The day Xu Changqian and his family arrived in Beijing, they had experienced several days of continuous spring rain and happened to catch a bright spring day.
Upon hearing the doorman announce that the master and his family had arrived, the second and third sons of the Xu family, along with their respective wives, several maids and the steward, hurried out to greet them.
Xu Changqian stood at the front with his hands behind his back, wearing a blue cloth shirt, with a serious face and a straight body. Except for the three people who were obviously dressed as servants beside the carriage, standing behind Xu Changqian was a beautiful lady in her early thirties, who seemed to be the legendary sister-in-law. Next to the lady was a tall young man with outstanding looks, who must be the eldest son of the eldest brother, Xu Mingye. Standing next to Xu Mingye were the two Xu Lao Er and Xu Lao San.
The girl looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, extremely beautiful, with a fair and sparkling face. Standing in the golden light of the morning sun, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and her smile was sweet, making people unable to take their eyes off her.
If this girl hadn't been standing with Xu Mingye, whose features looked almost identical, Xu Lao Er and Xu Lao San would have thought that this girl was their eldest brother's daughter-in-law.
Xu Changqian's biological mother died early, and after his biological father died, his relationship with his stepmother became even colder. He has never returned to the capital in all these years, and even has only four letters home: one for his marriage, one for the birth of his son, and one for the birth of his daughter. Now he has to return to the capital, and this was the content of the fourth letter home.
Xu Changgong was puzzled. Didn't he hear the eldest son say that he had another daughter? Looking at the door of his house, there were only two carriages brought back by Xu Changqian. They looked simple and shabby. Xu Changgong was shocked. My goodness, this doesn't look like an official who has made a fortune and returned home in glory! However, he thought again. It takes more than half a month to travel from Lu'an to the capital. It's such a long way. Who would get a few carriages and take the property on the road in a grand manner? Wouldn't they be afraid that thieves would miss them
Although he was confused, Xu Changgong hesitated for only a moment before reacting immediately. With a friendly smile on his face, he took the lead in greeting his elder brother and excitedly shook his elder brother's hand. Before he could speak, he was already choking with sobs, "Brother!"
Xu Changliang, the third son of the Xu family, was not willing to be left behind, so he quickly followed and held Xu Changqian's other hand.
For a moment, the three brothers stared at each other, all of them speechless, unable to hold back their emotions, tears streaming down their cheeks. The last time Xu Changqian met them, he was a young scholar in the prime of his life, and the second and third brothers were still teenagers. Now their children have grown up, and they are old too.
After the greetings, Xu Changqian introduced his family to the second and third sons, first pulling Mrs. Xu over and introducing her as "this is your eldest sister-in-law."
The second and third sons of the Xu family hurriedly pulled their wives and respectfully called her "sister-in-law".
Xu Changqian pulled Xu Mingye and said, "This is my son Mingye." He then said to Xu Mingye, "This is your second uncle and third uncle."
Xu Mingye respectfully bowed to the second and third sons of the Xu family and called out, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle."
Xu Lao Er and Xu Lao San were amazed by Xu Mingye's good looks. When they heard that their eldest nephew had ranked among the top three in the provincial examination at such a young age, they were even more envious and jealous, and they praised Xu Mingye as much as they could.
Mingyu, on the other hand, smiled and looked at her brother with disdain in her heart without changing her expression. She shamelessly accepted the compliments from her uncles with a smile.
When Mingyu was introduced, the people from the second and third branches of the Xu family were all surprised. They had never thought that this beautiful girl was the Xu Mingyu who married far away in the Marquis's Mansion! Wasn't she said to be thrown into Tianshui when Tianshui City was broken? How come she was in Lu'an in the blink of an eye and went to the capital with her eldest brother
Xu Changqian could naturally see the surprise of the two families, and said in a deep voice: "This is a long story. I came to Beijing not only to take up my post, but also to solve Mingyu's problem. I will tell you in detail when I have the chance. Come in first."
It was Xu Lao 2's wife, Mrs. Hu, who was smart. She quickly said with a smile, "Brother and sister-in-law, you must have been very tired after traveling all the way. Please come in, please come in!"
The main gate of the Xu family is inconspicuous, a simple vermilion lacquered wooden door with two stone lions guarding the door. After entering the door and turning around a somewhat shabby screen wall, you will reach the main house of the Xu family.
As Mrs. Hu led the way, she smiled and said, "When the old lady learned that the eldest brother and his family were going back to the capital a few days ago, she was so happy that she couldn't sleep for a few days. Today, she even got up early!"
Mrs. Li, the wife of the third room, saw that Mrs. Hu's smile was like a flower, and she couldn't help but curl her lips with disdain. The old lady was naturally happy, thinking that the eldest brother's family had returned and she could get some money from them. However, she didn't want Mrs. Hu to monopolize the limelight, so she hurriedly stepped forward with a smile, took Mrs. Xu's arm, and said with a friendly smile: "Sister-in-law, did you have a hard time on the road?"
When they reached the main house door, the maid who followed the masters in shouted loudly: "Master, mistress, young master and young lady are here!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the old woman lifted the curtain of the main house and a group of people walked in one after another.
Mingyu stood beside Xu Mingye and noticed that several bamboo strips on the bamboo curtain in the main room had cracked and were old and yellow. It seemed that the Xu family in the capital was not having a good time, Mingyu thought to herself.
Sitting in the main seat in the room was an old lady in her early fifties. She was not tall, and her feet were off the ground when she sat on the chair. Her hair mixed with silver threads was neatly combed behind her head, and she wore a dark blue headband. It was already spring, but she was still wearing a half-worn gray satin jacket. Her face was a little dark and thin, and her eyes were bright and lively.
Two girls, one about fifteen or sixteen years old, and the other about eleven or twelve years old, were sitting around the old lady. There were also three boys under ten years old, sitting nearby, scrambling to eat the peanut snacks on the small table. They were fighting and making a lot of noise, and even when they saw a group of adults coming in, they still didn't stop and made a lot of noise.
When Xu Changgong came in, he couldn't help but frowning. He shouted at the three noisy boys and finally they quieted down.
As soon as Xu Changqian entered the room, he knelt down respectfully and kowtowed to the old lady sitting in the main seat, saying, "Greetings to mother."
The old lady hurriedly leaned forward, bent over and stretched out her hand to help Xu Changqian up, sighing, "It's been so many years since we last met. The last time I saw you, you had just passed the imperial examination and were about to take up your post. In the blink of an eye, your child has grown up so much..." As she spoke, tears fell from the old lady's eyes. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and said, "Although our Xu family is not a wealthy family, we still have enough food for your family. If I had known that you would go so far and not come back for twenty years, I would rather you not take this position so that the whole family can be happily reunited!"
These words were spoken with such sincerity and heart, like a loving mother welcoming her son who had not returned for many years. If Mingyu did not know the situation of the Xu family, she would have thought that the old lady Xu sitting in the main seat was her own grandmother.
Xu Changqian exchanged courtesies with the old lady again, said a few polite words, and then began to introduce his family members to the old lady. When he introduced Mingyu, the old lady and the two girls sitting beside her were all stunned, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
The old lady immediately and affectionately pulled Xu Mingye and Mingyu to stand beside her, and said with a smile: "Look at these two children of the old family, each one is more beautiful than the other! Especially the little girl Mingyu, it really makes me, an old woman, very happy! Come, recognize your sisters, this is your elder sister Mingrui, and this little girl is your younger sister Mingyun."
Mingyu smiled and bowed to Xu Mingrui and Xu Mingyun, "Hello, Sister Mingrui, Hello, Sister Mingyun!"
As early as when Mingyu just entered the door, Xu Mingrui had already noticed her in the crowd. She was wearing an apricot-yellow shirt with a plain white high-waisted skirt and a brocade belt in the middle. She had no other ornaments except a jade hairpin on her head, but even with such a simple dress, people couldn't take their eyes off her.
This girl is really pretty, with delicate eyebrows and eyes. When she smiles, two cute dimples appear on her face.
When Xu Mingrui heard that this girl was Xu Mingyu who married into the Marquis's Mansion, she almost couldn't help jumping up. It took her a long time to hold back the scream that was about to blurt out. Could it be that her uncle had given birth to a pair of twin daughters
Hearing Mingyu's greeting, Xu Mingyun was the first to react. She bowed to Mingyu with a smile and took Mingyu's hand. Her round face was full of smiles. "Hello, Sister Mingyu. Sister Mingyu is so beautiful!"
Seeing that the daughters of the third room had already started to please her, while her own daughter was still sitting there stupidly, Mrs. Hu became a little anxious and laughed loudly, "Mingrui, your sister Mingyu is asking how are you! This silly child must be so happy to see her sister!"
Xu Mingrui finally reacted and quickly stood up and returned the greeting with a smile, looking at Mingyu and saying, "Hello, Sister Mingyu."
Old Madam Xu happily pulled Xu Mingrui's hand and smiled at her, "We will have another sister in the future. You are the eldest daughter of our Xu family. You must take good care of this new sister and you must not bully her!"
Xu Mingrui looked aggrieved, her head resting on the old lady's arms, and said in a tender voice: "Grandma said she loved me a few days ago, but today she only wants Sister Mingyu and not me?"
The old lady smiled and tapped Xu Mingrui's forehead, scolding: "You devilish girl, look at your sister Mingyu, how quiet and sensible, if you could be half as good as her, I would be satisfied!"
Xu Mingrui started to laugh, hugged the old lady's arm and acted coquettishly, "It's because of the old lady's pain!"
Mingyu opened her mouth in surprise. The harmony between the grandparents and grandchildren made her feel like an intruder! Xu Mingyun, who was young, looked at them coldly, unable to hide the jealousy in her eyes. Mrs. Li, the third wife, curled her lips and clenched her fists.
Everyone gathered together and talked for a few words, and then the old lady took everyone to have lunch.
On the way to the flower hall for dinner, Mingyu followed Xu Mingye and walked at the back. Xu Mingrui looked back and deliberately lagged behind by two steps. She walked side by side with Mingyu and leaned close to Mingyu's ear, as if two girls of similar age were whispering. She smiled with some pride and said, "Mingyu, the maid Zhuxiang I gave you is pretty good, isn't she? I really don't want to part with her, so I'll give her to you anyway!"
It's really good. I climbed into Bao Erye's bed as soon as I got there. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and give rewards on Qidian Mobile Network (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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