Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 997 - 995_1

Chapter 997: Chapter 995_1

Sending someone to Nanyue County would take at least two to three months to complete their round trip. Thus, Fang Wanping had a period of respite. As the day of Jingrui’s wedding drew closer, everyone quickly forgot about her due to the sheer volume of work.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and the auspicious day of Jingrui and Zhu Yan’s wedding was upon them.

Marquis Shengping’s mansion was beautifully decorated with bright lanterns and colorful banners, and extremely radiant flowers could be found everywhere.

The mansion was decorated intricately, creating a romantic and festive atmosphere that spoke volumes of the meticulous preparations put in place by its residents.

Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi returned to their maternal home before dawn.

The servants of Marquis Shingping’s mansion had also begun setting up their tasks since the middle of the night.

With everyone assigned clear roles, although hectic, the proceedings didn’t seem disorderly.

The servants took care of affairs, leaving the masters to focus on festooning themselves lavishly for the occasion.

Every member of the family had attired themselves in new, festive clothing.

Xiao’er helped Mrs. Liu with her makeup and when they stood together with Yun’er, they looked more like sisters than mother and daughters.

The reason why Xiao’er’s beauty salon was thriving so well, with one branch opening after another, was due to Mrs. Liu being their living advertisement.

There was no need to mention Xiao’er and Yun’er, both girls at the prime of their youth. Radiant skin and youthful beauty were naturally expected of them.

However, Mrs. Liu was different. She was closing on grandmotherhood and yet, had shown no signs of aging over the years. Her face bore no marks from age and she seemed to have retained the beauty of her twenty-five-year-old self.

Her simplicity and benevolence, accompanied by her fairness, endowed her with a tranquil aura. At times, her beauty was extraordinary and had a charm of its own!

This made the wives in the Imperial City envious. They wished they could live in the beauty salon.

"Mother, you look so beautiful!" Xiao’er praised sincerely.

Shen Chengyao couldn’t take his eyes off her. His wife seemed unaging, but he realized he had started developing white hair recently! The pressure was immense!

Mrs. Liu smiled. She was now accustomed to people complimenting her. As she saw herself and Chenyao donned in the wedding garments, they seemed to be the ones getting married and she couldn’t help but sigh, "Honey, we didn’t dress as well when we got married! I feel like I am the one getting married."

Shen Chengyao reflected upon their wedding. His attire had been the one his elder brother wore at his wedding, neither completely new nor old. Mrs. Liu’s clothes were even older than his own, with the only saving grace being the absence of patches.

Because of this stumbling block, his parents and sisters-in-law looked down upon her. She had no new clothes on her wedding.

Chenyao felt guilty and apologized. "You had to endure a lot back then."

"What’s there to endure or not? Many people in our village had to go through the same thing." Mrs. Liu didn’t appear sentimental. She simply felt the uncertainty of the world.

Listening to her parents, Xiao’er proposed, "On your silver wedding anniversary, what if I arrange another wedding ceremony for you?"

"What’s a silver wedding?" Yun’er asked, puzzled.

A marriage anniversary of twenty-five years is known as a silver wedding!"

Mrs. Liu shook her head vehemently, rejecting the idea. "I was just speaking without thinking. I was quite happy on the day we got married. We’re an old couple now, there’s no need to celebrate a silver wedding!"

"Let’s see in a few years then!" Seeing Mrs. Liu’s refusal, Xiao’er suggested. Anyway, she had the means to persuade her mother when the time came, "I’ll go and see if everything is ready."

Xiao’er visited the tea room where an old woman was busy stoking the stove.

"Make sure the water for making tea is ready. Also, because of the large number of guests, there will be many children. While serving tea, we must remind the maids to be careful. We don’t want people getting scalded especially the children." Xiao’er instructed the elderly woman managing the tea room.

"I know, mistress. I will definitely remind them."

Xiao’er nodded and proceeded to the kitchen to check up on the cook. The cooks were hard at work with steam billowing throughout the kitchen.

They were preparing pastries and snacks.

"After the guests arrive, prepare some frozen and clear fruits for them. Let the guests choose what they like." The weather had been hot these days. Male guests would certainly prefer frozen fruit, but female guests might not. Usually, women avoid consuming too many frozen foods due to the fear that it would cause cold uterus syndrome, affecting fertility.

But there are always exceptions, like Xiao’er who isn’t afraid. Throughout the summer, she simply could not do without ice!

When Shangguan Xuanyi wasn’t around, she would even eat them during her menstruation! Despite all this, Xiao’er’s health was robust, without a hint of a problem!

Having identified no issues in the kitchen, she went on to inspect other arrangements.

When it was time to depart to fetch the bride, Xiao’er reminded Jingrui, "Big brother, remember to toss a copper coin into the river when you cross a bridge with the bride."

Mrs. Liu swiftly added, "Yes, yes, yes, I almost forgot to remind you! You must remember this, please don’t forget!"

Jingrui nodded to show he got the message, then set off with many of his classmates and friends to Zhu Mansion to collect his bride.

After bringing the bride back and completing the traditional bowing ceremony, the couple had to visit Four Seasons Restaurant. So, even though both families lived nearby in the Imperial City, which would usually mean a late start to the proceedings, the matchmaking was scheduled earlier to ensure everything proceeded smoothly.

The streets were crowded with people who had turned out to watch the spectacle from their shops.

Mrs. Fang with Fang Wangping, Chu Die, and Princess Ling’er, who had snuck out, were also among the crowd.

As Fang Wanping had offended Xiao’er, Master Ruan dared not bring them to the banquet. He was worried that Marquis Shengping would misconstrue his attendance as an attempt to disrupt the festivity rather than celebrating it.

Currently, Zhu Yan’s dowry was being sent to the Marquis Shengping’s mansion.

Fang Wanping was awestruck at the sight of it! She wished that she had that many dowries when she got married!

"Such a massive dowry! It’s no exaggeration that Marquis Shengping is the wealthiest man in the county! The amount of dowry is almost equal to that of a princess!" It was unclear who had revealed Zhu Yan’s identity, but it was no longer a secret among the public.

Upon hearing the comment, Princess Ling’er was enraged. Although she had a large number of dowries, many of them were just for show, meant to make an impression and weren’t as valuable as Zhu Yan’s dowry.

Just like the person said, her dowry as a princess was not even close to the dowry of a merchant’s daughter!

Getting annoyed, Princess Ling’er couldn’t say Zhu Yan’s dowry was less, since that was a lie and she would be called on it. So, she could only guys the Marquis Shengping’s mansion as being driven by greed, "If it weren’t for her massive dowry, do you think the eldest son of Marquis Shengping would have married a merchant’s daughter?"

Fang Wanping, who felt unwell, initially had fancied the Marquis Shengping’s eldest son. However, she couldn’t attain his affection.Now listening to Princess Ling’er, she felt gratified as these were her thoughts exactly."Exactly, without this kind of appearance, how could the eldest son of Marquis Shengping be interested? You should know that his sisters and mother are all renowned beauties!"

With every word exchanged between them, they began to slander the Marquis Shengping’s mansion.