Brother Lin and his wife couldn't contain their excitement and rushed forward to greet them.
"Little sister..."
"Peach Blossom... it really is you." Brother Lin and his wife were so happy to see Lin Taohua that tears welled up in their eyes, and they wept with joy.
Lin Taohua was helped forward by the servants and excitedly grasped the hands of her elder brother and sister-in-law: "Elder brother and sister-in-law, it's me. I've come back to see you."
"Mingzhu, Mingyue, quickly call for people. These are all your mother's and aunt's family members."
Both little girls had bright eyes, fair faces, and were dressed neatly. They greeted each other in a clear voice, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt."
Then, addressing Song Anxin and her group behind her, she said, "Hello, Second Aunt, Hello, Cousins, Cousins' wives, Cousins' sisters, and Cousins' brothers."
Song Anbang was reading in the house. Old Mrs. Song knew that their family had finally reunited, so she went to the duck egg workshop to chat with the women and old ladies.
Aside from Lin Fengnian, Lin Erxi and Dongzi were seeing their aunt and two cousins for the first time. Lin Erxi was too young to remember them at all, and Lin Dongzi, who was even younger than the two girls, had never seen them before.
Both of them were stunned. Their aunt looked so wealthy, and their two cousins were so beautiful at such a young age, like people in a painting.
The younger children also greeted, "Hello, Auntie! Hello, my two cousins!"
Lin Dongzi even rubbed his hands together, afraid that he might not be clean enough to please his two older cousins: "Hello, cousins. I am Lin Dongzi, your cousin." Then he grinned and showed what he thought was his best smile, revealing his perfectly white teeth.
Lin Erxi saw this and said, "Dongzi, why are you smiling like an idiot? Quickly pull your teeth back, don't scare your two little cousins."
Upon hearing this, Lin Dongzi immediately shut his mouth, shook his little head, and muttered, "My second aunt said that smile is the cutest."
Liu Mingzhu and Mingyue looked at their cousin, exchanged a glance, and secretly smiled.
Liu Mingzhu lived in the same courtyard as Lin Taohua and Mingyue, eating and living together. She practically grew up with Lin Taohua, so she naturally followed wherever Lin Taohua went, just like a mother and daughter. Little Su Shi was also hoping that she wouldn't be around.
The villagers who were watching were all astonished. This...this is Peach Blossom! Before, when Peach Blossom went to the county to be someone's concubine, they were ashamed to talk about her behind her back. They never expected that Peach Blossom would live so well now. Not only does she travel in such a luxurious carriage, but she is also dressed in fine silks and satins, and she wears jewelry that they could never afford in their entire lives. She is also served by old women and maids, and the old women and maids are dressed better than them.
And those two little girls were clearly from wealthy families; they had bright eyes and white teeth at such a young age, standing there unlike the dirty, dark-skinned children in the village.
The villagers who had come to watch the spectacle immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Oh my, it really is peach blossoms. What kind of wealthy life must one live to be dressed so well and have maids and servants?"
Someone called out, "Peach Blossom, do you still recognize me? I'm Xiuyun, who grew up with you since we were little."
"..……..."
In fact, Lin Taohua wasn't wearing any jewelry at all, except for a jade hairpin in her hair. This was a gift from her deceased wife. As for her clothes, they were made according to the household's custom. Naturally, Xiao Su wouldn't go overboard with such superficial things, and the master could see that. Compared to other households, the three of them were considered quite simple.
When Lin Taohua heard a familiar voice calling her, she turned her head, fixed her eyes on it, and said, "Of course I know you, Xiuyun. How are you doing?"
When the woman saw that she had been recognized by her childhood friend, she was overjoyed: "Oh, that's great!"
Seeing that Lin Taohua didn't have the airs of a city lady and even responded to their words, the women and old ladies all came forward to chat with Lin Taohua.
Lin Taohua hadn't seen these villagers for a long time; some of them had even watched her grow up. She smiled and responded to each of them.
When Song Anxin saw this, she realized that her own family was about to be squeezed out, and Lin Taohua was pregnant. Fortunately, the old woman who was with her was taking good care of her.
She quickly stepped forward and said to the villagers, "Thank you all for your concern. It's not easy for Taohua to come home, and our family misses her very much. Let's have a family gathering first. Taohua, come on, we'll go home first."
After Lin Taohua, Song Anxin, and their entire family returned to the house, the crowd that had come to watch the excitement gradually dispersed, all of them talking about the impressive presence of Lin Taohua and her companions.
Among the crowd, a young woman stared at Song Anxin's courtyard with eyes full of jealousy. If looks could kill, Song Anxin's yard would probably have been blown up by her. This woman was Liu Xiuhong, and Xiuyun, who had just spoken to Taohua to acknowledge her, was her cousin. She was only a year younger than the two of them and used to often follow them around the village.
If she hadn't been a little too young back then, with his good looks, how could he have ended up with that ordinary-looking Lin Taohua? Otherwise, she would be the one living a life of luxury, riding in a grand carriage and being waited on hand and foot now, instead of marrying that short-lived man and ruining his reputation as a jinx.
Her eyes burned with even more jealousy. She was determined to win over Song Tongsheng, because then she would be an official's wife and certainly no less successful than Lin Taohua.
Song Tongsheng rarely went out. She could only wait for him on the road when he went to teach at the ancestral hall. However, he was always surrounded by a large group of people from Aunt Lin's family, so she had no chance to get close to him.
"Xiuhong, what are you standing there for! Hurry up and go back to work." A woman called to her; this woman was Liu Xiuhong's mother.
Liu Xiuhong stomped her foot angrily and said irritably, "I know, all you know is how to make me do chores. Don't we have wives like Yousheng and Youdi at home? Just let them do the work."
"You Sheng You Di" refers to her two younger brothers, and "You Sheng You Di" refers to her two younger brothers' wives.
"Hey, you brat, you've got quite a temper. What's wrong with you? Your parents feed you, give you a drink, and ask you to do some chores, and you still take it out on me. You're always ordering around your wife, who has both a son and a daughter-in-law. Don't you have any shame?"
Liu Xiuhong walked with her head down, not listening to what her mother said. She was calculating in her mind that the prescription Lin Gangzi had mentioned definitely wouldn't work on her alone. An idea came to her, and she smiled, taking her mother's arm and saying, "Mother, I want to discuss something with you..."
Meanwhile, Song Anxin, along with Lin's elder brother and sister-in-law and their entire family, as well as Lin Taohua, Mingzhu, and Mingyue, were all sitting neatly in the main room. Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for so many years, they were all a little embarrassed after their initial joy and remained silent for a moment.
Fortunately, Song Mei brewed some tea and brought it over at that moment: "Auntie, Mingzhu and Mingyue, come and have some tea first."
"Yes, yes, yes, Peach Blossom, Mingzhu, and Mingyue must be thirsty from the journey. Please have some tea," Sister-in-law Lin quickly said.
Lin Taohua replied, "Thank you, Fengnian's wife. Mingzhu and Mingyue, hurry up and thank your cousin-in-law."
The two maids, Mingzhu and Mingyue, thanked them in crisp voices.
Then they fell into an awkward silence. Lin Fengyao couldn't hold back any longer and said to Liu Mingzhu and Mingyue:
“Cousin Mingyue, and you’re also cousin Mingzhu, right? Come on, I’ll take you out to play.”
Lin Erxi couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere either: "Yeah, let's go, the adults are so bored. Let's go out, and your cousin will take you to play."
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