Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 365: Picking Up the Bride

Ji Meiqing helped Zhao Ning'er downstairs, where Zhao Lei and Lu Yu were already waiting for them. As Ji Meiqing helped Zhao Ning'er down, Zhao Lei walked towards them, and Ji Meiqing handed Zhao Ning'er's hand to him.

Zhao Lei took the slender hand and looked at Zhao Ning'er in her bright red wedding dress. He couldn't hide his excitement and said, "Sister, you've finally married into a good family. If Father and Mother were alive, they would be just as happy as I am." As he spoke, he choked up a little, and Zhao Ning'er's hand fell down involuntarily. Although she was covered by a veil, her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing Zhao Ning'er crying as if she were a demon, Ji Meiqing immediately stepped forward and put her arm around her shoulder. Zhao Ning'er seemed to have suddenly grasped a lifeline on the edge of danger. Her shoulders, which had been trembling, stopped shaking as Ji Meiqing's hand covered them.

"On this joyous day, let's not talk about anything unhappy. Cheer up. If you go off to your wedding crying, people who don't know the situation will think you were forced into marriage." Ji Meiqing said with a hint of reproach, looking at Zhao Lei with a reproachful gaze. Zhao Lei also lowered his head and remained silent, feeling somewhat guilty.

"Yes, Sister Ji is right. Lei'er, Father and Mother will be very happy when they find out, so we should be happy too," Zhao Ning'er said, sniffling. Her joy was undisguised. Seeing that Zhao Ning'er had calmed down, Ji Meiqing let go of her hand.

Zhao Lei gave a knowing smile and nodded to Ji Meiqing. Then he took Zhao Ning'er's hand and walked towards the door, with Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu following behind. The matchmaker and Shen Bin were waiting by the bridal sedan chair.

Shen Bin wore a red groom's suit, his hair tied up high with a ribbon. He used to have a full head of black hair, but he never bothered with it. Today, however, he looked dashing and even more handsome than before, drawing everyone's attention. Ji Meiqing couldn't help but sigh, "What a perfect couple!"

Sunlight bathed Zhao Ning'er, as if she were enveloped in a layer of light. Although her face was obscured, those who saw her were still somewhat mesmerized. Shen Bin looked at the woman he had longed for day and night to marry, who had finally dressed him in her wedding gown.

Zhao Ning'er took small, quick steps, walking step by step to the bridal sedan chair before stopping. Zhao Lei looked at Shen Bin, smiled politely, and then placed Zhao Ning'er's hand in Shen Bin's. Looking at that slender hand, Shen Bin couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The thing he had imagined for so long had finally come true.

The moment Zhao Ning'er placed her hand in Shen Bin's, she trembled slightly, as if she were too excited. Shen Bin thought she might be flustered for no reason, so he gently held her hand, and Zhao Ning'er gradually calmed down.

The matchmaker, a perceptive woman, remarked, "Oh dear, judging by the young lady's appearance, she must be quite beautiful. Young Master Shen has excellent taste." She waved a large red handkerchief as she spoke. Shen Bin frowned slightly, somewhat displeased. The matchmaker noticed this and immediately fell silent.

If it weren't for his father insisting that it would be better to find a matchmaker, since it was a joyous occasion, it would be embarrassing for people to criticize the Shen family for being so poor that they couldn't even afford to hire a matchmaker.

Shen Bin slowly helped Zhao Ning'er onto the carriage. Once inside, Zhao Ning'er held out her other hand, tightly clutching a large red apple throughout.

Just before they were about to depart, Shen Bin lifted the curtain and saw Zhao Ning'er sitting obediently in the bridal sedan chair. He then pulled the curtain back down and mounted his horse. He quickly spurred the horse and they set off, while the three of them stood in place, watching them go. Ji Meiqing jokingly remarked, "This young master Shen is really in a hurry to marry Ning'er."

As he spoke, he gave a strange smile, which he quickly suppressed, but Lu Yu still caught it. Zhao Lei watched the departing bridal sedan chair and went upstairs alone.

Ji Meiqing was about to go upstairs when Lu Yu grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving. Ji Meiqing turned around and looked at Lu Yu with some confusion. Lu Yu smiled wickedly and said, "Why was your face so red when you came downstairs?" As he spoke, he stared intently at Ji Meiqing, afraid of missing her lying expression.

When Ji Meiqing heard Lu Yu suddenly ask her this question out of the blue, she couldn't help but say strangely, "Blushing? No, you must have seen wrong... Let me think..." Ji Meiqing tried hard to recall why she had blushed just now, and suddenly remembered that it was because she remembered that she and Lu Yu had gone back to Jiangnan to have a child.

Suddenly remembering something, her face flushed involuntarily. Feeling incredibly embarrassed, Ji Meiqing quickly covered her face with her hands, not wanting Lu Yu to see. Lu Yu indeed looked at Ji Meiqing with a strange expression, and seeing her odd expression, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ji Meiqing's face turned even redder.

Seeing her like this, Lu Yu became even more unrestrained, while Ji Meiqing seemed to want to ignore him, and with a huff, she quickly ran upstairs.

Shen Bin sat on his horse, but would rest every now and then, occasionally lifting the curtain to ask Zhao Ning'er how she was feeling and if she was experiencing any discomfort. Each time, Zhao Ning'er would reply to Shen Bin with a warm feeling in her heart, appearing calm on the surface, but her face beneath the veil was already redder than the apple in her hand.

"Aren't you tired of carrying that apple?" After walking for a while, Shen Bin asked the servants to stop again. He lifted the curtain and saw that Zhao Ning'er was carrying an apple that she had protected perfectly despite the bumpy ride. He asked with a hint of displeasure, but his tone was very gentle.

"I'm not tired, let's hurry on our way." Zhao Ning'er felt that the apple in her hand might be doomed when she heard Shen Bin's words, so she quickly said.

Hearing Zhao Ning'er say this, Shen Bin really couldn't force her, so he silently pulled the curtain closed. Then, feeling it wasn't right, he opened the curtain and said, "Aren't you tired of protecting that apple?" He was a little displeased at the thought of her being so anxious about the apple on the bumpy road.

"Not tired, really not tired." Hearing Shen Bin's doubts, Zhao Ning'er answered without hesitation, which made Shen Bin feel a little headache. He was thinking that it was just an apple, and he really didn't know what use it was.

"You should just eat it; it's tiring to carry it," Shen Bin said after thinking for a while. Ji Meiqing, with her veil covering her face, kept shaking her head. The tassels on the veil swayed with her movements. Seeing Zhao Ning'er's insistence, Shen Bin, somewhat displeased, pulled the curtain closed and continued on his way.