Chapter 601 Xiu Hong's Wedding
Autumn has passed and winter has arrived; the end of the year is just around the corner.
Today is the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, an auspicious day with fine weather. The snow has just stopped, and the warm sun shines over the capital.
Today is also the wedding day of Gu Xiuhong, the eldest son of the second branch of the Marquis of Changxing's mansion. The mansion is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, bustling with activity and guests.
Everyone in the mansion was extremely busy. The women were busy entertaining the female guests, and the men were busy entertaining the male guests. Only Gu Xiuheng and his nephew Gu Yunxin, being young, were kept company with their wet nurse and maids and did not need to go out to see the guests.
Gu Xiuhong was born into the Changxing Marquis's family. Although he was the son of the second wife, he was handsome, talented, and promising. He was the ideal husband for many young ladies, and many noble ladies wanted to marry him. Now, seeing him marry a widow who had been married before, and that widow was not from a noble family but just a woman of ordinary social standing who was two years older than him, made it hard for everyone to understand.
The guests who came to the wedding banquet couldn't help but whisper among themselves, discussing this mismatched marriage.
"Young Master Gu is a handsome and dashing man, born into a prestigious family, and exceptionally talented. Why would he marry a widow?"
"Who knows? I heard that Madam Gu Er had found so many noble ladies for him before, but he didn't like any of them."
"Could it be that he's been possessed by some evil spirit, or that he's been bewitched?"
“If it were an evil spirit, the Gu family would have hired a master to exorcise it long ago. I think that woman is very clever, making the unmarried young master from a noble family insist on marrying her.”
...
Ms. Chen noticed that the guests were looking at her strangely and that they were whispering among themselves. If it weren't for the special circumstances of the day, she really wouldn't have been able to keep up the act. In order not to be laughed at, she could only try her best to maintain a smile on her face and entertain the guests in a calm and composed manner.
Princess Jingning couldn't help but ask Meng Jinyao, "Ayao, why would Young Master Gu marry a widow?"
Song Xinning also looked at Meng Jinyao with curiosity.
Meng Jinyao glanced at her two friends and replied, "I heard from my second sister-in-law that Xiu Hong and that girl had known each other for a long time. However, because the girl was married off by her parents to someone else, and Xiu Hong was not in the capital, by the time he returned, the girl had already married someone else. Moreover, the girl married a scoundrel who would beat his wife. Fortunately, the scoundrel died young. Xiu Hong waited for her to return home after three years of mourning before asking my second sister-in-law to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage."
Princess Jingning understood: "So that's how it is. The love I had in my youth, I couldn't let go of for so long, and now my wish has been fulfilled."
Song Xinning asked, "The girl who can make Young Master Gu so unforgettable must be very beautiful, right?"
Meng Jinyao gently shook her head: "I've never met that girl. Xiu Hong isn't the kind of person who likes beautiful women. What could make him so unforgettable must not be her appearance." She smiled as she spoke, "If you're curious about her, you can see her when you come to the banquet at the manor next time."
Princess Jingning and Song Xinning nodded and did not continue the topic.
Meng Jinyao spoke with them for a while, and upon learning that her family had arrived, she parted ways with them to greet them.
Apart from Meng Chengxing, who was still under house arrest, Meng Chengzhang, who was at Lingshan Academy, and the bedridden Old Madam Meng, everyone else from the Meng family came to the wedding banquet.
As Meng Dongyuan's second wife and Meng Jinyao's stepmother, many guests were quietly observing Zhao Shi's attitude towards her stepmother, and were trying to influence how they would treat Zhao Shi and her daughter Qiao Yunying based on Meng Jinyao's attitude.
Seeing how friendly and natural Meng Jinyao was with Zhao Shi, and how gentle she was with Qiao Yunying, everyone knew how to treat Zhao Shi and her daughter when they came into contact with them later.
Looking at these noble ladies, whom she would never normally meet, Zhao knew that they were giving her face. She knew this was entirely because of her stepdaughter, Meng Jinyao, but she didn't care. It was beneficial for her to receive some face from others. If she managed things well, she might even be able to find a good husband for her daughter.
When the auspicious time arrived, after the bride and groom went through the wedding ceremony, the banquet began. Everyone toasted each other, talked loudly, and after several rounds of drinks, the banquet came to an end, and many people were already drunk.
After the banquet ended and the guests left, it was necessary to arrange for those who wanted to stay overnight to rest in their rooms, instruct the kitchen to prepare a hangover remedy, and have the family doctor on standby so that if any of the overnight guests drank too much and felt unwell, they could be treated immediately.
By the time I finished all of this, it was already late at night.
The Gu family was exhausted, and the men were quite drunk from drinking. The three sisters-in-law had no choice but to take their drunken husbands back to their own courtyards to rest. Tomorrow, the new bride would be serving tea and recognizing the elders, so they would have to get up early.
Seeing that her two sisters-in-law had helped their husbands leave, Meng Jinyao went forward to help Gu Jingxi, who was standing still and staring at her intently, and said gently, "Husband, let's go back and rest."
Gu Jingxi replied, "It's alright, I can walk, no need to help me."
Meng Jinyao was stunned. Looking at his face, which was flushed from drinking, and remembering how he had just been helped over by a servant and was staggering, she hesitated and asked, "Husband, are you really sure you can do this?"
Gu Jingxi took her small hand and squeezed it, then laughed and said, "I'm not drunk. I was just lying to everyone. If I hadn't pretended to be drunk, I don't know how much more I would have drunk."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's eyes widened in surprise: "Husband, are you playing tricks on me?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "If I get drunk, you'll have to take care of me tonight, even though you're exhausted."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's lips unconsciously curled up: "Next time Xiuwen gets married, you'll continue to use your tricks. After a busy day of entertaining guests, I'm really too tired. If I have to take care of you when you're drunk, I reckon I'll fall asleep sitting up."
Gu Jingxi looked down at her. Today, because of the important day, she was dressed up and had exquisite makeup on her face, but she was completely different from when he saw her in the morning. In the morning, she was full of energy and asked with a smile, "Husband, do I look good?" Now she looked tired and her energy seemed to have been drained.
The next moment, Gu Jingxi squatted down and said gently, "Ayao, come up, I'll carry you back."
Meng Jinyao subconsciously shook her head and refused: "Husband, please get up. What kind of behavior is this? There are still guests in the mansion. If people see this, who knows what they will say."
Gu Jingxi said dismissively, "So what if they saw it? I'm carrying my own wife, not someone else's. Let's see who dares to gossip." As he spoke, he turned to look at her and gave her two choices, "Either I carry you back, or I carry you back in my arms."
Seeing his insistence, Meng Jinyao finally decided to let him carry her back. She lay on his broad back, buried her head in his neck, and listened to him talk. Perhaps she was too tired, because she responded at first but then fell silent and fell into a deep sleep on his back.
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