novelraw Chapter 292 - 267: Picking Up the Bride (Part 2)
Chapter 292 - 267: Picking Up the Bride (Part 2)
Li Qingxiao on this end got Xiao Xian onto the carriage and then dropped his hand, collapsing lethargically into the coach, her small face still showing signs of discomfort as she muttered something. Xiao Xian, having been led all this way, with sweat in the palms of his hands, simply asked:
"What else do we need to do below?"
"My mother said to just follow the carriage back."
Li Qingxiao frowned in response, the jolting of the carriage made her so uncomfortable on the way that she just lay in her seat, pursing her lips and enduring in silence.
Xiao Xian had no choice but to sit next to the girl, leaning against the carriage. Having been up since early morning, he felt the pangs of hunger, patting his pocket where the pastries had been crushed into crumbs during the jostling and had scattered everywhere. The boy sighed and leaned against the carriage, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
When he awoke, the world outside was dim, and Xiao Xian noticed that the girl seemed much better, leaning on the curtain to look outside. Seeing him awake, she tugged at him and said in a youthful voice:
"My name is Li Qingxiao."
"Yu Mountain’s Xiao Xian."
After Xiao Xian replied, the girl nodded and then laid back down, the discomfort apparent on the boy’s face as he frowned intensely, clearly famished. He could only say with a flushed face:
"Miss... do you have anything to stave off hunger..."
Li Qingxiao was momentarily stunned, then nodded repeatedly, pulling out a wooden box from under the carriage and stuffing it into Xiao Xian’s hands. Xiao Xian gladly accepted it, flipped the wooden latch and lifted the lid, revealing an array of neatly arranged pastries, embellished with vermilion petals that looked tantalizing.
Xiao Xian, starving, stuffed three pieces into his mouth, relishing the sweet, fragrant, and chewy taste, he murmured appreciatively:
"Delicious."
After eating three more pieces, the wooden box was abruptly closed with a snap, and Li Qingxiao’s small eyebrows furrowed with her fair little hand resting on the box, her youthful voice instructing:
"The road to Lijing Mountain gets bumpier the closer we get. If you eat too much now, you’ll just throw it all up later. We still have several hours to go, so save some for later!"
Since it was someone else’s food, Xiao Xian had nothing else to say besides nodding repeatedly. Li Qingxiao, however, giggled quietly and asked in a low voice:
"I heard there’s a marriage between our two families. Brother Xian, please tell me about your Xiao Family’s notable brothers, for my amusement."
Xiao Xian looked at the girl’s expression and felt a stir in his heart. He simply replied:
"Guitu brother is the eldest among my contemporaries and excels in everything... He broke through the Xuanjing Wheel at the age of eight."
Li Qingxiao’s expression dimmed as she responded:
"I’m very slow in cultivation, I still haven’t broken through Xuanjing."
Xiao Xian’s own talent was not high, and within the Xiao Family, he had always been compliant. Hearing her words, he felt a sense of kinship and sighed:
"I’m the same way. Our ancestors have their eyes fixed on those born prodigies... Everyone wants to be a genius, they’re just luckier than us!"
"Some are born unequal to others... I’m just a clumsy thing, needing two or three times to understand something that my brothers get in one go."
After waiting for him to finish, Li Qingxiao humphed and replied:
"Considering we’re born into Noble Families and already stand atop so many others, what right do we have to speak of injustice? I’m destined to marry into your Xiao Family, there’s not much else to say."
Xiao Xian paused for a moment and then chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. Having had this exchange, they chatted more freely, moving from Sword Immortals to Zifu, and then from Zifu to the states of Wu and Yue. Xiao Xian grew more familiar, casually referring to her as little sister, causing Li Qingxiao to laugh out loud.
As the mountain roads became more turbulent, Li Qingxiao grew uncomfortable and silent, and Xiao Xian ran out of things to say. Both sat enduring in their seats before once again dozing off deeply. Xiao Xian, half-awake, found himself holding Li Qingxiao as the carriage jolted them haphazardly from side to side, unable to help cursing:
"Your Li Family really doesn’t know how to enjoy comfort. It’s one thing not to have cloths to keep out the heat on the carriage, but to not even have a Formation to cushion the ride is unforgivable. Even as Cultivators, we’re jostled about like mere mortals."
Li Qingxiao coughed, her teeth clenched as she retorted:
"Our family doesn’t indulge in such practices. Pursuing comfort is considered a sin and is punished with flogging by the Clan Head Courtyard!"
Xiao Xian was stunned and replied:
"To be born in your household is truly unfortunate."
"Pah."
Li Qingxiao grunted in response, and they both fell silent. After what seemed like an hour, Xiao Xian, in a daze, felt a warmth in his palm. Li Qingxiao had rested her head on his hand, and before he could react, he felt the dampness—she had thrown up.
"Damn it."
Xiao Xian cursed hazily as he opened his eyes and looked over to Li Qingxiao, whose face was slightly red as she struggled to sit up straight and wipe away the mark; Xiao Xian glanced at her and chuckled:
"Still drinking milk at your age."
"Mind your own business."
Li Qingxiao’s voice buzzed like a mosquito.
—————
The carriage trundled along slowly, unaware that Li Qingxiao and Xiao Xian were suffering inside, Li Yuanjiao rode his horse alongside Xiao Guiluan’s bridal palanquin, looking at the woman inside, he asked in a low voice:
"My lady, upon joining our family, are you aware of the situation at home?"
"I know a bit."
Xiao Guiluan, for the first time speaking with her husband whom she had never met, earnestly replied:
"Guiluan only has one question for you."
Li Yuanjiao caught a glimpse of a pair of shrewd phoenix eyes, felt a stir in his heart, and said:
"Go ahead."
"Do you aspire to the position of Family Head?"
Li Yuanjiao narrowed his eyes and, seemingly irritated, fidgeted with the reins before answering:
"I have no such desire."
Xiao Guiluan did not ask further. After pausing for a moment, she said:
"I understand."
Li Yuanjiao replayed in his mind everything that had happened during the ceremony at the Xiao Family, keenly catching many details. He spoke gently:
"Why is your father not present?"
This naturally referred to the fact that Xiao Guiluan’s father had not come to see her off on her wedding day. Li Yuanjiao’s words caught Xiao Guiluan off guard, and she could only answer:
"I have no emotional ties with my father. He resented me for not marrying someone of his choosing and for attracting a son-in-law from outside which caused me to marry off to the west. He was extremely angry and refused to see me."
Hearing this, Li Yuanjiao was actually pleasantly surprised, nodded his head, and tentatively said with a smile:
"Fool."
Xiao Guiluan chuckled softly, unhesitatingly agreeing:
"Indeed a fool."
Immediately her tone became gentle, and she said warmly:
"Only my brothers cherish me at home. Now that Guiluan is here, I have no connection to my natal family. If something were to happen in the future, I’m afraid it would be difficult to seek help from them."
Li Yuanjiao’s heart brightened. As long as Xiao Yuansi was alive, and with the relation to the season’s father Li Chijin, Xiao Guiluan wouldn’t need to seek help from the Xiao Family. Her words meant that she had no paternal influence to worry about, so she wouldn’t bring the Xiao Family’s external relatives into it. Mentioning her brothers implied she feared he might bully her due to her being alone after marriage. With an inward wry smile, he thought:
"What a clever woman!"
Thus he tugged at the reins gently, soothing her with warm words:
"Don’t worry, as long as I am here, nobody can bully you."
"Mm."
The woman inside responded softly, the young girl in the carriage, the young man on horseback, the night dim, the moonlight tender, Li Yuanjiao couldn’t help but let out a muffled chuckle.