Chapter 60: Madam Du's Wedding
Soon it was the third day.
Xiao Heng had not returned yet, but he had someone bring back a letter. The letter was very short, with only a few words. Gu Xiyue smiled knowingly after reading it and put the letter away carefully.
Early in the morning, she got herself ready and went to the canteen with Meixiang to help. Nearly forty tables of food would be set up today, with six or seven dishes on each table. It was a big project. Except for the people who were assigned to work and help Mrs. Du clean up, all the other people who could work were called by Gu Xiyue.
Basically, all the square tables in every household were requisitioned. Gu Xiyue had people mark them and set up thirty-nine tables in the large area, almost filling up the area.
The children don't have to study today, so two teachers are left to look after the younger ones, while the older children and their teachers come over to help.
The dining hall was the busiest place, with four large pots cooking at the same time. Madam Liu, Madam Li, Madam Shen, and Madam Zhou were in charge of cooking, leaving four people to keep the fire going. The others washed and cut vegetables, set the plates, and washed the dishes. It was a busy but orderly place.
Gu Xiyue specially asked someone to put a few plates filled with candies and melon seeds on the two large tables at the door, so that everyone could have a bite when passing by.
Several elderly people in the village also came to help. In the two hours of the morning, more than 20 people in the canteen managed to make four cold dishes, five hot dishes and a soup.
Just as noon arrived, the villagers came back one after another. Zhao Yancheng and Wang Hu led a group of young men, and took the neatly dressed Fang Laoer to pick up Madam Du. After picking them up at two quarters past noon, they walked along the beach before walking into the big field. Gu Xiyue asked Granny Liu and another elder to sit in the first seat at the top, and let the two newlyweds bow, and then let everyone take their seats. The banquet started at noon.
The young men serving the food lined up in a row, holding trays, and about fifteen or sixteen of them began to serve the food.
The four cold dishes are cold lotus root, cold potato slices, cold boiled pork, and peanuts.
The hot dishes are meatballs, vegetable meatballs, boiled spicy tofu, pork stewed with cabbage and vermicelli, and braised pork ribs and potatoes.
The soup was not served on the table. Instead, a small table was placed in the middle of every four tables. On it was a wooden barrel filled with vegetable and egg soup, with a spoon inside. Whoever wanted to drink it had to serve it themselves.
There is also rice and steamed buns, and everyone can help themselves according to their needs.
Gu Xiyue sat at the top seat with Madam Du, Fang Laoer, and several elders.
The situation today is special, so Gu Xiyue asked Tian Hefei to find a few skilled people to guard the east entrance. The rest of the people should come and sit down, and after they finish eating, they can take over the people guarding the east entrance.
To the left of Gu Xiyue is Madam Du. Her cheeks are red, and she can't hide her shyness. Although she is not wearing much makeup, she has a red hairband tied in her hair, and a few beautiful hairpins inserted in it. She is wearing a bright red wedding dress, and looks very beautiful.
Beautiful and charming.
Fang Laoer was dressed smartly today, using a red cloth to tie his hairband. He looked energetic and handsome, and naturally couldn't stop smiling.
Yun'er was so happy that she disappeared. She was taken away by her sisters to sit somewhere else. Madam Du didn't have to worry about Yun'er at all.
The faces of several elders were not very good, but they endured it for Madam Gu's sake. After all, if it weren't for Madam Gu, these old people might have starved to death by now. Unlike now, they don't have to work and have three meals a day.
In their eyes, the marriage between Madam Du and Old Man Fang is absolutely intolerable, but now the situation is pressing, they not only have to tolerate it, but also have to accompany it and show the greatest sincerity to Madam Du and Old Man Fang.
They sat at the same table with Madam Du and Fang Laoer, and other people in the village did not dare to gossip.
Gu Xiyue glanced at the elders and laughed secretly in his heart.
She reached under the table and gently patted Madam Du, asking her to relax a little.
Mrs. Du's palms were sweaty. Encouraged by Gu Xiyue, she took a deep breath, picked up her wine glass, stood up, and toasted the elders present with Fang Laoer.
Fang Lao Er raised his wine glass with a red face and said, "I am getting married today. I would like to express my special thanks to all the uncles and aunts present here. I will drink this glass of wine."
After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine.
Madam Du stood beside him and saw that except for Granny Liu, the other uncles and aunts all had sullen faces. If they had not been concerned about Madam Gu's presence, they might have refused to sit at the same table with them.
Her fingers gripping the wine glass tightened slightly. Thinking of Gu Xiyue's encouragement just now, she gritted her teeth and said, "Thank you, uncle and aunt, for helping us both. I know that because of my identity, uncle and aunt think it's shameful for me to do this, but I have to live after all, and I have to think about the future. No matter what, thank you for helping us!"
After saying that, he also imitated Fang Laoer and drank the small glass of wine in one breath.
It was the first time she drank such strong liquor, and she almost choked to death and started coughing instantly.
His face got even redder.
Granny Liu glanced at the other three people, picked up the wine glass in front of her, smiled kindly and said, "Granny wishes you two a long and happy life together, and may you have a son soon!"
After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank his wine.
Seeing that others were still indifferent, Granny Liu slammed the wine glass down on the table.
"Madam Gu is our Lijun, and you all agreed to it. She supports Madam Du and Fang Laoer getting married. I don't know what you're so stubborn about. You're already old, buried up to your neck in dirt, and yet you're still acting like old antiques and can't let it go!"
"Have you all forgotten how we nearly starved to death? Why are you still talking about those old stuff?"
After saying this with a look of disappointment, Granny Liu shook her head repeatedly and never looked at them again.
The three old men's faces turned pale and red, and they felt really embarrassed. They wanted to leave in anger, but looking at the delicious food on the table, they couldn't move their legs.
Ever since Madam Gu told them not to work, most of the time, their meals were specially delivered to them by Madam Liu and the others.
After eating three meals a day, we don’t have to do any work. Every day, apart from taking a walk, we sit together and chat. Not only does our body feel better, but our mood also improves.
Now if they really leave Madam Gu, they know in their hearts what the outcome will be.
Seeing the changes in their expressions, Gu Xiyue smiled and raised her wine glass, saying, "Three uncles and aunts, you are actually blessing the two newlyweds, right? It's just that I think it's a bit unreasonable for them to get married now since Fang Lao Er's mother and eldest brother just passed away, and Madam Du just lost her child. If they get married a year or two later, you won't object, right?"
When the three old men saw Madam Gu giving them a way out, they immediately felt relieved and nodded quickly.
"Yes, Madam Gu, you are right, that is what we think."
"After my sister-in-law's husband passed away, she could marry my uncle after the mourning period. This is fine. After all, Madam Du still has children. No one else can be as good as my uncle Fang Lao Er. But this..."
The oldest of the three spoke tremblingly, and waved his hands repeatedly at the end.
Gu Xiyue nodded. She waved for Madam Du and Fang Laoer to sit down, and then she said, "There's a common saying among the people that a son is about to die, so they say that if a woman marries into the family to bring good luck, maybe the son will get better."
"Madam Du marrying the second son of Fang can be considered a happy occasion. Look at how miserable the Fang family is. Aunt Fang and the eldest son of Fang died tragically together. The eldest son of Fang's child also died in his mother's womb and was summoned by the eldest son of Fang as soon as he was born. The Fang family is in such a miserable state. Let Madam Du marry the second son of Fang within three months. This can be considered a happy funeral. It does not violate the rules of mourning or ethics. The two of them can live a new life together with their child. Maybe things will get better and better."
Gu Xiyue stared at the three elders with a smile, and forced these logics into them, leaving the three of them confused.
"I believe that the three elders are all blessed people. With your blessings and support, Madam Du and Mr. Fang will definitely turn their fortunes around and make the Fang family prosperous in the future."
"Besides, it's better to demolish ten temples than to break up a marriage. On this happy day, I hope the three elders can give their blessings to the two newlyweds."
After Gu Xiyue finished speaking, he looked at the three old men steadily.
The three of them thought about it, then nodded, brought in the wine glasses together, finally smiled, said blessings to Fang Lao Er and Madam Du, and then drank the wine together.
Fang Laoer and Du Niangzi were so excited that they quickly stood up and had another glass of wine.
With the blessings of the three elders, the expressions on Madam Du and Fang Laoer's faces were obviously much more relaxed.
Gu Xiyue turned her head to look at the tables of female relatives sitting behind her on the right, and found that Gu Xiyun was eating with everyone and chatting happily with the people at the table, but at the same time, she seemed to be paying attention to the scene. Gu Xiyue followed her gaze and finally found that her maid and old woman had sullen faces and were whispering to the people around them.
While biting his ear, he did not forget to eat with big mouthfuls of food, and his mouth was full of oil.
Gu Xiyue narrowed her eyes, turned back, and invited several elders and Madam Du and the two newlyweds to have dinner together.
Because there were so many people, it would probably take most of the day to toast everyone one by one, so this process was skipped. It was also a good opportunity for everyone to have a good meal and rest for half a day after the meal.
When everyone had finished eating and drinking to their heart's content, they were leisurely drinking soup and chatting casually when suddenly a white cloth rolled down from the roof next to the square. Large characters were written on the cloth in bright red.
Most of the people exiled to the Southern Wilderness came from the capital, and most of them could read and write.
At this time, the place was in chaos with people serving soup, chatting, playing rock-paper-scissors and drinking. When the white cloth rolled down, many people saw it.
Everyone has seen the words above.
Gu Xiyue sighed slightly.
She had originally thought that if her sister didn't act like a troublemaker, she wouldn't do anything to her. At most, she would let her suffer a little in life, and then she would let her go if she came to beg her for mercy.
Unexpectedly, she finally lost her patience and revealed her true identity.
Because Gu Xiyun and the people around her worked hard to spread this news, in fact, almost all the villagers in the Southern Wilderness knew about it.
Everyone really thought as Aunt Song did. At first, some people thought that Madam Gu was wrong and should not steal her sister's husband. But after returning home and communicating with her family, they found that their idea was wrong.
Many people also thought of the ideas of Madam Liu and Aunt Song.
I think it is obviously wrong for Gu Xiyun to come to see Mr. Xiao at this time. If he really can't let go of the person, why didn't he come earlier.
Moreover, Madam Gu is now the backbone of the entire Southern Wilderness. As Madam Gu's younger sister, she treats her elder sister like this. It seems that Madam Gu's life was probably not much better when she was at her parents' home.
Everyone came from the capital, and they all knew about the intrigues in the deep courtyards. Basically, as long as they thought about it a little, they would understand Madam Gu's previous situation.
Gu Xiyun also miscalculated this point and revealed that her eldest sister's mother was her father's concubine. She also said that Madam Gu and her mother were just like servants. People like Madam Gu were not worthy of the prince at all. She just couldn't let go of her husband Xiao Xiao, so she was willing to come and share the joys and sorrows with him.
I also want Gu Xiyue to give up.
Her mistake was that she didn't know what kind of existence Gu Xiyue held in the eyes of the villagers in Nanhuang.
From the very beginning, she was doomed to lose.
Gu Xiyue didn't even have to make a move, she could knock herself to the ground.
Gu Xiyue discovered that after the white cloth was hung down, Gu Xiyun sat up straight, as if waiting for a big show, and her maid and old woman disappeared.
I think they must be the ones who put down the white cloth just now.
Gu Xiyue shook her head and stood up.
After all, today is Madam Du's good day, and she doesn't want her younger sister to ruin this beautiful occasion.
She is here to add to everyone's joy and make everyone happier.
She slowly walked towards the center until she finally climbed the stairs and reached the door of the house. She glanced at the words on the white cloth, then slowly turned around and faced everyone.
The place fell silent. Everyone stopped talking, turned around, and sat facing Gu Xiyue.
Gu Xiyun's palms were sweating with excitement. Seeing that everyone had quieted down, he thought that his white cloth banner had finally worked.
Look, soon I, the eldest sister, will be attacked by everyone.
There will be a good show soon.
She looked around with regret. It was such an important day today, but it was a pity that Xiao Heng was not here. If he were here, it would have been perfect.
It's a good opportunity for him to see what kind of person his elder sister is.
How vicious and good at scheming people.
It would also allow him to see how embarrassed his eldest sister was after being exposed.
She was a little worried yesterday because she had instigated Aunt Song to rebel and ended up in that situation. She thought that this thing would not succeed. But today, after the banner was put down, she saw that everyone had quieted down, and she was immediately relieved.
Her silly elder sister actually walked up on her own and stood in front of the banner foolishly. Wasn't this clearly making everyone laugh at her?
Alas! What's the point of this elder sister being prettier than me? At the critical moment, she still acts stupidly and loses her temper.
After all, there were some sensible people in Nanhuang, and they finally agreed with him, thinking that his eldest sister should be punished for doing something wrong.
Thinking of this, she almost laughed out loud.
She also turned around obediently. She was very close to her elder sister. She couldn't help but stare at her elder sister with sympathy, waiting for everyone to torture her elder sister.
As a result, after a while, no one spoke.
She twisted her body, thinking that if she waited a little longer, everyone would definitely be shocked.
After all, the number of people they have promoted in the past few days is limited, and most people in the Southern Wilderness don’t know about it.
We need to give everyone time to react.
Gu Xiyun thought silently in his heart.
After waiting for a while, no one spoke.
She couldn't help but look back and found that everyone's eyes were on Gu Xiyue. No one seemed to want to speak, as if they were all waiting for Gu Xiyue to speak.
That’s right!
Everyone just wants to see what Gu Xiyue has to say when faced with these problems.
If she were to say so, she would just stop saying anything and just get out of here, leaving the seat next to Xiao Heng for herself.
In that case, she might even ask Xiao Heng to give her, the eldest sister, a way to survive, letting her do the hard labor here, doing the hardest work, and not having enough to eat every day.
Only then can I be worthy of the harm she has caused me.
Gu Xiyun thought viciously in his heart.
At this moment, Gu Xiyu opened his mouth and spoke.
As soon as the words came out, Gu Xiyun was stunned.
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