Changwu County is far away from Shengjing, so the bodies of the Lu Family could only be found and buried in the place where Lu Rou was laid to rest.
Ke Chengxing died under obscure circumstances, and the old lady of the Ke Family departed this life in haste. The affairs of the Ke Family were managed by a former nanny, which was even more slapdash than when Lu Rou passed away, but it was precisely because of this carelessness that Lu Rou was not buried with Ke Chengxing.
Lu Tong then took the mud and ashes brought back from Changwu County by an intermediary, together with the few personal belongings of the Lu Family members that she had managed to gather, and erected a cenotaph in front of Lu Rou’s grave.
In this way, the family members could be together.
Things were different for Pei Yunmeng. After Pei Di’s death, the Pei Family fell apart. He visited the Pei household once, took his mother’s spiritual tablet from the ancestral hall, and moved it to his maternal uncle’s place. From then on, his mother and his siblings were completely separated from the Pei Family, and they had no further connections with Zhao Ning Manor.
Lu Tong and Pei Yunmeng went to two separate graves to burn the marriage book, informing the family members in the afterlife of each other’s promises.
Then they got busy, and by mid-summer, silk fans started arriving at Ge Tailor Shop on West Street. "On the day of the Summer Solstice, all officials have a three-day holiday," and it was during this festival that Lu Tong’s wedding dress was delivered to Renxin Medical Hall.
When Qingfeng brought the wedding dress, Du Changqing was buried in his shop, munching on "Summer Solstice Cake." Seeing Qingfeng arrive, the shop owner opened his mouth and the half-eaten cake dropped onto the table with a "plop." He didn’t bother with it but looked up at the visitor with annoyance and said, "What are you here for now?"
Du Changqing really didn’t have a favorable impression of Pei Yunmeng.
Pei Yunmeng was cunning and handsome, and he had somehow fed Lu Tong some sort of enchantment, tricking her away. Leaving that aside, ever since they had become engaged, he had become even more brazen, making it a point to visit Renxin Medical Hall to look for Lu Tong after finishing his duties at the Imperial City, bringing along some pastries and sweet drinks.
The people of West Street had not seen much of the world, and his presence in his official uniform outside the hall, tall and striking, fiery and eye-catching, was too much for the local women. They said he was even more charming than Dai Sanlang at the temple gate.
This infuriated Du Changqing, who cursed behind his back, "This is ’Benevolent Heart Medical Hall,’ not ’Medicinal Pan An’! Every day there’s a bunch of women gawking here; it’s smoky and messy. What a sight!"
He was pushed by Widow Sun, blushing with spring fever, "Nonsense, this Pan An is younger than the other Pan An."
Du Changqing: "..."
That wasn’t the worst of it. It was bad enough that Pei Yunmeng showed up uninvited every day, but what was even more outrageous was that one day he came to the Medical Hall with a wedding gift. Dozens of loads of betrothal gifts, a betrothal list longer than a belt, left the neighbors on West Street wide-eyed.
My goodness, those were loads of betrothal gifts!
Previously, Du Changqing had been talking to others about such matters: "The richer people are, the more stingy they tend to be. Have you not seen how those wealthy families haggle over even a needle? Dignity is only for show. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up hastily giving a few betrothal gifts in the end."
But at that moment, the slanderous words could no longer be uttered.
Looking at the list of wedding gifts, wow, it was a generous gesture—the manors, shops, and residences were given away cleanly. Honestly, if he weren’t a man, Du Changqing would have been willing to marry off himself just for the wealth.
In short, the betrothal gifts that day indeed caused a sensation on West Street, and the news even reached the Imperial City later on. Pei Yunmeng’s colleagues secretly called him a "prodigal son."
As a fellow "prodigal son," Du Changqing felt the same way, yet he cursed inwardly, saying that this man was deep and calculating, intentionally parading around West Street to win over people’s hearts.
Lu Tong didn’t have a dowry of her own; her dowry was the monthly allowance given by Du Changqing. With just this allowance, almost all of it was spent buying Sweet Syrup for everyone at the Medical Hall. Speaking of which, Lu Tong was indeed quite generous with money, truly not knowing how to save and manage a household.
Qingfeng put the heavy box on the table in the inner shop and said solemnly, "Master has ordered me to deliver this wedding dress to the lady."
Du Changqing furrowed his brows, "She hasn’t even crossed the threshold yet, what’s with the inappropriate address?"
Qingfeng acted as if he heard nothing.
As Lu Tong and Yin Zheng lifted the curtain and came out, Miao Liangfang smiled, "Xiao Lu arrived just in time, come and see the wedding dress made for you."
The wedding dress was prepared by Pei Yunmeng.
In the customs of the Liang Dynasty, a woman’s wedding attire was mostly embroidered by herself before the wedding, a process that might take years. However, Lu Tong was really busy with her daily responsibilities at the Medical Bureau and organizing prescriptions, and her embroidery skills... Pei Yunmeng might have been worried about her randomly stitching and doodling behind his back, resulting in a blunder at the wedding ceremony, which is why he specifically hired the best embroideress to rush to tailor it for her.
Lu Tong approached the table, and under the watchful eyes of those present, opened the copper chest and took out a weighty wedding gown.
It was an exquisitely beautiful bridal attire.
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