By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 2 Refusal to Consummate the Marriage

The next morning, the door was pushed open, and Granny Feng and her maids were waiting outside the screen. She said, "Princess, young master, you need to go to the main courtyard to pay your respects in a little while. It's time to get up."

Wen Zongji did not sleep well last night. He would get lost in the original owner's memories one moment and recall his past life the next. He didn't know how long it took before he finally fell asleep.

Hearing Granny Feng's shouts, he felt like he had only been asleep for a short while.

Wen Zongji opened his eyes, sat up and saw that Pei Rujing was still sleeping soundly, showing no sign of getting up.

Getting up and getting out of bed, Wen Zongji stepped out from behind the screen in his undergarments: "The county princess is still asleep."

Having said that, he ignored the strange looks from Granny Feng and the others, and went straight to the outer room, where Changdong and the other man were holding Wen Zongji's clothes and waiting for him.

Normally, a married man should be helped to change clothes by his wife or a maid, and there is no need for him to go to a mistress's house for such trouble.

But Wen Zongji didn't enjoy this treatment, and he wasn't used to letting people get close to him, so he took the clothes from Chang Dong and put them on himself.

However, tying up the hair was a bit complicated, and Wen Zongji couldn't do it himself, so he had to ask Chang Dong and the other person for help.

Changdong and Anfeng had been by the original owner's side for many years, and they were already very skilled at tasks such as changing clothes and tying hair.

On the other side, Granny Feng led everyone in single file and saw that Pei Rujing was still fast asleep.

There was an uncovered quilt next to Pei Rujing, indicating that although the two had shared a bed last night, they had not consummated their marriage.

Two quilts were prepared last night at Pei Rujing's request, but refusing to share a room on their wedding night would really embarrass Wen Zongji. Granny Feng tried for a long time to persuade Pei Rujing to give up the idea, but she was unsuccessful.

Granny Feng and the others were terrified all night, keeping watch outside the door, fearing that Wen Zongji might lose his temper and make a move against Pei Rujing.

After waiting all night, there was still no sound from inside the room.

Early this morning, Granny Feng couldn't wait to bring people in to wake them up.

He expected to face Wen Zongji's wrath, but Wen Zongji didn't seem angry at all.

Upon entering the inner room, Pei Rujing was sleeping soundly, as if the fact that they hadn't shared a room had no effect on them at all.

Qinghe and the others exchanged bewildered glances: "Granny, this..."

Granny Feng composed herself and said, "Let's wake up the county princess first."

Dongxiu stepped forward and gently woke Pei Rujing from the bed.

Pei Rujing opened her eyes groggily.

She didn't sleep well last night either; how could she possibly sleep soundly with a stranger lying next to her?

She worried that Wen Zongji's promise not to consummate the marriage was a delaying tactic, and that he would force himself on her once she fell asleep.

Pei Rujing remained on high alert, wary of Wen Zongji. Whenever he made any unusual moves, she would immediately shout to summon Granny Feng and the others.

As a result, despite being on guard all night, there was no movement from Wen Zongji's side. On the contrary, Pei Rujing was so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open and fell asleep without realizing it.

I was woken up by Dongxiu.

Pei Rujing sat up abruptly, first glancing at her neatly dressed undergarments, then looking around: "Where is he?"

Granny Feng said, "Young Master, go to the outer room to change and wash up. Princess, it's getting late, you still need to pay your respects to the Marquis and his wife."

Pei Rujing breathed a sigh of relief and yawned wearily.

Qinghe and the others immediately got busy helping Pei Rujing with her makeup and clothes.

Granny Feng couldn't help but remind her, "Princess, although you are of noble status, you are now married into the Marquis's mansion. The Marquis and his wife are your parents-in-law, so you should still show them the respect due to them."

In fact, refusing to consummate the marriage last night not only damaged Wen Zongji's reputation but also slapped the Marquis's mansion in the face.

Normally, on the second day after the bride enters the house, someone will come to collect the bridal veil, which is proof of the bride's chastity.

However, because of Pei Rujing's noble status, the Marquis's mansion waived this step.

It's fortunate that it was exempted, otherwise the entire Marquis's mansion would not have been peaceful today.

Pei Rujing was still a little sleepy and casually said, "I understand."

Granny Feng sighed, hoping to get through the greeting process smoothly.

When Pei Rujing finished dressing and came out of the inner room, Wen Zongji had been waiting for her for a long time.

Wen Zongji looked over, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.

Pei Rujing wore a red dress that accentuated her graceful figure. Her skin was as white as snow, and her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, as if she had stepped out of a painting.

Pei Rujing raised her head and said arrogantly, "Let's go."

Looking at her, who resembled a proud white swan, Wen Zongji smiled and said, "Please, County Princess."

Today is the day for the bride to pay respects to her parents-in-law, but Wen Zongji has changed his mind and is not much calmer than Pei Rujing.

The morning wind was biting. Before leaving the house, Qinghe tied a red cloak around Pei Rujing's neck.

Wen Zongji, wearing a moon-white cotton robe, was the first to walk out of the room, with Pei Rujing following closely behind him.

Wen Zongji lived in Yunguang Courtyard, which was not close to the main courtyard. As the two walked along the bluestone path, they would occasionally encounter busy servants.

"This humble servant greets the County Princess and the Third Young Master."

Greetings rose and fell in waves.

Wen Zongji knew from the original owner's memories that he was a nobody in the mansion, and the servants dared not bully him, but such obsequious greetings as this had never happened before.

Wen Zongji glanced at Pei Rujing beside him and sighed inwardly that the original owner of this body had ultimately gotten a great deal by marrying Pei Rujing.

The group went straight to the main courtyard, where Liu Mama, the maidservant of Lady Jiang of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, was already waiting. Upon seeing the two, she hurriedly said with a smile, "The Marquis and Lady have been waiting for the Third Young Master and the County Princess for a long time."

Look how well she speaks! All the servants she encountered along the way greeted Pei Rujing first, but only Granny Liu put Wen Zongji first.

Pei Rujing raised an eyebrow at her: "You mean we're late?"

Liu Mama's smile froze. She wondered if her expression was wrong. Wasn't she implying that the Marquis's mansion and his wife valued them? Where was the questioning in her expression?

Granny Feng quickly said, "Princess, you should go in and pay your respects."

Granny Liu didn't dare to say anything more and hurriedly led the two into the main hall.

At this moment, Marquis Wen Chuanhong and Madam Jiang sat in the main seats. In addition, several of Wen Zongji's brothers were also present. All the masters of the Marquis's mansion had arrived.

As the two walked in, everyone had different expressions. Madam Jiang smiled and said, "My lord, Ji-ge'er and the county princess look quite well-matched standing together."

Wen Chuanhong's face softened slightly: "What Madam says is true. However, now that the third son is married, we can no longer call him Ji-ge'er."

Generally, only unmarried men are called "brother" by their elders.

Madam Jiang nodded: "It was my oversight."

The servants placed two prayer cushions in front of Wen Chuanhong and his companion, and two maids on either side carried tea, clearly indicating that preparations had been made for serving tea.

Pei Rujing frowned. She didn't even have to kneel when she entered the palace to see her uncle, the emperor.

Wen Chuanhong waved his hand: "Remove the cushions, just serve tea."

Madam Jiang immediately chimed in, "Your Excellency is right. The County Princess has already married into the Marquis's household, so we are all family. There's no need for so many formalities."

Pei Rujing's expression softened.

Because of this marriage, she had no good feelings towards the entire Marquis's mansion. The fact that Wen Chuanhong and his wife were willing to take the initiative to remove the prayer mat at least showed that they had no intention of using their status as parents-in-law to pressure Pei Rujing.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, please have some tea—"

The Wen Chuanhong couple offered a way out, and Pei Rujing, who was not easily swayed by force, obediently completed the tea-serving ceremony.

Wen Chuanhong and Jiang had tea and presented them with the gifts he had prepared.

Thus, the tea ceremony concludes.