Chapter 459: Chapter 312 Who Do You Think You Are as an Elder
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Hongji’s father had his daughter-in-law call the matchmaker as scheduled and send the betrothal gifts to the bride’s family.
The remaining balance of 100 silver taels would be paid in full on the day the bride was carried in the sedan chair. He had planned this and arranged for the driver to handle it, a driver who was naturally his daughter-in-law’s older brother and a trustworthy person.
The old couple had not yet realized why their daughter-in-law had chosen her own brother as the driver, nor had they considered why they did not hire a matchmaker from their village but one from another.
They simply thought that the village’s matchmaker had offended Mrs. Li, preventing the local matchmaker from earning this money.
On this day, the family also held a small celebration with a few tables to commorate moving into the new house.
Ye Shiqi and her sisters entered the new house for the first ti. The house wasn’t large, featuring a small kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, and a small courtyard, which was quite decent for a concubine to reside in.
The house already had furniture that was not newly made; Ye Shiqi knew it was furniture her grandfather had bought from elsewhere.
She surveyed the house. With dozens of workers, there might be many employees involved, but the pace was fast. Without modern cent or decorating materials, in ancient tis they would use wood and stone, which could also beautifully decorate a house.
Mrs. Lai also entered the house to look around and, seeing her husband’s grand gestures of preparing the house for a little demon to live in, she felt a wave of dizziness.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
The housewarming had a few tables. So relatives ca to celebrate, whether they brought gifts or not. Ye Shuying ca to eat with her son.
Mrs. Lai, supported by her daughter, shared her grievances of the past few days.
Ye Shuying had heard about her family’s situation over these days, knowing only that a younger cousin of hers had caught soone’s interest. She, like others in the village, was rely curious.
It was late at night when her husband returned from the construction site, washed up, and went to sleep, leaving no chance for the couple to gossip.
The mother-in-law and sister-in-law gossiped secretly, but Ye Shuying did not share much about her parental ho as, since her mother-in-law played favorites, she had harbored a grudge and had not forgiven her, especially peeved that her sister-in-law boasted in front of her, stealing the affections of the mother-in-law.
Ye Shuying had previously found it odd that the two houses in her parental ho were not interconnected. Now, hearing her mother’s words, she finally understood the reason behind the construction.
As a daughter, she had never thought her father would take a concubine, and though she considered that perhaps her elder brother might after becoming wealthy, she had never expected it to threaten her elderly mother.
“Mother, we sisters will stand by your side. The family of elder brother and sister-in-law will also support you.”
Mrs. Lai, hearing her daughter’s comforting words, could not feel happy.
Ye Shuzhi and her husband, carrying their daughter and gifts, rode in a bullock cart back to her maternal ho, which she had also heard was being built.
Seeing her mother look unwell, she gave the gifts to her sister-in-law. Previously, her mother would have been the first to grab such gifts.
Today, realizing her mother was not quite right, she only found out after inquiring with her elder sister just how much had happened at ho.
But what could a daughter do to change anything?
All she could do was comfort her mother, who had all her children by her side.
Mrs. Lai, listening to her daughters’ consolations, did not feel much better. Her guilt made her unable to feel that the coming days would be peaceful.
She was always worried about maintaining her reputation and concerned that her husband, once the temptress entered, might reveal a deep secret.
The secret of their eldest son’s origin was such that the two old people had kept it hidden; no one would know even after they were buried beneath the soil.
Mrs. Lai worried about how her son would treat her if he one day learned the secret.
Ye Shiqi knew that the driver her mother had arranged according to their plan was their uncle.
Today, on the sixth day, the betrothal gifts were sent because they couldn’t be sent on the seventh.
On the eighth day, they would hire a matchmaker who they knew, and the driver would again be the Uncle.
In a blink, two days passed, and on the morning of the eighth, Hongji’s father dressed more like a groom.
While eating breakfast, Mrs. Lai muttered under her breath, but her voice was quiet, and no one paid her any attention.
Hongji’s father checked with his daughter-in-law and, learning that everything was proceeding smoothly, he stood at the entrance to the courtyard waiting for the beautiful woman’s bullock cart to arrive.
By the morning of the eighth, the news that Hongji’s father was taking a concubine had spread over the past two days.
People began to speculate why the matchmaker was driven away the previous days and why Mrs. Lai had such a strong reaction—now it appeared there was much more to the situation.
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