“Junyue!” Qi Chuyao finally snapped out of it and rushed forward to grab her arm. “Forget it, forget it!”
She felt a surge of gratitude.
‘Sure enough, at the critical moment, it’s still my good sister who comes through! If this isn’t a good sister, what is?’
Qin Junyue was held back and only then released her grip. She retracted her short blade, swept a cold glance over Wei Ning, and turned to walk away.
Wei Ning leaned against the wall, her legs so weak they felt like jelly, unable to speak for a long while. The farce ended on a sour note.
But from then on, no one dared to say another word.
Qi Chuyao unceremoniously threw her arm around Qin Junyue’s shoulders and gave her a shake, looking every bit like they were best friends for life.
……
The auspicious hour had arrived.
The sound of gongs and drums drew closer, and the crack-pop of firecrackers echoed in a continuous din.
Song Ning stood up, with Xia Ling and Xia Shuang supporting him on either side as they walked out.
They passed through the corridors, through the courtyards, and through the moon gates draped in red silk.
All along the way, there was the noisy bustle of excitement and the sounds of congratulations and well-wishes.
He couldn’t tell how much sincerity was in those voices, and he didn’t care.
When he reached the main entrance, he felt a pair of unfamiliar hands steady him. Those hands were slender but slightly stiff, carrying a hint of reluctance.
Qi Chuyao.
“Let’s go,” her voice was muffled, sounding extremely unwilling.
Song Ning smiled slightly and let her support him as he stepped out of the Song Mansion’s main gate.
He thought that perhaps he shouldn’t stay in the Capital City after the marriage. He could take Qi Chuyao to the Frontier and slowly build his strength there.
When the New Sovereign ascends the throne, he will inevitably purge the Eunuch Faction.
Such a purge would surely involve countless officials; at a time like this, staying in the Capital City would be more dangerous than safe.
Especially that young New Sovereign—if he truly turned out to be an emperor like Chongzhen, it would be better for him to take Qi Chuyao and run far away.
As long as he could hold Shanhaiguan, everything else would be manageable.
While Song Ning was still calculating his future retreat in his mind, Qi Chuyao looked at him with a face full of reluctance.
She stared at the face before her, at those white eyes slightly lowered, and the faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his mouth.
Despite being blind and unable to see anything, he was remarkably calm and composed. A wave of inexplicable irritability suddenly rose in her heart.
‘Is he not nervous at all? Is he not afraid? Does he really not care who he marries?’
‘Does he even like me? What does this marriage contract mean to him?’
‘Why do I always see him like this?’
Outside the gate, the elders of both families were already in position. Mother Song wore a dark red ceremonial robe today, a smile on her face.
She watched her only son, dressed in his Wedding Robe and supported by others, walking toward her step by step.
Mother Qi stood on the other side, her face beaming with satisfaction.
In the very center stood an incense table, upon which sat the Tablets of Heaven and Earth with curls of incense smoke rising from them.
“First bow to Heaven and Earth!” the master of ceremonies shouted in a long, drawn-out tone.
Qi Chuyao supported Song Ning as they bowed toward the incense table.
Song Ning felt the stiffness of the person beside him but said nothing. He simply followed her rhythm, bowing once, then again.
“Second bow to the parents!”
The two turned around and bowed to the elders of both families.
Mother Song looked at her son kneeling on the ground; her mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out.
Mother Qi, on the other hand, laughed joyfully and nodded repeatedly.
“Husband and wife bow to each other!”
Qi Chuyao and Song Ning stood facing each other.
She gritted her teeth, bent her waist, and bowed to him. Song Ning also leaned down and returned the bow gently.
“Send them to the bridal chamber!”
The ceremony was complete.
Cheers, applause, and congratulations erupted all around. Firecrackers exploded and gongs and drums filled the air; everyone was laughing, shouting, and offering their blessings.
In the crowd, Song Youyi stood in a corner, very quiet.
She wore a plain white dress today with a thin cloak, looking completely out of place amidst the sea of red.
While everyone around her was laughing and celebrating, she remained motionless, just watching silently.
She watched her brother wearing that bright red Wedding Robe, standing beside another woman.
She watched him bend his waist to that woman and bow gently. She watched them being surrounded by the crowd as they slowly walked away.
The sound of gongs and drums made her ears ache, and the acrid smoke from the firecrackers made her cough.
She pulled out a handkerchief, covered her mouth to cough twice, and then used it to wipe the corners of her eyes.
Finally, she could no longer control herself and burst into tears. Tears surged out uncontrollably along with heart-wrenching wails.
A woman nearby saw this, leaned in, and smiled. “Is the Second Young Lady crying out of joy? Truly a deep bond between siblings.”
Song Youyi raised her head, her eyes red, and nodded.
Yes, crying out of joy. What a wonderful phrase.
The movement of her hand wiping her eyes paused. She turned her head and met another pair of eyes.
Qin Junyue was standing not far away, also watching her.
Across the boisterous crowd and the pervasive red, the two of them locked eyes, as if their gazes held some kind of shared emotion. Then, they both looked away.
It was as if nothing had happened.
……
The night grew deeper.
The bustle of the Song Mansion gradually subsided as the guests departed one after another.
Only the large red lanterns under the eaves remained lit, swaying gently in the night wind.
After the excitement, there was an eerie silence.
In a remote corner of the backyard, Wei Ning leaned against a wall, clutching her cut lip with a face so dark it looked like it might drip ink.
“That woman named Qin…” She gritted her teeth, her voice thick with hatred. “Sooner or later, I’ll make her regret this.”
Several figures dressed in black stood around her, and they all laughed upon hearing her words. The laughter was full of mockery.
“Make her regret it?” one woman in black sneered. “Miss Wei, you’d better worry about yourself first. She is a Second-Rank Martial Artist; what exactly are you going to use to make her regret it?”
Wei Ning’s face turned bright red, but she couldn’t find any words to argue.
Another person in black stepped forward, holding a scroll of blueprints and unfolding them under the moonlight.
It was a layout of the Song Mansion. The location of the wedding chamber was circled in red ink, with the surrounding paths, corridors, and guard posts clearly marked.
“Forget about her,” the person said, their voice low and calm. “The plan proceeds as scheduled. That green-clad woman carrying the sword isn’t there.”
“Is she Song Ning’s personal guard?” someone asked.
“Yes. Her strength is hard to gauge, but she’s very strong—maybe Third Rank or Second Rank?” The figure in black rolled up the blueprints. “The key is the wedding chamber. Only Qi Chuyao and that blind Gongzi are there.”
“Qi Chuyao hasn’t even succeeded in Entering the Ranks; she’s not worth worrying about. The blind one is even less of a concern.”
“What about the person sent by the Master?”
“She’s already arrived.”
As the words fell, a black shadow flitted across the roof and landed silently before them.
It was a middle-aged woman with a thin build and an ordinary face. Dressed in deep gray night-traveling clothes, she stood in the moonlight, nearly merging with the darkness.
Her aura was perfectly restrained; standing there, she looked like a lifeless stone.
But those eyes were startlingly bright.
A Second-Rank Martial Artist.
In this world, experts who have Entered the Ranks are divided from Fourth Rank to First Rank.
As long as one hasn’t Entered the Ranks, they aren’t considered an expert.
First-Rank experts are rare existence in Great Qian. On the surface, the strongest martial artists are Second Rank; both Mother Qi and Qin Junyue are Second-Rank Martial Artists.
This was also why Qin Junyue was so highly regarded; for a Second-Rank expert of her age, it was hard to say whether she might reach the First Rank in the future.
However, reaching the First Rank required various strokes of luck; it wasn’t necessarily true that the earlier one reached the Second Rank, the sooner they would reach the First.
When Wei Ning saw her, she instinctively took a step back. The woman swept a glance over her but didn’t speak, only giving a slight nod.
“Is everything arranged?” she asked, her voice raspy and low.
“It is,” the one with the blueprints replied. “The wedding chamber is in the East Courtyard of the Song Mansion. Qi Chuyao will be entering shortly.”
“According to the plan, you will strike after they extinguish the lights. The target is the blind Gongzi. It should ideally look like Qi Chuyao was the one who did it.”
“What about the woman with the sword?”
“It’s the couple’s wedding night. Would she really stay in the room the whole time?”
The person in black relaxed slightly, as if letting out a breath of relief.
During the last reconnaissance mission, they had almost been discovered by that woman.
Could it be that besides Qin Junyue, the Song Mansion had another young Second-Rank Martial Artist?
The assassin nodded and spoke no more. She looked up at the position of the moon, and with a flash of her silhouette, she vanished into the night.
The other black-clad figures exchanged glances and dispersed as well, melting into the darkness.