Xu Di's prefectural examination had just ended when Xu Gao's wedding arrived as scheduled.
This was the first girl in the family to get married in this generation, so the scale of the wedding was naturally exceptional, with a ten-mile-long red bridal procession. Although the Cheng family was a noble family, the father and son were now favorites of Emperor Liang Cheng. Zhang Zhaoci witnessed a real-life ancient aristocratic marriage.
After seeing Xu Gao off, Zhang Zhaoci quickly took Xu Bai and Xu Zhi back to her own courtyard. There were many people from outside today, and the backyard was a bit messy. Zhang Zhaoci was afraid that the children would get hurt, so she kept Xu Bai, who kept wanting to go out and see the excitement, in the courtyard, while the little guy stood at the gate with his little belly sticking out and throwing a tantrum.
After Xu Di and his other cousins saw Xu Gao off, they stayed in the front yard for a while before returning to the back yard. Upon entering the yard, they saw Xu Bai standing at the gate and asked, "What's wrong? Did you misbehave again?"
When Xu Bai saw that it was Xu Di, his eyes lit up, and he quickly went over to take Xu Di's hand and said, "Brother, let's go see."
Xu Di knew what was going on and said, "Everyone outside has dispersed. What are you going to look at? It's getting late. Let's eat first. After we eat, your brother will take you to Grandma's. I heard that Grandma has a lot of cherries. Let's go find Grandma and ask her for some cherries, okay?"
Xu Bai knew he couldn't go out to watch the excitement, and since he was also quite afraid of Xu Di, he nodded and said, "I'll listen to my brother."
Xu Di then picked up Xu Bai and walked into the house, saying as they walked, "It's good that you're sensible. It's also fortunate that you're obedient. If you weren't obedient, I would spank your bottom until you obey."
Xu Bai shuddered. It was true. His older brother, despite his usual gentle and kind attitude, would really spank him when he misbehaved and disobeyed.
Seeing the fear on Xu Bai's face, Xu Di nodded and said, "It's good that you're afraid. The day after tomorrow, Big Sister will bring our new brother-in-law back. You can watch him for as long as you want then."
Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Lu had already set lunch on the table. Xu Zhi helped take the bowls and chopsticks, and Xu Di put Xu Bai in his high chair. Xu Bai called out to Zhang Zhaoci, "Mom, Mom, wash your hands, wash your hands."
Zhang Zhaoci quickly grabbed a towel and wiped him dry, saying, "Let's leave it like this for now."
On the morning of April 19th, Xu Gao and Cheng Kai, the new son-in-law of the Marquis's family, arrived at the Xu family home after a three-day homecoming ceremony.
The Xu family had made preparations well in advance. The Marquis and his son waited in the front yard, while the Marquis's wife and the second wife, along with several daughters-in-law and a group of young girls, waited at the old lady's place. Xu Di, along with his younger brothers, waited in the front yard with the Marquis.
Xu Gao and Cheng Kai arrived and first kowtowed to the old lady. The old lady looked at her shy great-granddaughter and then at her dignified great-granddaughter and son-in-law. She gave them a small purse and said, "You two young couples will have to live together from now on. You must be tolerant and accommodating to each other. This is a gift from your grandmother. I wish you a son soon."
Cheng Kai was a very upright person, so he quickly bowed to the old lady and thanked her for her gift. The other elders also gave gifts, but most of them were purses, and no one knew what was inside.
Cheng Kai took the purses from everyone and knew that, apart from the old lady and the third mistress of the Xu family who gave silver notes, the others gave gold or silver ingots.
At noon, everyone ate at the old lady's place. The men sat at one table and the women at two tables, mainly because there were too many girls of Xu Gao's generation.
The Marquis, along with the men of the manor, sat at a table in the outer room with Cheng Kai. Xu Bai, being carried by Zhang Zhaoci, sat at a table with the old lady. Seeing that the table was full of women, he got off Zhang Zhaoci and ran to Xu Di, insisting that Xu Di carry him to sit at that table.
When the Marquis saw his most beloved grandson approaching, he smiled and asked him, "Brother Bai, why aren't you eating with your mother?"
Xu Bai wrinkled his nose and said, "Grandfather, I am a boy, so I should eat here with my brother."
The Marquis looked at the boy, who wasn't even as tall as the table, and said with a smile, "You're still young. You have to eat with your mother. Otherwise, who will take care of you?"
Xu Bai said, "Grandfather, I can take care of myself. Don't worry, I promise I won't cause you any trouble."
Seeing this, the Marquis could only order someone to arrange a seat for Xu Bai, right next to Xu Di. After he sat down, only the tip of his head could be seen. Everyone laughed when they saw this. Xu Bai was not annoyed. He climbed down from the chair, went to the old lady's resting area, found a thick cushion, and put it under his buttocks. After sitting down, at least half of his body could be seen.
The Marquis couldn't help but take a great interest in this little fellow. Despite his young age, he was neither arrogant nor impatient, and he could use his own brain to think about how to solve problems when they arose. He thought it was quite remarkable that a child so young could have such abilities.
Xu Di looked at Xu Bai, who was sitting next to him, acting cute and charming with some disdain, pouted, leaned closer to Xu Bai, and whispered, "Acting cute is shameful."
Xu Bai knew his brother had seen through him long ago. So what if he saw through him? They were brothers from the same mother. He nodded, smiled, and whispered, "At this age, there's nothing we can do."
Xu Di smiled and continued, "Enough is enough. Don't go too far, or it won't look good."
Xu Bai nodded with a grin. Cheng Kai kept watching the youngest child in the Marquis's mansion, thinking that although the child was small, he was lovable. He thought how wonderful it would be if his own son could be like Xu Bai in the future.
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