Chapter 4: The Wedding Night (2)
Chu Lian sat on the side of the bed and ran through everything that had happened in her mind, trying to recall some details that she had read in the novel. Then she removed the white handkerchief hidden under the bedsheets. 1 Using a silver needle that she had found, Chu Lian pricked her ring finger, letting the blood well up and drip onto the white handkerchief. Finally, she stored the handkerchief away.
She had been orphaned at an early age in the modern world and had grown up poor. After a period of hardship and hard work, dueling back and forth with the schemes of others on her career path while learning how to be two-faced, she had finally made a better life for herself. Thus, Chu Lian wasn’t naive at all. In fact, she was rather smart and tenacious. She knew how to wait and observe the situation.
Although she had been hoping for a perfect and genuine romance, it didn’t mean that she was an absolute fool.
Everything that had happened just now was already enough food for thought. She was even starting to suspect that the current He Changdi could be in a similar situation as hers, and was no longer the original He Changdi.
Chu Lian believed in herself. She wasn’t a softie that someone could just trample over.
The most important thing right now was to make sense of the situation.
That said, Chu Lian felt rather lucky that she had some foreknowledge of what was going to happen.
Although she wasn’t too clear on the current situation anymore, she wasn’t going to just sit there and be humiliated! If He Changdi was still the original He Changdi, then she wouldn’t mind playing nice with him and treating him as her actual husband. However, if He Changdi had changed and become a bastard, then she wouldn’t let him play around with her as he liked.
After consolidating her thoughts, Chu Lian burrowed into the auspicious red blankets and slipped into dreamland within a few short moments.
“What’s the situation over there?” A tall, lanky figure hidden under the dim candlelight questioned an inconspicuous maidservant.
“Replying to Third Young Master, Third Young Madam has already gone to bed.”
“What!” The hand He Changdi had been holding behind his back abruptly tightened into a fist, his knuckles turning white.
Chu Lian’s reaction was completely out of He Changdi’s predictions. He had avoided going to the bridal chamber in order to humiliate her, but he hadn’t thought that that bitch could still sleep this easily!
Recalling all the events that had happened in his past life, He Changdi felt only hatred welling up inside him. He couldn’t change his marriage, but he wouldn’t let this woman occupying the position of his legal wife pass her days peacefully. Otherwise, how could he bear the pain she had inflicted on him in her previous life?!
While most people treasured every moment of their wedding night, He Changdi hated that this night couldn’t pass quicker. He wanted to see his good wife’s ugly expression when she wouldn’t be able to hand over the white handkerchief that acted as a virginity test the next day.
As expected, before the sun rose, after waking from her deep sleep, Chu Lian heard the soft rustling of clothes being taken off. The wedding candles were still lit up, so she could clearly see the person standing by the bed just by opening her eyes a little.
He Changdi was tall and slender, but he didn’t seem too skinny or weak. With long brows and handsome features, he exuded a heroic aura. Looking at him under the dim light, the cold and gloomy expression he had during the day was gone. Without it, he appeared as handsome as a god. He really lived up to his title of ‘He Sanlang the Fair’.
At this moment, He Sanlang finally fit with his description in the novel.
However, upon thinking of He Changdi’s changes, Chu Lian rolled her eyes and shut them, going back to sleep once again.
He Changdi had stayed in the study for more than half the night with an uneasy state of mind. It was the start of winter, so no matter how strong and healthy he was, he still felt cold all over in the end.
He casually took off his outer robe and threw it to one side before pushing aside the curtains on the bedchamber. 2 The scene that unfolded before his eyes caused his dormant temper to ignite again, as if it had been doused with gasoline.
Chu Lian was curled up in the warm blankets, sleeping soundly. Her hair was slightly messy, and her lips were tilted upwards. She was clearly very comfortable, and she didn’t look the slightest bit troubled!
Meanwhile, he had been suffering in the cold study, stifled by his emotions, without even the appetite to finish his dinner.
Suddenly, He Changdi felt that his ploy to give Chu Lian the cold shoulder had been completely ineffective, as if he had been punching cotton.
He took in a deep breath and coldly watched the girl wrapped in the warm blankets. Then he pulled away the blankets wrapped around Chu Lian with a strong tug.
Chu Lian was already used to sleeping alone, and she liked to wrap herself up in her blankets when she slept to preserve warmth. When He Changdi tugged the blankets like that, it wasn’t only the blankets that were pulled away. Chu Lian rolled along with the tug and ended up sprawled over the outer half of the bed.
He Changdi let out a depressed sigh and could only bring out another set of blankets and move them over to the now empty inner part of the bedchamber. He crawled in silently to sleep.
However, the cold blankets on his body made him feel even worse. There wasn’t a single spot on his body that was warm anymore.
Chu Lian shifted a little and wrapped the warm blankets around herself more tightly. In her heart, she thought to herself in bad taste that He Sanlang could simply freeze to death.
He Changdi took in a deep breath to calm himself down and shut his eyes.
However, before the icy cold blankets on He Sanlang could warm up, some older servants from the main house came to invite the newlyweds to wake up.
Senior Servant Gui was standing in the outer chamber, exchanging greetings from the two servants from the main house with her heart in her throat. If Countess Jing’an or Matriarch He found out that Third Young Master had not stayed in the young mistress’ room last night, then how would the young mistress be able to comfortably live in the estate of Count Jing’an from now on?
Although Senior Servant Gui was still carefully receiving the older servants together with Xiyan, she was close to collapsing inside. Finally, she heard Chu Lian calling for Jingyan to enter in a soft voice.
1. This white handkerchief is used as a test for the bride’s virginity. If there’s no blood on it after the wedding night, it either meant that the bride was not a virgin (a huge thing in ancient China) or that the couple had not consummated the marriage. Either one could cause the marriage to be annulled, and the bride’s future would be ruined, as well as the reputation of her family. Other families will think twice about marrying the single ladies of the bride’s family as well.
2. The bedchamber here refers to a very specific type of bed used in ancient China, called ‘qian gong chuang’,