Chapter 327: The Wedding Ceremony (Part 1)

"Cousin?" Hui Jie'er was surprised. "Cousin Zhongran?"

"Just said it was my cousin." Eleventh Lady smiled, "I wonder if it was my cousin Zhongran you were talking about."

"That's it." Hui Jieer said with a smile, "Brother Zhongran and my uncle are not from the same family, so they call each other by their courtesy names. The women and servants in the family follow suit and call him "Young Master Cousin."

Eleventh Lady listened with a smile on her face, and wanted to take this opportunity to inquire about the matter of the fan: how did Shao Zhongran know that Hui Jieer wanted to paint the picture of the lily of the valley under the moon? Did he know that Hui Jieer painted the lily of the valley to give it to Zhen Jieer? But she glanced at Zhen Jieer standing beside her with a smile, and swallowed the words that were on her lips.

Why should Sister Zhen be so impressed by Shao Zhongran?

As the thought flashed through her mind, she heard Hui Jie'er muttering in a low voice, "What is Cousin Zhongran doing here? Is it because the house purchase is not going well?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said nothing.

Hui Jie'er took the initiative to tell them: "My uncle and his family used to stay at our house when they came to Beijing. But this time there are too many people coming, and everyone is crowded together. My uncle said it is inconvenient. He wrote a letter and planned to buy a small house in Yanjing, so that they don't have to stay at our house all the time if anything happens in the future. Last month, my grandfather sent a manager with money. These days, my uncle and cousin Zhongran are out looking for a house every day!" Her expression was a little embarrassed.

Since it's inconvenient for everyone to live together, why buy a small house?

Eleventh Lady thought of what Third Lady Huang had said - each branch of the Lin family was stronger than the other, but they all had their eyes on the public properties, fearing that they would become estranged from the old marquis after moving out, and would suffer losses when the old marquis divided the property.

In this case, the relationships between the various branches must be complicated. A large group of Shao family members have been living and eating here for a few months. Even if they are paid, they still need to send people to serve them. Grandma Lin is the head of the family and has to balance the relationships. I'm afraid this is the main reason why the Shao family wants to buy a house outside?

"Having a yard is always an asset." She followed Hui Jie'er's words and said, "If you don't need it in the future, you can just sell it. It will definitely not be a loss."

Hui Jie'er heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It's just as Auntie said. So my grandfather decided to build a yard this time."

As the two were talking, Eleventh Lady, who had been paying attention to the movements outside the window, saw out of the corner of her eye a man in a bright blue silk Taoist robe walking down the steps of the main house and heading towards the courtyard gate.

It should be that Shao Zhongran.

She calmly lowered her head to drink tea, but her eyes were looking out the window.

She had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a slender figure, and her dark hair was tied into a bun with a yellow wooden hairpin inserted in it.

He stopped, turned around and bowed to his mother who was seeing him out.

Shiyi Niang suddenly understood why Grandma Lin said that her nephew and Zhen Jie'er standing together looked like a pair of golden boy and jade girl.

Shao Zhongran has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and he is handsome and tall. His gaze is as bright as the sun, which makes people smile. Zhen Jieer has fair skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a calm and peaceful temperament, like the tranquility of a lake.

While she was thinking, she saw Shao Zhongran glance at the main room with a serious expression, and then quickly disappeared outside the hanging door.

Eleventh Lady was slightly surprised.

Grandma Lin smiled and walked in through the curtain.

She explained, "My younger brother has taken a fancy to a house. The owner needs to use the money and is in a hurry to sell it. He is offering a price 30% lower than the market price and wants to complete the transaction before the evening hour today. My younger brother is afraid that he might be a traitor, so he sent Zhong Ran to tell me and asked me to send a steward to help him greet the government and sign the contract with this person before the evening hour."

Eleventh Lady thought of Shao Zhongran's hurried steps just now. She smiled and nodded: "It will be more convenient to get things done if there are acquaintances to greet!"

Grandma Lin felt relieved.

Whether Eleventh Lady believes it or not, at least everyone has an explanation.

The two chatted for a while, then went to Mrs. Lin's house for lunch. Eleventh Lady took Zhen Jie'er back to the Xu Mansion.

The lady is not at home.

"…went to the palace." Wei Zi smiled and poured tea for Shiyi Niang. "They said that the Emperor and Empress had given gifts for her birthday and Dragon Boat Festival, and she wanted to go to the palace to express her gratitude."

The second wife is a widow and has gone to the Weibei Marquisate. The fifth wife's child is still young...

"Who is going to accompany him?" Eleventh Lady was a little worried.

"Mother Du went with me." Wei Zi said with a smile, "The Fifth Madam wanted to go with me, but the Madam Tai refused."

As she was talking, a little maid ran in and said, "The Madam is back!"

Eleventh Lady led Zhen Jie'er to the hanging flower gate to greet them.

"Why are you back so early?" The lady was a little surprised when she saw them. "Why don't you go somewhere and talk more?"

"Grandma Lin is also very busy." Eleventh Lady stepped forward and touched the old lady. "Why didn't you tell me when you went to the palace? It's never too late to go to the Lin family." She said angrily, "You went to the palace alone, and there was no one to serve you."

The lady laughed and said, "I am just going to express my gratitude, not to attend any palace banquet. Although I am old, I can still eat three big bowls."

Seeing that the lady was in good spirits, Shiyi Niang felt relieved and returned to the house with the lady with a smile.

The lady told her about the Dragon Boat Festival: "...Brother Zhe made an appointment with Mr. Zhao early in the morning to watch the dragon boat race. I thought that he has rarely been out of the house at his age, so it would be a good idea to let him go and have a look." She asked Eleventh Lady what she thought.

Eleventh Lady was afraid that the Madam would not agree, so she smiled and said, "Send a few agile people to follow us when the time comes."

Seeing that Eleven Niang had no objection, Mrs. Tai smiled and nodded, "Brother Yu, ask what the arrangements are. Brother Ji will stay at home because he is too young. I have held your haircut ceremony in the morning and left those guests for dinner at noon. I guess everyone will be there in the afternoon." Let’s go back home and have a meal together as a family.”

The coming-of-age ceremony is a woman's affair and there will be no male guests.

Eleventh Lady agreed with a smile and asked about the coming-of-age ceremony: Son... I can arrange it no matter how many people there are."

"You are busy, so let Madam Du take care of this." The lady smiled, "I will ask her to give you the menu for the banquet tomorrow, and you can ask the kitchen to prepare the food and wine. As for the rest, let Madam Du worry about it. You just need to dress up beautifully and attend the banquet."

Eleventh Lady talked to the Dowager about the coming-of-age ceremony. "...When I came back from Fujian, the fifth sister had already passed the coming-of-age ceremony. The seventh sister was in mourning for her grandfather, so the family just had a meal together. The tenth sister..." She didn't remember it happening, but it was not easy to talk about it in front of the Dowager. I came to Yanjing. They were all unmarried at that time. I remember that they wore a beautiful dress and nothing else. The first lady helped them tie up their hair and put a hairpin in it. I don't know if mine is any different?"

"It's almost the same." The lady and Eleventh Lady were sitting on the kang and talking. Zhen Jie'er took the half-finished needlework of Wei Zi and practiced her hands there. "Comb your hair and say a few auspicious words. Let's eat and drink. But I will preside over your wedding ceremony, and the eldest lady will be the spectator. I will go to Gongxian Hutong tomorrow to ask the eldest lady's opinion. After all, she is your mother, and some things still need to be discussed with her."

Eleventh Lady didn't know much about these ancient rituals, so she naturally followed the Madam's instructions and said with a smile, "Should I go back with you tomorrow?"

"No need." The lady smiled and said, "Just focus on preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival."

Eleventh Lady nodded. She chatted with the Lady Dowager and Zhen Jie'er for a long time. When Zhuge came back from school and found out that he could go to watch the dragon boat race with Mr. Zhao on the Dragon Boat Festival, he jumped up. He was anxious to tell Mr. Zhao the news. The Lady Dowager looked at his smiling face and told him several times to "be calm" before he restrained himself. He walked around the room for a long time before he calmed down a little. Xu Siyu asked Xu Lingyi, "Dad...didn't you say when you'll be back?"

"I should be back by the Dragon Boat Festival!" Eleventh Lady smiled. Xu Siyu said nothing and drooped her eyelids. "I'll just stay at home and read books! Otherwise, I won't be able to answer the questions when the teacher at the Jinxi Academy tests my knowledge."

He was calm and peaceful, and Fei Yang, who was on the shore of Bi Yi Lake, disappeared like a pebble thrown into the center of the lake.

Children of half a generation have their own thoughts. You think he is just making up excuses to express his sorrow, but he thinks you don't value his feelings. It's better to pretend you don't know. It won't be too late to listen quietly when he comes to you to talk.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "That's good. Remember to go to the Madam's room for dinner at the beginning of the day."

Xu Siyu replied softly, "Yes."

Zhen Jieer smiled and pulled Xu Siqi's hand, "You play with me!"

Xu Siqi raised his little face and smiled at his sister.

Sister Ye gently pinched his nose.

The lady looked at it and nodded secretly.

A few days later, on the third day of May, Eleventh Lady had already prepared the food for the Dragon Boat Festival and the banquet for the coming-of-age ceremony. Then, a message came in from the huichu that on the second day of May, Madam Jiang and Miss Nine of the Jiang family had arrived in Yanjing. Eleventh Lady waited until the fourth day of May, but no one from the Jiang family came to report the news.

Is it because of her coming-of-age ceremony?

Eleventh Lady was thinking about it.

It would have been fine if I didn't know that Mrs. Jiang and the Ninth Miss Jiang were coming to Yanjing. If I had known, I would have invited them to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. But I had to hold my coming-of-age ceremony that day. As the saying goes, you raise your head to marry a daughter and lower your head to receive a daughter-in-law. It would be a bit bad to let Mrs. Jiang and the Ninth Miss Jiang congratulate me on the first meeting!

Eleventh Lady went to discuss with the Lady Dowager, "...I think we should just pretend we don't know!"

The lady laughed and said, "Then just pretend you don't know!

"Let's wait for the Jiang family to report the news." Then he said, "I also took the Jiang family's position into consideration, so I didn't invite Madam Jiang to your coming-of-age ceremony." "Since no one from the Jiang family was invited, the Jiang family should not know that they were going to hold a coming-of-age ceremony. Why didn't anyone come to inform them of the news?" Eleventh Lady listened and pondered, "Could there be any changes in the Jiang family?"

"What else could possibly happen now that the child has been brought to Beijing?" The old lady said disapprovingly, "I'm afraid the Jiang family heard about it, so they deliberately didn't tell us that Madam Jiang and Miss Jiang's ninth daughter were coming to Beijing."

"Hear the rumor?" Eleventh Lady was a little surprised. "Hear the rumor that I was going to hold a coming-of-age ceremony?"

The Xu and Jiang families belong to different social circles, and both are relatively low-key, so the chances of meeting each other are not many.

"What's there to be curious about?" The lady smiled and said, "Yanjing is a small place, and those who are interested will naturally know it."