Chapter 413 Wedding Preparations
Lin Changning, holding a bouquet of flowers and carrying a fox, followed Li Mingxiu to Li Mingshu's courtyard. Inside, Li Mingshu was sitting at a stone table reading a book, while Yue'er was playing and frolicking with a group of maids in the courtyard.
Li Mingxiu pushed open the door and looked at Yue'er, who was giggling, and said loudly, "Yue'er, look who your uncle brought!"
Yue'er turned her head sharply and exclaimed happily upon seeing Lin Changning, "Uncle Lin!"
After saying that, she ran towards Lin Changning with outstretched arms like a swallow seeking refuge, startling a group of maids behind her who were extremely nervous, fearing that their young mistress would fall to the ground.
Lin Changning, holding the fox in the hand that held the flower, bent down and picked up Yue'er, who was rushing towards him: "Yue'er, did you miss your uncle?"
Yue'er nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
As he spoke, Lin Changning held up the fiery red fox in front of Yue'er: "Do you like it? Uncle Lin made it; it can be used to make a scarf for Yue'er."
Moon blinked, looking into her wet eyes, gazing at her fox, and hesitated before saying, "I like it, I like it."
But after thinking about it for a moment, Yue'er asked again, "However, Yue'er prefers living things. I don't want a scarf. Can Yue'er keep it as a pet?"
The fox seemed to understand human nature. After hearing what Yue'er said, it made a soft, coquettish sound in its throat. Lin Changning held it up and gently nudged Yue'er's little hand with its wet nose.
Lin Changning couldn't help but laugh at the fox's strong will to survive: "It was originally a gift for Yue'er. Yue'er can keep it if she wants, or use it to eat meat or make scarves if she doesn't want to keep it."
The fox stared longingly at Yue'er with its wet eyes. Lin Changning looked at the child, wanting to touch it but hesitant, and placed the fox into Yue'er's arms.
"Take it and play with it. Its mouth and limbs are tied up, so it can't bite anyone."
The fox stuffed the moon into its arms, the furry fox burying its thin head in the crook of the moon's neck, nudging it a few times before whimpering.
It seemed to be trying its best to please Yue'er.
The fox fur tickled Yue'er, making her giggle. Seeing Yue'er's happy expression, Lin Changning gently put her down and said, "Go and have a maid get you a cage. Keep her locked up for now. This is a wild fox, still untamed. Don't let her get hurt."
Yue'er hugged the fox, feeling it gently nuzzling against her, and nodded with immense joy.
Carrying a fox that was about the same size as her, she was led into the room by a maid.
Lin Changning held a flower in her hand, watching Li Mingshu slowly walk towards her, her eyes seemingly filled with some confusion as she looked at her.
Lin Changning handed over the wildflowers in her hand: "These are for the princess."
Li Mingshu suddenly smiled, her pretty face blushing slightly as she reached out and hugged the wildflowers: "Thank you, Changning."
Li Mingxiu, who was leaning against the gate watching the two interact, coughed a few times with his fist to his mouth and said, "I suddenly remembered that I have some things to do. I'll come back later."
After saying that, he winked at the maids around him, turned around and left the courtyard, clearly intending to give the two unmarried young couple some time alone together.
Several maids surrounding Li Mingshu saw their young master wink at them, glanced at them, bowed to the two of them, and slowly retreated.
Li Mingshu sat on the stone table, holding the flowers: "These flowers are very beautiful. Where did you buy them?"
In Taiyuan, children selling flowers often appear at intersections around the Qixi Festival, carrying flower baskets and selling flowers.
Li Mingshu thought that Lin Changning had bought these flowers.
Lin Changning sat on the stone bench and smiled gently at Li Mingshu: "I didn't buy it. Today, I went hunting for wild geese with the young master and the others, and we happened to come across a field of wildflowers. I thought the colors were quite pretty, and I figured you would like them, so I brought them for you."
Li Mingshu said somewhat shyly, "I really like it, thank you."
After hesitating for a moment, he said again, "A wooden goose would suffice for the betrothal gift. Why risk going out to hunt a real one? I've already been married once, so I won't mind. My father and mother won't mind either."
Li Mingshu knew that Lin Changning had been wronged in this matter, so she tried to make concessions where possible, hoping that her father would promote Changning in the future. As for the wedding, it was just that one of them used this as an excuse to refuse a political marriage, and the other used marriage to cover up their true identity.
Therefore, Li Mingshu did not have high expectations from the beginning, but she could tell that Changning was a good person. Now, judging from the matter of the betrothal goose, she could see that Changning was probably more thoughtful than many men.
Lin Changning watched as Li Mingshu rested her chin on her hand and stared intently at him. Hearing Li Mingshu's reply, she smiled and revealed a set of pearly white teeth: "Since we are going to get married, it should be as perfect as possible. I am not as poor and destitute as the princess imagines, nor will I let others laugh at the princess. I will take care of everything."
Li Mingshu's eyes reddened slightly as she listened to Lin Changning's promise. In fact, she had looked forward to her future husband when she was a girl and thought about being together with him for life. However, she had a difficult life after getting married.
She also realized that most men in the world are fickle. Yue'er's biological father had tried to kill her and her mother time and time again simply because Yue'er's hair color was different from others.
Li Mingshu found a sense of responsibility in another woman that she had never seen in her ex-husband.
He would hunt geese for her, hunt foxes for Yue'er, and even find wildflowers to give her. For a moment, Li Mingshu was so moved that he didn't know what to say.
Using the flowers to partially conceal her slightly reddened eyes, Li Mingshu gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Her voice trembled as she looked at Lin Changning and sincerely thanked him, "Changning, thank you so much."
Thank you for traveling thousands of miles to rescue her from that den of wolves in the capital.
Thank you for risking her life to save her and Yue'er's lives.
Thank you for being willing to be a fake couple with her when she was almost sacrificed in another political marriage.
Thank you for personally hunting the betrothal goose before marriage, giving her a dignified experience.
Lin Changning looked at the girl opposite him, whose eyes were red and who was about to burst into tears, and was at a loss for what to do.
He hurriedly pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Li Mingshu, explaining, "You, you, don't cry. Don't worry, the wedding won't be a shabby affair. My family's embroidery workshop has already opened, and the He family will share the profits. We'll give you a respectable wedding without any major problems. I guarantee we won't embarrass you."
Li Mingshu took the handkerchief from Lin Changning and was amused. She wasn't crying because she was afraid of being poor in the future, nor was she worried that her wedding would be undignified.
What dignity does a divorced woman who has been rumored to have been abandoned in the capital have left?
Thinking of this, Li Mingshu wiped away her tears and gently grasped Lin Changning's calloused hand: "I'm not crying, Aning. Thank you. I will take good care of the Lin family for you in the future."
At this point, Li Mingshu's eyes filled with tears: "If only I had met you sooner, I would definitely have become sworn brothers with Aning."
Lin Changning scratched his head, chuckled softly, and whispered in Li Mingshu's ear, "It's not too late now, sister?"
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