Chapter 469 – The finale of the spring boudoir dream (2)
Ning Yuxuan gave her a disapproving sidelong glance. “Since you know that I spent half of my life being a Casanova, then you should also know that I’ve already gotten bored of looking at beautiful women. I just want to have a peaceful life now. Alright, laugh behind your sleeve. You just happen to be lucky that you met me when I’ve reached the point in my life where I was looking for one person to grow old with, someone to be with for the rest of my life.”
The corners of Ji Man’s lips twitched.
—
After she went out when her one-month recovery period had ended, it seemed unusually lively outside. Dengxin and Zhu Yurun had come over to tidy up her appearance, then they brought her to the Nie Clan’s former main residence.
Since the day that Nie Clan had been exterminated, this residence had been left unused. Ji Man didn’t know why, but there were people entering and exiting the residence. She curiously walked inside and saw that red ribbons were hung up everywhere. Paper cut outs for the words ‘double happiness’ were also pasted everywhere too.
Swinging her handkerchief, the good luck matron came over to her. She supported Ji Man by the arm and led her further inside. As they walked, she said, “Aiya, dear bride, we need to hurry up and get your hair and makeup done. The marriage sedan will be here soon -“
Stunned, Ji Man let herself be pulled into the room. They changed her out of her clothes and into a wedding dress and draped the wedding veil over her head. Then, they led her to the main hall for her to say her goodbyes.
Nie Qingyun was sitting in the top seat that Nie Xiangyuan used to sit in. His eyes were red as he copied the words that his father had once said, “You’re getting married. Once you arrive at Marquis Moyu’s estate, behave respectfully and virtuously. Don’t act contrarily to your husband’s wishes.”
Ji Man twitched her lips. Truly an example of ridiculous feudal code of ethics, ah.
Still, she knelt down and bowed forward until her head touched the ground. She softly assented, “Understood.”
Outside of the hall, there was a clamoring sound from gongs and drums being struck. A long line of women dressed in splendidly beautiful clothing were waiting outside to follow her from Nie Residence to Marquis Moyu’s estate.
Errong stayed by her side to support her. Several unmarried young women, who were serving as the bride’s attendants, were walking in front of them. From the servant girls to the good luck matron, everyone was wearing bright red clothing.
Underneath the sunlight, her wedding dress glittered. There were mandarin ducks symbolizing a happily married couple as well as mythical birds embroidered on the wedding dress. Compared to the wedding dress that Nie Sangyu had embroidered herself, this one was incomparably exquisite. One glance would be enough to tell that this wedding had been planned for a long time.
As Ji Man walked out Nie Residence and got onto the marriage sedan, she felt a bit absent-minded. During this moment of absent-mindedness, she saw her dreamland disintegrating. Everything in front of her disappeared, and she was the only one left.
“I dare not love for I fear this is only a dream.”
Ji Man felt it was hard to breath. There was tightness in her chest. The marriage sedan continued to move forward, but she felt aimless. What would she do if she woke up from the dream? What should she do?
The sounds from the percussion instruments and the strings of firecrackers seem to fade away. She felt as if she was being wrapped up in nightmares. When you had something, you would be afraid of losing it. Wouldn’t it have been better to have never had it?
But, she wasn’t willing to part with it…
A pair of hands pulled her out of her nightmares. Ji Man opened her eyes. Her wedding veil had already been taken off without her noticing. She was in the bridal room that was lit by ornamental candles.
Ning Yuxuan curiously looked at her, “What’s wrong?”
Ji Man blinked and looked around.
“Too stunned?” Ning Yuxuan broke out into laughter. He took down her hair ornaments and gently brought her into his arms to hug. “It’s clearly a joyful day. Why does it seem like you’re scared instead?”
“If I pinch you, will it hurt you?” Ji Man stupidly asked him.
Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrow. “Of course. If you want to check if this is a dream, why don’t you just pinch yourself?”
Ji Man lowered her eyes. She followed his suggestion and pinched her thigh. She hissed in pain. “It’s not a dream.”
“Alright then.” Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand and took out two ordinary dangling concentric knots. He hanged one on each side of the bed. “Starting from today, we’re husband and wife again.”
“En.”
“Joined in matrimony, our love is without doubts.”
(T/N: The is the first line of a poem from Su Wu, a Chinese diplomat, to his wife.)
“En.”
Ning Yuxuan shot her a dissatisfied look.” Do you know how to say anything else?”
Ji Man caught him off guard when she suddenly pushed him down on the bed. Smiling, she kissed lips. “I love you.”
Marquis Moyu froze in surprise for a moment. He lightly harrumphed and awkwardly hugged her.
“Actually, there’s something I still haven’t figure out.” Ning Yuxuan very seriously asked her, “Can you tell me the answer?”
“Huh?” Ji Man raised her eyebrows.
“What does cushioning a brain mean?”
Huh? Ji Man blinked. “Cushioning a brain?”
(T/N: See chapter 270 if you’re confused.)
Pursuing his lips, Marquis Moyu somewhat embarrassedly continued, “Didn’t you once say that you like men that can repair sky lanterns and cushion brains? I know how to repair sky lanterns. Cushioning brains… I still think that it can’t be as something as simple as cushioning a pig brain with a chopping board.”
Ji Man was dumbfounded. She suddenly slid off of him and onto the bed. She hysterically laughed. “Cushioning brains…”
It was computer, ah, not cushioning brains! This was something that Marquis Moyu would never know about.
After laughing hard enough for tears to come out, Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan’s vexed expression and suddenly felt relieved. She stopped looking at the cracks in her surroundings that looked like cracks in a dream. She tightly hugged him and said, “En, that’s exactly it. You just cushion a pig’s brain.”
Ning Yuxuan looked at her with a face full of doubt, but Ji Man laughed even more happily.
If she could stay immersed in this dream for a long time, then she was willing to never wake up again for the rest of her life.
—
In the official historical records of Great Song, there was a faithful official named Ning Yuxuan. He had assisted four emperors from the Zhao Clan. Despite several coups, his loyalty to the throne never wavered. After he assisted the child emperor until the emperor turned twenty-four, he relinquished his power. He was loved by all and had the loyalty of the court officials. The emperor honored him with the title of Father of the Nation. Ning Yuxuan lived a life of glory and splendor until he died at the ripe old age of seventy-eight.
In Great Song’s anecdotal history, there was a strange woman named Ji-shi. She was Marquis Moyu’s wife and was highly praised by many women. After Marquis Moyu married her, he never took another concubine for the rest of his life. This led many women to seek out Ji-shi to ask her what was the secret to her success. However, no one was able to get a satisfactory answer. She also died at the age of seventy-eight and was buried together with Marquis Moyu in Fu Mountains’ peach tree grove.
—
Unwilling to wake up from this spring boudoir dream again.
(The End)
Translator Ramblings: I felt puzzled by the ending. It’s easier to believe that this is a transmigration story than a dream story because there was just so much that Ji Man didn’t know about and was wrong about it. And, even if Ji Man isn’t the best mother in the world, how could she dream about her son being poisoned and almost dying? Why do we get to see the points of view of so many characters if this is just her dream? What do you guys think?
Anyways, next up, Pengxin and Ning Mingjie’s story!