Chapter 374: Weijun's Wedding

Over at the Shichahai Siheyuan, He Daqing and Cai Quanwu had already begun prepping the ingredients, and the intense, smoky aroma of cooking drifted over the Middle Courtyard.

Since there weren't many guests, the kitchen, the dining area, and the main rooms of the Middle and Back Courtyards were enough to seat everyone.

On the groom's side, Zhang Ping'an's four older sisters and their children, his two uncles, two maternal uncles, and his maternal grandparents had all arrived early.

There was also the bride's family, his two senior fellow apprentices, Li Huaide, Xu Baisheng, Li Baoguo, Li Aiguo, Zhong Zhengguo, Wang Weiguo, and so on.

There were fewer people on the bride's side; with Han Chunming plus the families of He Daqing and Cai Quanwu, they barely filled one table, making for a total of eight tables, all packed to capacity.

"Big brother is bringing the bride over!" shouted Wei Chun.

Firecrackers at the entrance of the Siheyuan were quickly lit, popping and crackling, while Zhang Ping'an and Wang Xiaoling welcomed the guests at the door.

The person standing next to Zhang Ping'an was not Li Aihua; Li Aiguo, standing to the side with a sour expression, was given a tug by his second uncle, Li Baoguo.

"Alright, Aiguo, it's not like you don't know the ins and outs of what happened back then. Let's go in first; we'll talk about everything after."

"Mm."

"Ahem, let's go in too."

Xu Baisheng and Zhong Zhengguo twitched the corners of their mouths; others might not know, but they were well aware that Zhong Mingzhu was also Zhang Ping'an's wife—one of them.

As the bride stepped out of the car, a rain of candies and peanuts fell from both sides; otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to get inside, as there were too many onlookers just there to watch the show.

As the newlyweds entered the room and the guests took their seats, Zhang Ping'an hurried to call He Daqing to start stir-frying.

"Brother He, you can start now."

"You got it."

He Daqing and Cai Quanwu each manned three large woks, and Shazhu quickly changed his clothes and came over to help.

As dish after dish of hot food came out of the kitchen, the aroma filled the air, the atmosphere grew lively, and everyone tucked in with gusto.

The culinary skills of the He brothers were beyond reproach; every time Zhang Ping'an's relatives came over to eat, they couldn't stop singing their praises.

In the middle of the meal, Zhang Weidong brought Guan Xiaoguan out to toast the guests, and as the titles of "Dad," "Mom," "Auntie Lou," "Auntie Zhong," and "Auntie Li" were called out;

Plus the fact that there were so many children in the courtyard who looked just like Zhang Ping'an, Li Baoguo couldn't keep his composure anymore and whispered to Li Huaide beside him.

"Li, what's going on? That's Zhong Mingzhu, right? Why did Weidong call her Auntie Zhong? And that one looks like Lou Bancheng's daughter."

"..."

"Yes, but I don't know what's going on either. Lijuan, do you know?"

"I don't know either. Let's ask big brother later."

Xu Baisheng wasn't sitting at their table, but his expression was clearly surprised as well; he hadn't known that Zhang Ping'an also had Lou Xiao'e as a wife, and he immediately looked toward Zhong Zhengguo.

"Do Mom and Dad know about this?"

"They know," Zhong Zhengguo replied, his face darkening.

"..." Xu Baisheng exclaimed "damn" in his heart.

When the banquet ended, Li Aiguo pulled Li Aihua directly to the side.

"Aihua, what exactly is going on? Why is that Zhong Mingzhu here too? And Lou Xiao'e—don't tell me you didn't know."

Li Aiguo had participated in the interrogations regarding Lou Bancheng's escape case back then, though it had been swept under the rug because Wang Weiguo had provided cover.

"Brother, this is complicated. Don't tell Mom and Dad yet. Wait until the end of the year when Ping'an and I go back, and we'll explain it to you in detail then."

"Fine, then I'll wait."

He had always thought highly of Zhang Ping'an and had even supported his sister marrying him back then, but he hadn't expected such a scene to unfold today.

"Phew~ Why do I feel more tired than when I got married?"

After seeing off all the guests, Zhang Ping'an let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the bed, completely lacking any decorum.

"Don't be in such a rush; there's another one in five days."

"..."

That night, Zhang Weidong and Guan Xiaoguan gazed at each other quietly in their room; they had waited a full sixteen years for this moment.

"Xiaoguan, I'm coming."

"Mm..."

Following a cry of pain, the room slowly began to "sing" a duet; the soundproofing in the room was excellent, so even in the next room, not a sound could be heard.

This was a key point Zhang Ping'an had emphasized to the craftsmen; everyone in his family had an astonishing constitution, so it was inevitable that the commotion would be a bit loud.

Three days later, Zhang Weidong took Guan Xiaoguan to visit her parents, and five days later, Zhang Weijun took his bride.

This time it was much more low-key, with only two small cars, and the Liu family's wedding procession included one Jeep.

Zhang Weidong went through the same process again, and when it came time to toast, Liu Shujun was also a bit dazed as she called out "Auntie Li," "Auntie Lou," "Auntie Zhong" to Zhang Weijun...

That night, Zhang Weijun was already familiar with the ropes with Liu Shujun, and the two quickly united; before long, they too were "singing" a Huangmei opera.

Waking up the next morning, Liu Shujun looked at Zhang Weijun and couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Weijun, who were those two aunts yesterday? And I saw Zhong Zhengguo; that Auntie Zhong couldn't be the Zhong family's Mingzhu, could she? Didn't she go missing over ten years ago?"

"Mm, you guessed right. They are both my dad's, um, confidantes?"

Zhang Weijun didn't know the specific reasons behind it either, only that they had met in Xiangjiang and then suddenly ended up together; he had only been fifteen at the time.

Liu Shujun's mind was a bit of a mess; she had only known about the existence of Wang Xiaoling and Li Aihua, and she had been completely unaware of Zhong Mingzhu and Lou Xiao'e.

"Alright, take your time to process it. I'm going to go tidy up; we still have to go to your house today."

"Mm, okay."

On the morning of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an and Li Aihua took the children to her parents' house. Faced with the family of three's questioning, Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to tell the truth, leaving the entire Li family speechless.

"Ping'an, you..."

"Ping'an, did that old man Zhong not scold you with that foul temper of his?" Old Li asked curiously.

"Uh, no."

"That old thing must have changed his ways."

"Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, please rest assured, Aihua will always be my wife, this will never change."

"Father, Mother, Brother Ping'an was also helpless, and besides, we weren't affected."

"Enough, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes; let's not interfere too much and just live our own lives well," Li Laoyezi said, delivering the final word.

Li Chuanjia and his wife were also helpless about this; since the old man had spoken and their daughter did not object, there was no need for them to play the villain, though they did sternly warn Zhang Ping'an.

Li Aiguo felt the same; to be honest, as a man, he quite envied Zhang Ping'an, but when this man was his own brother-in-law, he felt unhappy about it.

At the Liu Family residence at this time, Liu Shujun was gossiping with her mother in the kitchen; yesterday, Liu Haiyang and his wife had heard about this matter from their second son and children who had escorted the bride, but they didn't know the details, and Liu Shujun just happened to fill in the gaps.

"So it really is the pearl of the Zhong Family? No, didn't the Zhong Family sternly refuse back then? And wasn't Zhong Mingzhu missing? How is it that she has a child as soon as she appears now?"

"Ahem, back then in Xiangjiang..." Zhang Weijun told his father-in-law what he knew, to save them from guessing wildly.

"So that's how it is."

Liu Haiyang understood a bit, but he hadn't expected the Zhong Family to agree now; he wondered what Zheng Zhiming would think if he knew all this.

"Weijun, you must not follow in your father's footsteps, do you hear me?"

"You two elders can rest assured, I only have eyes for Shujun."