning asked.
“The older sister of the bride had initially married a poor scholar. Who knew that he would end up performing brilliantly, leading to them becoming one of the main residences here. The Fu family is now like a peacock that opened its tail feathers.” First Lady Chen looked displeased. “If that was all, it would have been okay. However, during the last festival, my son caught a glimpse of Lady Rou and had his heart stolen. He stubbornly forced me to ask for her hand in marriage. I could not win against him and thought that I would casually ask for her hand in marriage and have them reject it so that my son could give up. Who knew that they would actually accept the proposal?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Du Ning asked.
First Lady Chen spat out, “Nephew, you don’t know Lady Rou. She is famous in our area for being picky and difficult. A few years ago, there were a lot of people that asked for her hand. All of them were rich and respectable, yet she never agreed. It was only later that I understood. She is getting old now and nobody wants her. That is why she agreed to our proposal. She even asked for a betrothal gift of five thousand taels. She is emptying out our family’s fortune. If not for your younger cousin only wanting to marry her and no one else, hmph – Guangzhou’s number one beauty? She is clearly a fox!”
Du Ning did not know how to react. Just then, an old maid ran into the room frantically. She waved a piece of paper as she handed it over to First Lady Chen.
First Lady Chen read the paper as her expression changed. She held the piece of paper in a death grip. “Very good, so she is indeed a fox. She did such an embarrassing thing and has the guts to use our family to cover up. Hurry and bring Sixth Matchmaker to me!”
Soon, Sixth Matchmaker was brought in. The old maid straightened out the piece of paper and presented it to Sixth Matchmaker.
Sheng Chumu definitely did not want to miss the opportunity as he read the content out loud, “Son of the Chen family…getting married…bought a daughter-in-law…not pure. Huh? Not pure?”
Du Ning froze, “Are they saying…that the bride is not a virgin?”
Sixth Matchmaker was shocked, “This cannot be!”
“You blind and foolish woman, now what should we do?!” A fire blazed in First Lady Chen’s eyes.
Sixth Matchmaker’s eyes flickered as her eyebrows rose. She seemed to have thought of something as she leaned in and whispered into First Lady Chen’s ears. First Lady Chen’s anger immediately dissipated.
Sheng Chumu saw this exchange. This was getting fun.
Chapter 1.2: Spring
In front of the Chen family’s main entrance, the sound of a suona being played pierced the air as a marriage sedan was lowered to the ground.
The person who came to greet the new bride was not the groom but the First Lady Chen. Her actions were straightforward as she immediately asked for a small temporary tent to be built at the main door.
The sound of the suona stopped as the people around looked at each other in dismay. Amongst them, an impressive looking man stared fervently at the carriage’s swaying door curtain. His gaze was expectant.
The Sixth Matchmaker, as she was known by others, mocked, “My bride, there are some debatable rumors about you floating around. For your sake, your mother-in-law wishes to reveal the truth. We have brought an old servant to check you out before you can enter.”
Ziyun, who had followed the bride over to her new residence, fumed, “Are you purposely trying to bully my lady? My lady has always been upright and honorable. She has nothing to hide!”
Sixth Matchmaker looked back at the First Lady Chen. First Lady Chen looked scornful. “If she is as pure and clean as you claim, why can’t we examine her? If you don’t go through with the examination, don’t even think about stepping into our door!”
Ziyun argued back, “Why should she!”
Sixth Matchmaker laughed apologetically, “This is also for the bride’s own good. If she passes the examination, then everyone will know that she is pure.”
Ziyun immediately rebutted, “So if she doesn’t go through the examination, does it mean she isn’t pure?”
“Ziyun.” Fu Rou came out of the carriage, the bright scarlet veil concealing her appearance. Her demeanor was graceful. “I’ll go through with the examination.”
Fu Rou immediately entered the temporary tent. Everyone stood rooted to the spot as they awaited the results.
Soon, the old servant reappeared. She held back her sleeves, whispering into Sixth Matchmaker’s ears. Sixth Matchmaker chuckled and walked up to First Lady Chen. “Congratulations, the bride’s body is untouched.”
First Lady Chen raised her eyebrows, “Are you sure?”
Sixth Matchmaker wondered why she seemed to detect a hint of disappointment in the First Lady’s voice. However, she brushed it aside as she nodded with certainty, “Yes, I am sure.”
First Lady Chen snorted softly.
Ziyun helped Fu Rou out of the tent and towards the marriage sedan. Fu Rou acknowledged the urging of the marriage coordinator but did not enter the sedan. Lifting her hand, she suddenly pulled off the red veil covering her face.
Her long black hair fell beside her snow-white face tinted with rouge. Her eyes resembled black gems as her beautiful face seemed to radiate moonlight.
The people gathered in front of the main entrance all gasped in surprise. Behind the door, Sheng Chumu seemed to turn into a fool. Only the impressive looking young man in the crowd had a hint of longing in his eyes.
Fu Rou was indifferent to all that happened. To everyone’s shock, she suddenly turned towards the wall, wanting to smash her head against it.