HCB Chapter 1446 Design
Chapter 1446 Design
She said in a calm tone, "General Lu is joking. I only want to exchange the tiger tally for a legitimate marriage. How could I be talking about scheming? Besides, if you don't agree today, your people down the mountain will probably all become lonely ghosts in this Black Abyss Mountain."
The gray-robed man stepped forward at the opportune moment, bowed his head and said, "General Lu, my daughter has a sincere heart towards you and only asks to marry you and enter your Lu family. Today, three hundred archers have been deployed on Black Abyss Mountain, each capable of hitting a target from a hundred paces away. Vice General Qin and his party have no chance to resist at all."
His words were a threat, yet every word he uttered was true.
Lu Jingheng looked down the mountain and could vaguely see the figures of Qin Lie and his group frozen in place. He knew that these people were his right-hand men, and they were supposed to fight on the battlefield. They could not be allowed to perish here because of him.
To make him marry Su Ningshuang, a woman he loathed from the bottom of his heart, was worse than death.
Lu Jingheng's eyes were gloomy, and the murderous aura around him almost solidified: "I am your sworn enemy. Do you think I would marry a woman I want to get rid of as soon as possible? Su Ningshuang, don't dream."
Su Ningshuang's smile faded slightly, and she raised her hand to signal the gray-robed man.
The gray-robed man immediately raised his hand, and two maids carrying red silk wedding dresses emerged from the shadows on the side of the cave and stepped forward to help Lu Jingheng change his clothes.
Lu Jingheng swung his hand away, the wind from his palm sweeping across the maid's cheek, leaving a red mark. The maid staggered backward, but still stood bowed to the side, not daring to utter a single complaint.
Su Ningshuang's voice turned cold. "General Lu, why are you turning people away? If you cooperate obediently, get married, and consummate your marriage, I will let Vice General Qin and his party go down the mountain, and I will never use them to blackmail you again. But if you continue to be stubborn, those three hundred archers' arrows don't have eyes."
She paused, then slowly walked up to Lu Jingheng, raising her hand to touch his cheek, but he turned his head away.
Su Ningshuang's fingertips froze in mid-air, then she chuckled and withdrew her hand: "I know you despise me and hate me to the bone. But so what? From today onwards, I will be your lawfully wedded wife, Lu Jingheng's wife, the young mistress of the Zhenguo General's Mansion. No one can take this identity away from me."
Lu Jingheng gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with a terrifying frosty look.
He looked at Su Ningshuang's smiling face and felt it was incredibly irritating.
He recalled her persistent entanglement in the past, and how she had ruined his reputation and caused Zhan Miao heartache. That feeling of disgust almost consumed him.
But with dozens of lives hanging in the balance below the mountain, he had no way out.
Seeing that he had relaxed, the gray-robed man gestured for the maid to come forward again.
This time, Lu Jingheng did not resist and allowed the maid to help him change into that dazzling bright red wedding dress.
His dark hair was tied up with a red crown, which made his face look like jade, but it could not hide the coldness and impatience around him. In his eyes, there was not a trace of the groom's tenderness, only icy disgust.
Su Ningshuang also changed into her wedding dress, her face covered with a red veil, and her eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction.
She walked to Lu Jingheng's side, raised her hand to take his arm, but he suddenly shook her off with such force that she staggered back a step.
The man in the gray robe immediately stepped forward to support her and said to Lu Jingheng in a deep voice, "General Lu, don't push your luck."
Lu Jingheng snorted coldly and remained silent.
"Let's get down to business." Su Ningshuang straightened her wedding dress, her voice carrying an unquestionable command.
The man in the grey robe stood in the master of ceremonies and loudly proclaimed, "First bow to Heaven and Earth!"
Lu Jingheng stood still, his eyes fixed coldly on Su Ningshuang.
Su Ningshuang looked up at him, a cold smile playing on her lips, and raised her hand as if to clap.
Lu Jingheng's heart tightened, knowing that she was about to order the arrows to be fired. He could only grit his teeth and bend over stiffly to complete this humiliating bow.
In that moment of bending over, he wished he could tear Su Ningshuang to pieces and shred the red in the room to shreds.
"Two thanks to the high hall!"
The stone chair was empty, but Su Ningshuang bowed slightly. Lu Jingheng remained stiff, his movements extremely perfunctory, and the curve of his bow showed not a trace of sincerity.
"Husband and wife bow to each other!"
As these three words fell, the air pressure around Lu Jingheng dropped frighteningly low.
He turned his head to look at Su Ningshuang beside him. Her eyes, hidden under the red veil, were filled with smugness, and that look made the anger in his heart surge.
Su Ningshuang leaned down, but he hesitated to move.
Only when the gray-robed man raised his hand and gestured down the mountain, and the faint sound of a bowstring being drawn taut could be heard, did he grit his teeth and reluctantly bend down, his forehead barely brushing against hers before he quickly straightened up, as if touching her for even a second longer would soil him.
"Alright, the wedding ceremony is complete," the gray-robed man announced loudly.
He then turned and walked to the table, picked up the two cups of nuptial wine that had been prepared beforehand, and handed them to the two of them: "Please, General and Miss, drink the nuptial wine and enter the bridal chamber."
Lu Jingheng stared at the two glasses of wine, the faint scent of sandalwood lingering around his nose, mixed with a subtle, almost imperceptible fragrance.
His eyes darkened, and he said coldly, "Something was added to the wine."
Su Ningshuang did not deny it. She raised her hand, took a glass of wine, and held it to Lu Jingheng's lips: "It's just some medicine to keep you in line. General Lu, today's wedding night should look like a wedding night."
Her fingertips touched his lips, and Lu Jingheng abruptly turned his head, the feeling of disgust returning. He shouted sharply, "Su Ningshuang, how dare you!"
Su Ningshuang chuckled: "Why wouldn't I dare?"
She raised her hand, gesturing to the gray-robed man: "Hold him down!"
Two burly men immediately stepped forward, grabbing Lu Jingheng's arms from both sides and pinning him down.
Lu Jingheng struggled desperately, but the two strong men were so powerful that he couldn't break free for a while.
Su Ningshuang walked up to him, pinched his chin, forcibly pried open his teeth, and poured the wine mixed with drugs down his throat.
The spicy liquor mixed with the bitter taste of medicine slid down my throat and instantly spread to every part of my body.
Lu Jingheng stared intently at Su Ningshuang, his eyes filled with disgust and hatred that almost overflowed. He struggled with all his might, but he only felt his strength draining away little by little. A feeling of heat rose from his dantian and quickly swept through his entire body.
Su Ningshuang finished another cup of wine, threw the empty cup on the ground, and porcelain shards flew everywhere.
She raised her hand to wipe the wine stains from the corner of her lips and said to the man in the gray robe, "Send us to the bridal chamber."
The side chamber inside the cave was covered with a bright red brocade quilt, yet it still couldn't hide the cold and gloom.
Lu Jingheng was thrown onto the brocade quilt, his limbs weak. The drug took effect very quickly, and the burning sensation made his reason dizzy, but his disgust for Su Ningshuang was still clear.
He bit his tongue hard, using the pain to maintain his last shred of clarity, his eyes fixed on Su Ningshuang as she slowly walked towards him with a sinister look.
Su Ningshuang walked to the bedside, leaned down to look at him, and raised her hand to touch his cheek, but he turned his head away. Even though he was weak all over, he did not want her to touch him at all.