◇ Chapter 109 Daily Life After Marriage: Married Life (Part 1)
The day after the wedding, Bai Kang woke up early.
Now in Rongcheng, without having to frantically catch up on sleep because his wedding leave was only nine days long, Bai Kang was, for the first time in his life, unable to sleep. The large red wedding characters on the wall hadn't been removed, and the bed curtains were bright red, blindingly bright.
The bed was empty, and Bai Kang felt calm when he touched the bedding that had already turned cold.
This was the third time this happened, and he seemed to have gotten used to it.
After calling Qinghe to ask, he found out that Lianzhi had sneaked into the kitchen that morning. She wasn't going to cook, and they didn't know what she was doing. He wasn't worried about burning the kitchen anyway. After washing up, he was about to go and pay his respects to Mrs. Bai. When he walked into the main hall, he found that Geerer was there too.
Geril is here, then...
Entering the main hall, Lianzhi was there, holding a purple clay teapot and several small cups filled with tea before him. Mrs. Bai sat trembling beside him, twisting her handkerchief nervously. She looked more like Lianzhi's subordinate than his mother.
Well, it looks weird no matter how you look at it.
Bai Kang stepped forward, knelt on one knee and saluted: "Son greets mother."
"Brother, you're here!" Lianzhi ran to his side happily. "I heard that ordinary families invite their parents to drink tea when they get married? I want to try it too. Look, I made several cups of tea."
After saying that, he picked up a teacup and handed it over: "Please have some tea, mother—"
At the same time, Mrs. Bai almost fell off her chair and said in panic: "Thank you very much, Prince, for the tea..."
This is too weird.
"Mother, please drink your son's tea." Bai Kang reluctantly helped Mrs. Bai up and asked Lianzhi to leave first. When there was no one around, he whispered to Mrs. Bai, "Lian'er is giving you tea, just drink it directly. If you are so reserved, Lian'er will be sad."
"But, but that's the prince of the Helan tribe. How dare we neglect him!" Madam Bai whispered, "He's the queen's nephew..."
Before she could finish her words, Bo Kang interrupted her sternly: "Mother, you are no longer a palace maid."
He laughed again and jokingly said, "Besides, if you call him Your Highness, what do I have to do? Just get along with Lian'er the same way you get along with me."
After saying this, he fell silent again when he thought of how Mrs. Bai also looked submissive in front of him.
Lianzhi had heard that ordinary families would offer tea to their parents, so she woke up early to try it, clearly because she missed her mother. Now that Mrs. Bai was also Lianzhi's relative, if she was a little gentler and more generous with her behavior, perhaps she could help Lianzhi regain the feeling of being with her mother.
In short, Bai Kang repeatedly instructed Madam Bai to act like an elder. After leaving the main hall, Ge Ri Er was still at the door. Bai Kang asked curiously, "Why are you still here? Where is your prince?"
"The prince is in the ancestral hall." Geril replied.
The last time I went into the Bai family’s ancestral hall with Lianzhi was half a year ago.
After returning to Rongcheng with Lianzhi, Bo Kang went to pay his respects to Madam Yang on his own. A small bouquet of dried flowers lay before the ancestral tablet. Lianzhi placed the small teacup beside it, carefully adjusting it, her expression so earnest it was almost endearing.
Bai Kang walked over to him. Hearing footsteps, Lianzhi leaned over and said to the spirit tablet, "Madam Yang, thank you for your loyal service to my mother. You see, I am with Brother Kang now, and we will be together in the future. We are both doing well."
"Yes, mother, you see, Lian'er has become my wife to repay us. He is a good boy. If your spirit in heaven knows this, you must bless Lian'er." Bai Kang took his hand and shook it.
"What are you talking about?" Lianzhi blushed and punched Bo Kang in the chest shyly. "I'm repaying Madam Yang, not you."
Ever since Lianzhi revealed her identity, she'd stopped hiding it. This punch actually hurt Bo Kang a bit. Qing He warned from outside, "My Lord, Prince, Madam, please both of you go to the main hall for dinner immediately!"
Sitting down to eat together again, the atmosphere at the table was much more relaxed. Strangely, Bai Kang's father was still not there. It had been a month since he arrived in Rongcheng, and including the time he had spent there before, he had never seen Bai Kang's father once.
Something flickered in front of him, and when he looked down, a piece of grilled fish covered in sauce was placed on his plate, the skin and bones already removed. Bo Kang said proudly, "Baby, eat it. We don't have this in the capital."
Lianzhi curled her lips and subconsciously became picky: "Are all the fish you eat this big? I don't want to eat it."
"That's how we cook here," Bai Kang said, puzzled. Mrs. Bai overheard this again: "If the prince doesn't like it, I won't let the chef serve this dish anymore..."
Lianzhi and Bokang were too afraid to speak. Lianzhi, for once, picked up her chopsticks and said, "It's okay. It's not a big deal. This is delicious too."
After saying this, no one at the table spoke again. Back in the courtyard, Lianzhi finally asked, "What's wrong with your mother? Am I scary?" Why does she tremble when she sees him?
Bai Kang explained for Madam Bai: "She likes you. She respects Concubine Li and thinks you are her nephew. She is very excited. You just need to talk to her more in the future."
Lianzhi groaned and yawned. He had gotten up too early; he usually woke up at this time. Bo Kang had wanted to sleep with him for a while, but Qinghe's voice rang out again, seeming a little out of place: "Sir, the master is back."
Huh? His father actually came back home?
Bai Kang hurried out, and the room instantly quieted down. Lianzhi hugged the quilt and quickly fell asleep. Half asleep, she heard the voices of a child and Geer'er talking outside. She went out to take a look and saw Geerer hunched over, frantically trying to comfort Bai Xier, who was crying loudly beside her.
Seeing Lianzhi, Geerer felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw: "Prince, this young lady wanted to see Master Bai. I told her that Master Bai was not in, but she still wanted to come in. As a result, she fell down. It was not me who made the young lady cry!"
Lianzhi waved her hand and walked over to Bai Xier, squatting down. "Your elder brother is indeed not here... Is there no maid accompanying you?"
After not seeing each other for a year, Bai Xier spoke much more clearly: "I ran away secretly. It's been a long time since my brother came back, and I missed him."
"I'll let Geerer take you home." Lianzhi was about to get up when Bai Xier grabbed his sleeve, a smile spreading across her round face: "I miss my sister-in-law, too."
Lianzhi had always liked Bai Xier. He thought Bai Kang's brothers and sisters were all very cute and good-natured. Especially Bai Xier, who was still young and at the peak of her likability. Looking down, Lianzhi noticed the red at the corner of her mouth, frowned, and wiped it for her: "What's so dirty?"
Unexpectedly, Bai Xier confessed without being asked: "Sister-in-law, please don't tell mother that I secretly ate snacks! Please!"
Lianzhi chuckled and changed her mind: "No problem, come in with me."
He asked Geerer to serve two plates of pea yellow. Seeing the snacks, Bai Xier's eyes lit up. Lianzhi said, "I'm hungry too. Let's eat together. I promise not to tell your mother."
Bai Xier nodded vigorously, and Lianzhi also picked up a piece and took a small bite. Bai Xier said, "Sister-in-law, you are so kind. In the past, when I was hungry, I would come to see my eldest brother. No one allowed me to have snacks, only my eldest brother would secretly give me snacks. You are as kind as my eldest brother. Will you stay home for a long time? Can you please not leave?"
Of course they would leave. They still had to go back to the capital, and maybe even to the North Sea. But Lianzhi didn't tell the truth and coaxed her: "I'm not leaving. I'll stay with Xier from now on... You ate it on your face again, let me wipe it off for you."
This was the scene Bai Kang saw when he returned. Through the window, Lianzhi and Bai Xier sat together on the couch. Bai Xier's mouth and cheeks were stained with bean paste. Lianzhi gently wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, her expression a gentleness I had never seen before, and she truly looked like an elder.
He watched from the window for a long time, not daring to go in and disturb them. The weather was warm now, and children, after eating too much, were more likely to get sleepy, and they would fall onto Lianzhi. Lianzhi was completely stiff, and after a long moment, she gently embraced Bai Xier as if she were holding a child, letting her rest her head on her legs so she could sleep more comfortably.
Lianzhi's legs went numb. She turned her head and met Bai Kang's gaze outside the window. Her eyes widened. She was discovered. Bai Kang entered the room. Lianzhi put her index finger to her lips, silently reminding him, "Keep your voice down."
"Let me do it." Bo Kang held out his hand. Lianzhi shook her head and hugged Xier tighter, "Don't wake her up."
Do you like Xier so much? Bai Kang himself felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. He just stood there. Lianzhi thought he was going to say something else and glared at him: "Go sit over there."
Well, as the saying goes, a man forgets his mother when he gets a wife. His wife forgot him when she got a younger sister.
After a while, two soft snoring sounds came from the bed. Bo Kang looked up and found that they were both asleep, curled up on the couch like two kittens.
So cute.
Bai Kang watched for a long time before looking away. At noon, Mrs. Bai's maid came to look for someone and woke Lianzhi up. He rubbed his eyes. Bai Kang was about to take Xier away from his arms. He murmured and asked at the same time as Xier, "Brother?"
"Brother?"
Bai Kang's eyebrows twitched, but he handed Bai Xier to the maid without changing his expression. After closing the door, Lianzhi looked at him resentfully: "Why did you take Xier away? You deliberately disturbed me."
"Mother sent someone. You really like Xier." Bo Kang sighed, "Baby, let's discuss it. How about you change your name?"
Lianzhi tilted her head and looked at him: "What do you want to change?"
"You call me brother, and Xier and the others call me brother too. It's a bit weird, you know." Bo Kang touched his ear uncomfortably. Although he also thought it was cute that Lianzhi called him brother, "Why don't you call me that in front of others? Otherwise, people will think we're good brothers."
Lianzhi had never thought about this before, but for a moment he really considered it. Bai Kang was older than him, and everyone around him always called him "Brother Kang," so he learned to call him "brother." As for the rest... he definitely didn't want to call Bai Kang "sir" like the servants did. Bai Kang tried hard to hint at it, "Just use a more common name."
Popular? Lianzhi thought for a moment and said, "Husband?"
Bo Kang: “Hey.”
Lianzhi was startled, then blushed and said, "Really?! You're only smart at times like this!"
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