The servants had already been sent far away, and Su Xinger’s words were loud and clear, causing Pei Zhan’s face to turn a visible shade of red.
Mrs. Feng smoothed things over, jokingly scolding Su Xinger: "It’s one thing to act so casually outside, but even behind closed doors, you lack decorum. He’s your uncle-in-law!"
"You really owe a lot for this!" Liang Chen laughed, giving Pei Zhan a pat on the shoulder. "What are you standing there for? As the uncle-in-law, shouldn’t you go see the sisters-in-law first?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhan couldn’t suppress the upward curl of his lips.
With his left foot taking a step forward and his right still in mid-air, he caught sight of Fu Zhen and suddenly paused.
Whether he could beco the Liang family’s son-in-law, and whether he could enter the ancestral hall to take that kowtow, it was up to Fu Zhen to decide.
"Why are you staring at her? No matter how good she looks, you can admire her at ho!" Mrs. Cao noticed the clue, casting Fu Zhen a sidelong glance, "Say sothing!"
Fu Zhen stood straight, blinking and said, "Haven’t you already said it all? What else do you want to say?"
Mrs. Cao pinched her arm and decided to ignore him, waving Pei Zhan over: "What are you standing there for? Co over quickly."
Then she winked at Su Xinger: "Have the maids return to their rooms."
Su Xinger giggled, "Alright!"
Even after acknowledging Fu Zhen, with the interlude of their separation, how could the experienced Mrs. Feng and Mrs. Cao not handle the situation?
They might not know others well, but their own girl was very familiar to them.
If she truly didn’t want this marriage, would she have allowed them to pull her back and forth like this?
It would’ve been thousands of years ago that she prepared a way out for herself!
Not to ntion anything else, just look at how she broke off the engagent with the Du family, even their future mother-in-law Lady Du was firmly under her control.
Why reconcile or separate?
But as experienced won, they understood that for the young ones, finally finding soone they truly liked — well, Taiping had already been mistaken once, and to regain confidence and accept another man in such a short ti was not easy.
She would naturally worry, what if she was wrong again?
And for Pei Zhan, what he wanted was a genuine, pure emotion.
He’s no saint; he would naturally want reciprocation.
So for them, sensitivity, suspicion, hesitation, and wandering would all be normal.
At this ti, the role of family and friends is to be the right push, isn’t it?
Therefore, acknowledging the relatives and paying respects at the ancestral hall, these were matters of sooner or later.
The gift prepared for the Liang family’s son-in-law by the two ladies had long been ready, only they hadn’t co in the past two days; since Su Xinger broke it, it’s better to strike while the iron is hot, acknowledge first, then talk!
Pei Zhan had no way to retreat. Retrieving his gaze from Fu Zhen’s still cheerful face, he stepped forward bravely, lifting his robe to kneel: "Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law."
As soon as his knee touched the ground, Mrs. Feng reached out to lift him: "Are you really kneeling? There’s no reason for a brother-in-law to kowtow to his sister-in-law. Stand up quickly!"
Pei Zhan, however, did not move. He waved off her hand and continued to bow down: "You two are different, this bow is deserved."
Only after bowing to both sides did he stand again.
By this ti, Su Xinger had returned holding the gifts prepared by the two ladies.
The two ladies presented the gifts, while Liang Chen placed his hands on his hips and approached Pei Zhan, extending his hand: "You’ve received your gift, now what about mine? As my elder, you won’t neglect this courtesy, will you?"
Pei Zhan looked past him towards Fu Zhen, who was still smiling like Taishan, his lips curving upwards uncontrollably.
"To get the gift, you must first kowtow and call uncle-in-law. The gift will naturally be yours!"
"Hey!" Liang Chen stiffened his neck, "You’re really climbing up and crossing boundaries now, really want to kowtow?"
"Chen Er!" Mrs. Feng laughed chidingly, "No nonsense. Regardless of who’s older or younger, the seniority stands. You both kneel and call him uncle-in-law."
Liang Chen was truly unwilling, but with his mother’s order, how could he dare to disobey? Besides, he dared not continue making trouble, lest the two of them start another commotion and once again the family would have to run around trying to diate!
Laughingly agreeing, he pulled Su Xinger down to kneel, and they began to kowtow to Pei Zhan.
As they knelt, Pei Zhan moved aside, but the two of them were persistent, following him wherever he shifted his knees, making sure he received their courtesy.
But Pei Zhan hadn’t prepared a gift. He was about to send soone ho to fetch one when Fu Zhen removed a jade pendant from her waist and a bracelet from her wrist.
She handed the bracelet to Su Xinger: "This bracelet is top-grade from Ning Family’s Shop, only a pair was made, one I kept, this one I’m giving to you."
Then handed the jade pendant to Liang Chen: "The jade itself is valuable, but more valuable is the Ning’s Trading House emblem carved onto it.
"You want for nothing, gold and jewels would just go to storage. This you can actually use. Wherever you may go, within a hundred miles of any Ning Family’s Shop, just show this, and help will surely co your way.
"This is the token my mother gave as the young master of the family, don’t lose it."
These two wouldn’t accept: "We want a gift from uncle-in-law, yours doesn’t count!"
Fu Zhen casually remarked: "Why doesn’t it count? Since we’re one family, naturally what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine. I say what to give, and that’s what it is."
This statent was as good as admitting she had reconciled with Pei Zhan, wasn’t it?
With that, Liang Chen and Su Xinger happily accepted the items: "That’s it then, we’ll accept with gratitude!"
Pei Zhan stood off to the side, blushing, eyes repeatedly glancing at Fu Zhen.
Mrs. Feng called the maids in, provided Pei Zhan a seat, and declared: "From today on, the wife of General Pingxi is both the Granny of the Ning Family and the Granny of our Liang Family.
"She is the true sister of the Great General and Second Master, and General Pei is our Liang Family’s son-in-law. Rember it well!"
Given Fu Zhen’s current status, such an arrangent was obviously the best.
The servants hurriedly paid their respects to Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan.
After this, as everyone took their seats again, Liang Chen brought up the main topic.
"I heard from a guard that my sister went to the palace today and t the Empress. After leaving the palace, she was anxious to find the fifth brother. Is there news from the palace?"
"I’m waiting for you all to return to discuss this." Fu Zhen nodded, "Mr. Li from Taishan Hall can prove that the crown prince is very likely still alive, and the person secretly dispatched to find the crown prince is indeed soone from the Empress’s side!"
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