The Princess Who Married The Crown Prince - Chapter 10

In the winter of the ninth year of Qinglong under the Great Chu Dynasty, the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month is considered a day of great fortune and an auspicious day for weddings. 

At the break of dawn, Su Qiuqiu was dragged out of bed by Lingxiang and Zi Rui. They washed her face, combed her hair, applied bridal makeup, styled her hair into a high bun, and dressed her layer by layer. It took quite a while before the full bridal look was complete.

As a county princess of the fourth rank, Su Qiuqiu was entitled to wear a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes. Draped in a crimson gown embroidered with golden clouds and peacock motifs, she wore a matching red gauze skirt. Atop her head was a phoenix crown encrusted with gold, jade, and pearls. A red lotus petal-like ornament adorned the center of her brows, adding a touch of dazzling elegance.

The original Seventh Miss had the habit of speaking with her head down and shoulders hunched. Since Su Qiuqiu transmigrated into this body, she had tried her best to maintain that meek posture. She never wore any makeup either. But now, even a light touch of cosmetics transformed her into a stunningly beautiful woman. Coupled with her ornate attire, she was almost unrecognizable from her usual self.

The phoenix crown was heavy, so Su Qiuqiu couldn’t lower her head. Her posture naturally straightened, and her misty peach blossom eyes glimmered with brightness, adding even more charm to her already beautiful appearance.

Looking at her somewhat blurred reflection in the mirror, Su Qiuqiu felt a pang of pity—what a shame she couldn’t fully appreciate her own face. She reached up to touch her cheeks, now noticeably smoother than before.

Earlier, during her wash-up, an older woman had come in—someone skilled in “face opening.” She used fine threads to pluck the soft hairs from Su Qiuqiu’s face and neck. It hurt a bit, but the results were obvious: her skin now felt smoother and more delicate.

Once she was dressed, Madam Wang came in to perform the customary ritual, speaking of wifely virtues, feminine conduct, and honoring in-laws.

In the past few days, Su Qiuqiu had been drilled by the etiquette governess. She had memorized family genealogies, the names and titles of important nobles, taboos, and proper manners. Her posture was refined and dignified.

Madam Wang was visibly shocked upon seeing her. Even with all her worldly experience, the transformation was hard to accept. This was no longer the timid, insignificant illegitimate girl she once looked down upon—this girl now looked more majestic than any noblewoman she’d ever seen, even rivaling consorts from the palace.

Already upset about the large dowry she had to send off with Su Qiuqiu, seeing her like this only made Madam Wang more bitter. But she consoled herself—no matter how beautifully she was dressed, she was walking straight into a pit of fire. With a few cold sneers, she finally managed to calm down.

After Madam Wang left, Concubine Mother Qin came to see Su Qiuqiu in secret. With red eyes (from crying), she whispered a few tearful words about how hard it was to let her go. Before leaving, she pressed a small embroidered pouch into Su Qiuqiu’s hands.

“Keep this well. I pawned some things and exchanged them for banknotes… I couldn’t give you a noble birth, but at least I can give you this,” Qin said, her voice trembling.

“Mother, I have money… you should keep it,” Su Qiuqiu replied, genuinely touched. She wasn’t bluffing—besides the thousand taels she “extorted” from the Eighth Miss, as a county princess, she also had an annual stipend of 150 taels and 100 dou of grain. She was a salaried official, technically.

“Take it… You know what kind of place the Prince of Zhen’nan’s manor is. Who knows what kind of life you’ll live there…” Madam Qin insisted.

Unable to refuse, Su Qiuqiu accepted it, silently praying that Madam Qin could stay favored by the marquis. That way, Su Qiuqiu’s new status might give her adoptive mother a little leverage and keep the legal wife (Madam Wang) at bay.

As for the Zhen’nan Prince’s manor, Su Qiuqiu had done her research. The Lu family, with the title of Prince of Zhen’nan, was one of the rare non-imperial nobility in Great Chu, with two generations of inherited titles. The heir, Lu Fangting, was the prince’s only son and just turned twenty this year.

The heir had always been sickly, and though the Lu family had once been extremely prestigious—so much so that Lady Wang was eager to secure a marriage alliance—things had gone downhill in recent years. With the Prince’s leg condition relapsing, his military power was stripped, and imperial suppression followed. Several incidents have also nearly devastated the household. Now, they were said to survive by just pawning their assets.

No wonder people avoided marrying into the family like the plague.

Concubine Qin feared that Su Qiuqiu would suffer there, but Su Qiuqiu wasn’t planning to rely on them anyway. After all, she was a transmigrator. Once she gained a bit of freedom as a married woman, she could use her own money to start earning more. Better that than sitting around waiting to starve.

After the morning preparations, the wedding rites began. With the Ministry of Rites involved, the formalities were complex and endless—Su Qiuqiu’s head was spinning.

At first, she admired the glimmering phoenix crown. By the end, it felt like a burden—so heavy that it gave her a neck pain.

What amused her was how the Eighth Miss cried when saying goodbye to her; apparently, she was ridden with guilt. She even snuck a few banknotes into Su Qiuqiu’s hands in private. The gesture warmed Su Qiuqiu’s opinion of the girl a little.

Also present was Wang Shuanglu, a distant cousin of Lady Wang. Compared to the Eighth Miss, she was far more composed.

Wang Shuanglu was beautiful, with an air of innocence, but something about her put Su Qiuqiu on edge. There was a trace of hostility in her eyes. Su Qiuqiu had no memories of this cousin and didn’t bother to think much of it.

All of the daughters from the An Ning Marquis Manor came to see her off. Among them, Su Qiuqiu was only somewhat familiar with the Fifth and Sixth Misses.

The Sixth Miss seemed genuinely kind. Although her marriage was not considered prestigious, she appeared to be quite happy.

The Fifth Miss, who had managed to marry the Third Prince, didn’t look happy at all. She carried herself with a cold pride and still looked at Su Qiuqiu with superiority. Su Qiuqiu couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.

After bidding farewell to the marquis, Madam Wang, and the rest, Su Qiuqiu dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and pretended to cry. Then her eldest brother, the heir of the marquisate, carried her to the bridal sedan chair.

The moment she was inside, Su Qiuqiu collapsed onto the cushions in complete exhaustion.

It was a large, eight-bearer palanquin, spacious enough for someone to lie flat inside. In a small compartment in the corner were some snacks. Starving, Su Qiuqiu eagerly helped herself.

The journey from the An Ning Marquis Manor to the Prince of Zhen’nan’s estate wasn’t far, but for show, the wedding procession circled the Imperial City twice with drums and gongs.

Su Qiuqiu couldn’t help envying the groom she hadn’t even met yet. What a breeze for him—not even showing up for his own wedding. He just sent a male cousin in his place. She wondered just how sick he really was.

Too bad she wasn’t a doctor. If it were about skincare, beauty, or nails—she had skills. But medicine? She was totally clueless.

If she were a doctor, maybe she could “unlock a cheat code” and cure him. That’d be a thigh worth hugging.

As her thoughts wandered, she dozed off—only to arrive at the prince’s manor after a while.

More ceremonies followed, and finally, during the wedding rites, Su Qiuqiu caught her first glimpse of the Prince of Zhen’nan’s heir.

Under the red bridal veil, she couldn’t see him clearly—just a tall, slender figure in red. From her angle, she could make out the embroidered hem of his ceremonial robe and his satin boots with auspicious cloud patterns. He reeked faintly of medicinal herbs.

The man was clearly a chronically ill individual. His footing was unstable. He needed assistance to bow and coughed often.

Su Qiuqiu didn’t lack sympathy, but she secretly felt a sense of relief upon witnessing him in such a state. 

The ceremony wasn’t just the typical “three bows”—it was “three bows and nine kowtows,” each with a specific purpose. Su Qiuqiu had to keep kneeling again and again. The heir looked like he was about to keel over. Each bow needed someone to support him up and back down. It was painful to watch.

At last, the rites were over. Just as they were to be sent to the bridal chamber, a commotion erupted—the “persimmon” (nickname for the prince) had fainted and was carried off. Su Qiuqiu, meanwhile, was led into the wedding room by the matchmaker.

The groom fainted before he could even lift her veil. Su Qiuqiu still couldn’t see what was happening outside. She could only sit there and wait.

A doctor came and revived the fainted prince. After he drank the medicine, the room finally became quiet.

“County Princess, come here…” A warm hand guided Su Qiuqiu to the bed where the heir lay. She heard rustling as he was helped upright. Then a pale, slender hand reached out and gently lifted her red veil.

Light stung her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she saw the man half-reclining on the red wedding bed, resting against a pair of embroidered mandarin duck pillows.

His hair was tied with a silver crown inlaid with jade and pearls. His red robe was embroidered with golden dragons. His skin was ghostly pale, his lips were almost grey, and his complexion was clearly poor.

But even illness couldn’t hide his beauty. His features were so fine that they almost defied gender—those thin lips hinted at intelligence and aloofness; his straight nose was aristocratic; his narrow phoenix eyes curved upward at the ends, black and white starkly distinct, like stars mirrored in a pond.

“Today’s festivities were a bit much. Apologies…” Lu Fangting, the heir, said with a hoarse but gentle voice.

“It’s fine, it’s fine… I don’t mind—your health is more important…” Su Qiuqiu snapped out of her daze at the sound of Lu Fangting’s voice and quickly responded. She had assumed that the young heir might not be too bad-looking, but she hadn’t expected him to be this handsome. With some color in his cheeks and a bit of grooming, he’d be an absolute knockout—well, ahem…

“Cousin-in-law, you’re so beautiful…”
Su Qiuqiu turned at the sound of another voice and saw a group of young girls nearby; among them was Lu Mingxi, whom she recognized. It seemed that Lu Fangting fainting like that was nothing new. These girls were still smiling, clearly just waiting to get a look at the new bride.

“You’ve had a tough day, cousin-in-law… Please take care of my cousin from now on,” Lu Mingxi said with a warm smile.

“Just doing what’s expected of me…” Su Qiuqiu felt a little awkward being addressed that way.

“Ahem, ahem…” Lu Fangting coughed softly, prompting the surrounding youngsters to fall silent.

“I’m tired. You can all go play somewhere else,” Lu Fangting said simply, and the younger ones obediently made their way out.

As for the ceremonial toasts and formalities still going on outside, Lu Fangting obviously couldn’t attend. There were people who would take his place. But there were still rites to be completed here.

The matron of honor clipped a strand of hair from both Lu Fangting and Su Qiuqiu and placed them together inside a delicately embroidered sachet—that was the hair-binding ritual.

Then came the hejian wine. The matron brought out two gourds that were tied together with silk string, poured wine into them, and gave one ladle to each of them.

“You may all go now…” Su Qiuqiu said, holding her half of the gourd. With so many people in the room, it was hard to relax, let alone speak freely.

“Madam, the young master mustn’t be left unattended…” a maid of about seventeen or eighteen, strikingly pretty, said gently.

“I’m here. If anything happens, I’ll call for you,” Su Qiuqiu replied, giving the girl a glance—another beauty. Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen any of her maids since earlier. She wondered where they had been sent off to.

“Leave us.”
The maid was about to argue, but Lu Fangting spoke up in a calm voice. Only then did the servants bow and left.

“Phew… finally, they’re all gone. Come on, let’s drink to our friendship!”
Su Qiuqiu turned to Lu Fangting with a smile and downed her half of the wine in one go.