Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 4
by Little PandaThe Wedding
After settling on Ji Qingchi, the housekeeper gave Wang Erfeng and his group silver money, letting them take the utterly unwilling Ye Shui back.
Ji Qingchi was brought back to the mansion and asked to wait outside. She didn’t wait long before seeing the housekeeper emerge with a beautiful middle-aged woman, knowing in her heart that this beautiful woman must be the granddaughter of Marquis Pingyang.
It was said that Marquis Pingyang Su Ban was exceptionally beautiful and had married the capital’s most beautiful man as her husband. All their children, whether female or male, were extraordinarily beautiful. Moreover, both daughters and sons loved beautiful people, and those they married were mostly outstanding in appearance. After several generations, the Pingyang Marquis’s descendants became known for their beauty. Not to mention those far away, but her imperial sisters were all eyeing the legitimate great-grandchild of Marquis Pingyang like tigers watching their prey.
Thinking of this, Ji Qingchi shook her head with a smile, never expecting that while her imperial sisters hadn’t succeeded, she would be the first to marry the Marquis’s great-granddaughter.
She had seen the legitimate great-grandchild of Marquis Pingyang before, who was indeed exceptionally beautiful, but didn’t know how this concubine-born young miss would look.
Su Ming was especially satisfied upon seeing Ji Qingchi. Although this child’s appearance wasn’t particularly stunning and didn’t quite meet the Su family’s usual spouse selection standards, at this critical moment, she couldn’t be picky anymore. As long as they had strength – Su Yi’s wheelchair was made entirely of wood and quite heavy. “Worthy daughter-in-law [θ΄€εͺ³ | xiΓ‘n xΓ | respectful term for daughter-in-law], sorry to keep you waiting. Quick, quick, let’s go inside and talk.”
Worthy daughter-in-law?
Being addressed this way for the first time, Ji Qingchi was stunned. Before she could react, Su Ming and the housekeeper had already ushered her through the mansion gates.
She hadn’t yet figured out how to respond to Su Ming’s “worthy daughter-in-law” when she saw a young girl with two small buns running out crying, “Family head! Family head, something terrible has happened! The young miss has fainted again!”
Su Ming stumbled, nearly falling. Housekeeper Ge beside her was quick to steady her, saying with deep distress, “Family head! Family head! The young miss is waiting for you, you absolutely cannot have anything happen to you!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Su Ming forced herself to gather her spirits and hurriedly ran into the mansion.
Ji Qingchi stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to enter or leave.
The government had regulations stating that men and women to be married could not meet directly before their wedding ceremony.
Although she wasn’t actually male, and this marriage was merely a pretense, she had come with the intention of gaining the Su family head’s trust and then, under her protection, to contact her own shadow guards. If she showed such disregard for propriety, and the family head later asked her to leave, that would be problematic.
After some thought, she said to Housekeeper Ge, who was also about to rush over to check on Su Yi, “Aunt Ge, I’ll stay here.”
Seeing her lower her head, Housekeeper Ge thought she was being shy and looked back at her approvingly – not bad, this young lord understood etiquette. “Very well, young lord please wait here, I’ll go see how the young miss is doing.”
Su Ming hurriedly rushed to her precious daughter’s courtyard, and just as she entered the gate, she saw the doctor coming out carrying her medicine box.
She quickly went to meet her, “Doctor, how is my daughter’s condition?”
The doctor clasped her hands [ζ±ζ | gΗng shΗu | traditional greeting gesture] and said with difficulty, “Miss Su’s condition is unstable. This old woman is powerless to help. I hope the Su family head will seek someone more skilled.”
Her intention was to say her medical skills weren’t adequate to treat this difficult condition and suggest inviting a divine doctor, but in the family head’s ears, it became that her precious daughter was beyond medical help and should prepare for the afterlife.
She stumbled several steps, her eyes reddening, “…Gancao, see the doctor out.”
“Family head, this…” Housekeeper Ge arrived just in time to hear these words. She had watched Su Yi grow up from childhood and considered her like her own daughter. Hearing this, her eyes instantly reddened and tears fell, “Family head… what should we do?”
The Su family head wiped her tears, remembering what the Taoist priest had told her earlier, and rallied herself, “Quickly prepare my daughter’s wedding. Three days later… no, no, no, the sooner the better. Tomorrow, we’ll hold the ceremony tomorrow!”
Usually, wedding preparations took at least half a month – a man only marries once in his lifetime, and which young lord wouldn’t want a grand ceremony? To prepare a wedding in just half a day, how rushed it would be, truly unfair to that young lord. However, thinking of Su Yi’s illness, Housekeeper Ge hurriedly agreed.
Ji Qingchi had barely sat in the guest hall for a moment when Housekeeper Ge told her she would be marrying the Su family’s young miss tomorrow.
Before she could fully process this, Housekeeper Ge had servants take her to a room to bathe, change clothes, and prepare for the wedding [εΊε« | chΕ« jiΓ | literally: to leave home for marriage].
“Waitβ”
Just how ill was the Su family’s young miss that they needed to rush into marriage like this?
“Young lord, I beg you.” Seeing her apparent reluctance, Housekeeper Ge’s tears streamed down, “Our family head is nearly forty years old and in all these years has only had the young miss as her daughter. Please, young lord, show kindness and help our Su family.”
Ji Qingchi felt somewhat guilty – they were truly staking the young miss’s life on this marriage, while she had come to deceive them.
Ji Qingchi sighed, “Alright, I’ll go prepare for the wedding.”
The Su family’s young miss was to marry the newly recruited husband!
The Su family head placed special importance on this marriage, announcing a three-day feast and inviting guests for drinks. The wedding procession even scattered pine nut candies and pearl cakes [ηη η³ | zhΔn zhΕ« gΔo | traditional sweet rice cake] along the street – delicacies ordinary families couldn’t afford – along with copper coins, causing beggars and children to scramble for them.
Ji Qingchi sat in the bridal sedan [θ±θ½Ώ | huΔ jiΓ o | traditional wedding carriage], resting with closed eyes. She had been woken before dawn to be dressed up. Fortunately, the human skin mask made by her senior sister was of good quality; otherwise, the makeup would have cracked and exposed her.
She slightly lifted the sedan curtain and her sharp eyes caught two women in fitted clothes [ε²θ£ | jΓ¬n zhuΔng | close-fitting martial arts attire] mixing into the crowd. Their light, quick steps marked them as martial artists.
Ji Qingxuan’s people had found her so quickly.
Ji Qingchi frowned – it seemed her decision to wear the human skin mask was correct. Otherwise, yesterday’s conspicuous display of strength would have immediately revealed her to Ji Qingxuan’s people.
Staying in Fengcheng wasn’t a long-term solution. She needed to quickly evade Ji Qingxuan’s claws and teeth [ηͺη | zhΗo yΓ‘ | henchmen] and contact her shadow guards.
Lost in thought, her sedan chair had arrived, and she heard the matchmaker’s fawning voice, “New husband, step over the fire basin.”
Ji Qingchi slowly stepped over the fire basin, supported by the matchmaker as she walked to the ceremonial hall.
She wore a bridal veil [η倴 | gΓ i tou | traditional red veil covering bride’s face], and through the gap beneath it, she saw someone place a kneeling cushion before her.
“The newlyweds enter the hall to bow to heaven and earth].”
“First bow to heaven and earthβ”
She was an imperial princess, and had never bowed to anyone except the Emperor Mother, but thinking that if she couldn’t endure this momentary humiliation, she might lose her life – what was there to say about dignity then?
Ji Qingchi secretly sighed and slowly lowered her head.
“Second bow to the parentsβ”
When she knelt, the veil blocked her view, and she couldn’t see the situation beside her. Only when rising did she vaguely glimpse a chicken’s claw.
Chicken’s claw!
Ji Qingchi’s heart tightened – she had heard that during wedding ceremonies, a chicken was only used as a substitute when the other party was either critically ill or deceased. Could it be that the Su family’s young miss was now too ill to rise, or had already passed away?!
“Husband and wife bow to each otherβ”
Full of doubts, she deliberately knelt slowly, and sure enough, through the gap under the veil, she saw a curious little maid holding a bright-feathered hen with its beak bound.
…Well, becoming a widower right after marriage might be good – that way she would have more freedom of movement and wouldn’t fear being discovered when contacting her shadow guards.
“Escort them to the bridal chamberβ”
Ji Qingchi was supported as she entered a room.
The servant supporting her withdrew, and she sat in the room for a while, hearing only the crackling of the candle wick.
She carefully surveyed the surroundings, hearing no movement.
Usually, a wedding was a joyous occasion that should be lively and bustling, but with Su Yi still unconscious and the family head’s spirits low, even the servants didn’t dare speak loudly. Only Yanshen and Gancao, two maids, were left guarding the door from afar in case Su Yi woke up and needed attending.
There should be no one else around.
Ji Qingchi exhaled, slowly removing her bridal veil – wearing the heavy headdress was really uncomfortable.
After removing the veil, sure enough, the room was empty. She looked around, tightly closed the doors and windows, and after ensuring no one would enter, carefully peeled off her human skin mask.
“Fortunately this thing breathes, otherwise wearing it all day would have left my face in quite a state.”
She poured herself a cup of tea and leisurely ate the tea snacks on the table while considering her future plans.
Su Yi felt she had slept for a long time. When she opened her eyes again, she saw red everywhere and was stunned on the spot.
What was going on? How had her room become like this after one sleep?
The big red quilt, red pillows, and even her wheelchair was covered in red fabric – wasn’t this a bit excessive?
“Mmm…” She let out a soft groan, rubbing her head as she slowly sat up.
This slight sound startled the person still drinking tea in the room.
Ji Qingchi’s heart jumped in alarm. She hurriedly put on her human skin mask and walked around the red bed curtains that had blocked her view, coming to the other side of the bed, where her eyes met with the other’s gaze.
She had been careless! How had someone been hiding here without her noticing!
Ji Qingchi’s brows slightly furrowed as she instantly drew the flexible sword from her waist, placing it against Su Yi’s neck, coldly questioning in a low voice, “Who are you?”
The sharp blade reflected Su Yi’s pale face. At this moment between life and death, Su Yi looked at the person wielding the sword and instead became calm, guessing their identity.
In the entire novel, only one person carried a flexible sword at their waist.
Yes, that would be the female protagonist with severe paranoia.
“Eyes like autumn waters rippling, brows like misty mountains, lips naturally crimson without rouge, nose straight without carving, skin like competing snow, ethereal and transcendent.”
This was the novel’s description of the female protagonist.
The reason this passage – which would be criticized by Chinese teachers as flowery but insubstantial – remained so memorable to Su Yi was that the author, lacking vocabulary, used the same passage to describe both the female protagonist and her, an eighteenth-tier cannon fodder supporting character.
Only adding after “ethereal and transcendent”: “However, tormented by illness, her spirits were low, not as dazzling as Ji Qingchi, thus earning her the title of World’s Second Beauty. Unfortunately, the beauty was ill-fated, and shortly after receiving this title, Su Yi passed away.”
This was her only appearance in the entire novel.
…Making it seem as if she had been dragging her sick body around just to receive this “World’s Second Beauty” title.
Moreover, as the saying goes, “each beauty has their own merits”, how did the author come up with such arbitrary titles as World’s First and Second Beauty?
To think she had once treasured this novel like a precious object, reading it probably five times, until she knew the plot better than the famous poem “Moonlight Before My Bed”.
How could she have been so brainless back then?
As Su Yi’s mind wandered, Ji Qingchi, seeing her not responding, pressed the sword harder and said coldly, “Speak!”
thanks for the chapter
Ahem, Ji Qingchi, pretty sure thats your wife