Cheng Yujin stood at the door. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish the past and present.
She clearly hadn’t experienced those events personally, but at this moment, seeing the bright red decorations made her fall into a trance, as if she was returning to her previous life. At that time, it was the same hustle and bustle. Everyone laughed happily: “Eldest Miss is so beautiful today.”
In an instant, the scene changed to Jingyong Marquis manor. Huo Changyuan lifted her veil, and the servants on both sides joyfully uttered countless auspicious words: “May Madam and Marquis to be blessed. May both of you give birth to a child soon and grow old together.”
Cheng Yujin has never experienced these events, but at this moment, memories were coming in like a tide. Like a show of shadow puppet, frame by frame flashed by. Lively, bustling, joyful. Finally, it was frozen into a soundless black and white picture. A blood-stained old woman rushed out from the room and said: “Old Madam, young Madam’s fetal position is not right. She has difficult childbirth. Mother or child, I am afraid we can only keep one.”
Cheng Yujin saw Huo Xue-shi kept a straight face. Without hesitation, she said: “Keep the child.”
The last picture was of the same old woman. She walked forward with a swaddling bundle and handed it to Huo Xue-shi with a smile: “Old Madam, it is a boy.”
“How is Madam?”
“Madam, she…bleeds too much. I am afraid she cannot hold on.”
Cheng Yujin stood at the door in a daze. The people in the room had already seen her. They greeted her with a smile: “Eldest Miss has arrived!”
Cheng Yujin’s wandering mind immediately returned to its place, and the hustle and bustle came back into her ears. Cheng Yujin was a little surprised. What happened just now was as if her soul had gone out of her body and saw a nightmare.
The things she saw just now were probably fragments of memories from her previous life. Even so, it wasn’t something she experienced herself. It was as if she was watching another person’s story. The pictures flashed fast in succession, bringing a light pang into Cheng Yujin’s heart.
The servant girl who guarded the door saw Cheng Yujin didn’t react for a long time and looked at her strangely. Cheng Yujin quickly put away her thoughts and nodded at the people inside with her usual dignified, yet slightly distant, smile: “I come to see second sister. Is everything ready?”
“So far, it goes smoothly. Second Miss is putting on makeup.”
Cheng Yujin walked in, smiling naturally. Her bearing was graceful and gentle: “Today is second sister’s big event. The makeup must be meticulous. No mistakes can be tolerated.”
Cheng Yumo heard that Cheng Yujin was coming and was about to stand up. But Cheng Yujin and the servant girls stopped her. “Second sister, don’t move. Put on your makeup first.”
Cheng Yumo nodded and sat back on the embroidered stool, letting the people putting on various makeup on her face. Through the mirror, Cheng Yumo could clearly see Cheng Yujin stood behind her. Cheng Yujin wore a white dress today. Although the pattern on the edges and hems were red, overall, it was still a very plain attire. Standing inside a room brightly decorated in red, Cheng Yujin was very eye-catching.
—Almost more eye-catching than the real protagonist, Cheng Yumo.
Cheng Yumo suddenly felt an unbearable feeling. Because the makeup might dirty the wedding gown, Cheng Yumo was wearing only an inner blouse at this moment. Many servants surrounded her, putting makeup on her face. Cheng Yumo herself couldn’t speak at all. Because a bride’s makeup was exaggerated, Cheng Yumo’s face was painted with layer after layer of white powder, and her eyebrows were drawn high and thin. Like this, she looked like a female ghost. However, Cheng Yujin was standing behind her, smiling beautifully. Although Cheng Yujin didn’t wear heavy makeup, her eyebrows and the corner of her eyes were painted exquisitely: beautiful and elegant. Her white and red attire accentuated her slim figure and fair skin. When Cheng Yumo was contrasted with Cheng Yujin, it was basically like heaven and earth, truly tragic.
Cheng Yumo felt embarrassed. For a while, she resented the cumbersome makeup, then resented the makeup master’s crude craftsmanship. Finally, Cheng Yumo lamented bitterly. Why was her sister so scheming. Even on her wedding day, Cheng Yujin refused to let her go and insisted on stealing the limelight from her, the new bride.
Cheng Yumo stared at Cheng Yujin via the mirror. Her mind wandered wildly. When Cheng Yujin was married in the previous life, did she also looked like a ghost? Cheng Yumo couldn’t remember clearly. Cheng Yumo was hit hard in her previous life and was severely ill. During Cheng Yujin’s wedding, her mind was completely distracted. How could she remember the makeup? But when Cheng Yujin returned home after three days1, Cheng Yujin’s complexion was very good. Her face was rosy, her eyes were bright, and her whole body exuded a brilliance that was different from an unmarried girl.
At that time, Cheng Yumo didn’t understand, but now that she had married Huo Changyuan once and experienced the matter between man and woman, she knew why.
Cheng Yumo felt a bit sour and somewhat bitter. Before she confessed the truth to Huo Changyuan, he and her sister had a good relationship. Huo Changyuan might not notice it, but from a third person’s perspective, when Huo Changyuan looked at Cheng Yujin, his expression obviously softened. Cheng Yumo even suspected that Huo Changyuan actually didn’t want to know the truth. By keeping himself in the dark, he could always deceive himself and continued to be a loving couple with Cheng Yujin.
Even though the price was Cheng Yumo, his real savior.
Thinking about what happened after her marriage in her previous life, Cheng Yumo became more upset. No wonder people said that it was difficult to become a second wife. Cheng Yumo and Huo Changyuan obviously loved each other. Cheng Yujin was the third party who stole her position. But after Cheng Yumo married Huo Changyuan, she always lived under Cheng Yujin’s shadow, and even her husband couldn’t forget his deceased wife.
Huo Changyuan could fool others, fool Huo Xue-shi, and even fool himself. But he couldn’t fool the person with whom he shared the bed with. This matter depressed Cheng Yumo endlessly. That’s why the first thing she did after her reborn was to expose the truth. She would rather carry the infamy of robbing her sister’s fiance and be pointed in the back for getting married during the mourning period than living under Cheng Yujin’s shadow once again.
Cheng Yumo thought that with her impending marriage, she would be free from the shadow of her previous life, and everything would finally be correct. However, at this moment, looking into the reflection in the mirror, no matter how unwilling she was, Cheng Yumo had to admit that Cheng Yujin was still so beautiful, so elegant and perfect. Cheng Yujin’s marriage prospect obviously had been destroyed, and she would never have the same glory as of the previous life. She should have been devastated, should have been thinned out like Cheng Yumo in the previous life. How could she still be so calm, and still attracted everyone’s sight?
Cheng Yumo bit her lips subconsciously. Because she used too much force, her lips bleed. The makeup master quickly cried out: “Second Miss, you cannot! You are a bride today, don’t mess your makeup!”
Cheng Yumo was startled and hurriedly loosened her teeth in panic. Her servant girls also became panic, and the room suddenly was in a mess. Cheng Yujin stepped forward, took a look at the wound on Cheng Yumo’s lips, and said calmly: “It’s not a problem, just a small wound. Once the bleeding stopped, it will be alright. Change the rouge to this color and applied it thicker so the wound won’t be visible.”
The makeup master took another rouge and applied it on Cheng Yumo’s lips. After seeing that the wound was really covered nicely, she sighed in relief. “Many thanks for eldest Miss’ idea. Otherwise, today’s wedding would be ruined.”
Cheng Yujin smiled. Without replying to the words, she stepped aside and watched silently. Hearing this, Cheng Yumo became even more upset. The makeup master saw this and said: “Ah, second Miss! You are the new bride. You cannot frown! Hurry up and smile again. I just used the rouge on your lips, but cannot use the same thing on your entire face.”
Cheng Yumo was extremely embarrassed. She looked at the reflection in the mirror and became more and more frustrated. It was always like this. No matter what Cheng Yumo said, people never took her seriously, and the servants easily dismissed her with the sentence “This is eldest Miss’ order.” Even on her wedding day, it was the same.
Cheng Yumo’s mood tightened even more. What a bunch of blinds. She wanted these people to see who was the real noble pearl between her and Cheng Yujin.
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Returned home: three days after a woman married, she and her husband will return to visit the bride’s natal home.
