The weather in early September is cool and pleasant, and the wind is filled with the sweet scent of osmanthus.
The children wore patterns cut from catalpa leaves on their heads and ran in groups in the streets and alleys chasing pigeons in the sky. The laughter spread, causing everyone who heard it to also raise the corners of their mouths.
The Xu family's yard is full of red, which is the betrothal gift sent by the Chen family. Both the boxes and the buckets are made of brand-new red silk.
The rich and solemn betrothal gift made the Xu family's originally unremarkable courtyard look magnificent.
Last month it was Xiaoding, today is Dading, all the betrothal gifts have been collected.
"Look at the red color all over the yard, it's so festive!" The lady-in-law beside Xu Lang's eyebrows curled up with joy, "The third uncle really values our girl!"
"Who says it isn't? It's not in vain that our girl has suffered so many years." Cheng's mother couldn't help but sigh as she said this, and raised her sleeves to wipe away the tears that were pouring out.
Everyone can see that Chen Qin is really good to Xu Lang.
This betrothal gift is not only enough to marry an old girl who has fallen into decline, but it is also enough to marry a young lady from a prince's family.
Moreover, neither Xu Lang nor the Xu family cared how much betrothal gift Chen Qin gave.
The fact that he has not married for so many years and has been waiting for Xu Lang is enough to prove his sincerity.
But Chen Qin didn't want Xu Lang to suffer any injustice, so he did all he could to save face and appearance.
"Mother Cheng, Madam-in-law, we girls have already gone through the list of betrothal gifts, and there is no problem," Zi Ling came over with a smile and said, "There are a few items that have to be sent to the hall, and we still have to return the gifts!"
"I have given birth to the fifth girl," Cheng's mother and Mrs. Yue quickly thanked Xu Chunjun for their hard work. "We often say that the fifth girl is the most like our girls. Now when I look at it, it is really better to be better than the old."
"You two are really grateful. I was just helping." Xu Chunjun said modestly, "Everything is ready-made. I just checked it. I don't know much about returning gifts, so you two mothers have to step forward."
According to the custom in the capital city, the girl's family's return gift to the boy does not need to be too heavy. It usually only requires two carps, two bottles of wine, and some money for the matchmaker and the person who carried the things.
The things had been prepared a long time ago. Madam-in-law went over and found some safe people to carry them out.
Everyone in the Xu family was sitting in the hall. Such a happy event made the whole family feel happy.
The official positions of the three masters of the Xu family were also determined. The eldest master, Xu Ze, was appointed to the Imperial Academy for review and was promoted to the seventh rank official position.
The second master, Xu Run, and the third master, Xu Gai, were filled with vacancies in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works respectively, and both were in ninth-grade positions.
None of the official positions are high, and they are all idle positions.
Fortunately, they all stayed in the capital, which could make up for the pain of being separated from their family members for so many years.
Mother and daughter Wei couldn't help but be jealous after seeing so many things, but they knew that they couldn't get their hands on Xu Lang's things casually.
But it also strengthened their determination to please Xu Lang.
"Dao Qing, fourth girl, you two should go forward and help," Ms. Wei whispered to her two children, "Don't let that damn girl take all the limelight by herself."
When her husband came back, Mrs. Wei hated Xu Chunjun even more.
She felt that Xu Gai obviously favored this concubine, and her own children were obviously far behind.
In fact, these children of hers are really talentless and immoral. They are not sincerely filial and considerate to their father like Xu Chunjun.
They neither searched for doctors or medicines to find folk prescriptions to treat their father's illness; nor did they want to search for and buy calligraphy, painting, and musical scores for his father's entertainment; they did not even want to spend more time chatting with their father about their daily lives.
But Xu Chunjun was considerate of his father and took matters into his own hands.
However, Wei never cares about this. She only looks at what others have given to her, and never how much she has given to others.
It took a full half day to complete Xu Lang's wedding ceremony, have lunch, and put all these things away.
This day has passed.
The next day, Xu Chunjun was ready to go out after breakfast.
Xu Chunsu wanted to have eight eyes staring at her all day, and immediately said: "Five...Fifth sister, I have wanted to tell you for a long time that I did not ask Mama Che and Qiuxing to go to your room that day. Come back and I will
I also told them not to do it again in the future."
She originally wanted to call her "Wu Yatou", but she remembered her mother and brother's advice, so she changed her name.
"I have forgotten about this a long time ago. Fourth sister, don't worry about it." Xu Chunjun smiled and said nonchalantly, "I have something else to do and I have to go out."
"Where are you going?" Xu Chunsu was afraid that she would miss something good.
"I want to go out to meet someone," Xu Chunjun said, "that is the eldest lady of Yong'an Houfu."
"Is that Cen Yunchu?" Xu Chunsu couldn't hide her disgust, "She has a very bad reputation. Why do you hang out with her?"
"It's not that often," Xu Chunjun responded calmly, "Does Fourth Sister want to go with us?"
"No," Xu Chunsu shook her head hard several times. It was obvious that she was avoiding Cen Yunchu, but she couldn't help but ask again, "When are you going to the prince's mansion?"
"Sister also knows that that place is not something I can go to if I want to. I have to give a notice from the county boss." Xu Chunjun said with a slight embarrassment.
"Last month we met the county princess outside, didn't she say she wanted to invite you?" Xu Chunsu muttered. Obviously, she had been looking forward to entering the county prince's palace.
"Noble people tend to forget things. Maybe they forget them as soon as they finish speaking." Xu Chunjun said helplessly.
Xu Chunsu rolled her eyes and didn't say anything else. Of course she knew that Xu Chunjun couldn't make the decision in this matter.
"Fourth sister, if there is nothing else to do, I will go out." Xu Chunjun said.
"Then when you come back from the street, bring back some dried venison and dried whitebait from Grandma Gan's house." Xu Chunsu ordered unceremoniously.
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Green Ulva said with some reluctance: "How embarrassing! I ask people to buy things every time, but they don't give me any money!"
Both mother and daughter Xu Chunsu have a problem of greedy food, and they usually like to eat snacks.
Especially after arriving in the capital, they were really satisfied with countless delicious food.
So I would send my servants out to buy some food every once in a while, but these things were not cheap, and after adding up, it would become a big expense over time.
So whenever Xu Chunsu caught Xu Chunjun out, she would ask her to go back and buy snacks. Of course, she would eat for free every time.
"Okay, let's go out quickly." Xu Chunjun said nonchalantly, "Remember to pass by Granny Gan's road when you come back."
Cen Yunchu had already posted a message two days ago to invite her. This was the first time the three of them had met since they separated from Yaowang Temple that day.
