It was still dark, Zhao Wu and Li Luo went to the yamen, and Xu Lanyin and others returned to the house.
At the end of the Chen hour, Qin and Xu Lanyin, Xu Lanting, and Xu Lanyue took a mule cart to the Qilin Silver Shop on Huangshi Street.
Xu Lanyin's jewelry collection was nearly complete, and she had mainly invited Qin out for a walk. She had only chosen a pair of red gold and kingfisher earrings, a pair of jewel-encrusted earrings, and a small jade pendant for each of Zhao Wu, Xu Lanting, and Xu Lanyue.
Qin, however, had her eye on a set of twelve jewel-encrusted, red-gold filigree headpieces. Each piece was inlaid with at least five gemstones of varying sizes. The workmanship was exquisite, and the brilliance was dazzling. This was a style popular in the previous dynasty, and the entire set had to be worn on the head. Many noblewomen still admire this style. Of course, it was also very expensive, costing 2,800 taels of silver.
She smiled and said, "Yin'er still needs a set of headwear like this, so I bought it."
Although Xu Lanyin thought these things looked nice, she wasn't particularly fond of them. Wearing them for a long time could cause cervical vertebrae problems. Furthermore, the ten thousand taels of silver she had spent on her dowry had already been sapped, and buying this set of jewelry would be overspending.
She shook her head and said, "Mom, I don't like it very much. It's too heavy."
Qin Shi still insisted on buying it. She felt that it would be unfair to her daughter to use the money she had given her to buy a dowry. She said, "It's okay to wear it occasionally."
Just as she was about to pay the money, Zhu Zhuang arrived. Xu Lanyin heard that he was also engaged and would be getting married at the end of this year.
Zhu Zhuang greeted Qin and looked at the jewelry they had bought. He smiled and said, "Mrs. Xu, Miss Xu has good taste. This set of jewelry just came from Jiangnan. I'll give you a 20% discount."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "I'll charge you what I should charge. How can I ask you for a discount?"
Although Zhu Zhuangpang was sometimes too blunt, he was actually quite astute. He quickly said with a smile, "The discount isn't because you're close to my uncle's family, but because you bought a lot."
After a few words of banter, they left. They went to the embroidery workshop to buy some fabric and some small items, had dinner at a restaurant, and then went to Qin's ladies' shop to pick up some rouge and powder before returning home.
As soon as he entered the house, Mrs. Lu, who had been waiting here, reported in a low voice, "The master is back and went to the Zhao family."
Xu Lanyue and Xu Lanting rushed to Zhao's house after hearing this. After Xu Lanyin sent Qin back to the upper room, she also went to Zhao's house.
Xu Qingyan was able to stay at home for five days this time, and he bought gifts for everyone, including a set of jewelry and a piece of brocade for Qin. In addition, he took out more than five hundred taels of silver and a thick letter.
He said, "This is Dad's monthly salary, charcoal salary, and year-end bonus for the past few months. Give it all to your mother."
Xu Lanyin said, "My mother won't accept it."
Xu Qingyan said, "You are my children. I can't let your mother use her dowry to support you. That doesn't make sense." His old face flushed slightly, and he added, "The letter contains some arrangements for Lan Zhou's future. This is a big deal. Let your mother take a look and see if it's okay. As for the jewelry, if your mother really doesn't want it, I'll leave it with you for now."
Xu Lan knew that Xu Qingyan would not have much money on him, so she only took 400 taels of silver and left him the remaining 100 taels for use in the capital.
Xu Lanyin took the things home and asked Mrs. Lu and Aunt Yang to make some more snacks to send to the Zhao family, where the two children would also eat.
She took the things, the letter, and the silver to Qin and told her what Xu Qingyan said.
Qin thought about it, left the silver and the letter, and pushed the jewelry to Xu Lanyin.
In the evening, only Xu Lanyin accompanied Qin for dinner.
As soon as they finished eating, Zhao Wu asked someone to invite Xu Lanyin over.
The Minhu people also came, and several men were still drinking.
Zhao Wu said, "Sister, Lord Min sent me to Anxingguan to do some work, and I will leave the day after tomorrow. I can also make a detour to Daxiang Temple to visit my master. Can you help me make some snacks that he likes to eat?"
Although Xu Lanyin was reluctant, he had to do it.
Xu Lanyin nodded and continued, "It's freezing cold in Anxing Pass. I made you a thick cotton robe and thick cotton pants. Bring them to you."
The next day, Xu Lanyin made a lot of snacks, including golden silk cakes, egg tarts, and cakes with added ingredients specially for Master Jie Chi, and she also made some biscuits that would not spoil easily for Zhao Wu.
Zhao Wushi went to help Qin Shi with some chores, and Qin Shi herself went to the kitchen and worked for most of the day, cooking a few dishes that Zhao Wushi liked and asking Xu Lanyin to send them to Zhao's house. In the evening, Qin Che and his son and Min Hu all came to Zhao's house, and the men drank and ate together.
Xu Lanyin went to Zhao Wu's room to pack his things. When she left, the men were still discussing. She was a little disappointed. She hadn't been alone with Zhao Wu for the past two days.
Before dawn on the 16th, Xu Lanyin and Qin got up. They took Lu and Aunt Yang with them and made some snacks to go with the wine.
After dinner, Zhao Wu and He Dong led their horses out. Qin came over and said, "If you can do it, do it. If you really can't, don't force it. Be careful and come back early so as not to miss your wedding date."
Zhao Wu nodded.
Xu Qingyan and Qin saw him off to the main gate. Xu Lanyin, her siblings, and Li Luo saw them off to the alley entrance, where they watched the two figures ride away in a cloud of dust.
There was still a light snowfall, and Xu Lanyin felt a pang of sadness. Even if everything went smoothly, the round trip from here to Anxing Pass would still take over a month.
After Zhao Wu left, Li Luo had to go to the government office, and only Xu Qingyan was left at the Zhao family. Xu Lanting and Xu Lanyue spent most of the day there with him, and Xu Lanyin would occasionally go and talk to him.
When the two children were ready to go home and rest, Xu Qingyan would lead them to the Xu family's hanging flower gate. He would watch them enter the wing room, then look at the upper room, and then reluctantly return to the Zhao family.
One day, he finally saw Qin standing in the yard, and Xu Qingyan greeted her happily, "Sister Yan."
Qin looked up at him twice, then returned to the upper room in silence.
Xu Qingyan left with a look of disappointment after seeing the figure disappear behind the door. He would then ask Youzi to come to the door of the hanging flower house and look around. If he couldn't see Qin, he would look at the door and window of the upper room for a while longer, but he would never step through that door.
Xu Lanyue was clever and saw the trick. After chatting with Xu Qingyan for a while, she said she needed to go home to relieve herself. Xu Qingyan happily walked her to the Chuihua Gate and waited until she was done before taking her back. A little later, she reminded Xu Lanting that it was time to go. Xu Lanting understood her meaning and nodded in agreement. Xu Qingyan would happily take Xu Lanting to the Chuihua Gate again...
In the afternoon of the 18th, Xu Dashi brought his wife and children to play for half a day, and Xu Qingyan invited them to have dinner.
Three days passed in a flash, and on the morning of the 19th, Xu Qingyan was sent away again. Before leaving, Xu Qingyan stood at the hanging flower door for a long time. Seeing that Qin Shi had not come out, he had to leave in disappointment.
Having seen off three relatives within six days, Xu Lan was in a bad mood because of them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
