It is a beautiful and sunny Mid-Autumn Festival.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival in the Qin Mansion seemed much quieter than in previous years.
The house is deserted and the population is sparse.
But it’s actually quite nice to be quiet like this.
Miss Qin's condition has stabilized, and tomorrow is Luo Qingzhou and Miss Qin's wedding day, so everyone in the mansion is in a joyous mood.
At noon.
The family gathered together and had a reunion dinner.
Song Ruyue personally cooked a table of exquisite meals, and also made some osmanthus cakes and red bean mooncakes.
The wedding gowns for Luo Qingzhou and Miss Qin Er have been sewn.
After lunch, the two went back to try on clothes.
Originally, Miss Qin wanted to take Luo Qingzhou to Meixiang Garden for a try, but was sternly stopped by Song Ruyue.
According to the rules, men and women are not allowed to meet each other the day before the wedding.
However, due to the special circumstances now, no one mentions this rule anymore, but trying on wedding gowns together is definitely not allowed.
Song Ruyue personally moved into Meixiang Garden to prevent the two from being affectionate in private today and breaking the rules.
Luo Qingzhou tried on the wedding gown at the Exiled Immortal Residence and it was just the right size.
Xiaodie and Qiu'er were busy moving the things from the Exiled Immortal Residence to the Meixiang Garden.
There isn't much actually.
In addition to Luo Qingzhou and Xiaodie's clothes, there are also Xiaodie's embroidery and clothing-making tools.
There are beds and quilts over there.
After getting married, Luo Qingzhou would naturally share a quilt with Miss Qin Er, so there was no need to move these things.
As for items such as books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, they were not moved away either.
Whether reading or practicing calligraphy, a quiet environment is needed, so after discussion, Luo Qingzhou still returned to the Exiled Immortal Residence to study during the day.
At night, he needs to return to Meixiang Garden to rest.
In other words, the Exiled Immortal Residence has now become a place for him to study and prepare for exams.
He didn't go anywhere today and was studying hard in the study.
After Xiaodie came back, she quietly made tea for him and went to the corridor to continue embroidering.
The sunlight fell through the eaves and fell on the little girl.
The little girl's face was filled with happiness and gentleness.
In the evening, the family had dinner early and then went out shopping to enjoy the lanterns.
Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival. The curfew has been lifted, the night market can be open all night, and people can also play outside all night.
Miss Qin still didn't go out.
Bailing and Xiachan also stayed with her at home.
Even if Song Ruyue and Miss Qin went to shout together, they did not go out.
So when they were out playing at night, Song Ruyue kept frowning and was full of worries.
She felt sorry for her eldest daughter.
Although this marriage was something everyone wanted to see, she still felt a little guilty.
Her elder sister's husband was divorced, and then he became her younger sister's husband. She felt ashamed to tell anyone about it.
Because they had to get up early the next day to prepare for the wedding, the group walked around the street for a while, bought some candies and preserves, and then went home.
Luo Qingzhou first sent Miss Qin Er back to Meixiang Garden, and then left embarrassedly under the gaze of his mother-in-law.
After he left, Song Ruyue helped her daughter into the courtyard, went back to the house and talked for a while, then began to seriously explain the arrangements for the wedding night.
Qiu'er was also called into the room.
Song Ruyue said a lot of things and finally said something cruel: "If something happens to you tomorrow night, no matter if it's his fault or yours, mother will not forgive him."
Qin Weimo lowered his head, blushed, and said nothing.
Qiu'er carried a lantern and sent Song Ruyue to the gate. She said seriously, "Qiu'er, whether you are needed tomorrow night or not, you just stay by the bed and keep an eye on them. If anything happens to Weimo, I will hold you accountable!"
Qiu'er bowed her head and said, "Madam, don't worry, I know what's going on."
Song Ruyue seemed to realize that her tone was too harsh. She stared at her young face for a while, then said in a slow voice, "Qiu'er, don't worry. We in the Qin family will definitely not treat you unfairly. It's not wronging you to let you serve your uncle. You know your uncle's ability. When he passes the imperial examination and has status, you and Xiaodie will naturally have status too. It's better than you getting married and being helpless. What do you think?"
Qiu Er raised her head and said, "Madam, I have never thought about getting married. I will always follow the young lady and serve the uncle for the rest of my life. I will not regret it."
After hearing this, Song Ruyue nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, Qiu'er is still sensible."
Then he rolled his eyes at Mei'er next to him and said, "Look at Qiu'er, she's gentle, generous, well-educated, and smart. What about you? If you don't have a smarter brain, I'll marry you to Niu Er, the butcher outside, and make you butcher pigs every day."
Mei'er held the lantern, lowered her head, and dared not say a word, but muttered to herself: Madam thought we were in Mo City, the pig seller outside is not called Niu Er.
After Song Ruyue left, Qiu'er closed the door and went back into the house.
Zhu'er came out of the room, looked at her with a smile and teased, "Qiu'er, you can finally serve your uncle tomorrow night. Are you so happy that you can't sleep tonight?"
Qiu'er hung the lantern in the corridor and said calmly, "Zhu'er, you have known Uncle for so long, don't you know him? If I really watch Uncle and Miss in the room tomorrow night as Madam said, Uncle will definitely be embarrassed to have the wedding night. Even if Miss asked me to take his place, Uncle will still be embarrassed."
Zhu Er asked curiously, "Really? My uncle is so thick-skinned, how could he be embarrassed?"
Qiu'er looked at her and said, "My uncle is actually very thin-skinned. He must be embarrassed to have a wedding night with more people in the room. If it were other men, they would even wish there were more maids in the room to serve them, but my uncle is different. My uncle... He is not like those scholars. He is quiet and introverted. He will not show his emotions in front of us, but my uncle is kind-hearted and responsible. He will not sleep with any girl casually. Back in Mo City, there were so many opportunities, but my uncle did not touch me because he had not yet married the second young lady. So Zhu'er, what you see is only the surface. My uncle is actually a very good person. He risked his life to get medicine for the young lady."
Zhu'er was silent for a moment after listening to this, and then said, "Qiu'er, you are right, the son-in-law is indeed a good man. He is very good to the young lady, and he is also very fond of Xiaodie. In fact, he is also very good to us. The son-in-law got the first place in the imperial examination in Mo City. He is obviously a juren, but in front of us servants, he has no airs at all, and is willing to marry into the family. Unlike those scholars outside, they are arrogant, like beasts in human clothing, and do not regard maids as human beings at all. They even send concubines to each other."
Qiu Er asked, "Who told you that?"
Zhu Er smiled and said, "You have so many books on your bookshelf. I read them when I'm bored."
Then he blinked again and whispered, "Qiu'er, the books you read recently are all very unhealthy. They are all about people without clothes."
Qiu Er was not embarrassed and said softly, "Young lady is weak and cannot serve the uncle, so I will naturally take her place and serve the uncle well in the future."
Zhu Er said, "What about tomorrow night? Will you listen to Madam?"
Qiu Er shook her head and said, "No, I'm outside the door and won't go in. I'll go in when the young lady calls me."
Zhu Er immediately worried, "What if the uncle and the young lady can't help themselves and something happens under impulse..."
Qiu Er said, "Don't worry, the uncle is not an ordinary man. No matter how impulsive he is, he will not hurt the second young lady. When they were in Mo City before, the uncle slept with the second young lady several times. Did anything happen?"
Zhu Er thought for a moment and said, "That's right, Master has great self-control. Our young lady is so beautiful, and she is only wearing..."
Qiu Er said, "Because the uncle truly loves the young lady and truly wants to protect her, not just for a momentary desire. The uncle would rather hurt himself than hurt the young lady."
"Qiu'er, you really understand Uncle. No wonder he is always so gentle to you, but so cold to me."
"My uncle has never been mean to you. It's you who is mean to you."
The two talked in the corridor for a while, then Fang went into the house and locked the door.
After Luo Qingzhou returned to the Exiled Immortal Residence, he read for a while. After Xiaodie boiled the hot water, he took a medicinal bath, changed into a Confucian robe, and went to the Lingchan Moon Palace.
He had to meet Xiaoyue tonight, so he decided to just tell her and not tell any more stories.
When he arrived at Lingchan Moon Palace, Bailing was pounding medicine in the front yard. When she saw him, she immediately stood up and asked, "Son-in-law, what story are you going to tell Miss tonight? Tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival night, and the moon is so round. We can't tell sad stories. Oh, and we can't tell stories about Bad Xiaobao either. Bad Xiaobao is too fickle and will ruin your image."
Luo Qingzhou stood at the door but did not go in. He glanced at the medicine jar on the stone table and said, "Bai Ling, I won't tell stories tonight. I haven't thought of a good story yet. Besides, I'm going to get married with the second young lady tomorrow. It's not good for me to stay here tonight."
Bai Ling asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Uncle, aren't we a family? Do we still care about those rules?"
Luo Qingzhou could only say: "I have something else to do tonight, and I still have to study. Bailing, I won't say any more, I'm leaving now."
After saying that, he left.
"Uncle!"
Bai Ling immediately chased to the door, but he was no longer in sight. She stamped her feet and said, "Damn it, you stinky son-in-law. You ran so fast. I still want to play with those two little rabbits."
After a moment.
She went to the pavilion in the back garden and pouted her lips and said, "Miss, my son-in-law said he is getting married tomorrow and it is not convenient for him to come here tonight. He even lied to me and said he has to go back to school."
Qin Jianjia read the book quietly, did not speak, and nodded slightly.
Bai Ling moved her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing and stepped back.
Another moment passed.
Qin Jianjia slowly took out a piece of jade and looked at it.
The jade stone shone slightly, and a line of small words appeared on it.
Luo Qingzhou: Xiaoyue, are you out yet? I'm going out. We'll meet at the White Crane Tower in the south of the city. Remember to bring your things with you.
Qin Jianjia narrowed her eyes slightly, paused, stretched out her slender jade fingers, and sent a message.