The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 185-186 : The Grand Wedding

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the day came when Guan Liang Han led his troops back to the capital along with the defeated Tian Jin, who had sent envoys to offer a letter of surrender. The Emperor was supremely happy, and a whole host of rewards was conferred on Guan Liang Han. However, no one was paying any attention to this at present; all eyes were focused on Jiang Ruan's wedding because on the fifth day of Guan Liang Han's return to the capital was the day of Jinying Wang and Hong'an Junzhu's wedding. Since Jiang Ruan was, in name, a member of the royal family, the event was managed by the Empress Dowager. Meanwhile, however, there was no movement from her actual family, the Jiang fu.

Recently, it had been snowing east of the river, lightly falling and covering the land.As she prepared for the wedding ceremony, Jiang Ruan sat in the inner room, as Yao-shi, the Zhao family's Second Madame, watched the xi niang[1] use a multi-coloured thread to remove Jiang Ruan's facial hair. Second Madame Zhao was always grateful to Jiang Ruan for saving Zhao Feizhou, and speaking of the General fu, the womenfolk were exceedingly gentle and kind-hearted. In the years since learning that Jiang Ruan was Zhao Mei's daughter, they had often sent her gifts. Besides, even though she was getting married, Jiang Ruan's own family, the Jiang fu, was giving her the cold shoulder, and Jiang Quan could not be bothered with her at all. Additionally, Xia Yue was from the Xia family and while, on the surface, it looked like she was making some effort, in reality, there was no close relationship between them. But in contrast, just looking at wedding gifts alone, the Zhao family had sent twenty platforms of such gifts. And, on top of that, Zhao Guang had sent twenty thousand in silver banknotes and the title deeds to shops, merely saying that this was the dowry which they had never sent with Zhao Mei when she married into the Jiang fu, and which was now being given entirely to Jiang Ruan.

[1] 喜娘 (xi niang) – the woman who helps the bride and manages the ceremony etc.

It was not possible to decline such a gesture, and the Zhao family treated her with utmost sincerity. As Yao-shi watched over Jiang Ruan, she also talked about how husband and wife should get along after marriage, which caused Jiang Ruan to blush a little. And so, with some difficulty, Jiang Ruan found an opportunity to send Yao-shi out, whereupon Lin Zi Xiang remarked, while munching on dried fruit from the table pasted with auspicious red characters, "I doubt you heard a word of what your Aunt was saying to you. In truth, I'm really quite curious, how are you and Xiao Shao going to get along after your marriage? Tsk tsk, I cannot imagine it at all."

Wen Fei Fei held her forehead and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? You are not married right now, but when you do you will naturally know. Ruan Meimei, you are so gentle, and you are a natural beauty; There are no mother-in-laws and sisters-in-law in the Jinying Wangfu, so the days of your life will just get better and better." Wen Fei Fei had almost fainted at the gate of the Jinying Wangfu when she last visited, and subsequently discovered that she was pregnant after she returned home. Truthfully, she had not been very happy with her life in the fu, but her pregnancy caused her to be almost worshipped by her in-laws. Thus, she could be considered as reasonably experienced with matters of the back residence. Therefore, upon seeing that Jiang Ruan would not have to wait upon a mother-in-law or sister-in-law, she was naturally happy for her.

"What does this have to do with whether one is beautiful or not?" Lin Zi Xiang immediately shot back. "If one is not beautiful, one can't get married? Where does this preposterous reasoning come from? Those who only look at outer appearances are tremendously short-sighted!" Lin Zi Xiang had always preferred a solitary life and was forthright in her opinions, so Wen Fei Fei could not argue with her, and shook her head helplessly.