Late Bloomer Brings The Light

Chapter 19

Last night was a blur of restlessness for Nie Huaisang, so as dawn approaches, he finds himself sitting in front of the mirror and painting his face when there is a knock at the door. Slowly, he stands up and puts on a veil before making his way to the door. Upon sliding it open, he sees a servant standing there proudly. "Good morning, Young Master. Madame Yu requires your presence in the main hall."

"Uh, thank you. I'll be right out," Nie Huaisang replies, waving the servant off before sliding the door shut. "What reason does Madame Yu have for a meeting with me? Maiden Jiang and Jiang Cheng haven't said anything about it. Also, I'm playing my part well, so there's no way I would have gotten caught if not for yesterday." With a shrug of his shoulders, he steps out of Jiang Ying's room and heads to the main hall.

Standing in front of the large doors that probably lead him to another piece of advice or scolding, Nie Huaisang takes a deep breath before pushing one of the doors open. He peeks inside and spots the Jiang family on the right and the imperial family on the left, with their heads bent in discussion. Definitely something important!

He pushes the door open further and steps inside. He bows to the emperor and then to the others before turning to Yu Ziyuan. "You wish to see me, Mother?"

Yu Ziyuan takes a sip of her tea and gestures for him to take a seat. "Yes, I do. Sit, my son."

Nie Huaisang nods and heads to sit next to Jiang Cheng. It is kind of sad that the grumpy alpha is the one he can hope to help. A servant hands him a cup of steaming green tea, which he accepts with a polite smile before focusing on the imperial advisor as he begins to speak.

"The Jiangs are taking good care of us and facing all the problems with determination and resilience. We appreciate it and wish to strengthen our bond," Lan Qiren continues. "Originally, we had planned for the wedding to be two weeks after the engagement party, but there has been a change of plans."

Nie Huaisang turns to look at the Jiang siblings, but they are paying full attention to the imperial advisor. He takes a sip of his tea and leans in closer to hear about the new wedding arrangements. This doesn't concern him since it is about the wedding, but he pays attention anyway.

"We have decided to move the wedding date up by three days," Lan Qiren announces, causing Nie Huaisang to choke on his tea in surprise. He quickly recovers and tries to hide his shock, but his mind is already racing with thoughts of the sudden change in plans. The Jiang siblings exchange glances, their expressions unreadable as they process the news.

"The crown prince and Jiang Ying are getting along well, so we have no reason to delay their wedding any longer," Lan Qiren continues. "We are heading back to Gusu for the memorial, and we hope their union will wipe the sadness and grief from our hearts and bring peace and joy to our family once again."

Nie Huaisang's mind whirls as he swallows his fear and uncertainty. "Really? That soon?" He figures Jiang Ying needs to return before the time the wedding becomes a problem. His friend has been gone for five days now, and Nie Huaisang thinks this is as good a time as any to start internally freaking out.

Yu Ziyuan slaps her face in exasperation, shaking her head. "Stop panicking, A-Ying," she scolds. "You will be married in three days, and that's final."

Nie Huaisang feels a knot tightening in his stomach as his mind races with all the possible scenarios that could go wrong. What if Jiang Ying doesn't come back in time? What if he gets into more trouble? What if... He shakes his head, trying to shove the negative thoughts to the back of his mind. He believes that Jiang Ying will return in time to sort things out.