Chapter 553, Arrived in Time
February 20th, at the dock on the outskirts of Ningmen Prefecture.
The betrothal gifts hung with red silk were unloaded from the carriage by the servants of the Yan family, and then carefully carried to the boat docked at the shore.
In order to show her appreciation for the girl from the Han family, Mrs. Li prepared a very generous betrothal gift. It took Daohua quite a while to check the gift list one by one.
This time, Yan Zhiyuan brought Yan Wenxiu to the capital.
Because Yan Siyu and her daughter were going back to Beijing by boat, everyone in the Yan family came to the dock to see them off.
Old Mrs. Yan was reluctant to leave her daughters, and kept talking to Yan Siyu and Yang Xiujun. The third daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wu, stood by and supported the old lady, saying a few words from time to time to ease the sadness of parting.
A few steps away were Yan Zhigao and Madam Li, who were giving Yan Wenxiu instructions.
Near the bow were Yan Zhiyuan and Sun.
Looking at the betrothal gifts being loaded onto the boat, Sun said sourly, "When Wenjie gets engaged in the future, I wonder if he'll get half as much as Wenxiu did?"
Yan Zhiyuan was also a little jealous, but he knew that the entire Yan family was supported by the eldest brother and sister-in-law. Wenxiu was the eldest son and grandson, and he married a girl from the earl's family. Wenjie's future wedding would definitely not be as grand as theirs.
"Just be quiet. Besides the betrothal gifts from your family, a lot of them were given by the Li family. If you want to give Wenjie face, ask your family to help out as well."
Sun was choked up. "My mother's family is just a landlord family. Even if we sell all the land, we can't compare to the business-oriented Li family."
Hearing this, Yan Zhiyuan let out a sigh and said quietly: "From this point we can see the importance of the Yue family." Although the eldest sister-in-law's family is a merchant, they have really helped their family a lot in terms of money.
Sun was furious: "Why, are you starting to dislike my family now? It wasn't like this when you married me."
Yan Zhiyuan glared at Sun, then quickly looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his voice and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If I really disliked your Sun family, I would have done it a long time ago. Why would I wait until now?"
Sun's expression softened slightly: "So what did you mean by that just now?"
Yan Zhiyuan: "I mean, we have to choose Wenjie's marriage carefully. At the very least, we have to help Wenjie."
Seeing that this was what he meant, Sun's anger subsided and she said unhappily, "Do you even need to say that?"
Yan Zhiyuan glanced in the direction of his elder brother and sister-in-law, and said to Sun: "Wenxiu's matter has been settled. Now it's our Wenjie's turn. After I leave, when you have time, please talk to mother and sister-in-law about it more often, so that they can keep Wenjie's matter in mind."
Sun nodded, "I will."
Next to the people carrying the betrothal gifts were Yan Yihan, Yan Yishuang and Yan Yile. The three girls were gathered together, pointing and talking at the betrothal gifts.
Yan Zhiqiang was directing the servants to carefully carry the betrothal gifts.
As for Daohua, she stood in front of the dock absentmindedly, looking at the river and then looking behind her.
This time when going to Beijing, the Yan family and the Zhou family agreed to go together. Firstly, they could take care of each other on the way; secondly, the marriage between the eldest brother and the daughter of the Han family was arranged by the second master of the Zhou family, and going to Beijing together also showed that the relationship between the two families was close.
Ningmenfu Wharf is at the northernmost part of Zhongzhou. The Zhou family’s ship will pass by here when it goes to Beijing, so it’s a good opportunity for them to go together.
When the betrothal gifts and gifts were loaded onto the boat, the Zhou family's boat appeared on the river.
Looking at her third brother who was still nowhere to be seen, Daohua couldn't tell whether she felt regretful or not. If the Zhou family's proposal of marriage in Beijing was successful this time, Jingwan would probably never come back.
Soon, the Zhou family’s boat docked at the pier.
Old Master Zhou brought Master Zhou, Madam Zhou, Zhou Chengye, Zhou Jingwan, and his new daughter-in-law, Madam Zhou, off the boat to greet everyone in the Yan family.
After paying respects to the elders, Zhou Jingwan ran to Daohua and reluctantly pulled her along: "It would be great if you could go to the capital with me."
Daohua looked at Zhou Jingwan hesitantly, about to say something, but she noticed the look Madam Zhou was giving her. She felt a little annoyed and could only ask casually, "Is everyone in your family going to Beijing?"
Zhou Jingwan shook her head: "Neither my father nor my eldest brother and his wife are going."
Daohua: "Then why are they all here?"
Zhou Jingwan: "My father said that he hadn't met your father for a long time. The ship happened to be arriving here, so he came over. My eldest brother wanted to see your brother off, and my eldest sister-in-law naturally came along to meet relatives and friends."
On the adults' side, Madam Li praised the new daughter-in-law and took Madam Zhou aside to say goodbye to her.
However, seeing Mrs. Zhou looking at her daughter from time to time, Mrs. Li felt a little uncomfortable.
Mrs. Zhou looked as if she was worried that their family would outlast the Zhou family.
After some pleasantries, Old Master Zhou said, "It's getting late. We should set off. We can get together when we get back."
Yan Zhigao clasped his fists and said, "My son doesn't go out often, so I hope you can give him some pointers along the way."
Old Master Zhou smiled and said, "Wen Xiu is a very steady boy. Maybe he will need my old bones to take care of me on the road."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Master Zhou called out to Zhou Jingwan: "Jingwan, come quickly and help your grandfather onto the boat."
Zhou Jingwan, who was standing next to Daohua, replied, "I'll be right there." Then she looked at Daohua and said, "Your eldest brother is leaving for the capital. Why didn't Third Brother Yan come to see him off?"
Daohua sighed inwardly, "He's been busy lately and can't get away."
Zhou Jingwan pouted: "What's so busy that you don't even have time to see someone off?" There was a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
She wanted to say something more, but Master Zhou was urging her again. Zhou Jingwan had no choice but to walk over.
Before getting on the boat, Zhou Jingwan couldn't help but look back, and then helped Old Master Zhou get on the boat.
On the Yan family's side, Yan Siyu and her daughter said goodbye to the other Yan family members reluctantly, and then followed Yan Zhiyuan onto the Yan family's boat.
Old Lady Yan's eyes were red as she kept telling Yan Wenxiu, "Take good care of your aunt and cousin."
Yan Wenxiu nodded: "Don't worry, grandma, I will."
After saying this, he bowed like the elders in his family before turning around and boarding the ship.
On the shore, only Mrs. Zhou had not boarded the ship.
The daughter-in-law had just come into the family and didn't know many of the rules yet. She didn't want to leave home at this time, but this trip to Beijing was related to her daughter's lifelong affairs, so she could only take care of this side for the time being.
Mrs. Zhou reminded Zhou Chengye and Mrs. Zhou again and again.
"Okay, stop dithering. I'm here, so what do you have to worry about?" Seeing that Mrs. Zhou had been talking for a while and showed no signs of stopping, Master Zhou had to speak up to stop her.
Mrs. Zhou glanced at her husband and was about to say something when she felt the ground shaking. Turning around, she saw several horses galloping towards her.
The one running in the front was Yan Wentao.
Mrs. Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively wanted to turn around and board the boat, but the person had already arrived, and it would be rude to do so. She could only stand there stiffly, regretting not leaving earlier.
"Go and look after Jingwan and don't let her get off the boat." Madam Zhou whispered to the maid beside her.
After receiving the instructions, the old woman left the crowd calmly and quickly boarded the Zhou family's boat.
"Third brother!"
When Daohua saw the person coming, her eyes lit up with surprise.
In a flash, Yan Wentao arrived in front of the horse. Before the horse stopped, Yan Wentao quickly dismounted and pulled the reins, and the horse stopped steadily.
His calm demeanor, upright figure, and nimble skills all show that he is a good guy.
Mrs. Zhou secretly felt sorry in her heart. If Yan Wentao was the son of the first wife of the Yan family, even if he was not the eldest son, she would consider it as long as her daughter really liked him. But he was the son of the third wife of the Yan family who could only help manage the fields at home.
How could she be willing to give him her daughter whom she had raised so pampered?
(End of this chapter)
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