Those who lived in the palace had little freedom to decide what they could do besides the Emperor himself. Although she regretted the fact that Lin Jingyuan’s marriage was an arranged one, she could only pray that the two would be able to live in harmony in the future.

Even though the Fourth Prince’s wedding was not as flamboyant as the Crown Prince’s, the ostentation was still very grand. The King Jing Residence was in a festive and lively mood the entire day before finally quieting at night.

The Princess Yong An Residence was the closest to The King Jing Residence, so Lin Feilu remained at the venue until the guests were gone. Lin Jingyuan, still drunk, hugged the stone pillar in the courtyard and refused to let go, saying that he would let his bride stay there the first night.

Lin Feilu was both angry and amused by him. After pulling the man off the stone pillar, she knew he would never listen to harsh scoldings, so she could only try to coax him, “Brother Jingyuan, will you listen to Little Lu?”

Lin Jingyuan snorted and turned his head away.

Lin Feilu asked, “If I marry my husband one day, and he abandons me on our wedding night, will Brother Jingyuan be angry?”

Lin Jingyuan immediately roared, “I’ll kill him!”

Lin Feilu tugged onto the cuff of his sleeve and said earnestly, “Since you are against it, my sister-in-law’s family would be angry and saddened if they heard about what you’re doing. Even if you don’t like it, why should you embarrass my sister-in-law now that the marriage ceremony is done and dealt with? Do you think she could decide her marriage for herself? She didn’t even arrange this wedding. She’s just like you— someone who fell prey to the hands of hierarchy without having a say in her life.”

Lin Jingyuan was stunned by her.

Lin Feilu led him to the room and said, “Even if you don’t like her, you shouldn’t neglect her on the wedding night and make her the new laughingstock of the capital. She is now Princess Consort Jing, so if she is being laughed at, do you think you will be exempted from it?”

Halfway through the talk, the man in question had already walked to the courtyard gates.

Lin Feilu let go of his hand and raised her small fists to cheer him on, “Brother Jingyuan, good luck!”

Then, Lin Jingyuan walked in a daze.

After arguing and resisting for that much time, the maids in the room had long since left as only the bride was left sitting on the side of the bed cautiously. A pair of tall wedding candles were burning in the room. He also saw that there was a wedding rod(1) on a plate and two small cups of ceremonial wine filled to the brim left aside.

(T/N: It’s a red stick decorated with a tassel. The rod is traditionally used by the groom to lift the red veil off the bride’s head on the night of their wedding.)

Lin Jingyuan was a little dizzy from drinking too much wine, so he looked at the figure on the bed from the door for a while before staggering over with a dull face.

When the bride heard his footsteps, she lowered her head unconsciously and curled her toes in anxiety.

Lin Jingyuan walked up to her. Without using the rod, he just stretched out his hand and lifted the veil away.

Under the red veil revealed a very delicate face.

She didn’t seem to have expected that the veil would be lifted so soon as she stared at the husband in front of her in a daze. Her large eyes reflected the two candlelights, the dark orbs glistening with moisture.

Lin Jingyuan also stared at her blankly.

Mu Tingyun’s face was blushing when she saw him. She slowly raised her hands to cover her face, and a shy voice sounded between her fingers, “Don’t…don’t look…”

Lin Jingyuan, “!!!”

Ah! She’s a soft girl(2)!!!

(T/N: Refers to girls who are, behaviour and appearance-wise, more shy and sweet. The opposite of this would be a hard girl, who they would usually be more dominant and intimidating)