Chapter 5: Donning the Bridal Gown, Studying the Manual

Chapter 5: The Wedding Dress and the Little Book

This was the wedding outfit. Ning Xishi had seen clan members wear it at their own weddings before.

So he stood there, letting the two old maids fuss over him, pulling each of the many straps on the outfit tight, one after another.

Dongshuang watched his young master look so frail he was about to pass out, and he was cursing that emperor in his heart—out of jealousy for his own little brother, he had to marry him off to a male wife, and wouldn't you know it, he picked his own young master.

"Don't pull so tight! My young master can barely breathe!" Dongshuang said, panicking.

The matchmaker stepped in front of him, all smiles: "Oh dear, this is a wedding! The fabric is heavy and slippery, the embroidery is fine—if we don't tie it tight, it'll slide right off. There's a lot of ceremony today, and these clothes have to stay snug on Young Master Ning until the rites are done before they can come off."

Ning Xishi: "..." Fine. He'd suck it up.

Pretty soon, the two old maids seemed just about done, with only the two waist straps left, and Ning Xishi relaxed.

But then the two old maids shot each other a look and suddenly yanked the waist straps in opposite directions, hard. Ning Xishi felt like he couldn't breathe—"Stop, stop, stop! Loosen up."

He said that, but he didn't fight it much; the outfit was a pain to put on, and he didn't want to do it all over again.

Hearing his voice, the matchmaker rushed over to calm him down: "Young Master Ning, just bear with it a little longer—just a sec, just a sec. This is a skirt embroidered all over with magpies on linked branches—a real auspicious pattern—but it's pretty heavy, so it's got to be tied tight."

Ning Xishi, all drowsy and foggy, suddenly caught two key words and snapped wide awake: "Skirt?"

The second those words left his mouth, he started thrashing: "This young master is not wearing a skirt!"

He fought so hard that the two old maids next to him couldn't hold him down.

After all, this was ancient times, a feudal, imperial society. With the imperial decree in place, Ning Xishi could throw his reputation to the wind and become a male wife to the general.

But the decree didn't say anything about wearing a skirt!

He didn't even want to think about it—if he got paraded through the streets in a skirt, his rowdy buddies would never let him live it down.

After all, the young master was only seventeen and cared a ton about saving face!

Seeing Ning Xishi was dead serious, the matchmaker also knew this was the second young master of the Minister of Rites' household, born of the legal wife—someone she couldn't afford to cross. She could only keep soothing him: "Young Master Ning, this isn't a skirt, this isn't a skirt—this old servant misspoke. It's pants. See, it's pants."

Ning Xishi was like a chicken with its feathers all puffed up: "Who are you trying to kid?!"

The matchmaker was a real smooth talker: "Really, look—this old servant will take a needle and thread and sew a few stitches here, and it'll be pants. See?"

With that, she grabbed a needle and thread, ready to sew a couple of stitches at the bottom of the skirt for Ning Xishi.

If Ning Xishi fell for that, his IQ might as well be that of a three-year-old.

Seeing she couldn't calm him down no matter what, the matchmaker quickly signaled behind her back, and the quick-witted old maid at the door ran out to fetch someone.

Before long, a man in armor, holding a longsword, strode in—the blade still unsheathed, giving off a cold, menacing gleam.

"Chiliarch Wang, you're here." The matchmaker quickly bowed.

By custom, no outsiders were allowed in the bridal chamber, but time was tight, so the matchmaker could only turn to Wang Meng, the chiliarch, for help.

Ning Xishi had sharp ears—just before Wang Meng came in, he sensed the scout on the roof quietly saluting.

Then the matchmaker called the chiliarch in.

Who was this chiliarch? That scout was his guy—why did he want him dead?

Ning Xishi was sure he'd never had any dealings with this guy.

Besides, this chiliarch was big and burly, with murderous intent written all over him—clearly forged in the army, not some noble family's pampered son. So there was even less reason for him to have any connection to Second Young Master Ning.

So why did he want to kill him?

Wang Meng's murderous vibe and hatred mixed together, making Ning Xishi, this spoiled young master, seriously uneasy.

But he just looked at Wang Meng, his phoenix eyes drooping slightly at the corners, showing neither fear nor avoidance.

Wang Meng didn't say anything either.

The two stared each other down, like whoever spoke first would lose.

The servants in the room seemed to pick up on the tension, and someone even started sneaking out.

Wang Meng, with his back to the door, barked coldly: "Get back here!"

The one trying to slip out dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing over and over.

Then, the hatred in Wang Meng's bloodshot eyes burned even hotter: "This skirt was embroidered on my orders. How can you not wear it?"

The two old maids didn't dare hesitate and yanked the waist straps tight again.

Seeing Ning Xishi wisely stop struggling, Wang Meng suddenly stepped up close and whispered in his ear: "Remember this—the one humiliating you today is named Wang Meng."

Wang Meng? That name was way too familiar to Ning Xishi—wasn't this the little brother Wang Liniang worried about day and night?

Ning Xishi had rescued Wang Liniang once on the road to his maternal grandfather's house. Seeing her superb needlework and her skill at the incredibly hard double-sided embroidery, and since he happened to be planning to restart his silk and satin fabric business, he set her up with a shop.

He made her the shopkeeper, making new styles of clothes and embroidering new patterns, to see if they'd sell.

Any losses would come out of Ning Xishi's pocket.

At first, business was rough—only a sale every few days, and all of them cheap orders.

But Wang Liniang was steady and hardworking, sewing late into the night by moonlight, always faster and better than the other shops. Once word got around, business slowly picked up.

Later, when Ning Xishi checked the year-end accounts and saw the shop was making decent money, he went to see Wang Liniang himself.

After going back and forth, they got to know each other.

Wang Liniang, knowing her benefactor had a good temper and a kind heart, dared to open up about her past and her one remaining worry: her little brother Wang Meng, who'd joined the army.

Ning Xishi promised to help her track down Wang Meng when he got the chance.

But Wang Liniang only knew her brother had enlisted—which army, under which general, she had no clue. Even if Ning Xishi wanted to look into it, it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Besides, military rules were strict; even as the second son of the Minister of Rites, Ning Xishi couldn't get a foot in the door.

All he could do was ask his friends from military families to keep an eye out.

He never expected Wang Meng to show up on his own doorstep.

But this was no way to treat your benefactor!

After saying his name, Wang Meng saw Ning Xishi's eyes go wide, clearly recognizing who he was. The malice in his heart only burned hotter.

How would a young master who only knows how to chase after women have heard of me?

It's gotta be his own sister who told him!

This rake really slept with his sister!

His sister's a married woman, and this rake, throwing his weight around, forced himself on her and even drove off her husband!

Well, Wang Meng here is gonna make this bastard taste what it's like to be pushed around!

Ning Xishi figured there must be a huge misunderstanding—why was Wang Meng glaring at him like an enemy? He was clearly the guy's savior!

But Wang Meng obviously wasn't about to let Ning Xishi get a word in. His long sword sliced through the air beside Ning Xishi, his eyes scanning the room like a wolf's before landing on Ning Xishi. "Since His Majesty has tasked me, the Commander, with handling this wedding, I must follow the rites and customs. From ancient times, brides have always married in skirts. Lady General, don't you agree?"

·

After Ning Xishi dressed, the matchmaker pushed him to sit by a dressing table that had appeared out of nowhere. The matrons carefully removed the peach fuzz from his face using two twisted cotton threads before starting on his makeup.

Ning Xishi was dead tired, but the dress was so tight he couldn't doze off, so he cracked an eye open to watch the matchmaker do his makeup.

He'd expected to be made up like some ghost with chalk-white skin and blood-red lips, but surprisingly, the matchmaker knew what she was doing. She didn't pile on the powder, just traced the tails of his brows with a charcoal pencil and added some color to his lips, which were pale from lack of sleep.

It actually didn't look half bad.

She hadn't tried to make him look seductive or feminine; instead, she'd deepened his brow and eye lines, giving him a dashing, heroic air.

The matchmaker said with a smile, "This was also specially ordered by Commander Wang, saying the General doesn't like those girly-boy types, so he told me to make you look good."

Ning Xishi got it now—so Wang Meng was actually one of Xie Jingxing's men?

And now he was on the Imperial City Bureau's payroll...

They say in ancient times you should never serve two masters, but this Wang Meng seemed to be doing pretty well for himself.

Although Ning Xishi had never been fond of court affairs, he still had to lead a large gang, so he knew his way around the court's factions and laws, also to keep impulsive fighters from causing trouble. A few years back, he'd even had someone give the gang a crash course in laws and etiquette.

Therefore, Ning Xishi felt Wang Meng's situation was a bit unusual. Giving him a position in the Imperial City Bureau seemed more like the Emperor was trying to buy his loyalty.

The Emperor's ultimate goal was to humiliate Xie Jingxing and cut him out of the line of succession, so it made sense he'd try to get Xie Jingxing's subordinates to switch sides. But soldiers aren't usually bought with scraps, unless there's a blood grudge—like having your wife stolen or your kids killed...

A lightbulb went off in Ning Xishi's head—Wang Liniang!

Was Wang Meng thinking he and Wang Liniang were hooking up, and that's why he wanted to kill him—to get revenge for his sister?

That added up. Otherwise, Wang Meng's behavior made no sense.

And just like that, everything that had been bugging Ning Xishi clicked into place.

So that's why someone had been hiding on the roof, wanting to kill him! It was all a misunderstanding.

That said, Wang Meng was clearly the stubborn, single-minded type who wouldn't listen to Ning Xishi's explanation. In the end, Wang Liniang would probably have to show up and clear things up herself.

Ning Xishi had always hated dealing with such stubborn people, and he thought, "Well, at least this commotion today let me know Wang Meng is the one behind all this. Forget it, this dump is too unsafe. I'd better go to the General's mansion—at least Wang Meng's men can't get in there."

With that in mind, Ning Xishi didn't hate the idea of getting married as much anymore.

At least it'd get him away from one threat.

The matchmaker studied Ning Xishi's face, quite satisfied with her work, and then draped the red veil over his head with a satisfied smile. She then instructed the matrons, "Go and invite the lady of the Minister's residence to come and say some blessings for the young man getting married."

Meanwhile, she secretly slipped a booklet into Ning Xishi's hand and whispered, "You can look at this in the sedan chair later."

Ning Xishi: "?" What was this, so mysterious.

==========Author's Note:==========

A bit late today, sorry about that.

Good night.