Chapter 322 Congratulations
It is not advisable to shed blood as the year draws to a close. Xu Huaining and his son will be executed next March, while Feng Lianhua will be taken to the Northwest mines before the year ends.
The day before she left, Feng Lianhua requested to see Xu Jinnian.
Xu Jinnian ignored him.
Not seeing anyone, Feng Lianhua cried all night, and even after being whipped several times by the jailer, she wouldn't stop, constantly muttering "retribution."
Sheng An felt no sympathy for the family's fate. These past few days, while taking care of the child, she pondered what to give as a wedding gift for Tan Qingrou.
After much deliberation, this pragmatist simply acquired a box of golden peanuts, totaling 666 peanuts.
The 18th day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day for weddings.
After Sheng An finished getting ready, she lifted the blanket and scooped out the little dumpling who had just woken up, kissing her soft little face:
"My dear baby, I'm going to your Aunt Tan's house to offer my congratulations today, so it's inconvenient for me to take you with me. You have to listen to your great-grandfather and the others at home, or I'll spank your little bottom."
As they spoke, Sheng An had already neatly dressed the little girl in a red cotton-padded coat and pants, and wrapped her little hands and feet in a fluffy fur cover to prevent frostbite.
It's so cold.
Grandma Sheng was overjoyed to see her grandson dressed in such a festive outfit: "Our Zhuozhuo has fair and delicate skin, which is perfect for bright red and purple colors. The little clothes you prepared before were too plain."
The little dumpling, wrapped up like a ball, was held in her great-grandmother's arms, and began to babble incessantly.
Sheng An instructed Grandma Sheng, "It's windy today, don't let her go out. I'll steam a bowl of egg custard for her later, and feed her a few bites if she gets hungry."
Grandma Sheng nodded: "You're going to the Tan family to offer your congratulations, and you won't be home all day. Just steam a couple more bowls of steamed egg custard and keep them warm in the pot. Zhuozhuo's appetite is good."
Sheng An responded, gently poked the little dumpling's chubby cheeks, and then went to the kitchen with a smile to steam egg custard for her.
My baby is just over six months old. I started giving her complementary foods a few days ago. All the complementary foods are made by Sheng An herself. My baby loves them and doesn't care about breast milk anymore.
Now that the baby's appetite is growing, Sheng'an's milk supply is not enough and may not last until the baby turns one year old.
After steaming the egg custard, Sheng An had a simple breakfast and then took the congratulatory gifts by carriage to the Tan family.
Today was not a day off, and Xu Jinnian went to the Hanlin Academy early in the morning.
Later, he would go to the Marquis of Yongyi's residence to offer his congratulations and become a member of Song Zhihang's wedding procession, so he wouldn't have time to go to the Tan family's residence with her.
This was something Song Zhihang insisted on, and he even had a long argument with his brother-in-law Tan Zhenlin about it.
The two houses were not far apart, and the carriage soon stopped in front of the Tan family's house.
The Tan family was bustling with activity today, as many of the most prominent families in the capital sent their congratulatory gifts.
Anyone with eyes can see that Song Zhihang is the true heir of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion, and Tan Qingrou will be the mistress of the mansion from now on. Even if her family is not prominent, no one will look down on her.
As soon as Sheng An stepped off the carriage, Tan Zhenlin, who was greeting guests at the door, spotted her immediately and walked down the steps with a beaming smile to greet her: "Sister-in-law, you've finally arrived! Xiao Rou sent her maid out several times to ask!"
Sheng An arrived not late, but still explained, "Zhuozhuo was clingy this morning, so I was late because I had to coax her."
Upon hearing this, Tan Zhenlin realized that the sweet and soft little dumpling had not arrived.
He knew that the weather was too cold today and there were too many guests, so it was not suitable to bring a baby who was only a few months old. He nodded understandingly and hurriedly asked the maid to take Sheng An and his servant to Tan Qingrou's boudoir.
Tan Qingrou had already put on her makeup and was sitting on the bed in a bright red wedding dress, without her veil on yet.
When Sheng An arrived, she was sitting on the bed, looking rather bored.
Upon seeing Sheng An, Tan Qingrou happily stood up: "Sister An'an, come and sit down!"
As he spoke, he pulled the person to sit down next to him.
Looking at Tan Qingrou's smiling face, Sheng An asked with a hint of teasing, "Today is your big day, are you nervous?"
Tan Qingrou spoke her mind frankly in front of her, saying, "Yes, I stayed up until late last night before I went to sleep. My mother woke me up this morning."
Sheng An looked at her face and saw that she looked tired, so he asked with concern, "Can you hold on? Do you want to sleep for a while now and have the makeup artist touch up your makeup later?"
Tan Qingrou shook her head: "No need, I can manage."
After hearing this, Sheng An did not continue the topic. He took the box from Hong Liu and handed it to her, saying, "I really couldn't think of anything suitable to give you, so I prepared these for you. I hope you like them."
Upon hearing this, Tan Qingrou reached out and caught it with both hands, almost dropping it due to its heavy weight.
With a touch of curiosity, she opened the box and was almost blinded by the golden light.
Upon seeing what was inside the box, Tan Qingrou's eyes welled up with tears: "Sister An'an, I really like this gift. You've gone to so much trouble."
The Tan family rose to prominence under Lord Tan's patronage. Although they were not short of money, they were still no match for the wealthy official families.
When Madam Tan got married, her family gave her a considerable dowry.
However, a lot of money has been spent paving the way for Lord Tan's career over the years, and Madam Tan still has an unmarried eldest son and an undergrown youngest daughter, so there is not much dowry she can give to her eldest daughter, Tan Qingrou.
Therefore, Tan Qingrou only had two thousand taels of silver hidden away.
The dowry included all other items, but no estate or mansion, only a shop with a decent income.
These dowries would be respectable for an ordinary family, but they were not enough for the Marquis of Yongyi's household.
The box of golden peanuts that Sheng An gave Tan Qingrou a bit more confidence.
Tan Qingrou has been in Beijing for over a year and has made several friends.
After these friends arrived, the room became lively, which greatly relieved Tan Qingrou's nervousness.
The auspicious time for the wedding was in the morning. Song Zhihang, dressed in a bright red wedding robe, rode a tall horse and arrived with a beaming smile to fetch his bride. Accompanying him on either side were his cousin and Xu Jinnian.
Even though Xu Jinnian deliberately kept a low profile and dressed plainly, he was still the most eye-catching of the three, even overshadowing Song Zhihang, the groom.
Song Zhihang, completely oblivious to being overshadowed, patted Xu Jinnian on the shoulder with a grin and said:
"In the future, when our guests remember your face, they will surely remember that today was the day I, this young master, got married."
Xu Jinnian was speechless and urged, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and go in to pick up the bride."
Song Zhihang's cousin was also speechless, feeling that his cousin had a problem with his thought process, and couldn't help but worry about the future of the Marquis's mansion.
Amidst the lively sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers, Song Zhihang successfully received his bride.
Seeing this, Xu Jinnian asked Sheng An in a low voice, "An'an, do you remember the day we got married?"
Sheng An thought for a moment, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips:
"I remember, your voice was trembling a little back then. I misheard 'wife' as 'mother,' and I was so shocked that I almost thought I had married a fool who couldn't even tell the difference between 'wife' and 'mother.'"
At this point, Sheng An couldn't help but laugh out loud.
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