Chapter 13 – Rising to the Branch

May 4th, less than a day before the wedding.

Cui Ti hugged her knees, a warm sensation spreading through her eyes covered by a white veil. She didn’t pay much attention to it, her mood low. “Baibai, do you think he will mind if I give birth to a blind child for him?”

Bai Ge was stunned. “Why… why would he mind that? Gentleman Pei likes you, that’s why he’s marrying you. How could he care about such unfounded concerns?”

She couldn’t understand Cui Ti’s worries.

In her previous lifetime, Cui Ti’s greatest wish was to bear children for Pei Xuan, and that wish remained unfulfilled until her death, becoming a knot in her heart.

Pei Xuan… probably didn’t love her.

Otherwise, he wasn’t a normal man, or he just pitied her and wanted to save her from suffering.

“My lady, it’s best not to think about those things. Life is what you make of it, good or bad, it’s up to you and Gentleman Pei.”

Bai Ge, an unmarried girl, spoke confidently about such matters. “Tomorrow is the wedding, on your wedding night, be bold. What man doesn’t love a charming woman? If you take the initiative a little, the rest will naturally follow.”

If that were the case, what was there to worry about?

Cui Ti sighed softly.

Bai Ge didn’t know how to console her and, after racking her brains, finally said, “In any case, if you don’t know what to do, just remember to undress. I don’t believe Gentleman Pei could resist that!”

Her words were indeed embarrassing, not something a proper lady should hear.

Thinking of Bai Ge’s boldness in her previous lifetime, Cui Ti smiled slightly to divert her embarrassment. “You’re always teaching me bad things. What if I scare him?”

“Men shouldn’t be spoiled!”

Even before the wedding, Cui Ti’s heart was already leaning towards Gentleman Pei. What would happen after the wedding?

Bai Ge earnestly advised, “If a woman isn’t afraid, why should a man be? If he’s scared, then great, you can handle him as you see fit.”

The more she spoke, the less sense it made.

Cui Ti scolded her for not showing enough respect towards Pei Xuan. Just as she was about to speak, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her eyes.

The smile on Bai Ge’s lips froze. “My miss? What’s wrong?”

“My eyes… hurt…”

Hearing her cry out in pain, Bai Ge took a deep breath to calm herself, then untied the knot at the back of Cui Ti’s head. The white veil fell, revealing Cui Ti’s eyes, red like a rabbit’s. Bai Ge was startled and rushed out.

“Someone, help!”

The day before the wedding, Chenxiang Courtyard was bustling with activity as a doctor was summoned. Count Xining and the Countess rushed over upon hearing the news.

“How is she? Will this affect the wedding tomorrow?” the Countess asked abruptly upon entering the room. The old doctor, who had comforting words on the tip of his tongue, sighed inwardly at the blind girl behind the bed curtains and changed his response. “It won’t affect the wedding.”

“That’s good, that’s good…” The Countess let out a sigh of relief, finally able to relax. Then she asked, “What happened? Why are her eyes hurting?”

The doctor was renowned in Xi Jing for treating eye diseases, his skills unmatched. However, he was helpless against the blindness Cui Ti had since birth.

He was stumped by her question.

Standing outside the beaded curtain to avoid awkwardness, Count Xining grew impatient from the prolonged silence inside. “Prescribe more medicine. Nothing should delay the wedding,” he ordered decisively.

The prescription was handed over to Bai Ge, who personally went to the kitchen to prepare the medicine.

As a man, Count Xining found it inappropriate to linger in his grown daughter’s boudoir. Once he confirmed Cui Ti was alright, he left with a wave of his sleeve and several sighs.

Marrying into the Chancellor’s Residence was certainly advantageous, but only if his eldest daughter remained unscathed.

She was already blind; if anything else happened, how could he face the Pei Family’s legitimate son? He foolishly believed Pei Xuan was drawn to her because of her disability.

Inside the boudoir, Cui Ti lay on the bed behind the curtains. The Countess sat on a round stool two steps away from the bed.

She had always been indifferent to Cui Ti, and only now realized her words upon entering had revealed her true feelings.

No child doesn’t yearn for parental love.

This was a realization she gained from listening to a play today.

The play wasn’t heard in vain. After some self-reflection, she remembered her daughter was getting married tomorrow. She began to speak softly, “Tomorrow you’ll become a member of the Pei Family. I’ve watched you grow up.”

After years of neglect and coldness, her sudden gentleness was awkward for both of them.

But no matter how awkward, a mother had to say what needed to be said.

The Countess forced herself to endure and tried to see Cui Ti as her beloved youngest daughter.

This method proved effective.

Thinking of Cui Dai getting married, the words flowed more easily.

“As the Young Madam of the Pei Family, you must serve your Fujun well and respect your parents-in-law. A family of such social status wouldn’t bring you in with a grand ceremony just to mistreat you.

“When a girl gets married, her mother always has some advice. Don’t think I’m being long-winded.

“On your wedding night, don’t indulge Pei Xuan too much. It’s not good to hurt yourself during your first time together…”

She cleared her throat. “Your eyes aren’t convenient, so just listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Cui Ti lay under the brocade quilt, straining her ears to listen. As she listened, her mind began to wander.

This woman had only managed to act like a proper mother on the night before her wedding after so many years.

She had said these things in her previous lifetime too. The Countess had even insisted that Cui Ti should bear children for Pei Xuan, claiming that offspring were her only lifelong support in the household.

Cui Ti didn’t agree with this viewpoint.

As a result, she had been scolded, her ears filled with “I’m doing this for your own good.”

Whether it was true or false, in this new life, Cui Ti realized she didn’t care as much anymore.

“Are you listening carefully? You child, how many times must I say it for you to understand? You’re going to anger—”

The Countess trailed off, realizing the person before her was Cui Ti, not Cui Dai. She lowered her head, staring at the polished floor tiles.

“Remember this: your husband’s family is your support, and children even more so. Without children, your Fujun might take other women.

“Pei Xuan, the legitimate son of the Pei Family, just eighteen years old and already an Editor of the Hanlin Academy with a sixth rank. What makes you think he’s committed to you? What touched his heart?

“Today, he might be infatuated with you, but what about tomorrow? If he abandons you, who will want you then?

“Take good care of what’s given to you. Don’t blame me for not warning you. Men, huh, if you don’t make the most of his affection now, once your beauty fades, will he still hold you in his heart?

“Your father is a low-life, and your Fujun isn’t much better!”

Cui Ti couldn’t see the sorrow in her mother’s eyes. She shook her head. “He won’t.”

“What did you say?”

“Pei Xuan is the best man in the world. Marrying him, he will only treat me well.”

“Treat you well?” The Countess’s words were sharp. “Love you for being blind, love you because you can’t live without care?”

“Why do you have to vent your resentment and anger on me?”

Cui Ti’s voice was weak. “Cui Dai is your daughter, but am I not the child you carried for ten months and gave birth to?

“You hate me, resent me, but what wrong have I done? Without me, Count Xining would still secretly keep women outside. Even if you had given birth to a healthy daughter, your sister-in-law would still look down on you and seize any chance to belittle you.

“Now, Grandmother is gone, and your sister-in-law is married off, but the thorn in your heart remains. You’re in pain, so you don’t want me to be happy either. Tomorrow is the most important day of my life, and you can’t even spare me a blessing. Mother, is your heart made of stone?”

Having buried these words for two lifetimes, Cui Ti’s eyes began to moisten as she finally let them out.

The Countess of Xining sat there, her expression shifting from disbelief to a twisted rage. “What did you say? What nonsense are you spouting?! If it weren’t for you, would your second sister have died prematurely? You cursed star, the misfortune of our family!”

She screamed hysterically.

This time, Cui Ti felt no fear, only sorrow.

Sorrow for herself and for this pitiful woman.

“Mother,” she murmured softly, “a woman who uses her frail body to secure affection, who uses a newborn child to secure affection, is making the worst possible choice.”

The room fell silent.

The Countess of Xining was so shocked she couldn’t speak, a chilling sensation creeping up her spine.

This daughter…

This daughter, whom she found both loathsome and unfamiliar, could also instill an unspeakable fear.

Hasty footsteps sounded, gradually fading away.

Cui Ti’s tense back relaxed.

She couldn’t bear the Countess’s hysterics.

After a long while, Bai Ge entered the room carrying a steaming bowl of medicinal soup. “Miss, are your eyes feeling any better?”

The burning sensation had subsided. Even the doctor couldn’t pinpoint the cause of the pain. Cui Ti opened her eyes; the frightening redness was gone, and Bai Ge sighed in relief.

“At this critical moment, nothing must go wrong. It’s good that you’re alright, Young Miss. Let me help you drink the medicine.”

“Is she ill?”

As the golden sun set, casting fragmented light into the room, Pei Xuan was trying on the wedding outfit she would wear the next day. Hearing the news, she quickly turned to her mother.

Madam Pei saw how much her daughter cared and reassured her, “We called the doctor; it was just a small matter, a false alarm. The Countess of Xining sent word that it won’t affect the wedding.”

Though comforted, Pei Xuan still worried. “Are you sure she’s alright?”

“She’s fine. They wouldn’t dare deceive our family.”

Pei Xuan nodded slowly, having spent a sleepless night.

As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the sleeping Chancellor’s Residence slowly awakened. Everyone began to busy themselves with the gentleman’s wedding preparations.

At that time, Editor Pei, residing on Furong Street, was half-joyously, half-worriedly preparing to welcome her bride, having been granted a wedding leave by the court. Meanwhile, at the Xining Count’s residence on Peony Street, Cui Ti also rose early. After washing up, she was meticulously dressed by the makeup artist.

The Countess of Xining, preparing to marry off her daughter for the first time, arrived quite late.

On the day a daughter marries, there are many things to be done. Hairstyling and dressing took nearly two hours, and bidding farewell to the family took another half an hour.

Most of the farewell words were spoken by Count Xining, while Cui Ti listened.

Having neglected his eldest daughter for eighteen years, leaving her in the unremarkable south courtyard, it was indeed a mysterious fate that she had captured the attention of the chancellor’s legitimate son.

There was no other time for the Count to speak at length with Cui Ti, so he seized the half-hour to fully indulge in his role as a father.

After today, he would have a powerful in-law and a son-in-law with limitless prospects.

“Enough already, haven’t you said enough?”

The Countess of Xining, unable to bear the current scene of ‘fatherly affection and daughterly obedience,’ softly interrupted the Count, who was getting carried away.

Cui Dai’s eyes reddened with jealousy. Upon learning that Cui Ti was ‘ill,’ she suggested to her mother the idea of ‘substitute marriage.’ However, her usually doting mother vehemently opposed the idea.

The Xining Count’s residence couldn’t afford to offend the Chancellor’s Residence.

In the future, after marrying, Cui Dai couldn’t afford to offend Cui Ti either.

A blind girl soaring to become a phoenix—Cui Dai’s face burned with shame.

Not long ago, she had arrogantly lectured that blind girl, saying a house sparrow could never become a phoenix.

With Cui Ti’s abilities, she indeed couldn’t become a phoenix. But what if someone supported her?

At dusk, with the beat of gongs and drums, Pei Xuan, donning an official’s hat and a large red flower on her chest, rode a tall, spirited horse. Behind her was a bridal sedan chair carried by eight men.

Musicians played paired tunes, and the sedan bearers sang folk songs with their heads held high. The wedding procession was lively and bustling.

Look, the person supporting that blind girl, isn’t she here now?!