After faking my death, the male lead’s cousin went crazy - Chapter 1

On the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, during the shen hour, at a tea stall near the official road.

The bridal escort procession had traveled for most of the day and had finally come across a place where they could rest. Although it was only a makeshift tea stall built beneath a thatched shed, at least they could have a mouthful of hot water to drink and would not have to choke down dry steamed buns.

The waiter only learned that this was a bridal escort from the mouths of the two coachmen.

There was not even any wedding music, let alone a bridal sedan. They had found a delivery carriage instead. Wind blew in from all four sides, and the scene inside was barely blocked off with red cloth. Only if one looked closely could one vaguely see the palm-sized red “double happiness” character pasted on the side wall of the carriage.

Looking again at the two coachmen, they were clearly dressed like farmers. The one leading them did have an accent from Shengjing, but even after traveling so far, there was not a single maid accompanying the bride.

Even the waiter at the tea stall could not help clicking his tongue at the sight. She was a girl from beneath the imperial city’s walls, yet how could she suffer such grievance? This young lady’s fate was far too bitter.

“Waiter, more tea.”

At Wang Wu’s call, the waiter hurriedly carried over the hot water from the stove.

While waiting for the water to cool, the two coachmen sat at a nearby table and began chatting back and forth.

“The General’s Estate is still considered a wealthy household. How can they be so shabby? Did you see? Even the Li family’s cloth shop by the city gate is holding a wedding, and it’s far more extravagant than this!”

“How can they compare with the Li family’s cloth shop? Their son’s wedding was paid for with their daughter’s betrothal gifts. Besides, when someone’s being married off to an old scoundrel, are they really supposed to beat gongs and drums for it? That old man Zheng from Furong City isn’t a good person. They say the concubines and bedmaids who died by his hand number at least six or seven. Tell me, what debt does Old General Shang’s family owe to actually marry their daughter over there?”

“Maybe she isn’t really his daughter. Maybe she’s just a maid being used to pay off a debt!”

“When she got into the carriage, I caught a glimpse of her. That bride really is a beauty in the making, like a fairy from a New Year painting. What a pity about that face.”

“…”

The two of them spoke one after another, completely forgetting that the leader was still sitting nearby.

The other man knocked on the tabletop three times in annoyance, his eyes full of warning.

“You dare gossip about the General’s Estate? Do you no longer want your lives?”

The two men were only farmers who worked the land. This was merely a temporary job; once they delivered the person to the destination, they would receive their money. Where had they ever seen such an imposing manner? Hearing this, they exchanged a glance and quickly shut their mouths. They lifted their tea bowls and stuffed the steamed buns in their hands into their mouths.

In any case, who married whom made no difference to them.

Beside them, the person inside the carriage suddenly trembled and slowly lifted her lashes.

Pain.

Intense pain.

A buzzing rang through her mind in waves.

Other than her head, her wrists, shoulders, and ankles—there was not a single part of her body that felt comfortable.

When her vision gradually focused, what Shang Rongyue saw was a field of bright red.

She clearly remembered that before going to sleep, she had still been holding the novel she had not yet followed to the ending. But at this moment, both her hands and feet were restrained. The rough hemp rope chafed her wrists painfully, and her entire body could not move at all.

Of course, her mouth had not been spared either. The cotton cloth stuffed in her mouth made her jaw ache, leaving her feeling utterly miserable.

She curled her arm. Fortunately, she managed to solve the problem in her mouth first.

After pulling down the red cloth in front of her eyes, Shang Rongyue finally saw the golden double-happiness character on it clearly. She was in a small space. From the looks of it, it was a carriage, temporarily fitted with a frame and wrapped in red silk, with light leaking in from all four sides.

A red bridal veil, the Shang General’s Estate, the Zheng family…

Was this not the novel Seizing the Phoenix that she had not finished reading?

In the original novel, the male lead, who had once been as gentle and refined as jade, blackened because of the death of his white moonlight. Step by step, he became the regent whose power dominated the court.

Decisive in killing, playing with the court in the palm of his hand, he grew increasingly insane. He even did not hesitate to marry the memorial tablet of that white moonlight.

One moment, he was still devoted unto death. But after meeting the heroine, who bore some resemblance to his white moonlight, he swiftly staged a drama of “Wanwan resembles Qing.” Not only did he treat her as a substitute, after the heroine discovered the truth, he used every method possible to trap her by his side.

Shang Rongyue had not yet read the ending, but the author herself had revealed that it was a happy ending. Supposedly, the later plot involved the male lead chasing his wife through a crematorium arc.

It was not that she particularly liked this kind of melodramatic plot. Shang Rongyue had been reading entirely for the comment section.

Who did not love watching all the sisters tear a scumbag man apart?

Although she did not know the detailed content later on, Shang Rongyue clearly remembered that this “Wanwan” had the same name as herself: Shang Rongyue.

In the book, the original owner had been plotted against by her half-brother from the same father and used to repay a debt to a local tyrant. Fortunately, she woke up halfway, fled for a time, and was eventually forced to the edge of a cliff.

In front of her were crude, strong men; behind her was a bottomless abyss. How could a delicate girl who had long lived in the inner chambers fight them?

To preserve her purity, the original owner could only leap down and perish at the cliff.

And right now, Shang Rongyue should be at the starting point of that tragedy—on the road to her wedding.

To eat gossip to this extent—there truly could not be a second case like this under heaven. Sure enough, people should not love watching drama too much.

Before her thoughts could settle, the carriage curtain in front of her was lifted, and a middle-aged man stood outside.

“Yo, Fourth Miss is awake!”

He saw that even after Shang Rongyue had removed the cotton cloth from her mouth, she was still very obedient and made no sound at all.

The dose of knockout drug that morning had been more than enough. He guessed there was still some of its effect left in her.

“Miss, don’t worry. The agreed place is just up ahead. Once we deliver you to the Zheng family’s bridal sedan, we definitely won’t delay tonight’s wedding night.” The man tugged at the corner of his mouth with ill intent, the filthy thoughts in his head fully displayed on his face.

This person was Shang Rongyue’s elder brother’s trusted subordinate and the leader of this “escort” mission.

As he spoke, he pulled over Shang Rongyue’s arm and helped untie the ropes around her wrists.

After all, this was still a wedding. It would not look good to meet the husband’s family while tied up. The young master had instructed them to untie her ropes once they were almost there, to ensure that what they handed over to the Zheng family was a fresh, pretty young lady.

Once she regained her freedom, Shang Rongyue’s entire body ached. Still, she forced herself to hold up her body and called softly, “Water…”

“I want to drink water.”

She leaned weakly against the side. Beneath her lifted lashes, her hazy eyes were filled with a ring of mist.

With such a pitiful appearance, who could bear to glare coldly at her?

Wang Wu waved someone over for a bowl of water and handed it to Shang Rongyue.

Shang Rongyue raised both arms shakily. After taking it, she carefully held the tea bowl and brought it to her lips, drinking in small sips.

In truth, most of the drug’s effect on her body had already faded. At this moment, ninety percent of her weakness was feigned. The remaining ten percent was because of those two hemp ropes.

Seeing this, Wang Wu handed her another steamed bun and seemed to comfort her.

“Fourth Miss, if you want water or food, that’s easy enough. As long as you enter the Zheng family’s gate safely and steadily, the Zheng family has great wealth and property. You’re clever and quick-witted too. Are you still afraid you won’t have good days ahead?”

“Master Zheng is indeed a little old, but if you think on the bright side, older men know how to cherish people, don’t they? As long as you behave well, when the young master gains some official title in the future, he will surely remember your good deed.”

The “young master” he spoke of was precisely Shang Rongyue’s elder brother. He had been framed in a wine house and accused of killing someone. Either he paid with his life, or he sent over his concubine-born younger sister. Out of consideration for the General’s Estate’s dignity, an exception could be made to let this concubine-born daughter become a second wife.

A legal wife, even.

Between a legitimate son and a concubine-born daughter, the legitimate madam, as his mother, naturally found it easy to make a decision. She immediately prepared knockout drugs for the original owner and, while Old General Shang was away, hurriedly sent her out of the city.

She had already found the girl an eyesore in ordinary times. Sending her away could be considered resolving a troublesome matter.

While Wang Wu watched Shang Rongyue eat the steamed bun in small bites, he tirelessly lectured her about “reason,” such as “the legitimate mother is to be honored” and “parents’ orders,” and so on. Naturally, Shang Rongyue was too lazy to pay him any attention.

If it was really so good, why did he not send his own daughter over?

Seeing that her pale face had gradually regained some color and would not look so terrible when the Zheng family saw her later, Wang Wu finally went to settle the tea payment with the stall, then ordered the two coachmen to tidy up and prepare for the last stretch of the journey.

He clearly could have handed her over without a single mistake, yet he just had to linger for a while at the final moment. Perhaps this was the mistake every villain was destined to make.

In this world, forget the male and female leads—even a marginal white moonlight like Shang Rongyue had to guarantee the label of “chastity” until death. So she definitely would not be delivered through the Zheng family’s gate.

If the original owner could escape, then Shang Rongyue could naturally get away too. However, after escaping, the true difficulty would begin.

Inside Shang Rongyue’s carriage, there was also a box pasted with a large red double-happiness character. It was probably her “dowry.” When she opened it, she found it filled with hairpins, bracelets, and jewelry. But the only things truly worth money were a pair of dragon-and-phoenix bracelets and a few hairpins.

How stingy.

Seeing that the wheels had begun rumbling forward, Shang Rongyue put the valuable items on herself. Then she lifted the red cloth covering the corner and quietly jumped down.

When Wang Wu saw, from afar, the Zheng family’s servants waiting beside the bridal sedan ahead, he said, “Miss, this lowly one will send you off here.”

But when he lifted the carriage curtain, the inside was already completely empty.

Shang Rongyue had run away!

Before the Zheng family could see them, he hurriedly ordered the two coachmen, “Chase her!”

On the other side, Gu Wan had led her subordinates and guarded the mountaintop forest for an entire day, her gaze fixed the whole time on the official road below.

At present, the north was in chaos. The neighboring country, Gaoji, had been repeatedly provoking them, and the fighting was fierce. As the Great Zhou Dynasty’s final line of defense, she had remained hidden in the forests surrounding Shengjing, guarding one side and secretly protecting Shengjing’s safety.

Recently, Great Zhou’s army had repeatedly encountered ambushes from Gaoji. It was as if the enemy army could calculate their movements with precision.

Clearly, there was a traitor inside Great Zhou.

Gu Wan had laid this line of investigation for a long time. She had received word from the black market that someone would be passing along Great Zhou’s map today, and the meeting place was near here.

She had once again kept watch for an entire day, but she had hardly seen anyone. Even the wild geese flying past could be counted on one hand.

“General.” The guard Lanxi came over to report as ordered. “There weren’t many people who passed along the official road today. Aside from a bridal sedan waiting to receive a bride near Furong City, only one carriage passed by.”

“A carriage?”

“It was wrapped in red cloth on the outside. It should have been sending the bride to them.”

Gu Wan nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

Lanxi took a step forward and asked carefully, “Do you think the information might be false? It’s been a whole day, and we haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

There should not be a problem with the source of the information. However, during wartime, every moment could change in an instant. Perhaps the enemy had changed their mind and temporarily canceled the plan.

Of course, there was another possibility: the enemy had disguised themselves too well, leaving them with no way to notice.

“The sun hasn’t set yet. Wait a little longer.” Gu Wan raised the glass spyglass and continued looking into the distance.

It was at that moment that a row of sparrows startled into the sky. Then, from within the lush green forest, a vivid red figure entered Gu Wan’s field of vision.

The other party was a young woman, dressed in a bright red wedding outfit, stumbling unevenly as she ran toward the deepest part of the forest. The tassels hanging from her body swayed with her steps. How did she look anything like a dignified bride?

“You said just now that the only people who passed by were a bridal escort procession?” Gu Wan lifted her eyes and looked toward that sneaky figure. On the simple hairstyle, that ornate hairpin looked especially out of place.

A thought suddenly emerged in her mind.

A wedding was, in fact, a rather good disguise.