Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 167: Everything Should Have Been Hers
In stark contrast to the lively Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion, the General Mansion was far more subdued.
According to custom, when the scions of the Da Cheng Royal Family and high nobility married, the groom was not required to personally escort his bride; it was sufficient for her family to send her to the wedding.
Given the importance Zhou Junlin placed on Song Xilan, he had originally intended to go to the Song Residence himself. However, Consort Qi had sent her personal senior palace maid, Jin Shu, to escort the bride in his stead.
She was, after all, a personal attendant to the Noble Consort, so her presence was considered a show of honor to the General Mansion.
But to outsiders, it looked like a different matter entirely. Word on the street was that Zhou Cangyan had mounted a tall steed early in the day and gone to the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion to personally escort his bride. With that, a clear comparison could be drawn between the level of importance the two princes placed on their new brides’ families.
It wasn’t just Zhou Cangyan and Zhou Junlin who were being compared. The two young ladies from the Song Residence, marrying on the same day, were naturally being judged against each other as well.
One was still the daughter of the General’s second wife, while the other was the young lady of a Marquis Mansion who had decisively severed ties with the General Mansion—not to mention a royally appointed County Princess. The difference in their status was clear at a glance.
Song Xilan, dressed in her wedding gown, came to the main hall to bid farewell to her parents. Though he was seeing a daughter off to be married, Song Xingfeng’s face held no trace of joy. If he had felt any happiness before, the recent commotion stirred up by his other daughter and the Marquis Mansion had soured his mood completely. Facing Xilan, he could only maintain a bare minimum of decorum.
Mrs. Liu’s injuries had not yet healed. A thick layer of fragrant powder on her face could not conceal the swelling and redness of her cheeks.
Having had a massive fight with her daughter the day before, the two of them still weren’t speaking. In her heart, she remained resentful.
She glanced at her kneeling daughter and offered only the ritual admonishment for a bride to properly manage her new household.
Beyond that, there were no other words of advice.
Zhou Xilan pressed her thin lips together and bowed in farewell to her parents.
Firecrackers exploded outside the General Mansion, but despite the festive noise, they could not disperse the dark clouds of gloom that hung over the estate.
Song Xingfeng stood just inside the main gate, his expression grim as he surveyed the banquet hall, where only a few scattered tables were occupied.
The few guests who were present all wore long faces, sitting restlessly.
The young servant Zhang Xi came scurrying back. "Reporting, m-my lord, I’ve made inquiries. All the officials... th-they all went to the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion..."
CRACK.
The cup in Song Xingfeng’s hand had been crushed to pieces.
It wasn’t until she was seated in the bridal sedan that Song Xilan learned Prince Qing himself had gone to escort Song Lianhe. The magnificent procession reportedly stretched from one end of the street to the other.
Song Xilan bit her lip and clenched her handkerchief. ’I shouldn’t care about this. After all, marrying Zhou Junlin as his main wife is my dream come true.’ But the other person getting married today was Song Lianhe—the one who had grown up with her, constantly humiliating and slandering her!
This need to compete, to compare, grew like a tenacious weed in her heart, spreading wildly.
’Why should she have it all?’
’Song Lianhe is uncultured, malicious, and utterly domineering. What right does she have to such an honor?’
’And Prince Qing...’
That coolly handsome face surfaced in her mind again, and Song Xilan’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could analyze the reason, she instinctively clutched her chest.
’In any case, how could Song Lianhe ever be worthy of such a formidable man?’
Just then, the voice that sometimes surfaced from the depths of her heart began to speak again. It was like a spell, whispering temptations in her ear, repeating over and over that all of Song Lianhe’s current glory was originally meant to be hers!
’Including this wedding that has the whole of Ling’an City abuzz... including Prince Qing...’
’Originally, all of it should have been mine...’
’Mine.’
「Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion」
Drums and music rang out in celebration. Every seat was filled.
The court officials had all received invitations stamped with the Old Duke Xuan Chang’s personal seal. After careful deliberation, everyone except for Song Xingfeng’s direct faction had flocked to the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion.
In terms of immediate influence, Song Xingfeng, an active General in the Court, certainly had an advantage. But when it came to holding a grudge, Marquis Lin was second to none!
Years ago, he had chased Cao Yuexue from the Imperial Study Room to the East Yang Gate, berating him the entire way back to the Cao Mansion. And Cao Yuexue was a Second-Grade official, a leading figure of the reformist faction, whose protégés now held positions in every ministry. It would be no exaggeration to call him the most well-connected man in the entire Da Cheng Dynasty!
But had Marquis Lin ever shown a hint of fear?
Just now, upon returning to the city and hearing his granddaughter was in the Imperial Palace, he had apparently charged straight there without even removing his armor. The rumor was that he had angered the Holy Emperor so much that an Imperial Physician had to be summoned!
Today, with his granddaughter getting married, he was putting all his might into openly challenging the General Mansion. He was clearly laying out two paths for his colleagues: either they could all get along, or they could all prepare for a proper fight.
It was even said he had sent an invitation to Chongzheng Hall...
Who in their right mind would dare provoke such an unpredictable man?
Besides, with both the Prince Qing Mansion and the Ling Prince Mansion holding banquets, choosing which to attend was a politically difficult decision. Seen in this light, the Xuan Chang Prefecture was the perfect neutral ground. Everyone could simply adopt an attitude of, ’Well, I was dragged here, what could I do?’ and drink with abandon.
After all, no matter what happened, the Old Marquis would be there to take the fall. What did they have to fear?
Worst case scenario, the Old Marquis would just throw a fit and act like a ruffian, and what could the Holy Emperor do to him? Even the Holy Emperor himself was feigning illness in the palace and skipping his own sons’ wedding banquets, which just went to show the Old Marquis’s influence!
And so, the guests stayed with clear consciences and drank to their hearts’ content. They frequently sent their servants back to their own mansions with messages, explaining that they likely wouldn’t be leaving the Marquis Mansion for a while.
Who would have guessed that the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion would be the biggest winner of the day? It wasn’t just court officials; even the Wuwei Wanderer had prepared a humble gift and sent a man to offer congratulations. This was Song Xingfeng’s own third uncle, mind you. He sent no regards to the General Mansion, congratulating the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion instead. This made it clear that he had only ever acknowledged one grandniece: Song Lianhe.
It was obvious now that the Song Residence’s prior treatment of Song Lianhe had been so bad that even her own great-uncle couldn’t stand by and watch. No wonder the Xuan Chang Prefecture was willing to risk a complete falling-out just to sever those family ties.
Even though most of the officials were at the Xuan Chang Marquis Mansion, the Prince Qing Mansion was no less festive.
Unlike at the Marquis Mansion, the guests who came to offer their congratulations at the Prince Qing Mansion were a much younger crowd.
Aside from Shen Fu and his sworn brothers from the Escort Agency, there was also Jing Ye, the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice; Li Helv, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan Court; and Zhao Yingheng, the youngest son of Prime Minister Zhao.
The moment Zhou Cangyan made an appearance, a crowd of guests began to hoot and holler, raising their cups and insisting on plying him with wine. If it weren’t for this wedding banquet, no one would have known they were all privately acquainted with Prince Qing. Even those who couldn’t get away from their posts, like Cao Jin, had prepared generous gifts and sent someone to deliver them.
After the bows to Heaven and Earth were completed, Song Lianhe was escorted to the bridal chamber. The wedding concierge rattled off a string of auspicious phrases before Lady Cao led her away to receive a reward.
Zhou Cangyan’s parents had passed away long ago, so the couple bowed to their memorial tablets instead. What warmed Song Lianhe’s heart was that the tablet of her mother, Lin Shuniang, was placed among them—the very one she had fought tooth and nail to rescue from the Song Residence. That he would honor his mother-in-law’s tablet like this was a true testament to his sincerity.
So, when Song Lianhe heard both Shuang Ye and Cao Ying praising him for it, she felt a pang of sorrow instead.
’Sincerity?’
’Zhou Cangyan’s sincerity is reserved for the female protagonist.’
’He’s only being good to me now because he’s snatched the male lead’s script and is just playing out the plot.’
The more she thought about it, the more miserable she felt. She kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the black-lacquered, gold-gilded canopy bed, limbs spread wide.
Shuang Ye gasped and rushed to pull her up. "Miss, you can’t do that!"
Cao Ying just smiled. "You stand guard outside. Let her rest for a bit. Who knows how late Prince Qing will be out there drinking? It’s not even a sure thing that he’ll make it to the bridal chamber tonight, you know~"
