Chapter 2 Nerves

Madam Jiang's words failed to stop her son. His curiosity had truly been piqued by the Fifth Young Mistress of the Hua family. Rumor had it that she had followed Old Madam Hua up Mount Zhongcui at a young age and had stayed there ever since. It was also said that she looked ugly and had trouble expressing herself due to a stuttering problem. However, she had just spoken rather clearly to him. Could the people have been mistaken about her? Just like this, Jiang Liu walked up to the stage unhurriedly, greatly intrigued and interested to know her better. The scene unfolding in front of the guests took them completely by surprise. They stared at both of them in stunned silence. It was the Fifth Young Mistress who broke the silence. "You may continue with the ceremony, Father." It was only at this close range that Jiang Liu realized her voice was crisp and sweet. She did not sound like an ugly woman with a speech impediment to him at all. "Er..." the pastor stammered. He had been asked to preside over the ceremony by the Xies, and he did not know how to react to the bride's request. "Please continue as she wishes," Jiang Liu said, smiling at the pastor. "How should I address you, Sir?" the pastor asked, evidently totally unaware of the replacement bridegroom's identity. "My surname is Jiang, and my first name is Liu," the man replied naturally in a straightforward fashion. A commotion rang out among the crowd again... Probably everyone in River City had heard of Jiang Liu before. The Jiangs were the de facto leaders of the Four Great Families and lived in prosperity for the last century. It was their custom to have only one son each generation, and it was no exception during Jiang Liu's time; he was the sole male inheritor of his family's fortune. How rich and powerful was the Jiang Family in reality? To put it simply, even if the other three Great Families joined forces, they might not even be a match for the Jiangs. Jiang Liu's father, Jiang Zuwen, was also the current head of the Allied Chamber of Commerce. As such, everyone was amazed to hear that the man who had been called upon as a temporary replacement was Jiang Liu. The bride, however, seemed to be extremely calm... The pastor was afraid of adding to the awkwardness of the entire ceremony and read the marriage contract in his hands aloud as requested. "Do you, Jiang Liu, take this beautiful woman before you, Hua Sheng, to be your wedded wife, to live together in the legal estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to her, so long as you both shall live?" "I do," Jiang Liu hesitated for about two seconds before replying calmly. "This boy... how could he take this so far...?" Madam Jiang could feel her head spin and her blood pressure rise as she saw her son walk up onstage to proceed with the impromptu wedding. Even though the Xies felt that this turn of events was preposterous and contrived, they were in the wrong and naturally kept quiet. After all, the Second Young Master had abandoned his bride without warning, and explicit images of his tryst with another woman were shown on the huge screen in the hall. The entire wedding ceremony had turned into a great farce because of him. The pastor gazed at the bride, whose face was hidden beneath the white veil. "Do you, Hua Sheng, take this man, Jiang Liu, to be your wedded husband, to live together in the legal estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to him, so long as you both shall live?" "I do," the bride replied almost immediately. "In this case, I hereby pronounce Mr. Jiang Liu and Ms. Hua Sheng to be Man and Wife on this very day. From now on, both of you will love and cherish each other unconditionally. I'd like to invite family and friends present here today to clap and congratulate them." It took three long seconds before unenthusiastic applause rang out in the hall. Very simply, everyone was still unable to adapt to the sudden turn of events. "Dear, this... this..." Madam Hua was at a loss for words. She had never expected things to turn out like this. Old Master Hua, on the other hand, had been through various big occasions. He wore a neutral expression on his face as he calmed his wife softly. "We don't stand to make a loss here. It's better for our daughter to be married to Jiang Liu than the Second Young Master of the Xie Family, who's a hedonistic, good-for-nothing brat. Jiang Liu, on the other hand, is the sole inheritor of his family's wealth. We'll benefit greatly from this deal." This was typical behavior from the leader of a powerful family. Instead of being concerned about the well-being of his daughter on her wedding day, he was focusing on how much his family would stand to gain from this "deal". It was a little cut-throat, but not unexpected. The pastor's voice rang out again. "Next, let's encourage the newly wedded couple to show their love for each other with a sweet kiss with another warm round of applause," he said. Even though he was prepared for this, Jiang Liu still felt a little nervous at this moment... Indeed, this was going to be the first time Boss Jiang was going to kiss a woman in his entire life.