Chapter 395 The Third Brother is So Thoughtful

Sanwa went to lift the veil, and fearing that everyone would be embarrassed by seeing him, he had already locked the door from the inside.

The fourth brother wanted to drag his second uncle to see the excitement, but his second uncle pulled him back.

"Let's eat. You'll know what the wedding night is like when you get married." Song Zhizhu grabbed Lao Si's arm. "We're respectable people. Respectable people don't eavesdrop on these kinds of things."

"But people are making a fuss about it!"

"So they're all bad apples, shameless, and vulgar."

"..." The fourth brother knew that many of the plot points were quite cheesy, but he just wanted to see what his wife's third child looked like.

In the courtyard, family members sat around a complete table, chatting and laughing, marveling at how the joyous occasion had been handled without any major incidents.

Several of the older women praised Song Chunxue for being well-liked, saying that everyone who came today was there to support her.

However, everyone was running back and forth, in and out, until their feet were so tired they felt like they were about to break.

Everyone chatted and laughed, constantly offering toasts to Lord Xie and the Taoist priest.

If it weren't for the two of them today, the scene might have been very chaotic.

Ignoring the winks and smirks between her third and second sisters, Song Chunxue stood up and toasted them as well.

"We've known each other for a long time, so I won't say thank you. If you ever need anything in the future, please let me know, and I'll be happy to help you."

"Luckily, my senior brother predicted it in advance, which gave me time to prepare, otherwise I would have been completely panicked."

"My gratitude is all in this drink; I'll drink it first as a sign of my respect."

Afterwards, the three older sisters were so tired that they went to Song Chunxue's room to sleep.

Xiaolong was so sleepy he kept crying, so Hongying took the child home first.

The older women had almost finished washing the dishes in the kitchen, but the floor wasn't clean yet, and He Chuan and the eldest brother had been tidying it up.

Song Chunxue told He Chuan to sit down and have a drink, and if he got tired, he could go back and rest. She could take care of the rest herself tomorrow.

There are still tables in the yard that were borrowed from the neighbors. We'll clean them again tomorrow and have the fourth brother return them one by one.

The eldest brother was a man of few words and rarely drank alcohol. After dinner, he went to sleep in the fourth brother's room.

The number of people at the table dwindled. Song Zhizhu drank a cup of wine, stood up, and said, "I didn't sleep well last night. I'm so sleepy, I'm going to go to bed first. You guys keep drinking."

"Second Brother, go squeeze into Fourth Brother's room..."

The Taoist priest interrupted her, "I'm going back to the mountain later, and Lord Xie is also going to the inn, so there's no need to make room for us."

Song Chunxue wondered if they could go back after drinking.

"Don't worry, I can hold my liquor well. I'll escort Lord Xie to the inn and then return to the mountain." The Taoist priest poured himself a cup of wine. "I slept very well last night. It's still early, so I'll have a couple more cups."

Song Chunxue noticed that Sanwa came out of the room and went to the kitchen to get a teapot.

A short while later, Xia Mulan quietly left her room and went to the outhouse.

Then she noticed that Sanwa ran to the kitchen and brought Mulan a bowl of steaming hot soup noodles.

As she drank, she chuckled softly, "Senior brother, do you think Sanwa will always be good to Mulan for the rest of his life?"

The Taoist priest looked up and knew that she was referring to the fact that Sanwa was now studying and his fate in this life would be completely different from his previous life; money would be the touchstone.

Few people can stay the same forever.

Lord Xie was puzzled. "Is Sister Song afraid that Sanwa will take a concubine in the future?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The Taoist priest said gently, "What's there to be afraid of? Fate has its own arrangements; they live their own lives. If someone wants to change their mind, can you stop them?"

"That's true." Song Chunxue put down her wine glass; she had really wasted her time on the repair.

After drinking two cups of wine, Lord Xie became increasingly drunk.

"Chunshu and the others have arrived. I shall take my leave now."

At the half-open courtyard gate, Chunshu, accompanied by two attendants, nodded to Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest.

"You don't need me to see you off?"

Lord Xie waved his hand, "No need, Daoist, please continue drinking."

They arrived at the gate.

"See you later."

Lord Xie waved to them, his aloof profile tinged with loneliness in the moonlight.

"Drive carefully." Seeing him get into the carriage, Song Chunxue handed him the two jars of pear blossom wine.

Xie Zheng smiled and said, "Then I'll accept it. Thank you."

As the carriage gradually disappeared into the distance, the Taoist priest's gaze fell on Song Chunxue, and he sighed almost imperceptibly.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother?" Song Chunxue teased. "You can't bear to part with Lord Xie, why don't you bring him into the sect too?"

"How do you know I haven't tried it, junior brother?"

The Taoist priest returned to his original seat and said, “But Xie Zheng is good at serving the people, so it would be better for him to cultivate in the human world. It’s not too late for him to go up the mountain after he resigns from his official post.”

Song Chunxue didn't expect that he had actually tried it.

"I will be in seclusion for forty-nine days in a few days. If you need anything, you can ask Lei Yun and Wang Shouming. Shouming will bring me meals every day."

"Seclusion?"

"Wang Shouming is so busy, how can he take the time to deliver them? Let me deliver them myself. I will deliver three meals a day to your bedroom on time."

"I don't need three meals a day. Just send me a few extra steamed buns tonight, and I'll eat them the next morning."

"Cold steamed buns don't taste good. I didn't have anything else to do, so I brought you some this morning to stretch my muscles." At this point, Song Chunxue sighed with feigned seriousness, "If only I could fly on a sword."

"I knew you'd been thinking about this. It's not too late to teach me after I come out of seclusion."

He didn't say that at her age, she probably wouldn't be able to learn it no matter what.

After saying that, the Taoist priest stood up. "Let's go. Go to sleep early. How can they consummate their marriage if we stand here in the courtyard?"

"..." Song Chunxue had forgotten about this and quickly stood up, "Then Senior Brother should go back early."

"Oh, by the way, I have a jade pendant here that would be perfect for you, Senior Brother. I'll go get it."

The old man made the most of the two stones, carving them into many objects.

The piece she found more than two years ago was made of jadeite, and the quality was even better. She made three bracelets from it. The other small jade ornaments were drilled so that they could be set into hairpins or made into tassels to hang on various objects.

There was an exquisitely carved jade plaque that she felt was very suitable for the Taoist priest.

She just didn't recognize the pattern on it.

"Was it carved by your uncle? His craftsmanship is excellent. I'll accept it then. Do you have any other jade pieces?"

“Yes.” Song Chunxue stretched out her hand, revealing a dozen or so jade seeds the size of broad beans in her palm. “It seems you two have a long-standing relationship. He said these were made for you.”

"Yes, he used to be a member of the Quanzhen School, but for some reason he went down the mountain and worked as a craftsman for decades."

The Taoist priest tucked the item into his robes and, before Song Chunxue could speak, vanished in the blink of an eye.

Song Chunxue felt a slight pang of sadness. This was the truth: all good things must come to an end.

She was all alone now.

With heavy eyelids, Song Chunxue went to the attic and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

*

On the second day after the wedding, the new bride is to serve tea.

Song Chunxue got up early to tidy up the kitchen and saw Sanwa rubbing his eyes as he stepped into the house to boil water.

"Go to sleep. No need for tea ceremony or early morning wake-up call."

Sanwa was stunned. Her hair was a little messy. She was wearing a new moon-white dress that she had made for her. Her face was rosy and her lips were bright red.

Song Chunxue quickly looked away, afraid that she might ask something she shouldn't have.

"Are you really not going to serve tea?" Sanwa asked again, still not entirely convinced.

"You must have slept quite late. The new bride must be exhausted and weak the next day. Why offer her tea? She should get some rest before getting up. I can drink the tea myself."

Sanwa looked like he'd been burned; his entire head turned red in an instant, and he quickly moved his feet away.

"Then...then I'll sleep a little longer."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash.

Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh.

She just discovered that Sanwa had moved the bathtub into the house late at night, and the water in the tank was half gone.

They even let Mulan take a bath; how thoughtful of them.