Chapter 91 Xie Guanlan: Ningning has grown taller
It was just morning when Wen Xingluo took a carriage to the county government office.
There was a spacious open space behind the county government office. Today's wedding banquet was to be held here. When Wen Xingluo came over, the rented tables and chairs had been neatly arranged, with red silk tied on the backs of the chairs. The table extended along the alley, and some guests had already come to sit down.
Chen Lezhi was curious, "It's no wonder Xie Si couldn't figure it out. I couldn't figure it out either. How could ten taels of silver afford a hundred banquet tables?"
Wen Xingluo looked at the end of the alley.
A temporary shed was set up at the end of the alley. Several large pots were placed in the shed, with boiling water steaming in the pots. The several chefs hired by Cuicui were already busy.
Xie Guanlan guessed Wen Xingluo's thoughts, "What if it's vegetarian noodles?"
Chen Lezhi was stunned.
Ten taels of silver are certainly not enough to prepare a hundred tables of delicacies and fine wines.
But if you are cooking some vegetarian noodles...
Not to mention a hundred tables, even two hundred tables would be more than enough!
But I wonder what expressions the guests would have when they saw that they had given a gift but were served a bowl of plain noodles and a plate of pickles.
But what does this have to do with Wen Xingluo? It’s not her getting married.
Besides, the Wen family only gave Wen Xingluo ten taels of silver. A good cook cannot cook without rice. To be honest, it was not Wen Xingluo's fault. Moreover, as the younger sister, she specially returned home to prepare the wedding banquet. She fully deserves the reputation of respecting her brother and being gentle and virtuous.
Chen Lezhi forced a smile, "Ningning, you are so mean!"
Xie Guanlan curled his thin lips and said, "This is how a girl from the Zhenbei Palace should be."
There is no fault to be found in his etiquette, he is always gentle, humble and smiling.
But what happens in private is another matter.
Wen Xingluo said, "It's my elder brother who taught me well."
He personally taught by example, demonstrating what it meant to be "a fire in the open and a knife in the dark", isn't that a good teaching?
Chen Lezhi looked at the two black sesame dumplings looking at each other, and his smile froze on his face.
She coughed lightly and squeezed in between Wen Xingluo and Xie Guanlan. "Well, Ningning, can you take me to see where you lived when you were a child?"
Wen Yueyin naturally took full charge of such a prominent matter as entertaining guests. Wen Xingluo had nothing to do anyway, so he took Chen Lezhi into the backyard.
Wen Xingluo pointed to a certain spot on the bunk bed in the wing room and said, "I used to sleep there."
It was a corner against the wall, now used by the maids to store miscellaneous items.
Chen Lezhi was shocked, "You always sleep in a place like this?!"
Wen Xingluo shook his head. "I only lived here when I was six or seven. I used to share a room with my sister, but when I got a little older, my sister said she needed privacy, so she asked my father and brother to move me here."
Chen Lezhi was silent.
In other words, Ningning had been raised by the Wen family for fourteen years, but she had never had a bed that truly belonged to her.
She took Wen Xingluo's hand, her palms burning hot with pity.
Wen Xingluo curled his eyes at her and said, "It's dark and damp here. It's uncomfortable to stay here for a long time. Let's go out."
The two men stepped out of the room and saw Xie Guanlan standing in the corner with his hands behind his back, looking at the carvings on the wall.
The county government office had been built for many years, and damp moss had grown at the base of the whitewashed walls. On the yellowed walls, there were old scratches that looked like they had been made with a branch. The marks became lighter as they went down, like the rings of an ancient tree.
Wen Xingluo explained, "When I was little, my father and brothers often made me stand here and reflect on my mistakes. I was young then, standing here alone, and I remembered how my brothers often used daggers to measure my height under the locust tree. So I picked up a branch and used it to measure my height on the wall bit by bit."
After a pause, she said seriously, "They don't remember how I grew up, but I want to remember."
These ancient scratches are the path she took here.
Xie Guanlan lowered his eyes.
The further down you go, the more the scratches are covered by moss.
He imagined how many, many years ago, in those desolate and lonely years, a little girl not even as tall as his knees stood alone in the corner, picking up small branches and trying to record her height. His heart seemed to be filled with a soft and wet feeling.
Like damp moss, it grew on his heart.
He suddenly reached out and rubbed Wen Xingluo's head, "Ningning has grown taller."
A very doting tone.
Wen Xingluo's whole body stiffened.
Since I was a child, my father and brothers always praised my sister for her height.
Xie Guanlan was the first person to say this to her.
She lowered her eyelashes and did not avoid the young man's hand.
Chen Lezhi sucked in a breath of cold air and quickly squeezed in between the two of them again. "Well, we've seen it already, let's get out of here quickly. Maybe the wedding procession has already arrived. I still want to see Wen Rufeng make a fool of himself!"
As the three of them stepped out of the backyard, Fushan suddenly came over to report, "Master, something happened in the palace!"
…
After Wen Rufeng's wedding procession picked up Xu Miaomiao, they did not return to the county government office, but went straight to the Zhenbei Palace.
Wen Rufeng dismounted, lifted her wedding gown, and knelt down at the gate of the palace.
When Wen Xingluo and others returned to the palace, they saw that many people had already gathered in front of the palace gate to watch the excitement.
Wen Rufeng knelt there firmly, his words piercing his blood. "Mother, today is my wedding day. I don't ask you for a betrothal gift, nor do I ask you to come home and host the wedding banquet. I only ask you to come out and see me, so that I can kowtow to you. That would be the fulfillment of my filial piety!"
The people all said:
"Princess Zhenbei is so cruel! She didn't even pay for her own son's wedding! Is there any mother like this in the world?!"
"Haven't you heard the opera performed in the opera theater a while ago? It was about the Princess of Zhenbei, saying she was vain and greedy for wealth! I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing it today, I believe it! Tsk tsk, they say 'marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog', but she's so good, she abandoned her husband and children after marrying a wealthy man, and looked down on her former husband and son. It really is true that women are heartless and ungrateful!"
"But having said that, this eldest son of the Wen family is quite filial. On such a happy day, he didn't forget to kowtow to his mother! Such a filial son is really hard to find even with a lantern!"
“…”
Hearing their praise, Wen Rufeng cried even more heartbreakingly, "Mother! I miss you! I've brought my new bride here, please come out and see her!"
As they were talking, two little maids helped Xu Miaomiao out of the sedan chair.
According to the rules, the bride cannot leave the sedan chair on the way, let alone take off the veil on her head.
But the situation was special, and Xu Miaomiao couldn't care less.
Feng Lang had already said that if the Princess of Zhenbei could be called out, with her and her stepfather's noble status, any power that could slip through their fingers would be enough for the Wen and Xu families to rise to prominence in Shu County.
She knelt down beside Wen Rufeng and cried out, "Mother, even though you are of noble status now, Feng Lang is still your flesh and blood, right? Even if you don't feel sorry for him, I do! They say that a new bride should be offered tea when she comes home. Don't you want to drink the tea offered by your daughter-in-law?!"
The couple cried in unison, their voices shaking the sky, almost roasting Wei Si on the fire.
Wen Ruyun stood in the wedding procession holding a folding fan, staring at the closed door with a smug look on her face.
He didn't believe that his mother wouldn't come out if he continued like this.
Even if my mother could sit still, the King of Zhenbei couldn't sit still.
When they come out, they will definitely give the Wen family some benefits in order to appease the people and preserve their reputation.
If he doesn’t bite off a piece of flesh from his mother today, he won’t be named Wen!
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