My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 45

The bridesmaid, watching the bashful expressions of the two, raised her hand to cover her mouth with a handkerchief, stifling a soft chuckle.

“The bride and groom shall now share the nuptial wine!”

As the bridesmaid called out loudly, Guo’er and Cui’er, dressed elegantly, picked up the wine ladles and filled the empty ones placed on the table before the couple.

The small ladles were tied together at their handles with bright red silk ribbons. The two raised their ladles and each drank half before, under the bridesmaid’s guidance, linking arms and draining the remaining wine in one go.

Watching the empty ladles tremble slightly as they were placed back on the table, the bridesmaid immediately announced, “The ceremony is complete! To the bridal chamber!”

With the ritual concluded, the bridesmaid ushered the remaining onlookers out of the room.

The flickering candlelight cast a gentle, wavering glow across the room. Lu Jiahe stood behind Cheng Yi, carefully removing the hair ornaments one by one.

Though the two had shared a room before, today marked a shift in their relationship, stirring the quiet hopes they had long kept hidden in their hearts.

“Hey, stop pushing! They’ll hear us if we’re not careful.”

“Don’t nudge me, ouch!”

The rustling sounds outside the door shattered the tranquility within.

Cheng Yi knew from the noise that people were eavesdropping, and her mind drifted to scenes she had seen in dramas. Unconsciously, a blush crept from the tips of her ears to spread across her cheeks.

Though the dim, golden light in the room was not as bright as usual, Lu Jiahe still noticed the flush of embarrassment on her face.

Two days before the wedding, Lu Jiahe had been privately instructed by her father and an elderly maid about the intimacies of the wedding night. The sounds outside instantly made her aware that the crowd was waiting to hear the couple’s amorous murmurs.

Cheng Yi paused her movements, her head lowered. She felt her cheeks burning like a kettle boiling over on a stove, so heated that the slightest touch might make her gasp aloud.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Jiahe mustered her courage and strode to the door, pulling it, open from the inside.

The group hiding outside turned to look and saw Lu Jiahe glaring at them with a mix of embarrassment and indignation.

“Oh, little sister, you’re not asleep yet? You drank quite a bit at the front hall earlier. You should go back and rest!” Jiang Huai, crouching with a hand on Tan Siyuan’s shoulder, offered an awkward smile.

Lu Jiahe pressed her lips together and exhaled sharply, ignoring his words. Unsure of how to shoo away the eavesdroppers, she could only fix them with an angry stare, hoping to drive them off.

Tan Siyuan, whose legs had gone numb from crouching for so long, was the first to stand. He shot a reproachful glance at the others behind him before turning to Lu Jiahe with an apologetic look. “Little sister, glad to see you’re not drunk. Well, you two carry on. We’ll be heading back now.”

Without waiting for a response, Tan Siyuan waved for the others to follow and hurriedly led them out of the courtyard.

Not entirely reassured even after hearing the gate close, Lu Jiahe walked over to the courtyard entrance, gave it a push to make sure it was shut, and then secured it with a lock.

Returning to the room, she found Cheng Yi still sitting with her head bowed before the dressing table, just as she had been when Lu Jiahe left. Stepping closer, Lu Jiahe resumed removing the remaining hair ornaments.

“It’s alright now. They’ve all left,” Lu Jiahe said softly, standing behind Cheng Yi.

“Hmm.” Cheng Yi took a moment to steady her fluctuating emotions, then looked up at her reflection in the mirror and let out a long sigh.

After the two had finished washing up and removed their outer garments, they walked together to the bedside. When they saw the red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds arranged on the bed, their faces immediately flushed bright red.

Lu Jiahe, her ears burning as if on fire, stole a sidelong glance at the other person. Then, she fetched a clean wooden bucket from the room and gathered all the items from the wedding quilt into it.

“Alright, we can sleep now,” she said, shaking off any lingering dust from the quilt before placing it at the foot of the bed.

Cheng Yi stared blankly at the bed covered in red bedding.

Wasn’t there supposed to be a white handkerchief? She had already planned to have Lu Jiahe bite her own finger and drip a few drops of blood onto it.

As a modern person, Cheng Yi knew that a woman’s first time didn’t necessarily result in bleeding. But the era she now lived in placed great importance on a woman’s chastity.

After waiting for a long time without hearing a word from the person beside her, she mustered her courage and finally asked the question.

“D-did you forget something?” Cheng Yi’s eyes darted nervously toward the wedding bed.

Lu Jiahe didn’t understand what the other person meant. She glanced at the bed in confusion, then looked back at Cheng Yi, bewildered. “What?”

Cheng Yi shot her an annoyed glare. The wedding planner had come a few days ago to explain the procedures. How could this person be teasing her now? Did her earlier behavior make her seem like an easy target?

“What do you mean? Don’t you know what’s supposed to be on the bed right now?” Cheng Yi angrily kicked off the shoes she was wearing, then ignored Lu Jiahe completely as she climbed into the inner side of the bed and lay down.

Lu Jiahe sat at the foot of the bed, staring fixedly at her. For a moment, she didn’t know whether she should blow out the candle and lie down to rest or try to figure out what Cheng Yi thought she had forgotten.

Hearing no movement behind her, Cheng Yi gently propped herself up and glanced back.

The moment their eyes met, Cheng Yi could no longer contain her shame and frustration!

“Think, think, think! The white handkerchief! The handkerchief for the ‘fallen red’!” she exclaimed agitatedly, throwing off the quilt and kicking her legs wildly, as if riding a bicycle, while tangling them around Lu Jiahe.

Lu Jiahe was stunned by the sudden outburst. Only when she realized what Cheng Yi was referring to did she begin to feel the sharp pain all over her body.

“I know, I know, I remember now, I remember!” Lu Jiahe cried out, clutching her arms in pain as she scrambled to evade the attack.

Cheng Yi, her eyes tightly shut, felt her feet hitting nothing but air. She opened her eyes, her face flushed crimson, and glared at the person standing by the bed.

“I’m so mad!”

Cheng Yi had had enough. She thought this whole thing was just to deceive Lu Zhengliang and keep Lu Jiahe’s identity a secret. She never expected the other person to be so ungrateful!

Fine, let it be! She wasn’t going to bother anymore! Let her figure it out on her own!

The furious giant beast, clad in snow-white undergarments and lying atop the bright red wedding quilt, glared angrily at the delicate little chicken standing by the bed. Then, she yanked the quilt over herself and turned her back to the other person.

The first time Lu Jiahe witnessed Cheng Yi’s furious side, she was so terrified she froze in place. Her mouth agape, she quietly observed the person on the bed. Only when it seemed Cheng Yi had no intention of continuing to beat her did she cautiously approach the bedside and explain the situation.

“Um, m-my father said that since we’ve already had a child before, there’s no use in preparing those things now. S-so he didn’t have anyone prepare them. He was afraid you’d feel sad on our wedding day, thinking about the child that never existed.”

Lu Jiahe remained on high alert. Even after finishing her explanation, she kept her hands protectively over her body, fearing Cheng Yi might get upset again and start hitting her.

“Hmph!”

Cheng Yi let out a forceful breath, then pulled half of the wedding quilt over to Lu Jiahe’s side.

“Whew!”

Seeing Cheng Yi’s reaction, Lu Jiahe knew she was forgiven. She quickly got up, scurried to the table to blow out the candle, then returned to bed and slept close to the edge.

In the past, travel was slow. By the time Xue Wanning returned to Bianjing, a month had already passed.

That day, as soon as she entered the city gate with her carriage, she rushed straight to the Lu residence to find someone.

Thanks to having someone managing the shop, Cheng Yi now spent her days secluded in the Lu residence, practicing her calligraphy.

“Young Mistress, Young Mistress, Miss Xue is here to see you. Should I let her in?” Guo’er hurried into the courtyard to report.

Hearing this, Cheng Yi looked up and nodded, then picked up her brush again to continue copying the characters Lu Jiahe had assigned her as homework.

Ever since marrying Lu Jiahe, Guo’er had been assigned to serve her. At first, Cheng Yi was very resistant to the idea, but after repeated persuasion from Lu Jiahe, she eventually agreed.

Standing outside the main gate of the Lu residence, Xue Wanning felt a sinking dread as she saw the double happiness characters pasted on both sides. Clutching her bundle, she paced anxiously back and forth. If not for the guards watching her, she would have rushed in immediately to confront Lu Jiahe.

“Miss Xue, please come in. The Young Mistress is waiting for you in the courtyard,” Guo’er said as she hurried out.

Upon hearing the words “Young Mistress,” Xue Wanning froze as if struck by lightning.

Guo’er looked at her, puzzled. “Miss Xue? Miss Xue?”

Xue Wanning snapped back to reality and quickly strode into the Lu residence, heading straight for Lu Jiahe’s courtyard.

“Miss Cheng!” Xue Wanning entered the courtyard and made a beeline for the pavilion where Cheng Yi was seated.

Hearing her, Cheng Yi looked up. Seeing that her guest had arrived, she set down her brush and greeted her with a smile.

“Miss Xue, you’re here. I heard you went to the capital? How did you return so quickly?”

Xue Wanning steadied her emotions before replying, “Yes, I have to return to the capital again soon, and there are more urgent matters at the border that need my attention. So, I came back as soon as I finished my business.”

“Oh, Miss Cheng, I brought these pastries specially from the capital. Please try them.” With that, Xue Wanning placed her bundle on the stone table and unwrapped it.

Cheng Yi watched her movements quietly, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

“Miss Xue, you came to see me in such a hurry. Is there something you need?” Cheng Yi accepted the pastry offered to her and took a bite. “Could it be that the helpers at Yiju no longer want to work?”

Xue Wanning shook her head in response, “No, no. The reason I rushed to find Miss Cheng this time is because there’s something I’d like to verify.”

Cheng Yi furrowed her brows slightly upon hearing this. She had run through countless possibilities in her mind but couldn’t pinpoint what the other person was referring to. “Please go ahead, Miss Xue.”

“Miss Cheng, I noticed the double happiness character pasted outside your door. Is the Lu family celebrating some happy occasion recently?”