Chapter 147 Yumin Gets Married
"Axiao?" Song Yuzhu called him.
Zhao Xiao's brows were furrowed, his eyes were red, and there was even a gleam of water in his eyes.
"Why are you crying?" Song Yuzhu hugged him in a panic. They had been together for so long, but he had never seen Zhao Xiao cry, and he was very surprised.
Zhao Xiao wiped his eyes and said, "Song Yuzhu, do you know what I was thinking about every day during those two years at sea?"
Song Yuzhu shook his head.
"Every day I think about how to grow old with you, and how to take you around the world after Yutong succeeds to the throne."
Song Yuzhu's face lit up with joy; they actually had the same idea.
"But if you keep working so hard without caring about your health, can I still wait until that day?!"
"I..." Song Yuzhu knew that she had unintentionally hurt her lover's heart.
"I'm sorry, Xiao. I'll try to combine work and rest in the future and not work so hard, okay?"
Only then did Zhao Xiao calm down, picked him up, left the study, and returned to the bedroom to rest.
The eunuch brought the tonic medicine, and Song Yuzhu was so tired that she fell asleep after drinking the medicine. Zhao Xiao was left alone tossing and turning for half the night, and went to the military camp the next day with two dark circles under his eyes.
When the veterans in the barracks saw his expression, they all started training like crazy. Some new recruits accidentally bumped into his gun muzzle and were punished to run 30 kilometers with a load. They were so tired that they complained like a grandson.
However, after Song Yuzhu agreed to Zhao Xiao, she did start to take care of her health. She only worked out for four hours a day, and spent the rest of the time playing football, riding a bike, and taking Song Yutong to study.
He knew that there was something wrong with his previous mentality, always wanting to finish everything in one go, but he overlooked one point: state affairs would never stop, but he would.
My health is not good to begin with. If I keep overworking myself, I might die young. For the sake of my health, I'd better slow down my work.
Since the invention of the rubber vulcanization method, Song Yuzhu's bicycle finally had wheels. This product that was ahead of its time was no different from later cars. In his spare time, he often rode his bicycle around the palace.
Heidao and Baixiu were so curious about what they saw that they both wanted to learn how to ride a bike, so Song Yuzhu took time out to teach them.
Although both of them are highly skilled in martial arts, it is really difficult for them to learn to ride a bicycle, especially Hei Dao. Once he gets on the bike, his hands and feet are out of control and he has no way of keeping his balance.
Bai Xiu was slightly stronger than him, but she also fell over after riding a few laps. During the ride, she accidentally got her skirt caught in the bicycle. If she hadn't carried a knife with her, she would have cut off her skirt directly and would have fallen badly.
Liu Yanzi, on the other hand, was better than both of them and she learned everything after entering the palace once.
"I heard that you have been causing trouble for Charles recently?" Song Yuzhu chatted with him while sitting in the pavilion.
Liu Yanzi smiled and said, "Did Charles complain to you?"
Song Yuzhu said: "He traveled such a long way across the ocean to come here, don't bully him."
Liu Yanzi touched her nose and said, "I didn't, I just thought he was quite interesting..."
"That has to be done in moderation. His illness hasn't healed yet and he needs to rest."
Liu Yanzi replied: "I understand."
In fact, Charles never said that Liu Yanzi bullied him. He only mentioned it to Song Yuzhu once, asking if it was possible not to let Lord Liu follow him all the time, especially when he was sleeping at night.
Song Yuzhu was a little confused. Why did Liu Yanzi go to someone else's place so late at night without sleeping? But Bai Xiu's words woke her up.
"I guess our landlord is an old tree that has finally blossomed."
Song Yuzhu was surprised and said, "You said...he fell in love with Charles?"
Bai Xiu covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh, I was just talking nonsense, Your Majesty, please don't take it seriously."
Heidao got goosebumps from her laughter and muttered, "Psycho."
"Stupid ass, who are you scolding?" Bai Xiu pinched his waist and cursed angrily.
"Scold you!" Hei Dao replied, thinking about it and realizing that he had been fooled. Wouldn't it be a direct admission that he was a fool to respond to her? He was so angry that he screamed and chased Bai Xiuman around the garden waving his sword. Song Yuzhu sat beside him and laughed until her stomach hurt.
The green leaves formed shade and the warm breeze was gentle. Song Yuzhu sat in the pavilion with a smile on her face, and the eunuchs beside her couldn't help laughing.
This was the scene Zhao Xiao saw when he returned from the military camp. He couldn't help but lighten his steps for fear of disturbing them.
It was Song Yuzhu who saw him first and waved at him: "Ah Xiao, come here quickly!"
Zhao Xiao was stunned for a moment, then strode over and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Look at these two people fighting."
Zhao Xiao sat down next to him, and the two of them drank tea and watched the fun. Poor Heidao was beaten up by Bai Xiu again.
*
In early May, Song Yumin's wedding is approaching.
Because Song Yumin's parents died early, Jiang Rong and Song Bai had to take care of him more.
In the past few years, Song Yumin had been on duty at the Imperial Medical Court and had saved up some money. With the money that Song Lin had left behind, he bought a three-story courtyard house in Shangjing.
Originally, Song Yumin wanted to buy the old house where he lived before. It was purchased when Song Lin was the head of the Imperial Medical Court. Since his father passed away, the courtyard has been abandoned.
Song Bai always felt that the place was not auspicious so he didn't let him buy the house. Instead, he bought a house next to the Song Mansion.
Although the new yard is not big, it has a good location and is not far from the Imperial Medical Garden. It is definitely enough for the couple to live in.
Song Bai and Song Qiao accompanied him in selecting the furnishings in the courtyard. The decoration was neat and tidy, and one could tell at a glance that the family was well-off.
The man is in charge of the outside affairs and the woman is in charge of the inside affairs. Jiang Rong and Qin are responsible for the furnishings in the room.
Qin was efficient and effective. She had already arranged the marriages of her two sons, so she was very familiar with the matter and almost everything was arranged by her alone.
Jiang Rong helped her, and the relationship between the two sisters-in-law was much better than when they were in Jiangcheng County.
The room needed all kinds of furnishings, and Qin spent a lot of her own money to help buy new diesel lamps.
This diesel lamp is much more convenient than the candles of the past. Just fill it with oil, pull the rope, and the flint on top can light the wick. It is very convenient.
Jiang Rong found a few good needlework girls to make more than 20 quilts for the young couple. Thick quilts are homophones for "descendants", so making more is a good omen for having a long line of descendants.
Actually, Qin was not a wicked person. She just lived with the old lady before and was treated differently by her, which led to a rift between them over time.
Now that the old ladies are gone and they are so old, what is there to worry about?
After finishing their work, the two of them sat together in the house and chatted about family matters.
Qin said, "Young people today are much more particular about getting married than we were back then."
Jiang Rong said, "That's right. I remember when I first got married, there were only four sets of bedding, which were not enough. The rest were the dowry I brought from my parents' home."
"You are much better than me. The old lady heard that Song Qiao married a merchant's daughter and didn't even prepare bedding. My daughter had to go to the shop to buy it herself."
"Ah? There is such a thing?" Jiang Rong was shocked by the unreliability of Old Lady Song.
Qin said, "There are many such cases! My eldest sister-in-law's betrothal gift was twenty-four loads, yours was twelve, and when it was my turn, it was only eight. The old lady is really biased."
"I don't want to talk about the past. Before you came into the house, my mother-in-law treated my eldest sister-in-law and me in completely different ways. If I hadn't suffered so much, who wouldn't want to get along with me?"
Jiang Rong nodded: "Yes."
Later, Song Lin went to Beijing to work as a medical officer, and Old Lady Song began to treat the second wife better. However, Qin had long been disappointed with her, and it was impossible for her to warm up with just a few words.
However, the old lady was better to her grandchildren. Song Yutang and Song Yufeng both stayed with her for a period of time, but Song Yuzhu was the only one she disliked.
As they talked about the past, the two became closer and finally held hands and cried.
Qin wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, "If you ask me, we all have a miserable life, but now we can finally see the light of day."
"Who says it's not?"
"When Yuzhu has a child, you can enjoy a few days of peace and quiet."
Jiang Rong's face froze. She was really talking about something irrelevant. Yuzhu might not have any children. She could only hope that Yutong would grow up and have his own children so that she could have a grandson.
*
On the sixth day of May, the auspicious god is due north. It is a good time to get married, break ground, put up beams, and move stoves.
That morning, before dawn, Song Yumin got up, changed his clothes and prepared to go to pick up the bride.
Song Yutang and Song Yufeng are both here to help. The three brothers chatted all night last night.
Song Yufeng has become much more mature now. He is no longer the naughty boy he used to be. He speaks in a flowery manner, and Song Yutang laughs at him for showing off his knowledge.
As the day dawned, people in the mansion began to get busy. There were many guests coming today. In addition to Song Yumin's colleagues, there were also teachers from the medical school. In addition, due to Song Yuzhu's relationship, other officials had to prepare gifts even if they did not come.
As soon as the hour of Chou passed, the bride-picking procession set off.
Lord Bai lives in the east of the city, and it takes half an hour to walk there. There is music and dancing along the way, and it is very lively.
In the palace, Song Yuzhu also changed into casual clothes and prepared to leave the palace with Zhao Xiao.
“Aren’t these gifts a little too little?”
Last night, Song Yuzhu opened her private storehouse and prepared wedding gifts for her cousin, including a pair of gold bowls and chopsticks, a pair of jade ruyi, a pair of vases with the inscription "a hundred sons and auspicious blessings", two red corals, a can of southern pearls, a set of official kiln tea sets, 108 pieces of porcelain, and 10 bolts of silk and satin of various colors.
Altogether, there were almost ten boxes, which was not much less than what Song Yufeng had given when he got married. But compared with the previous emperors who often gave away hundreds of taels of gold and a box of pearls and gems, it was much more shabby.
It's not that Song Yuzhu is stingy, he just doesn't have many treasures in his private vault. All the things he looted from the four major families were converted into silver and deposited into the Ministry of Revenue, and most of it has been spent on infrastructure construction over the years.
These are what the previous emperor left behind. There isn’t much in this big private vault.
Zhao Xiao said: "It's good as long as the intention is there."
Song Yuzhu nodded: "You are right. I will write a poem of blessing to them both."
He asked the eunuch to bring pen and ink, picked out a poem suitable for congratulating the newlyweds, and wrote it down.
After the ink was dried and framed by the eunuch, the two of them went to Song Yumin's residence together.
At one o'clock in the morning, the bride's sedan chair was brought back and stopped at the gate of Song's house. Firecrackers rang out. Song Yumin got off the horse and was led by a lucky man to lift the curtain of the sedan chair.
Mrs. Liu, the Minister of Rites, was once again a blessed woman. She was born with a happy look, her chubby face was always full of smiles, and she kept saying funny things, which made the two men blush with embarrassment.
Song Yumin held his wife's hand and walked to the main hall. Because his parents died early, a spirit tablet was placed in the hall and several uncles and aunts sat beside it.
All the onlookers sighed with regret. It was such a good child, but it was a pity that he lost his parents at such a young age.
After worshipping heaven and earth, just as Song Yumin was about to send the bride back to the bridal chamber, there was suddenly a commotion at the door.
"Let me in! I'm Song Yumin's biological elder sister, let me in now!"
(End of this chapter)
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