Two families united in marriage, while not a grand spectacle, was sufficiently elaborate.
Even though it was only the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the wedding scene was still swarming with guests.
However, as the wedding convoy arrived at the Zhao residence, it was not Tang Si who came to pick up the bride, but Tang Ziwei.
He, impeccably dressed in a suit, walked into the Zhao residence holding a bouquet of flowers.
At the entrance, he was met by the Zhao family.
Upon seeing Tang Ziwei, their faces held smiles, but the smiles did not reach their eyes. An undeniable sense of displeasure could be subtly perceived.
The elder Mrs. Zhao stood with her cane, and beside her was Zhao Wuyan, adorned in her wedding gown. She was as beautiful as a peach blossom, her face radiant with smiles, looking expectantly at Tang Ziwei as he entered.
"Look at your pathetic self!" Elder Mrs. Zhao glared at Zhao Wuyan, let out a cold snort, and said in a low voice, "On your wedding day, Tang Si himself is unwilling to come pick you up, yet you're this delighted. Truly no backbone at all!"
Before the arrival of the bridegroom, the Tang family had called, stating that Tang Si had fallen ill and was confined to bed, unable to pick up the bride. Thus, Tang Ziwei was sent to represent Tang Si in fetching Zhao Wuyan.
Although the Zhao family had reservations, they couldn't contend with Zhao Wuyan's fervent desire to marry Tang Si.
Furthermore, the marriage between the Tang and Zhao families was already public knowledge, and it was too late to back out now.
Especially after the Zhao family learned of the absurd affair between Zhao Wuyan and Tang Ziwei, they were utterly shamed. Knowing they had failed to uphold their end of the bargain with the Tang family, they lacked the leverage to forcefully object.
"Grandma, please don't interfere in matters between us young people," Zhao Wuyan said, shaking Elder Mrs. Zhao's arm and acting spoiled.
Huo Xiaohua, standing on Zhao Wuyan's other side, sighed, "Have you truly made up your mind to marry Tang Si?"
While Huo Xiaohua doted on Zhao Wuyan and hoped for their union to be successful, after Tang Si's departure to become a monk at Yuntai Temple, he had learned the truth and was no longer optimistic about Zhao Wuyan's marriage to Tang Si.
The fact that she had ended up in her brother-in-law's bed was an outrageous affair, even he found it unacceptable.
However, Huo Xiaohua's repeated attempts at dissuasion had proven futile.
Zhao Wuyan nodded vigorously, "I have. I missed my chance once, and I won't miss it a second time. In this life, I must be Tang Si's woman."
Her determined attitude and tone suggested that anything Huo Xiaohua might say would be superfluous.
Under everyone's gaze, Tang Ziwei proceeded with the bride retrieval at the Zhao residence.
Perhaps to save face, neither the Zhao nor the Tang families had invited any media reporters to the event, thus preventing the news of Tang Si's absence from the bride retrieval from spreading.
"Grandma Zhao, Grandpa Zhao, Uncle Zhao," Tang Ziwei greeted everyone in the living room one by one as he entered.
Zhao Wuyan's bridesmaids dared not obstruct his retrieval of the bride.
After a simple formality, the two of them escorted Zhao Wuyan to the wedding car, with the bridesmaids boarding the vehicles behind.
The convoy slowly set off, returning to the Aslant International Hotel.
On the way.
Tang Ziwei once again tried to persuade Zhao Wuyan, "Wuyan…"
"You don't need to say anything more, I'm set on marrying Si Bing!" Zhao Wuyan, anticipating Tang Ziwei's words, interrupted him directly and added, "I don't blame you for what happened before, but I hope you can forget it from now on."
Her statement, at first listen, made it seem as though all the fault lay with Tang Ziwei.
Tang Ziwei's brows furrowed slightly as he cast a meaningful glance at the woman beside him, clad in a white wedding gown. Her hair was styled up, adorned with a veil, and her makeup was exquisite and alluring, making her resemble an elf emerging from the forest.
The woman he liked was truly beautiful, and he had even dreamt of such a scene countless times.
He had never imagined this dream would come true.
Yet, he was merely the person sent by Tang Si to pick up the bride.
Tang Ziwei let out a silent sigh, turned his head to look out the window, and no longer glanced at Zhao Wuyan.
Although he was very fond of Zhao Wuyan, after experiencing various events, he had to accept the reality of Zhao Wuyan's questionable character.