《《蛮族之花》 Flower of Wilderness》Yina_bubbles

18、第 18 章 The b

　　Chapter 18 — The Bride Who Would Leave Younis

　　The wedding preparations began in earnest. Across the Younis settlement, the sound of hammering and horse hooves filled the cold mornings. New felt coverings were hung over the great tents, clan banners were repaired, and servants carried baskets of dried fruit, wine, cloth, and other wedding gifts between the courtyards. Suyuan watched all of it without much interest. The wedding would not be held in Younis; that was the custom for this alliance. Once the bride was chosen, she would leave Younis and travel to the territory of the tribe she was being married into. The marriage ceremony would take place there, surrounded by the bridegroom's people. For most of the young women in the Khan's household, the thought of leaving Younis was exciting. For Suyuan, it was simply another road. Among the preparations, one person came quietly to find her,“Sister Suyuan.”

　　Suyuan turned, and a young woman stood outside the doorway, holding a small basket of dried fruits. She was one of the Khan's daughters—Suyuan's younger half-sister. Unlike the others, she had never treated Suyuan cruelly , perhaps it was because she had suffered enough herself. Her mother had also been sent to Younis as part of a marriage alliance with a Turkic tribe. Her position was better than Shuran's, and she had never been abandoned completely, but she was still a woman whose marriage had been decided for the sake of politics.

　　The girl had grown up understanding that kindness was sometimes the only thing women in the household could give each other. She walked inside and placed the basket on the table.“I brought these for you.” Suyuan looked at the dried apricots and dates. “You don't have to." The girl smiled.“I wanted to.”
　　Suyuan looked at her for a moment before taking one of the apricots.“Thank you.”
　　They sat together quietly. Outside, servants passed by carrying bolts of red fabric. The younger girl glanced toward them.

　　“Are you nervous?”
　　“About the wedding?”
　　She nodded.
　　Suyuan shook her head.
　　“No.”
　　The girl laughed softly.
　　“Of course you're not.”
　　Suyuan looked at her.
　　She lowered her voice.
　　“I heard the bride will have to leave Younis almost immediately after the ceremony.”
　　“Yes.”
　　“And we may never see each other again.”
　　Suyuan said nothing, the girl looked at her sister. “I hope whoever takes you away treats you well.” For the first time, Suyuan's expression softened.“You should worry about yourself.”
　　“I do.”
　　The girl smiled faintly.
　　“But I worry about you too.”
　　Suyuan looked away.

　　There were very few people in Younis she would feel guilty about deceiving. This girl was one of them. The wedding preparations continued for several days. Suyuan was measured for her wedding clothes. Her hair ornaments were prepared. Horses were chosen for the journey, and servants began assembling the bride's traveling belongings.
　　Everyone assumed she was preparing to leave Younis as a bride. No one suspected that Suyuan had already decided she would not be the one sitting beneath the bridal veil. She watched her younger sister from a distance. The girl was kind she had never mocked Shuran. She had never laughed when Suyuan's clothes were old and she had never joined the others when they whispered about the sickly princess from Xian.

　　And that was exactly why Suyuan had chosen her because she trusted her enough to know that, once the truth came out, she would not willingly betray her. Suyuan lowered her eyes. The wedding caravan would soon leave Younis and when it did, the bride everyone expected to see would be wearing another woman's face beneath the veil.
　　For now, Suyuan only had to make sure nobody noticed.

作者有话说

Changing the bride!