The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity

Chapter 820 - 778: Wedding Ceremony (Part 1)

When the groom arrived at the inner courtyard, Ye Ling’s first and second aunt had also rushed over. Instead of hastily entering the boudoir to assist Ye Ling, they blocked Song Yuanbao outside for a good round of admonishment.

The first aunt said, "In the Ye family, the younger generation is predominantly male with few females. All these years, we’ve only had Ah Yao as a daughter. If you dare mistreat her, we’ll break your leg!"

The second aunt said, "We heard you promised the Emperor at the Royal Hunting Ground that you would never divorce in this life. If you dare to neglect her for those little vixens outside, the Ye family will request a decree to have you castrated!"

Song Yuanbao trembled with fear.

Inside the room, Ye Ling heard the words of the two aunts and was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

What kind of thing was this?

Who threatens the groom like this on the wedding day?

The ladies of their family, indeed chosen personally by the Old Mistress, were known for their fierce protectiveness, and not without reason.

Ye Ling didn’t hear how Song Yuanbao negotiated with the two aunts, but when she recovered her senses, the two aunts had already entered the boudoir, supporting her from both sides, saying they would first go to pay respects to the Old Mistress.

With the wedding veil covering her head, Ye Ling could only see the palm-sized area at her feet, fearing she’d bump into something, she walked very slowly.

When crossing the threshold, the first aunt reminded her with a word.

Song Yuanbao just stood outside, saying nothing.

At first, Ye Ling didn’t know he was there, but after hearing an additional set of footsteps, she realized who it was, and the corners of her rosy lips curled upward under the veil.

The Ye family’s house wasn’t large, and the Old Mistress resided in the back room. When Song Yuanbao followed the bride inside, he saw an old lady in a stone-blue jacket sitting on the main seat of the couch. Her head full of silver hair was meticulously combed, and she was twiddling a string of Buddha Beads, looking quite spirited.

This was the Old Mistress of the Ye family.

Seeing her granddaughters-in-law bringing in her granddaughter clad in a red bridal dress, the Old Mistress smiled and affectionately called "Nannan."

The second aunt turned her head and quietly said to Song Yuanbao, "This is our Old Mistress."

Song Yuanbao nodded with a smile. When the maid handed over a Brocade Cushion, he knelt down with Ye Ling and kowtowed to the Old Mistress.

Then, he personally served her tea.

"Good lad," the Old Mistress took the tea and looked Song Yuanbao over. "Quite a handsome young man. Having married our Nannan, you must treat her well, or my Dragon Head Stick won’t spare you!"

"Ah Yao is a good girl," Song Yuanbao said. "She deserves to be cherished and pampered by the entire Song family."

In his heart, he thought, the Ye family, true to their military heritage, are formidable. The two aunts were one thing, but even the Old Mistress was so fierce. Being the groom is really challenging; the bride hasn’t even crossed the threshold yet, and he’s already scared half to death.

"Alright, off you go then!" The Old Mistress waved her hand as if shooing flies away.

Song Yuanbao couldn’t help it and twitched the corners of his mouth.

Isn’t Ye Ling supposed to be the cherished treasure of the Ye family? Even with her getting married, no one seemed tearful or reluctant. Could the rumors be false?

Before he could think much more, the two aunts escorted Ye Ling to Mrs. Yu’s place.

Mrs. Yu had just finished half a cup of tea when she saw her daughter approaching slowly, with the son-in-law following behind. She sat up a bit straighter and asked Song Yuanbao with a smile, "Didn’t the Old Mistress keep you a while longer?"

The implication being, the Old Mistress didn’t give you a good talking-to?

Song Yuanbao, being quite sharp, immediately responded, bowing, "The Old Mistress is very fond of her son-in-law."

Mrs. Yu gave him a look that said, "Yeah, right," and urged, "Alright, hurry and pay respects and serve the tea. I have important things to attend to later."

At this, Ye Ling couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth. What mother urges her daughter to hurry out the door like this? Is she really her biological mother?

Song Yuanbao wanted to laugh. He also felt that his wife seemed like an add-on rather than being truly from her family.

Seeing that Mrs. Yu said nothing more, just letting Song Yuanbao pay his respects, serve the tea, and take his wife away, Ye Ling was speechless for a moment, "Mother, I’m getting married, isn’t there anything you want to tell me?"

"I’ve met your mother-in-law," Mrs. Yu said. "She has a similar temperament to yours and is easy to get along with. As for your husband, if he dares to mistreat you, I won’t be the one to deal with him, don’t you still have your father-in-law? And if that’s not enough, wait for your Third Brother to return and take him to the martial arts field for some sparring, and he’ll be obedient. What’s there to fear? You have so many people protecting you!"

Ye Ling: "..."

Song Yuanbao once again trembled with fear.

After bidding farewell to Mrs. Yu, Ye Ling was escorted outside. Her older cousin, Ye Zheng, was already waiting there. When he saw Song Yuanbao, he was very polite and friendly, saying that the flowers in his manor were in bloom and looked beautiful this season, inviting Song Yuanbao to visit when he had the time.

Upon hearing Ye Zheng mention the manor filled with flowers and plants, Song Yuanbao remembered that it was there Zhao Xi gifted him a Hai Dongqing. However, in order to please the beauty, he had immediately given it to Ye Ling instead.

Thinking of this, Song Yuanbao approached Ye Ling and softly asked her, "Is that Hai Dongqing still around?"

Ye Ling nodded but before she could speak, Xiang Ning interjected, "The young lady treasures it like nothing else, no one is allowed to touch it. And the two rabbits, they have been included in the dowry and will accompany the young lady to the Song Mansion, and also..."

"Nosy girl!" Knowing Xiang Ning was about to mention the painting, Ye Ling interrupted her first.

Xiang Ning giggled, not daring to say more.

Ye Zheng crouched down, allowing Ye Ling to climb onto his back. After getting up, he asked, "What else is there? Let me hear about it."

"What do you mean?" Ye Ling hastily replied, "That girl is just spouting nonsense."

Ye Zheng remarked, "Ah Yao has gone bad, she’s even hiding things from her brothers now."

Ye Ling blushed, clinging to Ye Zheng’s shoulders with both hands, refusing to speak further.

Ye Zheng chuckled and shook his head, continuing to walk outside.

Ye Ling had four accompanying maidservants following behind the bride. Guests from the Ye family stood on either side of the path, uttering auspicious blessings.

Outside the main gate, Ye Zheng set Ye Ling down. Song Yuanbao took her by the hand into the bridal sedan, turned back to bid farewell to the Ye Family, then mounted his horse and instructed the wedding procession to set off.

The Song and Ye Families were close by, so Song Yuanbao didn’t rush back home. He had the sedan make a grand tour around the streets before finally entering Rongsheng Street’s Song Mansion.

Compared to the Cloud General Mansion, the Song Mansion was much livelier. Ye Ling was still in the bridal sedan when she heard the tumultuous noise from the guests inside the large house.

She suddenly felt a little nervous, clenching the hem of her bright red skirt tightly.

The wedding matchmaker’s voice sounded from outside, inviting the groom to kick open the sedan door.

Song Yuanbao stepped forward and gently kicked the sedan door.

At home, Ye Ling had been advised by her mother that the groom should kick the sedan door once, and the bride should kick it back in return, symbolizing that the future husband does not fear his wife, and the wife is not submissive. She emphasized that as a military family woman, she should not show weakness; kick! Kick hard!

Ye Ling indeed wanted to kick hard back, but seeing as Song Yuanbao had kicked so softly, if she were to kick back forcefully, wouldn’t that appear too aggressive?

After thinking it over, she didn’t dare follow her mother’s instructions and instead returned the kick gently.

Outside, the wedding matchmaker laughed, "Such a gentle kick on the sedan door, the bride is gentle as water, intelligent and graceful, congratulations to the groom for having a delicate wife!"

A delighted Song Yuanbao rewarded her with a big red envelope.

The wedding matchmaker accepted the red envelope, smiling until her eyes became slits.

After the third kick on the sedan door, the red embroidered curtain with its dragon and phoenix auspicious patterns was lifted, amid the crackling sound of firecrackers. The matchmaker handed over a flower-threaded lead, Ye Ling extended her hand to hold one end, while Song Yuanbao held the other, and the bride stepped down from the sedan.

Although the civil and military officials participated in the Imperial couple’s wedding in the palace, the atmosphere at the Song Mansion was not any less vibrant. Guests still flocked in, and as the bride exited the sedan, some male guests began to tease Song Yuanbao, likely good friends, joking without restraint. Ye Ling’s face turned red and her heart raced. Fortunately, her visage was concealed by the bridal veil, or she would surely have been embarrassed.

Crossing over the fire basin and passing over the saddle, the groom led the bride to the wedding hall, surrounded by the guests.

Wen Wan and Song Wei had long been waiting. Seeing the newlyweds enter, Wen Wan glanced at Song Wei and said with a smile, "He brought her back so quickly; Yuanbao had no obstacles at the Ye family!"

Song Wei smiled gently, "Yuanbao is lively and quick-witted, handling such matters is not difficult for him."

Soon, the ceremonial officer’s voice echoed, and the newlyweds began their bows to heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, the enthronement and empress enthronement ceremonies in the palace concluded, with the officials feasting in the Imperial Garden. Zhao Xi, exhausted from the day, left after just one drink, heading straight to Yikun Palace.

As dusk fell, the Imperial City was brightly lit, Yikun Palace was full of joyous atmosphere.

Zhao Xi had just stepped into the palace gate when he heard a voice from the corridor, "Congratulations on Your Majesty’s grand wedding, congratulations on Your Majesty’s grand wedding."

Stopping in his tracks and looking up, Zhao Xi saw a green parrot, with a tuft of red on its head, sharp beak, and tiny beady eyes swirling while staring at him.

Zhao Xi’s slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he asked it, "Little thing, how did you end up here?"

Beside him, Eunuch Sanbao explained, "It was a special instruction from Young Master Song. He said since today is his wedding day, he can’t personally congratulate Your Majesty, so he sent Doudou to do it on his behalf."

Doudou was the name of the parrot.

This parrot was originally given to Zhao Xi for entertainment by Song Yuanbao, accompanying Zhao Xi when he returned from Jiangnan convalescence.