A box of matching jewelry was opened and laid out on the dresser, with a hairpin that was quite skilled at styling, but it was pulled too tightly and hurt a bit. Mei Li held a beryl bracelet in her hand and endured silently.

  Yue Mo and Yue Qi took out a set of light peach-colored summer robes, "Lady Ce Fu, wear this one today, it's auspicious and doesn't clash with your colors."

  Joyful atmosphere... without being overly showy...

  Yes, today is Zheng Fu Jin's wedding day, and the red color belongs to her... The sky was still not fully lit, and the soft morning light shone on the clothes in Mo He's hands, making even the brightest colors look dull. Mei Li smiled and nodded, "This one will do." Who would care what she wears anyway? As long as she dresses festively, blends into the crowd, and says a few words of congratulations at the right time, that's all that matters.

  Yuè Mò walked to the front of the copper mirror to help Yuè Méi, holding a box of hair accessories in front of Měi Lì's eyes. "Master, you must dress up heavily today, lest others say you're intentionally not giving face to the new Madame." Yuè Mò kindly nagged, "You... must also smile brightly, ah."

  Meili smiled and nodded slightly, yes, she had to smile, because today was a grand festive occasion for the entire Wang Fu, everyone... had to smile.

  Yue Mo and Yue Mei were more steady, so they decided to have them accompany her to the ceremony. The new Madame was very generous, for this happy occasion, she had made a set of high-quality red dresses for all the maids in the mansion, Yue Mo and Yue Mei also got one, after changing into it, they suddenly looked full of joy.

  The bride will only be welcomed over from her natal home at night, but the guests have all flooded into the mansion early. Mei Li is wearing high flag shoes and the hair ornaments on her head are so heavy that they hurt her scalp, she can't help but hold onto Yue Mo's arm to steady herself as she walks. She had dressed up like this on the third day after her wedding when she returned to her natal home, and her ancestors pitied her, specially ordering her to change into lighter clothes. Today... it will be a whole day.

  For this secondary Fu Jin... as long as she appears with a smile, the rooms in the back hall have all had their doors and windows removed, turning into open partitions, one after another. She was assigned to one of them, sitting on the couch smiling at passing guests.

  No one came to talk to her, and the noble family members glanced at her and politely avoided her. What could they say to her? Congratulations? It seemed like they were deliberately mocking her. Comfort? She shouldn't feel sad either, today was a day when no one was allowed to be sad.

  Because the Emperor and Empress Dowager would come in the evening, the groom entered the palace, but the guests didn't see the host family and weren't disappointed. They ate, drank, chatted and laughed, enjoying themselves. Su Yiren's attendants who came with her had already started to take care of their duties, attending to the guests, handling miscellaneous tasks, looking very diligent and conscientious, they had become part of the household.

  With the emperor's support, Su Ying and Jing Xuan's wedding was extremely grand and luxurious. The dowry was sent from morning till night, a whole day. The ladies chattered and laughed, admiring with envy.

  Meili leaned against the soft pillow, sitting upright for a whole day, and she was about to collapse. She was more tired than her own wedding, with only twenty boxes of dowry given by her ancestors, and fewer people came to attend the ceremony... She had to hold her head with her hands to barely support herself, but fortunately, she only needed to hold on until the host sang loudly and sent the newlyweds into the bridal chamber. According to the old steward, her wedding wine was delivered separately to her room, supposedly a rule.

  Sharing her husband and another woman's joyful banquet alone and quietly was Zheng Fu Jin's first meeting gift to Ce Fu Jin.

  The crowd erupted into a commotion, with laughter ringing out louder than usual. She heard the sound of his voice, not loud but enough to overpower everyone else's... The groom was back.

  The sound of congratulations and laughter continued for a while before dying down, and she saw him walking towards her from the empty doorway, still surrounded by several persistent well-wishers. He was wearing a deep red wedding attire, which made his originally handsome eyebrows and eyes look like a masterpiece that made people sigh in admiration. This was the first time she had seen him wear red; when he married her, he had only worn the prince's ceremonial robe. Today... was actually his wedding day.

  She knew she was being too deliberate, but she really didn't know what else to do, so she could only let herself smile politely and courteously like she did with other guests. Even avoiding eye contact with him... seemed to require more courage than she had.

  Her smile made his already expressionless eyes flicker.

  It had been a long time since she last made eye contact with him, and the chill in his eyes left her momentarily stunned. Was it because her smile was too stiff, not like she was congratulating him? She had already tried her best.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness! The auspicious hour has arrived..." Someone outside was calling out to him from a distance, urging him on.

  He looked at her again and walked away without saying a word.

  Meili let out a soft sigh, and it wasn't until now that she admitted her heart still hurt. Even though the love for him had vanished, she was still a woman, and he was still her husband.

  Firecrackers have been going off since he left the palace to welcome the bride, and the air is filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. Mei Li was choked into a slight cough, and Yue Mei had just handed her a cup of tea when there were several loud explosions - the final big firecracker. The bride's sedan chair has entered the palace... Her hand trembled slightly, spilling out a few drops of tea.

  In the grand wedding hall, her seat was not considered to be in the front row, it was after the important guests and relatives of the nobles. The arrival of the Emperor and ancestors made the whole wedding lively. Her light red dress was drowned in a sea of red, without any eye-catching features... She smiled, and she herself was also drowned in the crowd of smiling faces.

  She was blocked by the busy and bustling wedding attendants and servants, just a human wall made her feel distant, she saw Jingxuan pulling Su'e with a red ribbon, surrounded by many servants wearing festive red clothes, walking slowly towards the emperor and empress dowager sitting in the main seat.

  The voices of blessing were rolling and surging like boiling water, everyone wanting to shout out loud when the groom and bride passed by. When he was very close to her, the people around her rushed forward, congratulating him, she opened her mouth, shouldn't she also follow the crowd and say some festive words? He was smiling, but his cold black eyes stared at her, she choked, although it was only for an instant, she should have smiled at him, she should have said something, but it was a burst of bitter sorrow that made her unable to smile even when he looked at her for just a moment, unable to hide the sadness in her heart.

  He walked over, his eyes calmly meeting the smiling faces that came to congratulate him.

  She also successfully suppressed the tears that were about to rush into her eyes, and when others looked at her with kindness, she smiled again. She comforted herself, he wouldn't notice her sorrow, after all, his gaze was just a casual glance.

  Watching from afar as a newlywed couple paid their respects to heaven and earth, to the emperor and empress... She was numb, not even feeling any sourness. She smiled wryly at herself, enduring the slow and protracted pain, she had indeed become an expert.

  When the newlyweds were sent into the bridal chamber, the guests surged forward to make merry. She let out a long sigh of relief, it's all over now. Smiling, she instructed her maid to help her back to her room, she had done everything she was supposed to do... She wanted to lie down, to rest, she was truly exhausted.

  She removed all the heavy ornaments, simply tied up her hair and looked at several servants smiling as they carried in a table of sumptuous dishes. Yuemoon helped her sit down and earnestly persuaded her to eat more, having been exhausted all day without eating well.

  She gazed at the tablecloth with a red background and golden patterns, the delicacies from mountains and seas, all sorts of exquisite dishes... it was quite luxurious. In the middle of the dish, a clever "囍" was spelled out with dried tangerine peel, she suddenly felt a sour nose, tears fell straight down before she could react. She immediately wiped her eyes as if nothing had happened, hoping that the maids hadn't seen it. Moon Ink and Moon Eyebrows looked at each other, tacitly silent at the same time, no longer persuading her to eat.

  Jingxuan walked in from outside, and everyone was extremely surprised, including Mei Li. Before the bright red bruise on his face caught her eye, she stared at him blankly, then...she averted her gaze.

  The maids were all very surprised, and Yue Qiang followed him in from outside.

  He looked at her for a while, his gaze shifting to the extremely delicate but completely untouched wine and dishes on the table, and he also saw the striking "囍".

  "Get someone! Take it away!" He ordered unhappily, and the maids hastily called over a servant to hurriedly carry it out.

  "You all get out! Reheat dinner for your master again." He said coldly, the maids nodded in unison and retreated, closing the door behind them.

  "Meili." He softly called out to her, took a few steps forward and pulled her into his arms. Without saying anything else, he leaned down and gently kissed her pale lips.

  Her eyes were fixed on the auspicious pattern on his groom attire, and his kiss didn't even disturb her heartbeat.

  He couldn't stay for long, and after he left, she gazed at the moonlight that filtered in through the door with a faint smile.

  The kiss just now was the most gentle gesture he had ever given her, and her heart was shaken for a very short moment. But... she understood even more clearly that these tender lips would soon be kissing another woman - his legitimate wife, leaving her with nothing but this cold moonlight filling the room.