Chapter 190 [VIP]
Qinghuai's wedding is set for February 18th, at which time people from his hometown in Jizhou will come over.
Yuanbao has been missing his grandmother for a long time, and these past few days he's been asking when she can come.
"They'll be here soon. They'll tell you to be a good boy and study hard, and they'll read it to your grandmother when she comes. I think she'll be very happy."
This trick worked very well on Yuanbao. The next day, he began to study and write with his uncle Chen Qinglan. With someone to accompany him, he studied more seriously and actually learned quite a few characters in a short period of time.
Wang Ying and her fourth aunt helped tidy up the house. Having bought two houses before, they were quite adept at it.
However, prices in Kyoto are indeed much higher than in the prefectural city. I ordered a few sets of furniture and spent nearly a thousand kan. And that wasn't even the best. I heard that a set of furniture made of nanmu wood costs tens of thousands of taels of silver, which ordinary families can't afford.
Moreover, large carpentry workshops generally do not accept on-the-spot orders, because both wood and labor take time, and if they miss the deadline and cause problems for the homeowner, they may not be able to afford the consequences.
There was no other way but to find a small carpentry workshop to make them by custom, and in addition to the ones that were already in the house, they also bought some ready-made ones. Fang Ling also built two heated kang beds in the back bedroom. These things are really comfortable to sleep on in winter, much warmer than a regular bed.
They were busy until early February, and finally the house was cleaned up inside and out. Uncle Si's family moved into the new house.
To celebrate moving to his new home, Fourth Uncle specially hosted a banquet with several tables. All the guests were relatives and friends, as well as members of the Hanlin Academy. Chen Qinghuai had sent invitations to his colleagues at the Hanlin Academy in advance, inviting them to come and join the festivities. It happened to be a day off, so almost everyone from the Hanlin Academy attended.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, everyone praised the Chen family's new house. Because it was a three-courtyard house, it was much more spacious than the one Wang Ying and her family lived in, and the courtyard was more than twice the size. There were also long corridors and pavilions around it.
Only Xu Wei said with a sour tone, "This house must be expensive. I inquired when I was renting a house before. It costs four or five hundred guan a year to rent a two-courtyard house on Qinglong Street. I don't know where Brother Qinghuai got so much money."
No one agreed with him; they just hummed and hawed to brush it off. After all, it wasn't appropriate to say such things today, as it was his housewarming day.
Then, seeing that no one echoed him, Xu Wei became even more agitated. "I've heard that the Chen family is a family of scholars and farmers. His father is the governor of Shanzhou. A governor is a fourth-rank official, and his annual salary is only seven hundred strings of cash. How many years would it take to save up for a house like this?" His words were all implying that Chen Jing had embezzled money.
Li Bin said with some annoyance, "Why do you care how others saved their money? Since you're here as guests, just do your job and there's no need to gossip."
"Yes, Brother Xu, what's wrong with you today?"
Xu Wei was consumed by jealousy. Everyone else had the support of their families and fathers, but he had been dragged down by his father all these years. He finally managed to become a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, but his father drove away all the people who had brought him gifts, claiming that he was incorruptible. This earned him a good reputation but caused him great suffering!
"Officials should strive to benefit the people and remain incorruptible, so as not to fail the great trust placed in them by the Emperor and the gratitude they owe to the people. Now that you are receiving the Emperor's salary, how can you act like corrupt officials and ruin your reputation!"
"Hey, why are you so stubborn?"
"Yes, Brother Chen kindly invited you to the banquet, why are you saying these things?"
"I'd rather not eat at this embezzled banquet!" With that, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Those around him stared speechlessly, thinking this man must be insane. Not to mention that court officials received over a thousand taels of silver annually in addition to their salaries and allowances for ice and charcoal. Furthermore, Madam Fang's family was well-off; they owned many shops in Laizhou. How could she not have money to buy a house? To spread rumors about Lord Chen's embezzlement was truly malicious.
Chen Qinghuai didn't see Xu Wei during the meal. He clearly remembered seeing him come over earlier, so he came over to ask about him.
Everyone hesitated and didn't dare to say it directly, "He must have had something to do and left early."
"Oh, then you all eat and drink well."
Later, others told him what had happened that day. Chen Qinghuai felt extremely disgusted after hearing it and from then on, he took the initiative to distance himself from this person.
*
On the tenth day of the second month, the Bai family arrived in Kyoto.
The Bai family is a true scholarly family. They had already established an academy in the previous dynasty, and the number of Jinshi and Juren (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) produced by the family is too many to count on one hand.
The current dean, Bai Luoen, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in both the provincial and municipal examinations. However, he was tired of the trivial matters and scheming in the court and soon resigned and returned to his hometown of Laizhou. He renovated the academy, and now the Bai Family Academy is very famous in Laizhou, attracting many students from other places to study there.
This trip to Beijing is all for his daughter's wedding. She's his only legitimate daughter, so naturally, he's made very thorough preparations.
Chen Jing originally planned to hold the wedding for the two in Laizhou, but Dean Bai refused, saying that since the young couple would be living in Kyoto, the wedding should be held in Kyoto.
Besides, both father and son are quite busy in February, and making a round trip would take up a lot of time. It's better for me, the idle dean, to handle it.
At that moment, Bai's mother complained, "They're marrying our daughter, but now it's like we're the ones who rushed here to give her away."
“That’s not how it works. I’ve known Brother Chen for many years, and our families know each other well. Qinghuai has just started working at the Hanlin Academy. How can I let him take leave and travel back and forth, thus delaying his official duties?”
Madam Bai pursed her lips and said nothing more. In fact, she was not willing to accept this marriage. She only had one daughter, and she would not be able to see her often after she married into the capital. She was very reluctant to part with her.
However, the marriage between the two families had been arranged for more than ten years, and it was not easy to break the agreement easily. In addition, Chen Qinghuai was indeed a talented young man, so they reluctantly agreed to marry their daughter to him.
The Bai family didn't have a house in the capital, so Fang arranged accommodation for them in advance, near Zhuque Street, so they could just come and pick up the bride on the wedding day.
Meanwhile, the Li family was also on their way.
Everyone was present this time, except for Qingyun's two little ones.
Originally, Li thought that Qingyun was too young to go, but this made Qingyun cry.
"It's been so long since I've seen my older brother and sister-in-law. Besides, I grew up with Brother Huai, and now that he's getting married, I can't even go. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to go again..."
When she started crying, the Liu family couldn't bear it anymore. Her mother-in-law, Qin, immediately said, "Go, why can't you go? The child is still young and won't remember if you leave for a while. Besides, the wet nurse and I are at home watching over her, so nothing will go wrong. If you don't go this time, you'll regret it later."
Madam Li sighed, "This girl is truly blessed. Her mother-in-law dotes on her so much, even more than I, her own mother, dote on her."
Qin Furong laughed heartily, "Once you marry into our family, you're our daughter. If I don't cherish you, who will?"
Lin Qiu and Lin Sui also brought their children along. In ancient times, it was not easy to travel far, especially to the capital. Everyone wanted to take this opportunity to broaden their horizons.
Chen Rong, somewhat excited, said from inside the carriage, “I never thought I’d have the chance to come to Kyoto again. I was joking with Ying’er before that I would go with them when they came to Kyoto, and I never thought I would actually be right!”
Mrs. Li was also overjoyed, beaming with happiness at the thought of seeing her grandson. "I wonder if the clothes I made for Yuanbao fit him properly, and whether he's grown taller in the past six months."
"It's alright. I always leave some extra room when cutting clothes. If it's too short, just pull down the sleeves and pant legs a bit and it will fit."
After a bumpy ten-day journey, they finally arrived in Kyoto on February 16th, just two days before Qinghuai's wedding.
As soon as the carriage entered the city, shouts could be heard, and Tian Judong ran over, waving his arms from a distance.
Er Shun drove the carriage to the roadside. "Xiao Tian, what are you doing here?"
"Master and young master told me to wait here for everyone, so come home with me quickly!"
The carriage headed towards Qinglong Street, and everyone opened the windows to look out. All the fatigue from the journey vanished once they entered the city.
Lin Qiu, holding Xiaomai and Erbao, said, "Look, this is Kyoto!"
Lin Sui pointed outside and said, "Look at those houses, aren't they beautiful?"
Qing'er nodded with sparkling eyes, "So pretty." She could speak normally now, though her voice was a little thin, but a girl's thin voice actually made her sound quiet and cute.
Kyoto is a bustling metropolis, and the sights along the way were dazzling.
About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Qinglong Street. Tianju pointed to the doorway in front of them and said, "That's our house over there. There's a lantern with the character 'Chen' hanging on the door."
Chen Ershun cracked his whip to speed up, and soon the carriage stopped at the gate.
"Master, young master, the old lady and the others have arrived!"
Inside, Wang Ying was combing Yuanbao's hair. Upon hearing the noise, the boy immediately became restless and tried to run outside.
Wang Ying, forgetting to continue combing her hair, ran out as well. Seeing four or five carriages parked at the door, her eyes instantly welled up with tears. Reuniting with loved ones is always so exciting!
"grandmother!"
"Oh, my dear grandson!" Madam Li got off the carriage and strode into the courtyard. She hugged Yuanbao tightly, and the two of them pressed their faces together, showing their deep affection.
"Grandma, I miss you so much!"
“Grandmother misses Yuanbao too.” Madam Li tidied his messy hair and kissed Yuanbao on the cheek.
"Mother, Third Aunt, you've all arrived!"
Chen Rong smiled and nodded, "You're all here. Everyone has been thinking about you. We didn't know how you were doing in Kyoto, so we had to come and see you since we had the chance."
"It's cold outside, come inside and talk."
The servants lined up the carriages and put them down. Luckily, we chose a large courtyard when we bought it, otherwise we wouldn't even have been able to fit the carriages.
Lin Sui and Lin Qiu, carrying their child, walked and said, "This capital is really great. When we first came to the prefectural city, we thought it was good enough. But now that we've come to the capital, Jizhou Prefecture is nothing compared to it."
"That's right, after all, it's the capital city, where the sage resides!"
Once inside, Wang Ying brought out all the usable stools, and the whole family sat together. Xiaomai and Erbao still remembered Yuanbao, and he took them to the next room to play.
"Where are Qingyan and the others?"
Wang Ying said, "They're at the new house; they'll probably be back this afternoon."
The wedding is in two days, and there are many things that need help with. Liu Changyi and Cao Kun will also have to go and help out later.
Qingyun looked around and said, "Did your sister-in-law buy this house? It looks quite nice."
Wang Ying nodded. "Where are your two kids? I thought you weren't coming this time."
"He's too young, so I'm leaving him at home with my mother-in-law to look after him."
Mrs. Li tapped her daughter's forehead. "This girl is very opinionated. We didn't want her to come, but she insisted on coming. Even her in-laws didn't stop her and encouraged her from behind."
Wang Ying couldn't help but chuckle, "That's because Yunmei is so lucky."
After chatting for a while, seeing that everyone was getting sleepy, Wang Ying quickly arranged rooms for everyone to rest. Qinghuai and Old Liang had moved to the new house, leaving the east and west wing rooms empty, enough for the whole family to stay comfortably.
The bedding had been prepared in advance, and Wang Ying even prepared a few extra sets in case there weren't enough when many people came. They rested until evening before everyone got up to eat.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
