Chapter 7: Whose beauty can cause the fall of a country? Original and most updated translations are from volaretranslations.
The two rows of musicians dared not delay, and quickly fell into ranks to play their instruments. Gongs, drums, vertical flutes and suona rang out with boundless joy in celebration. Han Yunxi lifted her hand, and Nanny w.a.n.g hastily ran to her side. The bride had already left the sedan chair. With everyone watching, if she didn’t support her, then she’d be in the wrong.
Thus, before the gaping looks of hundreds, Han Yunxi straightened her back and climbed step-by-step onto the Duke of Qin’s doorsteps, every movement graceful. All the elegance and brilliance that day was taken by her as a honor that no one else could touch.
This led many people to forget that she was originally an ugly woman.
Who knew that after Han Yunxi alighted on the final step and came to a stop, a flying dart would whiz by her face, knocking her bridal veil to the ground?
“Ah…there’s an a.s.sa.s.sin! An a.s.sa.s.sin!” Nanny w.a.n.g screamed shrilly, releasing Han Yunxi to flee. She accidentally tripped and tumbled down the stairs.
Immediately, guards appeared from two sides of the duke’s residence, searching around without finding the culprit. A long while pa.s.sed, but nothing else happened after the flying dart appeared. The crowd was all caught up in a fl.u.s.ter. Han Yunxi was frightened as well, her heart pounding in her chest. She could treat poisons but didn’t know martial arts. Just then, that dart had missed her head by centimeters, how terrifying!
A guard led the way to pick up the bridal veil and examine the flying dart, before giving the weapon to someone else to take care of.
“Miss Han, here.” the head of the guards personally returned her veil.
Han Yunxi patted her heart to calm down before turning to accept. “Thank you.”
Who knew that as soon as she turned, the head guard would suddenly widen his eyes and yell ‘Ah’ in surprise, terrified as he backed up a few steps?
The poison tumor was gone, but was she still very ugly? The head guard’s alarmed reaction hurt Han Yunxi slightly.
But if that was the case, then she’d just stay ugly. She’d always relied on her hands to earn a living, not her face. With her back to the crowd, she mentally prepared herself before confidently turning around, holding out the bridal veil. “Nanny w.a.n.g, it’s all right now. You can come up.”
Who knew that this single turn would cause the entire crowd to suck in a cold breath? Nanny w.a.n.g’s sharp shriek was even louder than her last one. “You…you…how could you, ah…”
Han Yunxi had no idea that looking back had revealed a devastating beauty beneath the Heavens, endowed with elegance and intellectual brilliance. She only heard someone in the mob suddenly cry out, “Too beautiful! Are you really Han Yunxi?”
Beautiful? Before she could process the words, a sensation broke out.
“Wasn’t it said that Han Yunxi was an ugly woman? What happened?”
“Rumors ruin a person, ah! Han Yunxi, you’re even more beautiful than Tianning’s top beauty!”
“Does his lords.h.i.+p the duke know? You can’t believe groundless allegations!”
—
In a moment, all sorts of voices had spoken out. Even the members of the Han Family couldn’t believe it and wondered whether someone had subst.i.tuted their Han Yunxi. But just by blocking out half her face, they could tell this was the genuine girl. One could only say that Han Yunxi’s peerless beauty had been hidden too long by the poisonous tumor, so her sudden appearance today had stunned all the ma.s.ses.
Chaos reigned before the front door until the noise carried into the main hall. Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru were shocked after hearing the reports of the servants. Feeling as if they were on tenterhooks, the pair couldn’t help but want to run out and see for themselves. By now, Granny w.a.n.g had replaced the wedding veil on Han Yunxi’s head and led her past and over the threshold. Even though the new bride had gone inside, the crowd was still exclaiming over their beauty. They’d even forgotten the matter of their bets.
Within the crowd stood a beautiful woman dressed in bright, new clothing, using all her strength to drag away the man next to her.
“Big brother, there’s definitely a problem with Han Yunxi’s face! I’ve stolen a peek at her before and it was absolutely hideous. I almost wanted to throw up!”
This woman was none other than Tianning Country’s General Mu’s third young miss Mu Liuyue[1]. The man next to her was a young general with a huge reputation in Tianning named Mu Qingwu. He was a handsome young man with strong contours, his figure steady and profound. Though he wasn’t wearing armor today, there was still the powerful aura of a commander in chief about him, and his bright, piercing eyes shone with an upright light. The dart from beforehand had been shot by Mu Liuyue. She was one of the Duke of Qin’s steadfast admirers, and like all his admirers, particularly disliked Han Yunxi. Her original intention was to humiliate the woman in public, but who knew she’d end up helping her instead?
Irritated by his sister’s complaints, Mu Qingwu grabbed Liuyue’s wrist and spoke in a stern voice. “Is this a place for you to act so wildly? Hurry up and go home!”
He hadn’t been interested in the proceedings here, but the new bride’s courage had drew him into lingering for a look. Who knew that there was still someone with a spine in this capital of weak-willed sissies–and a woman, at that?
Mu Liuyue was long accustomed to her brother’s rough manners and grabbed his hands, acting like a spoiled child. “Big brother! There’s definitely something wrong with that woman.”
“Even if she has problems, it’s none of your business! Go home!” Mu Qingwu commanded.
“There’s no common language with you!” Mu Liuyue pursed her lips but was lazy to say any more. She decided that she needed to find some more helpers and investigate whether this Han Yunxi was a fake.
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[1] Mu Liuyue (杨琉月) － Mu is the surname meaning “solemn, reverent”, liu is a character found in “琉璃” (liu li), or ceramic gla.s.s, and yue is “moon.”
[2] Mu Qingwu (穆清武) －Qing refers to “clear, quiet, just and honest, pure”, while wu means “military, martial, valiant, fierce.”