A Simple Wedding

Other people might have had an excuse for calling Su Yuexi ugly, but Mei Xiaofang was Yuexi's own mother. Sikong Jing couldn't understand it.

Just then, Su Yuexi took his hand again and pleaded, "Sikong Jing, please stop."

"You, you, you..."

Mei Xiaofang's chest heaved with rage. Suddenly, she threw a tantrum. "I think she's ugly! I call her a jinx! I call her a hideous freak! What's it to you?"

"Oh, so you think you're something now, Su Yuexi? You've got a criminal for a husband, and now you're trying to anger me to death, is that it?"

Hearing this, Su Yuexi hurried to her feet. "Mother, no, I—"

"Get out of my sight! I'm furious. I don't want to see your ugly face right now." With that, Mei Xiaofang stormed out and slammed the door.

"Mother..." Su Yuexi called, about to chase after her.

But just then, a cough rang out. It came from the frail-looking Su Zhenglong.

He said, "Yuexi, don't chase her."

Su Yuexi stopped and asked, "Father, Mother's so angry. Will she be all right?"

Su Zhenglong shook his head with a smile. "Heh, if she didn't hit you, then she's definitely fine."

Then he looked at Sikong Jing and asked casually, "A-Jing, is it all right if I call you that?"

"Don't blame Yuexi's mother, either. She's mainly worried about my health. Now that she knows Yuexi was nearly beaten to death, she's hurting for her, too. She just cares too much about saving face to say it out loud."

Sikong Jing froze. He gazed in the direction Mei Xiaofang had left, then nodded thoughtfully.

Then Su Zhenglong added, "Yuexi, take A-Jing to see the room."

Su Yuexi stiffened. She glanced at Sikong Jing, then lightly pinched the corner of her clothes, looking terribly shy.

So Su Yuexi led Sikong Jing to her room. From now on, it would be his room, too.

It was a humble little room. The furnishings were nothing like what a young lady of the Su Clan should have.

"Isn't it just like I said? It's not much better than the Pig Farm, is it?" Su Yuexi asked with a smile, a trace of helplessness in her voice.

Sikong Jing looked around and frowned. "The head of the Su Clan is your grandfather, right? I can understand him looking down on you for being ugly, and even disapproving of your marriage to a criminal like me. But why is your father living in these conditions, too?"

It baffled him that the head of the Su Clan would treat his own son this way.

"I can't understand why my grandfather is so heartless, either. Maybe it's because Father is no longer of any use to him."

Su Yuexi's voice was heavy with pain and hurt.

Their family had lived here for ten whole years, all because her father had become useless to the Su Clan after being gravely injured.

Sikong Jing fell silent, then took a deep breath. "I'll help you escape this predicament."

Su Yuexi smiled, but didn't take his words seriously. Sikong Jing was an exiled criminal. How could he possibly help them escape their predicament?

"I'll also restore your looks," Sikong Jing added.

Su Yuexi froze at his words, then gave a bitter smile. That was even more impossible. She had long since given up hope.

Sikong Jing said no more. This would be the greatest surprise he could give Su Yuexi.

A little while later, a servant came to call them to dinner!

The two returned to the sitting room in the courtyard. To their surprise, a lavish feast had been laid out before them.

Su Zhenglong sat weakly in a broad chair, bundled up in layers of clothes. Smiling, he said, "Come, sit down. Your mother prepared all this with such care. Just think of it as your wedding feast."

Su Yuexi covered her mouth in disbelief. "Mother..."

"Don't talk nonsense. This is obviously to help you regain your strength. We'd have to throw out whatever you can't finish anyway. The criminal and the ugly freak are just getting to eat because they happen to be here." Mei Xiaofang came out carrying a dish, her face cold as she retorted.

Su Zhenglong chuckled and said nothing more.

A look of relief gradually appeared on Sikong Jing's face. It seemed he had misunderstood his mother-in-law, Mei Xiaofang.

Just as the two were about to sit down, Mei Xiaofang suddenly said, "Wait. Both of you, kneel down."

Su Yuexi's heart lurched. She asked hesitantly, "Mother, what have I done wrong now?"

Then she looked at Sikong Jing. With his foul temper, he surely wouldn't kneel. She was afraid he'd start arguing with her mother again.

But Sikong Jing did something that took Su Yuexi completely by surprise: he actually knelt down.

After staring in disbelief, Su Yuexi quickly knelt beside him, too.

"Bow your heads three times, and apologize for offending me," Mei Xiaofang ordered.

Sikong Jing looked at his mother-in-law and found the situation a little amusing.

She was truly stubborn. This was clearly a wedding ceremony she'd prepared for him and Su Yuexi. They were getting married right now.

Now that he understood Mei Xiaofang's nature, Sikong Jing naturally didn't expose her.

Beside him, Su Yuexi still looked completely bewildered. How had Sikong Jing suddenly changed his tune?

Just as the two were about to bow, Mei Xiaofang suddenly took out a piece of red cloth and tossed it over Su Yuexi's head, grumbling, "You're still so ugly even with a veil on. Use this to cover your face."

In an instant, Su Yuexi's world turned red. At last, she understood... Her vision blurred with tears.

Thump, thump, thump...

After the three bows, Sikong Jing helped Su Yuexi to her feet and picked up the cups of wine on the table.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I'll drink first."

After drinking with Su Yuexi, their incredibly simple wedding was complete. Sikong Jing gently lifted the red cloth from her head and saw tears streaming wildly from her eyes.

Sikong Jing swore silently in his heart, From this day forward, I, Sikong Jing, will protect her for the rest of my life!

The family of four sat down to eat!

After a while, Mei Xiaofang asked anxiously, "Husband, that old fossil ordered Yuexi to live at the Pig Farm. Now that you've brought them back, how do you plan to explain it to him?"

The "old fossil" she meant was Su Yuexi's grandfather, Su Xuefeng!

This was no small matter, especially with Su Zhengtao's family stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

After a moment's thought, Su Zhenglong said coldly, "I've made up my mind. If Father still gives us trouble, I'll cripple Su Zhengtao."

As soon as he finished speaking, a man's laughter suddenly came from outside. "Uncle, there's no need to worry. My father has already pleaded with Grandfather. He won't hold it against Su Yuexi for leaving the Pig Farm with a criminal."

Su Zhenglong and Mei Xiaofang jerked their heads up and cried out, "Su Yang!"

A man and a woman strode through the doorway. The woman was Su Yun, and the man was her second older brother, Su Yang.