Not only was Zhou Shuqing unwilling to accept this marriage, but Wu's illegitimate daughter also cried and made a scene after learning that she could only marry into the Zhou family.
Unfortunately, Madam Wu was a cunning woman. Because she disliked the illegitimate daughter, she specially sent a maid to tell Song Xia about it, saying that she would definitely discipline her well and not let the marriage be delayed.
When the maid was telling this story, Liu Fangniang was serving behind Song Xia. After hearing it, she staggered.
“My mistress said that once the second young lady marries into the family, you can discipline her as you see fit.”
Song Xia smiled and said, "I understand. Tell your wife not to worry. It's normal for a daughter to be reluctant to leave her parents' home before she gets married. She cries and makes a fuss. I understand. Once she's married into the family, my son Shu will definitely comfort her."
Liu Fangniang fell ill again, and this time she was more seriously ill than ever before. She couldn't even get out of bed on the day of Zhou Shuqing's wedding.
Zhou Shuqing, who went out to greet the bride, was lifeless. There were not many guests at the Zhou residence today, and not even anyone from the Prince Cheng's residence came. Zhou Yongli was angry about this.
Song Xia sneered, "It's not like Yuqing is getting married. What does Shuge'er have to do with the Prince's Mansion?"
Zhou Yongli said with a stern face: "In any case, you can consider them as Shu-ge'er's maternal family."
“Maternal family? My father only has one grandson, Yuqing. His maternal family is the Liu family. Don’t try to get involved with anything dirty or smelly.”
"Song Xia! What do you mean? Are you deliberately trying to oppose me? I'm still your husband!"
“Go against me? Zhou Yongli, if you really had any feelings for me and Yuqing, Yuqing wouldn’t have been born weak.”
Zhou Yongli's eyes flickered: "What do you mean? Yuqing's poor health before was clearly due to your excessive pressure on her."
"Even now you're trying to shift the blame onto me. Luckily, I woke up early enough to save Yuqing in time. Zhou Yongli, do you really think I know nothing?"
Looking into her sharp eyes, Zhou Yongli looked away uneasily, his heart pounding like a drum.
He said no more, fearing that the confrontation might escalate into something worse.
"Ha!" Song Xia felt disgusted just looking at him. How could "she" have fallen for such an irresponsible man back then? Fortunately, Brother Shu'er's personality is not like his.
"Father." Zhou Yuqing entered, but Zhou Yongli ignored her and left without a word.
Zhou Yuqing didn't take it seriously. He used to feel sad, but now he was indifferent. Since his father didn't treat him as a son, why should he care?
He has his mother at home and his mentor outside; he is never short of love and care.
"Why are you back? Didn't I tell you not to make a special trip?"
"It's his life's most important event, so I thought I'd come back for a visit."
"They won't appreciate it."
"My son doesn't need them to appreciate it; he just wants to spend more time with you."
Song Xia smiled broadly: "Facing them every day is bad for my eyes, but it's also very enjoyable."
Song Xia never intended to hide the torment of Liu Fangniang and the others from her son, and Zhou Yuqing never said much, nor did she plead for them.
The mother and son are of one mind and live with great clarity. It's not worth hurting your loved one's heart for an enemy.
"Although his marriage was a bit rushed, Yuqing, you're a few months older than him. Do you have a girl you like yet?"
Zhou Yuqing blushed at the question: "Mother, you said there was no rush."
"Mother is not in a hurry, but you should tell me your standards so I can take a look first. I don't want all the good girls to be snatched up by other families."
"There are no standards, it just depends on whether you like the look of them."
Song Xia was both amused and exasperated: "You're a man, and you're always traveling with your master. The girls are all in the inner chambers, so how come you have a chance to meet them face to face?"
"I really don't know what kind of person my son should look for."
"Then at least describe a characteristic, such as quiet, lively, gentle, or heroic..."
Zhou Yuqing was a little overwhelmed: "Mother, I suddenly remembered that Master has given me some homework. I'll go back to the courtyard first."
Song Xia opened her mouth, but still didn't get it. Zhou Shuqing already knew how to scheme against people, yet he was still so naive. But getting married a little later wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Not long after, Zhou Shuqing returned from welcoming the bride. It is unknown what instructions were given by the Wu family, but the second daughter of the Wu family still obediently completed the wedding ceremony.
Zhou Shuqing didn't smile all day, which made his classmates gossip.
Overall, the wedding was conducted in a very conventional and ordinary manner, without anything novel or grand. In fact, only his own Junzi Tower in the entire Zhou mansion was slightly decorated.
She didn't even bother to look at the bride's dowry; it was Aunt Meng who gloated and mentioned it.
"There are several trunks, but when you open them, they are full of outdated fabrics. The patterns are so old-fashioned that even I think they are old-fashioned. The jewelry and other items are not even made of pure gold, but only gilded. They are not even comparable to what you, Madam, have given us."
Song Xia chuckled: "It's normal that Imperial Censor Wu is an honest and upright official who can't afford a generous dowry."
"Even if they couldn't afford it, I've never seen anything like this. I heard that the maids and servants at Junzi Tower don't get many rewards!"
"In any case, the servants have also worked hard. Tell the accountant tomorrow that their monthly allowance will be doubled."
"You are so generous, Madam. We are all so grateful."
“Aunt Liu hasn’t gotten up all day. You are all sisters who serve the young master together, so remember to go and talk to her about it.”
Aunt Meng happily agreed: "Oh, I'll go right away. She's really something. A new bride has just entered the house, she should at least get up. If the new bride misunderstands, how will we get along in the future?"
The two were just chatting casually, and Song Xia didn't specifically ask anyone to spread the word. However, Aunt Liu's words about pretending to be sick because she disliked the new bride somehow reached the new bride's ears.
I heard that she and Zhou Shuqing had a fight on their wedding night, and Zhou Shuqing didn't even go into the bridal chamber, but went to sleep in the study alone for the night.
The next morning, the two of them came together to pay their respects, but both had stiff faces. Only when they saw Song Xia did Miss Wu show a smile.
"Greetings to Mother, Mother, please have some tea."
Song Xia didn't make things difficult for her, but just smiled and said, "Now that we're married, we should live a good life together and support each other."
After she finished speaking, Furong brought out a tray with a set of pure gold jewelry on it.
Miss Wu's eyes widened immediately, Zhou Shuqing turned green with anger, and Liu Fangniang looked like she was about to faint again. After all, she was the daughter of Imperial Censor Wu, so how could she act so uncultured?
Even though it's pure gold, the design is so old-fashioned, what's there to be happy about? Back in the day, they had so many valuable treasures! How did they end up marrying a woman like this?
Their behavior led Miss Wu to misunderstand, thinking they were jealous.
Hmph, I knew that mother and son didn't want her to be happy, but the most important person in this mansion is the Madam, so she must be filial to the Madam. What Aunt Liu? She only has the Madam as her legitimate mother-in-law!
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