Chapter 62 — It’s Time For Plot: Trouble at a Wedding!
Edited by DancingDolphinsYo
The marriage alliance of Mr. Lu, the teacher of the Great Southern Garrison General, with the Yue family, was one of the biggest happenings in Bastion City in the past six months.
On the day of the wedding, the road from the General’s estate to the Yue family manor was decorated festively with splendid and beautiful ornaments. Many of the flowers used in decorations had never been seen by the common folk before, and the beautiful sight was more than enough for them to feast their eyes upon.
When the auspicious timing arrived, the group of people fetching the bride left the General’s estate, making their way to the Yue family manor in a formidable arrangement.
Right at the front was a tall and huge horse, its entire body a snow white with no blemish or discolouration at all. Its coat seemed to gleam under the spring sun. With a bright red saddle on it, not only did it look festive, it also looked extremely elegant.
Riding atop the horse, Lu Zezhi looked very graceful yet stern, his back very straight. He was just like a meticulously carved jade statue, and his red wedding attire made him seem like a deity of the high heavens.
Although his name was well known in Bastion City, not many people had actually seen him in person before. For many of the common folk joining in the revelry from the sidelines, this was their first time seeing this famous Mr. Lu.
He definitely lived up to being a person being fought over by the General and Miss Yue. He truly was really good looking! It was rare for them to be able to see someone so attractive in their life.
This big parade slowly made their way towards the Yue family manor.
The wedding gifts had already been sent over, and their significance was that the couple must be of one mind and inseparable. The ceremony went as follows: the obstruction of entry by the bridal family, people knocking on the door urging the bride to get onto the sedan, the groom entering the doors to greet his in-laws, and the bride bidding farewell to her parents, etc.
Finally, Miss Yue was led into the sedan, and with the accompaniment of music and the boisterous crowd, they returned to the General’s estate by another path.
Shooting three arrows at the bride to chase away any evil spirits, crossing the saddle and a basin of fire, these ceremonies were also accomplished successfully. At last, they arrived at the wedding hall, and it was time for the part of the ceremony when the bride and groom would pay respects to both the heavens and the parents.
The scene was lively and bustling, everyone celebrating. The seats in the main hall were reserved for the groom’s parents, but Lu Zezhi’s parents were no longer around. Together with being from another part of the country, his status allowed him to invite a local official to be an official witness for the wedding. This official of Bastion City was a man of around forty years of age. He usually carried a smile on his face, looking very warm and friendly. Well qualified to represent the elder of the Lu family, he was seated in the main hall, looking at the well-matched couple with a bright smile.
The master of ceremonies was about to start, only for the official to hold his hand up, putting a pause to everything.
“Young man, would you like to reconsider this marriage?” This change in the situation made the originally joyous, lively hall descend into silence.
Who would have expected that the official witness would be asking the groom if he wanted to consider breaking his engagement?
Lu Zezhi was very surprised as well. His brows creasing, he looked up and glanced at the official, before turning to look at Guan Shanjin.
As a great general, Guan Shanjin was in the second most important seat. He happened to be holding his teacup, sipping lightly at it. Towards the actions of the official, he seemed completely unbothered, and looked as though he had no intentions of stopping the official, or rebuking him.
“Official Fang, what do you mean by this?” Recovering from his stupefaction, Old Mister Yue could not restrain himself. His eyes widened to the size of coins, and he glared at Official Fang angrily.
“I don’t mean anything by it. I just don’t wish to see Mr. Lu taking the wrong step. After all… Hai, there are some things that you’ll never be able to wash off yourself once you’re stained by them.” Official Fang’s words were spoken reasonably, and he was still all smiles. However, the implication in them was rather profound.
Listening to him, Old Mister Yue’s face flushed in anger. He was basically stating that their Yue family had issues! As he leapt to his feet, his wife next to him hurriedly tugged at his sleeves. The other party was a court official, and furthermore, there was a Great Southern Garrison General present in the hall as well. How could the Yue family be the first to stir up this hornet’s nest!
However, Yue Dade was the unreasonable sort. Counting on the support of his relationship with the General’s estate, he swung away his wife’s grip, pointing at Official Fang and scolding him directly, “Fang Chongguang! Just because I’m calling you Official Fang, you really think you’re all that?! In front of the Great General, who gave you the guts to try and stir up trouble!”
“Ah, Old Mister Yue, you’ve said it yourself. In front of the Great General, who gave me the guts to try and stir up trouble?” Fang Chongguang was not the least bit angered. Instead, he looked at Yue Dade somewhat sympathetically.
“What do you mean by that?” Although Yue Dade was a little reckless, he was not a fool. After a moment of consideration, his finger that was pointing at Fang Chongguang started trembling slightly, and his voice also turned hoarse.
Yes, the Great Southern Garrison General did not speak up at all, so who else could be the one behind this matter? Faltering, he looked towards Guan Shanjin. Despite this being a joyous occasion, the graceful and charming man was still dressed in black. Other than the gleaming jade pendant hanging down from his belt, there was no other colour to be found on him.
The way he was dressed, how was he attending a wedding? It seemed more like he was participating in a wake. Yue Dade trembled when that thought ran through his mind, and he quickly wiped away the rage on his face, exchanging it with an ingratiating smile.
“Great General, you…”
“Hmm?” Guan Shanjin interrupted Old Mister Yue’s incomplete question. With a small smile, he looked at the bride and groom standing frozen in the hall. “Laoshi, Official Fang is asking you a question. Aren’t you going to reply to him?”
Only at this moment did Lu Zezhi seem to have woken up from sleep. With an ashen face, he turned towards Guan Shanjin. Looking as though he had suffered a great shock, his lips moved silently.
“Hmm? Laoshi, I can’t hear what you just said.” Guan Shanjin was still seated imposingly at his original position. With his teacup in his hand, he was skimming the tea scum off the top with the lid. “Laoshi, please take note that you should think it over properly before you respond.”
His tone was just as gentle and soft as normal, yet Lu Zezhi shuddered violently. Stumbling, he took a couple of steps backwards, nearly tripping himself.
“Great General, pardon my stupidity, but this is a wedding! Why, why…” Yue Dade wrung his hands, looking especially at a loss for what to do. The change in the situation had come too abruptly, and despite having experienced various storms, right now, he did not know how to handle this incident.
Also, right from the start of the ceremonies until now, there had been no accidents at all! Why did this trouble have to occur during the part when they were supposed to be paying respect?
“A wedding?” Guan Shanjin laughed quietly, and he could not be bothered to even look in Yue Dade’s direction. His alluring, charming eyes were fixed entirely on Mr. Lu. “Laoshi, why aren’t you saying anything? This is, after all, your wedding.”
“Hai- Haiwang…” With much difficulty, Lu Zezhi finally found his voice. However, it was not as gentle and pleasant sounding as usual, but rough and scratchy instead. The words sounded as though they had been produced with the greatest effort.
“I’m here.” Guan Shanjin’s voice made him seem as though he was very joyful.
“What are you doing? Last night, I already explained everything to you. Miss Yue is a good match for me, and you don’t have to keep testing it out like this.” Lu Zezhi’s voice was a little unsteady, and traces of pleading could even be detected within it.
Lu Zezhi was the sort with an outstanding appearance but no actual capability. On the outside, he looked broad-minded and warm, and able to make good judgement. In actual fact, he was actually too lazy to even use his brain, and had never spent enough time considering how to properly maintain his position and status.
At the beginning, he had only simply wished to gain a position as an official from Guan Shanjin, so as to be able to support himself. He was not someone especially talented, and although he once had literary fame in his village, it was based upon his attractive appearance.
When it was time for him to actually rely on his own talents to support himself, Lu Zezhi discovered that he would at most be a seventh-grade official, a mediocre official of some small town.
If he had never entered the residence of the Protector General, he might have been willing to contentedly walk down this path of mediocrity. However, having seen glory and opulence, he could no longer live without the luxury that he had already experienced.
When Guan Shanjin returned to the capital, he had been happy. As such, in the crowd of the common folk, he was then able to keenly detect Guan Shanjin’s issues.
The heartache he spoke of last night was not a falsehood. He had meant it truly and sincerely. After all, he had once seen Guan Shanjin being wild and high-spirited. However, even more so, he could not suppress the thoughts inside him. He knew how he could get to this man.
Later on, the reunion on Lantern Festival was probably the one thing that he had ever spent the most effort on. Just like this, Guan Shanjin started feeling an attachment towards him, and as he expected, started doting on him. Lu Zezhi understood the thought processes in this child’s mind. Guan Shanjin was heartless and cold, just like a wolf cub. He was extremely guarded and highly intelligent, and in his heart, everyone had a specific position. He had a clear idea on how to treat everyone, like his father, his mother, his friends, his confidants… they all had their own positions.
At that time, Lu Zezhi was no longer able to return to his position as a teacher, as Guan Shanjin no longer needed one. As such, he took a risk, and relying on Guan Shanjin’s disjointed feelings for him at the age of 12, he took over the position of his beloved.
This was a very special position, and he knew that he needed to put in all his efforts to maintain this position. Only then would he be able to spend his days under the wings of Guan Shanjin with no worries.
Before long, he forgot that this child was a wild beast hiding in the dark. Guan Shanjin was able to hide away his savageness and bloodthirstiness, and treat others very gently; yet he was also able to tear into the throat of a prey in the blink of an eye.
Guan Shanjin had no limit to how much he doted on Lu Zezhi. Lu Zezhi was intoxicated with this devotion, and he was always afraid that someone would replace him. As such, despite his gradually developing love towards Guan Shanjin, he still kept a distance, treating him lukewarmly.
A man may throw away a love that was in his hand, but he would forever long for the will-o-wisp in his heart whom he desired but was never able to attain.
Last night, Lu Zezhi thought that he had managed to appease Guan Shanjin. Compared to that old man, he had truly thought that after staying by Guan Shanjin’s side for so long, and having received his sole pampering for so many years, as long as he expressed his willingness to submit, Guan Shanjin would be willing to continue doting on him.
Could he have guessed wrongly?
“Yes, Laoshi did explain it last night.” Guan Shanjin observed the way Lu Zezhi panicked, yet tried to maintain his ethereal image, and he laughed quietly, then sighed. “However, Laoshi, you also have to understand that even the sun and the moon can stand witness to my affections for you.”
Hearing such words, how could Miss Yue tolerate it?
Before Lu Zezhi could speak to pacify Guan Shanjin, next to him, Yue Mingzhu yanked off her bridal veil. Her beautiful face, further enhanced with makeup, had twisted slightly in rage.
She threw the veil to the ground. Her fingertips that had been dyed a cardamom red pointed unwaveringly at Guan Shanjin, and she started scolding, “Guan Shanjin! I knew it! I know that you hold filthy thoughts towards Zezhi-gege! Who in Bastion City doesn’t know that you see Zezhi-gege as your own private property, and kept him confined in the General’s estate. You’ve made him unable to seek his own ambitions, and become the joke of the city! My Zezhi-gege dotes on you, saying that ever since you were a child, you’ve always been very self-important, arrogant and domineering, and that as your teacher, he wants you to change for the better, and that’s why he stayed by your side! Hmph! Now that I’m around, how can I let you continue bullying Zezhi-gege?”
“Oh? I’ve bullied Mr. Lu?” Guan Shanjin burst out laughing. He looked at the panicking Lu Zezhi with feigned doting and resignation, and asked emotionally, “Laoshi, have I bullied you?”
Towards this question, Lu Zezhi gritted his teeth after a moment of deliberation. He put on a stern expression, “If you’re not a bully, why did you instigate Official Fang to disturb my wedding?”
He had so many years of affection and feelings shared with Guan Shanjin, he would be able to pacify him after this.
However, the Yue family was different. If he wanted to grab onto this family, he would need to protect the Yue family’s reputation first.
Having immediately discerned his thoughts, Man Yue, who was standing behind Guan Shanjin, burst out laughing. His laughter was not loud, but in this wedding hall where everyone was jittery, no one daring to make a sound; it was like a stone cast in a pond, rippling hatefully through the crowd.
Who was Yue Mingzhu? She was a girl born and bred in Bastion City! She was overly blunt, and had been spoilt by Yue Dade. Ripping off her hair pin, she even threw it at Man Yue, scolding at the same time, “Man Yue, what guts you have!”
As a military official, how could Man Yue be hit by a hair pin weakly thrown by a girl? He gave a simple laugh, catching hold of the hair pin. How befitting of the Yue family’s eldest daughter, the hair pin had four pearls the size of a thumb, and they were dazzlingly radiant.
“Many thanks for your gift, you needn’t go to this trouble.” Man Yue tucked the pin into his clothes, accepting it openly.
Yue Mingzhu did not expect that he could be this shameless. Her eyes widened in anger, and her finger that was pointed at him shook non-stop, yet she could not say a word.
“Mingzhu, you’re too rude! Quickly apologise to Vice General Man and offer him a gift in compensation!” Yue Dade was more experienced, and he finally recovered from his shock, bitterly denouncing his daughter’s recklessness. Next, he smiled, giving himself a subservient attitude and bowing to Guan Shanjin, “Great General, Mingzhu has been spoilt by me. Although she’s not careful enough, her feelings for Mr. Lu are evident to all! I’m very aware of your teacher-student relation with Mr. Lu, and our entire Yue family will definitely not allow Mr. Lu to suffer the slightest. Please, Great General, you don’t have to worry.”
This wedding ceremony definitely had to be completed! No matter what sort of relationship Lu Zezhi and Guan Shanjin shared, Yue Dade did not mind at all! What he had been eyeing from the start was the limitless pampering Guan Shanjin showered on Lu Zezhi, and that was the reason why he had worked so hard to make sure that this marriage happened.
Guan Shanjin suddenly creating trouble at the wedding hall only further confirmed Yue Dade’s speculations. It seemed like the Great General truly held deep affections for this teacher in name. If the Yue family was able to hold on to Lu Zezhi, in the future, who in Bastion City could make a ruckus in front of him?
“How amusing, Old Mister Yue.” Guan Shanjin turned his head, shooting Man Yue a look. The plump, smiling Vice General Man then undid the package under his arm. He shook the contents out at the hall, and letters scattered across the air.
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