Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Ye Jiao's eyes finally moved away from the big rooster, and through the red bridal veil, she looked at the man beside her.

He was a head taller than Ye Jiao. Because the bridal veil turned everything into a bright red color, Ye Jiao couldn't see clearly what he looked like.

But the man's hand was indeed too cold. Ye Jiao unconsciously tightened her fingertips again.

Qi Yun felt the woman's small movement, and his eyes darkened.

He had been sickly since childhood, born with deficiencies. Even with good care, he had always been frail, long accustomed to drinking medicine like water.

The doctor said he wouldn't live past twenty, but he was now twenty-four and still stubbornly persisting.

Just a few days ago, an ordinary cold nearly claimed his life. Even after recovering, Qi Yun knew his body couldn't hold out much longer.

His mother Liu Shi probably knew this too, which was why she arranged a marriage for him to bring good fortune.

Qi Yun had originally disagreed. He knew his own condition, marrying anyone would just harm them. But Liu Shi was highly efficient, and encountering Second Sister-in-law Ye who was eager to sell off her sister-in-law, they hit it off and settled the marriage.

But when it came to the wedding day, Qi Yun forced himself up despite his illness, and from afar saw that the woman in wedding dress had a rooster beside her!

Qi Yun already felt that Lady Ye marrying him was wronging her. If she really had to bow to a rooster in the wedding ceremony, probably no one would respect her after he died.

But Qi Yun kept these thoughts to himself, saying only with some coldness: "Hold the red silk, kneel properly."

Ye Jiao felt this person release her hand and instead put the red silk back in her hand.

But his movement helping Ye Jiao kneel down was very gentle, which made Ye Jiao, who had been pulled around for a while, develop a growing fondness for this person.

She gripped the red silk and looked at Qi Yun, following him as he knelt.

Bowing to heaven and earth, bowing to parents, Ye Jiao kept her face slightly turned, somewhat clumsily copying Qi Yun's movements.

It wasn't until they bowed to each other that Ye Jiao finally saw Qi Yun's face clearly.

The red bridal veil made it impossible to see his complexion clearly, but judging by his features alone, Ye Jiao thought he was very handsome.

More handsome than the scholar the little fox liked most.

So during the mutual bowing, Qi Yun heard the first words the woman said to him:

"You're really handsome."

The voice was soft and gentle, making Qi Yun slightly stunned.

But he didn't have time to think more. He suddenly felt a chill run through his body, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

His body was truly terminally ill. Being able to come and bow with Ye Jiao had already exhausted him, and now kneeling down, it wasn't easy to stand up again.

But Qi Yun didn't let anyone come help him, because this was his wedding hall, the only time in his life he would marry. Qi Yun didn't want people to see him make a fool of himself.

Who knew that Ye Jiao would just stay kneeling with him like this, kneeling straight-backed across from Qi Yun, motionless.

She had just become human and didn't even understand what marriage meant when she was pushed into the bridal sedan.

Everything she had done just now was following Qi Yun. Now that Qi Yun wasn't moving, she wouldn't move either.

For a moment, there was a bit of awkwardness in the wedding hall.

The wedding coordinator quickly stepped forward, reaching out to help Ye Jiao while saying with a smile: "The bride is so overjoyed, she should get up now."

Ye Jiao blinked and after standing up, looked at Qi Yun. Finding that this person seemed to be trembling, she simply reached out her hand and directly grabbed Qi Yun.

The man's fingertips were still ice-cold. Ye Jiao held them tight, walked forward two steps and supported Qi Yun, just as the man had supported her earlier.

The people watching finally reacted and came to help Qi Yun. Liu Shi could see that something was wrong with Qi Yun's complexion and didn't care about what was auspicious anymore, shouting: "Doctor! Get the doctor here quickly!"

Qi Yun felt his head covered in cold sweat, but his eyes stubbornly lingered on where the woman's hand clasped with his.

Very warm and very soft, like the finest silk.

And he didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt that when Ye Jiao had gripped his hand just now, the coldness in his body had suddenly lightened considerably...

But Ye Jiao didn't have time to look at Qi Yun. With a shout of "Enter the bridal chamber," she was surrounded by several women and taken to another room, and this lively wedding ceremony for good fortune finally came to an end.

After she sat properly on the edge of the bed, the wedding women left, and the room became empty, leaving only Ye Jiao alone.

Outside was bustling with noise, the sounds of celebration could be heard, along with firecrackers and fireworks. It could be said that for this fortune-bringing marriage, the Qi family had made it grand enough.

This made the quiet in the room even more pronounced.

Ye Jiao sat by the bed for a while, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she simply reached up and pulled off the bridal veil.

Earlier with so many people around, she had been afraid of being discovered that she wasn't the original Ye Jiao, so everything had been done carefully. Now that no one was around, Ye Jiao stopped pretending.

Throwing the red bridal veil aside, the little ginseng spirit stood up and wandered around the room twice, then her eyes were drawn to the pastries on the table.

The earlier commotion had already consumed all of Ye Jiao's energy, and she felt the first urgent desire after becoming human:

She was hungry.

When Qi Yun pushed the door open, what he saw was Ye Jiao stuffing pastries into her mouth.

Qi Yun was first stunned, then closed the door behind him, blocking out all sight, before silently examining his... wife.

He still remembered that Ye Jiao had just said he was handsome, but now looking at Ye Jiao, Qi Yun really wanted to return those words to her.

She was very beautiful, flawless in both looks and figure, especially her pair of eyes, moist and bright, making it impossible to look away.

As for Ye Jiao lifting the bridal veil herself, Qi Yun didn't pursue it.

Even though Ye Jiao was currently eating with bulging cheeks, Qi Yun didn't say much about it.

He even went to pour a cup of tea and handed it to Ye Jiao: "Eat slowly, don't choke."

Ye Jiao seemed to just notice that someone had come in. She looked up at Qi Yun, but instead of taking the teacup, she drank the tea water directly from Qi Yun's hands.

Qi Yun was slightly surprised, but seeing that she had a pastry in each hand and seemed too busy, he relaxed his expression.

His eyes then showed some pity.

This was a very lovely girl, marrying him, a half-dead man, was truly a waste.

Although the doctor had just said he was fine and it was just a false alarm, Qi Yun knew that sooner or later he would collapse and never get up again.

Qi Yun couldn't stand for long. He supported himself against the table and sat across from Ye Jiao, patiently waiting for her to swallow the pastry in her mouth before saying gently: "Making you marry over here has been hard on you."

At this moment, Qi Yun was even thinking that if Ye Jiao said she was unwilling, he would immediately agree to divorce her.

In fact, he already had a thin divorce paper tucked in his chest.

Although a divorced woman might not have an easy life, it would still be better than first being a living widow and then a real widow.

But Ye Jiao didn't complain to him. Instead, she smiled with curved eyes and said to Qi Yun: "Thank you just now." If not for that cup of tea, she might have choked to death.

This stuff was really delicious, just a bit dry.

But Qi Yun thought she was thanking him for taking the rooster away and personally participating in the wedding ceremony: "No thanks needed, this was my duty to begin with."

Ye Jiao blinked, suddenly understanding.

No wonder people liked getting married. After marriage, even drinking water was served by someone. How nice.

But now that Ye Jiao didn't have the bridal veil blocking her view, she could see Qi Yun's complexion clearly.

This person's features were handsome, but his complexion was quite unusual.

His face was particularly pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and his lips showed an unhealthy light color. If you suddenly saw him at night, it would probably be enough to stop a child from crying.

Qi Yun felt Ye Jiao looking at him, and his expression couldn't help but stiffen for a moment. The subtle gentleness on his face completely disappeared, replaced by the coldness he used to disguise himself.

Yes, with his appearance, who would want to get close?

He was already a dying man. Not being a burden to others was already good enough. What more could he expect in terms of happiness?

It would be better to give her the divorce papers early, which could be considered a good deed.

But before Qi Yun could say anything, he heard Ye Jiao's voice: "Do you want some?" She pushed the pastry plate toward him.

Qi Yun didn't react for a moment. He stared at Ye Jiao for a while before shaking his head: "I'm not hungry, you eat."

Ye Jiao was waiting for exactly these words. She smiled as she picked up a pastry and put it in her mouth, her cheek bulging out again.

Qi Yun inexplicably found her like this a bit cute and a bit pitiful.

He poured another cup of tea for Ye Jiao and couldn't help asking: "Did you not get enough to eat at your family home before?"

Ye Jiao thought for a moment, trying hard to recall the original Ye Jiao's memories, then shook her head, her voice somewhat muffled: "I had enough before, but not enough later."

Before Eldest Brother Ye left, Ye Jiao had food to eat, but after Eldest Brother Ye left, Second Sister-in-law Ye didn't like her. Plus, the family situation got worse and worse. Usually, besides sweet potatoes, there was only thin porridge. After brother and sister-in-law ate their fill, she rarely got enough.

But Ye Jiao still said with a smile: "Having something to eat is already very good."

After all, in her previous life as a ginseng spirit buried in the ground, the fancy name for cultivation was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but honestly speaking, it was just eating dirt...

The little ginseng spirit couldn't help muttering: "So good, I don't have to eat dirt anymore in the future."

Qi Yun's eyes widened in surprise, making his usually weak heart beat several extra times.

She had eaten dirt before?

If he really gave her the divorce papers, would she even survive if she returned to her family?

For a moment, Qi Yun felt that the thin piece of paper in his chest seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.