The Rebel

The wedding night

"Mingli..."

Upon hearing her mistress's voice, Mingli immediately went inside the lavishly decorated room.

"Wangfei... Do you need anything?"

Xi Yinghua lifted up her veil and says, "How many hours it has been? Seems like Wangye is likely not to come here. I heard that a day before our wedding, a ce fei has come here earlier than me. So be it then... Both of you are dismissed. Go back to your own room and take a rest. Mingyue must have been confused with her new surroundings."

Mingli looks at her mistress and says, "Wangfei... Wangye has not arrived yet to complete the wedding ceremony. You shall not be left alone on your wedding night..."

"Mingli, when we first entered this courtyard, what did you first see?"

Mingli bows her head in silence.

"Though the courtyard is beautiful and lavishly decorated, it is noticeably smaller than the other courtyards that we have passed by. There are no servants nor guards waiting for us as well. Which is fine by me anyway. You can go now and take a good rest. I will wait alone."

Mingli looks at her mistress sadly. Her mistress always being ignored by others but, something has changed. Her mistress seems to be no longer bothered by this fact. Days ago, she was quite disturbed and terrified when she discovered that she will be marrying the Third Prince. Now, she obviously does not care and acts in a rather calm manner.

"Then this servant will go. Wangfei, I wish that you will be happy..."

Xi Yinghua smiles, "Your mistress is happy, Mingli. Go on now. I need to call it a day anyway. My lord husband will not come here for tonight. That I am sure of. It is better for me to go to sleep. It has been such a long day for all of us. Poor Mingyue must have been so tired."

Mingli smile as she looks at her mistress for one last time before she closes the door. Her mistress is right, there is no one in the courtyard other than just the four of them. She softly sighs and says as she stares at the full moon, "Mother... Will there be a day that the young miss will no longer live in loneliness? She has been living in an environment where her existence has never been acknowledged by her own father. The second madame and her half-siblings ignored her. Her own mother abandoned her without a word. Not even once she has ever blame anyone. She always smiles at us and treated us kindly. Even when she did not have a lot, we are always given all the necessities without fail. She even taught both Rui An and I how to read and write. She even let Mingyue go to school which has been fully paid by her. I thought she will have a better life here... I hope that she will..."

"Li'er... Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with wangfei?"

Rui An walks towards his wife with a smile on his lips. Mingli too smiles as she looks at her beloved husband.

"Wangfei wanted to go to sleep. She asked me to go back to our room. Mingyue?"

Rui An smiles as he gently takes her hand, "Our daughter is sound asleep, so I have decided to do a night round, and I happened to see that you are standing here. Is there anything wrong?"

"Husband, will our mistress be happy here? She has been crying a lot ever since she has been told that she will be marrying the Third Prince. But, when I saw her just now... Something has changed. She is no longer sad. Her eyes... Her eyes are no longer shrouded in fear and uncertainty. Even the tone of her voice has become more steely despite the smile on her lips."