The wedding procession was accompanied by gongs and drums, and the entrance to the Lu family's house was crowded with people who were laughing and joking, asking the groom to show his affection. Li Changpu was dressed in a bright red wedding suit and draped in red ribbons. He looked very energetic and grinned at everyone he met, saying, "Mother-in-law, I've come to pick up my wife."
The people blocking the door laughed, "He hasn't even kowtowed to anyone yet, and hasn't even received the bride price, and he's already calling for his mother-in-law? Hahahaha, the groom is too impatient."
Someone in the groom's party was throwing candy, shouting, "Come and grab some, there's candy to eat!"
The people blocking the door rushed to grab it, leaving a gap. Li Changpu, beaming, squeezed in and kowtowed to Wang Lan, "Mother-in-law, I've come to pick up my wife."
Wang Lan sat in the main seat, laughing so hard she almost fell over. Lu Yu was led out of the house, covered with a red veil, and offered tea to Wang Lan and Zhao Fang in farewell. Wang Lan gave her a red envelope as a "change of address" fee. Firecrackers were set off at the door. As the bride left, Lu Yunxing and Qin Xiaozhou scattered a handful of copper coins at the door. Everyone scrambled to grab them, exchanging auspicious blessings amidst the joyous sounds of gongs and drums.
The Lu family wedding was a grand affair, with many wealthy families in the county sending congratulatory gifts. Chen Haiping even came to the wedding banquet in person, saying, "You two are indeed extraordinary. Manager Qin, I will be relying on you for guidance from now on."
Qin Xiaozhou remained neither humble nor arrogant. After exchanging a few polite words with Chen Haiping, she was stopped by other relatives. The Lu family was bustling with activity. Qin Xiaozhou rubbed her cheeks, her facial muscles stiff from smiling.
Lu Yan quietly went to the backyard for a while to relax. She saw that Shi Tou and Xiao Si were sleeping, while Zhao Fang and Qin Jinxiu were keeping watch. "Mother, my face hurts."
Qin Jinxiu rubbed her face with a smile. She was shy and, apart from eating at the public house, spent the rest of her time taking care of her younger sister in the backyard. Today, with so many people around, Qin Xiaozhou was worried that the child might be taken away or something might happen to her, so she asked Jinxiu to stay inside and watch the child, and not to let anyone take the child away.
Zhao Fang was also inside taking care of the children, while Wang Lan and the Lu brothers, Qin Xiaozhou and Qin Xiaozhou, were busy outside. As the hostess, she couldn't just stay idle forever. "You sleep here for a while and watch over your younger siblings. I'm going to the front to see the relatives who came from your uncle's side."
Several families from Zhao Family Village came, but none of Qin Xiaozhou's relatives came.
Lu Yunfeng, fearing she would be upset, found an opportunity to comfort her, but Qin Xiaozhou didn't care. "I broke off my relationship with Qin Fu a long time ago, as for the others..."
She shook her head. "My maternal uncle made my cousin break off his engagement with me because I was overweight a few years ago, which caused my mother to become depressed. After my mother died, we lost contact."
"From now on, we will all be your family." Lu Yunfeng held her hand, his eyes full of tenderness.
Qin Xiaozhou didn't care about any of that. She looked up at the blue sky with a smile in her eyes. "I'm a super beautiful, super rich, and super thin woman. It's good that those people don't get involved with me, otherwise they'll only hold me back."
Zhao Fang overheard this from around the corner, her thoughts a jumble of emotions. Ultimately, she didn't go out to disturb the two, and turned to walk in another direction. Lu Yunxing was being stopped by several old women. Li Fengxian smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Eryun, how about your great-aunt finds you a wife?"
Lu Yunxing was quite frightened. He hadn't thought about these things at all. "No, no, Auntie, I'm still young. I still need to go to school."
“Oh, you child, if you had a wife, she would take care of you while you study, feed you, put you to bed, and do your laundry. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Li Fengxian tempted. “Unlike now, you still have to have your mother do your laundry while you’re studying. How unfilial!”
Zhao Fang happened to hear this and was furious. "Aunt, what are you saying? He's my own child, and I'm willing to do his laundry and cook for him. Eryun is still young, and it's not the time for him to find a wife yet. Don't bring this up."
Li Fengxian pointed at the man's nose and cursed, "He's fifteen years old. What's wrong with arranging a marriage for him? Am I going to eat him alive? You're taking my kindness for granted."
Lu Yunxing's expression was not good. "Grandma, my marriage is not in a hurry. I have a grandmother and mother, and an older brother and sister-in-law. They will take care of my marriage. I don't need to trouble you."
Li Fengxian stormed off in a huff, wanting to curse him for being so smug and worrying he'd never find a wife. But then she shut up. The Lu family was rich now, and Lu Yunxing was a scholar; who knew how many women would want to marry him in the future?
But the more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
Zhao Fang breathed a sigh of relief and patted Lu Yunxing's shoulder, saying, "Your marriage isn't urgent, Eryun. Focus on your studies first. You'll have three more years until you turn eighteen and get married. We can take our time to see who's the best match."
“I know, Mother.” Lu Yunxing’s eyes were resolute. “I only learned after I went to Yujing that the children of fathers with official positions are not allowed to marry through the government, and those with academic titles are not eligible for marriage by the government.”
Scholars who had passed the imperial examinations were also students with official titles, but the government's marriage laws only applied to ordinary people.
The children of high-ranking officials and nobles in Yujing had never heard of official marriages.
Zhao Fang was taken aback. "Really?"
Lu Yunxing nodded, "I must pass the academy exam three years from now."
With her son having such ambitions, Zhao Fang naturally supported him. That evening, after seeing off the guests, she went inside, picked up her needle and thread, and began making winter clothes. Her son wanted to study and would definitely go to the county town to learn from a master. Winter would be tough, so she made a couple more sets to have someone take with him.
After the wedding, the Lu family mansion returned to peace, with only Lu Xiaosi's voice occasionally heard. Now he was almost two years old, at his most mischievous age, running around the yard. Wang Lan, whose legs were not good, could not keep up with him, so she could only instruct Zhao Fang, "You take your son, I'll cook."
Stone was the most well-behaved. The three-to-five-month-old baby was fair and tender, with big, dark eyes that followed Lu Xiaosi.
Zhao Fang had been taking care of the child all day, and her back ached. She was more tired than if she had been busy at the store all day. There were also many things to do back home, such as tending to the chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits. There was also Shi Tou and her goat nanny.
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