…………
Later in the night, it rained.
The thin sound of rain came from the tile roof, and Zhang Yue felt a little dazed when he heard it, as if he had returned to Pucheng, when he lived in a small building, and heard the rain hitting the tile roof of his house like this.
The rain brought the spring chill of February in Bianjing, freezing it to the bone.
There was no stove in the new house, but the red curtain bed curtain kept all the cold out of the gauze curtain.
The tent undergarments were scattered in a mess beside the red wedding quilt.
The spring rain is very wet and cold, but the quilt is very warm.
The candles on the table were still burning, making the skin of the woman in his arms shine like snow.
Zhang Yue thought that Seventeenth Mother was asleep, so he got up to put on some clothes. The bedding had been scented with incense, and when he lifted it up, the whole tent was filled with fragrance.
Zhang Yue picked up his clothes and saw Qi Niang's bright eyes looking at the bed curtain.
"Why don't you sleep?"
"Can't sleep."
Zhang Yue said: "What a coincidence. If you don't fall asleep, I won't fall asleep either. Let's talk."
"say what?"
Zhang Yue said: "Tell me a joke."
Seventeenth Mother turned her head and said: "Just tell jokes, but don't talk about things like Fireworks Alley..."
Zhang Yue was stunned. He was originally going to say that they were two dirty jokes, but he didn't expect to be exposed in advance by Qi Niang's words. It seemed that he couldn't succeed.
Zhang Yue leaned into Seventeenth Mother's ear and said, "Let me tell you a joke. In the past, there was a son-in-law who was a martial artist and married into the family of a wealthy man. His father-in-law and mother-in-law treated him very harshly. One day at the border crossing In an emergency, the emperor has posted an imperial list to look for the general who has retired to the mountains and forests."
"One day at a family banquet, eight thousand soldiers outside the door shouted: 'I respectfully invite the general to come out.' My mother-in-law asked: "Who is the general? "
The Seventeenth Mother asked: "Could it be that the son-in-law is the general who has retired to the mountains? The father-in-law, mother-in-law, and his family have misjudged his vision."
Zhang Yue continued: "The son-in-law stood up silently and walked out of the door. At this time, eight thousand and one people shouted in unison: "General, please come out!" "
Seventeenth mother...
"This official joke is so boring!" Seventeenth Mother said angrily.
Zhang Yue thought to himself, you were not like this when we met.
Zhang Yue said: "It's just a truth. When it comes to marriage, it is easy to marry a high-ranking person, but difficult to marry a low-ranking person. It seems that I was born in a poor family. When I first arrived in Bianjing, I was penniless. If I want to marry a poor scholar from the Imperial Academy, If I get you, I'm afraid I would rather marry into the Wu family than have such a good marriage."
"Back then, Meng Taishan Tai Shui was blue-eyed and didn't mind that I came from a humble background. He was willing to allow you to marry into my Zhang family. I am really grateful for this kindness. Madam, I want to tell you that I will remember this in this life. I will take good care of you with kindness.”
The Seventeenth Mother heard this and thought, kindness? How can a husband and wife live their lives with kindness? So what if the kindness is great?
She turned sideways and said seriously: "Officials don't have to say these words. Since I married you, I am a family. As a family, there is no need to talk about family status. When I marry into the Zhang family, I am just your wife." ."
"Never mention the words of kindness or not. Since ancient times, those who take advantage of kindness cannot get true love. If you really want to care about it, you are the number one scholar, and I am a concubine, so I am not worthy of you. Then I was looking at the results outside the Gongyuan that day, and I cried with joy, because I knew that my marriage with you had finally come to fruition."
"Actually...Actually, that day you came to my library to borrow books, I already belonged to you...It snowed so heavily that day, and there were people who were diligent and studious but didn't know the cold like a young man. This perseverance is better than The article is beautiful and the talent is brilliant, I like it..."
At this point, Shi Qi Niang couldn't continue talking.
Zhang Yue stroked Seventeenth Niang's smooth and delicate cheeks, lowered his head and kissed her beautiful neck. Seventeenth Niang folded her hands behind her and hugged Zhang Yue tightly...
The rain continued, the red candles burned out, and the room suddenly became dark...
The next day.
The sky has cleared.
Zhang Yue was sleeping. He touched the pillow but found nothing. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the Seventeenth Mother was dressing up in the mirror beside the desk. Zhang Yue saw her and calmly walked to her side, took out a hairpin and said, "This one is beautiful."
Seventeenth Mother took one look, shook her head and said with a smile: "The official selection is not good-looking."
"Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
The Seventeenth Mother said angrily: "You can sleep until the sun is shining. The bride needs to get up early to pay homage to her aunt, uncle, brother and sister-in-law, so she can't neglect it."
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "My brother and sister-in-law are both easy to talk to and don't know how to pick up gifts."
Seventeenth Mother said: "Have you forgotten what I told you last night?"
"Okay, you are in charge of internal affairs, and I am in charge of external affairs!"
Seventeenth Mother smiled.
Zhang Yue said: "I'll let Mother Chen and the others serve you."
"That's fine."
Zhang Yue opened the door and saw Mother Chen and other female envoys waiting in the courtyard. When they saw Zhang Yue, they both leaned forward and said, "I've met my uncle!"
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "You go and help my wife, while I go to the wing to study and practice calligraphy!"
"Yes, uncle." Mother Chen and other female envoys called Zhang Yue husband yesterday and uncle today. They all officially regarded Zhang Yue as their male master.
Mother Chen entered the bridal chamber first and saw Seventeenth Mother dressing up in the mirror.
The Seventeenth Mother saw the other party and said, "Mother Chen, please help me, I can't insert this hairpin correctly no matter what."
Mother Chen was overjoyed when she saw that Seventeenth Mother's face was as rosy as a bride's face when she first got married. You don’t need to ask if this couple can be harmonious, you can tell just by looking at the bride’s complexion.
Mother Chen helped Seventeenth Niang insert the hairpin, then walked to the bedside, packed up the white silk cloth and walked over to Seventeenth Niang with joy.
Seventeen Niang glanced at Mother Chen and said, "Just put it away."
The Seventeenth Mother dressed up properly and went into the hall with Zhang Yue to pay homage to Zhang Shiyu.
Zhang Shi saw that the Seventeenth Mother was dressed in fine clothes, with a graceful demeanor and thoughtful behavior. She was indeed an extraordinary woman from a distinguished family. The third brother had really brought great face to our Zhang family by finding such a woman as his wife.
The Seventeenth Mother bowed down to Zhang Shi and Yu, and the two of them hurriedly stepped forward to support her and said, "You don't need to do this empty ceremony at home."
The Seventeenth Mother stopped and took the gifts from Mother Chen. She gave Zhang Shi satin and Yu Shi embroidered shoes.
Zhang Shi and Yu were both happy and returned the cloth as a gift.
Mrs. Yu took Qi Niang's hand and asked, "Did you sleep well last night? Did you eat well last night?"
Seventeen Niang answered them one by one.
Mother Chen said to Seventeen Niang: "Everything is ready in the kitchen."
The Seventeenth Mother nodded and stood up, but Mrs. Yu quickly stopped her and said, "There is a cook at home, so why bother the bride to cook?"
Seventeenth Mother said respectfully: "I heard from an official last night that my sister-in-law cooked soup when she first married into the Zhang family. All the neighbors praised my sister-in-law for her virtuousness."
"Although I am a rough person, I still want to serve my brother and sister-in-law well."
Zhang Shi Yu was very happy after hearing this. Zhang Yueyan said: "At this time, there was another time. At that time, the family was not well-off and could not afford to invite many people. Now that the family has a cook, there is no need to follow this ritual."
The Seventeenth Mother heard this and looked at Zhang Yue, who smiled and said: "It is a rule for the bride to come to the kitchen every three days. Brother and sister-in-law should not be polite to the sister-in-law."
The Seventeenth Mother smiled and said, "Not only is it what the official said, I also want to learn how to cook."
Seeing the Seventeenth Mother's insistence, Zhang Shi no longer objected. He felt that his sister-in-law was sensible and reasonable.
