Chapter 3: The Sick Bride
It was way past the hour of dog, but there was no trace of the seamstress. The servants did deliver Su Qing's bridal dress: a set of loose plain red silk robes with two golden hairpins. The bridal dress was bland without any attractive embroidery and Su Qing felt that the two hairpins are too flashy for her taste. She decided that she would simply not wear such appalling ornaments on her head. Su Qing was satisfied by the plain red robes; they were as bland as her. But, her two lovely maids were dissatisfied.
"Young miss, it's your wedding! How can they bully you even now?"
Su Qing ignored their outburst with an eye-roll. She did not feel angry or sad. Truth is that she had zero interest in her wedding. Her marriage with the Seventh prince is as simple as relocating to a new house.
Nothing more, nothing less.
She only wished that the famed prince would not faint out of shock after looking at her appearance.
Su Qing squinted at the gaudy gold hairpins and declared, "Keep those hairpins safe, we can sell them later. We'll be needing a lot of money."
"Young miss, these are your bridal ornaments..." Ah Lan spoke sadly.
"Don't get worked up. It's not like I'm excited about this marriage," Su Qing sighed as she observed the shadows cast by the flames of the candle that danced along with the wind.
"You should not be worrying about my dress and ornaments," Su Qing chuckled, "Retire to your rooms, this sick bride needs enough rest if she has to last through all those tedious wedding procedures."
"...Rest well, young miss." Ah Lan and Ah Mei sighed in resignation and backed out from the room. As soon as the door closed, Su Qing blew the candle flame off and snuggled into the fleeting warmth of her thin blanket.
...
The sun had yet to rise when Su Qing had been pulled from her hard bed. When she saw Jin mama and the rows of servants behind her, Su Qing swallowed all her complaints and allowed them to fuss around with her.
The female servants made Su Qing soak in water filled with rose petals and rich fragrant oils. They scrubbed her body with herbs, massaged her scalp and washed her hair meticulously. The cleaning process lasted for almost a sichen[1], and Su Qing looked like a drenched rat by the end of her bath.
Su Qing let them dry her, dress her and put makeup on her face as they deemed fit. Under Jin mama's instruction, the female servants curled her hair into buns that suited a lady of high status. When Su Qing informed that she lost the hairpins, Jin mama simply ordered servants to bring out another set of gaudy looking pins and personally inserted them into Su Qing's tied up hair.
"Such an ugly bride..." Jin mama covered her mouth with the sleeve of her dress and sneered.
"This old servant wishes young lady prosperity and happiness. The bridal sedan will be here soon, be ready, Second miss." Jin mama informed before leaving Su Qing on her own.
"Young miss, this..." Ah Lan and Ah Mei gaped at Su Qing's painted face. It looked hideous!
"I look like a work of art," Su Qing shrugged and put on the bridal veil. She hugged her qin and straightened her body. Ah Lan quickly stepped forward and hugged Su Qing from the side to prevent the frail body from fainting in the middle. Slowly, the trio walked towards the main gate.
Near the main gate, all of her dowries were arranged in neat rows with two servants guarding them. There was no sight of her father or anyone with the surname Su in her near vicinity. There was no bridal procession either. In front of the Su mansion was a sedan and a man dressed in black stood by its side. Su Qing felt his eyes on her robes for a brief moment before they flickered back to her face. His eyes had no particular emotion, in a voice which reflected the same, he spoke, "Miss, I'm Feng Yi—personal guard of his royal highness, Prince Jun[2]. I'm here to escort the bride."
"Oh, I'm the bride," Su Qing replied coolly and pointed her hand the rows of wooden chests behind her, "Make sure that you safely bring all the dowry, and my maids will be traveling with me."
Maybe the man was never ordered to pick up any luggage in the past, his eyes narrowed at Su Qing's words. Acting as if she did not notice his displeasure, Su Qing beckoned Ah Lan and Ah Mei towards the sedan. The trio ignored Feng Yi and climbed on to the sedan.
The surroundings were so silent that Ah Lan and Ah Mei started to tremble in fear. They worried about the safety of their young miss. They relaxed only when they heard Feng Yi's cold voice giving out orders to carry the boxes.
While Ah Lan and Ah Mei patted their chest in relief, Su Qing leaned against the cushion and closed her eyes as she contemplated the day's events.
So the Seventh Prince wanted to insult her in public. By sending his guard instead of escorting his bride personally, the Seventh Prince made his stance clear about this marriage. He made it clear that she was unwelcomed.
Too bad, she did not feel embarrassed. She was elated that the prince was looking down on her, his actions were a direct slap to the Su family. Oh, how she wished to see her father's face now. Even a foolish prince is not afraid to disrespect him.
As much as she was satisfied by the prince's actions, Su Qing was scared of her future. The prince made it clear that he was against their union. She did not wish to suffer the consequences of her father's selfish actions and the emperor's sly plotting. She did not wish to get tortured again in the hands of another person. It would be great if he could tolerate her presence or ignore her completely.
Su Qing opened her eyes as the sedan started to move. She decided to meet the prince and tell him that she was not interested in the marriage either. As long as he wouldn't make her life difficult, she wouldn't bother him either.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
neha_
neha_ Sichen [1]: Unit of time in Ancient China. It equals 2 hours of modern time.
Jun[2]: Jun as in 君. Here Jun is an honorary title of the prince. Here '君' means ruler or monarch. So literally it means the man who has the qualities of a ruler.
Weekly Power Status
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