After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 104 The Wedding (Part 3)

A handsome young man dressed in red rode a horse at the head of the wedding procession, and the women passing by all stared wide-eyed at the sight.

"Is this Master Huang? I don't remember him being this young!"

"What are you saying? This is not Master Huang. This is probably Miss Bai's husband, the young master of the Lin family."

"What? Wasn't he supposed to be a poor boy from the Lin family? He doesn't seem like it at all."

"Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse; on such a joyous occasion, one should naturally look good." After saying this, the woman couldn't help but sigh, "If I had known there was such a handsome man in Linjia Village, I would have been willing to be poor!"

"You say they're poor, but look at their entourage. It seems they value Miss Bai very much."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that Lin Yunche's wedding procession was indeed very grand, even more so than when the Du family's young master got married.
This is no poor boy from legend.

When Lin Yunche and his group arrived at the Bai family's residence, the Bai family's relatives were taken aback. Weren't they supposed to be welcoming the bride first from the Huang family? Why was it Young Master Lin who came?

But once Du Huan went up to greet him, no one cared anymore. Whether it was Master Huang or Young Master Lin, they just wanted to have a good time!

So Du Huan led the group of Bai family members and blocked Lin Yunche at the door. "Brother Lin, how about we recite a poem to urge you to get ready for your wedding?"

The front yard was bustling with activity. Madam Chen and Bai Chenming exchanged a glance, and a moment later, Uncle Liu came to report, "Master, it's Young Master Lin who has arrived."

Madam Chen immediately stood up. "How could it be him! Wasn't it agreed that he would come to fetch the bride the second day?"

Uncle Liu lowered his head and said, "Madam, an hour has passed and the Huang family has not arrived yet. Logically speaking, there is nothing wrong with Young Master Lin coming at this time!"

Chen was so shocked by the retort that she choked, her face turning ashen.

Bai Chenming immediately tugged at Chen Shi, "What are you doing! There are so many people today, don't cause me any trouble! No matter who it is, since someone has come, consider it a relief for the Bai family."

"You can't expect everyone to wait for the Huang family, only for them to be late and make a fool of themselves."

Upon hearing this, Madam Chen agreed and turned to tell Qiuwen to go to the backyard to inform Bai Wanqing.

At this moment, Bai Wanqing was chatting with Furong. They had just heard the loud gongs and drums outside the door. They originally thought it was Master Huang's wedding procession, so they did not prepare to set off.

Just then, Ruixin came running over, "Miss, it's the groom! The groom's wedding procession has arrived!"

Bai Wanqing was taken aback at first, then overjoyed; she hadn't expected him to arrive on time for the wedding. Seeing this, Granny Chen also busied herself, and a group of people quickly covered Bai Wanqing's head with the veil. Furong excitedly helped Bai Wanqing up to leave.

"Furong, don't rush! They'll be making a fuss in the front yard for a while longer!" Bai Wanqing said with a smile.

But before he could finish speaking, the wedding matchmaker came in and immediately launched into a string of auspicious words.

"Bride, hurry up and get ready. If you ask me, I'm afraid this young master Du won't be able to stop the son-in-law."

Several of Bai's sisters-in-law and aunts looked at Furong teasingly. Furong blushed and said softly, "I will definitely make him study more in the future, so that when he has a daughter and she gets married, he won't even be able to stop his son-in-law."

Everyone burst into laughter, and the second eldest sister from the third uncle's family said with a smile, "Sister Furong, when the time comes, it won't be your brother-in-law who will be stopping your son-in-law. You should teach your nephew more so that he can stop the door."

This made everyone laugh even harder; even Bai Wanqing and Baoyue couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Big sister!" Furong called out shyly.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the matchmaker helped Bai Wanqing up and led her to bid farewell to her parents.

Bai Wanqing followed the matchmaker, but as soon as they reached the front hall, the matchmaker stopped. She saw the other matchmaker helping Bai Qinglian walk over, and the matchmaker came straight to greet her, saying, "Oh dear, matchmaker, you've come to the wrong courtyard."

"Madam Bai said that our third young lady went out first."

The matchmaker was stunned for a moment, but then she realized something was wrong. "I didn't go to the wrong place. The person we came with is the eldest son-in-law. How can I go to the third young lady's courtyard to pick him up?"

Bai Qinglian was getting anxious. "How could we not have gone to the wrong place? There's a lot of gongs and drums outside, and the scene is so grand. Big sister, you don't think that a poor boy from Linjia Village would have such power, do you?"

"Besides, we agreed beforehand that I would go out first, and now my older sister is trying to take my place. What's going on?"

The matchmaker, supporting Bai Wanqing, was momentarily unsure whether to go in or back out. Bai Wanqing then pulled the matchmaker along, and the two of them were about to go inside.

The two entered the house, and the matchmaker then noticed Lin Yunche standing to one side. Feeling reassured, she smiled and was about to hand the red silk from Bai Wanqing's hand to Lin Yunche.

Bai Qinglian was still unaware of what was happening. She only knew that Bai Wanqing had rushed in first, and in her haste, she gritted her teeth and led the matchmaker into the house as well. All the guests present were stunned, including Madam Chen, Bai Chenming and his wife, and Lin Yunche.

He looked at the red silk in his hand, then at the woman standing in front of him, smiled slightly, tightened the red string, walked to Bai Wanqing's side and whispered, "Wanqing, I won't mistake you."

Bai Wanqing's body stiffened slightly, and then she tightened the red silk.

Bai Qinglian, whose face was covered by a veil, could not see what was happening inside the room. She only knew that the groom was still standing with Bai Wanqing. Her anger burned, and she directly turned on everyone.

"Big sister, what are you doing? Are you trying to steal my husband?"

"If you ask me, eldest sister shouldn't struggle now. After all, everyone has their own destiny. If she marries a poor scholar the first time, she can't marry into a high-class family the second time either."

Upon hearing Bai Qinglian's words, not only did Lin Yunche's face darken, but even Bai Chenming and Madam Chen felt somewhat embarrassed.

Bai Chenming tried to speak up to stop them, but Lin Yunche beat him to it.

"Third sister, what you're saying is a bit harsh. Wanqing is my wife. When did she steal someone else's husband?"

As soon as Lin Yunche spoke, Bai Qinglian fell silent. What was going on? Wasn't the person who came Master Huang?
Was the commotion outside something that poor kid Lin Yunche put up?
Bai Qinglian was very unwilling and wanted to say something more, but this time Lin Yunche did not give her a chance. "Third sister, you said my wife has a bad fate, but I don't think so."

After speaking, Lin Yunche moved the red silk flower tied in front of him to a different position, and finally someone noticed that he was wearing a wedding dress, not just a wedding dress.

"Is this the robes of a top scholar?" the young master of the Hu family said, staring at the wedding attire Lin Yunche was wearing.

Those with a little knowledge immediately realized, "That's right, it's the scholar's robe, with flying fish and seahorses on it. Although I haven't seen it in person, this is definitely the scholar's robe."

Now everyone understood why Lin Yunche could send such a generous betrothal gift and afford such a prestigious entourage.

Everyone was shocked for a moment, but Du Huan came to his senses first and then went up to congratulate Bai Wanqing and Bai Chenming and his wife.

Bai Chenming finally snapped out of his initial shock and accepted the guests' congratulations with a smile.

He immediately ordered his men to take Bai Qinglian away, and then had the matchmaker continue with the next part of the ceremony. This time, the applause and cheers were no longer feigned, but genuine.

They all knew that the Bai family had now secured the position of the top scholar in this imperial examination. Putting aside everything else, it seemed unlikely that anyone would dare to bully the Bai family in the future.
Even Magistrate Hu clasped his hands in greeting to Bai Chenming, making Master Bai and Madam Chen feel quite elated.

When Bai Wanqing and Lin Yunche stood in front of them, Bai Chenming looked at Lin Yunche's shining eyes and felt a pang of sadness. He knew that Wanqing had truly married this time.

Thinking of this, Bai Chenming couldn't help but feel his eyes redden. He took a breath before saying, "My daughter Wanqing, I am truly reluctant to see you get married today." As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Yunche, "But fortunately, you have found a good husband. I believe that Yunche will treat you sincerely. I hope that you will be sensible, filial to your parents-in-law, a good wife and mother, and live a happy and fulfilling life after marriage."

"Father-in-law, rest assured, I will take good care of Wanqing." With that, Lin Yunche and Bai Wanqing bowed deeply to Bai Chenming and Madam Chen.

Madam Chen wiped her eyes and said kindly, "Alright, alright! Go on out."

Bai Wanqing glanced at her father secretly, her mind filled with countless thoughts. She could no longer hear the bustling crowd around her, and a tear rolled down her cheek without her noticing.

"My daughter will be alright!" Bai Wanqing murmured to herself, as if speaking to her father, but also to her mother in heaven.

But none of them heard it, only Lin Yunche heard it, and he consciously tightened his grip on Bai Wanqing's hand.

Bai Wanqing boarded the bridal sedan chair, and Lin Yunche's entourage started making a lot of noise again. By this time, news of Lin Yunche's identity had spread throughout the neighborhood. They didn't know that the commotion they had just witnessed was actually from the family of the top scholar.

Those women who had just complained about Lin Yunche's poverty now had tears in their eyes and regretted not going to Lin Family Village to find husbands.

Just as they were feeling regretful, the Bai family carried out Bai Wanqing's dowry in fourteen palanquins behind the procession.

"Is this all Miss Bai's dowry?"

Now, it's not just women who are jealous; even the men are jealous. Although Master Huang had previously forced them not to marry the Bai family's daughter, they still harbored resentment about the Bai family's eldest daughter's divorce.

However, to everyone's surprise, the dowry for the eldest daughter of the Bai family this time was no less than the last time; in fact, it was even more. Many people have already begun to regret their decision.

To everyone's surprise, another group of people followed behind the Bai family's dowry, carrying in four more loads of dowry.

"Miss Cheng, the eldest daughter of Imperial Censor Cheng, adds to Miss Bai's dowry."

Now, no one doubted Lin Yunche's identity anymore, and no one mocked Bai Wanqing any longer.
Bai Wanqing, sitting in the sedan chair, was taken aback when she heard Cheng Susu adding makeup to her face. Then a gentle smile appeared on her lips.

It feels so good to be cared for and protected!
(End of this chapter)