Facing the questioning of her older and younger brothers, as well as the group of groomsmen behind them, Queen Xixi looked smug and entirely justified. "I'm a bridesmaid! Can't you see this beautiful dress I'm wearing?"
"???"
Third Brother Lu couldn't help but remind her, "Sis, did you forget your last name??? Your last name is Lu!!! You're on the groom's side!!!"
"What groom's side or bride's side?"
His older sister, Lu Jingxi, waved her hand dismissively. "Right now, I am one of Baby Xia's most powerful bridesmaids!!! You have to get past me before you can take our Baby Xia away!!!"
"???"
Third Brother Lu was utterly helpless, but his eldest brother, the groom, smiled with full confidence. "Alright then, what exactly is the final challenge? Bring it on."
"Ta-da..."
As soon as she spoke, Luo Jiajia and Xiaozhen walked up to him carrying two trays. On the trays sat five glass cups filled with five different, colorful liquids.
Some contained large slices of yellow lemon, others had chunks of green bitter melon, and one cup was packed densely with red bird's eye chilies. The most outrageous cup had a thick layer of white salt settled at the bottom—one look was enough to know how overwhelmingly salty it would be!
And his "traitorous" younger sister, Lu Jingxi, raised an eyebrow smugly and said, "Brother, these five cups are special drinks prepared just for you by our ultimate bridesmaid squad. They represent the five flavors of life. You can only take our Baby Xia away after you finish drinking all five."
"..."
What a "five flavors of life"!
Even the third brother, Lu Jingyao, couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap," and sighed to the second brother, "Sis, you're really torturing our brother to death!!!"
"So what!"
His good sister simply lifted her chin. "How will he know how to cherish her if he doesn't suffer a little? Our Baby Xia isn't someone you can just take away so easily!"
Lu Jingyao and the group of groomsmen: "..."
It was obvious. His sister was definitely taking this opportunity to exact revenge for the times their brother had beaten her up when they were kids.
Fortunately, his brother wasn't deterred.
"No problem."
Lu Jingming looked at Xu Yanxia, who sat on the bed looking stunningly bright and beautiful in her red dress, and smiled. "Even if I have to cross a mountain of swords or a sea of fire, I will definitely bring my wife home today."
Saying that, he picked up the cups from the tray one by one and began to drink the "poisons" inside.
...It had to be said, his sister really didn't hold back on the ingredients! The sour was truly sour, the bitter truly bitter, the spicy truly spicy, and the salty truly salty.
Every cup was the real deal.
Luckily, his strategy was pretty good. He drank the chili water first, which immediately numbed his lips and tongue, so he couldn't taste the rest of the messed-up flavors that followed.
As they watched him down the final cup of honey water in one gulp, the room finally erupted into cheers and applause.
"Way to go, groom!!!"
"All unmarried men, please learn from President Lu!!!"
"Yay! My brother finally passed the test!!!"
Lu Jingxi also cheered, then held out a pair of new shoes to him, saying, "Hurry up and put the shoes on my sister-in-law, and take her home!!! Wishing you both a long and happy life together!!!"
"Definitely."
Lu Jingming smiled as he took the shoes, knelt on one knee in front of the bed, and personally slipped them onto his wife's feet.
Immediately after, he scooped her up into his arms and strode toward the living room on the first floor with a face full of smiles.
...
Xu Yanxia had always felt that she wasn't a very sentimental person. She was also very aware that modern marriages were no longer like those in ancient times, where a girl completely belonged to her husband's family once she got married.
But when she arrived in the living room to bid farewell to her grandparents and other elders, she still couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
"Starting today, you are officially adults. From now on, you must shoulder responsibilities like your elders and stop acting like children."
"From now on, you two are one as husband and wife. Whatever you do, put the family's interests first. Live harmoniously, have children, and live a good life."
"After Xiaoxia goes to her in-laws, she must respect her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and care for her younger siblings. Xiaoming must also dote on Xiaoxia more in the future. Although she has been sensible since she was little, she is still our family's precious treasure. Please don't let her suffer any grievances."
Seeing her grandparents and aunt finish speaking one by one, Xu Yanxia couldn't help but feel her nose tingle and her eyes grow hot.
Following that, her elders turned their gazes to her biological mother, who was sitting to the side.
—That's right. To fulfill the proper etiquette and keep up appearances for both families, her biological mother was currently sitting next to her grandparents, just like her aunt.
Her grandmother smiled and said, "Biqiong, why don't you say a few words too."
"Okay, Mom."
The woman nodded and then turned her gaze to her and Lu Jingming.
"Xiaoxia, Jingming, I am very happy and grateful to be able to witness such an important moment for you today. I hope your future lives will be smooth and peaceful, and that the two of you will stay together until you grow old."
It was obvious that her emotions were very complex when she said this. Her eyes were visibly red, and tears were swirling inside them.
Perhaps she was also recalling the events of the past, and all those people who had left her one by one?
Xu Yanxia tried her best to swallow her complicated emotions and nodded together with Lu Jingming.
"Please rest assured, elders,"
The two of them looked at each other and then said in unison, "We will definitely live harmoniously and stay together until we are old."
...
After bidding farewell to the elders, Lu Jingming finally carried his bride all the way back to their new home.
What awaited them next was the red carpet ceremony that everyone loved to see, as well as the lively and grand lunch and dinner banquets.
By the time the young couple could finally be alone together, it was already late at night after the dinner banquet had ended.
The bridal suite on the twenty-eighth floor of East Bank Garden was decorated everywhere with big red double-happiness characters. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the bustling night view of Rong City.
"I've finally married my most beautiful, invincible, and exceptionally smart wife and brought her home!"
Lu Jingming sighed with emotion as he held Xu Yanxia on the sofa.
Xu Yanxia, however, was amused and laughed, saying, "You've worked hard. You had to pass so many tests today, you must be very tired, right?"
"It's alright,"
He smiled and sighed, "It's just that the chili water was really spicy!"
It was so spicy that even when he was eating lunch, some of his sense of taste still hadn't returned.
Xu Yanxia was amused by him again and said with a hint of heartache, "That really must have been tough."
—To think she had even reminded her bridesmaids that he couldn't handle spicy food. She hadn't expected that after hearing this, they would go even harder on the ingredients.
Lu Jingming said, "It doesn't matter. It was all worth it."
That's right. Compared to being able to hold her right now and sit quietly in the bridal suite that belonged exclusively to the two of them, everything was worth it.
Especially since she was currently wearing a set of Chinese-style silk pajamas. The pearlescent pink color and soft texture made her look even more charming and moving.
As the curtains automatically closed, he whispered in her ear, "Baby, you are so beautiful."
After speaking, he leaned in and kissed her.
As they lingered together, the surrounding air began to heat up.
Xu Yanxia bit her lip and said with difficulty, "Let's go to the bedroom."
But he was so intoxicated that he didn't want to pause for even a moment. He just whispered, "It's just the two of us at home. Anywhere is fine..."
Immediately following that, he took her with him, plunging together into the crashing waves.
