Chapter 146: Gao Yulou, Your Mother Called You Home for Dinner
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
September 9th, by the lunar calendar, was good for getting married but traveling should be avoided.
Getting up early in the morning, Junior Leopard tore an almanac page off in front of the bed and looked at it, which read: “Good for getting married but avoid traveling”. He became sullen at once.
He was a staunch communist and an atheist in his previous life, but he became somewhat superstitious after his soul had experienced time-travel. He would check out the almanac before he was going to do something.
Today’s almanac made him very uneasy.
In a sense, they who had set their hearts on bride kidnapping were traveling. The word “avoid” on the almanac was a taboo to Junior Leopard.
“Nothing is a taboo! Nothing is a taboo!” He muttered, crossed his fingers and bowed in all directions. Then he picked out a big parcel from under the bed and went out.
Today was the wedding day of Governor Ma’s daughter. For Qinlingjun City, even for the whole Yunzhou, there was no difference between the wedding of Governor Ma’s daughter and the Emperor’s daughter. Today’s wedding was even grander. After all, the wedding of the emperor’s daughter had nothing to do with the people of Yunzhou. However, Governor Ma, who brought security, prosperity, and hope to them, was different. Although the official did not ask the people of Yunzhou to do anything, now every family in Qinlingjun City was decorated with lanterns and streamers spontaneously, and big red lanterns had been hung on the whole street. The pedestrians were beaming with joy, especially the middle-aged women, as if it was their son was going to be married.
Just at dawn in the early morning, Wuyang Door Street was bustling. A large procession from there was marching toward the Governor Mansion. Lu Shaoyou was dressed in wedding clothes, with a big red flower on his chest. His face was white, and it was clear that he had painted it slightly with pink powder. So now he was just like a toy boy with pink cheeks and white teeth.
He rode on a tall chestnut horse, and behind the horse there was a large sedan chair carried by eight people. A few rows of people were banging away around the sedan chair, and the sound of the trumpets almost spread through half of Qinlingjun City. Dozens of people, who carried a variety of gifts, wobbled and followed the sedan chair, which stretched hundreds of feet. Beside them, on both sides of the line, there were several knights dressed in black clothes, with a touch of deterrence. Some nosy men in the crowd were excited to be closer. However, before they had come half a step nearer, they were turned back by these knights which made them turn pale and frightened. They had to be honest in the crowd and dared not to behave excessively.
In addition to the bearers, the ones who carried the gifts, and others who played music, there was a man who followed the sedan chair.
The man looked about 40. His red dress looked jubilant as well, but all the jubilation was dispelled by his sinister expression. The most exaggerated part being that he held a long sword in his arms. He saw everything with cold eyes, and was incompatible with the surroundings. What was more, he had an air of gloominess, which made the strong man who picked the gift next to him subconsciously keep away from him.
“Gao Yulou is still the same. I don’t understand why you don’t want to fight with him. Was it because he had courted you?”
On the second floor of Yunlai Building about a mile from Wuyang Gate, Wang She and Nian Wushuang were standing in front of the window and looking at the procession, which was marching on the Governor Mansion. Wang She’s appearance did not change, while Nian Wushuang was covered with a filmy veil, which added a mysterious beauty to her, and made her more remarkable.
“If I don’t want to fight with him, I have a reason, but there’s no need to report to you!” Nian Wushuang answered dryly. “You are very quiet today. There’re so many mice around, but you ignore them!”
“Yeah, mice!” Wang She’s mouth corners bent back a little. “Today is a great day. I don’t want to get too much blood!”
“A great day!” Nian Wushuang looked thoughtfully at Wang She and then set her eyes on the other side of Wuyang Gate at a large mansion. “That must be Lu Mansion?”
“Yes, it’s Lu Mansion. In Yunzhou, in addition to the Governor Mansion and the Wu Residence, only the Lu Mansion is so imposing. It seems that the Mingyi School really wants to regard Lu Shaoyou as a nail and stick him in Yunzhou!” Wang She sighed. His voice was not low, and not only did Nian Wushuang hear it clearly, but the diners in Yunlai Building heard it clearly. Hearing the conversation, several diners who had some evil ulterior motives changed their expressions. At a table near the corner, a young man in green stood up quietly and went downstairs, but he stopped when his feet had not yet set on the first steps. Then, with a “bang!” his body burst like a broken watermelon. The blood was mixed with bones and meat, and it was splashed not only on the floor and table, but also in cups and bowls…
After a short period of silence, a scream burst out from the second floor of Yunlai Building.
“Don’t cry. It’s no use!”
In the chaos, the insipid voice of Wang She came into everyone’s ears. “Just stay here. No one is allowed to leave before we leave, including the three mice on the beam and four on the roof. If you move, I’ll kill you!”
Nian Wushuang frowned gently as if she had something to say, but ultimately, she did not say a word.
There was silence on the second floor. Everyone silently endured the flesh and blood, returned to their seats, and sat down. Some of the hapless were spattered with flesh and blood, and they were the ones who had shouted the most, but now they were the most honest. They looked for a quiet and remote location to sit down, and even dared not to wipe the disgusting flesh and blood from their body. They were motionless as if they were rabbits that were about to be pampered for the first time.
After saying this, Wang She did not make a sound, but once again set his eyes on the direction of Lu Mansion. As he looked at the stacked buildings, the cold smile on his face deepened. At last, it turned into a somber air, and his eyes became cloudy.
“I never understood why you would be so hostile to Lu Shaoyou. And Ji Zhongtang, your attitude toward him really confused us!”
Nian Wushuang said. There was an invisible barrier around her as she spoke, which gathered up her diffused sounds, and kept the sound from leaking out.
“I just wanted to get back something that was supposed to belong to me. In addition, I want to shatter a person’s lifelong belief!”
“A person’s lifelong belief, you mean Ji Zhongtang?”
“Yes, him, Ji Zhongtang!” Wang She said with a nod. Then he paused, “why do you care about my affairs?”
“I don’t care, just curious!” Nian Wushuang shook her head and answered. “That’s why you made a very simple thing so complicated!”
“Simple? It’s not as simple as you think!”
“No, although the Elders and Mingyi School reached an agreement on this, if you, Lei, and I were against it at the beginning of this agreement, those old guys would have had to attach importance to it, and then the agreement would have been hard to achieve. But you didn’t do it, and instead, as the agreement was established, you ran to Lei, pushed him, and force him to take a stand. And…!”
“You’re wrong. I didn’t push him or force him. He’s never going to give up on this. We all know this. As for what you said just now, you have a point. I’m being selfish. However, my selfishness will not hinder your interests, including Lei. Without me, we, the three Chiefs, would disagree with one another, and then we couldn’t stop the agreement. But you should know that Lei has his interests, and I have my interests. I can get interests in this matter and take care of Lei’s interests, so why don’t I do this? Don’t you think it would be unfair to me if we only care about Lei’s business and delay my affairs?”
“It’s hard to say what’s fair or unfair. You make things so big. It’s unfair to the Elders. This will give them a reputation for treachery!”
“Then why didn’t you stop me?” Wang She said with a sneer, “after all, it’s good for you, isn’t it? I’ve heard that some of the old guys on the mountain seem to think it’s better to marry you off. And now they’ll have scruples about what they’re going to do. You don’t have to be annoying, right?”
“So, you care about me as well!” Nian Wushuang chuckled, “but you’re right. We all have our own interests. As for the Elders, hum, as long as our interests are saved, so are their interests. As for reputation, let the old men worry about it. It was used to prevent them from being too idle and thinking about the messy mismatch!”
“Hahaha…!” After listening to this, Wang She closed his fan, clapping his hands fiercely with it, and laughed. “Yes, yes. We should get them something to do to keep them from making fantasies all day long. Hahaha…!”
…
…
The procession went very smooth, and soon came to the Governor Mansion. Lu Shaoyou entered the Governor Mansion surrounded by the crowd, and began the game of picking up the bride. It did not last a long time, and it seemed that Governor Ma did not pay much attention to the custom of picking up the bride. Besides, he had no trouble with the bridegroom. Almost an hour later, the bride was taken out, and entered into a large sedan chair carried by eight people, and the sedan chair carried her toward the direction of Lu Mansion.
This time, they walked on Zhengyang Boulevard instead of the previous Wuyang Boulevard, which was similar to the custom of Junior Leopard’s previous life. There was no turning back on picking up the bride.
It was closer from Zhengyang Boulevard to Lu Mansion than it was to Wuyang Boulevard. But the procession just walked slowly. In fact, it was ridiculous. No one thought picking up the bride would be so smooth. Now, it was not yet noon and still early to go into the house, which was not keeping the tradition. Even at the door of Lu Mansion, they would have to wait a long time. It was not good to wait too long, so they wasted time on the road.
Along the way, the procession had been banging away and set off firecrackers loudly. After an entire four hours, the sedan chair was finally carried to the door of Lu Mansion. When Lu Shaoyou had not yet kicked the door of the sedan chair, there came a clear voice, “Gao Yulou, your mother called you home for dinner!” …