Chapter IBMLS Ch.22 The Grand Wedding (2)
Xie Xuanji had taken Xie Xuanchen’s place to bring her here, but obviously, he couldn’t do the same for the rest of the wedding. Mu Mingtang had no choice but to enter the manor by herself. Following the calls of the ceremonial official, she paid homage to the Heaven and the Earth, her family ancestors, and then finally bowed to the empty space beside her.
“The bride may now enter the bridal chamber!” The ceremonial official cried out such a hurry that it was as though he would die if he did it even a little later. Her entourage also relieved and quickly prepared her to enter the bridal chamber.
There was hardly anyone who dared to take even one step inside the Qiyang Manor, let alone decorate it for the marriage. Therefore, the so-called “bridal chamber” was just the main courtyard that Xie Xuanchen lived in.
The air became increasingly tense. Eventually, she could even hear the sound of swords and armor clanking. As she went deeper, the two maidservants supporting Mu Mingtang began to shake and breathe nervously. When they reached the entrance of the main courtyard, they both let go and jumped back two steps. “Princess, the bridal chamber is just before us. It would not be appropriate for us to enter with you, so please go in by yourself!”
With that, the two of them turned and fled without even bowing to her first. In her haste, one of them even tripped and fell.
Mu Mingtang sighed. Since she no longer had to worry about appearances, she took off the cloth obstructing her sight and looked at the towering double doors before her.
They were tall and heavy with the majesty of numerous dragons carved upon their surface, but over time, the pattern was covered in fine dust. However, the dust did take away from the murderous intent in the eyes of the dragons at all.
This ferocious carving startled Mu Mingtang, but she cheered herself on and placed her hands on the handle. With a deep breath, she pushed the doors open. Surprisingly enough, they did not creak. It could be seen that excellent workmanship and materials were used to craft them.
The chamber was huge; she couldn’t even see the back of it.
The courage she had painstakingly gathered up immediately dissipated. She turned around, but no one was looking at her. The fully armored soldiers stood unmoving by the entrance, though if one looked closely, they would notice that their bodies were stiff and veins were bulging from their hands.
Knowing that no one would help her, she comforted herself by reciting “those who survive a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on” in her mind three times before she mustered up enough courage again to step past the threshold.
She closed the doors behind her and inched forward in small steps, moving even more carefully and quietly than a thief. It was then that she noticed how luxurious the Qiyang Manor was, especially the main courtyard that the Prince of Qiyang stayed in. Servants were once as common as the clouds here, but now, there was no one. It was too scary.
Mu Mingtang couldn’t help thinking that a tiger would leap out from behind one of the curtains and kill her, then she immediately scolded herself for letting her own imagination scare her. She stopped moving, patted down her hair, and called out weakly, “Lord Qiyang?”
Her voice dissipated into the spaciousness of the receiving hall, and naturally, there was no response. At this time, Mu Mingtang pulled out a type of optimism characteristic of the commoner people and seriously comforted herself. She had never seen such a large house in her life. Being able to sleep or even die in such a luxurious place was worth it!
After changing her way of thinking, Mu Mingtang immediately calmed down. She cleared her throat and called out again, “Lord Qiyang, my name is Mu Mingtang. I came here today to be your bride. If you don’t refuse it, I’ll take it as consent and you’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
The room remained silent. She immediately looked around the spacious hall for a suitable place to make her “nest” and used all of her strength to drag a chaise to the spot. When this was done, she finally took off the heavy phoenix crown and sighed as she stretched her shoulders. Then, she looked around in her little corner for something to clean with.
Even a prince’s manor, if left alone for dust to accumulate, would eventually deteriorate.
She removed her troublesome wedding robes and gave the furniture around her a quick wipe-down to get rid of the dust.
Xie Xuanchen’s main courtyard was located at the heart of the Qiyang Manor. It was called the Yulin Pavilion and consisted of seven rooms divided into a west and an east wing and connected by two wide corridors.
As a commoner, Mu Mingtang had never been inside such a large residence before. She simply found a corner in the receiving hall of the west wing to make her room. After pushing a set of seats, a chaise, and a tall wardrobe to the corner, she was wholly satisfied. There was even a generous expanse of walking space in the middle.