Chapter 144 [VIP]
The sixth day of the sixth lunar month was the day the two families got engaged.
Early in the morning, Madam Li woke her daughter up to wash and dress her up. She put on a light blue satin dress, styled her hair into a flowing bun, and inserted the white jade hairpin given to her by Liu Changyi. The girl had a delicate face, and with just a touch of makeup, she was captivating.
Li sighed as she looked in the mirror, "My Yun'er is so beautiful."
“I take after my mother, so naturally I’m good-looking.”
Li shook her head, "You still resemble your father more; your eyebrows, eyes, and nose are exactly the same as his."
Chen's father was also good-looking; otherwise, how could he have been chosen by Li at first sight?
Her skin was a little dark, and Chen Qingyun inherited this flaw, so she was always jealous that her older brother and younger brother were fairer than her.
"The thought of raising such a big child to become someone else's wife makes me so reluctant to let her go."
Qingyun felt a lump in her throat from her mother's words, and hugged Li's arm, saying, "Then I won't get married, I'll stay with you for the rest of my life."
Just then, Wang Ying led Yuanbao in and joked, "If you don't get married, I'm afraid the Liu family's son will become a waiting stone at our door."
This happened a couple of days ago when Chen Qingyan and the others had just returned from the academy. Liu Changyi specially rode in the Chen family's carriage to see Chen Qingyun, but he didn't see her all morning.
Just as he was leaving, he ran into Qingyun and Wang Ying returning from outside. The boy stood at the door watching them, and even after they went inside, he was still in a daze, which made Wang Ying laugh so hard.
"Sister-in-law~" Qingyun was amused by him and held back her tears.
"Alright, hurry up and pack. We'll go to Hongyunlou together later. The two daughters of the Liu family came all the way back from Kyoto to attend their engagement ceremony."
Li said nervously, "I heard they are all wives of officials. I wonder if they will be easy to get along with."
"Don't worry, judging from the temperament of Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu, their daughter will definitely not be difficult to get along with."
Outside, Chen Qingyan and his two brothers had all packed up. Liang Boqing was also specially invited to attend. Chen Bo and Ershun drove two carriages. The men rode in one carriage, while Li Shi and Fang Ling took the children in the other.
Hongyunlou is located in the north of the city and is one of the few restaurants on Zhengtong Street.
The owner behind it all is Qin Furong, but she doesn't participate in the management; she outsources it to others and only receives rent and dividends each year.
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of Hongyunlou Restaurant. A servant came in to report, and soon Lord Liu and his wife hurriedly came out to greet them.
"My dear sister-in-law is here! Come in quickly!" The whole family ushered her into the restaurant.
Today, the Liu family has booked the entire restaurant. In addition to the relatives and friends of the Chen and Liu families, there are also several of Liu Changyi's classmates from the prefectural school.
Everyone was overjoyed to hear that he was getting engaged and took time off work to come and celebrate.
After Liu Changyi greeted them, he led the Chen family's brothers into the private room.
The table was full of classmates from the prefectural school, and everyone invited Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai to sit down. They assumed they were also invited and even joked around with them.
"I wonder whose beautiful bride the Changyi brothers are going to marry. I'm so nervous that I've just gone to the outhouse three times."
"Go away, go away, don't talk nonsense. I'm going to marry Brother Qingyan's own sister."
"Huh?!" A chorus of surprised exclamations rang out.
"You're something else, aren't you? You've got the advantage of being in a good position!"
"No wonder they're usually as close as brothers, they're actually getting married."
"Come on, drink a penalty shot! You kept this a secret from us!"
Liu Changyi smiled, took the wine glass, and drank it down in one gulp. The atmosphere instantly became lively. Although they studied together at the prefectural school, they rarely had the opportunity to sit down and chat. Today, they finally got to know the three brothers of the Chen family.
“Normally at the academy, no one dares to speak to you, for fear of disturbing your studies.” The speaker was Song Shi’an, who was on good terms with Liu Changyi and had previously acted as a guarantor for Chen Qingyan and the others.
Chen Qingyan couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's not as exaggerated as you guys make it out to be."
“Yes!” another round-faced boy chimed in, “Especially Qingyan, everyone thinks you’re very mysterious, like a reclusive master…”
This remark made everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became even more harmonious.
*
The women's side was also lively. Liu Changyi had two older sisters, the eldest named Liu Zhu and the second named Liu Long. The two sisters looked similar to Liu Changyi, with round faces and big eyes.
The eldest sister's personality was exactly the same as Qin Furong's, and even their voices were seven or eight parts similar. As soon as they met, she grabbed Chen Qingyun and sighed, "Oh my, this younger sister is really pretty. That silly boy from Changyi has some taste!"
The second sister, whose personality resembled that of her father, shyly praised, "My little sister is so beautiful."
Chen Qingyun blushed with pride at the compliment and bowed slightly to greet her two older sisters.
"Sister, no need for formalities, please come in and sit down."
Wang Ying and the others also entered the house. There were no outsiders at this table; they were all family members from the Liu and Chen families.
Qin Furong led Liu Qingyun to meet her relatives, including Liu's eldest aunt, second aunt, and Qin's two maternal aunts. Liu Qingyun greeted each of them in turn.
According to the customs of the prefectural city, everyone would prepare a gift for Qingyun. The eldest aunt was a practical person and directly prepared a hundred taels of silver notes and put them into her purse, saying, "Good girl, take this to buy some snacks."
The amount given was too much, and Chen Qingyun didn't know whether she should accept it or not. She was a girl from a small town, and she had never had more than two strings of cash in pocket money when she was at home.
Qin Furong noticed her embarrassment and reached out to help her take it, saying, "Just accept what your elders give you. It's a token of their goodwill, and you can't refuse it."
"Thank you, Auntie."
The eldest aunt nodded happily with a smile, "That's right, just take what your aunt gave you."
The second aunt prepared a set of headdresses. Normally, the groom's relatives don't add to the bride's dowry, so she took advantage of the opportunity to meet the relatives and gave this set of headdresses directly to Qingyun, so that she wouldn't need to add to the dowry when she got married.
This set of jewelry is made of pure silver and inlaid with rubies and sapphires. It is quite valuable, worth at least a hundred taels of silver. The two aunts of the Liu family are very generous.
After the two men finished giving their gifts, Qin's two aunts also took out gifts they had prepared in advance. They were both generous people who were not short of money, and naturally they would not do anything shameful on such a festive day.
My aunt prepared a pair of jade bracelets, which were rare because they were completely free of impurities and looked crystal clear, as if they were flowing with water.
These bracelets have quite a history. My maternal uncle, Qin Zhong, was a military officer. A few years ago, when there was a bandit outbreak in Tongzhou, he led his troops to suppress the bandits and found a box of gold and silver jewelry in the bandits' den.
These things are usually not confiscated; whoever gets them keeps them. Qin Zhong distributed the gold and silver among his soldiers, and kept the remaining jewelry for himself, including this pair of bracelets.
Originally intended for her younger sister, Qin Furong had refused to accept it for fear of upsetting her sister-in-law, but unexpectedly, it was given to her daughter-in-law this time.
These bracelets are quite valuable. If it were my aunt herself, she definitely wouldn't be willing to give them away, but my uncle insisted that they be brought, so even if she was unwilling, she had no choice.
"Hurry up and thank your aunt."
"Thank you, Aunt." Chen Qingyun carefully took the box, afraid that she might accidentally drop it on the ground.
My second aunt was not in good health; she was thin and her face was somewhat sallow. She weakly praised Qingyun a few times, and then took out a box containing a pair of gold hairpins, which were worth a hundred taels of silver.
Finally, there were Liu's two older sisters. The eldest sister, Liu Zhu, gave Qingyun a South Sea pearl necklace, and the second sister, Liu Long, gave her a pair of hairpins. Since the gifts were from the younger generation, it was not appropriate for them to give gifts to the elders.
Wang Ying was shocked by the Liu family's extravagance. Whether in ancient or modern times, the gap between the rich and poor is a chasm that several generations cannot cross.
After delivering the gifts, everyone sat down to discuss the couple's marriage.
Qin Furong said, "The wedding date is set for the eighth day of the tenth month. We asked the abbot of Qingfeng Temple to help us calculate it. There are still four months left, which is just in time for the provincial examination."
Li rarely spoke, but said, "It was a good day; the weather was neither too hot nor too cold."
Liu Zhu said, "I've discussed it with my sister, and we've decided not to go back this time. We'll stay at home for a few months until my brother gets married, so as to avoid the hassle of going back and forth."
The journey from Kyoto to the prefectural city takes more than half a month, making it quite a difficult trip.
Both of them brought their children with them this time. The husband's family will come when the wedding is closer, so as not to delay the affairs of the court.
Qin Furong said, "That's great. You haven't been back for a long time, so this is a good opportunity to spend more time with me."
Liu Long turned to Qingyun and said, "Come visit whenever you have time, little sister, and also the two little brothers next to you."
Wang Ying and Lin Sui quickly agreed. He was younger than both of the Liu family's daughters, so calling him "brother" was not wrong.
Throughout the meal, the Liu family mother and her two daughters were warm and attentive, treating everyone well. Even Lin Sui, who was not talkative, spoke quite a bit.
Wang Ying could tell that he envied Qingyun, but his eyes held more blessings. This child was kind-hearted and genuinely happy that his sister had found a good marriage.
*
Besides these two tables, there were also relatives and friends invited by Lord Liu.
The table was filled with relatives: Liu's uncles and his two brothers-in-law, and Qin's two older brothers.
The other table was filled with colleagues from the officialdom, plus Elder Lu and Liang Boqing.
Needless to say, the Qin family's two brothers-in-law, both former military officers, were already drinking heavily before anything even started, and the other relatives joined in enthusiastically.
Lord Liu couldn't take it after being forced to drink two cups, so he quickly made an excuse to leave and went to another table.
The colleagues' table was much more refined; they ate and chatted, discussing important current affairs.
Those present today included Magistrate Wang, Prefect Zhao, Registrar Feng, and officials from the Six Ministries. The Prefect was unable to attend due to other commitments but sent a congratulatory gift.
Most people came because of Lord Liu's brother; otherwise, who would rush to attend an engagement banquet when he only held a minor seventh-rank official position?
When Wang Tongzhi saw his old friend, he brought up the matter of being framed some time ago. "Qingyan is a good boy. He remained calm and composed in the face of such a thing. He gets up early to read and goes to bed at sunset. He has the demeanor of Liu Gong back then."
The Liu Gong he mentioned was Liu Changyi's uncle, Liu Yaozhi, who was wrongfully imprisoned in the seventeenth year of the Wuxing era and was later exonerated. It is said that he also studied in this way while in prison.
Old Liang was taken aback. He hadn't heard his apprentice mention this before, so he couldn't help but ask a few more questions.
Lord Wang then recounted the whole story to him, "It was thanks to Qingyan's husband's quick wit that he broke through the man's defenses with just a few words, and the two of them finally admitted that they had deliberately framed him."
Liang Boqing stroked his beard and said, "I never expected such a thing to happen. Thank you all for your help."
"No need to thank me, we're all family."
Sitting next to him, Magistrate Zhao coughed. "I've never asked about the Chen family's background. How come I've never heard of them before?"
Lord Liu said calmly, "They're not from Jizhou; they just moved here last year."
Judge Zhao pursed his lips, picked up his wine glass, took a sip to hide his dissatisfaction. He also had a daughter at home and had always wanted to arrange a marriage between his family and the Liu family.
As a result, the lady brought it up several times, but Mrs. Liu just wouldn't respond, making it seem as if her family was being overly eager.
I thought they had very high standards, but I never expected them to marry a girl from a humble background.
A note from the author:
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