Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three: You're So Ugly, Wearing a Wedding Dress Is a Waste! What? Why should her wedding dress be given to Song Jiaojiao? Jia Qingcheng simply took his words as nonsense and didn't intend to respond. Chunyan, on the other hand, was so furious that she stomped her feet in anger. This Pei Wuliang was becoming more and more bullying. "Master Pei, what do you mean by that? Why should my lady's wedding dress be given to the young miss to wear?" "What would you know? Jiaojiao's wedding dress was chewed up by a stray cat. Qingcheng, since you're marrying into Chu Wangfu with no one to perform the ceremony with you anyway, wearing such a fine wedding dress with no one to appreciate it is a waste. Take it off now and have it sent to Jiaojiao later." Seeing that Jia Qingcheng remained silent, Pei Wuliang assumed she already understood and coaxed her gently, "Alright, change your clothes. I don't like seeing your face in this bridal gown." Such a beautiful wedding dress naturally required a woman like Jiaojiao to bring out its beauty. Faced with such belittlement from Pei Wuliang, Jia Qingcheng didn't argue with him. She merely looked at him coldly as memories resurfaced. In her past life, no matter what she wore, he always said it suited her. He only said it suited her, never whether it looked good. Back then, she genuinely believed he wasn't picky about her appearance, so whatever he said, she thought was wonderful. She even loved going to the mountains to pick mushrooms, and he rented an entire forest just so he could take her mushroom picking every summer. At that time, she truly loved Pei Wuliang. She thought Pei Wuliang was genuinely good to her and would do anything for her. But now... Now, he was telling her to take off her red wedding dress, saying she looked absolutely hideous in it. Saying she wasn't worthy of such fine clothing. She couldn't quite describe what she felt. She had long since given up on this worthless husband, and she wouldn't feel heartbroken either. She just thought... How foolish and naive her past self had been. Pei Wuliang, you finally can't keep up the act anymore. This was his true face. "Qingcheng, why are you staring at me like that? Be a good girl and go change. I have other things to discuss with you." Jia Qingcheng finally snapped back to reality and said calmly, "Chunyan, let's go change." "Miss, we can't just give this dress..." "Help me change!" Her obedient compliance made Pei Wuliang quite pleased, and Hu Ba beside him couldn't help but admire the young master's charm. "Young Master, you're truly something. Miss Jia really listens to you." "She has to listen. After all, the wedding is approaching. Once her mourning period ends, she'll be begging me to marry her. Though I can't make her the main wife, making her a concubine is already me doing her a great honor. Look at how ugly she is—besides me being magnanimous enough to take her, who else would want an ugly woman?" "Young Master speaks the truth!" In the inner chamber, Jia Qingcheng slowly took off her new wedding dress and put on her own clothes—still a grayish-black robe, ugly no matter how you looked at it. "Miss, are we really going to give the wedding dress to the young miss? The young miss isn't a good person. I don't like her." Give it away? A strange glint passed through Jia Qingcheng's eyes, and she had Chunyan put the wedding dress away properly. "Put it away well." "Miss, have you come around? We're not giving it to the young miss?" Give it away? Jia Qingcheng frowned. Why would she give it away? When she came out, however, she pretended to look troubled. "I'm afraid the wedding dress can't be given to cousin." "Why not? Are you reluctant to part with it?" Pei Wuliang thought she was being stingy and was about to scold her, but he didn't expect Jia Qingcheng to change her tone. "No, it's just that while trying it on just now, I noticed some small issues that need mending." "What issues?" Pei Wuliang assumed she was just making excuses because she didn't want to give the dress to Jiaojiao, but Jia Qingcheng didn't answer him. She merely said calmly, "The shop east of the city has another dress of similar style to mine. You can go to the east city shop and get that one for cousin to try." "The east city shop?" "Exactly. A wedding dress should be worn for the first time by the bride herself. I've already worn it, so giving it to cousin afterward—wouldn't that be inauspicious?" Pei Wuliang still knew she was reluctant to part with the dress. "Qingcheng, don't take this the wrong way, but Prince Chu is about to die. He won't be able to perform the ceremony with you. Even if you dressed like a heavenly beauty, no one would pay you any attention. Why cling to it so stubbornly?" "It's not that I'm being stubborn. My mother gave instructions while she was alive that a wedding dress must be worn for the first time by the bride herself. I've already worn it, so this dress can no longer be given to cousin. Doing so would affect cousin's fortune. If you don't believe me, then if you want it, I'll have Chunyan bring it over." "No need!" Upon hearing that a worn wedding dress could affect one's fortune, Pei Wuliang naturally didn't want Song Jiaojiao to wear it. His Jiaojiao deserved a brand-new wedding dress that no one had ever worn. Jia Qingcheng's dress was beautiful, yes, but since she had already worn it, it wouldn't do. "Then go check the east city shop. That one should be to cousin's liking." "Fine, I'll take Jiaojiao to try it. Consider this matter settled. There's one more thing." Jia Qingcheng sat down and began to read her medical texts on her own. When she heard he had something else to say, she didn't even lift her eyelids, merely responding flatly, "Go on." Pei Wuliang noticed her indifference and hurried over to her side, wanting to scold her, but on second thought, he realized he had been rather harsh with her lately. No wonder she treated him with such an expression. So he suppressed his anger and tried to coax her, "What kind of attitude is this? In the future, I'm to be your husband. Qingcheng, we've shared so many wonderful days together—have you forgotten them all? Have you forgotten how I picked mushrooms for you and nearly got bitten by a venomous snake?" Picking mushrooms and getting bitten by a venomous snake? That did happen. Last year, Pei Wuliang accompanied her to the mountains to pick mushrooms, and he was bitten by a venomous snake while saving her. At the time, she had been beside herself with worry. She had rushed back to ask Old Man Hu to send out the antidote pill. Back then, she had believed Pei Wuliang was sincere with her. But now... Ever since she learned that all his kindness toward her was a pretense, her heart had been freezing over inch by inch, and she could no longer muster any warmth. "Qingcheng, have you forgotten?" He urgently wanted to know if she had. Jia Qingcheng still didn't lift her eyelids, replying flatly, "Of course not." Pei Wuliang laughed heartily, "Good, as long as you haven't forgotten. Don't worry—I just heard news that Prince Chu vomited blood again last night. At this rate, his body won't last more than a few days. Once your mourning period is over, I'll prepare two sedan chairs to welcome you into my home. This time, I'll allow you to enter through the back gate instead of the small side door." Hearing this, Jia Qingcheng was almost amused into laughter. She had absolutely no intention of marrying into the Pei household, yet Pei Wuliang remained foolishly unaware. She stayed silent, not wanting to explain anything. Pei Wuliang simply took her silence as acquiescence. "Alright, enough of that. The estate you gifted to Mother has been illegally occupied by a group of people who smashed her belongings and threw them out. How did you manage this? Why did such a blunder happen?"