Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 125

Chapter 125: The Wedding Procession

In Mingzhou City.

Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, the dowry procession moved forward.

Whether it was the earnestness of the dowry bearers or the extraordinary size of the dowry chests, those craning their necks to look along the roadside and on the lofts were stunned.

In shock, the noble ladies stepped down from their hiding places, followed closely by the gossipy commoners.

Mother Gong turned around and found nearly a thousand onlookers behind her.

Remembering Jiang Mi’s instructions, Mother Gong took a breath and calmly turned around.

Not far from the Cui Clan of Boling, the dowry procession circled Mingzhou City once, arriving at the Cui Clan of Boling an hour later.

This time, the gates of the Cui Clan of Boling Mansion were wide open, and hundreds of servants, along with several Cui family members, stood at the main gate, surrounding an old man and a middle-aged man.

Clearly, these people were also astonished by the scene; they frowned as they watched the grand dowry procession.

Mother Gong gestured for a group of porters to carry ten chests onto the platform before she went over.

Following the custom of displaying the dowry, as the chests were set down, ten servants stepped forward and opened them one by one.

The first chest was empty, containing only a single piece of paper!

Instantly, a gasp of surprise rose from the onlookers, quickly turning into uproarious laughter.

This was only the beginning; as each empty chest was opened, the laughter from all sides became deafening.

Mother Gong, with a stern face, waited until the surroundings quieted down before picking up the paper and loudly proclaiming to the old man from the Cui Clan of Boling, “Shu State’s Lady Jiang presents a lost secret recipe, worth ten dan of gold!”

“A lost secret recipe?” The laughter around them ceased the moment Mother Gong’s voice reached their ears.

The old man glanced at Mother Gong, clearly displeased. He looked at the middle-aged man beside him, gesturing for him to take the paper.

The middle-aged man stepped forward, took the paper, and glanced down at the blueprint, which read “Tang Sancai (Tang Dynasty Tri-color) Production Method: Carving Porcelain, Clay Grafting, and Glazing.” His expression froze. After a moment, he nodded and said, “That’s right, this secret recipe is worth ten dan of gold!” More than ten dan of gold! In a peaceful and prosperous era, this secret recipe alone could support an ordinary noble family. Everyone present knew the middle-aged man. Hearing his words, they all paused, their laughter fading as they looked at Mother Gong.

The noble ladies and commoners, seeing this expression on the faces of these respected figures, were also startled and began to whisper amongst themselves.

Seeing the middle-aged man admit it, Mother Gong smiled. But the smile quickly vanished. With a wave of her hand, ten more porters stepped forward.

Once again, when the servants opened the chests, they found only a piece of paper in the first chest; the rest were empty.

However, this time, no one dared to laugh.

Mother Gong stepped forward again. She picked up the piece of paper labeled “Ink Hair Formula,” respectfully presented it with both hands, and loudly proclaimed again, “Shu State Lady Jiang presents a lost secret formula worth ten loads of flawless jade!”

The middle-aged man took the Ink Hair Formula from Mother Gong.

He was still evaluating it. A wet nurse glanced at it and gasped softly!

The middle-aged man turned to look at her, then said, “Indeed, this formula’s worth ten loads of flawless jade!”

He knew that this wet nurse was most knowledgeable about women’s affairs; since she exclaimed in amazement at the formula, it must indeed be extraordinary.

In fact, if this Formula hadn’t already been leaked to the Shu State Empress by Mother Gong and the others, its value would be far more than ten loads. Especially for a prominent family like the Cui Clan of Boling, a classic and effective formula to enhance a woman’s charm was priceless.

Once again, the onlookers began to whisper amongst themselves. Behind the main gate, Cui Ziying and several other aristocratic women who had been secretly observing exchanged glances.

Amidst the growing murmurs, Mother Gong waved her hand.

This time, twenty porters stepped forward!

The servants quickly stepped forward and opened the twenty boxes again.

Naturally, everything was the same as before; except for a piece of paper in the first box, the rest were empty.

Mother Gong took out a formula sheet labeled “Jade-like Skin Formula” from the box, respectfully presented it with both hands to the middle-aged man, and loudly proclaimed, “Lady Jiang of Shu State presents a lost secret formula worth twenty chests of the finest pearls from the South China Sea.”

The middle-aged noblewoman eagerly peered at it, her eyes immediately lighting up. She nodded to the man.

The man turned to the crowd, coughed, and said, “Indeed, this formula is worth the price!”

The surrounding chatter grew louder. Amidst the murmurs, behind Cui Ziying, a young woman from a prominent family asked curiously, “Ziying, don’t people say that Lady Jiang’s a country bumpkin? How does she possess so many priceless secret formulas?”

In fact, this was a shared exclamation among the young women.

Faced with their confusion, Cui Ziying didn’t answer. Lost in thought, she suddenly looked up at Mother Gong, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

Once quiet settled in, Mother Gong waved her hand again. This time, thirty porters stepped forward.

Thirty boxes lay there, and once opened, all but the first were empty.

Mother Gong again presented the blueprints for the “Mo Dao,” a type of ancient Chinese sword, from the first box with both hands, loudly proclaiming, “Lady Jiang of Shu State presents a lost secret recipe worth thirty boxes of various rare treasures!”

The middle-aged man quickly took the blueprints from her hands.

He glanced at it only once before carefully placing it into a jade box to the side. When he looked at Mother Gong again, the middle-aged man’s voice softened, “Indeed, this is priceless!”

The surrounding crowd was now numb with shock. Next, the “Sun Bin’s Art of War,” worth fifty loads of rare treasures, and another recipe, the “Ten Ingredient Tonic Recipe,” but in reality, those who had seen it knew that this single recipe was equivalent to one hundred and twenty-eight loads of dowry!

Because these secret recipes were all part of Jiang Mi’s dowry. The elders quickly sealed them away again, storing them in the warehouse to be disposed of after Jiang Mi joined the family.

After the lively delivery of the dowry, there were still a series of procedures to follow, but Cui Ziying and the other noble ladies no longer wanted to watch.

Cui Ziying was alright, but the noble ladies surrounding her, ever since they learned that Jiang Mi’s final dowry item was actually the legendary secret formula that could blend with body odor to create a unique fragrance, all looked somewhat embarrassed. After all, in recent days, they had mocked Jiang Mi for not being able to produce a dowry many times.

Cui Ziying had no time to ponder their expressions. After finding an excuse to send them away, Cui Ziying walked towards her grandmother’s room.

Upon arriving at her grandmother’s loft, Cui Ziying heard an elder cousin’s indignant accusation. “In my opinion, that Lady Jiang is just a troublemaker! If she wanted those secret recipes as part of her dowry, she could have just sent them quietly. Making such a big fuss with so many empty boxes—is she afraid the world won’t know? Does she think we, the Cui Clan of Boling, haven’t made enough enemies already?”

While the elder cousin spoke angrily, Cui Ziying frowned as she listened. Just as she was about to step forward, her grandmother’s authoritative, low voice came from inside. “Ah’Shou, what are you saying? If you hadn’t been spreading rumors outside, how could Lady Jiang have revealed her possession of so many secret formulas? I’m a Cui Clan of Boling’s daughter. A certain amount of pride’s necessary…”

Mother Gong returned to the mansion, her face glowing with excitement. She gestured wildly, excitedly recounting what had just happened.

In fact, not only Mother Gong, but also the other two Mothers and the maids in Jiang Mansion were also very excited. They had heard enough gossip these past few days, and this was a welcome relief, making them all incredibly excited.

However, Jiang Mi wasn’t excited.

As a politically astute person, Jiang Mi knew that in this chaotic world, publicizing her possession of rare and precious formulas wasn’t a good thing. However, she didn’t regret it. With the gossip having reached this point, if she wanted to hold her head high in the Cui Clan of Boling for the rest of her life, she had to do this!

…

As the sun gradually set, Cui Zi Xuan led his cavalry to the outskirts of Mingzhou City.

Looking at his hometown gradually coming into view, a smile appeared on Cui Zi Xuan’s lips.

Just then, hundreds of fully armored soldiers appeared on the Official Road ahead!

Seeing Cui Zi Xuan stop, the leading general among them quickly spurred his horse forward.

The general rode straight up to Cui Zi Xuan before stopping. The general, his triangular eyes sizing up Cui Zi Xuan, grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and clicked his tongue repeatedly, saying, “It seems the men of the Cui Clan of Boling are truly all dead! Such a trivial matter, yet the groom has to go and run errands himself. Tsk tsk tsk, truly pitiful and lamentable!”

The general spoke with a strange, unpleasant accent, his triangular eyes gleaming with a yellow light, showing absolutely no respect. Instantly, the men behind Cui Zi Xuan showed their anger, simultaneously placing their hands on their sword sheaths, awaiting Cui Zi Xuan’s command.

Compared to their excitement, Cui Zi Xuan remained calm. He waved his hand to quell his men’s agitation, then looked at the general, cupped his hands, and said, “So it’s General Huang… May I ask what brings you here on my wedding day, General Huang?”

General Huang grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and replied, “What brings me here? Of course, I’ve come to congratulate you, Young Master Cui, on marrying your beautiful bride!” With that, General Huang laughed heartily, turned his horse, and rode away.

Watching General Huang’s retreating figure, a guard approached Cui Zi Xuan and whispered, “Young Master, that man has hidden five thousand men on the other side of the mountain!”

Cui Zi Xuan remained unfazed. He nodded and ordered, “Let’s go!”

Before the East Gate closed, Cui Zi Xuan entered Mingzhou City.

After finding an inn and quickly washing up, Cui Zi Xuan returned to Cui Mansion with an air of elegance.

Back in the mansion, he first visited his grandmother, then dined with his little sister and the others. As dusk fell, he returned to his study.

The servants lit candles in the study, and Cui Zi Xuan listened by candlelight as they reported on the events of the past month or two.

When the steward mentioned Lady Jiang’s dowry being sent that day, his tone was slightly different from theirs. Cui Zi Xuan simply listened quietly, then waved them away as if nothing had happened.

Once the study was quiet again, Cui Zi Xuan bowed slightly and picked up Jiang Mi’s dowry box from the side.

As he was examining the recipes, he heard hurried footsteps outside.

Hearing the footsteps, Cui Zi Xuan quickly closed the box, stood up abruptly, and said in a clear voice, “Come in!”

The several burly men who rushed in burst into tears upon seeing Cui Zi Xuan. One of them crawled two steps to Cui Zi Xuan’s feet, choking back sobs, and said, “Young Master, yesterday we received news that Twenty-Ninth Master… he’s gone… Before he left, Twenty-Ninth Master asked me to tell Young Master, ‘I have fulfilled my mission!'”

Cui Zi Xuan closed his eyes tightly.

As soon as the burly man retreated, another young man knelt down before Cui Zi Xuan with a thud. Sobbing uncontrollably, the young man said, “Young Master, Thirty-Fourth Master went last night too… When Thirty-Fourth Master left, he said that only he could handle that matter, and he believed that if Young Master were in his position, he would risk his life just as much!”

The young man kowtowed several times to Cui Zi Xuan, then abruptly stepped back, drew his sword with a whoosh, and slashed his neck. In an instant, blood splattered three feet, and his head fell to the ground!

No one in the study seemed surprised by this tragedy; they simply lay prostrate on the ground, suppressing their sobs.

Cui Zi Xuan closed his eyes, and after a long while, a single tear rolled down his cheek. With a wave of his hand, Cui Zi Xuan said in a hoarse voice, “Take him away and give him a proper burial!”

“Yes!”

“I’m going to the training ground to make preparations!”

“Yes!”

…

Jiang Mi had been sending people to inquire about the Cui Clan of Boling. Upon learning that Cui Zi Xuan had returned to the Mansion, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Because of the heat, Jiang Mi was wearing a thin shirt in her boudoir. At this moment, she lay on the couch, her slender white legs swinging back and forth.

Thinking about tomorrow being her wedding day, Jiang Mi felt an indescribable mix of nervousness and sweetness. Jiang Mi, chin in hand, pondered for a moment about her Lord, then thought of the Clan behind him, and unconsciously sighed softly.

Just then, she sensed something amiss and instinctively cried out, “Who’s there?”

Almost as soon as Jiang Mi’s voice fell, she was lifted into the air. In the blink of an eye, her hands were bound to the bedpost. At the same time, a warm, heavy breath brushed against her ear and neck, and Cui Zi Xuan’s low, husky voice came from behind her, “Ah’Mi, I’m back.” These were his first words.

Then the man said, “Having just tasted Ah’Mi’s flavor, we’ve been separated for over a month, and I’m feeling incredibly sad. Ah’Mi, are you feeling sad too?”

The man’s hot hands roamed inside her clothes, and Jiang Mi struggled angrily. While struggling, she muttered, “Cui Zi Xuan, you bastard!” She only managed these words before her mouth was gagged with a cloth. Jiang Mi’s face flushed red with anger. She turned her head with all her might to glare behind her, only to meet Cui Zi Xuan’s bloodshot, jade-like eyes.