Chapter 4: Wedding Night (1)

    The three days passed so swiftly, as if they were but a moment.

    The auspicious night, adorned with red curtains filling the space, saw a bride in her traditional red dress sitting alone under her red bridal veil, quietly awaiting her groom in the vividly red bridal chamber.

    Her heart pounded with fear over the hurried marriage.

    Surrounded by servants who watched her every move for the past three days, leading her up to this solitary moment,

    She felt an intense fear toward her daunting groom. She became his under wrongful circumstances, and he was to take responsibility for her reluctantly.

    The look on his face the other day was terrifying. Would he kill her? She could not guess.

    Sitting at the table covered with a red cloth in the middle of the bridal chamber, Ling Wei tightly grasped her hands, trembling so much that even the table in front of her vibrated.

    It was her fault for sneaking out of the manor that day, finding herself in that room, leading to this predicament where this man had to suffer alongside her due to her father’s plan to enhance his family’s status.

    The young woman sat, brooding over her dark fate, intending to escape from the manor, hoping her father would choose a more willing daughter to marry. She noticed her two siblings' clear affection for the Wang and their glaring resentment towards her, which pushed her to flee.

    Yet, she escaped one predator only to fall into the clutches of another, losing her chastity to a stranger without love due to her own foolishness. Who else could she blame?

    Ling Wei tried to suppress her despair, reminding herself of her mother's wish for her to live on for brighter days. Yet, she saw no light ahead, only increasing darkness.

    Such a dark future!

    As the bride was attempting to soothe her mind at the table, the heavy footsteps of the groom approached the bridal chamber door, followed by the loud opening and closing of the door.

    Ling Wei was startled and had to secretly swallow her saliva when she heard that sound. Her fear and trembling increased significantly. She even had to get up, slightly lift her veil, and quickly walk away to hide behind the partition inside the bridal chamber.

    Feng Xinyang saw his bride's panicked reaction and twitched his brow in annoyance. Was she not supposed to sit there, radiantly happy, waiting for him? Why did she flee like that?

    "Where are you going? Sit down now," he commanded in a deep, authoritative voice towards the bride hiding behind the partition.

    Hearing him, Ling Wei gasped in shock, then closed her eyes, trying to contain the surge of fear seizing her heart.

    "Come here!" Feng Xinyang's voice grew even louder.

    Ling Wei reluctantly let go of the partition, stiffly walking out with her body tensed. The memory of her mother being punished by her father flashed through her mind; she did not want to face the same fate.

    As the bride slowly made her way to the table, the groom's impatient voice once again thundered,

    "Sit!"

    Startled, Ling Wei's elegant red attire fluttered amusingly as she slowly seated herself, her eyes beginning to well up under the red veil.

    Be strong, Ling Wei. Don't cry,

    she silently told herself, fighting to hold back further tears.

    But it was... exceedingly difficult.

    Suddenly, her veil was briskly lifted, revealing her face to the imposing figure of the groom before her.

    Ling Wei, startled and trembling, looked up, ready to confront him, not wanting to be demeaned further.

    Yet... she might have been mistaken.

    She quickly averted her gaze upon seeing the harsh, fierce face of the man before her.

    He was far too intimidating...

    Feng Xinyang looked down at his bride with a simmering anger that had been building up since three days ago. The feeling persisted through the morning ceremony and intensified even more now as he saw his bride's face.

    She had drugged him, leading to their forced marriage through her cunning plan, yet why did she look so unhappy? Why was she crying?

    Growing increasingly puzzled and annoyed, he asked sternly, "Why are you crying?"

    Ling Wei flinched before replying softly,

    "I... I'm not crying."

    "Not crying, then what is this? Don't tell me you're sad,"

    Feng Xinyang was stern, his penetrating gaze mixed with scorn and provocation.

    She should be elated for successfully ensnaring him, for causing a lion like him to stumble so embarrassingly.

    The young woman did not reply. She did not feel the need to prolong the conversation, to stir further the turmoil boiling within him. So, she lifted her hand, using the edge of her red dress to dab away her tears before looking up to meet his gaze with all the courage she could muster in her life.

    The man sitting across from her twitched his eyebrow when he saw his bride's condition.

    Her face at this moment could hardly be described as that of a normal woman.

    She had cried so much that her eyes were swollen and red, her face flushed, her lips tightly pressed to stop them from trembling, yet she dared to glare back at him with a mix of boldness and fear.

    Seeing her shiver like that, her body probably convulsing from the inside out,

    Feng Xinyang's brows knitted even tighter together. What drama was she playing at now, when the truth was so evident?

    His room, paid in advance for the year, was impenetrable. She sneaked in, drugged him, and lay in wait on his bed, shamelessly using herself as bait. Her family's men stood by as witnesses, pressing him with their orchestrated plan. Her schemes were as deep as they were devious.

    "You're beautiful, yet you degrade yourself like this. What a pity,"

    he finally spoke his mind directly.

    He was a straightforward man, a warrior not accustomed to the courtly masks of deceit.

    He loathed cunning women the most; their honeyed smiles were nothing but a prelude to a bitter end. Many of his comrades, warriors of great valor, fell not on the battlefield but to such venomous charms.

    And now, it seemed, he was no different, hah! The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

    "Stop acting already. I'm tired of it," Feng Xinyang ended his musing with a tone of exasperation, after being lost in his thoughts for a moment.

    Ling Wei could only stare at him, unsure of what else she could do. If only she could manipulate him as he claimed, perhaps things would be different. But she was innocent of his accusations, and not adept at such games.

    She continued to look at him, her lips pressed firmly together, unsure of how to react. Should she smile to appease him? She could not even if she wanted to.

    Feng Xinyang shot a fierce look back at the woman before him, then sighed deeply, trying to compose himself.

    He had been granted a long leave, three months, after being stationed away for three years. This leave was supposed to be a time for him to spend with his aging parents, who were proud of him, and his siblings who never harbored any resentment towards their brother. But this rushed marriage had led to misunderstandings, making his family believe this woman was his chosen partner. The looks on their faces during the ceremony were a testament to their happiness.

    Never had he felt so out of control. Normally, he was cool-headed, speaking little but hitting hard.

    But now, it seemed there was no room for gentle words. It was time to speak plainly and hit hard.

    The young man let out another heavy sigh before starting to express the thoughts he had been harboring over the past three days.

    “You,” just that one word in a deep tone made the listener jump. Feng Xinyang did not care, for his subordinates would react the same. He continued, pouring himself a drink to ease his seething anger.

    “…are now married to me. Thus, you belong to me from now on. You have nothing to do with the Ling family anymore.”

    Ling Wei perked up at those words. Indeed, that was exactly what she wanted more than anything else in her life.

    Feng Xinyang continued to drink, not caring about the listener. “No matter the issue, big or small, inside or outside, your family's estate has nothing to do with mine. You must not contact your family again, and don't think my family will support yours in seeking any favors at court. Remember, I don’t meddle in politics. I'm a soldier, my duty is to the nation. Don't bring external affairs into my household. And most importantly…”

    He paused, taking another drink to calm himself a bit more before he resumed. Ling Wei also poured herself a cup and drank.

    This was a wedding wine; it should not matter that they were not exchanging drinks. She hoped drinking would calm herself to sleep.

    “In front of my family, you must go with the flow and ask no further. In this private home of ours, we shall live separately.”

    Ling Wei started to wonder, “Why?”

    “Because the shame between us is known only to us. My family is not aware. And above all, I do not love you. I just lost to you, and you merely lost your chastity to me,” he emphasized, unwilling to spare the feelings of the treacherous woman before him.

    Ling Wei listened attentively, trying to understand until he reached the end of his statement and had to blink, pausing with the cup of wine in her hand.

    He had just lost to her, she could somewhat grasp. But she merely lost her chastity to him?

    Could the word 'merely' be used for losing one's chastity?

    Was it right or not!?

    "Then you won't have to lose to me again," she finally spoke up, clearly displeased by his earlier remark. "And I won't lose my chastity to you again either. Fair, isn't it?"

    This time it was Feng Xinyang who was taken aback by her response, leading him to take another big gulp of his drink, irritated as it seemed to imply,

    He had made another mistake...

    Ling Wei, feeling a rising agitation similar to his, yet fortified by the wedding wine, pressed on,

    "I don't love you either. I never wanted to be yours. It was just a mistake, as much for me as for you. I never wanted things to be this way. I didn't want to marry you or anyone else. I don’t even know you. I've never seen you before; our first encounter was on that bed."

    Speaking so, tears began to stream down her face. It was truly heartbreaking. Her life seemed unbearably pitiful.

    Hearing this, Feng Xinyang's temper flared even more.

    Look at her, making excuses, acting as if he was the one who drugged her, as if she was the victim of his plot. Was this her nature? To twist black into white, white into black?

    The young man glared at the woman before him, aggressively drinking the entire jug of wine, leaving none for her.

    As a man more accustomed to wielding a sword than words, he could only exude an aura of menace, causing the bride to shiver uncontrollably, her protest quieting instantly.

    Once Feng Xinyang had his fill, he stood up, carelessly threw aside his auspicious red robe, and with his imposing figure, strode heavily towards the bridal bed before throwing himself down, occupying the entire space, leaving no room for his bride.

    Ling Wei watched him, perplexed.

    Where was she supposed to sleep now? He had sprawled across the entire bed, and he was so unnaturally large.

    She tried to suppress her emotions and calm her mind as she always did. Throughout her life, she had to constantly keep her feelings in check.

    What could she possibly do? She felt increasingly despondent about her fate. Why did her life have to be this way?

    The newlyweds, one the groom and the other the bride, were each ensconced in their own corner of the auspiciously red room, both seething with anger and unable to reconcile.