"Yaojie's mother, isn't Yaojie getting married soon?" The villagers of Lujia Village greeted Jiang Ling warmly when they saw her.
Jiang Ling nodded and said, "There are still three days left. Remember to come to my house for the wedding banquet!"
The woman's face immediately changed color upon hearing Jiang Ling's words. She repeated in surprise, "Three? Three days? Is it true?"
Seeing the woman's changed expression, Jiang Ling asked curiously, "What's wrong? How could I possibly forget the day of my own son's wedding!"
"Ah, if... if that's really the case, then... then I have to remind you," the woman said seriously to Jiang Ling.
Seeing the woman's solemn expression, Jiang Ling assumed it was something serious and asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else to say?"
"That Hu Yue'er is unlucky!" The woman's first words made Jiang Ling feel somewhat dissatisfied.
She suppressed her anger and asked, "Unlucky? How so? I think Hu Yue'er is a very nice girl!"
The woman seemed oblivious to Jiang Ling's displeasure. She smacked her lips and said with a mysterious expression, "Yaojie's mother, don't blame me for being nosy, it's a great thing for your family to get a wife, but childbirth is a messy and unclean affair that will definitely spoil your happy occasion. I advise you to stay away from that Hu Yue'er for now, so that bad luck doesn't ruin your family's life!"
Jiang Ling knew the woman was saying this for her own good, but she still retorted somewhat angrily, "Having a baby is a good thing, how can it be considered bad luck?"
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, the woman immediately showed a startled expression. She stared at Jiang Ling with her hands on her hips and said mysteriously, "Oh dear, childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell. Who knows if it will bring out something ominous? Yao Jie's mother, I'm just trying to be helpful. You mustn't bring bad luck on him. Your Yao Jie is still young!"
The woman's words became increasingly outrageous. Jiang Ling rolled her eyes helplessly and waited for the woman to finish her nagging. After saying a few perfunctory words, Jiang Ling left.
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and today is a joyous day for Jiang Ling's family. Jiang Ling also brought Jiang Suihe back yesterday.
What puzzled Jiang Ling was that Jiang Suihe seemed to have become much quieter recently. At first, Jiang Ling thought it was because Jiang Suihe had grown up, but when Jiang Ling went to Jiang Suihe's room to get something last night, she vaguely saw that there seemed to be bruises on Jiang Suihe's shoulder.
Since it was already dark yesterday, Jiang Ling wasn't sure if she was seeing things, and Yao Jieming had to prepare to pick up the bride early in the morning. With all sorts of things coming up, Jiang Ling temporarily put the matter aside.
This morning, Jiang Yaojie wore a bright red straight-cut wedding dress made of the finest silk, which took a full half month to design and make.
He wore a matching gold-threaded spiderweb belt around his waist, his black hair was tied up and secured with a crown inlaid with emerald and gold, and his slender body stood straight, making him look handsome and dashing.
Jiang Yaojie stood at the doorway, the sun shining on him, giving him a faint halo and an extremely sacred feeling.
"Mother," Jiang Yaojie called softly to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling was somewhat dazed upon hearing the word "Mother," as if the scene of their first meeting was still yesterday.
His taciturn nature has long been replaced by a sharp tongue, and his hunched back and timid demeanor are no more.
Looking at the outstanding young man before her, Jiang Ling felt very gratified.
"Yes!" she replied softly to Jiang Yaojie.
Jiang Yaojie walked quickly to Jiang Ling, knelt down on both knees, and kowtowed deeply to her.
"Mother, thank you for raising your son. Everything I have today is thanks to you. I kowtow to you!"
At this moment, Jiang Ling could no longer hold back, and two streams of hot tears flowed from her eyes, splashing onto the ground and creating two small water droplets.
"Get up!" Jiang Ling said, her voice choked with sobs, as she helped Jiang Yaojie up from the ground.
She glanced at the sky and said softly, "Go, go and welcome the woman you love!"
Jiang Yaojie nodded emphatically, stepped out of his house, mounted his tall horse adorned with red flowers, and galloped away with his brothers.
At this moment, Jiang Yaojie's heart was filled with complex emotions, a mixture of happiness and bittersweetness.
Jiang Ling wasn't doing much better. As soon as Jiang Yaojie left, Jiang Ling sat in a chair and tears streamed down her face.
She couldn't understand why she was so agitated when it was her son getting married, not her daughter marrying off, and it wasn't her son coming to her parents' house.
"Oh dear, why are you crying, young lady? Today is a joyous occasion for your family!"
"That's right, that's right! Yaojie is such a promising kid! You should be happy!"
Those around Jiang Ling, seeing her excited expression, quickly tried to dissuade her.
Jiang Ling felt incredibly embarrassed. How could she not control her emotions in front of everyone? She quickly wiped away her tears and said to everyone, "Thank you everyone, I'm fine. It's inevitable for a mother to get emotional on a day like this."
"Big sister..." Just as Jiang Ling was chatting enthusiastically with everyone, the door creaked open.
Hu Yue'er, looking somewhat pale, walked in with Zhou Daxia.
When everyone saw Hu Yue'er, their faces showed disdain, and some even started spitting at her in front of her.
"Oh dear, Yue'er, what brings you here? You can't be exposed to the wind during your postpartum period!" Although Jiang Ling had slight doubts about the postpartum period, she knew that women in their postpartum period shouldn't be exposed to drafts!
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling quickly went back inside and took out her winter cloak.
"Yaojie's mother, you...you're not going to invite her in, are you?" A fat woman jumped out first to remind Jiang Ling.
Reminded by this, Jiang Ling seemed to vaguely recall that three days ago, another woman seemed to have said the same thing to her.
But Jiang Ling wasn't from ancient times. In her eyes, these superstitious beliefs were just a way to suppress women. With a stern face, she ignored the fat woman and went straight to Hu Yue'er. She draped the cloak over Hu Yue'er's shoulders and said gently, "You're still in your postpartum period. How can you come out like this? If you catch a cold, your whole body will ache!"
Hu Yue'er glanced at the unfriendly looks from the crowd and quickly placed the basket with the red double happiness character on it in Jiang Ling's hands, saying to Jiang Ling, "I... I didn't mean to come here. I just wanted to congratulate you. I asked Da Xia to buy these things for me. I hope you won't find them too much, elder sister!"
After saying that, he pushed the basket away and turned to leave.
Jiang Ling grabbed Hu Yue'er's hand and coldly swept her gaze over the crowd, saying, "I know you all have some prejudices against new mothers, but! What I want to say is, weren't we all born from mothers? Adding a new member to the family is a joyous occasion, so why is giving birth considered something unclean? This is the first time I've heard this, and I hope it's the last. Yue'er's childbirth is a great thing, a continuation of the bloodline, a sign of hope. Today is also a joyous day for my family, and I hope everyone will refrain from causing me any distress!"
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