Transmigrated as a Scum Alpha: Now I Have a Wife via the Heartless Dao - Chapter 10

Since engagement banquets aren’t exactly a mandatory custom, there is no fixed process or standard format, and it’s all left to the host’s preferences.

Of course, because noble families have intermarried for generations, they are all interconnected, and if you trace back a dozen generations, everyone is related. To maintain their collective image, they hold engagement banquets frequently. These events often follow a similar, well-trodden path, usually characterized by grand decorations, extensive guest lists, and a streamlined ceremony.

Everyone is just going through the motions anyway, so the competition usually focuses on the scale of the venue and the guest list, while the actual ritual process is treated as an afterthought.

By contrast, the Yu family’s engagement banquet was far more elaborate, with a unique and unconventional style.

Rong Shu hadn’t known the process beforehand, either. Yu Qianyan hadn’t mentioned it to her, only telling her to follow her lead and not to worry about a thing.

No one realized that this engagement banquet was essentially modeled after a simplified version of a Daoist marriage ceremony.

The Black Diamond Hotel, the most luxurious in the entire Capital Star, had cleared out an entire floor to serve as the banquet hall. It was adorned everywhere with red silk, and many exquisite palace lanterns hung from the rafters. The spacious room was filled with large rosewood round tables, each one packed with guests.

The positioning of the tables and chairs was also very deliberate. Yu Qianyan had meticulously arranged them, ostensibly to ensure that no seat in the room was obstructed, allowing every guest a clear view of the ceremony’s details. In reality, the arrangement formed a blessing formation, specifically designed to pray for the newly betrothed couple to remain deeply in love and blessed for a lifetime.

Even though such an arrangement had no practical effect in this world beyond good fortune, Yu Qianyan still chose to follow the tradition.

A Tasman red carpet, stretching from the main entrance of the lobby all the way to the ceremony platform, sparked heated discussions among the guests. Tasman fabric is notoriously expensive. Most common families haven’t even seen it, and even among nobles, most only buy enough to make a garment or two for special occasions. No one had ever seen it used as a carpet.

A carpet of that length and thickness cost enough to buy five top-tier interstellar cruisers, complete with crystal-energy weapons.

That wasn’t all. At the end of the red carpet sat a plain, unassuming long table topped with several jars of unknown spices and two long, thin, bright red cylinders. No one knew what they were for. Behind the table stood a dual-phoenix cauldron forged from pure gold, which shone brilliantly under the bright lights.

Behind the gold cauldron was a massive flower wall, consisting entirely of Kuro roses, freshly picked and transported from Gorna Planet. The price of a single flower was equivalent to the entire annual income of an average family on Capital Star, and that didn’t even include the cost of long-distance interstellar transport and preservation.

By comparison, the orchestra hired by Yu Qishan, which was the Imperial Royal Palace band, seemed almost unremarkable.

The cost of hosting such an engagement banquet was likely more than even an Imperial Princess could afford.

The Rong family’s mouths were practically twitching with joy. Finding such a wealthy and powerful in-law was essentially the same as accidentally discovering an unclaimed, high-energy star system.

As a declining noble family that had suddenly hooked a powerful relative, their social standing was soaring. The head of the Rong family, Rong Bi, squinted his eyes, savoring the flattery of the crowd while putting on a pretentious facade of, “It’s just the kids fooling around with free love, our family doesn’t care about background when it comes to marriage.” His hypocrisy was so transparent that his smugness was obvious to everyone.

The Yu family’s engagement banquet was already eye-catching, and the guests present were either green with envy or burning with jealousy. However, given Yu Qishan’s status, no matter what they were thinking, they had to offer the most sincere blessings and praises.

But that didn’t apply to the Rong family.

As a declining noble family, while it was true that the daughter marrying up was born to the first wife, that Omega’s biological mother had passed away, and the stepmother had been in charge for so long that she was practically an orphan. Could she really have any affection for the Rong family? She might even be hoping for the Rong family to suffer.

With that in mind, the more established families saw no reason to care about the Rong family’s feelings.

If they offended them, so be it. They weren’t exactly significant figures.

Consequently, just as Rong Bi was riding high on the flattery, he was subtly needled by several nobles who held much higher status than him. They mocked him for social climbing and hinted that his daughter was loose, suggesting that perhaps it was an unplanned pregnancy that forced Yu Qishan to accept this marriage.

Yet, those people spoke with such polished ambiguity that he was left with no room to retort. He could only swallow the insult and keep smiling at everyone.

Fortunately, as the head of the family, Rong Bi had some composure. He didn’t lose his temper on the spot and continued to chat with the guests at his table with a fake smile, pretending to be both deaf and blind to the mockery in their eyes and the sarcasm in their words.

Rong Bi could stomach the humiliation, but Rong Xin could not. She immediately stood up, seething with anger, wanting to find Rong Shu and start a fight. How could she be so shameless as to engage in such disgraceful behavior and still make them lose face here?

Her stepmother, Ning Ting, saw the situation going south and quickly pulled Rong Xin back down, pressing her firmly into her chair.

“Don’t cause trouble!”

Rong Xin was unconvinced. She wasn’t causing trouble, she just wanted to scold Rong Shu. What was the big deal?

“This is not the place for you to act out,” Ning Ting said, her eyes fierce. Her glare made Rong Xin shrink back into the chair, sitting more steadily than before. “Whatever grievances you have, wait until the banquet is over, then go cry to Miss Yu. Make it sound pitiful. Alphas, after all, are easily moved to love through pity.”

“She won’t care,” Rong Xin muttered unhappily.

Ning Ting’s face darkened, “What are you mumbling about?”

“Nothing… fine, I get it.” Rong Xin didn’t dare to complain further and buried her head, scratching at the raised patterns on the tablecloth. They looked like hand-embroidered designs, quite abstract, and she had no idea what they were supposed to be.

While things were not peaceful for the Rong family, it wasn’t exactly calm on Yu Qishan’s side either.

Logically, as a Duchess with significant power, most people wouldn’t dare provoke her. However, she had too many political rivals, some of whom were on par with her.

The guests coming to offer congratulations were endless. It looked as if a small tornado had formed with Yu Qishan at the center, keeping her so busy that she could only manage a few words with each person. She had been holding her wine glass for over an hour without taking a single sip, her throat dry enough to smoke.

Xiong Weian squeezed in at just that moment.

“What a grand spectacle today. It really opened my eyes. Compared to your event, the banquet I hosted the other day was truly pathetic,” Xiong Weian said, raising his glass to Yu Qishan, watching her take a sip of wine with a meaningful look.

After these words, the crowd quieted down, eyes darting back and forth between Yu and Xiong.

Yu Qishan took a large gulp of wine, finally feeling a bit of relief in her throat, and smiled at Xiong Weian without taking the bait.

Everyone knew the two were at odds and had long suspected they would eventually have a falling out. Yet, they hadn’t expected Xiong Weian to choose to cause trouble at the engagement of Yu Qishan’s only daughter. It was more than a little malicious.

However, seeing Yu Qishan’s calm and detached demeanor, she didn’t seem to take it to heart.

It made sense. Even if the rumors were true, that Yu Qianyan was caught cheating at Xiong Weian’s banquet and forced to get engaged in public, she was an Alpha, after all. If the Yu family had simply refused to acknowledge it, what could anyone does? At most, it would just confirm Yu Qianyan’s reputation for being a playboy.

It was precisely the Yu family’s decision to accept the situation that had significantly turned around Yu Qianyan’s reputation. People began to think she was actually a responsible child who knew how to take ownership and didn’t let the Omega suffer, marking her as trustworthy and of good character.

Promiscuity is a common flaw among Alphas, not worth mentioning.

However, Yu Qishan’s attitude was worth pondering. When the engagement news first broke, many people whispered behind her back that she was cold-hearted, that for the sake of the family’s reputation, she had saddled her only daughter and future heir with an Omega who brought no family support. She was truly someone not to be trifled with.

Didn’t you see Xiong Weian come in aggressively, only to be met with a calm deflect?

Xiong Weian naturally realized this, his eyes turning malicious. He deliberately looked around and asked with feigned curiosity, “Minister Yu, this engagement banquet must have cost a fortune, right? To go to such lengths and spend so much, isn’t it a pity you didn’t invite His Majesty to see the spectacle?”

Whoa, that was a heavy statement. Asking the Emperor of the Empire to “see the spectacle” was an incredibly mocking thing to say.

Although, this engagement banquet was indeed a bit too lavish.

Unexpectedly, Yu Qishan didn’t lose her temper as everyone had anticipated. Instead, she asked him with great interest, “How did you know I reported this to His Majesty and even invited him to witness the ceremony?”

“It’s a pity, though. His Majesty is busy with state affairs and couldn’t make it today. But His Majesty did promise me that he would definitely attend on the wedding day. It’s such a great honor.”

After saying this, Yu Qishan raised her glass high to Xiong Weian, raised her eyebrows, and smiled with calm composure.

Xiong Weian didn’t quite believe that Yu Qishan would dare report this to the Emperor. After all, the Emperor had recently hinted that imperial officials should practice frugality. If she had reported it, wouldn’t she be walking right into a trap?

But Yu Qishan’s attitude was so steady that he began to doubt himself.

While he hesitated, the music in the banquet hall suddenly blared, signaling the start of the ceremony.

Yu Qishan didn’t care what Xiong Weian was thinking after his failed provocation. She didn’t spare him another glance and loudly told the guests, “Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats. The auspicious time has arrived!”

As soon as the words fell, the hall doors were pushed open heavily by the attendants who had been waiting for a long time. The couple, dressed in bright red wedding attire, walked out together, bathed in the gazes of everyone, and slowly headed toward the ceremony stage.

The music suddenly became impassioned, as if cheering for their joyous occasion.

Rong Shu trembled abruptly, and her expression became strange.

Yu Qianyan thought she hadn’t fully recovered from the exhaustion of her heat, so she quickly supported her and whispered, “What’s wrong? Are you still feeling weak?”

Rong Shu shook her head, unable to speak.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that this piece of music was exactly the one she had imagined in her head while having those “impure thoughts.” She couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

Yu Qianyan lowered her eyes for a moment. Before Rong Shu could come up with a decent excuse, she scooped her up and carried her in a princess carry, walking the rest of the way with steady, even steps.

The guests, after a brief moment of shock, erupted into cheers and jeers. Some clapped, others took photos or recorded videos, and the festive atmosphere reached its peak at that moment.

Rong Shu no longer felt embarrassed. Her heartbeat, like the sound of drums, grew thunderous, completely drowning out the lingering, sultry pipa music.

She buried her face in Yu Qianyan’s arms, closing her eyes as if to escape, allowing herself to indulge in this momentary, unyielding heartbeat.

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