Chapter 5: The Legitimate Younger Sister Marries

Deprived of the jade-and-gold coronet sent by the Prince’s Manor, and of the lavish bridal robe sewn with golden thread, everything looked plain enough.

And yet one thing had not changed: her same overbearing manner.

“Sister, do you think I married beneath you and came here on purpose to laugh at me?”

“Sister, do not be so short-sighted. Do not look only at what is in your own bowl. Do not think that because you married into a noble house, you stand above me.

“My husband, Zhou Hua, may be unknown now, but he will rise to greatness and make his name throughout the capital.

“If you ever cannot endure life in the prince’s household, come find me. For the sake of sisterhood, I will still give you a bowl of rice.”

Shen Mengli smiled and said, “It seems my younger sister has great faith in Zhou Hua, certain that he will rise to prominence. Then I shall wait and see.”

She had been husband and wife with him for a lifetime; no one understood Zhou Hua better than the woman who had slept beside him.

Without her aid this time, and still hoping to climb to high office?

He may as well be dreaming.

“The propitious hour has arrived!”

At the call, Shen Mengqing lowered the bright red bridal veil over her face.

Firecrackers exploded, and a crowd surged in.

Through the press of people, Shen Mengli saw the groom in his scarlet wedding finery.

Zhou Hua was not, in truth, an unattractive man. He had handsome features and a refined, scholarly bearing.

On his wedding day, he looked especially spirited.

Greeting the guests, his face shone with joy.

If he had known that this change of bride would set him on a path utterly unlike the one from his former life, would he still have smiled so brightly?

In secret, people mocked Shen Mengqing: for a daughter of an official family to marry a bankrupt scholar was bad enough, but on this trip to fetch the bride, he could not even afford a horse.

He had ridden over on a donkey.

Yet on the surface, everyone remained cordial, exchanging words of blessing and good fortune.

Zhou Hua took the bride by the hand. After the two bowed farewell to their parents, they set out for the Zhou household.

The Zhou family lived in a remote little town on the outskirts of the capital, very far from the Shen residence.

Shen Mengqing sat in a red bridal sedan chair and was jostled for two hours along the road.

They still had not reached their destination.

Then she was transferred to a mule cart and jolted on for the better part of half a day, until her whole body felt as though it were falling apart.

By the time she arrived at the Zhou home, Shen Mengqing was both thirsty and starving.

The sedan had been stifling and cramped, like a steamer basket; she had nearly been baked senseless by the heat.

Along the way, she had not been allowed to drink water or eat anything.

Since no one knew when they would arrive at the Zhou residence, and they feared the bride might need to relieve herself midway, she had been forced to endure it the entire journey.

This marriage had made Shen Mengqing suffer greatly.

Three days later, when she returned to visit her parents, she looked utterly wilted. Two huge dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her face was frighteningly pale.

She had grown much thinner, as fragile as paper, as though a gust of wind could topple her.

But afraid of becoming a laughingstock before Shen Mengli, she forced herself to hold on, straightened her back, and lifted her chin like a proud little wild pheasant.

None of this escaped Shen Mengli’s eyes.

After all, she had gone through the same thing in her previous life and naturally understood the hardship.

To marry off a perfectly healthy daughter, only for her to return home looking half dead, was enough to break Liu’s heart and bring tears streaming down her face.

“Qing’er, why do you look so unwell? Have your husband and wife been at it these past few nights?

“I told you before: you must know moderation in such matters. You cannot keep indulging a man like that.”

Shen Mengqing flushed crimson. “Mother, what are you saying? We haven’t... shared a bed yet.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean, not shared a bed?” Liu asked in astonishment.