"Prince Jing, speak with caution." Ling Mohan, standing outside the door, frowned and blocked Feng Jin.
Chu Chenyi looked up at the two. "Ling Mohan, take your people out." With that, he picked up the wine cup and drank it down cup after cup.
Anger flared in Feng Jin. She snatched the wine cup away and smashed it to the ground, the cup shattering into pieces.
"You must go out to welcome the bride today."
He truly relied on his crippled leg to do as he pleased.
"You..." Chu Chenyi's face was filled with anger, but he could do nothing to Feng Jin, only glare.
Ling Mohan pulled Feng Jin to his side protectively. "The sedan chair will be here soon. If you don't show yourself, it will be difficult to explain to the Marquis of Pingyang's estate."
Chu Chenyi frowned, scrutinizing the two. Had he misheard? Ling Mohan had spoken up to protect, even to help a woman.
He supposed this was the ugly daughter-in-law Gu Beichen kept talking about, the one Ling Mohan married. He hadn't believed it, even suspected a spy. But seeing her today, the reality was worlds apart. Gu Beichen's intelligence had been flawed.
"With fifth brother taking care of things outside, the Marquis of Pingyang's estate will not lose face."
"On your wedding day, you're letting someone else stand in for the ceremony. Will you also let someone else perform the bridal chamber duties?" Feng Jin’s nonsensical words tumbled out one after another.
Chu Chenyi's face instantly turned ashen. If Ling Mohan hadn't been present, he would have had Feng Jin thrown out long ago.
"A man like you, with no backbone. Lin Yuwei marrying you is truly the worst luck in eight lifetimes. She'd be better off marrying a butcher!"
Feng Jin pointed at Chu Chenyi's nose and unleashed a torrent of abuse.
Ling Mohan was stunned by her ferocity, though Chu Chenyi certainly deserved it.
After Feng Jin finished her spirited scolding, Ling Mohan thoughtfully brought over a stool and handed Feng Jin a cup of tea.
"Get out!" Chu Chenyi said through gritted teeth.
How could such an unreasonable woman exist in this world? It was truly astonishing.
"You don't have the standing to tell me to get out."
Feng Jin took out a token from her robes. "Do you recognize this?"
With the Empress Dowager as her backing, what did she have to fear?
The moment Chu Chenyi saw the token, he was stunned. How did his imperial grandmother's token end up in her hands? "How do you have Imperial Grandmother's token?"
"It seems you're not entirely foolish, and you recognize the Empress Dowager's token. Seeing this is like seeing the Empress Dowager herself. Hurry and get ready to go to the front hall to welcome the bride and complete the ceremony."
Feng Jin was playing the role of someone riding on someone else's coattails to perfection, her demeanor supremely arrogant.
"You win!" Chu Chenyi's fury was palpable, but he could only glare hatefully at Feng Jin, daring not to speak.
Ling Mohan, seeing Chu Chenyi's frustrated expression, suppressed a laugh. "Someone, quickly help Prince Jing change his clothes!"
"Even you..." Chu Chenyi could never have imagined that Ling Mohan would side with Feng Jin.
"Your Highness, I am also helpless. The Empress Dowager's token is here, and if you have objections, it would be best to speak with the Empress Dowager herself."
Ling Mohan shifted all responsibility onto the Empress Dowager, seeking peace for himself.
"You two, truly..."
"Enough. Don't be so effeminate. Change into your wedding attire and go for the ceremony. If you dare to refuse, I'll report this to the Empress Dowager. See how you'll handle that."
With the Empress Dowager as her support, Feng Jin was full of confidence, certain that Chu Chenyi would not dare to object.
A maid brought a new set of wedding robes and helped Chu Chenyi change.
Half an hour later, Chu Chenyi, seated in his wheelchair and pushed by a maid, exited the room.
The glaring sunlight hit his face. Chu Chenyi turned his head away uncomfortably. He hadn't left his room in a long time, and the direct sunlight momentarily blinded him, causing great discomfort.
Feng Jin flipped her wrist, a silver gleam flashing as a silver needle pierced an acupuncture point on Chu Chenyi.
"Ah..." His eyes throbbed with intense pain, and beads of cold sweat broke out on Chu Chenyi's forehead.
"What have you done to me!" Chu Chenyi, enduring the pain, roared in anger.
Feng Jin reached out and removed the silver needle from his eyes. "Nothing much, just helping you relax your nerves. If you dare to retreat halfway, I guarantee that within three days, your eyes will go blind, followed by your hair falling out..."
"You dare to poison a prince? That is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of relatives! Ling Mohan, are you just going to stand by and do nothing?"
"Prince Jing, I beg your pardon. My eyesight has been poor these past two days, and I saw nothing just now."
Ling Mohan chose to deliberately ignore everything that had just happened.
"You two, husband and wife, colluding together. I will remember this account!" Chu Chenyi, having suffered a loss he couldn't openly express, secretly noted it down.
"What are you standing around for? The auspicious time has arrived. Hurry and push Prince Jing to the ceremony."
Seeing the maids standing there like statues, Feng Jin said impatiently. Were the maids in Prince Jing's mansion all so foolish? Could it be they were just like their master?
Lin Yuwei alighted from the sedan chair and, with the help of her maids, walked towards the main hall.
"Second Sister-in-law, I beg your pardon. Second Brother's legs are not well. For this ceremony, Second Sister-in-law will bow with Second Brother's ceremonial robes."
Chu Junyan said with a distressed look, unsure how these words had come out of his mouth.
He could handle the welcoming of the bride, but the bowing ceremony, he truly could not.
He could only ask Lin Yuwei to perform the ceremony with his brother's ceremonial robes, which was a pity for her.
Lin Yuwei's hand, holding the fan, tightened abruptly. She took a deep breath and said, "Of course, Prince Jing's health is paramount. Everything else is merely a formality."
Her words fell, and among the guests present, there were plenty of gossips who began to whisper.
"The bride is truly pitiful, having to perform the ceremony with ceremonial robes. On such a joyous day, Prince Jing doesn't even show up. It seems he looks down on this marriage."
"This marriage is the Empress Dowager's decree, and it's likely neither of them are willing."
"From now on, Miss Lin's life will be difficult."
Countless sounds of sighing and pity reached Lin Yuwei's ears, and her face was filled with embarrassment.
Chu Junyan couldn't help but sigh, feeling it was difficult for her.
"Bring the ceremonial robes!" a嬷嬷 (older woman in charge of ceremonies) called out towards the door.
A maid elegantly carried the red ceremonial robes to the front of the hall.
Lin Yuwei glanced at the robes, a wave of deep grievances surging in her heart. Her nose tingled, and tears slowly fell from the corners of her eyes.
This wedding was truly ironic. With both parents absent, she could only bow to ceremonial robes.
She stood alone at the hall, like a joke.
"First bow to heaven and earth..."
Lin Yuwei took a deep breath, moved, and turned around. Just as she was about to kneel, a voice called out to stop her.
"Wait!"
Everyone present turned their heads in unison.
There stood Prince Jing, dressed in his wedding attire. Although seated in his wheelchair, his noble demeanor could not be ignored by anyone.
"With Prince Jing present, it was merely a slight delay. How can the bride be made to perform the ceremony with ceremonial robes? Where is such a rule?"