Chapter 147 Mother, I will definitely make sure you can wear it...

"Father—" Wang Zhou and his classmates rushed out from an alley, and in an instant they saw Du Min riding a tall horse. He jumped up and down and cheered, "Third Uncle! Third Uncle! Did you marry my Third Aunt?"

Du Min pointed excitedly at the bridal sedan chair behind him.

Wang Zhou and his classmates ran to the back of the procession. The curtains of the bridal sedan chair were hanging down. As the sedan chair bearers moved, the light curtains were fluttering in the summer evening breeze. The silk fan was half-hidden, revealing glimpses of red lips, black sideburns, and swaying pearl tassels. The bride's face was revealed through the gaps in the curtains.

“Wangzhou, your third aunt is really beautiful,” said the youngest son of Magistrate Sun.

Wang Zhou nodded, "My third aunt is very beautiful."

"Come on, let's go see the bride! She's going to have her wedding ceremony soon!" another child shouted.

Hearing this, the onlookers also joined in.

However, the wedding procession did not enter the county government office. Instead, it circled around the area before arriving at Chongrenfang.

Yin Caiwei stepped out of the sedan chair, holding a silk fan. With the help of her maid, she walked in with her head down.

Du Min followed for a few steps, but did not go in. He invited the bride's family to the government office for a wedding banquet.

Yin Caiwei's second uncle refused, saying, "Caiwei has just arrived in a strange place. How can we leave her behind and go to eat the feast ourselves? That wouldn't be right. Besides, we've been traveling a long way, we're dusty and exhausted, and it's not appropriate for us to come and visit. If you really want to, just send the feast over. After we've eaten, you can arrange for someone to come and bring over the maid who made the bed and your aunt from your family."

“Alright, I’ll do as you say.” Du Min agreed. “There’s no curfew in Heqing County, so it’s not as safe as Luoyang at night. The dowry you brought is too valuable, and I’m afraid it might attract thieves. I’ll arrange for a few constables to guard outside tonight. If anything happens, you can order them around.”

Uncle Yin nodded.

Du Min stepped back a few paces, and after the dowry had all been carried inside, he led the remaining people to carry the bridal sedan chair away.

"Lord Du, aren't you getting married today?" someone in the crowd asked.

"The wedding ceremony will be tomorrow," Du Min replied.

"Everyone disperse, come back to watch the fun tomorrow," Deputy General Wu shouted in a loud voice.

"I'm sorry to trouble you all to accompany me to the wedding. You've all worked hard these past few days. Don't leave tonight. There's a wedding banquet set up at the government office. Come back with me and have a good meal to relieve your fatigue," Du Min said.

"I need to go back first. It's too hot today. I'm covered in sweat and smell bad. I need to go back and wash up," Qi Zhenjiang said.

“I also need to go back,” said Deputy General Wu.

The others said they wanted to go back and wash up first to relax.

“I’ll be waiting for you all at the government office,” Du Min said. “You all have to come; I won’t start the feast if even one person is missing.”

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhao swallowed his words. He really intended to go back and not come back; it was too tiring.

After a cup of tea, the wedding procession dwindled to just Du Li, Du Min, Magistrate Zhao, eight sedan chair bearers, and ten musicians taking turns carrying the sedan chair.

Upon returning to the government office, Magistrate Zhao found it deserted and empty. He smiled and said, "Lord Du, are your family members still at it after watching the commotion? ... Governor? This humble servant greets the Governor and the Prefect."

Magistrate Zhao was filled with remorse. He should have gone home to wash and change clothes like everyone else. If he had left then, he wouldn't have had to deal with his superiors alone.

At this moment, his heart was pounding, and he couldn't tell whether he was startled by the sudden sight of Governor Zheng or feeling guilty.

Prefect Zheng glanced at Magistrate Zhao, understanding it was Du Min's joyous occasion, and didn't cause trouble. He simply grunted in agreement and said to Du Min, "Magistrate Du, congratulations on your wedding! Last year, I promised to give you a grand gift for your wedding. A few days ago, I heard from your father-in-law that your parents back home couldn't attend the ceremony in person, so there were no elders at the wedding banquet. I've brought Prefect Liu to support you."

"Du Min thanks Lord Zheng and Lord Liu." Du Min bowed deeply with tears of gratitude. He had not expected that Prefect Zheng would choose this excuse. In this way, if Magistrate Zhao was reprimanded by Prefect Zheng for neglecting his duties and failing to repair the dikes, he would not suspect that Du Min had deliberately provoked Prefect Zheng to report him.

Governor Zheng offered a helping hand, "Get up."

“Third brother, the feast is ready. Please invite the governor and the vice-governor to the dining hall for dinner,” Meng Qing interjected.

Du Min nodded. "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Lord Zhao, please come inside."

Prefect Zheng and Assistant Prefect Liu led the way into the house, followed closely by Magistrate Zhao. Du Min then invited Doctor Xu to join them.

Du Li walked up to Meng Qing and said, "Brother Chun, General Qi, and the others have all gone home to wash up and change. They may not be here until a little later."

“Then I’ll ask the chefs who prepared the wedding banquet to go home a little later,” Meng Qing said.

“Prefect Yin has arranged a three-courtyard house for Madam Yin in Chongrenfang. The wedding party is all there. They won’t be coming to the banquet, so we need to send three tables of food over.” Du Li added, “Do you have enough meat and vegetables? Is there enough time to cook them? If there aren’t enough vegetables, I’ll take some people to the restaurants to buy three tables of food.”

"Yes, everything is ready. I heard about it even before you crossed the bridge, and I immediately arranged for people to slaughter chickens and ducks to prepare the feast. It should be ready in about half an hour," Meng Qing said.

Du Li glanced around. It was getting dark, and everything was dim and unclear. There was no one walking around in the front yard. He lowered his head and rested his head on Meng Qing's shoulder with relief. "You are really capable and thoughtful."

Meng Qing glanced at him sideways and asked, "What are you doing? Missing me?"

Du Li pretended not to hear and continued, "You didn't see the third brother's awful behavior when he was welcoming his bride. He was really good at fooling people. I couldn't even tell if he was really in love with Madam Yin."

"What did he do?" Meng Qing asked curiously.

"When he led Madam Yin out of her boudoir, he looked so lovestruck and unable to contain himself. Anyone who saw him would say he was so innocent," Du Li muttered. "On the way back, whenever the procession stopped to rest, he would approach the bridal sedan chair like a dog and ask the people inside if they wanted to eat, drink, or get out of the sedan chair for a walk. He was more attentive than a beggar picking up a piece of gold."

Meng Qing burst out laughing.

"Cough cough!" Du Min coughed twice under the eaves.

Du Li raised his head, stood up straight, took a step back, and said, "Your second sister-in-law has already prepared the feast. In half an hour, I will bring people to deliver the feast to Chongrenfang."

"Thank you, Second Sister-in-law." Du Min approached. "Second Sister-in-law, I still have to entertain General Qi and the others later. The Yin family will also send people to make the beds. It might be a long night before things calm down. You're feeling unwell, so don't stay here with us. Let my second brother take you back to the Meng family for the night, and you can come back tomorrow."

“Caiwei’s family is coming to make the bed. Can I not accompany them?” Meng Qing asked.

“Alright, I’ll arrange for someone to go to Magistrate Sun’s house later and ask his wife to come and keep him company.” Du Min made the arrangements. “Wang Zhou? Did he go to the Meng family? I haven’t seen him since I got home.”

“He went back with my parents,” Meng Qing said. “You’ve been out for a while. Go inside and don’t neglect your guest.”

Du Min nodded and went inside.

“Come on, I’ll take you back,” Du Li said.

Meng Qing asked him to go to the backyard and call Chen's eldest daughter-in-law. She gave him some instructions, then took two changes of clothes and left with Du Li.

Du Li sent Meng Qing back and took Meng Chun away, continuing her busy work without stopping.

*

Meng Qing slept soundly. After dawn, she ate the breakfast her mother had prepared for her, and then went to the government office with her parents and Wang Zhou. When they arrived, they learned that Qi Zhen hadn't gone home after having dinner with them the night before, but had gone straight to sleep at the government office and was still asleep.

The maids, wives, and old women yawned as they cleaned up the leftovers from last night. After cleaning up, they went to the backyard to wash vegetables and chop meat to prepare for the banquet.

Butler Chen and his two sons went in and out repeatedly, the three of them in charge of purchasing banquet supplies and decorating the courtyard.

Meng Qing assigned all sorts of miscellaneous tasks, and she didn't even have to handle the welcoming and seeing off of guests. She sat in the hall chatting with the wives and daughters of the clerks.

The sun rises higher and higher, then moves westward inch by inch.

As the sun set and the evening breeze lessened the heat, Du Min rode his tall horse to fetch his bride.

At the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM), the bridal sedan chair landed outside the government office, and the newlyweds walked in side by side on a felt mat.

The guests paused in the courtyard. In the southwest corner of the courtyard, five steps away from the hall, there was a green pavilion. Du Min led Yin Caiwei closer to the green pavilion with its curtains hanging to the ground, and they stopped amidst the chanting of the master of ceremonies.

Du Min gazed at the bride opposite him. He could clearly see that her fingers holding the fan were trembling. He stared at her for a few moments and then slowly recited the poem about turning away from the fan.

As the poem ended, the silk fan was lowered, revealing a beautiful face.

Du Min had already tried to see the face behind the fan on the way back from the wedding. Now that he saw her face again, he was indifferent and just smiled reassuringly at her.

"A newcomer enters the bridal chamber."

"Bowing in respect".

Under the cover of a blue cloth curtain, the couple bowed to each other in prayer.

"Mother, was it like this when you married Father?" Wang Zhou asked, looking up at Meng Qing.

"No, people in the countryside don't care about such things. Once the new bride gets off the boat and her feet touch the ground, she's already part of the family." Meng Qing casually embellished her wedding, "When you grow up and get married, your mother will hold a wedding like this for you."

Wang Zhou remained silent. He could tell that his mother was not satisfied with his wedding. Looking at his third uncle and aunt walking out of the bridal chamber, he knew that his parents had not been dressed in fine clothes when they got married.

"Mother, my stomach hurts." Wangzhou pretended to be sick, clutching his stomach. "Mother, will you come with me to the doctor?"

"Stomach ache? What did you eat?" Meng Qing bent down and touched his stomach, asking, "Where does it hurt? Left or right? Higher or lower?"

Wang Zhou randomly suggested a place.

"Wait a minute, I'll go find your father and have him carry you there," Meng Qing said.

"No, no, Mother, I want you to come with me." Wangzhou pulled her outside, "I'll be fine after walking around, maybe I'll be better after taking a dump."

Meng Qing knew him too well. She could tell something was up when she saw his incoherent words. She glanced back and saw the newlyweds drinking wine together.

"Mother, stop looking, let's go!" Wangzhou urged.

Meng Qing turned her head and gave him a deep look. She accepted his kindness and followed him out.

The mother and son strolled slowly down the street. As they approached the pharmacy, Wangzhou's stomachache miraculously disappeared without any medicine. She didn't ask any questions and followed him back the way they came in the dim light of day.

Wang Zhou held Meng Qing's hand as he gazed at the crescent moon hanging in the sky and said, "Mother, when our second child is born, how about naming him Lan Yue (meaning 'embracing the moon')?"

"Reach for the moon? Who can reach for the moon? No one can. This means that all our thoughts, desires, and hopes will not be fulfilled. Let's choose something else." Meng Qing rejected the idea.

"Let me think about it some more." Wang Zhou kicked away a stumbling stone and said in a low voice, "Mother, I will definitely make sure you wear fine clothes, and you can wear them every day for the rest of your life, changing one every day."

This was what Meng Qing had been hoping for the day she decided to marry Du Li, but hearing these words now made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable and not happy at all.

"Thank you, my son," Meng Qing said cheerfully, deliberately raising her voice.

"Qingniang? Where have you been?" Du Li ran over, covered in sweat. "I've been looking for you for ages, where have you been?"

"I'm going to the pharmacy, my stomach hurts." Wang Zhou took Du Li's hand and said apologetically, "Dad, I forgot to tell you, I'll definitely take you next time."

"Does it still hurt?" Du Li asked with concern. "Have you been eating too many different things these past few days? Did you eat too much meat and have indigestion? I heard from your uncle last night that you couldn't poop."

Wang Zhou shouted, "Don't tell! My uncle promised I wouldn't!"

Meng Qing laughed out loud, "Eat less tonight, and when we get back, ask your grandpa to make you two bowls of mung bean soup. Drink more mung bean soup to cool down."

"Hey! Chatting and laughing, having a good time!" A sarcastic voice came from behind the wall. Du Min gritted his teeth and asked, "Where did you two go? When did you leave? I saw you when I came into Qinglu."

"Third Uncle, my stomach hurts, and my mother went with me to the pharmacy," Wang Zhou explained. He let go of his parents' hands and reached out to grab Du Min's hand in a conciliatory manner, "Don't be angry."

Du Min wouldn't let him hold her hand, and even slapped his hand hard twice. "Are you stupid? Why do you have to make your mother accompany you? Don't you know she's about to give birth? If someone bumps into her on the street, can you catch her? What are you doing with your father sitting there? Treating him like an ancestor?"

Du Li: ...

"I was wrong," Wang Zhou pleaded.

"Third brother, it's not that serious, don't worry too much," Meng Qing said. "It's alright, we're back now, come inside and greet the guests."

Du Min glanced at her, ignored her, and turned to leave.

Meng Qing clicked her tongue a few times, but feeling a little guilty, she didn't dare to say anything.