Chapter 154 Handle
"First bow to Heaven and Earth—"
"Second bow to the parents—"
"Husband and wife bow to each other—"
"..."
Witnessed by relatives and friends, Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Daikui officially became husband and wife and were escorted into their bridal chamber by the crowd.
Xu Cuilian took a break from her busy schedule and pulled Sheng An aside to instruct her, "Go to the bridal chamber and keep an eye on things, and be wary of any short-sighted people who might steal Zhao Di's dowry."
Sheng An was shocked: "There's such a thing?"
Xu Cuilian lowered her voice and said, "Of course there is! Last year, another family in the alley got married, and the bride's money at the bottom of her dowry was stolen. To this day, no one knows who stole it."
Sheng An became wary and immediately ran into the bridal chamber, saying, "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll keep an eye on things!"
The bridal chamber was packed with men and women who had come to join in the fun, almost blocking the doorway.
Sheng An finally managed to squeeze in, only to see several people standing where the dowry was piled up, all of whom she didn't recognize.
As luck would have it, she saw a hand reaching for Zhang Zhaodi's dowry chest, but the chest was locked. The hand grabbed the lock and twisted it hard, but after several attempts it couldn't open, so it had to give up.
But the owner of the hand did not give up. He then set his sights on the pile of new quilts, took out a small dagger from his pocket, and stealthily slashed at the quilts.
Sheng An squeezed through without making a sound, smiling as she looked at the short, thin man who was trying to tear the new quilt: "Brother, you look unfamiliar. Are you Da Kui's cousin?"
The short, thin man was startled and instinctively hid his dagger. His smile was somewhat stiff as he replied, "I... I'm Da Kui's childhood friend, two years older than him."
Sheng An suddenly realized, and his smile became even warmer: "Having a childhood friend like you is truly Da Kui's 'blessing'."
He attempted to steal on his wedding day and even tried to tear up the bride's dowry quilt. He's a psychologically twisted thief and a despicable person!
I need to remind my aunt to be careful in a bit.
Seeing Sheng An's smiling face, which didn't seem to indicate that he had noticed her little tricks, the short, thin man's anxiety gradually eased.
The lively scene in the bridal chamber was irritating to him, and a flash of jealousy crossed his face.
Sheng An saw it all clearly, so he simply stood still and stopped moving, occasionally joining in with the others to praise the bride and groom.
The short, thin man seemed unable to withstand the shock and left with a gloomy face when the others weren't looking.
After everyone left, Sheng An quickly checked Zhang Zhaodi's dowry. Only after confirming that it was undamaged did he feel relieved. He stood in front of the dowry, watching the blushing newlyweds in the crowd.
Only after the matchmaker chased away the onlookers, making room for the bride and groom to nurture their relationship, did Sheng An leave with a few words of advice to the couple.
When Xu Cuilian heard that someone was trying to sabotage the bridal chamber, and after finding out that the short, thin man was good-looking, she slapped her thigh and cursed angrily, "It was this bastard!"
Sheng An asked, "Is this person really Da Kui's childhood friend?"
Xu Cuilian spat, her face full of resentment:
"Childhood friends my ass! They did play together when they were kids, but later this bastard would always try to steal Da Kui's New Year's money and even instigated Da Kui, who can't swim, to play in the deep river, which almost caused Da Kui to drown. So I stopped letting Da Kui play with him!"
I don't know if he's done too many bad things, but everyone in his family is tall except him, and he's short and ugly. He hasn't been able to find a wife for the past few years. He's probably jealous that Da Kui has found someone, so he sneaked into the bridal chamber to upset him!
I'd heard he was a thief before, and now you've caught him red-handed. The rumors must be true. He was most likely the one who robbed the family on their wedding day last year!
This is just speculation, and it's unfounded. Sheng An was afraid that her aunt would get angry and confront them, only to be falsely accused. So she reminded her, "Find an opportunity to kick them while they're down later, but don't tell them about this yet."
Xu Cuilian: "Your aunt isn't stupid. She wouldn't just come knocking on my door like that. I know what I'm doing and I won't let that bastard have another chance to harm people."
There were so many people who came to congratulate the Zhang family today that the main hall and courtyard were full of people, and the rooms of the Zhang brothers, Er Kui and Xiao Kui, were also packed with people.
Sheng An disliked crowded and noisy environments, so she and Xu Jinnian chatted outside until the banquet started before going inside.
Compared to the bustling Zhang family home, the Xu family home in Xujiaba was extremely quiet and deserted.
In the kitchen, Liu Huazhi, dressed in a drab gray outfit, was busy cooking pig feed at the stove.
Feng Lianhua walked in with a long face, and when she saw that she hadn't made lunch, her face grew even longer.
"It took you a whole morning to cook the pig feed. Even a three-year-old could do that better than you. Tell me, what are you even capable of? If I had known you were this useless, I would never have let you into the house!"
That wretched woman is cursed with bad luck. Ever since Huaining got engaged to her, her family has had very few things go smoothly.
It's obvious that Huaining saved Li Juren's only son and was taken in as a student by Li Juren. He was destined for great things and could marry any kind of noble lady. Why did he have to marry this jinx?
Liu Huazhi had only been married into the Xu family for three days, and she spent almost every day being scolded. She had already gotten used to Feng Lianhua's scolding and didn't even flinch, turning a deaf ear to what Feng Lianhua said.
Feng Lianhua grew increasingly angry and pinched her arm hard: "You slut who only has energy to seduce in bed, you're like this without a man to keep you company! Let me tell you, if you don't work hard, you won't have any food to eat in the future."
Liu Huazhi winced in pain and, without thinking, shoved Feng Lianhua away, pointing her finger at Feng Lianhua's nose and cursing, "You damned witch! I only let you off the hook because of Brother Huaining, but you really think you're something special?"
Feng Lianhua stumbled from the push, but in her panic, she managed to grab the cutting board to avoid falling to the ground.
Looking at Liu Huazhi, who was yelling and cursing and dared to lay a hand on her, she could hardly believe her ears: "You, you actually pushed me? You unfilial thing, how dare you push me!"
Where does this shameless woman get her confidence to have so many men so soon after marrying into the family?
Liu Huazhi was not afraid at all, and looked at Feng Lianhua with disdain, "So what if I pushed you? I married Brother Huaining with my own abilities. I came to this family to enjoy life, not to be your servant, you old hag!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure appeared at the kitchen doorway, and the light in the narrow space dimmed.
Liu Huazhi glanced over instinctively, and the moment she saw who it was, she immediately dropped her arrogance and walked briskly forward, her voice sweet and cloying: "Brother Huaining, you're back. Have you had lunch yet? Shall I make you an egg pancake?"
When Feng Lianhua saw her son, fearing he had been won over by that vile woman, she slapped her thighs and cried out, "Tell me!"
"Huaining, you've married a troublemaker! She actually laid a hand on me, her mother-in-law, while you were away! You'd better teach this slut a lesson, or your mother won't have a way out..."
Looking at the woman in front of him trying so hard to please him, Xu Huaining's face remained expressionless: "She is my mother and your mother-in-law. I don't want to see you two have a falling out."
Liu Huazhi's smile vanished, and she pointed at Feng Lianhua, complaining, "It's all because your mother is always picking fights and scolding me for being a freeloader. I haven't done anything to her because she's your mother, and she should be grateful."
At this point, she looked into Xu Huaining's eyes, her words carrying a deeper meaning: "No matter why Brother Huaining married me, I am now Brother Huaining's wife. My mother-in-law is obviously being unreasonable. Brother Huaining should be on my side."
Xu Huaining's face suddenly darkened, and his gaze toward Liu Huazhi became sharp as a knife.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com