77 The eldest sister gets married
◎My second sister must be envious of me at this moment, right?◎
The other end.
Madam Wen had just returned home, and before she could even have a cup of tea and rest for a moment, a maid came in with a message: "Madam, Madam Yu from next door is here."
Before he could finish his words, Mrs. Yu came in hurriedly, fanning herself with a plain dough fan, and started to scold him before she even sat down.
"I've finally got you back! I came to talk to you early this morning, but the concierge said you weren't there, that you'd gone to some Bixu Pavilion. I came back two hours later, but still found nothing!"
She fanned herself so quickly that a few strands of hair ripped up from her temples. "Tell me, what kind of place is that? I've never heard of it!"
Mrs. Wen also had a lot to say, so she quickly pulled her friend to sit on the couch, her eyes gleaming. "If you hadn't come to find me, I would have gone to find you this afternoon! Today has really opened my eyes!"
"Oh?" Mrs. Yu paused with the round fan in her hand, her curiosity piqued.
Madam Wen lowered her voice, "Didn't I tell you a while ago that I wanted to see Madam Chu from General Xuanwei's family to see what's wrong with me? Her medicinal bathhouse, 'Bixu Pavilion,' opened today, so I went there."
Madam Yu chuckled, "It's just a perfume shop, how could it open your eyes?"
Mrs. Wen enthusiastically recounted everything she had seen and heard. She described the "lotus rain" in the bathroom, which was like a heavenly downpour, and the "seven-colored glazed light" that lingered in the air. Mrs. Yu's eyes widened, and she even forgot to fan herself.
When they talked about the elegant lounge where they happened to meet the wife of a duke, Mrs. Yu's fanning hand stopped in mid-air, and ripples appeared in her heart.
She thought that those novel things mentioned above were just because Mrs. Chu was smart and good at business, but when she heard about the people behind them, she couldn't help but secretly calculate the connections behind them.
"If you say so..."
Madam Yu pondered for a moment, then gently fanned herself. "This Bixu Pavilion is truly a wonderful place. It's a great place to recuperate, seek medical advice, and relax and while away the hours. Fifteen taels of silver isn't a small sum, but it's nothing to the women of the families. With nothing better to do, they'd naturally love to go and try something new and join in the fun. Besides, the people who frequent it are the wives of prominent officials in the capital. If we could 'chance' to run into them and strike up a conversation, that would be the icing on the cake."
"That's exactly the point!" Seeing that she was already interested, Mrs. Wen smiled and reminded her, "But if you want to go, you must send a servant to make an appointment as soon as possible."
"Appointment?" Mrs. Yu was puzzled.
Madam Wen raised two jade fingers and said, "Yes, they have strict rules and only receive twenty people a day."
"There's such a thing!" Madam Yu was so shocked that her mouth dropped open. "So, not everyone can enter the Bixu Pavilion!"
Her mind raced, and she secretly made up her mind to send someone to Bixu Pavilion as soon as she returned home.
Similar conversations and thoughts quietly circulated in many mansions in the capital on almost the same day.
The ladies who had been there reminisced about the novelty and planned to go back. Those who had not been there, having heard of all the wonders, were itching to explore it all.
Young people seek novelty and fun, while older people who are more thoughtful think more and further.
Thanks to word of mouth from these ladies, the effect was immediate. Within a week, the bathhouse owner came to report with great joy that the reservations for the next two weeks were almost sold out.
Chu Yufu's eyes curved when she heard the good news. She immediately ordered the shopkeeper to give out rewards to the servants and gave them detailed instructions: "Be sure to serve them well and don't neglect our distinguished guests. If you do well, you will be rewarded handsomely. If you make a mistake, you will not be forgiven."
The shopkeeper bowed repeatedly in agreement.
-
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was August 26th, the day Chu Jinhe was getting married.
In the early morning, the faint sunlight filtered through the thin window paper and poured into the house. The red gauze curtain was half-open. Chu Yufu, hugging a thin quilt, lay lazily on the brocade mattress, with her hands under her cheeks, and stared at the man's back as he dressed with sleepy eyes.
Normally, as a wife, she should get up and serve. But after spending so much time with him, she had already figured out that her husband was a laid-back type who never cared about these little things, so she was happy to be lazy... Of course, as life went on, it didn't seem like a big deal.
Pei Yue fastened the jade belt around his waist and turned around to see that his wife was still in a daze, her almond-shaped eyes blinking and about to close again.
He couldn't help but turn back to the bed, gently pinched her delicate little chin with his slender fingers, leaned over and kissed her red lips, and after a gentle rubbing, he put his arm around her waist and helped her sit up.
"Wake up, it's already the morning hour. If you really want to sleep, it's not too late to catch up on your sleep when you come back." His voice was slightly hoarse from waking up in the morning.
Chu Yufu rubbed her eyes, yawned loudly, and shook her head like a rattle: "Grandma insisted on keeping me for lunch, and I don't know when I will be back." Her voice was soft and sleepy.
Pei Yue looked at her listless appearance like a kitten, thought for a moment, and said, "Haven't you always wanted to go to Zhouqiao Night Market? Autumn is almost here, and with the cooler weather, the night market will be closed, and there won't be many days left to visit. Why don't I pick you up from the Chu family after I finish my job, and then stop by the night market on the way?"
When Chu Yufu heard this, her eyes lit up instantly, and her sleepiness was swept away: "This is good!"
A smile flashed across Pei Yue's eyes, and he called the maid waiting in the corridor to come in and help him wash and dress.
He started his shift early, and only after he had breakfast with her and left did Chu Yufu sit back in front of her dressing table and put on her makeup carefully.
Lan Zhu used her fingertips to pick up a little bright red rouge from the porcelain box, spread it on her palm, and then gently applied it on her cheeks.
Chu Yufu looked at Lan Zhu's silhouette in the mirror and said, "I see Zhiyao and Yunsui are doing well in Bixu Pavilion and they seem to be having a good time. Don't you really want to give it a try?"
When she first approached Lan Zhu about the position of head of the medicine department, she had asked her first. Lan Zhu, however, said she didn't want to leave the inner chambers and only wanted to stay by her side. However, Chu Yufu always felt that learning to be independent outside was better than being a servant for the rest of her life.
Lan Zhu's hands kept moving, and she said firmly, "No, I just like following Madam, and I don't want to go anywhere. Besides, it would be inconvenient for you to do anything without someone who knows you well."
Chu Yufu felt that what she said made sense. Besides, not everyone wanted to stay outside. After she finished applying rouge and straightened up, she said.
"Well, starting tomorrow, you should delegate some of the odd jobs you have, spend more time with the fish mother, learn from her, and observe more."
Lan Zhu's eyes lit up: "Madam, what you mean is..."
Chu Yufu picked out a jade hairpin from the box and pinned it into her hair with a smile. "Of course you're going to learn to help me take care of the backyard, silly Lanzhu! Could it be that you really want to be just a little maid for the rest of your life?"
Lan Zhu raised her hand to touch the jade hairpin on her head, and her eyes curved into two crescent moons.
At noon, Chu Yufu changed her clothes and got on the car to go to the Chu family.
As the carriage approached the alley, the deafening sounds of gongs, drums, and suonas could be heard from afar. Looking out, I saw the gates of the Chu Mansion, draped in red and decorated with streamers, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. A large red wedding sedan was parked steadily in front of the stone steps.
"Let's go through the west corner gate." Chu Yufu ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." The coachman responded, shook the reins, and the carriage turned lightly towards the west corner gate.
Chu Yufu was a little late entering the mansion, thinking everyone would be gathered in the main hall. She hurried over, and sure enough, her father and Wu were already seated at the main table, with her grandmother sitting beside her father.
She walked forward, bowed slightly, asked how she was, then stood behind her grandmother and placed her hand lightly on her shoulder.
Grandma Wei smiled and patted the back of her hand, then tilted her head slightly and whispered, "Have you had breakfast yet? There are fruit and snacks in the side hall."
At this moment, outside the main hall, a red figure, supported by a maid, was approaching gracefully. Chu Yufu glanced at her and replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, Grandma. I came here after eating."
As she spoke, Chu Jinhe had already stepped over the high threshold and was getting closer and closer.
It was the first time that Chu Yufu saw her dressed so gorgeously.
She wore a red long skirt with wide sleeves and gold plating, and a peony-patterned shawl of the same color. Both sides were adorned with heavy gold teardrop-shaped pendants, and on her head she wore a round crown studded with pearls and jadeite.
In order to live up to the name of "Little Lotus Fairy", it is said that she usually eats very lightly, with only half an ounce of rice for each meal. She starved herself to a slender waist, just to make her plain white silk dress look elegant and refined.
At this moment, she looked quite thin in her complicated and gorgeous clothes, as if the pearls and jade on her head and the gold embroidery on her body would crush her at any time.
Chu Yufu's gaze fell on Chu Jinhe, and Chu Jinhe also saw her the first time.
Chu Yufu is wearing a Tianshui Bisu Luo narrow-sleeved shirt today, with a lilac tube top underneath, and a butterfly-shaped half-sleeved shirt of the same color on the outside, and a light pink jacquard skirt underneath.
She did not wear many ornaments on her body, only a mandarin duck jade pendant hanging around her waist, and two jade hairpins of the same color slanted in her hair, as elegant as a lotus after the rain.
Chu Jinhe's gaze was first fixed on her oval face, which had become increasingly radiant due to recent nourishment, and then slid to the jade pendant on her waist. She couldn't help but shrink her pupils.
The jade pendant was pure white and flawless, gleaming with a delicate and warm glow in the morning light. The white was not glaringly pale, but rather restrained and subtle, as white as solidified fat!
She had seen a pair of earrings of this quality in the Treasure Pavilion, and the price tag was five hundred taels of silver!
The one on Chu Yufu's waist is clearly carved from a whole piece of high-quality white jade, and its value will be even more astonishing!
She couldn't help but clench her hands hidden under her sleeves... Life in the general's mansion is really easy.
However, after today, I will be a member of the Earl's Mansion! And she is just marrying a general without a title! The wedding dress I am wearing today is more luxurious than hers back then. In the end, I am the one who married better, after all, I am better than her!
Noticing that Chu Yufu's gaze seemed to be on the pearl crown on her head, Chu Jinhe couldn't help but raise her chin slightly, straighten her back, and curl up the corners of her lips into a smile.
My second sister must be envious of me right now, right? After all, when she got married, she only had an ordinary gold and silver crown and two pomegranate flowers on her head!
Chu Yufu was completely unaware of her elder sister's thoughts. She simply stared intently at the jeweled crown on her head with her wide eyes, marveling from the bottom of her heart: She had to admire Chu Jinhe for one thing. She could carry such a heavy weight, yet she could still walk so steadily and even smile?!
In the hall, Chu Jinhe knelt down and kowtowed to her parents.
Mrs. Wu looked at her daughter, dressed in her finery, and shed two tears, but her eyes were filled with joy. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand and urged her daughter to abide by the rules of a wife in her husband's family, to be virtuous and good, to treat her husband with respect, and to serve her parents-in-law well...
It was a bright and sunny day, but Chu Yufu shuddered inexplicably as she listened to these admonitions, and subconsciously gathered her clothes. When she looked at Chu Jinhe again, a trace of pity could not help but appear in her eyes.
She chose a husband like that, and could the parents-in-law who raised such a husband be easy to get along with?
【Author’s words】
There will be two more! [Poor]
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