Chapter 326 The Bride
The rain continued throughout the night, heavy and light, all the way until dawn before it subsided.
Qingyuan was all dressed and ready to serve in the bridal chamber.
Her assistant maidservant opened the window and looked at the still slightly damp ground and the pale white sky. She giggled and remarked “Third Master chose a really good wedding date. The sun shone so brightly the past few days, and it only started raining after the bride entered the bridal chamber and all the guests had left. Concidentally, who knew this rain would stop after just one night, right as dawn broke and just when the bride was to meet her in-laws? The monks at Zhaoming Temple are truly amazing!”
This was a good omen.
Qingyuan also felt that Yutang was very lucky.
She smiled and said, “This date wasn’t calculated by Zhaoming Temple. It was chosen by Third Master himself, following the almanac.”
Clearly, Third Master was even more capable.
She then instructed the maids beside her, “From now on, you can’t call her ‘Bride,’ you must address her as ‘Third Madam.'”
The maids all agreed.
Qingyan arrived with two other assistant maids.
Qingyuan glanced at the sky and figured that Pei Yan and Yu Tang wouldn’t be up so early, so she invited Qingyan in and asked why she arrived so early.
Qingyan was two years older than Qingyuan and, in principle, could be released from the household. However, she didn’t want to leave the Pei manor and pleaded with Grand Madam Pei that she would remarry after Yu Tang entered the household. If Yu Tang needed her, she would stay by Yu Tang’s side, but if Yu Tang had no intention of keeping her as her personal maid, she would serve Grand Madam Pei instead.
She smiled and said, “I was worried you’d be too busy, so I came early to see if there was anything I could help with.”
Qingyuan poured her a cup of tea and smiled, “I don’t know what the Third Madam’s arrangements are yet. We’ll have to wait for her instructions.”
Qingyan wasn’t in a hurry and asked Qingyuan, “I heard Third Madam only brought along two maids, one named Xing’er and the other Lan’er. She didn’t bring anyone else as part of her dowry. Have you met these two maids before? Do you know their personalities?”
Pei Yan and Grand Madam Pei, to establish Yu Tang’s status, listed four maids as part of the dowry. However, those close to her knew that only Xing’er and Lan’er were actually brought from the Yu family.
When Qingyuan first entered the manor, she received much care from Qingyan, thus Qingyuan wanted to help her. Hearing this, she said, “I used to be quite familiar with Shuangtao, who served Third Madam, but she got married in September. It is also my first time meeting them, so I don’t know their temperaments either. However, Third Madam is very kind and gentle person, so probably they wouldn’t be difficult to work with.”
As head maid in charge of a section of the Pei household, Qingyan wasn’t afraid of anyone being a nuisance. She was only worried about not gaining Yutang’s trust.
Both of them addressed the matter of Yutang’s other maids.
Yutang’s other two “dowry” maids were personally selected by Pei Yan, so they too hadn’t seen them before. They didn’t know which of the Pei family’s estates they were chosen from, or whether they were bought from outside of the Pei household.
Both Qingyuan and Qingyan got somewhat worried.
Qingyan could only comfort Qingyuan, “Leizhi and Liuxu both serve Third Madam and they know the dowry maids. If they still can be fooled by Third Madam’s people, we’ll have no face to stay in the Pei residence.”
Qingyuan agreed.
She smiled and nodded. Seeing that it was getting late, she called a maid to accompany Qingyan and led Liuxu and Leizhi to Pei Yan and Yutang’s bridal chamber.
Unexpectedly, Pei Yan was already awake and all dressed, holding a small pair of gilded scissors, pruning the orchids that were kept in Yutang’s study for decoration.
Qingyuan quickly stepped forward to greet Pei Yan, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Pei Yan, dressed in a simple silver-red silk robe, his eyes and brows radiating smiles, which further accentuated his elegant and refined demeanor. Even Qing Yuan, who had already forced herself to ignore Pei Yan’s good looks, couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter slightly as she spoke, “Third Master, should we leave the hot water for Third Madam’s washing here or pour it into the basin?”
Such a simple question, yet Pei Yan hesitated for a moment, glancing at the clock in the hall, before saying, “Wait a moment, I’ll go wake Third Madam.”
Qing Yuan and the others naturally dared not to move or look.
Everyone held their breaths and they could faintly hear movements from the inner room.
They could hear Yu Tang’s indolent mutterings and Pei Yan’s gentle and patient replies. Soon, the rustling sound of clothing could be heard.
It was clear that they were dressing themselves.
Qingyuan’s trusted maidservant couldn’t help but whisper to her, “Were none of the servants attending to Third Madam on duty last night?”
Qingyuan, afraid that Pei Yan would overhear his, glared at the maidservant resentfully, before turned to Qinglian and whispered, “When you go inside to comb Third Madam’s hair, don’t look around.”
Qinglian and Qingrong both smiled, their faces flushed from embarrassment and nodded repeatedly.
After a while, the noises from the inner room finally quietened down.
Then, they heard Pei Yan call out, “Come in.”
Qingyuan with a lowered gaze, led the maidservants into the inner room in a single file.
The inner room’s window was opened sometime earlier, which let in the chilly autumn wind. Fortunately, a brazier was already lit inside, so it wasn’t cold at all; in fact, the crisp air was invigorating.
Qingyuan looked up again and saw that Yutang, like Pei Yan, was also dressed in silver-red silk. Although the styles differed for men and women, it was clear they were made from the same material.
She was already sitting in front of the dressing table, her hair hastily tied into a bun and secured with a single gold hairpin. The bed was already neatly made, the dragon and phoenix wedding quilt folded and placed neatly.
Sensing Qingyuan’s gaze, she smiled at her.
The maids were all captivated by Yutang’s radiant smile and mesmerising beauty, silently exclaiming “Beautiful!” in their minds. Only Qingyuan, who was closer to her, noticed that Yutang was smiling rather shyly.
Shouldn’t all brides react like this?
Qingyuan smiled back at Yutang and began instructing the maids to fetch water for Yutang to wash her face, comb her hair, do her makeup, and tidy the room.
Yu Tang was naturally very cooperative, even following Qinglian’s advice regarding jewelry, choosing a complete set of filigree gold phoenixes. The maids tidying the room, however, felt somewhat uneasy.
Pei Yan remained seated on the bed, watching Qinglian and the others comb Yu Tang’s hair.
Should they tidy the bed or not?
The two maids looked to Qing Yuan for help.
Based on Qing Yuan’s experience serving Pei Yan, this was obviously not the time to disturb him.
She gently shook her head at the two maids. Once Yu Tang was dressed, Liu Xu and Lei Zhi brought in breakfast.
It was polite and customary for silence while eating.
Although neither Yu Tang nor Pei Yan spoke, Pei Yan cared for Yu Tang the entire time, having Qing Yuan serve her a bowl of black chicken soup, placing pieces of snowflake cake on her plate, and even, unusually, saying to her as she finished eating, “Eat more.”
“Did he realise he was in the wrong?” Yu Tang thought, too ashamed to look up, inwardly blushing resentfully.
“He was so forceful last night but now he’s being so nice to me? Hmph, my forgiveness isn’t that easy to obtain!”
Although her thoughts were so, seeing the gentle and caring way Pei Yan treated her, her heart unconsciously softened and she felt sweet inside. It made it a little easier to accept what happened last night. Moreover, she unconsciously wanted to get closer to Pei Yan too, as if just being near him made her incredibly happy.
How could she be so pathetic?
Yu Tang felt a little annoyed at herself and angrily prodded and mixed the pastries in her bowl with her chopsticks.
After finally finishing her meal, Yu Tang, along with Liu Xu and Lei Zhi, followed Pei Yan out of the bridal chamber.
It seemed Pei Yan intended to follow the customary ancestral rites and family introductions.
Qing Yuan hurriedly instructed the few maids who remained in the room to tidy up before following them out.
The Pei family’s main ancestral hall was located at the bottom of Tianmu Mountain, but a smaller ancestral hall was also set up in the Pei family’s main residence. Regular incense offerings were done there, while festivals like Qingming Festival would be observed at the ancestral hall at the base of Tianmu Mountain.
Yu Tang will only be officially added to the family genealogy three months after her marriage, at which point she will need to go to the ancestral hall at Tianmu Mountain. Today’s ancestral worship ceremony would be held in the smaller ancestral hall at the Pei family’s residence.
She followed Pei Yan slowly towards the ancestral hall. The path was shaded by lush trees, the scenery picturesque, and everything she saw felt both different and yet similar at the same time.
Yu Tang couldn’t help but feel grateful to Pei Yan.
If he didn’t help her familiarize herself with the Pei family beforehand, she would have been so lost after marrying into the family, getting lost even on the simplest of journeys.
Pei Yan, however, was worried about her health and turned back, asking her softly, “Are you alright?”
Yu Tang’s face flushed instantly, and she quickly denied, saying “I, I’m fine. Please lead the way, we shouldn’t keep the elders waiting.”
Pei Yan smiled, but suddenly stopped.
Caught off guard, Yu Tang almost bumped into him.
She glared at Pei Yan angrily.
Pei Yan, however, looked at her with a smile in his eyes and a indulgent expression.
This reminded her of how he first kissed her last night.
She was completely oblivious, staring blankly and defenselessly at his handsome face, which allowed him to get his way and move closer…
Yu Tang’s face burned even hotter.
She said in a low voice, warning him “What, what are you doing?”
He didn’t want to do anything.
He just wanted to touch her.
Pei Yan, lost in thought, reached out and touched Yu Tang’s smooth, white face, which was as delicate as a freshly peeled egg.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yu Tang saw the maids’ stunned looks.
Extremely embarrassed, she didn’t think twice and slapped Pei Yan’s hand away.
Pei Yan was surprised by her response.
Yu Tang was also startled.
Of course, she knew that what happened last night was something every couple would do. Before her marriage, her mother, fearing she wouldn’t understand, specially asked Mrs. Wu to explain it to her patiently. It wasn’t that she disliked Pei Yan’s touch… but knowing was one thing, experiencing it was another. She couldn’t help but feel flustered… she didn’t mean to slap him.
Yu Tang lowered her head, her eyes downcast.
From Pei Yan’s angle, he could see her dark eyelashes, drooping limply as if drenched in rain, giving her a somewhat disheveled appearance, which inexplicably stirred a pang of pity in him, followed by amusement.
She’d barely married him before she was already this lively, scratching him at the slightest provocation.
However, this spirited Yu Tang only made him happier.
He simply pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear, “Well, well, you’ve gotten bold, daring to hit me now. Wait till we get back to our room, I’ll teach you a lesson!”
Yu Tang’s mind flashed back to the last time Pei Yan said those words.
Her legs went weak. If Pei Yan hadn’t been holding her, she felt she would have stumbled.
“You, you, don’t even think about it!” Yu Tang said, pushing Pei Yan away and fleeing.
Behind her came Pei Yan’s hearty laughter.
That laughter was not only loud but also very unrestrained.
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