The bruises on Zhang Mei's face had faded and were no longer visible. She sat on the bed in her new clothes, her face flushed with embarrassment. Lin Fengnian stood by, his face also flushed and at a loss for what to do.
"Oh my, Meizi, your dress is so beautiful! Let me touch it, my goodness, it's made of the finest cotton fabric!" said Aunt Zhao, who usually had a good relationship with Zhang Mei in the village.
"Really? You step aside, let me touch it." As soon as Aunt Zhao said this, several women immediately went up to touch it.
"Oh dear, you lot, don't get her dirty. Meizi is going to have her wedding ceremony with Fengnian later." The speaker was the village head's wife.
She looked at it again and said, "The daffodils embroidered on the chest are really beautiful. The embroidery and the color of the thread are something only wealthy families in the county would do."
Upon hearing this, everyone rushed over to touch the embroidery, specifically the area around the chest. Zhang Mei, feeling quite embarrassed, kept backing away.
"Oh dear, you're all women, why are you hiding? Let your auntie take a look!" some women joked.
"Alright, alright, don't touch it and ruin it. This outfit probably isn't cheap," said Granny Han, an old woman who had seen a lot in her life.
Just then, everyone saw Song Anxin come in and hurriedly asked her how much she bought the clothes. They knew that Zhang's family would never buy new clothes for Zhang Mei to marry into the family, just like when she married into Aunt Tietou's family. However, no one wanted to bring up such a discouraging thing.
Song Anxin just smiled and dodged the question, saying that she had just gotten a bargain at the cloth shop, and refused to say a word about the exact price. She was afraid that Zhang Mei would feel guilty, and even more afraid that some of the young women in the village would be envious.
Sister-in-law Lin quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "The auspicious time has arrived, it's time for the wedding ceremony. Everyone, please go and witness the ceremony."
A little while later, everyone went out noisily again.
Aunt Tietou also came. After all, her husband's family also had the surname Lin, so they were all from the same clan. She followed behind a group of people and said indignantly, "They even dressed a discarded woman in such fine clothes for a banquet. Aren't they afraid of being laughed at?"
However, she dared not speak too loudly, and could only hear herself, after all, she knew that this was a joyous occasion for the host family, and she didn't want to be kicked out.
A group of people escorted the bride and groom into the main hall. At this time, Song Anxin was already sitting on a chair at the top of the hall, next to the memorial tablet of her original husband, Lin Erzhu. Song Anxin felt a little guilty and dared not look, after all, she was not the real bride, and she had lied in his name.
I just hope that he won't blame her, considering how well I've treated his sons.
With the newlyweds in place, Song Anxin invited Lin Lizheng from Linjia Village to be the officiant. Lin Lizheng was fifty-six years old this year and had served as the village head for decades. He was highly respected in the village, and every family would ask him to be the officiant for their wedding.
Lin Li stood in front of the newlyweds, facing the villagers, cleared his throat, and began to give a speech.
"On this auspicious day, a joyous occasion for the Lin family... May the newlyweds live in harmony, grow old together, and be forever united in heart. Now, let us begin the wedding ceremony!"
"I bow to the spirit of heaven and earth; our destiny is sealed on the Stone of Three Lives!"
"Bowing twice to our parents in gratitude for their nurturing kindness, we will never forget their love and care."
"Husband and wife bow to each other as bride and groom, treating each other with respect until old age."
"The ceremony is complete!" Lin Lizheng's voice was loud and imposing.
"Great! Great, great, great!!!" The villagers watching the ceremony applauded enthusiastically.
"They've changed the terminology here. No wonder he's the village head; he speaks so eloquently, like a scholar. It sounds so nice." Some villagers took the opportunity to flatter the village head.
Lin Lizheng appears calm on the surface, but he is actually quite insecure inside. Am I right? He learned from a few scholars in the county, but he always comes up with the same few dry words whenever the village invites him to officiate a wedding.
This was Song Anxin's first time attending an ancient wedding, and she was even sitting in the high seat of her parents. Who would have thought that she, a single woman in her late twenties, would become a mother-in-law? But surprisingly, it felt alright. Looking at the two newlyweds in front of her, she even had a feeling of "my son has grown up."
Song Anxin was unaware that she had completely embraced the role of a mother.
Next comes the tea ceremony.
Lin Fengnian, trembling with excitement, held up the teacup and said, "Mother, please have some tea."
Then it was Zhang Mei's turn. Zhang Mei's hands were also trembling as she said, "Mother, please have some tea."
Upon hearing this, Song Anxin happily responded with an "Ah!" and then drank the tea in one gulp.
Immediately afterwards, Song Anxin took out the silver earrings that she had prepared beforehand. These belonged to the original owner and had been kept locked in a cabinet. They were part of her dowry. The silver earrings had no complicated patterns and were smooth, which was something that farmers could not even dream of.
Song Anxin put the earrings on Zhang Mei's feet, then took out the light red cotton cloth that her mother, Old Madam Song, had given her and said:
"These silver earrings are from my dowry, and I'm passing them on to you today. Consider it a gift for changing your address to me. This piece of cloth was given to you by my grandmother during a prosperous year. I'm telling you to make a shoe upper, and there's some left over to make a handkerchief. I think it matches the color of your clothes perfectly."
Zhang Mei stared blankly at the piece of cloth, touching the silver earrings on her ears. She felt that everything was so unreal, from the white rice and meat yesterday, to the nice new clothes.
She can still make shoe uppers with such fine cotton cloth, and even has silver earrings! These are things that most women in the village might only have when they are almost in their graves.
Tears welled up in Zhang Mei's eyes, and more and more of them fell uncontrollably in large drops.
"Um... thank you, Mother, I'll kowtow to you..." She tried to control her sobs. She had wanted to kowtow to Aunt Lin for a long time. Aunt Lin had saved her life, let her into the family, and given her so many good things. She could never repay her in this lifetime.
Song Anxin quickly helped her up and said, "Get up quickly. From now on, live a good life with Fengnian. If Fengnian bullies you, tell your mother. Your mother will stand up for you. Then he can sleep alone in the cold bed, and you can sleep with your mother."
Lin Fengnian felt that his mother had just gotten better and then he lost her again. However, he would not bully Zhang Mei.
Song Anxin only meant to tease the new couple and lighten the mood with those words, but she didn't expect Zhang Mei to burst into tears upon hearing them.
"Waaaaah... Thank you... Thank you, Mother!" Zhang Mei couldn't hold back anymore. Her mother-in-law was so good to her; from now on, she would have a mother to rely on, something she would never have dared to dream of before. "Waaaaah..."
Zhang Mei was sobbing uncontrollably. Song Anxin gently patted her. Zhang Mei had been suppressing her emotions for too long. She had been living cautiously every day at her husband's house, and after returning to her parents' home, she suffered even more. She was also in a state of anxiety when she came to this house. "Cry, cry. It's best to calm your heart down."
When the villagers saw Song Anxin take out the silver earrings, they all gasped. They had never seen any old woman in the village so generous.
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