Chapter 363 Green Hat

Li San Niang was obedient. She put a small cloak on Lu Zhu'er and made her wear the new hat that her mother had made. Then she waited in the main hall for her eldest brother Li and second brother Li to return.

Mother Li's estimation was quite accurate; soon after, the eldest and second eldest brothers of the Li family returned with the four little ones.

Of the four little ones, the happiest one has to be Xiao Silang. You can see his bulging chest from a long distance.

"Hey, what good stuff is Shiro hiding here?"

Nineteen loved teasing children, so he stood aside and asked Little Fourth Brother with a smile.

Xiao Silang was a generous man. When he heard Shijiu ask him a question, he simply pulled out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket.

"It was given to me by my aunt at my maternal aunt's house. It smells so good."

Seeing that Lu Zhu'er was already dressed, Brother Li said directly, "Third Sister, you're all ready. Let's go. We should leave early, otherwise we'll be delayed on the way."

Li San Niang, carrying Lu Zhu'er, and Qiu Xiang boarded the carriage. Li Er Xiong, carrying a box containing gifts for the visiting family, entered the carriage. Li Da Xiong, being too tall, stayed on the carriage shaft with Shi Jiu.

They hadn't even left Changshoufang yet. Li Sanniang looked out the carriage window and saw that the streets were bustling with activity.

Although it wasn't crowded, there were still quite a few people.

At this hour, many shops had already opened, and there were quite a few people queuing up in front of the food stalls.

Dewdrop, like Li San Niang, pressed her face against the carriage window and looked out, "Mother, candy fruit!"

Following the direction of Lu Zhu'er's finger, Li San Niang looked and indeed saw a candy seller carrying a display stand.

Seeing that Lu Zhu'er wanted to eat, Li San Niang stopped the carriage. When Li Da Xiong heard that she wanted to buy candy, he said directly, "Then you all line up and wait to leave the shop. I'll go buy it."

Just as it was almost time for the Li family's car to arrive, Brother Li returned with a handful of candies.

Dewdrop ate the candy, and the sweet taste made her eyes crinkle with laughter.

After leaving the city gate, the streets outside were even more crowded. Many people were taking advantage of the New Year's Day to visit relatives and friends, while others were going to Zhuque Street to watch Emperor Wu's sacrificial ceremony to Heaven.

"If we didn't have to eat at the Wang family's house, we could have rushed to the capital to watch the emperor's sacrificial ceremony."

"Don't even think about it, there will definitely be a lot of people over there, and we might not even be able to squeeze in."

Last time during the Emperor's birthday celebration, if I hadn't booked a table in advance, what would I have seen?

Li Erxiong's words earned Li Sanniang's nod of approval.

"What my second brother said makes sense, but I just want to go out and have some fun."

"Then you should wait for the Lantern Festival. Luzhu'er is all grown up now, so it would be good for you to take her to see it."

"Then, without the curfew, we can even go to the West Market to watch the shows."

Speaking of this, Li San Niang became happy. In her memory, it had been many years since she had gone out on the Lantern Festival. This time, she really had to take a good look.

They walked quickly after getting on the main road, but by the time they reached Chongye Lane, it was almost noon (11:00).

A quarter of an hour later, the Li family's carriage stopped in front of the Wang family's house. When the gatekeeper saw the visitors, he quickly told someone to go inside and announce their arrival. After a short while, the Wang family members came out to greet them.

"Eldest brother Li, second brother Li, and third daughter-in-law Li, you've arrived! Please come in, please come in."

Wang Dalang was the first to speak, with a big smile on his face. When he saw Luzhu'er behind him, he smiled even more happily, "Luzhu'er is here, come in quickly, it's cold outside."

Unlike Wang Dalang, Wang Niangzi didn't speak; she simply stood aside, smiling, and gestured for everyone to come inside.

After exchanging greetings with Mr. and Mrs. Wang, Brother Li frowned and asked, "Wang Dalang, our Li family brought Luzhuer to pay our New Year's respects, so why didn't Wang Ziheng even show his face?"

It's understandable that Granny Wang didn't show up, after all, she's considered an elder.

But what about Wang Erlang and his second wife?

So, they can actually avoid showing their faces?

Wang Dalang paused for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Brother Li, saying, "Hey, Erlang can't leave his place; he's waiting inside."

"Come on in, Brother Li, it's so cold outside!"

Brother Li felt uncomfortable upon hearing this, thinking that Wang Ziheng was a bad person. Even if he had divorced Li San Niang, there was still Lu Zhu Er between them.

Even if they are no longer related by marriage, can someone not even show their face when others come to pay New Year's greetings with gifts?

Even if it's just an ordinary person coming to the door, there's no such thing as refusing to come out to greet them.

However, seeing Wang Dalang's beaming face, Brother Li took the lead and went inside, followed by Brother Li Er and Sister Li San, who carried Luzhu and Nineteen.

When they arrived at the main hall, Li San Niang glanced at the people inside and rolled her eyes. What was there to misunderstand about this scene?

Brother Li's face darkened as soon as he stepped into the main hall, but he still followed etiquette and first paid his respects to Granny Wang.

Li Erxiong and his companions followed closely behind. When Li Sanniang saw a maid bring out a prayer mat, she called to Luzhu'er, "Luzhu'er, wish Granny Wang a Happy New Year. Just kowtow as you would at home."

The little dewdrop obediently knelt down, saying, "Dewdrop wishes Grandma a Happy New Year."

This time, Granny Wang didn't make things difficult, but she didn't seem particularly happy either. She simply said "okay" and gave Lu Zhu a red envelope.

Unlike when she was at the Li family home, where Li's mother would specifically pull Lu Zhu aside to praise her.

Li San Niang didn't say much. She brought Lu Zhu'er to the Wang family to pay New Year's respects. Firstly, this was indeed where Lu Zhu'er's biological father lived, and Lu Zhu'er would ultimately be surnamed Wang.

Secondly, this was a condition agreed upon when the divorce was finalized, and the officials in charge of the government would come to investigate whether someone had come or not, so there was no room for deception.

If things go wrong, they could lose custody of Dewdrop.

After all this, Wang Erlang and his second wife, his cousin from his maternal family, who had been sitting at the lower end of the table, just watched.

When Wang Erlang saw that Lu Zhu'er kowtowed to Granny Wang and then said nothing more, a look of displeasure appeared on his face.

"Why doesn't Dewdrop kowtow to me? I'm her own father!"

Li San Niang looked up at Li Da Xiong and Li Er Xiong. Seeing them nod, Li San Niang then told Lu Zhu'er to kowtow to Wang Er Lang. After Wang Er Lang gave her a red envelope, he laughed and said, "Hehe, don't be angry, elder brother. The reason I didn't go out to greet you is because Wu Niang is in her late pregnancy. I'm worried about her and can't leave her side for a moment. I'm afraid something might happen to her, so I didn't go out."

Brother Li the eldest and Brother Li the second were men, so it wasn't appropriate for them to stare at the woman. But Sister Li the third didn't have that concern, so she looked at Sister Li the fifth.

Although she was wearing clothes to cover her up, her large belly, indicating that she was about to give birth, was still very obvious.

Perhaps because Li Sanniang had been looking for a while, the woman called Wuniang said in a boastful tone, "Don't blame Erlang for being inconsiderate; it's all because of my belly."

"The baby in my belly is Erlang's eldest son, which is quite precious."

As she spoke, Fifth Sister deliberately stuck out her pregnant belly, looking quite proud.

Wang Erlang stood beside him, beaming with pride, as if he had found a worthy successor.

Li San Niang, however, had been thinking things through and did some careful calculations, and then realized that something was amiss.

Judging from the size of Wu Niang's belly, it doesn't match the days when Wang Erlang said they were having an affair in secret!

According to the timeline, Wu Niang should be about seven months pregnant right now, but her belly is definitely not seven months.

She looks like she's about to give birth, and could give birth at any moment!