Chapter 290: 290. Turmoil of the Second Marriage

Translator: 549690339

On the first day of the New Year, Su Liang and Gu Ling both slept until approaching noon, and then made dumplings together.

On the second day, early in the morning, the King Yue Mansion sent people to invite Gu Ling and Su Liang to attend today’s family banquet. According to tradition, the married daughter should return to her maiden home; since Gu Ling’s mother was no longer present, they asked him to join the reunion. But Gu Ling declined.

On the third day, someone from the palace came to bring a celebratory robe for Gu Ling to try on. There was still time to make any necessary adjustments if it didn’t fit.

Gu Ling went into the room by himself, and after a while, he came out, saying that he had tried it on, and it fitted very well.

But Su Liang suspected that he hadn’t worn it at all.

“Master …’I , Ren Dong glanced at the eunuchs and palace maids waiting outside the courtyard, wanting to ask Su Liang if she was really going to stay in the Liang Country Palace for the next three days.

The fact that Situ Han had sent someone to deliver the ceremonial robe was only one of his purposes. The other was to take Su Liang into the palace. She was to stay there for the three days before the wedding, and on the sixth day, she would go directly from the palace to get married. Her wedding dress was also ready in the palace, waiting for her to try it on.

Su Liang instructed Ren Dong, “You pack up; I have a few words to say to Marquis Gu.” After saying this, she went into Gu Ling’s room.

After closing the door, Su Liang saw the box for the celebratory robe still intact on the table. It seemed that it had indeed not been opened.

“Great God, how about this, I stay in the palace for three days, and during that time, you elope!” , Su Liang came up with this idea on the spot.

Gu Ling countered, “Elope to where?”

“Of course, back to Qian Country. Afterwards, we could spread the rumor that you agreed to get married only to obtain a thousand-year-old snow lotus from Emperor Liang. I lost face, so I return to Qian Country to get even with you. This way, Situ Han will not do anything to you, and Duanmu Yi will not respond either.” Su Liang looked serious.

Gu Ling shook his head, “I would be condemned by people.”

Su Liang paused for a moment, “Great God, do you really care about the opinions of outsiders?”

Gu Ling looked at her silently.

Su Liang cleared her throat, “Now that I think about it, some of our friends who know us well might also blame you because of misunderstandings, but there are some secrets we can’t tell them. It’s my fault for not considering it thoroughly. I kind of wanted to elope too. How crazy would it be to dump the world’s most beautiful man right before the wedding, but I like you. If I eloped, it wouldn’t be crazy, it would be insane. Never mind.”

Upon hearing Su Liang sigh, ‘I like you’, even though Gu Ling knew she wasn’t serious, his heart skipped a beat.

From the time they met to the present, Su Liang and Gu Ling had both been relatively rational. Thus, Su Liang quickly dismissed the idea she thought was feasible but Gu Ling didn’t want to implement.

“Someone will come from Qian Country.”, Gu Ling said, expression neutral.

Su Liang nodded, “That’s for sure.”

They both believed that Duanmu Yi would send someone. However, when the person Duanmu Yi arranged would arrive was unknown, unlike the previous arrangement made with Ying Ying and Gu Ling for an elopement on his wedding day.

The speed of message delivery, the speed of human travel, and the influence of weather would all affect the timing. All they could do was estimate a rough period: from the fifth to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

If the fastest estimated arrival time they anticipated was accurate and the person arrived on the fifth day, then the wedding could be cancelled on the sixth day. If the person only arrived on the fifteenth day, Su Liang and Gu Ling would become husband and wife in name once again.

“While I’m not around, you should go out to eat.” Su Liang suggested, thinking that if only Gu Ling was left in the prince’s mansion, and he never went out, it might cause suspicion about how he got his meals.

Gu Ling nodded slightly, “Okay.” He liked the dishes cooked by Su Liang, but he decided to learn the cooking skills himself, just to cook for Su Liang.

A quarter of an hour later, Su Liang left the Prince Ning Mansion with Ren Dong and got into the carriage sent by the palace to head toward the Palace of Liang Country.

It wasn’t because of any custom that the bride and groom shouldn’t see each other three days before the wedding, but that Su Liang was seizing the opportunity to find out where the secret scroll was hidden. Her objective was not to obtain the scroll, but to let Duanmu Yi know that she hadn’t forgotten her mission. After all, there was still a spy planted here in Yao City by Duanmu Yi, and she didn’t know who it was.

The Yuheng Palace that Situ Han had arranged for Su Liang was the same one that sisters Situ Xiang and Situ Ning had stayed in when they entered the palace. When Situ Xie took Su Liang on a tour of the Imperial Palace of Liang Country, he mentioned that Situ Ning really loved the plum grove in the Imperial Garden. Despite being only a princess before her marriage, Situ Ning’s treatment in the palace was no different from that of a princess.

Since Situ Ning got married and Situ Xiang disappeared, no one had lived in the Yuheng Palace.

As Su Liang walked in, she found the decoration inside to be simple and elegant. On the inner window sill, there was a plain white vase with blossoming winter plums outside the window.

A group of beautiful palace maids entered the room in a single file, walking lightly. Each of them was holding a tray containing bridal dresses, a phoenix crown, and many other exquisite and dazzling jewelry.

The leader smiled before speaking, “Should Lady Su try on her bridal dress first?”

Su Liang held her forehead, “I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m a bit tired. I’ll try them on after a nap. Leave them here.”

“Yes.” The palace maids left after setting the items down.

Ren Dong made the bed for Su Liang, but saw her examining the jewelry.

“Do you want to sleep, Madam?” Ren Dong asked.

Su Liang shook her head, “I slept well last night. I just didn’t want them to help me change clothes.”

Ren Dong showed understanding. She didn’t have the opportunity to help Su Liang change either.

“I’ve made a fortune on this trip to Liang Country.” , Su Liang chuckled lightly.

Ren Dong knew that Su Liang had received a lot of gifts, most of which were from the royal family. Although Su Liang did not lack money, some of the antiques and treasures inside could not be bought with money.

“As long as we can leave smoothly, it will be fine.”, Ren Dong said.

Su Liang set down the gold hairpin she was holding, “That’s hard to say.” If something unexpected happened in the following process and they didn’t leave smoothly, naturally, they wouldn’t be able to take anything with them.

No matter how valuable the items were, they were not important. All she hoped for was to escape smoothly.

“I have just told others that I am going to sleep, so I can’t go out to stroll immediately.” Su Liang looked around, feeling bored. If she were at home, she could teach Gu Ling some medical skills and order some dishes. Speaking of which, they still had two fish left from their New Year’s fishing.

Su Liang shook her head, “I don’t want to read right now. The next time I see Emperor Liang, I’ll ask to visit the palace’s Library Pavilion. Ah, I just thought of something!”

Ren Dong indicated her curiosity, and then she listened to Su Liang saying, since Situ Ning and Situ Xiang used to live here and it has been vacant since then, then maybe they could still find the traces left by those sisters back then.

Ren Dong looked puzzled, “What good will finding that do? Is it to tell Marquis Chang Xin what his mother did?” Besides, she couldn’t think of any other reason.

Su Liang shook her head, “Just curious. Since there’s nothing to do, might as well kill time. From these two pillars, you search on the left, and I’ll search on the right, look carefully.”

Actually, it was because Su Liang sat in the Yuheng Palace and suddenly thought about the cry for help letter that was never sent out by Situ Xiang while living in King Yue’s mansion years ago. That letter was in Su Liang’s medicine box.

What made Su Liang curious was, whose child was Situ Xiang carrying before she disappeared.

This matter had nothing to do with Su Liang, but both the places Su Liang was living in at King Yue’s mansion and the palace were places Situ Xiang once lived, this coincidence made Su Liang curious.

Although Ren Dong didn’t understand what the significance of this was, she still searched earnestly, every corner, the pillars, the roof, the floorboards, inch by inch. As she searched, she felt a bit of the thrill of treasure hunting, hoping to make some discoveries.

If someone were in Yuhen Palace, they would see a peculiar scene: Su Liang and her follower climbing high and low, concentrated on searching for some unknown treasure.

“Master!” Ren Dong suddenly made a discovery and quickly called Su Liang over to see.

Ren Dong crawled out from under the bed holding a dusty jade hairpin, looking delighted, “This bed is very wide, the hairpin must have fallen by the wall and was not found by the cleaners.”

As she spoke, Ren Dong wiped off the dust from the jade hairpin with a handkerchief and handed it to Su Liang.

Su Liang took it, feeling its smooth and warm texture, the jade was brilliant and of excellent quality. The hairpin was not the usual straight style, but resembled a cloud with a tail.

One small portion of the pointed end of the hairpin was darker in color.

“Is it stained with something?” Ren Dong asked.

Su Liang smelled it, poured a little water, just enough to cover the bottom of a cup, immersed the end of the hairpin and stirred it gently.

The color of the water changed, and the stain on the hairpin was gone.

“This is…” Ren Dong frowned.

“Blood.” Su Liang was certain, the end of the hairpin was stained with blood. However, if it was used to stab someone, the stained part was too shallow.

There were no characters carved on the hairpin, so it was impossible to ascertain who the owner was. But it was likely to be Situ Ning’s or Situ Xiang’s.

Putting down the jade hairpin, the two of them searched the entire Yuheng Palace but found nothing more.

Su Liang put the cloud-shaped jade hairpin into her medicine box, intending to share her discovery with Gu Ling when she saw him again, and analyze it together.

As for the gorgeous wedding dress, Su Liang had no interest in trying it on. The next time she saw the palace maid, she said that she had tried it, it fit very well, she was very satisfied, and there was no need for any more adjustments.

“Ling’er, Grandfather knows you resent me for not protecting your mother, and not taking good care of you. There is something Grandfather has always wanted to say, letting your mother and you marry into the Qian country is my lifelong regret. But your mother said she didn’t regret it, do you know why?” Situ Xie looked at Gu Ling and said earnestly.

Gu Ling remained silent.

Situ Xie sighed heavily, “It’s because of you! Your mother said, she had already been completely disappointed in Gu Yuan, but because of you, she felt everything was worth it.”

Gu Ling finally spoke, but it was a counter-question, “You want me to forgive you on my mother’s behalf?”

Situ Xie bitter smile, “Ling’er, you misunderstood, Grandfather just wants to take advantage of the opportunity to see you more often, talk to you, give you what you want, nothing else.”

Gu Ling nodded slightly, “Alright. I want a thousand-year-old snow lotus.” Situ Xie instantly frowned, “Ling’er, what do you need the snow lotus for?” “It’s useful.” Gu Ling said.

“Didn’t the Emperor already give you two pieces?” Situ Xie asked. Gu Ling hadn’t mentioned this, and Situ Han deliberately concealed it, but it was still discovered by Situ Xie. This made him think that Su Liang and Gu Ling did not truly intend to get married.

Gu Ling shook his head, “It’s not enough.”

“But the thousand-year snow lotus, only the Emperor has one, and there probably isn’t much left now. Would a hundred-year one suffice?” Situ Xie sighed.

As a result, Gu Ling had a meal with Situ Xie at Yue King’s mansion, got a hundred-year snow lotus, and then returned to Prince Ning’s mansion.

Situ Jing was puzzled, and somewhat dissatisfied, “Why is Grandfather so indulgent towards Gu Ling? He doesn’t pay any attention to us, even harbors hostility towards us, and endlessly asks for things. Grandfather has always been submissive to him, and he doesn’t even call him Grandfather, or show a good face. In the future, if something happens, he definitely won’t side with us!”

However, Situ Xie obviously had his own plans, “Those trees, medicinal materials, snow lotus flowers, they’re nothing. If he wants them, let him have them. He has Situ Family’s blood running in his veins, he can never escape that.”

Situ Jing sighed, and didn’t mention Gu Ling anymore, instead bringing up another matter that bothered him, “For these years, Grandfather has worked hard for the stability of Liang Country, yet the Emperor is now suppressing you in all respects, trying to marginalize the power in your hands, are we just going to do nothing?”

Situ Xie’s eyes suddenly became profound as he looked at Situ Jing, “What do you want to do?”

Situ Jing subconsciously glanced around, lowering his voice, “Grandfather, sooner or later the Emperor will make a move against King Yue’s mansion. We should be prepared in advance, otherwise, we can only be at the mercy of others. ”

However, Situ Xie said something that Situ Jing could not understand, “I don’t want to see any fratricidal conflict.”

Su Liang was rather comfortable in the palace. She took Ren Dong on a tour of the palace of Liang Country, conducted regular follow-ups for Situ Han and Empress Dowager Min, obtained permission from Situ Han to read books in the library pavilion on the condition that she would not borrow them and an old eunuch would accompany her throughout. She also went to see the little prince born on New Year’s Eve and treated the princess who suffered heavy bleeding during childbirth. If any concubines were unwell, they would send people to invite Su Liang, and she would never refuse.

As for the nights, Situ Han suspected that Su Liang might secretly look for the mechanism secret scroll, but she never did.

In a blink of an eye, it was the night of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Ren Dong observed quietly, but never saw joy or nervousness on the face of the bride-to-be Su Liang. Tonight, she seemed lost in thought, which made Ren Dong curious and prompted, “Master, you’re getting married to Marquis Chang Xin tomorrow, aren’t you happy?

“Ah?” Su Liang was thinking about an ancient prescription she saw in the library pavilion of Liang Country’s palace today. The prescription was missing a corner, and she was guessing what the missing herb might be.

Ren Dong repeated the question.

Su Liang nodded, “Oh, that! Of course, I am very happy, extremely happy!’

Ren Dong: … didn’t seem like it, still lost in her own thoughts…

Then, Su Liang suddenly clapped and laughed, “I got it!”

Ren Dong was at a loss for words, watching as Su Liang started to write something. She glanced at it and saw that it seemed to be the name of a medicinal herb. Ren Dong then went to set the bedding for Su Liang in silence.

What Ren Dong saw was that aside from her expertise in medicine, Su Liang was fascinated by Gu Ling. But for now, it seems like even Gu Ling couldn’t compare to her love for medicine? Ren Dong, on the contrary, thought this was a good thing, because she always felt that Gu Ling was too indifferent to Su Liang. She didn’t want Su Liang to fall too deeply in love and risk getting hurt.

Su Liang was oblivious to the fact that her loyal subordinate was worrying about her love life. She was only happy to have found a good prescription.

“What a shame, the Snow Lotus is so rare. It doesn’t have to be a

thousand-year-old Snow Lotus; a hundred-year-old one would work too. But this treasure is hard to acquire even with money.” Su Liang regretted.

Ren Dong commented, “I overheard in the restaurant that the Snow Lotus grows in the most dangerous cliffs of Wolong Snow Mountain. However, everyone who tried to pick it failed to return alive. Should I find someone who has been there to show us the way and try our luck?”

Su Liang patted Ren Dong’s shoulder, “I’m getting married tomorrow. Such an important day, and you’re thinking about the Snow Lotus? Go to sleep.”

Ren Dong: … who’s the one thinking about the Snow Lotus and forgetting about her own wedding tomorrow…

The sixth day of Lunar New Year.

Su Liang was roused early in the morning and was attended to by a group of beautiful palace maidens. She had a bath in fragrant water, experiencing the lavish life of a noble.

Next, Su Liang kindly refused the old nanny who came to do her makeup, claiming that she was afraid of pain.

The old nanny didn’t want to upset Su Liang, so she praised her for having excellent skin and looking beautiful even without makeup. Satisfied, the nanny then left.

By the time Su Liang put on layer after layer of wedding gown and felt a few points heavier, she genuinely could not comprehend why one would want to sew gold and silver threads and precious pearls and gems onto their clothes. Silently, she thought, when she gets married for real someday, she will design her own wedding dress which will focus on comfort. In fact, she likes qipao, maybe she can make one just for her husband to see.

Su Liang was attended to, much like a puppet on a string, and found it tiring. However, she couldn’t show it too obviously as it was supposed to be a happy day and she should look delighted. The nervousness of a new bride-to-be could be ignored; there was nothing to be nervous about when marrying Gu Ling…

The Mansion of Prince Ning.

Although Situ Xie’s suggestion that Gu Ling should get married in the king’s mansion was rejected, he still busied himself with Gu Ling’s wedding arrangements. He ran to the Mansion of Prince Ning for three consecutive days, arranged tor many servants to come over, and even brougnt all tne people from the king’s mansion on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

As for Gu Ling, he left them to it, knowing that he couldn’t handle all the matters on his own.

Only after being repeatedly urged by Situ Xie, did Gu Ling finally put on his wedding robes, which the palace had sent over. He didn’t particularly like them, finding them too cumbersome. He thought maybe he could learn some sewing. When he and Su Liang get married, he could personally make her a wedding outfit since she doesn’t like this kind of get-up. He had previously promised to let her embroider her own bridal veil, but other matters had taken precedence, and it was set aside.

“Cousin, you look so beautiful, deserving of the reputation of the most beautiful person in the world.” Situ Yao was utterly stunned by Gu Ling’s appearance in the red wedding attire.

There was still no smile on Gu Ling’s face, as arranged by Situ Xie, Gu Ling set off on time to fetch his bride from the imperial palace, accompanied by Situ Jing and Situ Zhang.

The common people who came to watch yet again marveled at Gu Ling’s stunning beauty, and they all understood why Su Liang, such a talented and beautiful woman, would choose no one but him.

“Cousin Ling, are you not happy?” Situ Jing asked with a laugh.

Gu Ling answered indifferently, “Very happy.”

Situ Jing nodded, “That’s good. Being able to marry a remarkable woman like divine doctor Su is a blessing for you. You must cherish her!”

Upon arriving outside the palace, after waiting for a while, the carriage that Su Liang was riding finally drove out slowly. It was very grand, but she couldn’t be seen…

Gu Ling was not disappointed, as he did not want other men to see Su Liang in her wedding dress, but he knew he would witness it today.

The wedding procession left the imperial palace, boisterously making its way back to the Mansion of Prince Ning.

Situ Jing reminded Gu Ling that, according to tradition, he should carry the bride from the gate to the wedding hall.

Gu Ling lifted the curtain of the carriage to see Su Liang sitting inside, surrounded by layers of piled-up clothes. The phoenix crown on her head looked very heavy, and her face was covered.

Su Liang lowered her head, seeing a hand stretch over. She recognized it as Gu

Ling’s, and couldn’t help but grumble, “My neck is about to break.”

Maybe I should also make the phoenix crown when we get married… Gu Ling thought, as he hoisted Su Liang out of the carriage in a horizontal carry.

Amidst the sounds of firecrackers and cheers, Gu Ling firmly carried Su Liang into the wedding hall.

Situ Xie didn’t have the audacity to sit in the high hall position, knowing that Gu Ling would definitely not pay him respects, and that it would only result in a public loss of face.

After stabilizing her feet on the ground, Su Liang sighed a breath of relief, hoping this tiresome ceremony would finish quickly so that her head could be freed.

Gu Ling also hoped it would end soon to avoid further complications. Regardless of its authenticity, he liked the part of the ceremony where the couple bowed to each other. Last time he went through it in his disguise as Ning Jing, that didn’t count, but this time it was different.

“The auspicious time has arrived!”

Under the watchful eyes of the nobility of Liang Country, Su Liang and Gu Ling completed the ceremonial rites of the wedding.

“The rites are over, the newlyweds to the bridal chamber!”

Upon hearing this, Gu Ling once again lifted Su Liang in his arms.

Situ Xie, with the people of the Yue King’s mansion, wore a full smile as he invited the guests to dine.

Just then, a shout came from a distance, “My Prince, the emissary from

Emperor Qian has arrived!”

Silence enveloped the room instantly.

“At last.” Su Liang got off Gu Ling as she heard Nian Jincheng’s voice.

“I am here under the Emperor’s order, to deliver an imperial edict. His Majesty ordered that whenever and wherever Su Liang is found, the edict should be given to her immediately.” Nian Jincheng’s face was stern as he spoke.

Su Liang didn’t lift her veil, taking a deep sigh, she said, “General Nian, you have my gratitude.” Turning to Gu Ling by her side, she continued, “Let’s go.”

The crowd watched as Gu Ling, Su Liang and Nian Jincheng left for the bridal chamber together, looking at each other in surprise.

With a glint in his eyes, Situ Xie carried on with the banquet, inviting the guests to dine.

Entering the chamber, Su Liang lifted her veil saying, “I will go and save my head, you two carry on.”

Nian Jincheng, who had been complaining about Gu Ling all the way, looked at him in his wedding attire and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt your wedding, but I was being watched and couldn’t delay.”

Gu Ling shook his head lightly, “I owe you an apology. You couldn’t be at home with Yang Yu on your wedding anniversary.”

From the inner chamber, Su Liang’s voice echoed, “Will you two stop the brotherly bonding? My God, come help me out!”

At Su Liang’s words, Gu Ling immediately left Nian Jincheng and walked quickly into the inner chamber. The sight of Su Liang made him stop in his tracks.

She had taken off two layers of the wedding garment. Her face, still in makeup, was very appealing. Right now, her expression carried a hint of annoyance, adding charisma to her charm.

Gu Ling swallowed dryly, asking in a low voice, “What can I assist with?”

“My hair…” Su Liang was trying to take off the bridal headdress but it was entangled in her hair. At the moment, half of her hair lay loose and the headdress tilted to one side. She had to tilt her head to reduce the pressure. She felt genuinely ridiculous.

A flicker of amusement crossed Gu Ling’s eyes. She did not look ridiculous at all, she was super cute.

Gu Ling quickly moved forward, gingerly untangling Su Liang’s hair from the headdress. When he took off the headdress and held it in his hand, it felt very heavy. It must be even more so on one’s head, ‘You’ve had a tough day.”

After stretching her neck, Su Liang blurted out, “Can’t agree more. Next time we get married, can you wear the bridal dress and the headdress and I wear the groom’s attire?”

Gu Ling was taken aback for a moment before retorting, “Next time?”

Su Liang stood up, stretching her limbs, “What if we need to pretend to be married again?”

Gu Ling put down the headdress and said, “Let’s do away with the headdress next time.”

Su Liang was about to go find Nian Jincheng when Gu Ling told her to change her clothes first.

“Yes, I really need to. The clothes from the palace are weird.” Su Liang looked down at her chest.

Gu Ling silently turned around and left…

When Su Liang came out again after freshening up, both Gu Ling and Nian Jincheng had already read the secret edict.

When Su Liang took it, it instructed her to cancel her marriage to Gu Ling without offending Situ Han, and to return to the country immediately.

Nian Jincheng frowned, “You two have completed the wedding rites, how can it be cancelled? Not offending the one who bestowed the marriage, Emperor Liang, is literally impossible.”

The next moment, Su Liang abruptly got up, throwing down the secret edict and pointing angrily at Gu Ling, saying, “I treated you with sincerity, with the heavens as my witness. You actually agreed to marry me for the sake of another woman? What do you take me for?”

Nian Jincheng was taken aback, staring in astonishment.

Gu Ling spoke calmly, “She is just my friend, I owe her a favor and need to repay it. It was you who wanted to marry me, and I did not want to deceive you, and thus told you the truth.”

Surprised looks appeared on the faces of the servants in the courtyard as they heard the voices coming from inside the room.

“Gu Ling, I do love you, and I cannot bear to see you trample my sincerities like this!” There was anger behind Su Liang’s words, “At this point, I should thank you for your honesty! Since you have ulterior motives for marrying me, let’s end this. Let’s pretend this never happened! The Emperor is ill and has commanded me to return home as soon as possible. I will embark on my journey today, you are free to come or not!”

After her words, Su Liang went into the inner chamber, took out the headdress that had been causing pain in her neck, and threw it on the ground. Then she left the room returning to the one she previously occupied.

After Nian Jincheng closed the door, he saw Gu Ling calmly taking off the wedding attire and asked him confusingly, “Is this… a rehearsed drama?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Ad-libbing actually, was it not exciting?”

Nian Jincheng nodded absently before asking confusedly, “The other woman Su Liang said you agreed to marry her for, who is she? You haven’t fallen in love with someone else, have you?”

Gu Ling replied contemplatively, “All the women I know prefer Su Liang even more..”