Returning to the bride's parents' home
The carriage turned through the winding alleyway, traveled to a wide avenue, and then went another mile before finally stopping in front of a mansion with upturned eaves and a vermilion gate.
Above the gate plaque, the words "Qiu Mansion" were clearly written.
Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, the gatekeeper went in to announce its arrival.
Lin Yi lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage, standing in front of the door staring blankly at the two large characters of "Qiu Mansion".
"Miss Lin has returned home?" The speaker was a young girl, barely out of her prime, dressed in a light, airy blouse, her smile seemingly deliberate. Beside her was a maid with her hair in a bun, clearly also a daughter of an official's family.
Lin Yi asked Xueya beside him, "Who is this?"
She didn't lower her voice deliberately, and asked the question with confidence, showing no embarrassment or shame at not recognizing the person.
Although Xueya wasn't malicious, she was quite clever and shared the same hatred for the woman. Thinking that Xueya was deliberately ignoring her, she chimed in, "Miss, I don't remember either. Perhaps she's the daughter of some wealthy merchant."
In Mingzhou City, although merchants were wealthy, their status was far inferior to that of officials, and her words were somewhat deliberate in their belittling.
The maidservant beside the woman was the first to panic: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is our Minister's daughter!"
The Minister's Mansion? Lin Yi remembered that there was indeed a Minister's daughter in "Mountains and Rivers with You" who didn't appear much, but she wasn't exactly a saint either. However, she was smarter than Qiu Qing and knew how to protect herself. This Minister's daughter never did anything truly heinous; she only did things like belittling the weak, flattering the strong, and kicking someone when they were down. After Qiu's family fell on hard times, she took the opportunity to ridicule them quite a bit.
What was the name of this Minister's daughter again? I think it was...
"Yanran is here."
A tall, dignified middle-aged man slowly strolled out of the mansion.
That's right, it's Lu Yanran.
Xueya exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the newcomer, "Master!"
Lu Yanran gracefully bowed and said, "Uncle Qiu."
"You've come looking for Kiyoya?"
"Yes. It's time for Qing to return to her parents' home today, so I came to see her."
Qiu Baiji then turned his attention to Qiu Qingye.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing his beloved daughter from head to toe, as if checking how she had been doing these past few days. His gaze finally settled on her face, carefully looking into her clear, youthful eyes.
Perhaps because he couldn't see any regret in her eyes, Qiu Baiji's stern face became even more displeased.
"What's wrong? Now that you're married, you can't even greet people properly anymore?"
Lin opened his mouth, but the word stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say it no matter what.
She hadn't used that title in over twenty years, and besides, it belonged to Qiu Qingye's father, not hers.
Qiu Baiji turned his head away, no longer looking at this unfilial daughter he had been thinking about day and night, and said in a serious tone, "Your mother is overjoyed to know you're back, and she's in the kitchen right now making your favorite steamed sea bass."
Lin Yi remained silent, and everyone could sense that something was amiss.
No one would doubt that the person standing in front of the mansion was not Qiu Qingye. They would simply assume that she was a newlywed returning home, and her emotional outburst had caused her to behave inappropriately.
Qiu Baiji turned to face Xie Chengnan, his displeasure even more blatant than when he had looked at Qiu Qingye. Seeing that Xie Chengnan had only brought one person and one carriage, he was even more furious and snorted coldly, "You came empty-handed?"
Xie Chengnan shook his head and chuckled inwardly. He had been wondering why they hadn't let his daughter in when they arrived at the Qiu residence, letting the Minister's daughter watch the spectacle for nothing. It turned out, it was to give him a warning.
Lin stepped forward and stood between the two. Just as he was about to explain, he heard footsteps approaching.
Although Lin Yi did not know Qiu Qingye's parents, he recognized at a glance that the elegantly dressed woman, who still retained her charm, was Madam Qiu, or rather, the mistress of the Qiu family, Qiu Qingye's mother, and the elder sister of the current Imperial Noble Consort Shu.
The lady walked briskly, lifting her skirt, and despite such a lively gesture, she remained dignified and composed.
A maid followed behind, panting, the thumping footsteps coming from her: "Madam! Slow down, be careful not to fall."
"Qingye!" the lady exclaimed in delight.
Lin Yi blinked slowly, as if he had made up his mind.
She clasped her hands together, placed them on her left hip, and knelt down slowly, saying, "Mother, Father, your daughter has returned."
Madam Qiu quickly helped the woman up, took her hand, and looked at her with concern: "Why have you lost weight? You look so haggard."
Lin Yi lowered his head and smiled: "No."
"Why call her Mother? We've grown distant from each other."
"I'm not unfamiliar with her, but now that my daughter is married, she should be more composed than before."
Madam Qiu smiled broadly and gently patted Lin Yi's hand: "It's good to be more composed, it's good to be more composed! But I love hearing A-Ye call me 'Mother,' it's been so many days since he called me that, come and let Mother hear it."
"Mother," Lin Yi called out briefly, her face blushing slightly, but thankfully she was wearing makeup today, so it wasn't noticeable.
Madam Qiu's face lit up with joy, and she looked much younger and healthier: "Master, please let the young lady and son-in-law in quickly. What are you doing standing here?"
Qiu Baiji snorted coldly, but showed no intention of letting the person in.
Lin Yi knew he was blaming Xie Chengnan for coming empty-handed, causing the Qiu family to lose face. He wanted to speak up for Xie Chengnan, saying, "Father, actually..."
Xie Chengnan stepped forward, folded his arms over his chest, and bowed deeply: "Actually, I prepared some small gifts, but I was worried that they would delay my journey, so I did not bring them with me. Someone will deliver them to your residence later."
Qiu Baekje remained unpleasant and did not speak.
He remained silent, and Xie Chengnan maintained his bowing posture. The two remained locked in this stalemate.
Lin Yi didn't know if what Xie Chengnan said was true or false, but assumed it was just a temporary expedient by Xie Chengnan, so she took the opportunity to persuade him: "Why don't we go inside first? Our daughter hasn't been back for a long time and is a little homesick."
Lu Yanran, who was watching the commotion from the side, smiled, her smile as delicate as a lotus in bloom: "The gifts from the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion are certainly not meager. Why don't we wait here and let my daughter broaden her horizons?"
Lin Yi rolled his eyes inwardly, but maintained a calm and collected demeanor on the surface. Xue Ya, on the other hand, actually started making faces at the master and servant, prying out their eyes and sticking out her tongue, which infuriated the little maid from the Minister's mansion.
Lu Yanran acted as if she hadn't seen anything. Qiu Qing wasn't someone to be trifled with either; the more indifferent she appeared, the more likely this homecoming gift was fabricated.
The fact that the dignified Marquis of Yong'an's mansion couldn't even afford a decent return gift was an open secret among the city's powerful and wealthy. However, if the couple returned empty-handed, Qiu Qing would surely become a laughingstock in Mingzhou.
When that time comes, let's see how arrogant you, Qiu Qing, still are.
“Miss Lu, I have no grudge against you, do I?” Lin Yi suddenly spoke, her words catching everyone off guard. “I don’t recall ever having one. Although we are both noble ladies from Mingzhou, we don’t usually interact. The only time we could be considered to have had a conflict was at your 16th birthday banquet, where I dressed up in my finest and outshone you with my musical skills, stealing your thunder—such a small thing, and you still remember it?”
Lu Yanran's smile froze on her face, like a mask on the verge of breaking.
Lin Yi continued to add insult to injury, "I was right. After the banquet back then, you did a lot of things to say about me, both openly and secretly. I just ignored you. But I really didn't expect that you haven't forgotten me yet, and that you're so eager to see me make a fool of myself whenever you get the chance?"
It wasn't that Lin Yi was just talking nonsense; she had just asked the system why, out of countless noble ladies in Mingzhou City, it was this Minister's daughter who was the first to come and watch this spectacle. Only then did she learn from the system that Qiu Qing and Lu Yanran had this past conflict when they were young.
"Perhaps it is indeed shameful for me to return home empty-handed, but you, the daughter of a high-ranking official, are so petty and have nothing to do all day. It's not exactly honorable for you to go to someone else's mansion and act all high and mighty, is it?" Lin Yi turned the tables on Lu Yanran, leaving her speechless.
"You!" Lu Yanran finally couldn't keep up the act anymore.
Qiu Baiji asked solemnly, his face solemn, "Is that so?" Although he was usually quite gentle with the younger generation, he was actually a rigid and somewhat pedantic person at heart, with a stern and resolute appearance. Therefore, when he became serious, the pressure of an elder immediately spread out.
Lu Yanran suddenly felt a little scared. "Uncle Qiu, I have long forgotten those old stories. I came here today just to visit Qingye as a friend." When facing the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, she reverted to her obedient and docile junior demeanor.
Qiu Baiji, however, was not buying it. He coldly waved his sleeve and dismissed her, saying, "Now that you've seen her, my daughter is perfectly fine. Miss Lu, please leave!"
After all this commotion, Lu Yanran couldn't be more eager to get at least three miles away from them. From now on, she wanted to stay as far away from her enemies as possible!
"Don't go, Miss Lu." Xie Chengnan laughed freely, and with a wave of his hand, Cang Xie blocked the path of the Minister's daughter and her maid.
"Since we're here, let's make the most of it and broaden our horizons."
This was the same explanation Lu Yanran gave when she first arrived.
Lin Yi suddenly turned to look at him. Could it be that Xie Chengnan had really prepared a return gift? Or was it just a bluff?
Xie Chengnan winked at her slyly.
Before long, the sound of horses' hooves indeed came from afar, and it sounded like there was more than one horse.
The cavalry was not moving fast.
The lead horse carried a slightly overweight man on its back. Judging from his clothes, he seemed to be a merchant. Behind the lead horse were more than ten strong men, each leading a fine horse with heavy cargo boxes on its back.
Upon reaching the crowd, the portly merchant dismounted. His bulging belly made his dismount somewhat comical, and he staggered a few steps before regaining his balance. He scratched his head sheepishly at the noblemen before the Qiu residence, then, after a self-deprecating laugh, clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "Young Marquis, the gifts you ordered from me have arrived. Here is the gift list—"
Xie Chengnan took the crimson and gold-trimmed gift list and handed it to Qiu Baiji with both hands without even glancing at it: "Please take a look, Father-in-law."
Qiu Baiji took the gift list, glanced at it, and looked up in surprise.
Xie Chengnan smiled, his politeness perfectly impeccable. He then glanced at the dozens of wooden crates, which weighed down the colt's steps, making it impossible to fake.
Qiu Baiji gently stroked the edge of the gift list with his fingers. If this gift was genuine, it was far too precious…
"If Father-in-law has no objection to this gift list, then let's bring the gifts into the mansion."
"Did you all hear that? Delivery to your door—"
The fat vendor waved his hand, and a dozen burly men responded, carrying boxes and heading towards the Qiu residence.
The gatekeeper looked troubled: "Master, this..."
Qiu Baiji said in a deep voice, "Let them in. My daughter, Qiu, is worthy of such courtesy."
Lin Yi's pupils dilated slightly. The gift was actually real.
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