Chapter 56: Sneaking into the Li Mansion

“I’ve always thought you’re a very powerful Taoist,” Zhao Hu said sincerely, looking at Jingxin.

“From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were amazing. You’re the most powerful Taoist I’ve ever met,” A Dou said.

Although, besides Jingxin, he hadn’t met any other Taoists.

“…”

Everyone was chatting away, praising Jingxin so much he nearly lost his bearings.

“Am I really that impressive in your eyes?” Jingxin, feeling flattered and a bit dizzy, unknowingly got roped in by the little kids.

The next morning, Lin Qi and his group, who had been contacted by Cuihua the night before, arrived with over a dozen children from the cave.

They came to town early.

Shen Zhiyuan took Xiaojiu and successfully sneaked into the He family’s mansion, heading straight for her cousin’s room.

The rest stayed outside to carry out other parts of the plan.

He Jiaojiao, already dressed and having said goodbye to her family, was waiting in her room for the groom’s procession.

“Pfft, pfft…”

He Jiaojiao looked up at the noise and saw two heads peeking in through the window.

At the same time, the wedding procession with drums and gongs sounded at the door.

The maid next to He Jiaojiao quickly covered her veil, preparing to escort the bride out.

He Jiaojiao hurriedly grabbed the maid’s hand, pulled out a pouch embroidered with the characters for “health and safety,” and said, “Maid, before we leave, could you please give this to my mother? I stayed up last night embroidering it. I won’t be able to be with her anymore, but I hope this pouch can bring her some comfort. I wish my mother health and safety in the days ahead.”

The maid glanced at the time and hesitated, “But the groom is almost at the door. I’ll deliver it to the madam after I escort you out.”

With tearful eyes, He Jiaojiao looked at the maid, “You’re my mother’s maid. Would you not want to fulfill my last act of filial piety? Please grant me this last wish before I marry.”

The maid hesitated a moment, then finally covered He Jiaojiao’s face with the veil and said, “Sit here and wait for me. I’ll be right back.”

With that, the maid left for the madam’s courtyard.

Shen Zhiyuan quickly brought Xiaojiu inside.

“Cousin, the village chief is here. We’ve come up with a plan,” Shen Zhiyuan said to calm her.

He Jiaojiao almost cried, having just thought how foolish she was to believe the naive words of a few kids the day before, thinking she couldn’t escape marrying Li Qiang.

“Wear this under your wedding dress. Once you’re in the carriage, find a chance to take off the dress and the headdress. There might be some chaos on the way, so you can slip into the crowd wearing these clothes.”

Xiaojiu pulled out a ragged beggar’s outfit from her pocket and handed it to He Jiaojiao.

“Put this on under the dress, and remember to smear some of this gray stuff on your face.”

She then took out a jar of blackish powder—likely soot—and handed it over.

He Jiaojiao hurriedly put the clothes under her wedding dress and hid the powder on her.

Before the maid returned, Xiaojiu and Shen Zhiyuan slipped away.

They continued toward the Li mansion, where a big scene was about to unfold.

After bidding farewell to her parents, He Jiaojiao was helped onto the carriage by the wedding attendant.

Once the carriage moved slowly, He Jiaojiao quickly took off the wedding dress and, as Xiaojiu instructed, smeared the soot on her face.

Though He Jiaojiao didn’t know exactly what the kids planned to do, she followed their instructions—after all, the worst outcome was still marrying Li Qiang.

The route from the He residence to the Li mansion passed through the busiest street in town, especially lively today because the Li family was holding a wedding. The streets and alleys were crowded with villagers eager to receive red envelopes and share in the celebration.

Li Qiang sat on horseback, tossing small bags of wedding money to the crowd as they passed through the throng.

Usually, the well-behaved villagers knew not to disturb the bride’s sedan chair when grabbing the red envelopes, and whether they caught any or not, they would still offer blessings to the groom.

But today, the mischievous Lin Qi and his gang, along with a group of dirty-faced little beggars, rushed into the wedding procession, causing chaos. The sedan chair was forced to stop.

The children tugged at the wedding attendant’s money pouch and pulled at the sedan bearers’ waistbands.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Jingxin slipped into the sedan chair and changed into He Jiaojiao’s wedding dress, while He Jiaojiao herself escaped with the little beggars.

The group of kids appeared and disappeared like shadows.

The procession soon calmed down. If not for the several missing purses in the group, everyone would have thought the commotion was just a hallucination.

Li Qiang felt unlucky—his perfect wedding was now a mess.

The wedding attendant glanced inside the sedan chair and saw the bride sitting properly. Only then did her anxious heart relax.

Luckily, the lost purses could be compensated later.

To avoid missing the auspicious time, the procession continued forward.

With drums and gongs, they entered the Li mansion.

This wedding of the Li family’s young master was a big event. The patriarch had given many benefits to his family branch and used his influence to invite many dignitaries, all to pave the way and build connections for his son.

Inside the mansion, guests arrived in droves—officials and nobles greeting each other with bows and congratulations.

The entire mansion was filled with joy, harmony, and festive cheer.

Li Qiang lifted the sedan chair curtain and helped ‘He Jiaojiao’ down. Jingxin handled the entire process smoothly and effortlessly.

Watching this, Xiaojiu clicked her tongue, seriously doubting Jingxin hadn’t done such fake weddings before—he was just too practiced.

Shen Zhiyuan led Xiaojiu and a few others, blending in with their own parents, successfully entering the Li mansion.

County magistrate Shen and his wife looked at Xiaojiu with loving eyes; one would have thought she was their own daughter. Luckily, easygoing Shen Zhiyuan didn’t mind at all—she even thought her parents had good taste and dreamed of bringing the village chief home as her little sister.

Nearby, Mrs. Wang was very pleased to see Xiaojiu, knowing this girl could keep her son in line. Just the thought of her son obediently studying and practicing martial arts made Mrs. Wang feel grateful to Xiaojiu for life.

Mrs. Wang quickly pulled Xiaojiu over to introduce her to her younger sister-in-law: “This is the little girl I told you about who saved my Rong’er. Isn’t she adorable?”

Seeing Mrs. Wang showing off like this, Mrs. Sun thought her sister-in-law was planning to take that girl home as a child bride.

Xiaojiu nudged Shen Zhiyuan and the little chubby kid, signaling it was time to sneak away. The real show was about to start, and they needed a good spot to watch.

Shen Zhiyuan grabbed Xiaojiu’s hand and said goodbye to the elders, with the little chubby kid trailing behind.

“Yuan’er, make sure to watch over Sister Xiaojiu, okay? Don’t let anyone bully her,” Mrs. Shen reminded repeatedly from behind.

“Got it!” Shen Zhiyuan said as she ran off without looking back.

With everything ready, Xiaojiu found Cuihua, who had slipped in earlier, patted her head, and entrusted her with the next task.

“It’s up to you now, Cuihua! Go!”