Meimei was admiring the exquisite sedan chair in front of her, and was shocked when she heard this: Why go to the inner courtyard ancestral hall? Are they going to punish her for her mistake
He looked up at Xu Junying and said, "We need to kneel in the ancestral hall? Lord Hou should have told you earlier. I will go back and prepare the kneeling pad first!"
Humph! I knew it wasn't going to be that good. What's the point of returning to the mansion in such glory? You're setting a trap for me!
Xu Junying held Meimei's hands and looked at her lovingly with an extremely gentle gaze: "Meimei! There is no one else, only the two of us!"
Meimei looked back and saw that Xu Junlang and the others had not followed. Xu Junying whispered in her ear, "Do you like this sedan? I had it made specially for you. It may not look too conspicuous on the outside, but it is full of joy inside. Come, I'll take you up!"
He opened the curtain of the sedan chair and gently pushed her in: "I'll follow you, we'll be there soon!"
The sedan was shaking slowly, and Meimei sat comfortably inside. She looked around and saw bright red decorations, gold and silver embroidery, tassels and pearls, a scene of flowers and flowers, which was indeed full of joy. Xu Junying was quite courageous, but for him to do such an unusual thing in front of everyone without any explanation, it probably took some unusual courage.
The sedan stopped at the entrance of the ancestral hall. Xu Junying helped Meimei down. When the four guards carried the sedan out of the courtyard, he held her hand tightly and walked into the ancestral hall. Facing the numerous tablets of the Xu family's ancestors, he said to Meimei with a dignified expression:
"Do you understand what is happening today? I, Xu Junying, want to marry Cen Meimei. With heaven and earth as my matchmaker, and the tablets of my parents and ancestors above, Meimei, marry me!"
He fished in his sleeves and took out a bright rose and a ruby ring, a little embarrassed: "The rose was picked from Tsinghua College, and I personally selected this ruby... Is the betrothal gift so simple? I wonder if it complies with the rules of your hometown?"
Meimei was a little stunned, a little amused, and a little touched: someone like Xu Junying was willing to spend time and effort just to give her the wedding she wanted, a wedding that belonged to her, making her feel that even if she was forced, it was the most face-saving thing!
I really don’t know whether to cry or laugh!
But she accepted the roses and rubies from Xu Junying, but she was thinking about what kind of scene would happen if she didn't accept it
Xu Junying said happily: "Meimei, you promised me!"
"Well! You're going on a long trip tomorrow, so the 100-day agreement is over early!"
"Okay! Come, my wife and I will pay our respects to our parents, kowtow to our ancestors, and give our respects!"
The ancients attached great importance to ancestral temples. Xu Junying took it very seriously and took Meimei to the tablets of his parents to burn incense. He kowtowed three times and prayed: "Dear parents, your son Junying has married a new wife today. She is from a foreign country. Her surname is Cen and her name is Meimei..."
Meimei couldn't help but look up and down. In such a big ancestral hall, he just spoke without thinking and didn't even lower his voice. How would he explain it if someone heard it
Xu Junying continued to speak to the tablet: "My son and Meimei have been together for a long time. Meimei is straightforward and kind, brave and responsible. I wish to grow old with Meimei and live together for the rest of my life. Parents, if my son fails Meimei, his body should be abandoned in the wilderness without a burial place!"
Meimei was stunned: "You actually swore a poisonous oath here, and nothing happened. You made the old man sad for no reason!"
"Father is a man of integrity. He knows that I will keep my word. There is nothing to worry about. Mother is with father, so she should understand!"
Xu Junying helped her up with a smile: "What were you looking at just now? Baoju and Baizhan are outside. Anyone who wants to come in must first listen to my instructions!"
Meimei couldn't help but admire his observation skills. Even though she was clearly lowering her head and chattering non-stop, he could still notice that she raised her head and looked around.
I followed him to kneel before the tablets of my ancestors, and then knelt for a long time to pray and kowtowed three times. Fortunately, the muscle pain in my waist, legs and feet has gradually improved in the past few days, otherwise I really couldn't bear it.
After kneeling in the ancestral hall, they stood in the yard to rest for a while. Xu Junying squatted down and rubbed Meimei's knees: "The kneeling pad in the ancestral hall is a little thin. Are your legs okay? Does it hurt?"
Meimei took a step back: "It's okay, it hurts a little after kneeling once or twice, but it will be fine after kneeling a few more times once you get used to it!"
Xu Junying stood up and looked at her intently: "Meimei, we... have to go to Jinhua Hall now!"
Meimei looked at him and said, "You have to go there once, right? Let's go!"
Xu Junying smiled and said, "That's what I love about you. You never give in and you face things with courage!"
Meimei smiled bitterly: "Not that strong, you're not talking about me!"
Xu Junying naturally put his arm around her shoulders and let her walk slowly forward leaning on him: "With me here, you don't have to be strong. If I'm not around, you have to be tougher. I don't want you to suffer..."
"If I don't suffer, others will!"
"Then... let's see who it is. If the old ancestor is like this, please let her suffer less. I beg you for her!"
Meimei chuckled: "As if I really suffered something from her. Don't worry, she didn't let me suffer any harm. I don't dare to provoke her casually!"
She then got on the exquisite "bride sedan chair" and went to Jinhua Hall. She stopped in front of the gate of Jinhua Hall, attracting the maids and servants to watch for a while.
Cui Xi and Cui Lian, who had been informed of the arrangements by Bai Zhan in advance, brought the maids and servants of Qinghua Courtyard to wait here. They watched with a smile as Xu Junying happily helped Meimei out of the sedan chair, led her past the crowd, entered the courtyard, and went to Jinhua Hall.
In the second hall, as soon as Xu Junying and Meimei appeared, everyone who was sitting with the old lady and chatting and laughing fell silent. Except for a few sisters-in-law who had already seen them at the door, the rest of the people stared at them as if they didn't know them.
Meimei glanced up as soon as she entered the room. She saw the old lady on the couch, the second master on the mirror chair on the left, the second wife on the right, Bai Jingyu, Ning Rulan and Fang Shigandi, three girls. What caught her second glance was a lady in rich clothes sitting next to the old lady. Who else could it be but Zhuang Yulan
When did she come back? She was wearing a dignified lady's dress, still leaning against the old lady so lovingly, like a little bird depending on her. She thought she was still a little girl of fifteen years old!
The old lady's face gradually became solemn. She pushed Zhuang Yulan away and sat up straight. Zhuang Yulan was slightly startled, then quickly stood up and retreated behind the second wife. The old lady glanced behind her and Ruiyu brought an embroidered stool over and asked her to sit down.
Xu Junying squeezed Meimei's hand and pulled her closer. Cuixi and Cuilian immediately brought two kneeling cushions and placed them under their knees. Xu Junying and Meimei knelt down and kowtowed to the old lady. Xu Junying said, "Grandmother, Meimei has been unwell and has been living in the outer courtyard for recuperation. She has not been able to serve you. Now that she has improved, I will take her back. Let's kowtow to you together. I hope you will understand the hardship of Meimei not being able to be filial to you for so many days!"
The old lady's face turned cloudy, as if it was about to rain. After a while, the clouds gradually cleared up and she managed a little smile:
"You kid, since you've brought your wife home, why didn't you tell me earlier? I was just talking to Lan'er inside, and I didn't know what was going on with you guys!"
He pointed at Bai Jingyu again, looking worried: "You two just came in from outside together, talking and laughing, but do you know about this?"
Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan looked at each other in bewilderment: Big brother Xu Junying had really hurt them. They were only notified at the last minute about picking up big sister-in-law and were thinking he had told the old lady, but it turned out he didn't tell her
Meimei just lowered her head and said nothing. At this moment, Xu Junying had to perform a one-man show and she had nothing to do.
If the old lady knew about this, Xu Junying probably wouldn't be able to do things so smoothly. The Hou Mansion is his, but if the old lady stands in front of him, it will still get in the way, so he might as well not let the old lady know for the time being.
Xu Junying said, "Meimei is not fully recovered yet. She accompanied the Queen to the Imperial Temple to burn incense and fulfill her vows a few days ago, and caught a cold. She is still taking medicine. She didn't want to return home so soon, but the Queen will come to visit her in person tomorrow, and she can't let the Queen go to the other courtyard, right? So she decided to return home at the last minute!"
The second master said hurriedly, "Of course! Instead of welcoming the emperor at the Hou Mansion, you have to go to that small courtyard. This is not in accordance with etiquette and is also disrespectful!"
At this time, Cui Lian led in several smart and pretty little maids. Each maid held a fragrant wooden tea tray with a celadon tea cup on it, and stood in front of the hall in order.
Xu Junying said, "Grandmother, allow me to report that after Meimei went to live in the outer courtyard to recuperate, the Xu Mansion was divided into two mansions. Now the Hou Mansion is slightly different from the previous one, which is equivalent to a new mansion. When the mistress returns to the new mansion, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that there should be some etiquette. Choose an auspicious day for your grandson and Meimei, let them wear bright red wedding clothes, worship in the ancestral hall, and then offer tea to the elders in the mansion. In the future, the whole family will be safe and healthy... It happens that my uncle and aunt are here too, so please accept Meimei's tea on behalf of my deceased parents!"
The second wife was stunned for a moment, looked at the second master, and asked hesitantly: "Nephew, I have only heard that the bride should offer tea to the elders when entering the house, and she should return the greeting, but now..."
Xu Junying said: "The Imperial Observatory said so! No matter what it is, Auntie is the elder, and any gift from the elder is extremely valuable to Meimei!"
Meimei was full of complaints. What a fool Xu Junying was. Wasn't he tired of kneeling for so long? He had to serve tea himself. Did he really want to follow the old rules that the bride would only be happy if she received tea from the elders? If the old lady took the tea and cursed in her heart, would it be good
The Second Wife somehow found two presentable thank you gifts for the tea, an emerald hairpin and a pure white jade bracelet. She looked up at the Second Master with reluctance on her face, but the Second Master turned his face away: You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. There will be many places to ask for help from your nephew in the future!
The old lady told Mother Ji, and Mother Ji went to the back hall to get two old-fashioned pieces of jewelry, dull and lifeless.
Xu Junying said: "This gold bracelet on grandma's hand is very good, let's give it to Meimei!"
The old lady looked up at her grandson. When did this boy, who had always been indifferent to everything, become so calculative
With no other choice, he had to take off the gold bracelet on his hand.
So under Xu Junying's supervision, Meimei served tea to the bride and took back several pieces of jewelry given by the elders. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)