Chapter 48

The Mafia Wedding

Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Suddenly, the face she had erased and redrawn countless times appeared before her eyes like a dream.

In that instant, the thought that dominated Zhuge Qing's mind was her greatest curiosity all along.

'As expected, the nose was even more prominent!'

Her heart raced, her throat burned, and dizziness washed over her, but Zhuge Qing gathered her wits.

It was impossible to lose consciousness at the wedding with Yashu (野鼠) she had dreamed of.

How long had she waited for this moment?

Recalling the incantations of the heart method in her mind, she bolstered her courage with a trembling heart.

Following the Taoist priest, she entered the room and secretly examined his face through the veil.

His face, seen vaguely through the veil, filled her vision.

It was the brave and handsome face she had dreamed of.

But when she glanced at him carefully, she naturally felt that his complexion and eyes looked somewhat melancholic and dark.

'Why is his complexion like this? Is he unwell?'

Throughout the wedding ceremony, he had a continuously somber expression.

He always had a bright and cheerful face at his inn, but Zhuge Qing was strangely concerned about his appearance.

Moreover, he avoided making eye contact with her except for a brief greeting.

'Why? Why doesn't he look into my eyes, which he once said were as beautiful as a lake?'

A sense of disappointment quietly rose in her heart.

The countless times she had pricked her fingers while making his clothes and the days she spent searching the riverbank to gather the materials for the wedding attire made her feel even more disappointed.

'I should have talked to Sister Tang.'

As she was lost in thought, the grains scattered by the Taoist priest began to fly around.

***

The first day ended with the Taoist priest scattering grains, but the main ceremony began the next day.

In other words, my suffering would not end easily.

Even a condemned prisoner is granted a peaceful death.

But like torturing and defiling a prisoner on the execution ground by cutting off their head, the wedding ceremony was very long and varied, and I had to display myself and Zhuge Qing to all the guests without any omissions.

Thus, my fate, like a moth caught in a spider's web, was completely in the hands of the Zhuge family.

'I should have tried to impress Tang Yingying more when I was at the Tang residence!'

Though she had many character and family issues, she was still quite beautiful.

The thought of treating Tang Yingying better lingered in her mind.

'What a fool I was, saving a few medicinal pills!'

She lamented her foolishness, but the wedding ceremony proceeded smoothly.

The day after the wedding, we woke up early, put on our wedding attire again, and went to the Zhuge family's ancestral hall to offer sacrifices, which marked the beginning of the ceremony.

This was the birthplace of Confucianism, the Central Plains.

Offering sacrifices to the ancestors was the start of all the procedures.

Originally, the proper way to participate in a sacrifice was to lie in bed with a stomachache and only eat the sweets at the end, but I had to endure the tedious ceremony until the end.

After the sacrifice, the head of the Tang family, my father-in-law, addressed me.

"Commanding you to go and meet your wife, to carry on our family affairs, and to lead with respect."

"As the successor of your mother, be consistent and constant."

"Commanding you to go and meet your wife, to carry on our family affairs, and to lead with respect. As the successor of your mother, be consistent and constant."

When my father-in-law finished speaking, I slowly recited the lines I had memorized yesterday.

"Yes, I understand. I am afraid I might not be able to handle it, but I will not forget your command."

When my answer ended, the head of the Zhuge family addressed Zhuge Qing.

"Commanding you to be cautious and respectful, and to not disobey your parents' commands from morning till night."

"Commanding you to be cautious and respectful, and to not disobey your parents' commands from morning till night."

"Yes, I understand. Father."

When Zhuge Qing finished her answer, the eldest woman in the family, who was substituting for her mother, placed a ceremonial hat on our heads, adjusted her attire, and continued.

"Commanding you to be diligent and respectful, and to manage the household affairs without fail from morning till night."

Zhuge Qing bowed her head and answered.

"Yes, I will remember."

After this act, which resembled a marriage vow, we were led to the gate of a garden far away, where large peach trees were in full bloom. Zhuge Qing was immediately led inside, and I was placed on a small table at the entrance of the garden.

The small table, barely large enough for one person, was my position.

My task was to hold out.

No matter who told me to get down from the table, I had to stay put.

One of the public humiliations in a Central Plains wedding was to stay on the table until the bride's mother offered me wine and asked me to come down.

Shaking on the small table, trying to maintain my balance, two actors soon ran up and shook me, saying,

"Qingyun, shouldn't you come down and enter the bridal chamber? Come down quickly."

"Brother, come down quickly! Please."

The two actors were Tang Yingying and her aunt.

Originally, this was something the bride's female relatives were supposed to do.

Though Tang Yingying's earnest voice melted my heart and her acting made me feel good for a moment, reality was harsh.

If I went down as they said, the festive atmosphere would be ruined, and what awaited me was a bloody wedding night.

I had to shake my head and pretend I wouldn't come down.

Actually, I naturally didn't want to come down.

If I could stop the wedding this way...

Shaking and nodding my head on the table, the laughter of the onlookers echoed all around.

After a brief struggle, the women of the Zhuge family joined in, urging me to come down.

Finally, an elderly woman, substituting for Zhuge Qing's mother, came to me, offered me wine, and earnestly asked me to come down from the table.

It was time to come down.

But for some reason, my feet felt glued to the spot.

My brain was telling me to come down, but my body was refusing.

'I have to come down! I can't die here, Qingyun!'

I anxiously encouraged myself, but my legs wouldn't move.

However, all resistance was in vain.

The women of the Zhuge family, noticing my reluctance, simultaneously struck the table I was on with their palms.

*Bang*

The small table flew away with a strong impact, like a card sharp pulling a card from the bottom of a deck.

Several people caught me as I fell and shouted,

"The groom has come down!"

"The groom has hurriedly come down!"

"The groom couldn't wait to meet his bride and came down!"

'If you're going to do whatever you want, why didn't you just tell me to come down?'

Feeling frustrated with the wedding ceremony that manipulated both my mind and actions, someone pushed me into the gate.

As I stumbled inside, an incredible scene met my eyes.

Numerous people surrounded the peach trees.

With so many mafia members, it was no wonder the security in the Central Plains was in such a state.

After closing my eyes for a moment, I took a step forward, and the background music from The Godfather played in my mind.

*Prrrr~ Lala lala~ Lala lala lala~. Prrrr~ Lala lala~ Lala lala lala~.*

Yes, this is the wedding of the daughter of the mafia boss, Zhuge Tian.

All the leaders of the mafia from across the country gathered to celebrate the wedding of the boss's daughter.

Everyone was smiling and laughing, but each one of them was a psychopath and murderer who could stab someone in the chest or pot at any moment.

If I were to say something like, "I didn't know about this? Weren't we sworn brothers? I just heard about the wedding now?"

The swords, spears, and clubs would turn me into minced meat.

Unseen and unheard-of martial arts would decorate the final scene of my life.

Or, without cement, they would seal me in a jar with clay and throw me into a deep river.

A thousand years later, I would surely be displayed in a Chinese museum.

Feeling like I was in shackles, I forced my stiff legs to move and looked at the people.

*Gulp.*

Many had scars on their faces, missing eyes, or missing limbs.

They looked at me with smiles that were not quite smiles.

Why were the peach blossoms blooming so profusely today?

The petals of the fully bloomed peach flowers filled my vision as they were scattered by the wind.

'Ha ha ha... The atmosphere is really... '

At this point, I needed to activate my happiness circuit.

Now that the wedding was inevitable, if I had to choose between death and marriage, I should obviously choose marriage.

Yes, I have to get married anyway, and the Zhuge family isn't a bad background.

Though I'm a bit flustered.

My wife... Yes, she looks like dough, but...

Thinking about it, didn't my respected brother Zhuge Liang's wife also look a bit plain?

Thinking of following in my brother's footsteps.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game, I always picked my brother first, so I should follow his example!

My brother's wife, though not beautiful, was smart and talented, so the woman waiting for me under the peach tree, being a descendant of the Zhuge family, must also be smart and talented.

And since Zhuge Liang's descendants were tall, she must be a tall woman, about 170 cm, not a beauty, but not bad.

Isn't there anything bad about her except her face?

No one can have everything. If you have outstanding wisdom, you have to give up something else, right?

'I usually like cute girls...'

But her eyes are my type, and her voice is beautiful, so maybe I can make it work?

While running my happiness circuit, I headed towards the bed placed under the peach tree, and a clueless person's words plunged me into despair.

"The groom looks so gloomy. Is the bride not to his liking?"

'Is this guy trying to make enemies in the martial world?'

When I was furious at his reckless words, the people were furious at me.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and the eyes of all the mafia members gathered here focused on me.

Among them, the most intense gaze came from the doting father.

Feeling the sharp gazes that could make me wet my pants, I forced a smile and said to the crowd,

"W, when I saw the bride, my heart... fluttered..."

The cold atmosphere suddenly heated up.

"Wow! Wow!"

"Ha ha ha! The groom is blushing!"

"The groom is so overwhelmed by the bride's beauty! Ha ha ha!"

'Are these guys blind?'

While grumbling in my mind, I reached the bed under the peach tree, and Zhuge Qing was sitting demurely on it.

The wedding is supposed to be held on a bed, so they had moved the bed under the peach tree.

Walking slowly towards the bed with a dejected face, I began to see Zhuge Qing looking at me with her deep, lake-like eyes.

When I met her eyes, the dark shadow in her gaze pierced my heart.

Only then did I realize I had made a big mistake.

Regardless of the reason, this was her once-in-a-lifetime wedding.

She had never been complimented on her appearance, and she had been shy about the praise for her deep, clear eyes, but I had refused to meet her gaze throughout the wedding.

Thinking about it, getting married to an unknown man was the same for Zhuge Qing.

'So, what's your fault? We're both victims. If you keep looking at a pug or bulldog, they'll start to look cute. The same will happen with her. It's not her fault that her face is like this. Yes, they say a woman's beauty is not just in her face, so she must have her own strengths. Right? Really, right?'

Feeling guilty, I smiled at her before bowing, and her face turned red with embarrassment.

Following the Taoist priest's instructions, I bowed with her and received a pair of wine cups, which we drank from.

Then, following the priest's instructions, we threw the cups to the ground simultaneously. One cup landed facing up, and the other faced down.

Seeing this, the priest shouted,

"Oh! A very good omen! An omen that you will have many descendants!"

When he shouted, the father-in-law shouted happily, and the people also cheered.

"Hehe, it's fortunate that our family has very few grandchildren!"

"Congratulations! Head of the Zhuge family!"

"Congratulations!"

The bad fake Taoist priest, who only made things worse for me with his unnecessary words.

Thinking about his words, the term "first night" came to mind, and I started to feel a bit worried, even though I was determined to do well.

'It, it will get better, right?'

No, it has to get better.

Thinking about it, I was married to the daughter of a mafia boss, and if she became sad or cried, the doting mafia boss would not tolerate it...

From the Taoist priest's words, I could tell that the inevitable first night was approaching.