Chapter 193: Grandmother, Your Surname is Xu! [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support!]

Wang Wang Ruofu sat with her husband, Sheng Hong, in the seats of honor at the head of the hall.

Standing beside them were the three Lans, while on the other side stood Sheng Changbai, Sheng Changfeng, and Changzhen, who was being held by his wet nurse.

They watched as Sheng Hualan, dressed in her green wedding robes and holding a round fan, stood before them alongside Xu Xu Zaizhang.

Lady Wang, the principal wife of the Sheng family, looked at her eldest daughter with a face full of smiles.

Xu Zaizhang, standing nearby, was refined and gentle, possessing a handsome appearance.

She was extremely satisfied that her daughter was marrying into the Hou Fu.

Suddenly, Sheng Hong coughed several times and raised his sleeve.

Wang Wang Ruofu glanced at him somewhat unhappily.

Then Wang Wang Ruofu froze, for Sheng Hong was using the cover of his wide sleeve to wipe away tears.

She thought to herself, 'Our daughter has married so well; why are you crying!'

"Serve the tea!"

Hearing the master of ceremonies call out,

Xu Zaizhang lifted a tea cup from the tray and respectfully presented it before Sheng Hong, who smiled as he accepted the cup.

After taking a sip of the tea, he said, "Hua'er, from now on—"

Upon hearing Sheng Hong utter the name "Hua'er,"

Wang Wang Ruofu froze.

Her ears rang.

Suddenly, she lost all composure.

She could not hear what Xu Zaizhang said while bowing.

She only felt her eyes burning, her heart turning sour, and her nose growing even more acidic.

Two lines of hot tears flowed forth like a gushing spring.

Her Hua'er was about to leave the Sheng family.

She would leave her mother's embrace.

She would become another family's daughter-in-law.

In the future, she would be called Lady Sheng.

Xu-Sheng Shi.

She would no longer be able to see Sheng Hualan whenever she wished or call her "Hua'er."

"Hua'er!"

"Wuuu!!! My Hua'er!"

"Mother cannot bear to part with you!!"

"Wuuu!"

Wang Wang Ruofu suddenly burst into loud sobs.

This sudden turn of events caught Xu Zaizhang off guard, leaving him only able to hold the tea cup respectfully.

Although Wang Wang Ruofu, overwhelmed with grief, wanted to take the cup, the surge of sorrow instantly drained her strength.

Mama Liu, standing behind Wang Wang Ruofu, hurried forward; while wiping tears from Wang's face, she spoke with a tear-choked voice:

"Da Da Niangzi, do not cry! Ah, let us not cry."

After composing herself for a while,

Wang Wang Ruofu tremblingly accepted the tea cup, took a sip, and said,

"From now on... wuuu..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Wang Wang Ruofu began crying again.

Influenced by her, the two young girls, Hearing Rulan and Minglan, also had tears welling in their eyes.

Seeing her mother's state, Sheng Hualan's eyes filled with tears; Mama Cui hurried to her side and used a handkerchief to dab away the moisture, preventing her makeup from being ruined by weeping.

Sheng Hong, standing nearby, wiped his tears once more and, looking somewhat embarrassed, nodded to Xu Zaizhang, saying, "The tea has been served; let us go. It is fine! Why cry at such a joyous occasion!"

Hearing these words, Wang Wang Ruofu nodded weakly.

"Bride, it is time to depart!"

Xu Zaizhang and Sheng Hualan turned to face the outside.

They bowed slightly toward Old Lady Sheng, who sat to the side; Old Lady Sheng looked at the newlywed couple with deep gratification and nodded.

Subsequently, the newlyweds were escorted to the main gate of the Sheng residence.

The musicians in the procession began playing joyful music.

As Sheng Hualan walked toward the carriage, the female servants and retainers of the Sheng family hurriedly scattered coins of good fortune.

Once Sheng Hualan entered the carriage,

the wedding procession set off toward Quyuanjie.

While Xu Zaizhang and Sheng Hualan were on the road,

Quyuanjie once again became packed with carriages and horses.

Noble officials and their families from Bianjing arrived at the Xu residence in wave after wave.

Fortunately, stewards and female servants sent by the Gu and Liang families, who were accustomed to handling masters and principal wives of various households, were able to settle the guests properly.

Otherwise, relying solely on the Xu family's female servants and retainers would truly have been insufficient to cope.

Soon, the wedding procession arrived at the entrance of the Xu residence.

The newlyweds entered the main hall,

where Xu Minghua and Sun Shi sat smiling in the seats of honor; standing beside them were Xu Xu Zaiduan and Lady Xie, while friends and relatives of the Xu family filled the surrounding crowd.

After bowing to the high hall, Zai Zhang and Hua Lan were escorted to the bridal chamber prepared the day before.

During the rituals of binding hair and exchanging wine cups, Hua Lan was teased until her face turned bright red.

After it concluded,

Zai Zhang was dragged away by relatives like Gu Gu Tingyu and Zhu Zhu Qinghu to offer toasts at the wedding banquet.

That evening, whether it was Xu Minghua or Xu Xu Zaiduan, both drank quite a lot.

Amidst the lively festivities, host and guests alike were fully satisfied.

On the second day,

Xu Xu Zaijing exercised early in the morning, then sat alone in a carriage and went to the Sheng family home.

Inside the warm lecture hall, Ru Lan and Mo Lan had not yet arrived.

Xu Xu Zaijing, along with his classmates and Ming Lan, began swaying their heads as they recited texts from memory.

When the sky had fully brightened and Ming Lan took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to practice calligraphy, the newlywed couple, Zai Zhang and his wife, served tea to the Marquis and the Lady in a warm atmosphere.

On the third day,

Xu Xu Zaijing exercised early in the morning, then sat alone in a carriage and went to the Sheng family home.

While Ming Lan practiced calligraphy, Zai Zhang accompanied Hua Lan, Sun Shi, and Xie Shi as they ate breakfast.

On the fourth day,

Exercise, then riding in a carriage.

The newlywed couple ate breakfast.

In the morning, none of the Sheng family classmates came to the lecture hall.

Around exactly Si Hour (10:00 AM),

In Shou An Hall,

The Old Lady sat on a Luo Han bed, glanced at Wang Wang Ruofu sitting below who seemed somewhat restless, and said nothing.

At this moment, Cai Zhao Huan lifted the curtain and entered; after bowing, she said, "Old Lady, Da Da Niangzi, the son-in-law and the eldest young lady have arrived at the gate."

Wang Wang Ruofu exclaimed, "Good, good, good! Finally they are here!"

Hearing these words, the three Lans happily glanced at one another.

Chang Bai and Chang Feng also showed some anticipation in their eyes.

Soon, the curtain at the doorway was lifted, and Xu Xu Zaizhang walked in; just as Wang Wang Ruofu was about to speak, she saw Xu Zaizhang pause at the door, turn back to hold the curtain open, and wait for Hua Lan to enter before they both walked over together.

Upon seeing this gesture, the Old Lady and Chang Bai exchanged a glance and nodded.

Ming Lan looked at the Old Lady and smiled; the Old Lady patted her hand.

From the moment Hua Lan entered, Wang Wang Ruofu carefully scanned her from head to toe; upon seeing her luxurious clothes, the precious ornaments in her woman's hair bun, and the smile in her eyes, Lady Wang broke into a grin.

"Grandmother / Great-Aunt"

"Mother / Mother-in-law"

"Good, good, good! Sit! Sit quickly!"

After a few words were exchanged, Sheng Hong also arrived at Shou An Hall after leaving the court.

Another round of polite greetings followed.

"Hong'er, take Zhang-ge'er and the others to the banquet."

"Yes, Mother."

After asking Hua Lan a few more questions, the Old Lady said, "Da Da Niangzi, Hua'er got up early today and must be somewhat fatigued!"

"In that case, Mother, this daughter-in-law will take Hua'er to my courtyard."

"Go ahead!"

Smiling, the Old Lady waved her hand at Hua Lan and added, "Hua'er, if you have anything to say, come speak again this afternoon."

"Yes, Grandmother."

Once the Old Lady entered her bedroom, Lady Wang tucked Hua Lan's arm under hers and walked out of Shou An Hall.

"Mother, slow down!"

Hua Lan naturally understood that the Old Lady was avoiding suspicion; guessing Lady Wang's thoughts, she realized that since Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu was the Old Lady's maiden family, how could Hua Lan speak ill of the Xu family with the Old Lady present?

Upon arriving at Wei Rui Weirui Xuan,

Lady Wang signaled Nurse Liu to close the door; then, inside the room, Lady Wang circled Hua Lan twice, examined her closely, and said, "In front of your grandmother, it was improper for us to say anything about the Xu family; now it is just us mother and daughter—Hua'er, are things well in the Xu family?"

"Well! Everything is well!"

Hua Lan pressed Lady Wang down onto a seat; before Lady Wang could even ask, Hua Lan said, "My mother-in-law did not make me stand in observance of rules, my eldest sister-in-law did not put on airs with me, and my younger sister-in-law did not make things difficult for me—Jing-ge'er, you know this yourself! Therefore!"

"Your daughter is perfectly fine!"

"And what about your husband!"

"Mother~~~"

Seeing Hua Lan's shy and bashful demeanor, Lady Wang rolled her eyes at her, while Nurse Liu beside them covered her mouth with a handkerchief and chuckled.

"Sit down; let me see this hairpin on your head—did your mother-in-law give it to you?"

Hearing her own mother's question, Hua Lan nodded and said, "And this too!"

Speaking thus, Hua Lan extended both hands, revealing the wrists beneath her sleeves.

Had Xu Xu Pingmei been here, she might have nodded: "Hmm, this is roughly half the value of the meeting gift Bai Shi gave to Xu Pingmei."

Although the Xu family had been improving in recent years, there was still some distance between them and the Bai family; after all, the Bai family's silver was counted by the shipload.

Meanwhile, Lady Wang and Nurse Liu were somewhat surprised.

"So much?"

"There are also two more hairpins, plus bracelets, rings, and such, which your daughter isn't wearing. Are you reassured now!"

After Hua Lan finished speaking, she continued:

"You still want to hide from Grandmother; truly..."

"I! Wasn't I just afraid you'd be too embarrassed to say it? Oh, right! The Xu family's cotton."

"Mother! I've only been married for a few days!"

Seeing Hua Lan somewhat annoyed, Lady Wang hastily said, "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore! It's just that you... never mind, let's go eat at the banquet!"

"The Xu family's cotton and other businesses—you said your mother-in-law told you?"

In the afternoon,

Listening to Lady Sheng's words, Hua Lan kept her head lowered, clasping the old lady's hands with both of her own, seemingly studying the lines on the back of the old lady's hands.

"Hmm? Hua'er?"

"She told me!" Hua Lan said, still keeping her head down.

"It's only been a few days..."

"Mother-in-law said that since I am a child raised before you, I certainly would not be lacking, so yesterday, in front of my eldest sister-in-law, she made everything clear to me."

"Mm, seeing it this way, Xu Zaiduan's wife is indeed quite good," the old lady said.

"Mm, besides the jewelry you just saw, Mother-in-law also gave some silver shares from the trades with the Bai and Liang families; the amount is rather large, and my heart is fluttering with anxiety."

Hearing Hua Lan's words, the old lady smiled and said, "How much is it? Let Grandmother hear."

Hua Lan lifted her head and whispered a number into the old lady's ear; upon hearing it, the old lady also said with some surprise, "Yes, that is indeed quite a lot."

"Just now when Mother asked, I didn't say."

"Why is that?"

"Mother-in-law said this is a little secret of the Xu family; I did not intend to hide it from Mother, and if the Sheng family needs silver, I would not be stingy, I just feared she..."

"Feared your mother would leak the news? Then why did you tell me?"

"Grandmother! You are different! Moreover, you even share the Xu surname..."

"Oh?"

"Mother-in-law also said..." Hua Lan said, blushing as she glanced at the old lady.

"Said what?"

the old lady asked curiously.

"She said that whether I bear a boy or a girl, she will continue to give..."

Having said this, Hua Lan shyly laid her head on the old lady's lap.

"Then, how many children do you intend to bear?"

"Grandmother! You! I'm ignoring you!"

In the afternoon, Hua Lan and Xu Zaizhang returned to Quyuanjie.

Looking at Xu Zaizhang, who had drunk a bit too much, Hua Lan said:

"Why did Father let my husband drink so much? Does he not care about his son-in-law at all!"

On the fifth day,

After Xu Xu Zaijing finished his exercises, he finally did not go to the Sheng family alone.

Time passed quickly,

and in the blink of an eye, it had reached the twelfth lunar month,

the weather growing increasingly cold.

On this day,

at Nan Jiang Tang Lane,

a group of inner officials, hurried in manner and beaming with joy, arrived at the Rong family residence.

(End of Chapter)