Chapter 93: Attending the Wedding Banquet, Part Two

In the brightly decorated mansion, the halls were spacious and grand, lanterns glowing brilliantly, everything steeped in festivity.

And yet the guests sat in complete silence, motionless and wordless.

On such a day of rejoicing, there should have been laughter and merriment, but not a single human voice could be heard anywhere in the estate. The scene was eerie beyond measure.

But Fang Yue paid that strangeness no mind at all. He sat there with an air of great composure, as though he were truly waiting to drink the wedding wine.

Fang Baoliang, however, kept his attention fixed on the faceless guest across from him.

Seeing that Fang Baoliang seemed about to move against that faceless figure, Fang Yue reached out and tugged at his sleeve, shaking his head to signal that he should remain calm.

Fang Baoliang had no choice but to stop and, like Fang Yue, sit upright and wait in silence.

“Master of the house, the auspicious hour has arrived. Hurry and put on the wedding garments. The young lady is waiting for the bridal rite,” came a voice from behind them.

Four maidservants who looked exactly alike suddenly appeared behind Fang Yue and Fang Baoliang, each carrying a groom’s wedding robe, speaking in perfect unison.

Two stood on each side, one pair reaching for Fang Yue and the other for Fang Baoliang, trying to haul them to their feet. After struggling for a long while, they failed to budge either of them.

Fang Yue said unhappily, “If you have something to say, say it properly. Don’t lay hands on us. Let me ask you this: we came here to drink wedding wine, so why have we become the masters of the house?”

The maidservants could not answer. Their faces still wore the same identical smiles as they persisted, unwilling to give up, trying to pull Fang Yue and Fang Baoliang up and dress them in the groom’s robes.

It had to be said, these maidservants possessed tremendous strength; each of them was comparable to a grown man.

But dragging Fang Yue and Fang Baoliang along was naturally impossible.

After allowing them to tug for a while, Fang Yue raised his hands in surrender. “All right, all right. If I must be the groom, so be it. Who wouldn’t be pleased to pick up a wife for free? But there are two of us here. How many daughters does your young lady have?”

The maidservants could not answer this question either. They had only been sent to dress the “grooms” in their wedding robes, and now that they were stuck at this step, they did not know how to proceed.

Fang Yue shook his head and called out loudly, “Old sir. Old sir.”

In the hushed bridal hall, his voice carried far and wide.

An old man suddenly appeared beside the table, as though he had come from nowhere.

“Old sir, you invited us here for wedding wine, and we came. We haven’t even had a single cup, and now you suddenly say we are to be the grooms. Fine, if we are to be the grooms, then so be it. We are both grown men; what loss should we fear? But first you must tell me: just how many daughters do you have?”

The old man stood with the light behind him, his features somewhat indistinct. He said, “This old man has but one daughter. Whoever marries her will inherit this great mansion and all my vast fortune.”

Fang Yue broke into a smile, his expression clearly tempted. “Well, that is certainly wonderful. House, wife, and wealth all in one go.”

Then as if suddenly remembering something, the smile vanished from his face. He slammed a hand on the table. “But there are two of us, and your daughter only one. These maidservants want both of us to be grooms. What is that supposed to mean? Could it be that your daughter has such a big appetite she wants to serve two husbands?”

His palm struck the table with considerable force, making it tremble and knocking the faceless guest opposite him to the floor.

After being jarred by the table, the guest fell without saying a word.

And once it was on the ground, it did not get up at once. Instead, it wriggled twice like a worm.

Fang Yue ignored it completely and only looked solemnly at the old man, waiting for his answer.

“This, this...” The old man seemed at a loss for what to do.

Fang Yue shook his head. These things truly were not very intelligent. The old man was a little better than the maidservants, but only a little.

Then Fang Yue suddenly changed the subject. “Is your daughter pretty?”

“Pretty, of course she is pretty.” Pride colored the old man’s tone. “My daughter has been beautiful since childhood. She is a famous beauty throughout the surrounding counties and villages.”

“If she is pretty, then this is easy,” Fang Yue said, pointing to Fang Baoliang beside him. “Let my brother here marry her.”

Fang Baoliang had been studying the guest on the floor, who was writhing like a worm. Hearing this, he replied in a low voice, “I am already married.”

Fang Yue patted his shoulder. “So what if you are married? Can’t a man marry again once he has taken a wife? Can’t a man with a wife still take a concubine?”

“Old sir, tell me whether that is not reasonable?” Fang Yue looked toward the old man.

“Yes, yes.” The old man nodded hurriedly in agreement.

Fang Yue dragged Fang Baoliang to his feet, and the maidservants behind them moved forward to dress Fang Baoliang in the groom’s robe.

Fang Yue reached out and shoved the two identical, ever-smiling maidservants aside.

Though those maidservants were strong, their bodies were astonishingly light, like paper cutouts. Fang Yue did not even use much force, and they were sent drifting backward at once.

“There’s no need to bother with the groom’s robes. Hurry and perform the ceremony; that is what matters. Then get them into the bridal chamber quickly. By next year, you’ll have a big, chubby son.”

He looked more eager than if he were entering the bridal chamber himself.

Helpless, the old man went into the inner room, seemingly to urge his daughter to come out.

Fang Yue led Fang Baoliang away from the guests’ seats and stepped up into the bridal hall.

Despite the commotion on their side, the scattered guests at the banquet tables all around the courtyard seemed not to see a thing, remaining seated in utter silence.

Now and then, one of them would twitch, but not like a living person. Their movements were wormlike, writhing and crawling.

Just like the guest seated with Fang Yue.

Fang Yue and Fang Baoliang stood in the bridal hall. Silence filled the chamber. Though red lanterns hung everywhere, there was not the slightest hint of the joy that should have accompanied a wedding ceremony.

Suddenly Fang Yue’s expression shifted, and he turned to look behind him.

At some point, a bride wearing a red veil had appeared there, supported by a maidservant, standing silently at their backs.

Though her face could not be seen, her figure beneath the crimson wedding gown was graceful and slender. Her small hands, pale as white jade, were clasped together, betraying the nervous unease of a new bride.

Fang Yue smiled. “There we are. The bride has come out. Baoliang, are you satisfied?”

“This...” Fang Baoliang thought for a moment and answered honestly, “It doesn’t matter.”

Fang Yue shook his head. “This is your bride. How can it not matter?”

He looked at the old man who had appeared with the bride. “Old sir, you said your daughter is a famed beauty throughout the neighboring counties and villages. But seeing is believing, and hearing is not. Could we first take a look at your daughter’s face?”

“We should begin the ceremony first. Begin the ceremony first,” the old man muttered.

“That will not do. If you are lying and have my brother marry some ugly wretch, what then?” Fang Yue said with a grave face. “We should look at her face first.”

As he spoke, he suddenly stepped forward, reaching to lift the bride’s red veil.

The moment he came near her, a sky-shaking aura suddenly erupted from Fang Yue. The restrained force he had been hiding burst forth all at once.

Inner energy surged; his blood and qi roared through his body like a torrent, so vividly that one could almost hear it rushing through his veins.

Driven by the ultimate concentration of inner energy, his palm turned crimson in an instant, burning with searing force as he struck toward the bride.

“It’s you!”