The fragrance of osmanthus blossoms fills the air in August.
Beijing is located in the north and there are no large groves of osmanthus trees. However, some families will plant one or two in their yards as ornamental trees. So, when walking through some alleys, you can still smell the faint fragrance of osmanthus.
Ten days after the marriage between the Zhao and Yang families, the wedding of the eldest grandson of the Yongping Marquis's family will take place. These families are intricately connected and have many relatives. Therefore, after attending the wedding of the Zhao and Yang families, people will then attend the wedding of the Yongning Marquis's family.
Several days in advance, the Marquis's mansion began arranging for its servants to clean and sweep the courtyard. Under Ning's arrangement, every corner of the vast mansion was spotless. The Marquis's mansion had not held such a major event as a wedding for nearly twenty years. From the old lady to Xu Zhi, everyone was very excited, inquiring about the interesting stories that had happened in other families in the capital who had held weddings. When they saw Xu Di, they even teased him about becoming a groom. Xu Di was no ordinary young man, so how could he take such teasing to heart? He generously let his family tease him, and would even join in with a few jokes, making everyone laugh.
Xu Rao returned with the Li family. After the Li family arrived, they settled in the house in Tianjing Hutong. Two days before the wedding, the bride's family should have arranged for someone to come and prepare the dowry. Usually, some large pieces of furniture would be delivered first, displayed in the yard, and then moved into the room.
For many families, they start preparing a dowry for their daughters when they are very young. Not to mention anything else, making a canopy bed with a picture of a thousand grandchildren is a must. Therefore, those wealthy and particular families will save up some good wood early on, go through the six betrothal rites, ask the groom's family for the dimensions of the new house, make furniture according to the dimensions, and deliver it when the dowry is laid out.
However, Xu Di and Li Yuexi had already communicated about this matter in letters. Due to their special circumstances, they had a master craftsman make the furniture and put it directly into the house. Therefore, when it was time to decorate, Xu Di opened the courtyard that would serve as the new house, and left the doors of each room wide open so that relatives who came to watch the excitement could have a look around.
Xu Di really put a lot of effort into his new house. He participated in making every single item. Not only were they exquisite, but they were also practical, which drew a lot of praise from the relatives and friends who came to see the spectacle.
This was the first time in many years that Xu Rao had returned to the small courtyard where he used to live. The last time he dealt with Aunt Zhu's matter, Xu Rao didn't even have time to go to the courtyard. He returned travel-worn and, after washing up, went to the old lady's courtyard to kowtow to her. The old lady, understanding that he hadn't rested well on the journey, told Zhang Zhaoci to go back and make him something to eat, and to rest as soon as possible.
After Xu Rao returned, she finally had time to properly explore the three-courtyard house.
Zhang Zhaoci and her children have been living here for over a year, and naturally, the courtyard has accumulated many of everyone's belongings. The most common item is Zhang Zhaoci's drying rack for medicinal herbs, which was originally placed at the entrance of the courtyard. However, because Xu Di was getting married, it didn't look very nice there, so Granny Lu arranged for it to be moved to the back courtyard. Xu Zhi now lives in the back courtyard. Since Xu Zhi was going to return to Ganzhou with her family after Xu Di's wedding, she declined Ning Shi's offer to arrange a courtyard for her to live in. Instead, she and her two maids lived in Zhang Zhaoci's back courtyard. This arrangement was somewhat against the rules, as it was Zhang Zhaoci and Xu Rao's courtyard. However, since Xu Rao wasn't home, the family turned a blind eye and allowed the mother and daughter to live in the same courtyard.
Zhang Zhaoci can no longer use a scalpel, but he is very interested in traditional Chinese medicine. He has planted common Chinese medicinal herbs in every corner of the yard. Many of the herbs have matured and been harvested. After simple processing, they are dried on racks in the backyard. As soon as you enter the yard, you can smell a pleasant aroma of Chinese medicinal herbs. This aroma, which has been with Zhang Zhaoci for many years, makes Xu Rao feel very at ease.
Spreading out on the kang (a heated brick bed) by the window, Xu Rao said to Zhang Zhaoci, who was sitting on the edge of the kang, "I'm finally back. I'm exhausted from the journey."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "If it weren't for having to arrange Xu Di's marriage, I would have left long ago. Being locked up in this house all day long is really driving a person crazy."
Xu Di said, "This is the first time we've been apart for so long in all these years. I'm really not used to it. Let's go together after Xu Di gets married?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Okay, let's leave after they serve tea. I'll have them pack our luggage in the next couple of days, so we don't accidentally leave anything behind in a rush."
Xu Zhi brought in a bowl of noodles on a tray and said, "Dad, I made you a bowl of shredded pork noodles. Have a small meal first, and we'll have dinner at Grandma's courtyard later."
Xu Rao quickly got up and said, "Oh my, Xiao Jiu's cooking skills are getting better and better. I can smell the aroma from far away."
Xu Zhi laughed and said, "It's just a bowl of noodles, nothing special."
The soup base was made with chicken broth, and the shredded meat was tender. The best part was the hand-rolled noodles, which were thin and chewy, and topped with a white poached egg. It was both beautiful and delicious. Xu Rao ate a bowl of noodles in just a few bites and drank all the soup.
Xu Rao watched as Xu Zhi cleared away the dishes and asked Zhang Zhaoci, "Is Xiao Jiu coming with us?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Yes, she insisted on coming with us. I suggested that she find a marriage partner in Beijing, but she refused, saying that there was no one in Beijing she liked and that the young men in Beijing didn't have the spirit of a real man."
Xu Rao sighed and said, "She's got someone in her heart now."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci exclaimed in surprise, "How do you know she has someone in her heart when you're never with her?"
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