Commoner Queen: Falling in Love with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince - Chapter 7

The Fourth Wedding That Never Happened:

Today, the Murong Manor was once again adorned with festive red lanterns and banners. This was already the third time this year they were preparing to marry off their daughter. If you counted the one at the end of last year, this would actually be the fourth time.

Despite the cheerful decorations, there wasn’t a single joyful face in the entire household. Everyone was either tense or silently praying to the heavens. The number of wedding guests had also dwindled significantly. Compared to the grand spectacle of the first wedding, this fourth attempt was far less lively.

In fact, only about twenty guests showed up this time. Given that Master Murong had served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court for decades, such a low-profile and poorly attended wedding was quite unusual.

Even Murong Xi himself was restless, anxiously glancing toward the entrance every few moments, just hoping—praying—that the groom would arrive safely.

This didn’t feel like a wedding.

It felt like a funeral.

Murong Xi was so on edge that he barely even greeted the guests.

“Master, have some ginseng tea. Try to calm down,” Madam Murong said, but her hands were trembling so much that the tea spilled over the rim of the cup.

Murong Xi shook his head. “You’re telling me not to be nervous? Look at yourself—you’re shaking more than I am.”

Madam Murong simply set the tea aside and began sobbing. “I can’t help it! I’m worried!”

Murong Xi immediately glanced around, afraid someone might see. “Enough, stop crying! If people see you like this, they’ll think—” Sigh…

Madam Murong quickly wiped her tears away. “I’m sorry… I just couldn’t control myself.” She felt utterly useless. But still… Sigh!

Just then, a servant named Xiaosi came rushing in, panic written all over his face.

“Master! Mistress! Bad news! Terrible news!”

Murong Xi’s legs went weak, and he slumped into his chair. His voice trembled. “Don’t tell me… Not again…”

Madam Murong turned deathly pale.

Xiaosi, full of sympathy, nodded. “Master… the groom is dead.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Madam Murong burst into wails. “My poor daughter—”

Murong Xi let out a deep, weary sigh. “This is the fourth time Ziying’s groom has died before the wedding. Tell me, how did he die this time?” He clenched his fists, trying to stay strong.

Xiaosi hesitated, then reported, “Master, this time… the groom fell off his horse on the way to the wedding. He snapped his neck and died instantly in the middle of the street.”

Murong Xi groaned in despair.

Madam Murong could only sob harder.

Xiaosi sighed, shaking his head. The first few times, he had wept for his young mistress’s tragic fate. But after crying three times already, he was simply numb to it now.

Miss Ziying was truly cursed.

When she was born, a fortune teller had been summoned to read her fate. The moment he opened her birth chart, he shook his head and declared, “This girl carries the fate of a husband-killer. She will never have a husband. If she goes against destiny, any man who marries her will meet an untimely end.”

But Master and Madam Murong refused to believe such nonsense.

She was their only daughter—of course, they wanted her to marry!

For the first wedding, they arranged a match with the third son of Minister Ma. The two families were perfectly suited for each other, and the wedding was extravagant.

However…

The groom never made it past the doorstep.

Just as he stepped into the Murong Manor, he tripped over the threshold, fell flat on his face… and never got up again.

Dead. Just like that.

Who would believe such a ridiculous way to die?

Still, Murong Xi refused to give up.

For the second marriage, he carefully negotiated with Minister Li’s family, finally convincing the seventh young master to propose. But before the wedding could even happen, tragedy struck again—

The groom died in a brothel the night before the wedding.

After that, the mere mention of Murong Ziying’s name sent shivers down the spines of every noble bachelor in the city. No one dared to risk their lives to marry her.

Desperate, Murong Xi turned to his own students. He arranged for a newly appointed imperial scholar—the third-place tanhua—to marry Ziying.

This time, the groom actually made it to the wedding hall.

He even completed the first bow to heaven and earth.

But just as he turned to face his bride—

His body seized up, his eyes rolled back, and within mere moments, he dropped dead.

The third wedding failed.

This time, Master Murong had given up on status or wealth. He just wanted to find a groom—any groom—who could actually survive long enough to marry his daughter.

He even consulted a fortune teller from Quanzhou to handpick a man with an exceptionally strong fate. The groom had no idea about Ziying’s history—only then did they manage to arrange this marriage.

And yet…

Even he couldn’t survive.

What a tragedy! Xiaosi shook his head.

Murong Xi let out a long sigh. “Send someone to… collect the body. Has his family been notified?”

“Master, you don’t even need to ask. The servants already know what to do,” Xiaosi replied, nearly slipping and saying, “We’ve gotten used to handling this kind of situation.”

Murong Xi closed his eyes in resignation.

This was it.

There was no hope for Ziying to marry.

Even a man with the toughest fate had been cursed to death by her.

She was doomed to never have a husband.

The Murong family would have no descendants.

Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

Madam Murong’s voice trembled. “Master… what will happen to our Ziying now?”

“What else can we do?!” Murong Xi stomped his foot in frustration.

There was no answer.

Because at this point…

There was nothing they could do.