Chapter 158 [VIP]
Both were incredibly excited upon their first meeting. If they had to say who their closest relatives were after transmigrating to this world, besides their own family, it would be their third aunt, Chen Rong. Although they shared no blood relation, she was like a real aunt to them.
Chen Rong said, "Qingyun sent a letter a while ago saying that she had found a good match for Sui, so I thought I would come and take a look. It just so happens that the Marquis sent someone to bring us to the prefectural city."
"Did Lin Qiu and the others come too?"
"They're here, they're all in the car."
"Then come in quickly!"
The soldiers drove the carriage into the courtyard, and Wang Ying called out, "Third Aunt is here!"
Fang Ling, who was inside the room, was taken aback. "Which third aunt?"
Li said, "Could it be that my third sister has arrived?"
The two hurriedly came out, and their eyes instantly welled up with tears when they saw Chen Rong in the courtyard. As people get older, they become more nostalgic and cherish family ties even more.
Li held Chen Rong's hand and looked her up and down, "Third sister, how did you get here?"
"The Marquis sent someone to pick them up; the whole family has come."
As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Cao Kun jumped down first, picked up Xiaomai and put her on the ground, then took Erbao from Lin Qiu's arms.
Everyone gathered around, and Wang Ying picked up Xiaomai and asked, "Xiaomai, do you still recognize your uncle?"
Wheat, already able to speak, shyly shook its head.
Li took Erbao from Cao Kun's hands, "This must be the second child. He's so chubby and cute!"
"It's windy outside, come inside quickly."
Once everyone had entered the main room, Wang Ying instructed a servant to inform Lin Sui and Qing Yun that their third aunt had arrived.
Lin Sui and Qing Yun were sewing clothes in the house when they heard what the servants said. So excited was she that she pricked her fingertip with the needle. Ignoring the pain, she ran to the front yard in her shoes.
As soon as she reached the door, she heard her mother's voice inside. Unable to hold back her tears, Lin Sui pushed open the door, "Mother, Big Brother..."
"Sui'er!" Lin Qiu and Chen Rong rushed over and hugged him.
Lin Sui choked up and cried, not from sadness, but from the longing and joy of not seeing each other for so long.
Chen Rong and Lin Qiu also shed tears, and the three of them cried for a long time before they calmed down.
Wang Ying handed handkerchiefs to the three of them, saying, "You mustn't cry. Today we're a family reunion, so let's all be happy."
Lin Sui wiped away her tears and nodded, helping Chen Rong sit down, then looked at her two little nephews.
"Xiaomai, do you still remember your uncle?"
Xiaomai shook his head from behind Cao Kun. He was only a little over a year old when Lin Sui left, and he definitely wouldn't remember her after more than half a year.
Cao Kun pulled Xiaomai over, "This is your uncle. He used to dote on you the most. Greet him."
Xiaomai stammered, "Uncle, Uncle."
Lin Sui picked up the child and tenderly touched his little face, saying, "Uncle will buy you candy later."
Yuanbao said, "I want to eat too."
Wang Ying tapped his nose, "Your teeth are almost rotten, and you're still eating candy?"
Yuanbao lowered his head shyly, but he quickly became familiar with Xiaomai and pulled him into the room to play with his pile of odds and ends toys. With Mutou and Chunsheng watching over them, nothing bad happened.
Erbao was sleepy again. Babies this age can eat and sleep well. Li asked Aunt Chen to cook some rice porridge. In the afternoon, she went to the street to see if there were any ewes that had just given birth, so she could feed the baby some goat milk. That's how Yuanbao was raised, and he's very healthy.
After reminiscing about the past, Chen Rong inquired about her son's marriage.
"I saw in the letter that the Marquis of Wuping has taken a fancy to Sui'er. I wonder how old he is and what his personality is like?"
Lin Sui said, "Lord Marquis is twenty-five years old this year and is a steady person."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiu exclaimed in surprise, "Only twenty-five years old? My mother and I were so worried about him the whole way here. We thought he was an old man."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this, realizing that the title of "Lord Marquis" did indeed suggest that he was quite old.
There weren't many marquises in the Wu Dynasty. The first-class marquises were all in the capital, and most of them were relatives of the emperor. For example, the Marquis of Changle was the emperor's maternal uncle, and his title could be passed down to his children and grandchildren.
There was also a second-class marquis, the Marquis of Wenxuan, who was a founding hero. Although the title could be inherited, his status would be downgraded by one rank every generation. If his descendants remained mediocre, the title would be revoked over the years.
Marquis of the third rank, like Li Mu, could not pass his title to his sons or grandsons, so he did not necessarily intend to have a son.
Chen Rong pulled her son along and said, "Then he knows you..."
Lin Sui nodded, "I know, Lord Marquis knows everything. I didn't expect him to still be willing to marry me."
Lin Qiu was still worried, "Does he have any children?"
"I have a daughter named Qing'er, who is four and a half years old. She is a very well-behaved and lovely little girl. I will bring her over for you to see when I have time."
"Have you seen that child?"
Wang Ying said, "It's not just that I've met them; this child was the one who brought them together."
He recounted how Qing'er accidentally climbed onto their ice-delivering carriage, and how she became so close to Lin Sui as if they were father and daughter, leaving Chen Rong and Lin Qiu amazed.
"I never expected such a fate. Perhaps you two were father and son in a past life."
Lin Qiu said, "In that case, this is indeed a good match."
Just as Lin Sui said, if you marry an ordinary person, you will be looked down upon, so why not choose the best one to marry?
Chen Rong reached out and tucked a stray hair behind Lin Sui's ear, carefully examining him as she said, "My son has grown taller and more handsome, and now he has found a good match. This trip to the prefectural city was worthwhile!"
The family went out for lunch at noon. That's the convenience of the city; there are restaurants and eateries everywhere, and the food is pretty good at all of them.
After dinner, Wang Ying went back to arrange rooms for them. Lin Sui wanted to sleep in the same room as Chen Rong, as she missed her mother terribly after not seeing her for so long.
Cao Kun and Lin Qiu slept in the guest room with their two children. It was the same house that Li's cousin used to live in. It's good that they moved to the new courtyard; otherwise, there wouldn't be enough room for so many people.
Everyone was tired after traveling for so long, so they all went back to their rooms to rest in the afternoon.
*
Meanwhile, Li Mu was reading military books in the military camp when his men came to report that Vice General Zheng had returned.
Upon hearing this, he immediately put down his book and got up to greet him. Before long, Zheng Guang came running over with a smile, saying, "I have lived up to your expectations, Lord Marquis, and brought everyone over!"
Li Mu patted him on the shoulder and said, "You've worked hard."
"Hey, this little thing is nothing. It's just that I was on tenterhooks the whole way, afraid of scaring them."
"Let's go inside and talk."
Once inside, Li Mu offered to pour him tea, but Zheng Guang quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, no, no, I can do it myself."
Li Mu chuckled and scolded him a couple of times before putting the teapot down.
Zheng Guang picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of water, and gulped it down before recounting what had happened. "When we arrived, they had just received the letter. After reading it, they apparently wanted to come to the prefectural city, and coincidentally, I offered to escort them there."
"What are Lin Sui's mother and older brother's attitudes? Did they say they didn't want their son to marry into the family?"
"No, their family seemed honest and kind. They were very polite and didn't dare to cause any trouble along the way. We also tried our best to take care of them, especially since we had two babies with us, in case they got sick on the way."
Li Mu's heart tightened upon hearing this. He hadn't known that Lin Sui's brother had just given birth not long before picking her up, and that her second child was only three months old. It was truly remarkable that he had to make such a trip for such a young child.
"It's good that you arrived safely. Go and rest now. Come back early tomorrow for training."
Zheng Guang hissed, "Can't we have two more days off?"
"I think you're getting too cocky." Li Mu raised his foot to kick him, but Zheng Guang ran out with a grin, "Come tomorrow, come tomorrow."
After everyone left, Li Mu paced back and forth for a while. It wouldn't be good to go and visit them rashly; he should wait a couple of days and bring his daughter along.
*
On the fifth day of the tenth lunar month, a red carpet was laid out in the Chen family courtyard, and red "double happiness" characters were pasted on the doors and windows.
Tomorrow is Qingyun's special day, and everyone is busy.
Inside the main room, Li and Chen Rong were weaving a love knot. Fang Ling didn't know how to weave it, so she held Erbao and watched from the side.
Chen Rong said, "I haven't had a chance to ask yet. What's Qingyun's husband's family like? How old is he?"
"That boy is eighteen years old. He is Qingyan's classmate. His father works in the government office, and his mother runs several shops. The family is well-off."
"That sounds great! What's your mother-in-law like? Is she easy to get along with?"
Li said, "You'll know when you meet her; her personality is similar to yours."
Chen Rong couldn't help but laugh and said, "You can talk as much as I can?"
"She's talkative, enthusiastic, and a really easy person to get along with!"
Fang Ling said, "You've come at just the right time. I was really disappointed that you couldn't come to Qingyun's wedding."
Chen Rong said, "If the Marquis hadn't sent someone to pick us up, we really wouldn't have been able to come this time. Originally, we only planned to send Cao Kun to the prefectural city to inquire about the situation, because Erbao is too young and Lin Qiu can't take care of him alone. But coincidentally, before we had even finished packing our luggage, the carriage sent by the Marquis arrived."
Madam Li said, "The Marquis is something else, bringing everyone here without a word."
"The carriage we rode in was quite spacious. The two children slept in it whenever they got sleepy along the way, so they didn't suffer much."
"It's good that you're here. Stay a few more days this time."
Chen Rong said, "Cao Kun's porter shop still has business there, so he can't be away from it for long."
"Then let him go back first. You and Lin Qiu stay here and wait until Lin Suicheng is married before you leave, so as to avoid the trouble of going back and forth."
Chen Rong thought it made sense, "Alright, then I'll shamelessly stay here. Just don't find me annoying, sister-in-law."
Li slapped her, saying, "How old are you to still make fun of your sister-in-law?" The aunt and sisters-in-law burst into laughter.
Fang Ling said, "After Qingyun gets married, I should go back to Shanzhou to discuss Qinghuai's marriage with Chen Jing." Qinghuai is already eighteen, and he can wait, but the Bai family girl can't. If they wait any longer, they might turn in-laws into enemies.
"Of course, it's a pity that my fourth brother is too busy with official duties to come, otherwise our whole family could be together."
Chen Rong said, "Yes, I haven't met your little third child yet. He must be five years old by now, right?"
Fang Ling nodded, "Five years old, I'll be six after the New Year."
“I remember the last time I heard about him, he had just been born. Five or six years have passed in the blink of an eye. When will you have time to bring him back so we can see him?”
"Let's see how Jing-ge's performance is next year. He was in the middle to upper range in Shanzhou for the past two years. If he is still in the middle to upper range in February, he may be transferred. I don't know exactly where he will be transferred to. It would be best if he could be transferred back to the capital."
Chen Rong reassured him, "It's alright. Fourth Brother is smart and capable; he can achieve great things wherever he goes."
"That's true, but those remote and impoverished places are really exhausting. His hair has turned gray in the last few years, and he looks ten years older than his peers. I just hope that this time we can transfer him to a better place."
It took the three of them a long time to finish tying all the love knots. In the backyard, Wang Ying, Lin Qiu, and Lin Sui were responsible for helping Qingyun pack her things.
The dowry has already been packed into boxes, and sixteen neatly arranged in the courtyard. Together with the betrothal gifts sent by the Liu family, they will be taken back tomorrow.
Around 3 PM, the Liu family delivered a basket of steamed buns as part of the wedding preparations, signifying their urging the bride to come and marry them.
Wang Ying gave her a reward and was just waiting to send Qingyun off to her wedding early the next morning.
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