Back home, Yang Cui placed Cen Xiao's ashes in the main room, and then, together with the children, lit three incense sticks for him.
"Xiao Cui, the dead cannot be brought back to life, so don't be too sad," An Dafu comforted Yang Cui from the side.
An Dafu originally thought his niece's good days were coming, but he never expected...
At that moment, he was also feeling very bad.
"Where do you plan to bury Da Niu? I've already found someone to look at a burial site in Anjia Village, but I don't know about yours..." After receiving the news of Cen Xiao's death, An Dafu was already worried. Yang Cui was his only niece, so if he didn't worry, no one else would.
"The ashes will not be buried. They will be placed on the altar in the main hall, and when I die, they can be buried with me."
“That’s fine. I’ll go find Master Li tomorrow to perform a ritual for him to be saved.”
According to local custom, a ritual needs to be performed for two to three days.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle."
What are your plans for the future?
"I'll stay in Anjia Village and do some small business in peace."
"It's better to stay at home, so we can look after each other."
"Xiao Cui, once you're settled, go have dinner first. You two, uncle and niece, will have plenty of time to talk," Madam Wen said with a smile.
An Dafu and the Wen family had prepared a meal to welcome Yang Cui and her family.
The An family also invited the Zhou family to dinner, and the scene was very lively. All that could be heard was An Xiaohu boasting about her experiences in Kyoto.
"Xiao Tao, are you pregnant?" During the meal, Yang Cui noticed that Zhou Xiao Tao's belly was a little swollen.
“It’s been almost six months,” Wen said cheerfully.
"Does that mean she got pregnant not long after entering the house?"
We got married on the first day of August last year, and now it's late April, which means she got pregnant around the winter month. That's really fast.
Thinking of this, Yang Cui was momentarily stunned. If she and Cen Xiao had had a child back then, the child would probably be walking by now.
"This is great news. I'm back just in time for my nephew's birth," Yang Cuiqian said with a smile.
"I'll need your help to name the child," Zhou Xiaotao said softly.
"This isn't appropriate."
The matter of choosing a name is usually done by the elders in the family. Some people are so particular that they even ask someone to calculate it based on the birth date and time. Yang Cui doesn't think she has that ability.
“You are the most capable in the family. We believe in you. We will be satisfied if our child has even half of her sister’s abilities in the future.”
"Xiao Hai, since you got married, you've become more and more eloquent."
"Hehe..." An Xiaohai scratched his head sheepishly.
After the meal, Yang Cui divided the gifts she had brought back, giving her eldest uncle two bolts of cloth, as well as some dried seafood and dried fruit that were hard to find here. These things were not cheap, and the sight of them was dazzling and made people envious.
But what surprised and envied people the most was that Yang Cui gave Wen a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies and a gold bracelet to Xiao Tao, which were worth more than a hundred taels of silver.
Zhou Hongfa and Zhou Baishi were extremely envious. Originally, the marriage with An Xiaohai was meant for their daughter, Zhou Xiaomei. If they hadn't refused back then, Zhou Xiaomei would be the one with the gold bracelet now.
"I heard Xiaoli is engaged too?" Yang Cui said.
"Yes, he's the second son of the owner of Xianghe Silk Shop in the county town." Zhou Daqing smiled broadly when he mentioned the marriage. The whole family benefits from his granddaughter's good marriage. Apart from Zhou Xiaotao, Zhou Xiaoli's marriage is the best right now.
However, this was also because Zhou Xiaotao married An Xiaohai and became related to Yang Cui, which is why Manager Zhu agreed to a marriage alliance with the Zhou family.
"That's fine." After saying that, Yang Cui gave her a hairpin inlaid with white pearls.
“This is unacceptable, unacceptable! Such a valuable gift…” Zhou Xiaoli’s mother, Zhou Qinshi, dared not accept it and waved her hands repeatedly.
"Keep it; you can take it with you as part of your dowry."
Zhou Xiaoli is a good girl; she's just like her parents—honest and kind.
Zhou Hongfa and Zhou Baishi were already very jealous, and now they couldn't hide their expressions anymore. Such a hairpin was worth twenty or thirty taels of silver. If Zhou Xiaomei had married An Xiaohai back then, this gold bracelet and hairpin would have belonged to their second wife.
Seeing how generous Yang Cui was, Zhou Yeshi was envious. She also thought of her own brother. Before Yang Cui married Cen Xiao, she had introduced her to him. Now that Cen Xiao was dead, her mind was wandering again.
"My lady, what are your plans for the future?" Zhou Ye asked. "You still remember my elder brother, Ye Xingwang, right? He's alone now..."
"Shut up!" Zhou Daqing snapped. He never expected his daughter-in-law to bring this up at this time. How long had it been since General Cen died? Was this appropriate?
Yang Cui knew that no matter where she went, there would always be people who liked to meddle in her affairs, but she didn't expect that this time it was Zhou Yeshi again, talking about her brother.
"I have no intention of remarrying right now. Thank you all for your concern, and I hope you will not mention this matter again in the future." Yang Cui said with a very serious expression.
Yang Cui is usually generous and gentle, and rarely serious, which shows her mood at this moment.
Madam Zhou immediately apologized: "My lady, I'm so sorry. Please just pretend she farted. I promise she won't talk nonsense again."
After saying that, he glared fiercely at Zhou Yeshi.
"I've been traveling all day and I'm a bit tired, so I won't stay any longer." Yang Cui stood up to say goodbye. "Grandpa Zhou, I'll come to the academy to see you tomorrow."
More than half a year has passed, and Yang Cui always wants to go and see how the academy is doing now.
“Alright, alright, it’s perfect timing for you to come over for dinner tomorrow. I’ll have my wife kill a chicken and a goose.” Zhou Daqing readily agreed.
"There's no need to be so polite..."
Zhou Daqing was worried that Yang Cui was angry because of what had just happened, so he insisted that Yang Cui come to his house for dinner the next day. He also invited the An family members. He was very hospitable, and Yang Cui couldn't handle it.
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