"Thank you, Fourth Miss."
Xiao Cao nodded slightly, "Madam, there is no need to worry too much now. The child is doing well now."
After hearing this, the woman suppressed her anxiety and expressed her gratitude to Xiaocao again.
It sounds unbelievable that a person has abdominal pain without any disease or disaster, just because of fear. Therefore, some people always have doubts. However, Xiaocao doesn't care whether others believe it or not. Her starting point is for the child. If even his family doesn't take it seriously, and the child's condition becomes more serious, or even really becomes useless, she will have a clear conscience.
There weren't so many things to do afterwards. After lunch, we could almost prepare for the wedding.
Xiao Cao didn't retreat back to her yard to continue to pile up books. She was in a rare mood to sit down and listen to gossip, and then she heard about Li Ruoshui and Hua Bochen. There was a feeling in her heart that she didn't know how to describe. One thing was certain, that a man like Hua Bochen should be kicked out early. If he stayed until the New Year, the loss would be too great.
Now I know why the wife of Marquis Pingjin was so angry. It would be strange if she wasn't angry after raising such a bad son.
The Li family has been arguing with the Pingjin Marquis' Mansion these days. Of course, there is nothing to say about the marriage itself, but the Pingjin Marquis' Mansion does not want to let Li Ruoshui marry in so cheaply, so they take this opportunity to blatantly ask for benefits. Even if it is her son who is taking advantage, so what? It was the Li family who brought it to the door themselves. So what if she is taking the opportunity to ask for benefits? If she is not happy, she should not marry in. It has no impact on her son anyway.
The benefit would certainly not be something like gold, silver, or jewelry, so it was Prince Hua who came forward to negotiate. However, facing the Li family, his attitude was correct and gentlemanly. He said that he was just a messenger, so it was useless to negotiate with him. His mother would not give in, and as a son, he could not disobey her.
The person who represented the Li family was the Deputy Chief Censor, who was Li Ruoshui's father. He was a very upright man and, of course, a very reasonable person. Even so, he couldn't help getting angry when facing this "kid" called Prince Hua.
He was naturally happy that the family had an outstanding daughter, but, comparatively speaking, he did not quite agree with the girl being too much in the spotlight. Therefore, to some extent, he should be quite strict with Li Ruoshui. Although he loved her, he still valued her less than he did his son.
But he only had one illegitimate son, and he was a stupid one, not as good as his own daughter. This made him very angry, so when he treated his son, he was very disappointed with him and often scolded him, saying that he was not as good as his own sister.
As a result, the relationship between father and son is extremely bad, and the relationship between brother and sister is extremely bad.
Deputy Chief Censor Li is a man who cares a lot about his reputation. This incident was extremely embarrassing for him. However, even so, he did not ask about the whole matter in detail, which made people feel a little embarrassed.
The wife of Marquis Pingjin made such a high request, and she had negotiated with the eldest son many times. Of course, she was also hesitating on the bottom line of the Li family. After all, it was not for the purpose of making enemies, which would make the Li family particularly painful. At the same time, she would basically not refuse.
Needless to say, the final result was that the Pingjin Marquis' Mansion won a great victory. Outsiders may not know the specific details, but looking at the situations of the two families, you can tell who has the upper hand. The Pingjin Marquis' Mansion really got the upper hand, getting the daughter-in-law that they originally could not have, and a generous "dowry". The fact that the Li family gave it themselves is even more talked about. How many people stamped their feet and beat their chests, wondering why they don't have such good luck
Xiaocao listened to these people vividly describing gossip that they seemed to have seen with their own eyes, and she was just listening for entertainment. It seemed that the two families were already formally discussing marriage, and if nothing unexpected happened, the wedding would probably take place next month. After all, this was a special situation, and they couldn't just take it slow and wait until next year or something.
The time passed quickly, and the Zhang family came to pick up the bride.
Zhang Junliang's nose is not a nose, his eyes are not eyes, and his face is sullen. He doesn't seem to be here to welcome the bride, but rather to collect debts. It seems that he is the kind of person who wants to know if someone owes him a lot. However, this situation is not unexpected.
Not to mention that even though he had some affection for Wen Ren Xiang, he only had a playful attitude towards her. As a result, he lost his fiancée who came from a noble family, and was forced to marry a so-called "savior". During this period of time, he was often ridiculed and mocked by others. It would be strange if he was not angry. If he was not forced by his family to come, he would rather go and drink wine.
Seriously speaking, the Wenren family was actually quite kind to Wenren Xiang. They gave her the full dowry that matched her status. In addition, they also allowed her to take back everything the Zhang family had given as betrothal gifts. However, the Zhang family was not happy about it, as the betrothal gift was certainly not that generous. Sending the award certificate to the Zhang family yesterday was probably one of the reasons why Zhang Junliang was so unhappy.
In order to avoid Zhang Junliang's "ruining the place" and making a mess, or perhaps because the Wen family did not value Wen Ren Xiang, no one blocked the door. Originally, they wanted to see Wen Ren Yang making things difficult for others - you know, the three girls from the Wen family before them were made difficult by Wen Ren Yang when they got married, especially the eldest brother-in-law Lu Deyuan, who was made so embarrassed. If they hadn't been worried that he was too serious and really stopped people from entering, delaying the auspicious time, Lu Deyuan probably wouldn't have been able to take the bride away - it's a pity that Wen Ren Yang didn't show up at all, what a pity.
Some people unconsciously glanced at Xiaocao. According to the order, Wenren Xiang would have to move two places back when she got married. However, the fourth girl returned home halfway, and even if her fiancé was good, she would not get married so soon. What's more, in such a situation, the wedding date has not been set at all, and it is unknown whether she will ever marry into the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion.
Because of the "tacit understanding" between the two families, Zhang Junliang's wedding process at the Wenren family was very smooth. Even when he was paying his respects to Wenren Xiang's father and stepmother, Zhan Junliang seemed very perfunctory and no one took it seriously. When Wenren Xiang kowtowed to them, his attitude was also indifferent.
Of course, it’s still as lively as it should be, but the liveliness just doesn’t belong to the newcomers.
The eldest of the three branches has both a boy and a girl who are legitimate, so the third branch can handle the wedding arrangements on its own.
The newlyweds were sent out, and although the Wen family still had a dinner party, there was actually nothing to do, it was really just like an ordinary banquet. Xiaocao went back to pile up books, and what would happen to Wen Renxiang after she married into the Zhang family, whether it was good or bad, naturally had nothing to do with her, she was very busy.
Two days later, Wen Renxiang returned home. As expected, she came alone, and arrived around noon. Her clothes were quite nice. After all, she was a member of the Zhang family now, and the Zhang family still had to save face when she was away from home. But she didn't look very energetic. She put on thick makeup and looked expressionless.
All the previous marriages were arranged by Han, but this time, Han just left it to the third room to handle. Especially since Zhang Junliang hadn't arrived yet, Zhang just prepared a table of food. Not to mention the people from other rooms, even the young men and women from the third room didn't show up. As for the gifts that were originally prepared for them, Zhang just waved her hand and asked the servants to deliver them. It was so sad.
Wen Renxiang originally thought that no one would care, but at this time she couldn't help but turn around and leave. After she walked out of the Wen family's door and got on the Zhang family's carriage, she couldn't help but sob bitterly.
On the wedding night, Zhang Junliang didn't even consummate the marriage with her, but went straight to sleep with the maid she brought with her. The next day, before even serving tea to the elders, he asked her to be promoted to concubine and made her drink "mistress tea" first.
When the tea was served, everyone who should have arrived was present, but they all knew about what had happened before. Plus, the marriage had not been consummated, so she was like a funny thing, being pointed at and criticized by so many people in the Zhang family. No matter how much she told herself not to care, she became even more stiff like a puppet, not to mention being told to set rules by Mrs. Zhang afterwards.
Zhang Junliang only consummated his marriage with her last night, and there was no gentleness or consideration at all. He went straight to the point. Wen Renxiang was in so much pain, but she didn't get any sympathy. If she resisted, she would be beaten. Consummating the marriage was like losing half her life. This morning, she couldn't get up at all, but she was still forcibly dragged up and went to Mrs. Zhang to set rules. She had no food or drink in the early morning, and was not allowed to go back home until near noon. Zhang Junliang had already gone somewhere.
She knew that she would not have an easy life in the Zhang family, but she never expected that she would be so miserable.
What was the purpose of her previous calculations, which led to such a result? If she had lived peacefully and followed the original plan, and waited until next March to get married, even though Mr. Zhang's family was not very well off and he was only a minor official now, because of this, he would definitely treat her well, and her father-in-law and mother-in-law would flatter her. It was nothing more than a little poverty, but it wouldn't be too bad. She would now have luxurious clothes and food, and be rich and glorious...
If she still had a little hope in her heart before getting married, perhaps she could have captured Zhang Junliang's heart and changed her situation. Now all she is left with is confusion and despair. Perhaps all hope is really gone.
No one in the Wen family paid attention to Wenren Xiang's condition. Xiaocao went to Pingjin Marquis's mansion to see Mrs. Pingjin for a follow-up visit. Wenren Ying went with her. After her initial rage, Mrs. Pingjin Marquis's mood stabilized. Perhaps it was because of what happened, even though there were still some problems in her marriage, Mrs. Pingjin Marquis looked very calm. She also knew her situation. Not to mention that she had not become indifferent to life and death and did not want to die. In her current situation, she could not die, so she made a special trip to calm her mind and cultivate her heart.
Lady Pingjin Hou invited Xiaocao to stay for dinner as usual, and since Wen Renying was there, Xiaocao did not refuse this time.
However, not long after the meal, a servant came to report that Mrs. Li had arrived to discuss the wedding date.
The face of Lady Pingjin Marquis looked bad for a moment, but she quickly hid it. She asked her daughter-in-law to entertain Xiaocao and her sister, saying that they would be back soon.
Xiao Cao originally wanted to take this opportunity to say goodbye, but after hearing what Lady Pingjin Hou said, he felt it difficult to say it.
Mrs. Li brought a good date. Actually, this should be the man's job. Mrs. Li took the initiative to do it. Now it is July, there are no good days. The second day of next month is OK, but it is not the most reliable with Li Ruoshui's horoscope. The best day is still the sixteenth. Then it will be the end of September. According to Mrs. Li's opinion, the sixteenth of August is chosen, because the fifteenth is the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it does not affect the wedding dress.
"The second day of the new year." Lady Pingjin Hou didn't care about Mrs. Li's kind words at all and set the date without saying a word.
Of course Mrs. Li would not agree. Although she was a profit-seeker, she had treated Li Ruoshui like a treasure for several years. It was impossible for her to say that she had no feelings for her. It was not like she could just give up. It would take time. So she naturally did her best to take care of her daughter's affairs and did not want her to suffer any grievances.
"If the second day doesn't work, we'll postpone it to September. There's no room for negotiation on the sixteenth."
Mrs. Li was so angry that she couldn't stand it anymore. "Why?" she asked angrily.
"Sixteen, my family is busy." Pingjin Hou's words were quite justified.