Chapter 634: Silk Brocade, Pearls, and Beaded Shoes [Grateful Thanks

"Looking at the material used, it is not particularly luxurious; truly, it reeks of petty bourgeois airs."

Recalling the words spoken on Seeing Mo Lan Road, Sheng Changfeng wanted to speak.

Yet, seeing his father Sheng Hong gazing at Seeing Mo Lan with a face full of smiles, looking deeply gratified in his old age, Sheng Changfeng ultimately said nothing.

"Feng'er, come here, let your father take a look at you."

Sheng Hong smiled and beckoned Sheng Changfeng over.

Once Sheng Changfeng approached, Sheng Hong asked, "What did the tutor teach you all in the academy today?"

Sheng Changfeng bowed slightly and replied, "Father, for some time now the tutor has been discussing the situation in the north, often having me and my classmates deduce the possible changes among the Northern Liao, the Mongols, and the Jin Kingdom."

"And also, should such changes occur in the north, how our dynasty ought to respond."

Hearing this, Sheng Hong nodded repeatedly, saying, "The tutor's foresight is profound. And how did you answer, Feng'er?"

Afterwards, father and son chatted briefly, mostly consisting of Sheng Hong offering guidance while Sheng Changfeng accepted the instruction.

Just as the maids from Linqi Pavilion finished arranging the meal, Sheng Hong continued before eating, "In a few days, your sister Sheng Shulan will wed; at that time, you and Sheng Changbai shall go together to the Yu family to escort the bride."

Sheng Changfeng was about to rise and agree, but Sheng Hong waved a hand, signaling him to sit: "Before I came, your grandmother instructed that guests of noble status will be present at the Yu house that day; you brothers must pay close attention and do not lose the dignity of our Sheng family."

Sheng Changfeng rose with a smile and said, "Father, your son understands! Xu Wu Ge will also be at the Yu house that day; he will naturally look after me and Pei Erge."

Sheng Hong smiled and nodded, gesturing for Sheng Changfeng to sit.

Subsequently, the 'family of four' enjoyed their lunch in harmonious joy.

Time flowed on,

until it reached the sixth month,

the sun in the sky climbed higher,

the sunlight shining down grew more intense,

the summer cicadas perched on branches seemed to have multiplied, their cries louder and more cacophonous than before.

At the end of the Si hour (11:00 AM)

the sunlight began to feel somewhat scorching.

In the courtyard of the Sheng family academy,

inside the room,

the deep brown floor and tables and chairs were being diligently wiped by Guan Guan Pozi.

Fine, dense gauze hung along the walls to keep out mosquitoes, drifting slowly in the breeze blowing through the hall.

Unlike the past few days, apart from the Guan Guan Pozi cleaning, the academy today was completely empty.

Having finished cleaning, the Sheng family Guan Guan Pozi wrung out the rag, draped it over the handle of the wooden bucket, and carried the bucket out of the courtyard.

Stepping out of the courtyard,

the Sheng house today was much quieter than usual; the stables where carriages and horses were kept were already empty.

Not far from the stables,

near the main gate of the Sheng family,

the doorkeeper boys no longer maintained their usual diligent posture; instead, they all sat on a long bench, fanning themselves listlessly with palm-leaf fans while eating seasonal fruits.

At the same time,

outside the outer city of Bianjing, in the southeast direction within the Dun Sect ward,

near the residence of the Sheng family's eldest branch,

on the street,

Xu Xu Zaijing rode a small black foal, holding an exquisite folding fan over his head to shield against the sun that scorched his scalp until it burned.

Beside Xu Xu Zaijing on one side was Qi Heng, and on the other was the newly titled imperial clansman Zhao Zhao Weigan, while Brother Qingyun and Hearing Buwei followed behind.

The two accompanied Xu Xu Zaijing to deliver the pre-wedding gifts.

Qi Heng's reason was that his maternal grandfather, Marquis of Marquis Xiangyang, had always been carefully tended to by the elderly imperial physician Yu, sparing him much suffering from illness.

As for Zhao Zhao Weigan, his mother and niece—a group of women and children, some old and some young—had fled over a thousand li from Lu Long in Northern Liao to Bianjing; after Zhao Zhao Weigan received his rewards and finally relaxed the breath he had been holding tight, he fell ill.

Those few days happened to be when Watching Yu Yu Huguang was on duty in the palace; to demonstrate imperial favor toward the Zhao family, the palace dispatched the imperial physician Watching Yu Yu Huguang to attend to them.

After a round of diagnosis and treatment, the medicine arrived and the illness vanished.

To express his gratitude, and also to forge connections with the nobility in the capital, Zhao Zhao Weigan thus came to join the excitement and lend a hand.

However, the climate in Bianjing differed slightly from that in Lu Long, making it so hot that Zhao Zhao Weigan could not stop fanning himself.

"Hiss!"

Qi Heng, riding alongside, reached out, smiled as he touched the small black foal beneath Xu Xu Zaijing, then quickly withdrew his hand.

The small black foal's fur was glossy and sleek yet dark in color, and at this moment it was heated by the sun until it was somewhat hot to the touch.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at the mischievous Qi Heng with a smile and said, "Yuanruo, looking at you, your mood along this journey seems quite good."

Grinning broadly, Qi Heng looked at Xu Xu Zaijing in confusion: "Jing'er, do I?"

Behind them, Hearing Buwei glanced somewhat embarrassedly at Brother Qingyun, who was smiling nearby.

His own Young Master practically had 'I am very happy' written all over his face, yet at this moment he was actually asking in return.

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded.

Qi Heng looked at the streets and houses surrounding them, then glanced up at the blazing sun overhead, and said with a smile, "I, I also have rarely ever delivered pre-wedding gifts; it feels somewhat novel."

"Mm." Xu Xu Zaijing responded with a sound.

On the other side, Zhao Zhao Weigan wiped away sweat and said, "Han Wulang, I hear people say that in recent years you have recommended several valiant generals for the military; what about me..."

Xu Xu Zaijing shook his head with a smile and said, "Gan'er, your time in Great Zhou is still too short; the court will absolutely not send you to the front lines."

"I know this; nowadays, everyone still does not trust me..." Zhao Zhao Weigan said with some dejection.

Observing Zhao Zhao Weigan's expression, Xu Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "Gan'er, there is indeed the reason you mentioned! But this is to protect you, and also to protect others."

"There will always be opportunities in the future," Xu Xu Zaijing added.

"Mm."

While the three were speaking,

not far ahead,

under the shade of a large tree tied with red silk ribbons, someone stood up and ran toward the courtyard of the Sheng family's eldest branch.

Very soon,

Sheng Wei and Sheng Hong, both dressed in new clothes, appeared at the main gate, followed by Zhang Bai and other juniors.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Xu Xu Zaijing and the other two, who had come to deliver the wedding adornment gifts, were welcomed into the courtyard.

On the way to take their seats at the male guests' banquet, Qi Heng's eyes swept across the courtyard from within the crowd.

Upon spotting Minglan standing under the eaves alongside Sister Pinlan and Hearing Rulan, peeking out from behind the bamboo blinds used for shade, Qi Heng's face instantly broke into a brilliant smile.

Coincidentally, Seeing Mo Lan, holding a round fan, appeared just behind Minglan and looked in this direction, catching sight of Qi Heng's radiant smile.

In high spirits, Qi Heng did not hesitate to nod and smile at the several 'Lan' sisters.

His smile was so direct that the three 'Lan' sisters hastily retreated behind the bamboo blinds, while Seeing Mo Lan, her face flushed red, lowered her head and performed a curtsy toward Qi Heng.

By the time she lifted her head, Qi Heng had already moved far away with the rest of the crowd.

Behind the bamboo blinds under the eaves,

Sister Pinlan looked at Hearing Rulan and Minglan with some confusion, saying, "That person is Young Master Qi, isn't he? Why is he smiling at us so inexplicably?"

Minglan pressed her lips together and shook her head along with Hearing Rulan.

Seeing Mo Lan, however, shyly waved her round fan, slightly lifted her chin, and cast a sidelong glance at the three 'Lan' sisters.

"Sister Seeing Mo Lan, what happened to your face? It's so red!" Sister Pinlan turned her head and asked in confusion.

The frequency with which Seeing Mo Lan waved the round fan in her hand increased significantly; her eyes darting about, she said, "The wea-weather is too hot."

Hearing Rulan pursed her lips and secretly rolled her eyes at Seeing Mo Lan.

"Oh! Let's go; we'll head to the inner courtyard to tell Auntie and the others," said Sister Pinlan, pulling the two other 'Lan' sisters toward the inner courtyard.

Arriving under the covered walkway near the main hall of the inner courtyard,

the three 'Lan' sisters slowed their pace and straightened their demeanor; after exchanging glances, they stepped into the room together.

At a single glance from the three 'Lan' sisters,

the room was filled with the scent of clothing and the shimmer of hairpins, with many women dressed in fine silks and bejeweled shoes seated on chairs and embroidered stools.

Seated at the place of highest honor were the two old ladies of the Sheng family; on the lower seats to either side were Wang Wang Ruofu and Li Wu Da Da Niangzi, who seemed somewhat restless.

Near these two,

besides several daughters-in-law from the Feng family of the Duke of Chengguo and the family members of Official Liu, a colleague of Sheng Hong,

there were also Xie Shi, daughter-in-law of Marquis Marquis Yongyi's household, and Sheng Hualan,

Xu Pingmei, daughter-in-law of the Lady Ningyuan Marquis household, as well as Pan Wu Da Da Niangzi of the Hu Yan family and her daughter-in-law Xu Anmei.

Xie Rui, who had married into the Xiong family, Earl of Kang'an, sat behind Xie Shi; beside her was Ni Ni Qiqiu, the principal wife of the Viscount Zhu family, and next to Ni Ni Qiqiu sat her beautiful sister-in-law, Sister Sister Xiaodie.

Near these noble ladies and their relatives, Wang Wang Ruofu's elder sister, Lady Kang Wang, had put aside her usual somewhat sharp and mean demeanor; accompanied by her daughter Kang Yun'er, she sat with a smile in the spot farthest from the Feng family.

After the three 'Lan' sisters entered and performed greetings all around, Hearing Rulan smiled and said, "The Yu family has sent the second round of wedding adornment gifts; they were delivered by Xu Wu Ge, Yuanruo Gege, and another brother we don't know."

Seeing Hearing Rulan's unafraid demeanor, Wang Wang Ruofu and Nurse Liu both smiled.

The Eldest Old Lady smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Running in such hot weather has made you sweat; quick, go wipe the children's sweat."

After a flurry of activity,

the women in the room continued their conversation.

The three 'Lan' sisters, along with Seeing Mo Lan who had entered later, walked to the back of the group and found an embroidered stool to sit on.

Xiao Xiao Xiaotao whispered a few words to Minglan, then walked over to Seeing Seeing Qingcao and Sister Qingzhi, who were currently talking; Sister Qingzhi's face was still somewhat flushed.

After sitting on the embroidered stool for a while, Minglan saw Sister Sister Xiaodie, who was beside Ni Ni Qiqiu, beckoning to her.

After Minglan walked over with a smile, Sister Sister Xiaodie took her hand and whispered, "Miss, has Wei Xiaoniang been well recently?"

"Rest assured, Sister Sister Xiaodie; Wei Xiaoniang has been very well lately. When it gets hot, there is ice prepared to ward off the summer heat," Minglan replied, then added, "And my little nephew? Is he being obedient at home?"

Sister Sister Xiaodie shook her head with a smile: "He's a little troublemaker. By the way, did you like the materials sent to the mansion earlier for making the veiled hat?"

Minglan nodded repeatedly: "Mm! Grandmother said I look good wearing that veiled hat."

While the two were talking,

Xu Pingmei, seated in front, looked back twice, then leaned over to Sheng Hualan and smiled, saying, "Sister-in-law, if I recall correctly, Fifth Sister will be undergoing her hair-pinning ceremony next year, won't she?"

Sheng Hualan, addressed as sister-in-law, smiled and pressed her lips, looked back at Hearing Rulan, then nodded to Xu Pingmei and said with a smile, "Sister remembers correctly."

Xu Pingmei nodded and sighed, "It's been some time since I last saw the three sisters; they all seem to have grown even more beautiful, but..."

Sheng Hualan looked at Xu Pingmei with eyes full of confusion.

Xu Pingmei smiled and exchanged a glance with her natal sister-in-law, Xie Shi, before saying, "But, looking at them, not one is as beautiful as my sister-in-law."

Hearing this, Sheng Hualan instantly felt somewhat embarrassed and didn't know what to say; afterward, she looked at Xu Pingmei with a mock-annoyed expression.

"Sister-in-law, am I not speaking the truth? Look, Sheng Hualan is glaring at me like this," Xu Pingmei said to Xie Shi with a laugh.

Xie Shi shook her head, smiling without speaking.

After composing herself, Sheng Hualan said, "Sister, actually, my Sixth Sister hasn't fully bloomed yet; such things are hard to predict for the future."

Xu Pingmei's eyes turned; she looked back at Minglan, nodded, and said, "That's true; given Concubine Wei's appearance, it is indeed hard to say what Minglan will look like when she grows up."

At the male guests' banquet,

Xu Xu Zaijing and Qi Heng had long been familiar with the Sheng family.

There was no restraint at the banquet table.

After eating a few fruits chilled in well water, Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Sheng Hong and smiled, saying, "Uncle, yesterday my family went to the Yu residence to prepare the bridal bed; Elder Yu and the Yu clan elders were extremely satisfied."

Sheng Hong smiled, revealing two dimples, and said, "Oh? Seventh Young Master is indeed a bit young, yet he went to the Yu family to press the bed for his cousin, and they were actually very satisfied?"

Xu Xu Zaijing and Qi Heng exchanged a smiling glance and said, "Indeed. They said that yesterday, young Zhen-ge'er, despite his tender age, behaved appropriately at the Yu household; he recited every single auspicious phrase without omission, with a tone that rose and fell melodiously, making the Yu family laugh until their mouths could not close."

"Hahaha, so there was such a thing! It seems Mother taught him well," Sheng Hong laughed.

After chatting for a while longer,

Xu Xu Zaijing and Qi Heng, having finished their lunch, headed back to the Yu family under the blazing sun.

They waited until the hottest part of the Wei hour (one to three in the afternoon) had passed,

and in the afternoon,

the Yu family's wedding procession, accompanied by the blare of horns and beat of drums, arrived at the main gate of the Sheng family's eldest branch.

After a burst of lively celebration,

Sheng Sheng Shulan boarded the bridal sedan.

The wedding procession returned to the Yu family, and after the bride and groom performed the bowing ceremony, there was naturally quite a commotion.

As for Xu Xu Zaijing and the others, it was easier said; none of them were married yet, so they chose to leave some leeway today for easier interactions in the future.

However, Zhu Zhu Qinghu's several comrades-in-arms made a tremendous ruckus; after all, a few years ago, their bones had been broken by formidable figures from the former Bai Gao, and Yu Yu Huguang had given them 'special care'.

Speaking of which, it could be considered 'repaying kindness with enmity'.

As the sun dipped toward the west,

at the Dun Sect,

within the Sheng family's eldest branch,

the relatives who had come to offer congratulations were all seated in the cool hall, enjoying the banquet.

Rows of female servants carried dishes and fruit platters, moving in and out of the various rooms in an orderly fashion.

In a side chamber,

having finished offering toasts and busied herself for half the day, Li Wu Da Da Niangzi finally had the chance to sit down and catch her breath.

Taking an iced drink from her personal mama's hand, Li Wu Da Da Niangzi took a large gulp and asked, "That young miss from the Kang family, what did you think of her?"

Although Li Wu Da Da Niangzi came from a merchant family, her personal mama, while not exceptionally formidable, was certainly skilled at assessing people.

"Wu Da Da Niangzi, this servant has been observing that young miss since her arrival. Judging by her gaze, words, and conduct, she is indeed just as Eldest Madame Wang said: she does not resemble her birth mother, Wang Shi of the Kang family, and appears to be an honest sort."

Li Wu Da Da Niangzi set down her teacup and hesitated, saying, "Could this young miss be pretending to be this way?"

"Wu Da Da Niangzi, words and conduct can be feigned, but one's gaze cannot. Just now, the female servant responsible for the Kang family young miss's table also mentioned that the young miss was quite amiable even toward the lower servants."

After the personal mama finished speaking, Li Wu Da Da Niangzi said softly, "I still feel somewhat uncertain in my heart."

The personal mama said, "Wu Da Da Niangzi, we previously spent money to inquire with the Kang family's old women and servants, and they all said the same thing."

"As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three thousand nails; although the Kang family has declined and Kang Yuan'er caused such a massive disaster, the Kang family is ultimately a scholarly lineage with generations of officials, and that young master Jin of the Kang family will eventually inherit a protected official post."

"Furthermore, Young Miss Yun'er is the own maternal granddaughter of that Old Lady Wang; her maternal uncle, Lord Wang, is a high-ranking official governing an entire prefecture. With this connection, our Wu-ge'er will surely receive some protection and benefit."

Li Wu Da Da Niangzi said, "What you say makes sense; shall we settle on this then?"

In the afternoon,

at Jiying Lane,

within the Sheng family's Shou'an Hall,

Grandmother Sheng, having drunk some wedding wine, sat on a Luo Han chair and reached out to take the hangover-relieving drink handed to her by Mama Fang.

"Eldest Madame has arrived."

"Mother, good news!" Wang Wang Ruofu entered smiling, accompanied by Mama Liu.

"Has the marriage between Changwu and Yun'er been settled?" Grandmother Sheng asked with a smile.

"Mother, you..."

"When Eldest Madame boarded the carriage, she laughed so heartily that this old woman guessed it immediately."

Wang Wang Ruofu smiled and said, "Exactly as Mother said."

"Has the date been set?" Grandmother Sheng asked.

Wang Wang Ruofu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law said that since Changwu and Yun'er are not yet old, there is no rush; we will exchange the preliminary match documents this year and set the wedding date next year."

Grandmother Sheng nodded: "So... she intends to wait and see."

Wang Wang Ruofu asked in confusion, "Mother, wait and see for what?"

Grandmother Sheng smiled and said, "Sister Sister Suqin, serve Eldest Madame a cup of hangover-relieving drink as well."

After taking her leave from Shou'an Hall, Wang Wang Ruofu glanced at Mama Liu and said, "Just now, what did Mother mean by..."

Mama Liu whispered, "Eldest Madame, your sister-in-law from our family's eldest branch is watching to see whether Young Miss Yuan'er of the Kang family will cause any more trouble..."

(End of Chapter)