In mid-August, the weather was slightly warmer.
It was not yet dawn when Yi Xiaoqiao was roused to sit in front of the dressing mirror and do her makeup.
In order to ensure her future safety, she had busied herself half the night last night preparing. Now, she was drowsy and looked like she was sitting on a chair, but in fact, she was already daydreaming.
"Miss! Miss!" He smiled and carefully nudged her. "Why don't you open your eyes and let us see your appearance?"
Ning Huan glared at him and said, "What do you mean by opening your eyes? Pah pah, you're just spouting nonsense!"
"Miss, please open your eyes!"
"…" Yi Xiaoqiao's eyes narrowed. "I'm so tired. I didn't sleep yesterday."
"The lady is too excited to sleep, right?" Ning smiled and teased her.
Yi Xiaoqiao's eyelids twitched as she looked at her. She was so excited. Yesterday, someone said they would open her face, but she thought it was just for her beauty. In the end, they used a thread to tighten her face … Right now, they all felt that their faces were in pain, but when they thought of it, they couldn't help but cry bitterly.
Yi Xiaoqiao felt a little wronged. Previously, no one had told her that she would be punished before marriage. Wasn't this bullying others?!
"Look, it makes me so happy that I'm about to cry."
Two big words flashed across Yi Xiaoqiao's mind: "Hehe!"
At this moment, the sound of messy footsteps came from outside and someone knocked on the door.
"Is Miss Qiao up yet?"
The voice that was trying to curry favor with him sounded a little weird. It sounded a bit uncomfortable.
Ning Huan couldn't tell who this person was, so she strangely opened the door. However, she didn't expect that it would actually be Chunyi. She was stunned for a moment before she asked, "Miss Chunyi?"
Why did the sound become so … Strange?
Although he used to mock and ridicule them, he had never used such a strange voice. Now, even though he was smiling and looking rather gentle, his voice was like a needle with a knife hidden within it, causing others to shiver.
It was said that when they came back that day, Chun Yi went to find Muyi to report his infamy. In the end, he revealed that he had cut her face, and in his fury, Muyi taught her a little lesson.
"Is little Qiao up yet?" The voice was gentle, and it was filled with love and concern.
"Madame." Ning Xiaoxiao bowed, smiling. "You're up. Please come in."
The madame entered.
Yi Xiaoqiao stood up to pay her respects. "Madame."
The old mistress sized him up and nodded in satisfaction. "This bridal dress is not bad. It suits her well. Take a seat."
She smiled and pressed her shoulder, indicating that she should sit at the dressing table. She picked out a white jade comb and passed it to the madame.
"You don't have a family, and in the future, this will be your family as well. If anything bad happens to An'er, just come and tell me." The madame scattered Yi Xiaoqiao's hair. She took the comb and gently combed her silky hair.
"A comb to the end, two to my lady's white hair and eyebrows, three to my girl's children and grandchildren …"
Old Mistress Mu was combing her hair, and all the girls in the country had to be combed by their mothers before they could get married. However, she did not have a mother in this world, and she did have one, but her parents had sold her to the palace as a maid when she was a child. She had suffered a lot over the years and had lost the desire to look for her parents, no matter how many years she hadn't seen them.
Even if little Qiao wanted to search, Yi little Qiao would not search. Since they had sold off their daughter, then the friendship between them would be broken.
"Good luck, Old Master Si Lian. We'll meet each other when we leave this place …"
The gentle voice of the madame was like a mother's blessing for her daughter, filled with unwillingness to part from her.
This ancient custom had long since vanished. How could modern people bless their daughters like this? What she heard the most about was actually marriage and quarreling. Whose bridesmaid was molesting her today, and whose groomsman was thrown down from upstairs tomorrow.
Originally, she was worried that the customs of ancient times would be the same. However, after she asked Smile and Ning Huanhuan, she felt relieved.
"There are all sorts of Nine Competitions of Nine Sons. Ten Competitions of Couples and Two Elders will bring the hair to its end." The hair brush made of white jade slowly pointed away. The old mistress looked at her long hair that was like a black waterfall and heaved a sigh of relief. "My good daughter."
It was as if his mother had appeared in front of him. In the past, his mother would also call her this way, but his mother always said that they were closer than his daughter. Little Qiao, whatever she called them, felt like they were closer.
Tears flowed unwittingly as Yi Xiaoqiao quickly revealed a smile. "Thank you."
"Good boy." The old lady looked at Yi Xiaoqiao's somewhat familiar appearance in the mirror and her vision blurred. She smiled and said, "Alright, I still need to go over there. I'll wait for you over there."
"Yes, I'll send you off …"
"No need." The madame pressed her shoulder. "You are An'er's bride today. You don't need to worry about the rest of your bride."
Yi Xiaoqiao sat down and did not insist.
She didn't know why, but she clearly knew in her heart that this was a fake wedding. She clearly knew that she and Mu Yi An were like gods apart, but at this moment, she actually felt happy in her heart.
"Alright, don't cry young lady. It's fine to put on an act on such a joyous day, it won't look good if you cry and spend your makeup."
With a smile, Ning Huanhuan began to comb her hair as she used rouge and cosmetic powder to mend her makeup.
"Wear this today. Although it doesn't match the phoenix coronet, the general will definitely like it." Ning Huan's hands were nimble as she combed her hair and put on her phoenix crown. She gently inserted the butterfly's foot into her temple.
He gently shook the silver chain, and the jade pearl on it flickered with a faint radiance.
"General's eyesight is really good, this step is even more beautiful than a phoenix coronet."
"Of course, this is the item that the general picked, how can it be bad!" Ning Huan spoke with a profound tone.
Laughing, he put his hand on Yi Xiaoqiao's shoulder and said, "Yes, yes, the general chose it. It doesn't matter if it's a thing or a person, it's the best."
Yi Xiao Qiao's face reddened and a hint of sweetness actually rose up within her. She lowered her eyes and did not say anything.
"..."
The lights in the general's manor were all on.
Mu Yi'an examined his new house, his heart actually having an indescribable feeling of sweetness and anticipation. When he thought that Yi Xiao Qiao wanted to live here and rest on that joyous bed while covering their happiness, he actually felt some sweetness from the bottom of his heart.
The sweetness began to spread from his heart, spreading all the way to his lips.
How strange, he had never felt such a feeling before, even when he and Yun Jiao had been engaged since they were young. What was going on with this feeling? It was so unfamiliar that he didn't know what to do.
"General."
The smile on his face slowly disappeared. Turning around, he found that he had returned to his cold and composed appearance. "How is it?"
"As expected of the general, we have already discovered dozens of suspicious figures in the city, and they are mostly dispersed in the crowd." Yu Heng deliberately lowered his voice, afraid that others would hear him. "General, what should we do? "If we catch them, we will definitely arouse the attention of the crowd. When that happens, it will be an uncontrollable mess, and it will even destroy the marriage between the general and Miss Qiao. If we ignore them, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the general and Miss Qiao …"