Chapter 22 Under the Full Moon
On the day of Kogoro's full moon celebration, Li Erxiong looked at Kogoro, who was being held by Li Ersao, with a big smile on his face, and solemnly announced to the guests that he had gone to Xuandu Temple to ask someone to give Kogoro a name: Li Jianjie!
Yes, this is the same place where Li San Niang went to Xuandu Temple last time, and Li Er Xiong spent several taels of silver to ask the Taoist priest of Xuandu Temple to give Xiao Wu Lang a name.
Just like his two brothers, he took the character "Jian" as the middle character in his name. The Taoist priest said that Chang'an was a land of outstanding people and spirits, and that Xiao Wulang would surely become a world-renowned figure in the future, so he took the character "Jie" as his name.
Kogoro has been eating and sleeping well this past month. His baby hair is thick, his face is chubby, and his arms and legs are like lotus roots. He's incredibly adorable.
Moreover, Kogoro was quite bold. When Li's mother was bathing him and singing in the main hall, dozens of people were watching him, but he wasn't afraid at all. He probably thought Li's mother was just playing with him. He laughed heartily, revealing his toothless smile with pink gums, which made all the grandmothers, aunties, and ladies who came to the full moon banquet want to hold him and receive the good fortune, hoping that their own families could also have such a big, chubby boy.
Right now, Li Dabo's eldest daughter-in-law is holding Xiao Wulang with a satisfied expression and chatting happily with Li Ersao. She keeps praising how well Xiao Wulang is growing up, how strong he is, and how good he looks like a child.
This made Lady Qian, who was standing next to her, very envious. She also wanted to hug Xiao Wulang. Although the imperial physicians in the palace said that it was basically impossible for Qian Langjun to have any more children, Lady Qian thought, what if?
After all, Qian Niangzi was an outsider from a different family, while Li Dabo's eldest son's wife was a member of the Li family. Qian Niangzi couldn't be impolite, so she went forward to "snatch" Xiao Wulang's arm.
Li Dabo's eldest daughter-in-law was also anxious. More than two years had passed since she entered the Li family, and she had not given birth to a son or daughter. Although she did not have a mother-in-law, Li Dabo did not care and did not urge her. Fortunately, Li Dabo's younger daughter-in-law was able to give birth to a boy.
Li San Niang's cousin, Li Lingxiao, comforted her, saying, "When the time is right, it will come naturally. There's no need to force it." But is it really true that you can get away with not forcing it?
So, you should hug Kogoro, such a precious baby, as much as you can, because you might just pass on some good fortune to him!
There were quite a few people at Xiao Wulang's full moon celebration today. As I just mentioned, the entire Li family, except for Li Lingxiao who is still on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau, came, including Li Jiande, who is not even three years old.
Yes, because of the previous generation, Li Erxiong and his siblings were not in the same generation. They only started to get in touch after Li Dabo's father passed away. Li Dabo decided to follow the generational ranking of Li Sanlang from Li Sanniang's family.
Brother Li thought that no one from the Qian family would come, only servants would come to deliver gifts, but to his surprise, not only did Madam Qian come with gifts, but she also brought her son, Qian Xiaolang.
Right now, Li Silang is leading three little children to play with Xiao Huang under the jujube tree. Of course, the little girl from the Qian family and the little girl from Uncle Li's family are watching from the side.
It's also worth mentioning that Wang Dalang and Wang Erlang both came!
Yes, it's the Wang family with whom Li San Niang divorced.
Although Li's mother said she would beat Wang Erlang out with a broom if he came, today was Xiao Wulang's special day. The father-daughter bond between Wang Erlang and Luzhu'er could not be severed. When she saw Wang Dalang bringing Wang Erlang, she only showed a cold expression and did not look in that direction at all, as if the person did not exist.
Not only did Li's mother act this way, but Li's father did the same. When Li's elder brother saw Wang Erlang's pretentious behavior, he almost grabbed a long pole used for drying medicinal herbs in the yard and chased after Wang Erlang to beat him up.
Therefore, only Brother Li Er was left to greet the Wang brothers.
Wang Dalang was alright; he was a businessman with a thick skin. He could congratulate Brother Li on the birth of his son without repeating himself, describing Xiao Wulang as if he were a star descended from heaven, destined to be a great and capable person in the future.
These kind words made Brother Li beam with joy, and he became more tolerant of Wang Erlang's irritating face.
Of course, the happiest people in the room, besides the Li family, were the Wu family, the maternal relatives of Li Ersao.
Last time when Li Ersao gave birth, Old Man Wu, Uncle Wu, and Aunt Wu came to visit with bundles of all sizes and baskets on their backs. This time, they brought even more gifts for Xiao Wulang's full moon celebration.
The dishes to be served at the banquet, which included vegetables, eggs, and chicken, were mostly brought by the Wu family. There were quite a lot of them. There were at least forty or fifty people here today. Three tables were set up in the courtyard: one in the main hall and one in the side hall. There were indeed quite a few people.
The rest were Mr. Zhou and his son from next door, two or three colleagues from Brother Li's team, doctors from other clinics whom Brother Li's father knew, and pharmacy owners who were on good terms with Brother Li's second brother.
They still hired Chef Wang. This time, Chef Wang brought four or five young assistants to work on the side. As expected of someone famous in the neighborhood, everyone who saw him worked so efficiently praised him.
After a hearty meal and drinks, friends and relatives had bonded over the occasion, and gifts had been presented. Brother Li, Brother Li Er, and the four little ones accompanied the guests to their cars and home, making sure they were all safely seated and giving the drivers some instructions before heading back.
However, a few families still didn't leave. Uncle Li's family was close to the family and probably thought they would leave last. The Wu family was the maternal family, and this time even Uncle Wu had drunk too much and was lying down in the side room with Old Man Wu, fast asleep. What was most incomprehensible was that the two Wang brothers didn't leave either, and Wang Erlang even insisted on hugging Luzhu'er affectionately.
Wang Erlang was drunk and still insisted on hugging Luzhu'er. When Luzhu'er refused, he grabbed her and wouldn't let her move. He even slapped Luzhu'er's bottom twice and said with a laugh, "Don't you recognize your father, Luzhu'er?"
Only Li Ersao was nearby, and she was still holding Xiao Wulang. She didn't dare to go forward and snatch him away, so she quickly ordered Li Silang to call Li's mother and Li Sanniang.
While Sister-in-law Li was tidying up the kitchen and settling accounts for Chef Wang, Mother Li and Third Sister Li were seeing off Madam Qian and Young Master Qian at the door. After hearing what Si Lang said, they apologized to Madam Qian, stopped gossiping, and saw the mother and son onto the carriage. Then, Mother Li and Third Sister Li walked aggressively toward the main hall.
Wang Dalang wasn't drunk, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with Wang Erlang's behavior of being close to Luzhu'er as her biological father.
So, as soon as Li San Niang entered the main hall, she saw Lu Zhu'er being held in the arms of the smelly Wang Erlang, unable to move. The reluctance on her little face made tears well up in her eyes.
Little Yellow is a good dog; it even knows to bite Wang Erlang's trouser leg. Unfortunately, the puppy is too small, and its teeth aren't very strong, so it's useless.
Li San Niang went straight up and carefully rescued Xiao Lu Zhu from Wang Er Lang's arms. She quickly held her and comforted her. Xiao Lu Zhu was a strong child. She had been frightened by her father and was able to hold on, but now that she was in Li San Niang's arms, the little girl was very aggrieved and started crying, calling "Mother, Mother".
Seeing Lu Zhu'er looking so aggrieved, Li San Niang felt extremely sorry for her. She could only hug her, gently pat her back, and softly reply, "Mother is here, Mother is here, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mother is here."
After crying for a while, and then having a good lunch, Dewdrop was coaxed to sleep.
After handing the sleeping dewdrop back to Li's mother to take back to the house, Li San Niang picked up the teacup next to Wang Erlang, tested it with the back of her hand and found it to be warm, then splashed it directly onto Wang Erlang's face.
When Li's father and the others heard Lu Zhu'er crying, they rushed over from the doorway and saw Li San Niang splashing Wang Er Lang. They immediately realized that Li San Niang wouldn't suffer any loss, so Li's father went straight back to his room to rest. Only Li's eldest brother, Li's second brother, Wang Da Lang, Li San Niang, and Wang Er Lang remained at the scene.
At this moment, Wang Erlang hadn't reacted yet. He reached up and wiped his face, only then realizing it was tea leaves. Just as he was about to shout and question her, Li Sanniang interrupted him sharply, saying, "Wang Ziheng, are you sober yet! If you are, then use your brain! It's true that you are Luzhu'er's biological father, but you can't scare the child with this stench! I think we won't need to send Luzhu'er back to your Wang family next month for the Mid-Autumn Festival! If you dare to act like this in our Li family, who knows how you'll treat my Luzhu'er when you get back to the Wang family!"
"Oh dear, Third Sister, Third Sister, why are you getting angry? Erlang just wants to get close to Dewdrop, whom we haven't seen for over a month."
"Hehe, Wang Dalang, I, Li Sanniang, used to have a good temper, but ever since I divorced Wang Ziheng, I've been stubborn! Wang Ziheng drinks until he smells terrible, and he forcibly confines Luzhu'er regardless of her own wishes. Is that what you call being close? If you think that's being close, then my elder brother would also like to be close to you two brothers!"
Li San Niang gave Li Da Xiong a wink. Li Da Xiong, being a martial artist, was completely unfazed by the little wine he had drunk at noon. He remained calm and composed. After listening to Li Er Sao's description of how Wang Er Lang had restrained Lu Zhu'er, he was already burning with rage. Hearing Li San Niang's words, he had a pretext. He directly grabbed Wang Da Lang and Wang Er Lang, made them face to face, and tore off Wang Er Lang's belt, binding the Wang brothers together.
"Hey, you two brothers should get to know each other better. You want to get closer, right? This is just the right way to do it!"
Not only did Brother Li tie them up, but he also dragged them to the jujube tree in the yard and used the leftover water from Little Yellow's dog bowl to give them a good wake-up call.
The two Wang brothers were taken aback by this turn of events. Wang Dalang, who was already fairly lucid, also became somewhat lucid after being somewhat unconscious.
Wang Dalang realized that his brother had gone too far, so he quickly said that he had calmed down and asked Brother Li to untie them.
Wang Erlang was always the same; he still didn't think he had done anything wrong.
Just like how he felt that it was all because Li Sanniang was unvirtuous and jealous that he slept with his widowed cousin during his marriage, and that he was jealous and a jealous woman, he was not wrong; now, he is also not wrong for forcibly confining Luzhu'er and slapping his own daughter's bottom despite his foul-smelling behavior!
The one who's wrong is Lu Zhu'er. She didn't recognize her father after not seeing him for a month or so. What an unfilial daughter! The one who's wrong is Li San Niang. She didn't let him get close to Lu Zhu'er. She had ulterior motives!
Li Erxiong stepped forward, untied the ropes, and helped Wang Dalang up, but then kicked Wang Erlang.
Wang Erlang was still muttering and cursing, saying that he was not wrong and that it was all Li Sanniang and the Li family's fault.
No one helped him up; he was left lying next to the doghouse. Finally, Wang Dalang got up and helped him up, telling him to say as little as possible.
Ignoring all that, Li San Niang hurried back to the house to check on Xiao Lu Zhu'er. As soon as she entered the house, she saw Li's mother fanning Xiao Lu Zhu'er with a palm leaf fan, and Xiao Lu Zhu'er was already asleep.
"Have we taught them a lesson?"
"Mother, my eldest brother tied them both up, and my second brother even kicked Wang Ziheng. Wang Ziheng is still the same as ever. Even a baby who hasn't grown up is stronger than him. I don't know why, but he just has to make things difficult for Luzhu!"
"Just ask them, and you'll find out."
Li San Niang, Li's mother, and Li's eldest brother splashed tea all over Wang Erlang's face again. Li's mother couldn't hold back and actually hit Wang Erlang with a broom.
It was only from Wang Erlang's cursing that it became clear that Wang Erlang was dissatisfied because he saw that Li Sanniang, whom he had divorced, was doing well, with a rosy complexion and a smiling face!
Wang Erlang is the most selfish and self-serving kind of person. If you are not doing well, and you look miserable, crying and wailing, he will be happy inside and will even pretend to say a few nice words to you.
As a result, under the care of the Li family, Li San Niang lived quite well. Her appearance remained unchanged, and she looked even more energetic. Lu Zhu'er was not lacking in love, and no one in the Li family disliked her. She was naturally well-behaved and lovely.
This incurred Wang Erlang's wrath, and he took his anger out on the dewdrop!
Hearing this, Li Sanniang couldn't take it anymore and slapped Wang Erlang hard across the face!
That was truly loud!
Wang Erlang let out a loud "Aww!", covered his face, and looked at Li Sanniang's gloomy appearance, about to start cursing again.
Wang Dalang never expected his brother to be so despicable. To save Wang Erlang's life, he quickly covered Wang Erlang's mouth and dragged him toward the door.
In the end, it was Brother Li who helped call a donkey cart and helped Wang Dalang pull Wang Erlang onto the cart.
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