The person who came was none other than Zhan Shuzhen.
Jiang Shuyue stood up again to greet her, "Sister Zhan, please come and take a seat. Tomorrow's wedding will be simple; we'll only invite close relatives and friends to attend."
"Congratulations, Sister Jiang! I've heard that you're engaged. Tomorrow you'll finally get to see your groom. He must be a handsome young man."
As she spoke, Zhan Shuzhen strode in.
Upon seeing Madam Su inside the house, she paused, realizing that she had forgotten her grandmother's instructions again, and that she had spoken carelessly without thinking.
“Sister Zhan, this is my aunt, Su Jin’s mother.”
Jiang Shuyue quickly explained, defusing Zhan Shuzhen's embarrassment.
Zhan Shuzhen gave Madam Su a junior's greeting, "Hello, Madam Su."
Then she smiled at Du Yutong and said, "Sister Du is here too."
Madam Su looked at Zhan Shuzhen with gentle eyes, "Since your surname is Zhan, you must be General Zhan's daughter. After this busy period, I will visit Madam Zhan again. I wonder if she is in good health?"
There aren't many families with the surname Zhan in the capital, and even fewer who serve as officials in the court. Madam Su had met Old Madam Zhan before when she was in the capital. The Zhan family had been military officers for generations, and Old Madam Zhan was a kind and gentle person, someone worth befriending.
"Thank you for your concern, Madam Su. Grandmother is in good spirits. When Shuzhen returns, she will definitely tell Grandmother the good news. Grandmother will be all ready to welcome Madam Su."
After exchanging pleasantries, Mrs. Su tactfully gave the young women some space to have their private conversations.
She stood up and said to Jiang Shuyue, "You two girls chat for a while. I'll go take a look around the courtyard and then go to the fabric shop. I'll come back earlier tomorrow."
Jiang Shuyue escorted Madam Su to the corridor before turning back into the house.
The dowry for Chan Shu-chen was a hollowed-out gold hairpin, a unique design that showed she had put a lot of thought into it.
Jiang Shuyue didn't have many friends. The group chatted and drank tea in the flower hall. The kitchen prepared roast meat and a sumptuous meal. Du Yutong and Zhan Shuzhen had their meal at the Jiang residence before saying goodbye and going home.
The herpes on Nangong Zeyue's lips had scabbed over, but fortunately the area was small and it did not affect the groom's image.
Jiang Shuyue was thinking about getting up early the next morning to dress up, so after dinner she urged Nangong Zeyue to go back to her room to settle down.
Nangong Zeyue said goodnight and reluctantly returned to the small courtyard next door.
With no one else in the room, Jiang Shuyue went into her spatial dimension to take a bath, then came out, wrung out her hair, and lay on the soft couch waiting for it to dry completely.
As soon as she lay down, Xue'er came over and squatted down next to her, rubbing her fluffy little head against her arm.
She reached out and pulled Xue'er into her arms, gently stroking her.
I slowly closed my eyes, feeling incredibly calm, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
In the neighboring courtyard, Nangong Zeyue lay on her bed after washing up, staring at the top of the tent, her heart filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry.
The thought that he would be Yue Niang's husband after tonight made a smile involuntarily appear on his lips.
"hiss!"
The scab stung, and Nangong Zeyue quickly suppressed her pain and covered her cheek with her hand.
Perhaps I was too excited, because I couldn't fall asleep even after closing my eyes for a long time.
Around midnight, Nangong Zeyue finally fell into a deep sleep.
"Young master, get up. The ladies will be coming over soon to decorate the bridal chamber."
Upon hearing the servant's shout, Nangong Zeyue suddenly jumped up from the bed.
"Young master, don't be in a hurry. There's no rush. Butler Qiu said you can't see Miss before the wedding ceremony. Breakfast is already set out in the dining room."
Before the servant could finish speaking, several maids walked in from outside. Nangong Zeyue recognized two of them as embroiderers from the Jiang family.
One embroiderer held a tray with wedding clothes and shoes, while another embroiderer held peanuts, longans, lotus seeds, and red dates.
"Young master, please have your meal first. Miss said that you can finish preparing and then go to fetch the bride later."
Jiang Shuyue also told him yesterday that their wedding doesn't need so many rules.
He would cross the river to the prefecture, welcome the people over, and consider the wedding ceremony complete.
As soon as Nangong Zeyue left the bedroom, the servant quickly put away the bedding and curtains on the bed.
The embroiderer was left in the room to lay out the wedding curtains and quilts.
Today's wedding banquet is being held at the Nangong residence, and Qiuju has arranged for many maids and servants to come and help out.
Gao Mu and Cang Yun were responsible for hanging lanterns at the main gates of Jiang Mansion and Nangong Mansion.
As soon as the waiter from the study across the street opened the door, he saw that the Jiang and Nangong residences were filled with festive cheer.
The couplet in front of the Jiang residence reads: "Red makeup and a knot of love tied together; green trees and blooming lotus flowers on twin stems."
Looking again at the front of the Nangong Mansion: A lifetime of good fortune together, a hundred years of perfect union together.
The waiter scratched the back of his head in puzzlement. "What a coincidence, both families have happy events."
The wedding invitations sent to the Zhen family arrived earlier than those sent to the palace, and the old lady Zhen was stunned when she received them.
Wedding invitations are usually sent out in advance, but this is the first time I've ever seen one sent out on such an auspicious day.
Thinking that Jiang Shuyue was busy with her business and also had to take care of the clinic, the old lady assumed that she was just too busy and hurriedly went to the storeroom to personally select the dowry.
The wedding invitations to the palace were delivered to the palace through Hu Qing's hands.
Hu Qing, clutching the wedding invitation as if it were a ticking time bomb, got off the carriage, took out his waist token, and walked towards the palace with trepidation.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Brother Nangong, why did you have to marry a young lady of all people? You really have no taste at all!"
As he passed the intersection near the Imperial Medical Academy, he saw someone dressed as an Imperial Medical Academy apprentice walking by and quickly called out to them.
As luck would have it, the person in front was Xu An. Hu Qing didn't recognize Xu An, but Xu An recognized Hu Qing.
Hu Qing took out the wedding invitation for Chief Physician Lin and said, "Please trouble the Imperial Physician to deliver this wedding invitation to Chief Physician Lin. I have other urgent matters to attend to. Thank you."
"Manager Hu, you're too kind. The head of the academy is my master. I will definitely deliver the wedding invitation."
Xu An didn't even open the invitation to see whose it was; he simply picked it up and headed to the Imperial Hospital.
When Dean Lin took the wedding invitation with a blank expression and opened it, his hand trembled and the invitation almost fell to the ground.
"Master, you seem so excited. Is our eldest brother getting married?"
Lin Miaoshou swiftly slipped the wedding invitation into her sleeve.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and asked, "Who delivered this wedding invitation to the palace?"
"Manager Hu is Manager Hu of Juxian Pavilion, as I just mentioned."
Xu An seriously suspected that his master's memory had declined. He had clearly mentioned Manager Hu when he handed out the wedding invitation, but his master forgot everything because he was so happy.
"Oh no! That brat..."
Lin Miaoshou stood up abruptly and walked out, but after taking only two steps, she turned back to Xu An and said, "Don't make a fuss about the wedding invitations."
“Master…this…” Xu An swallowed back the words he was about to say.
Receiving a wedding invitation should bring joy, but Master was in a panic; his expression was so strange.
Hu Qing walked along the palace path, his mind in turmoil.
Should this wedding invitation be sent to Yonghe Palace as instructed by the young lady, or should it be sent to the Emperor as a message?
Lost in thought, he didn't notice a person standing in front of him on the palace path.
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