Out of Time and Space by Xi Juan

[Shi Si-yuan]

Chapter 2

　The driver let the horse run at full speed for about an hour before gradually slowing the vehicle down. Yang Yi Liu- no! She was Su Huaner now, and could no longer be called by her old name- Su Huaner did her utmost to restrain the impulse to tear the veil off her head. Going by carriage at this speed, it would take at least half a month to reach the north. Could it be that she would not be allowed to budge for two whole weeks？ Good Heavens！Who would come to tell her about all the things typically done by brides of this time period？

　　The carriage stopped, and the substitute bridegroom who had been riding alongside it dismounted his horse.

　　“Eldest brother！Here she is.” said a low, bright voice, which sounded like it came from someone very young. Weren’t they still in Hangzhou, in the southeast？And if that “Eldest brother was in Hangzhou,” why had he sent someone else to get married for him? Why trick Su Guangping into thinking the groom had not come？She really could not understand the deceit the people of this time practiced on each other！At any rate, this Shi Wuji was clearly someone not to be trifled with.

　　Though kept to herself by the veil, she could still sense that a pair of shining eyes were staring at her. Was this her husband？How long must it have taken him to get control of the huge markets of the north country？Was he still young？By himself such an enormous endeavor would have required at least three or even five years from start to finish.

　　She extended her tiny, snow-white hand to be grasped in his, which was large and dark, almost twice as big as hers, powerful and menacing. She could not help trembling a bit, suddenly aware that the hand’s owner was now her husband, the one with whom she would have to spend the rest of her life. Could it be？Would these two complete strangers from now on be sharing a bed, producing the next generation together？She could not accept it, could not resist shaking her head, throwing off the veil. She turned her frightened gaze to the palm’s owner！That was an exceptionally tall man, handsome and disdainful. She was astonished！In that man’s clear, cold eyes was shock and disbelief. Huaner understood that feeling- one just like she had felt last night when, while dressing herself, she had looked into an old mirror and seen that her usual self had been replaced by a divinely beautiful woman.

　　In the 20th Century, she knew she had been pretty enough, but next to her Su Huaner’s beauty was as great as the Pacific Ocean. And she understood why Su Huaner’s four older sisters had envied and hated her so much！She was incredibly beautiful, with eyebrows like distant mountains, not dyed or drawn on； lips red as cherries, smooth and vermilion, rosy pink skin, looked as though shells would break on it, though standing upright she was very thin and small. Most fortunately, her feet had not been bound. In fact she could not legally have had her feet bound, as her family was not of high enough nobility. But that tiny pair of lotus feet were white and slender, and even-boned, as though they had been carved from white jade. From head to toe, every bit of her seemed as though it had been crafted under the care of the gods themselves. It would be a wonder if others were not frightened by her！

[LuDongBin]

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[HPC7595]

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[schnitter]

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