Waking Up Five Years Later on the Wedding Night - Chapter 6

Where exactly had Yan Zhian gone? Was he dead or alive?

After Huo Mingshu asked the question, the bell in Yan Zhining’s mind rang again. Dazed, she looked at her sister-in-law, who had just asked about her brother’s whereabouts.

If a lie was spoken, did that not mean her sister-in-law already knew the truth about her brother?

In an instant, Yan Zhining’s starry eyes widened. “If you know where my brother is, why ask me?”

Upon receiving a response that was not what she expected, a faint smile appeared on Huo Mingshu’s ice-like face. “He is dead.”

Yan Zhining didn’t believe it and waited quietly for the sound of the bell, but unexpectedly, it remained silent.

Was her brother actually dead? Shocked, her small face went pale. Opposite her, Huo Mingshu picked up a wine cup and sipped from it gently, her red lips pressed against the white porcelain, instantly adding a touch of allure.

Yan Zhining watched, entranced, even forgetting to blink. Huo Mingshu curled her lips into a shallow smile and held the cup toward her. “Yan Zhining, I only recognize the person who bowed with me in the wedding ceremony. As for the life or death of others, it has nothing to do with me.”

Yan Zhining’s fingertips trembled. She did not take the cup, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, the candlelight shattering into stardust in the depths of her eyes.

Huo Mingshu, however, offered no retreat. Her warm palm supported Yan Zhining’s chin, her thumb stroking the girl’s lower lip a touch soft as if boneless, yet impossible to resist.

Their breaths mingled, a faint, lingering fragrance entwined with the scent of alcohol. Huo Mingshu laughed. “You had the courage to take your brother’s place in the wedding, but no courage to live with me?”

Yan Zhining forgot how to breathe, a thousand words seemingly stuck in her throat. Her lips were burning from the touch of that thumb, a numbing sensation reaching all the way to her heart.

She tilted her head to dodge, but her sister-in-law gripped her jaw, pulling her back with a strength that felt like silk wrapping around her, soft yet resilient.

The candlelight flickered, casting a rosy hue on both their cheeks, making it impossible to tell if it was from shyness or fear. Huo Mingshu leaned in closer, her breath warm. “Yan Zhining, who am I?”

“Sister-in-law.” Yan Zhining answered honestly, then regretted it immediately. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

Five years ago, she shouldn’t have followed her parents’ wishes, and she shouldn’t have dragged her sister-in-law into the mire of the Yan family.

If she had refused to stand in for her brother back then, her sister-in-law would still be unmarried; she never would have been ensnared by the Yan family’s schemes.

Overcome with regret, her nose grew sore. “I’m sorry.”

Huo Mingshu chuckled softly, her fingertips slowly sliding down to the hollow of Yan Zhining’s collarbone. The touch was as light as falling petals, yet it made Yan Zhining’s heart tremble.

Yan Zhining wore a set of robes, her breathing shallow and hurried, her skin flushing with a soft pink, like a spring peach just beginning to bloom.

Huo Mingshu’s gaze deepened, her thumb rubbing that delicate spot. Young girls were just like this—soft as dough, gentle and boneless.

She withdrew her hand and laughed quietly. “You should go sleep on the floor.”

Yan Zhining sighed, blindly groping for the wine cup. She raised her head, drank another large glass, and insisted, “I can write a divorce paper on my brother’s behalf.”

“Yan Zhining, you’ve wasted five years of my time. How do you intend to make up for that?”

The corners of Yan Zhining’s eyes turned red as the alcohol rushed to her head. She gripped her sleeves until her knuckles turned white, drooping her head. “Do you want money?”

Huo Mingshu raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Two hundred thousand taels. Write me an IOU.”

“Two hundred thousand…” Yan Zhining opened her mouth, her lashes lowered, tears hanging in the candlelight like dew on the edge of a petal.

Taking a deep breath, her body swayed slightly, her thin silhouette visible through the folds of her robes. “I don’t have that much.”

“Write the IOU and pay it off slowly.”

Listening to her sister-in-law’s cold and merciless words, Yan Zhining looked at her and had a sudden idea. “Then how about I live a good life with you? I don’t like men. I can use the entire Yan family as a dowry. Our family head only accepts live-in sons-in-law; we don’t marry out.”

Huo Mingshu picked up the wine cup, glanced at Yan Zhining, and suddenly grabbed her hand and bit it. Yan Zhining cried out in pain. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”

“To see if you’re a living person,” Huo Mingshu said generously, then stood up. “Write the IOU. I don’t believe in empty words; I only believe in black and white.”

Yan Zhining was forced to write the IOU.

Watching the note, Huo Mingshu slowly smiled. Yan Zhining, dizzy with exhaustion, turned and collapsed onto the bed.

When Huo Mingshu returned after tidying up, she found the girl curled up on her bed, fast asleep.

Huo Mingshu stood by the bedside. The candlelight slanted across the room, illuminating Yan Zhining’s sleeping posture, which was curled up like a cat.

Her posture wasn’t very graceful; her robes were wrinkled, her hair bun was loose, and a strand of dark hair stuck to her sweat-dampened cheek. Her breathing was soft and light, carrying the scent of alcohol mixed with the unique, sweet fragrance of a young girl.

Looking at the scene before her, Huo Mingshu reached out as if to pull the girl off the bed, but her fingertips paused when they touched that warm shoulder.

Yan Zhining murmured “sister-in-law” unconsciously and burrowed deeper into the quilt, inadvertently revealing half of her snow-white neck, like a lotus root freshly peeled in early spring.

Huo Mingshu stared at that patch of white skin, her eyes darkening. Finally, she leaned over to pull the quilt up to the girl’s shoulders, then turned and left.

After a good night’s sleep, Yan Zhining climbed out of bed in a daze. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw someone sitting under the window opposite her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly scrambled off the bed, feeling awkward.

Looking back, she realized she had slept in her sister-in-law’s bed. Looking down, she saw that her outer robes had been removed.

In an instant, her world collapsed.

What happened last night? Where were her clothes? Yan Zhining looked down to find her garments, spinning around in a panic. Her bare feet touched the floorboards, and her toes were red from the cold.

“Yan Zhining,” Huo Mingshu said softly.

“Yes?” Yan Zhining trembled all over. Realizing she had been exposed, she knelt down immediately, her face full of woe. “I, I, I didn’t mean to lie to you.”

Huo Mingshu walked over slowly. The morning light filtered through the window lattice, casting dappled golden shadows on her plain white undergarments.

She leaned down, looking at the girl kneeling on the ground. Her voice was as calm as a deep pool. “Get up. Life still has to go on.”

The words were as light as a spring breeze, a simple act of forgiving Yan Zhining.

The dim light in Yan Zhining’s eyes immediately brightened. “You forgive me?”

Huo Mingshu looked down at the young girl and suddenly noticed that her ears were red enough to drip blood, even though the skin around them was white as jade, making her look exceptionally shy.

“Get up. I’m going to the Ministry of Justice; come with me.” She looked away. “Put on your clothes, and remember, you are Yan Zhian.”

Yan Zhining was puzzled, hurriedly climbing up. “Then, why must I disguise myself as my brother?”

Huo Mingshu replied, “By performing the wedding ceremony under the identity of Yan Zhian, in the eyes of the Yan family, I am the wife of Yan Zhian.”

Yan Zhining suddenly realized. “I’ll go wash up. Wait for me.”

She left in a rush. Huo Mingshu walked calmly into the outer chamber, where a pile of gifts from the jade shop from the previous day sat on the table.

The morning light shone on the dazzling array of gift boxes: emerald bracelets glowing with a faint light, warm and translucent suet jade pendants, and a pair of pure gold earrings inlaid with jewels…

Huo Mingshu’s fingertips brushed the surface of the boxes, but she didn’t open them, merely smiling faintly, an expression that seemed both mocking and cynical.

From this, it was clear that the Yan family’s subordinates only recognized Yan Zhining as the young master and completely ignored Yan Zhongnan.

No wonder Yan Zhongnan had murderous intent!

A father inferior to his son, this was the greatest kind of humiliation.

Both were dressed neatly. Yan Zhining followed the Grand Chancellor out of the courtyard. Just as they stepped onto the corridor, they ran into a hurried Madame Yan.

“Zhining is back.” Madame Yan’s face showed kindness and a wide smile. “Why didn’t you tell me when you returned? Oh my, you’re wearing men’s clothes.”

She spoke sweetly, stepping forward to pull on Yan Zhining, but Huo Mingshu reached out to stop her. “Madame, you joke. The person standing before you is my husband, Yan Zhian.”

The bell rang again, her sister-in-law was lying again. Yan Zhining glanced at her sister-in-law and stood silently by her side.

Huo Mingshu stood between the two of them. Madame Yan panicked completely. “Grand Chancellor, Zhining is a girl, not a man.”

“Madame, you joke. Regardless of man or woman, the person I bowed with at the wedding is the one I acknowledge.” Huo Mingshu looked at Madame Yan, her eyes cold. “Tell me, is the Yan family guilty of fraud?”

One sentence blocked everything Madame Yan was about to say. She looked anxiously at Yan Zhining. “Zhining, say something! That is your sister-in-law; do you really want to snatch your brother’s wife?”

Five years ago, Yan Zhining would have been terrified and started explaining, but having died once without knowing why, she had thoroughly seen through her mother’s true face.

She smiled. “Mother, you are joking. How can you speak of ‘snatching’? The one who went to bring the bride was me, the one who bowed in the ceremony was me, and the one who entered the bridal chamber was also me. Are you confused?”

 Madame Yan’s face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling. Her finger almost poked the tip of Yan Zhining’s nose. “How dare you be so rebellious? That is your own brother!”

The bell suddenly rang, startling Yan Zhining. Was this sentence also a lie?

“Where did my brother go? Why did everyone say he died on the wedding night?” Yan Zhining sneered, dropping her previous softness, her gaze sharp. “Was the one who died on the wedding night me?”

“Of course it was your brother,” Madame Yan said, trying to act tough.

The bell rang again. Yan Zhining’s eyelids twitched. Not her brother? The person who died wasn’t her brother?

There wasn’t a single word of truth in Madame Yan’s mouth. Yan Zhining grew even more confused. What exactly was going on?

After a moment of deliberation, she immediately asked, “Is my brother still alive?”

Madame Yan was startled and hurriedly continued to lie. “Are you confused? Your brother died on the wedding night.”

A lie—the bell rang. Yan Zhining frowned, sensing something was wrong. “My brother didn’t die.”

“He died!” Madame Yan was furious. Why was she fixated on this one thing?

The bell did not ring. She wasn’t lying; her brother was dead. Yan Zhining narrowed her eyes, realizing the truth: her brother was dead, but he hadn’t died on the wedding night; he might have died even before that.

In order to bind the Grand Chancellor to them, her father and mother had chosen to kill him on their wedding night.

Yan Zhining’s heart sank. She stepped forward on the stone path, looking straight at her mother. “My brother was already dead, he died before the wedding night. To trap my sister-in-law, you fed me sleeping medicine on the wedding night and pushed me into the fire, didn’t you?”

“That’s not true! You are talking nonsense!” Madame Yan roared, raising her hand to slap Yan Zhining. She had clearly lost her mind; how dare she question her!

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