Old Mrs. Xu looked much older, with gray hair, and seemed to have just recovered from a serious illness.
Xu Lanyin quickly stepped forward to support her, and said distressedly, "Grandma, what happened to you? I'll ask someone to get a good doctor to examine you right away."
Grandma Xu took Xu Lanyin's hand and said, "Grandma isn't sick. I'm just worried about your mother, because she's been so wronged. She's been arguing with your grandfather every day in the countryside. She's in a bad mood, and she can't rest well... You're getting married today, so Grandma brought Ershi here to congratulate you." She quickly added, "Only Ershi and I came to the provincial capital. We didn't bring that old man."
Xu Lanyin had always respected the old lady, and only had less contact with her because she was angry with old man Xu.
Seeing that her second son didn't come back, the old lady was still very disappointed. "Your father didn't come back for such a big thing? I miss him."
Xu Lanyin said, "My father has official business to attend to and cannot ask for leave." Of course, the reason why he could not ask for leave was not entirely due to official business, but also because of Qin's big matter.
Old Mrs. Xu added twenty taels of silver and two gold hairpins, while the eldest wife and Xu Ershi added ten taels of silver and two silver hairpins.
This is a big deal in the countryside. Xu Lanyin thanked him.
Old Man Xu didn't come, but Old Lady Xu meant well. Mrs. Qin also showed up and invited them to dinner at her house. Mrs. Xu was smart, not saying a word to dampen the mood. She poured out a stream of auspicious congratulations to Xu Lanyin and Zhao Wu, which also made Mrs. Qin smile.
Before leaving, the old lady went to the Zhao family to give Zhao Wu a gift. She said that Zhao Wu was not only her grandson-in-law, but also a good neighbor with whom she had a good relationship.
At night, Qin entered Xu Lanyin's bedroom with a book in her hand. She said to Xu Lanting and Xu Lanyue, who had been watching over Xu Lanyin, "Your sister needs to rest early today. Don't bother her."
The two children walked out with pouts on their faces.
Qin closed the door, sat down next to Xu Lanyin, stroked her hair and said, "Tomorrow you will be the wife of the Zhao family. Currently, his family is simple, with only one uncle, and the relationship is easy to get along with. You must respect and love each other, and have more children for your husband's family. Zhao Wu is a good boy, you can't bully him..."
Xu Lanyin said coquettishly, "Why does mother always accuse me of bullying him? He is a famous martial arts master, how dare I bully him."
Qin said angrily, "Don't think I don't know that you like to pull his ears. He will be your husband from now on, you must respect him..."
Xu Lanyin could only smile and nod.
Qin stuffed the book directly under her pillow and said with a blushing face, "Read it before going to bed."
She gave the chess master some instructions before returning to the house.
The maids who helmed the chess pieces, protected the chess pieces, and carried the chess pieces would follow Xu Lanyin to the Zhao family as dowry maids.
Qin said that when she met the eldest princess in the future, she would ask her to help find a housekeeper for Xu Lanyin, because the maid she bought from the pawnshop was not qualified to be a housekeeper.
Xu Lanyin also officially decided that the person in charge of chess pieces would be a first-class maid, and the ones who guarded and held chess pieces would be second-class maids.
After sending Qin away, Xu Lanyin took out the book and flipped through it. Although it was freehand, it was still incredibly realistic and bold, making her blush and her heart beat faster. In her previous life, she lived to her early thirties and was still a naive person. She had only seen descriptions and scenes of intimacy between men and women in books and TV dramas, which were much more subtle than this book.
She has always been a good child who loves to study. She sent the girl away and studied carefully from the first page to the last page before closing the book and laughing. She had the theoretical knowledge...
At night, Xu Lanyin was a little sleepless. Through the gauze curtains, she saw the bright red wedding dress hanging on the wall, the red veil and phoenix crown on the table, and her heart was filled with emotion.
After two lifetimes, I finally got married in this one. And the man I married was the grown-up boy I had raised... no, a grown man. In ancient times, being able to freely fall in love and choose one's own husband was not easy.
She muttered silently in her heart, "Dad, Mom, I'm finally getting married tomorrow. Your son-in-law is a handsome man, a martial arts master, and a police officer... Most importantly, he's very, very good to me. I've listened to his heartfelt wishes countless times, and he's passed my test..."
I was in a daze and didn't know when I fell asleep.
The second day of the third lunar month was the grand occasion for the Xu family's daughter's wedding. Before daybreak, Qin and several servants were already up, hanging lanterns and colorful silks on the trees and under the porch, and busy preparing the wedding banquet...
Seeing that her daughter, who never slept in, had not gotten up yet, Qin asked the maid to wake her up.
The tub was filled with flower petals and scented with water. The maids helped Xu Lan sit in the tub. After the bath, she finally regained consciousness, having been a little dazed.
After drying herself, she put on a red silk bellyband embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water, and then put on a red silk undershirt and trousers.
Coming out of the bathroom, the bedroom had changed, with red gauze curtains, red bedding, and red and green decorations everywhere.
The maid dried her hair, and Mrs. Lu brought her four dumplings, which were more filling than dim sum.
Xu Dashi, accompanied by his two children, along with Old Lady Xu and Xu Ershi, were the first to arrive. Next came Qin Che's family, Hong Zhen's family, Min Can's family, Hu Yi's family, Zhu Zhuang's family, several military officers and their families who knew Xu Qingyan, and two good neighbors... The men from these families, whether working at the government office or attending school, all took leave to come. Aside from Hong Zhen's family, who came to the Xu family to congratulate him before heading to the Zhao family, all the other families were guests of the Xu family.
Seeing so many high-ranking officials, especially the close relationship between the prefect's family and the Qin family, Old Lady Xu's legs trembled uncontrollably. She thought to herself, "That old idiot is not only foul-mouthed, but also dumber than a donkey." However, seeing her two grandsons entertain these distinguished guests, she felt extremely proud.
Mrs. Qin invited Zhu Zhuang's family to come, mainly to ask Zhu Zhuang's mother to be the bride of Xu Lanyin. Mrs. Zhu's parents-in-law, parents, and husband are all alive, and she has two children. She is in good health and is eloquent.
Mrs. Zhu, who was white and plump, looked very cheerful. She combed Xu Lanyin's hair while singing auspicious words, "Comb it all the way to the end, comb it again until the white hair reaches the eyebrows..."
After combing her hair, she applied crabapple powder on Xu Lanyin's face and used a colorful thread to twist the hair on her face and neck, commonly known as face opening.
The process of opening the face also requires the little boy to make a wish to help complete it.
Mrs. Zhu first flicked her face three times with colored thread, up, middle, and down. As she flicked, she made a wish and sang, "Up, I pay my respects to Heaven and Earth, my parents; in the middle, I wish you and your spouse a harmonious relationship; in the bottom, I wish you a large family with many children and grandchildren."
Mrs. Zhu played the left, middle, and right three times again, and sang the wish again, "Play the left for a son soon, play the middle for thrifty management, and play the right for a long life together."
In order to complete this arduous task, Xiao Xuyuan practiced for several days and memorized it well and loudly. His tender voice uttered these auspicious words, making the audience laugh non-stop.
Then came the process of putting on makeup, combing her hair, donning the phoenix crown, and dressing in wedding attire, all performed by the matchmaker and the maids. After completing this series of rituals, Xu Lanyin sat cross-legged on the wedding bed for others to watch.
After completing this process, it was already early noon and the wedding banquet began.
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