Chapter 269 Recognizing Godparents
Song Zhihang becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination was a great joy for the entire Yongyi Marquis's mansion.
Marquis Yongyi had high hopes for his second son, and since his son had brought him so much honor, he naturally wanted to show off. So he decided to hold a grand banquet and send out invitations widely.
Song Zhihang regarded Xu Jinnian as a close friend and personally wrote an invitation and delivered it to the Jiang residence, inviting the couple to a banquet seven days later.
“You and your sister-in-law must come. I’ll introduce you to a few people, including the head of the Hanlin Academy.”
Song Zhihang repeatedly reminded Xu Jinnian, making no attempt to hide the other reason he had invited him.
Xu Jinnian said gently, "Thank you."
Seeing that he agreed, Song Zhihang smiled with satisfaction: "There's no need for thanks between us. Just come and have a few more drinks with me later."
Xu Jinnian nodded: "Definitely."
After finishing their business, Song Zhihang lingered, reluctant to leave, and asked Sheng An what he wanted for lunch, his intentions quite obvious.
Sheng An suppressed a laugh, let Xu Jinnian chat with him, and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
After many days, Song Zhihang tasted Sheng An's cooking again. Before Tan Zhenlin could even steal the food, Song Zhihang was extremely satisfied with the meal, and the smile on his face never left.
Glancing at Sheng An's protruding belly, Song Zhihang said in a consultative tone:
"Sister-in-law, Mingyu and I are good brothers, and I get along well with your children. How about you let the children be your godfathers after they are born?"
Xu Jinnian was somewhat speechless: "Not good."
His child hasn't even been born yet, and this kid has already set his sights on him; he's probably up to no good.
Song Zhihang rolled his eyes at Xu Jinnian, then asked Sheng An again in a sincere tone, "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"
Sheng An found it amusing, but gently reminded him, "Recognizing a godparent is no small matter. Why don't you ask your elders first?"
The act of adopting godparents is not done casually. It is often done by parents who, in order to pray for their child's healthy growth, pay money and gifts to ask others to become their child's godparents.
According to superstition, children with bad fates need to be adopted by godparents to change their fates in order to bring prosperity to the family.
Therefore, unless they are very close to the family or genuinely love the child, they will not agree to become godparents.
As it turned out, Song Zhihang's thought process was different from others, and he actually took the initiative to recognize Sheng An's unborn child as his godfather.
He had only known them for two months at most, and they couldn't possibly be that compatible, could they?
Song Zhihang understood Sheng An's meaning but said nonchalantly, "I can make my own decisions on such a small matter. There's no need to consult the elders in my family."
Sheng An was very curious: "Why would you suddenly want to become godparents?"
Song Zhihang blurted out, "You two are both very good-looking, so your child, whether it's a boy or a girl, will definitely be beautiful!"
Sheng An: "..."
Can this really be a reason for adopting godparents?
Xu Jinnian couldn't stand it anymore and refused again: "Forget about godparents. If you like children, have your own. Don't covet other people's children!"
This is the child that he and An'an have been longing for. How could they let this kid have another godfather to compete for the child's attention?
Song Zhihang shouted, "What kind of man gives birth? Even if I could, could I give birth to one as good-looking as your child?"
Xu Jinnian had a dark expression and didn't want to talk to him.
Sheng An quickly smoothed things over: "The child hasn't been born yet, so there's no rush to adopt a godparent. We should at least consult a master to see if it's necessary."
Seeing that she hadn't completely ruled out anything, Song Zhihang decided to back down: "Listen to your sister-in-law, let's talk about it after the baby is born."
Sheng An glanced at him twice, and felt that his eagerness to become godparents wasn't just because he thought the child in her womb would be very good-looking.
Not only her, but Xu Jinnian also suspected that Song Zhihang had ulterior motives.
Song Zhihang could see what the couple was thinking, but he didn't offer any explanation.
Hmph, he wouldn't reveal his other motive.
The thought that after becoming godparents would allow him to legitimately visit his godson and goddaughter and freeload off them filled Song Zhihang with immense joy, and he wildly praised his own cleverness.
The banquet is in seven days, so it won't affect tomorrow's move.
After seeing Song Zhihang off, the couple returned to the courtyard to continue packing. They had Li Tian and the others load the items onto the carriage to transport a batch of things they wouldn't need for the time being to their new home.
As Uncle Fu and the others watched Li Tian and the others carry things out, a hint of sadness appeared on their aged faces.
Once Mr. and Mrs. Xu move out, this house, which had been bustling for half a year, will fall silent again.
Uncle Fu hesitated for a long time at the entrance of the courtyard before finally gritting his teeth and going inside.
"Uncle Fu, is there something you need?"
Sheng An was a little puzzled by the old man's arrival, so he quickly put down what he was holding and invited him to sit down, and asked Xu Jinnian to pour water for the old man.
Uncle Fu waved his hand: "No need to bother, no need to bother, this old servant will just say a few words and then leave."
The couple exchanged a glance, sat up straight, and looked at Uncle Fu: "Please speak."
Uncle Fu didn't hesitate, and said in a somewhat pleading tone:
“When you move to the new house, you’ll need to hire new servants. Aunt Niu is hardworking, capable, and literate. Could you take her with you?”
The couple were both taken aback, truly not expecting Uncle Fu to come over to say this.
Sheng An glanced at Xu Jinnian, considered his tone, and said, "If Aunt Niu is willing to come, my husband and I would certainly welcome her."
She'll be giving birth soon, and she definitely needs a few reliable people around her to help with laundry, take care of the baby, and look after her during her postpartum period.
As Uncle Fu said, Aunt Niu was hardworking, capable, and reliable. Most importantly, she was literate.
If we take her to her new home to help with housework, it will save her a lot of trouble.
Seeing that Sheng An was willing, Uncle Fu was very excited: "As long as you tell Aunt Niu that she needs to go to the new house to help out, she will be willing!"
Sheng An often cooked with Aunt Niu, and after spending a long time with her, he understood her personality. He nodded to Uncle Fu and said, "Okay, I'll ask Aunt Niu later."
In the evening, Sheng An went to the kitchen, intending to cook a few dishes herself and invite Uncle Fu and Aunt Niu to have this farewell dinner together.
Aunt Niu didn't know that Uncle Fu had gone to see the couple. When she saw Sheng An walking in, supporting his back, her face showed no surprise, but her eyes held a hint of worry.
"Your body is getting heavier and heavier. Once we move to the new house, we should buy a few maids and servants to take care of you as soon as possible."
It's worrying to see someone having their first child at such a young age without any elders to guide them.
Sheng An's face perfectly captured a look of melancholy as he picked vegetables and poured out his worries:
“I’m a complete stranger here, so finding a few reliable people won’t be easy. It would be one thing to find lazy bums who don’t do anything useful, but I’m afraid they’ll take advantage of my youth and timidity and do treacherous things behind my back.”
Aunt Niu frowned slightly upon hearing this.
She had also worked as a servant, and knew very well how difficult it was to manage a servant when they became unruly.
Petty theft that emptys the master's pocket is considered mild; the real danger lies in encountering a cunning and malicious servant who harbors jealousy towards the master and plots to harm him in secret.
Xiao Sheng is young and inexperienced, so it's easy for him to misjudge people.
Now that she's heavily pregnant, if she were to actually bring in a few unruly servants, she might incur their resentment if she took action against them.
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