"Get up. We'll talk about this later. Now come inside with me; there are people in the house!"
Sanwang's face was sallow. After hesitating for a moment, he followed his mother into the house. When he looked up and saw so many people sitting in the house, he bowed and greeted them one by one.
The oldest among them was the old patriarch of the Jin family, who was almost seventy years old this year. He neatly stroked his white beard and pointed to the small stool next to him, saying, "Sit down. I've already heard about your situation from your mother. This Aunt Liu is really something. She's just jealous of the family fortune your mother worked so hard to build. So, have you figured it out now? Do you like Yinxia or her?"
Sanwang looked in the direction the clan leader was pointing and saw Ruyan standing to one side with red eyes, her face filled with an unprecedented calm.
At the door, Jin Erniu helped Liu Shi in. When Liu Pozi saw Liang Shuyan, she smiled and said, "In-law, I can smell the delicious aroma coming from your kitchen as soon as I came in. Did you make something delicious for the Year of the Snake?"
Liang Shuyan quickly stepped forward to help the old lady Liu, patting her arm and saying, "Weren't we waiting for you to come so we could start eating?"
After Grandma Liu took her seat, Sanwang said with some guilt, "I'm sorry to Ruyan, but actually, if it weren't for Aunt Liu's interference, nothing would have happened between Ruyan and me."
"It's good that you know. Ruyan is a filial and obedient girl, and Yinxia is a good girl. The key issue is that she's becoming in-laws with Aunt Liu's family, which I, as the old clan head, am somewhat unwilling to do!"
Sanwang finally understood that if he married Yinxia, he might offend many people, even the highly respected old clan chief in front of him.
"Alright, now that everyone who's supposed to be here is here, let's open the wine jar for these two children, which means they're not far from getting married."
The clan chief spoke, and Dashan walked in carrying a jar of wine, placed it on the table, and lifted the red cloth covering it. Lizheng walked over, picked up a basket of red eggs, placed them aside, and muttered a few words to the wine jar.
Sanwang and Ruyan stood together. Lizheng took out some wine from the wine jar, lightly dipped a bamboo leaf in the wine, and sprinkled it on them, signifying good fortune and smooth sailing.
Grandma Jin and Grandma Liu respectfully came to the wine jar, and Li Zheng was in charge of serving everyone wine. Everyone picked up their wine cups and drank them down in one gulp.
Liang Shuyan, however, held her own glass of wine and respectfully toasted the old clan chief, Li Zheng, Old Lady Jin, Old Lady Liu, and other elders sitting in the room.
Li Zheng said with a smile, "Sanwang, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and come over to toast the clan leader and elders!"
Sanwang then remembered to offer toasts, and pulled Ruyan along to hold the wine glasses and offer toasts to each of the elders.
The curtain was lifted, and a clear voice rang out: "Uncles, grandpas, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, dinner is ready!"
Chunyan also helped serve the food, and the dishes were all placed on the table. Lizheng, however, sat on a bench to the side and couldn't help but praise Liang Shuyan: "Oh, Aunt Dashan, you are so capable! I didn't expect that under your guidance, we had fertilized and watered the wheat seedlings. The other day when I passed by the field, I saw that the wheat seedlings were growing green and tall. It seems that we can harvest two crops of wheat this year."
At this point, the old clan chief laughed heartily: "How about that? Our Jin family's daughter-in-law is just that amazing. You and I have been farming for so many years and we still haven't figured out this principle, but our Jin family's daughter-in-law has figured it out! Haha, we have a bumper harvest this year, are we afraid of going hungry?"
Li Zheng whispered, "I heard from the county magistrate that this matter must be presented to the Emperor so that he can reward Aunt Dashan handsomely."
Liang Shuyan fell silent. She didn't know what the county magistrate was thinking. She was just an ordinary peasant woman. How could she ask for credit in front of the emperor?
"Don't say that. What if someone hears us? We'll be laughed at. I'm just an ordinary peasant woman. How could I possibly hope for the Emperor's reward?"
Li Zheng threw his head back and laughed loudly: "I think you really are something else. I'm just Li Zheng, and I only heard what the magistrate said. What right do I have to decide the magistrate's decision?"
Ruyan bowed respectfully to Liang Shuyan and said, "Auntie, it's all because I was ignorant and made you worry. I owe you so much for my relationship with Sanwang. Otherwise, we might really have been destined to be apart!"
Liang Shuyan shook her head: "You silly child, what are you saying? Auntie has long considered you to be her daughter-in-law. No matter what happens in between, Auntie has already decided that you are her daughter-in-law. Even if Sanwang is unwilling, then Sanwang should not let me recognize him as his mother!"
Sanwang blushed and said, "Mother, it's all because I was too cowardly that I was taken advantage of by Aunt Liu. Mother, from now on, no matter what happens, I will always discuss it with you first!"
The opening of the wine is the final ceremony for a group of men and women entering into marriage. After a simple meal, the clan chief and the chief priest also left.
Liang Shuyan then called Sanwang over: "You said that the child in Yinxia's belly is not yours. Then that means that someone else must have broken into Yinxia's room that night."
"I don't know about that. Only Yinxia herself knows the exact time."
Liang Shuyan had to get to the bottom of this matter, and she couldn't let Aunt Liu know. If Aunt Liu found out, who knew how she would treat Yinxia?
"Dashan, go out for a bit and see if Yinxia is here. Call her over, but don't let Aunt Liu see her."
Dashan agreed and turned to leave.
A little while later, Yinxia arrived, and her belly was indeed visible. Liang Shuyan told everyone else to leave, closed the door, and told Yinxia to sit down.
"Yinxia, your aunt wants to talk to you about your belly?"
Yinxia stood up and turned to leave, but Liang Shuyan stopped her: "Can't you tell me what happened? If you are really a child of our Jin family, I will naturally make Sanwang take responsibility for you. If not, do you know what will happen to the Jin family if you try to hide it from us? When it goes to the authorities, no one will get a good result."
Upon hearing that she was going to be reported to the authorities, Yinxia immediately knelt down on the ground, sobbing and saying, "Auntie, I'll tell you! I know that nothing happened between Sanwang and me that night. Sanwang was drunk, and he used cold water from the basin to wake himself up. Then he left with a fierce look on his face. My child was conceived by Pangdan a few days ago. I was afraid of damaging my reputation, so I never dared to tell anyone. Auntie, please, please don't tell my mother about this!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com