Chapter 72: A Match Made in Heaven (Part 1)

  "Alright, stop making a fuss, it's a good time now, the bride and groom are entering their bridal chamber!"

  "It's time to disturb the bridal chamber! It's time to disturb the bridal chamber!" Amidst the cheers and jeers of the crowd, Su Mo and Wen Renyi entered the bridal chamber together.

  "The bride and groom are truly a perfect match, a golden couple." The crowd gazed at the newlyweds with great admiration.

  Unconsciously, the sky outside had darkened, and the attendants and maids were bustling back and forth.

  The little servant climbed the ladder and lit up the red lanterns under the corridor, warm red light shining around, bringing a joyful atmosphere, making the courtyard bright and spacious.

  At this moment, Wen Renyi was about to sit down on the couch when he was immediately stopped by the matchmaker and not allowed to sit first. Su Mo came over with his head hung low and sat down quietly on what was supposed to be the wedding couch, but suddenly felt that everything under his buttocks was in disarray. He then heard the sound of laughter coming from outside, "Red dates, peanuts, longan, lotus seeds, may you have a noble son soon."

  The matron of honor laughed and said: "The bride will be wealthy and noble! She will have many children and grandchildren! May she give birth to a noble son soon!"

  Wen Ren Yi looked at the scene in front of him, feeling a little moved in his heart, but with a hint of melancholy in his eyes. Just as he was about to slowly sit down, he suddenly heard someone say: "The groom shouldn't be in a hurry to sit down, there are still things to ask you."

  "What's going on?" Wen Renyi subconsciously asked.

  The bridesmaid stood beside him with a respectful smile and said: "Next, does the groom know the rules that follow?"

  "What's going on?" Wen Renyi asked calmly, with his usual cold tone.

  "This is the rule." The matchmaker smiled and took out a brocade box, inside which was placed a snow-white handkerchief. She said in a low voice: "Tonight, on the wedding night, the groom must remember to put this handkerchief under the bride's body! Tomorrow is the day to collect the lucky handkerchief."

  Wei Renyi's face turned bright red as he suddenly came back to his senses, and he didn't expect the other person to actually take out this thing in public. With a "slap", he stretched out his hand and covered up the box.

  The matchmaker his mother found is really unreliable.

  Everyone in the house burst out laughing, and a noblewoman couldn't help but laugh: "The fifth prince is indeed elegant and courteous. Even on his wedding night, he's still like this. The bride looks absolutely stunning, beautiful and elegant, enchanting beyond compare. It's just that we're used to seeing Madame Fang's beauty, so we have immunity, otherwise we would've been captivated by the bride on the spot. If it were another man, they probably wouldn't be able to hold back."

  Some people laughed and said: "What do you know? This is called mutual respect, like a guest."

  "What's the point of being polite? Men just like to put on airs, who knows what will happen when we leave tomorrow? The fifth prince should cherish his bride! Don't let the delicate new wife not be able to get out of bed tomorrow!"

  Everyone in the house burst out laughing, and the atmosphere became lively and joyful. The flames of the dragon and phoenix candles danced wildly on the side.

  Even Su Mo couldn't help but take a cold breath at the performance here. Where did Mrs. Fang find these freaks?

  The imperial concubine continued to ask: "By the way, has the fifth prince seen the latest ritual records issued by Confucius of Qi State?"

  "Never read it." Wen Renyi was cultivating in Kunlun Mountain, where did he have the mind to look at those tedious things.

  "The fifth prince must take a look at this Book of Rites, which talks about the seven rituals for marriage. As the fifth prince is a gentleman, he should especially adhere to the etiquette of a gentleman." The matchmaker spoke incessantly, finally looking at Wen Renyi and saying in a low voice: "The Book of Rites records that on the first night of a couple's wedding, if they do not consummate their marriage within five watches, it is against etiquette and not the behavior of a gentleman. Therefore, you two should hurry up and prepare for the nuptial chamber! Otherwise, even a sage would rebuke you!"

  The matchmaker smiled and beckoned everyone, "Let's go, we've made enough noise, don't bother the newlyweds anymore."

  "Gone, gone! A new marriage is like a small success, every moment of the spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

  "All right, leave two maids outside to attend to them, don't keep the newlyweds waiting."

  Finally, everyone left, and the surroundings returned to calmness. The new house was quiet and still.

  Two dragon and phoenix red candles were burning on the case table, only to hear the faint crackling sound of the lamp flowers.

  The wine ceremony outside the house has begun, and the sound of cups and chopsticks colliding is faintly heard. Mrs. Fang has been considerate of the two of them and hasn't let Wen Renyao come out to toast. At this moment, both people are still in the new room, sitting quietly, making the new room even more quiet.

  Su Mo's slender and crystal-like jade hands were clasped together and placed on her knees, sitting there with great elegance and poise.

  She slowly let out a breath, this marriage had come too suddenly, and she was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

  All she saw was her sitting there, the new bride of Qi country, unable to move before the groom said it was time to enter the nuptial chamber.

  She didn't expect herself to be stuck in this situation, watching the red dates, peanuts, and lotus seeds scattered all over the big red bed, giving her a special feeling at this moment, although absurd but real, completely different from her past life marrying Mo Wuhen.

  When Wen Ren saw her still sitting on the couch, she looked like a proper and demure bride.

  Although this marriage was his one-sided intention from the beginning, it also had some meaning of coping with the public and dealing with things.

  But Su Mo seemed to have been doing well all along, not revealing any flaws in front of everyone, maintaining and respecting him, at this moment it was as if he was his bride, looking at the scene in front of him, Wen Yiren couldn't help but feel a little moved.

  How wonderful it would be if this marriage were true! How wonderful it would be if I could spend the rest of my life with her!

  He didn't know when he started paying attention to this woman and also fell in love with her.

  After a moment of silence, Wen Renyi's emotions gradually calmed down, and he suddenly walked up to her, bowed deeply, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Miss Yaoji."

  "It doesn't matter, you can still call me Mo Er, be careful of eavesdroppers. This play is going to continue for a while, isn't it?"

  "Mo Er, are you hungry?" Wen Renyi's expression softened a bit.

  "Not hungry." Su Mo shook his head.

  Probably considering that the two would have a lot of physical exertion at night, Mrs. Fang arranged for the cook to make many noodles and pastries.

  Before the wedding ceremony, Wen Renyi and Su Mo both ate a lot and were very full. After eating too much, people always want to sleep.

  Of course, what is being referred to here as sleeping is not to be thought about excessively, it's just plain and simple conjugal respect.

  "Yi, can I move now?" The bride should ask for the groom's opinion before entering the bridal chamber.

  "Uh-huh, okay."

  Su Mo moved her hands and feet, then sat in front of the dressing mirror, facing the smooth copper mirror, stretched out her hand to gently remove the hairpin, and gently moved her neck. Although she didn't have a very heavy headpiece, wearing the heavy headdress was also very tiring. She continued to loosen her headdress, then took off the bright red gold-trimmed wedding dress. This magnificent attire had really made her feel uncomfortable.

  Wen Renyi was watching her from a distance, until he saw her tie up her raven-black hair into a loose bun, slanting down on her shoulders, gazing at the girl's snowy white skin with a hint of red, looking at her bright and charming eyes, and her enchanting red lips slightly pursed, feeling deeply moved in his heart.

  At this time, Su Mo turned around and looked at him, "Something's up?"

  "He slowly said: 'Nothing, go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow.'"

  After finishing speaking, he took a quilt and spread it on the ground, then gently lay down inside.

  "Are you sleeping on the floor?" Su Mo asked in surprise.

  "Uh-huh."

  The thick quilt on the bed was very soft and warm, not in vain Mrs. Fang had taken out the bedding to sun it for a whole morning, but the ground was cold and damp.

  "How can you lie like this? It's very cold."

  Nothing, when I was cultivating in Kunlun Mountain, I also lived in an ice cave.

  "Cultivation is cultivation, rest is rest, you should still come up to the couch." Su Mo disapproved of his method.

  "It's nothing."

  "If someone comes tomorrow morning and sees you sleeping here, how will you explain it?"

  After some thought, Wen Renyu felt that it made sense, and then got up to tidy up a bit before lying down on the couch.

  The couch was covered with thick, comfortable silk, soft and smooth to the touch, with a faint warmth that made people feel at ease. However, as Wen Ren lay on it, he found it difficult to fall asleep, his mind wandering restlessly on this special day.

  Suddenly he remembered that handkerchief, and his heart felt somewhat depressed.

  It seems that I have to cut my finger, but I'm afraid Su Mo won't get used to it, so I'll wait until she falls asleep before dealing with it.

  It turned out that Su Mo had already sat up, as if he knew what he was thinking about. Sometimes men are also inexperienced in this regard, and relatively speaking, Su Mo's previous life knew how to respond. She naturally opened the exquisite small box brought by the matchmaker, then took out a medicine bottle from her pocket, opened the stopper, poured some liquid onto a white handkerchief, and said softly: "This is the root of some plant medicinal materials, the juice is also red, so it's hard to distinguish between true and false after applying it. You can rest assured that no one will know..."

  Wen Ren Yi's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed deeply at her.

  At the same time, he was very curious about where this woman had learned it from.

  On the pale window paper, two figures outside were swaying, both with strong divine consciousness, only to hear the outside say: "The bride and groom are inside, why haven't they made a move for half a day, what's going on? What if they refuse to follow the rules and do things, won't we have to wait outside all night and can't go back to report?"

  At these words, a suspicious red cloud floated up from Wen Renyi's face, exposing the shyness in his heart.

  His mother was indeed not easy to fool.

  If he brings other women, I'm afraid they would have already shown their true colors and weaknesses.

  Of course, he also cannot bring irrelevant women.

  His heart had room for no one else, only Su Mo.

  At this time, Su Mo narrowed her eyes and started shaking the bed with a "creaking" sound. Later, feeling that the noise was not loud enough, she got up and stood on the couch, slowly jumping and stomping in rhythm, causing the bead curtain to shake and the candle flame to flicker even more violently, making everything look and sound extremely suspicious. Wen Ren Yu raised an eyebrow, naturally understanding what she was doing.

  "Don't just stand there stupidly, this matter concerns you too."

  Su Mo glared at him and suddenly reached out to pinch his waist fiercely, Wen Renyi couldn't help but let out a "hiss" as the red flush rose to his ears. Su Mo pinched him several more times with great force, targeting all the painful spots, making it impossible for him not to cry out in pain. The words "fierce wife" involuntarily floated into his mind.

  Outside the window, joyful shouts came immediately, Wen Renyi's face was embarrassed, and he stretched out his hand to support his forehead.

  What's going on here?

  The night watchman outside had left, Su Mo had already lain down sideways, as if nothing had happened.

  Wen Ren Yi looked at her with a complex expression, never expecting that this girl could also reach such a level.

  Little did she know that in her past life, she had already experienced various men and situations, and thus possessed various tricks up her sleeve.

  After all, it's nothing new and has become a normal occurrence.

  What a tragic past life!

  "Alright, nothing's wrong, rest now!" Su Mo said languidly, then lay down inside and gently closed his eyes.

  The bright red wedding curtains outside reveal the hazy joyful red candlelight. The candles on the wedding night should naturally go out. In Qi State, the dragon candle on the left represents the groom and the phoenix candle on the right represents the bride. If one of them goes out first, it means that the person represented by the extinguished candle will die first. If both candles burn all night, they will grow old together and be forever harmonious. Some couples even stay up all night beside the candles just to see which one will go out first.

  The candlelight flickered, and Wen Renyao found it even harder to fall asleep. His gaze was fixed on the top of his head, but as he looked up, he couldn't help but feel a little stunned.

  The luxurious decoration of the new house is nothing to be surprised about, with all the expensive furniture made of pear wood, but what's unexpected is that there are also some paintings on the headboard of the bed. At first glance, they appear to be masterpieces by famous artists. As it's a wedding night, the paintings naturally have something to do with the bridal chamber. The handsome men and beautiful women depicted in them look so vivid and lifelike, with all sorts of poses - 49 different styles, nothing you can think of is left out!

  Thinking of Su Mo by her side, Wen Renyi's face suddenly turned red, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly closed her eyes tightly.

  I don't know if she saw it or not? Is she also as embarrassed as he is?

  Wen Renyi's face turned red again, and he secretly wondered where these top-quality goods came from.

  After all, he is also a vigorous and straightforward man, how can he not be moved?

  Turned sideways, out of sight, out of mind.

  He had underestimated Su Mo's endurance, and as he felt the woman by his side, he thought back to when he had rescued her from the icy pool, and what he had done for her in the past. At that time, he could still do something, but now he was somewhat constrained and didn't dare to do anything.

  A man who restricts a woman's freedom is probably falling for her more and more!

  Yes! He actually fell in love with this woman.

  Unfortunately, he was concerned about her, but she didn't care about him.

  She felt her breathing was light and almost inaudible, but Wen Renyi couldn't sleep even more.

  The woman beside him moved slightly, exuding a sweet fragrance all over her body. Wen Yiren couldn't help but curve up the corners of his lips and asked, "Can't sleep?"

  "Really!" Sleeping with a man who has such a strong presence is impossible.

  It turns out this woman isn't indifferent after all? Wen Renyao's heart inexplicably felt some joy.

  "We still have two days before we leave, right?" Su Mo felt that he had been struggling a bit.

  "Not bad! But any imperial prince who has been granted a fief outside the capital can only return once a year, and each time he stays for only three days."

  "When were you confined? Isn't it that princes leave the palace only when they turn eighteen?" Su Mo continued to ask.

  "I left the palace when I was very young. My mother sent me to live with my aunt for my own safety, and I grew up with Yu Ran."

  Su Mo listened quietly and roughly understood some of his past.

  "It seems you weren't in the palace for long."

  "What a pity! My impression of the imperial palace is not deep, my mother was imprisoned by the current emperor when she was pregnant with me. Later, I was in the White Crane Pavilion inside the imperial palace for four years, only accompanying my mother, and everyone thought I was the son of the current emperor, but didn't know that I am the descendant of the previous emperor. However, since my mother's body has been getting worse and worse, and my aunt is the princess of Wuduo City with great power, the current emperor slowly released my mother, so unknowingly, my mother has lived here for over a decade, while I followed my aunt."

  He slowly started talking about his childhood memories, although it sounded very bitter, but he said some interesting things.

  Slowly, Su Mo's mood also gradually calmed down.

  She had fallen asleep without realizing it.

  Seeing the woman sleeping peacefully by his side, Wen Renyu also felt at ease and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

  After the two fell asleep, although they had observed etiquette, they forgot that there was still one thing they hadn't done.

  "Bride, groom, rise from bed."

  "Ah, still sleeping? Were they too tired last night?" a maid chuckled.

  "Tired, definitely tired," said the lady. "Tomorrow we'll have to call them to get up." Another maid couldn't help but giggle lightly.

  Just as they had laughed for a couple of seconds, Su Mo and Wen Renyi walked out, both looking spirited and dressed to the nines.

  The two maids exchanged a glance, this was completely different from what the lady had said, what's going on?

  Mrs. Fang had already finished her toilette and came before the two, after drinking the tea offered by Su Mo's daughter-in-law, her face was beaming with joy, she handed her a red envelope. There was also a set of beautiful jewelry, pearls and jade ornaments, the jewelry in the box were all fine pieces, Su Mo could naturally see that they were not cheap, not ordinary goods.

  She was originally pretending to be married to Wen Renyi, how can she have the nerve to accept so many gifts now.

  Su Mo looked at Wen Renyi for a moment, and the other party didn't have any special expression, just nodded slightly.

  So she accepted it, but was thinking about how to return it to the other person afterwards.

  When Mrs. Fang glanced at the expressions of the two, she was somewhat puzzled. After all, on the second day, most brides are shy and men are also very gentle and careful. These two look like they haven't changed much from before they got married?

  Of course, this situation is not unprecedented, indicating that the two had already secretly communicated and were now past the shy period.

  She hastily ordered a maid to bring over a bowl of medicine and placed it in front of Su Mo.

  "Daughter, what is this?" Wen Renyi asked in surprise.

  Mrs. Fang coughed twice and explained, "This medicine is called 'Avoiding Child Soup', it's different from the usual avoiding child prescription, it won't harm her, and can even nourish her body a bit. You should give it to Mo Er quickly, after all she just got married and is still young, only in her teens, her body is still weak, so it's better not to have children for this year."

  Looking at Wen Renyi's dazed expression, Mrs. Fang turned her gaze to Su Mo and smiled: "Wen Ren has been practicing martial arts in Kunlun Mountain all along, every day facing the sword spectrum, not understanding these things, I'm worried about you, your body is still a bit thin and weak, hurry up and drink that soup."

  Su Mo furrowed her brow, she naturally knew about this soup.

  In her past life in the City of Heaven, every night after that man left, all he left for her was this bowl of abortion medicine.

  She saw this bowl of medicinal soup and her mood was already bad, let alone nothing happened last night? How could she swallow it?

  So, Su Mo looked at the medicine and felt extremely disgusted. She lowered her eyelids and suddenly covered her mouth.

  Wen Ren Yi hastily handed over the medicine, his expression unchanged as he lied: "Mother, actually Mo Er isn't young anymore, and my age is even more so. We're preparing to have a child soon."

  Mrs. Fang covered her mouth and smiled: "Mo'er just thought about vomiting, it won't be that fast, will it? Yier, you didn't do that with her already, did you?"

  "Mother, don't talk nonsense. I'm a man of propriety and Mo Er is also a person of propriety. We just got married, how can it be so soon?"

  Mrs. Fang patted his shoulder and said, "I know, you two are shy in a way that's different from others. Besides, ordinary men of your age already have children running around their knees. If you two were to have kids, I'd be delighted. After all, you're already married, aren't you?"

  Watching Mrs. Fang's extremely joyful appearance, Wen Renyi looked at Su Mo, and a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes.

  Su Mo also had a worried heart, but she felt that she had deceived a woman. In her heart, she did not wish for the other person to have a short life, nor did she hope that in the future, she would be too disappointed. In short, she felt conflicted in her heart.

  Mrs. Fang ordered a nurse: "Zhang nurse, last night's wedding ceremony, they haven't bathed yet, take them to the hot spring in the back mountain to bathe."

  The old woman immediately responded with a "yes".

  Su Mo wanted to go to the hot spring for a bath, but he didn't want to bathe with others.

  It turned out that the other party had arranged for her to take a bath with Wen Renyi.

  The place is naturally beautiful with a hazy mist.

  Hot springs, in her past life she had enjoyed many times, so she has become fond of luxury and enjoying hot springs.

  But all she saw was Su Mo wearing only a moon-white undergarment, with a jujube-red large outer cloak draped over it. It wasn't cold here, and she sat on the edge of the hot spring pool, her feet bare without socks, soaking in the warm water, gently stirring up ripples with her toes. Her ankles were slender and beautiful, while her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, with a few strands stuck to her forehead. She raised an eyebrow and turned around, only to see Xun Yin also staring at her.

  "Not that, you go wash first, I'll wait outside." Wen Renyi couldn't help but stare at her ankles, remembering how she looked in her dance attire that day. If she had worn that outfit on their wedding night, he probably wouldn't have been able to control himself.

  Su Mo's fingers brushed through her hair, a charming smile spreading across her lips. "Zhang Ayi is right outside, now we can't go anywhere."

  Wen Renyi couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, "Mm, can only bring it here."

  "In two more days, we can leave."

  "Yes, there are still two days."

  However, Su Mo thought that in two days, they would go their separate ways, and he couldn't help but feel a little reluctant.

  Suddenly, she felt a shiver in her heart, why did she have such a strange feeling?

  She couldn't help but glance at Wen Renyi, and Wen Renyi's gaze also turned towards Su Mo.

  After this eye contact, the emotions in it can only be understood but cannot be expressed.

  At this moment, the scene in front of her suddenly underwent a huge transformation. The surrounding air was thick with fog, and the distant mountains were hazy. Cranes, peacocks, and phoenixes appeared in the sky, and all sorts of strange and fantastical scenes emerged. Su Mo had encountered this situation once before in the Golden Jade Hall, so she was somewhat prepared mentally. However, she hadn't expected that it would happen again when Wen Renyi was by her side, which was truly inexplicable.

  Digression

  I'm really sorry, due to the short holiday, I have to go to my relatives' place, so I won't be able to finish writing at 6 o'clock. I can only release one chapter first, which was written overnight yesterday. Please accept it, and I've sent it out in advance. There's another chapter left, the climax is in the second chapter, because I don't know when I'll return, it might not be released until 8 or 9 o'clock. Extremely sorry.