Chapter 456: It’s Time to Get Engaged

Liu Ya had never seen the eldest lady, but from the annual gifts that the mistress gave her, she knew that the mistress liked her very much. Liu Ya smiled and said, "It's true. The servant came first to report the news. The eldest lady should have arrived at the backyard by now."

Zhulan really hadn't seen Xuemei's family for several years. When she left, the twins were less than a month old. Now they are three years old. She kept muttering, "Should I bring all the children here?"

A few minutes later, Xuemei, Jiang Miao and several other children followed Xuehan into the house. Xuemei's eyes were filled with tears. "Mom."

Xuemei was afraid that she would not be able to catch up with her mother's delivery, so she left early on purpose. However, the journey was not smooth. The twins had never left home before, so she was too excited. It was also a cold spring day, and she caught a cold on the way. She stayed in Huaizhou City for quite a while. Unexpectedly, her mother gave birth anyway despite her haste. Fortunately, her mother was fine. God knows how panicked she was for a moment when she entered the backyard and found out her mother had given birth.

Zhulan held the eldest lady's hand. After not seeing her for three years, Xuemei had changed a lot and became much more mature. In Zhulan's eyes, Xuemei used to be just a student who had not graduated from college and was too young.

Zhulan looked at her grandchildren. The eldest grandson did not come in. Jiang Du is seven years old this year. He is a little adult now, and it is not suitable for him to enter the delivery room. Zhulan took the six-year-old Jiang Du with her. When she left, the little boy's hair was not very long yet, but now he can wear jewelry.

Finally, there were three-year-old twins. These two children look really alike.

Xuemei saw her mother looking at the children and said with a smile, "Look at me, you guys have been clamoring for your grandma, why don't you call her now that you see someone?"

Jiang Miao blinked, still remembering, "Grandma."

Zhulan touched Miu Miu's hand and asked, "Do you miss grandma?"

"I thought about it."

She didn't lie. In her memory, her grandmother gave her delicious food and taught her to read.

The twins stepped forward and tilted their heads. The fatter one said, "Grandma, I'm Jiang Ping, and I'm the older brother."

The thinner one said, "I'm Jiang An, the younger brother."

When Zhulan heard the name, Xuemei and her husband hoped that the twins would grow up safely. Twins are not easy to raise, and safety is the parents' greatest hope.

Zhulan smiled, "Okay, okay."

Xuemei felt relieved when she saw that her mother looked good. "Mom, where is my brother?"

"Here."

Zhulan turned sideways and saw the child sleeping in the bed. She got up and blocked the way. She picked up the child who was not yet awake and handed him to Xuemei.

Xuemei took it carefully. This was a precious gift from her parents. She looked at its appearance carefully and said, "My dear brother, I have grown up with the best features of my parents."

This child is not light!

Jiang Miao also stepped forward, "Mom, is this my uncle?"

The twins thought, "Uncle, uncle."

Zhulan, "......."

Yes, her son was born older. When she thought about growing up and being called uncle and uncle by a group of children older than him, she couldn't help laughing.

Xuemei carefully put her brother down and asked, "Mom, have you given your brother a name?"

Zhu Lan was silent. Before the child was born, she and Zhou Shuren had thought of a name a lot. After the child was born, she and Zhou Shuren were entangled again. Neither of them felt good. "Still thinking."

Xuemei didn't think much about it and said, "We should really think about it."

This youngest brother is the most blessed one. Even his younger sister is not as blessed as him. His younger sister was a village girl for several years. But this younger brother was born as the son of a prefect. When he grew up, his father's rank became higher, and his status also became higher.

Xuemei looked at her younger brother and thought of Changzhi. "Mom, we went to look for Changzhi when we came here, but Changzhi went to study with his master, so he didn't come back with us."

Zhulan, "......"

She was not disappointed. Really, it would be strange if this kid could stay at home obediently.

Xuemei felt that her younger brother was unstable and that he was not young anymore. "Mom, my younger brother is sixteen years old and not young anymore. Isn't it time for you to arrange a marriage for him? Then he can feel at ease at home."

She felt that her younger brother should be taken care of by someone.

Zhulan, "I would like to arrange a marriage for him, but there is no suitable one."

Xuemei thought of her younger brother's temperament and felt sympathy for her future brother-in-law.

As they were talking, Mrs. Li and Mrs. Dong knew the news had come. Mrs. Li was afraid of waking up the child, so she lowered her voice and said, "Big sister."

Dong, "Sister."

Xuemei was stunned for a moment. She was her father's eldest daughter and would receive generous gifts from her parents' home during every festival. She was very famous in her hometown and had met many wives of merchants and officials in the county, but there were few who could compare to Li.

Xuemei sighed, saying that the environment can really change a person. Then she thought that her mother was a good teacher and could even teach her sister-in-law to improve her temper.

Xuemei stood up, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law."

Then he asked a few children to call for help.

Li now has a headache when she sees a boy. A lady is better. She is gentle and quiet, and takes Jiang Miao's hand, "I haven't seen you for a few years. Miao Miao is getting more and more beautiful."

As she spoke, Li took out the jade pendant she had prepared from her sleeve and handed it to Jiang Miao, "This was given to me by my aunt, don't reject it."

This jade pendant was the dowry she prepared for her daughter-in-law. She started preparing some if she met a good girl last year. She was not planning to give birth, and the first wife only had one daughter-in-law, so she naturally hoped that the daughter-in-law would be more confident.

When she heard Xuemei was back today, she chose a gift for a while and took the jade pendant.

Then he took out two purses and handed them to the twins, "These are from my aunt."

The money inside is silver, and the two children are still young, so it is appropriate to give them silver.

Xuemei was really surprised. Her eyesight had also improved a lot. This jade pendant was worth twenty taels. She gave it to her sister-in-law immediately. "Sister-in-law, it's too precious."

Li smiled and said, "Not expensive, but rare. No, I like ladies, not expensive."

Li let out a sigh and almost told the truth. It was not easy for her eldest sister to come here, and the money was not given every year. After careful calculation, she regarded it as a compensation for the New Year's money she had received for many years, so she was willing to give it.

Zhulan, "......."

She knew what Li was thinking and laughed in her heart. She was surprised at his generosity just now.

Xuemei had practiced Tai Chi with the official's wife a lot in the past two years. She understood the sister-in-law's slip of the tongue immediately and couldn't help laughing. The sister-in-law had changed so much that she was almost unrecognizable, but some things hadn't changed. This time she felt more intimate. "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Jiang Miao took his brothers to thank his aunt.

Mrs. Dong also prepared gifts. The one she gave to Jiang Miao was a step-shake. Mrs. Dong had no children and no jewelry for girls, so she could only take out the jewelry she wore when she was a teenager. Jiang Miao was to keep it for future use. She also gave money to the twins.

Xuemei asked, "Mother, where is my second sister-in-law?"

Zhulan just remembered that Xuemei didn't know the situation when she first arrived. "Your second sister-in-law had a difficult delivery and injured herself. She is now in confinement. You can go over to see her later."

Xuemei saw that her mother looked tired, as she had just given birth and needed to recover. "Mom, I'll take the child over now. You should also get some rest."

Zhulan was indeed tired, and when Liuya came in, she asked, "Have you arranged everything?"

Liu Ya nodded, "The yard has been cleaned up, and the young lady's luggage has been sent over."

Zhulan hummed and said to Xuemei, "If you have anything to ask in the next few days, just go to Xuehan. Xuehan is in charge of the yard now."

Xuemei said, "Mother, I've remembered this. You can take a rest first."

Zhulan waited until Xuemei took the child out, and then she said to Mrs. Song, "Go to my room. I have a set of gold jewelry inlaid with rubies for the eldest lady, and ask Butler Ding to go to the jewelry shop and order four jade pendants."

Xuemei came suddenly and without any prior notice, so she didn't have time to prepare any gifts. Just when the child came to see her, she was already thinking about what to give!

There are two more chapters around 9:30.

(End of this chapter)