The eldest and second aunts were even more speechless after hearing what she said. The eldest aunt frowned and asked, "Have you had contact with Zhou Wencun before?"
Luo Yaqing said embarrassedly: "We talked about poetry at Princess Ande's flower viewing banquet before, and then we met a few times outside..."
The separation between men and women in the current dynasty was not that serious. As long as young men and women were not alone and did not commit any crime, it was fine. That was why Luo Yaqing was able to meet Zhou Wencun outside.
The eldest and second aunts immediately understood that their niece must have been targeted by Zhou Wencun, who had ill intentions for a long time, otherwise how could it be such a coincidence that they "encountered" him several times
It was a pity that most of the six rituals of the marriage had been completed, and it was too late for them to object. Moreover, judging from the fact that their niece was deeply in love with Zhou Wencun, if they really opposed this marriage, her niece might resent them, and they would be in a difficult situation.
They are just aunts, not biological mothers. What right do they have to object to what their niece's father has agreed to
Therefore, we can only pray that Zhou Wencun is a good person who can treat his niece wholeheartedly and make her happy, otherwise her family will never let him go.
Man and woman who were successfully engaged would have more opportunities to meet each other afterwards. Luo Yaqing put part of her attention on preparing for the wedding and embroidering the wedding dress, and put the rest of her attention on Zhou Wencun. From time to time, they would send letters to each other or make plans to go out together, which made her father Luo Changqing jealous and mutter, "It's true that girls can't be kept when they grow up."
Xu Shichu had little use for her stepdaughter's marriage, so her life did not change much. She was either busy eating, drinking and having fun, or managing her business. She had money and free time, and lived a happy life. She was much more comfortable than Luo Changqing, who was always scheming in the officialdom...
He is also a major buyer of his "Ru Meng Lai" sleeping incense.
That day, Xu Shichu went to Zuixiang Pavilion again, but unexpectedly, when she reached the door, a woman holding a child suddenly rushed out from the side, pounced in front of her, and knelt down in front of her without saying a word.
Xu Shichu was startled, and the guards who followed her quickly stepped forward to block her and prevent the woman from getting close.
“Madam! Madam Xu! My husband’s father was the commander of Suzhou militia in Weicheng, and my mother, Hu Xuemei, was your mother’s cousin! I came here to ask for a favor! Madam, please help me for the sake of our deceased elders... I beg you..." The woman holding the child pleaded to Xu Shichu with red and swollen eyes and tears in her eyes.
When Xu Shichu first heard her words, he didn't understand for a moment. When she mentioned her mother, Xu Shichu remembered that Weicheng Suzhou was the hometown of the original owner's mother. When he heard her say that her late mother was the cousin of the original owner's mother, he knew that the person in front of him was most likely a distant relative of the original owner.
The woman holding the child made such a big noise in Zui Xiang Pavilion that she soon attracted the attention of the people around her. Seeing that more and more people were watching, Xu Shichu said to her, "Come with me inside and we'll talk."
The woman stood up tremblingly, and Xu Shichu realized that her face was extremely pale and her body was very thin. She could not stand steadily after kneeling for a while.
"Zhichun, go help her hold the baby." Xu Shichu ordered.
Zhichun walked up to the woman, held out his hand, and said softly, "Madam, please let me hold the little boy."
The woman originally wanted to avoid her hand, but for some reason she changed her mind and finally made up her mind to hand the child in her arms to Zhichun.
The child looked unhappy, with his eyes half-open, and he looked listless and seemed to be sick.
Xu Shichu led his people to the room on the second floor and asked the irrelevant people to leave. Then he asked the woman, "Tell me, what do you want to ask me for?"
The woman's tears just stopped flowing again. She knelt on the ground again with a plop and said with tears in her eyes: "I ask Madam to adopt my son! You don't have to treat him as a young master. Just let him have food to eat and clothes to wear, and don't starve to death or freeze to death..."
"Stop! Why do you want me to adopt your son? What about you? What about your husband? What about other family members?" Xu Shichu said in confusion. Anyone would be confused if a distant relative who she met for the first time asked her to adopt a child.
"There is no family left. My parents-in-law died when my husband was young. The clan members robbed the family property and are unreliable... My husband fell seriously ill after returning from the imperial examination last month. He passed away last night. I am weak to begin with, and I have been taking care of my husband and children with my last breath these days...
My husband is gone, and I feel like I can't hold on any longer, but I still have a child... We have no one to rely on in this capital city, and in the end I can only think of you, my lady...
If I had no one to entrust my care to, I would not trouble you, Madam. Please, Madam, for the sake of our elders..."
The woman cried so hard that she could hardly breathe.
Only then did Xu Shichu notice that the woman was wearing white mourning clothes. She looked haggard and emaciated. It was obvious that she had been ill for a long time. She was ill herself, and had to take care of her sick husband and children. She was really pitiful. Several maids felt the same way as her and tears welled up in their eyes.
Seeing that Xu Shichu remained silent, the woman thought that she did not believe her, and quickly took out a stack of letters and a small purple butterfly hairpin from her sleeve pocket:
"Madam, if you don't believe me, please take a look at these letters. These letters are the letters between the late mother-in-law and your mother when they were still in the boudoir. And this gold hairpin is a gift from your mother to the late mother-in-law."
Xu Shichu took the letter and the hairpin, read a few pages of the letter, and then looked at the purple butterfly hairpin. There was a small word "Huan" engraved on the bottom of the hairpin. The original owner's biological mother's name did have the word "Huan".
As for the handwriting on the letter - Xu Shichu did not find any handwriting of her mother in the original owner's memory. She had never seen her biological mother's handwriting. The things left by her biological mother had long been destroyed or thrown away by the original owner's stepmother and biological father.
Although these two items alone could not confirm the identity of this distant cousin's wife, Xu Shichu did not think that he had anything worthy of others going to such great lengths to calculate.
Besides, this is the adoption of a child. Although it is called adoption, according to the distant cousin's wife, the standard is that as long as he is given food and drink and does not starve or freeze to death, it will be fine. It is obvious that if he wants to plot against her, he should beg her to give the adopted son a status and raise him well. The closer the relationship, the better.
"Is your health really incurable? Have you reached the point where you want to entrust your final affairs to me? Otherwise, shall I ask an imperial physician to come and see you? It is better for a child to be raised by its biological mother, isn't it?" Xu Shichu said. As the wife of a prime minister, she could still invite an imperial physician.