The wind was getting stronger and stronger. Censor Chen got off the sedan chair and stood at the door of his house. He could hardly see the plaque on the door. After hesitating for a long time, he timidly stepped over the threshold, smiled at the servants who greeted him with smiles, and walked in with difficulty.
After bypassing the screen wall, he took a shortcut to the Chuihua Gate, where he saw many servants wrapped in cotton-padded jackets happily painting the trees white and tying up worn-out quilts.
The mansion had been abandoned for a long time. Although Censor Chen had been released from prison, he could not take care of family affairs for a while. The house only became lively after the presence of a female host.
Censor Chen walked more quickly. When he reached the corridor of the main courtyard in the backyard, he heard laughter coming from inside. He couldn't help but burst into tears and took a few quick steps.
When the maids saw him, they all shouted happily, calling "Master" again and again, while lifting the curtain to invite him in.
The furnishings in the room were all brand new, with everything still in its original place, in stark contrast to the messy and disorganized room where Censor Chen had just returned from the imperial prison.
Censor Chen looked at Madam Chen who was slowly standing up, took a few quick steps and grabbed Madam Chen's hand.
Mrs. Chen's lips were extremely pale, and her well-maintained face was now covered with a few wrinkles. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes could no longer be covered with powder. When she saw Censor Chen, tears rolled down her cheeks: "Master... I thought I would never see you again!"
During this period of time, she had experienced all kinds of ups and downs that she had never experienced in her life. She almost lost her life several times and had to hide from place to place with her children. Although she had people to take care of her, the feeling of being alone and helpless was still fresh in her memory, and it often woke her up from her sleep.
From the destruction of her family to their reunion now, it all seemed like a dream. She did not care that her children were present and could not help but hold Censor Chen's hand, crying inconsolably.
Chen Mianmian also felt aggrieved. Seeing her father comforting her mother in a low voice, she also cried loudly beside him.
The wife and daughter burst into tears. Censor Chen comforted them for a long time before they stopped crying. He forced a smile and said, "Although I have frightened you so much and wronged you, you have finally come to an end. You should be happy about this. Why are you crying like this?"
He comforted them for a while, and when he saw that they had stopped crying, he asked them for details: "I'm in prison, and I don't have any information. Although the Third Young Master tried his best to protect me, he could only do so as not to arouse the suspicion of the Jiang family father and son. When I heard that something happened to you..."
He paused, thinking of that time he hated the Jiangs even more, and after a while he said, "At first I really thought you were dead, it was really boring. Although the Third Young Master later told me that you were fine, Pingxi Hou had arranged everything and nothing would go wrong, I still couldn't feel at ease. Now that I see you, I feel relieved."
Mrs. Chen was also very aggrieved and frightened: "Yes, I have experienced more in the past month than in the first half of my life. Many times I thought I could not escape, but I finally made it through. I feel sorry for Mianmian, who accompanied me in fear. A few days ago, Yu Ge'er had a high fever and I was worried about you and Yu Ge'er. She fell ill. It's hard for her. She is so thin that she looks unrecognizable..."
Censor Chen looked at his haggard daughter, feeling sad and heartbroken. He touched her head and held back the sobs in his throat for a long time before sighing softly, "At least everything is fine now. It's all over. There's no need to talk about the past anymore."
The family finally sat down to have a meal. Before Censor Chen had time to ask his children about their journey, he heard someone outside saying that Wei Jie had arrived.
He glanced at Mrs. Chen, a little surprised: "It's so late, why is Ajie still here?"
Mrs. Chen's face was full of smiles whenever she mentioned Wei Jie. Although she knew that he was her son-in-law before, they had never really married, so there was no real affection between them. But after this incident, she realized the good qualities of Wei Jie. He was loyal and upright, and what was rare was that he valued friendship and loyalty.
This one item made up for all the shortcomings. She glanced at Chen Mianmian and saw that Chen Mianmian was a little shy, so she whispered to Chen Yushi: "Ajie has been here for a long time. When we came to the dock to pick us up today, Ajie was waiting at the dock. She accompanied us back and went back to Dingbei Marquis Mansion to report the news. Now she is here again. I guess she has something to deliver. I don't know how many times she has come back and forth today."
When she got to this point, she thought again and felt a little annoyed: "Speaking of which, we should have sent someone to ask him if he would come over to eat with us tonight. He ran around for us and I'm afraid he didn't get much to eat today."
Censor Chen glanced at her and saw that she was full of joy and admiration for her son-in-law, so he felt happy too.
Things are different now than before. When Prince Linjiang ascends the throne, the Wei family will be the new noble family. Wei Jie has his sister Wei An and his brother-in-law Shen Chen. He himself is also capable and has a bright future.
What’s rare is that Wei Jie is a man who values friendship and loyalty. He even dared to stop Jiang Songwen’s sedan chair in the street for the Chen family. What kind of courage is this
It's great that Mrs. Chen values her son-in-law so much.
He smiled and nodded, following Mrs. Chen's words, "Yes, but it doesn't matter. It's time for our two families to get married. Ajie's mourning will be over this year. When he is done with mourning, we should start preparing for the wedding. In addition, since we have a good relationship with the Dingbei Marquis' Mansion, now that everything is fine, we should invite the old ladies of the Marquis' Mansion to come together for a gathering. It is also our intention."
Mrs. Chen responded quickly, "Yes, I have thought of it a long time ago. It is almost the Little New Year. We are not in the capital this year, so we cannot send porridge. I will just take advantage of the Little New Year to send a letter to ask if the Marquis's family is free and whether they can come together and celebrate the Little New Year together."
As he spoke, the person who went out to invite Wei Jie came in, bringing Wei Jie in.
As soon as Wei Jie came in, he bowed deeply to Censor Chen and Madam Chen again.
Mrs. Chen hurriedly called him and asked him, "Why did you come here in such a heavy snow? Are the clothes you are wearing enough? Have you eaten yet?"
Wei Jie nodded hurriedly: "I have eaten. The old lady asked me to send you some New Year gifts. She said that this is an unreasonable number, but tomorrow the mansion will be full of guests, so I simply sent the things over early to avoid causing you trouble."
Mrs. Chen laughed and said, "You are too kind, old lady. This is just to show consideration for us. We all know in our hearts that you are saying this, but we really don't know what to do." (To be continued)