On the 16th of April, it was Mother Li's birthday.
Early in the morning, Mother Li was dressed in a bright red satin robe. Intricate and gorgeous patterns of floral brocades were embroidered on the robe with golden thread, and it was edged with jade buttons. She also wore a large red - gold dragon - and - phoenix pendant around her neck, looking extremely elegant and noble.
This year was her 60th birthday, and it was also the first significant birthday she had celebrated after Li Rusong was promoted to general.
It was said that high - ranking officials from the court and the elders of the Li family would all come to wish her a happy birthday!
None of the Li family members in the previous three generations had ever enjoyed such glory!
The more Mother Li thought about it, the more proud she became. Her mouth was upturned throughout the morning and never drooped.
As noon approached, the courtyard of the Li family gradually became bustling. Most of the guests were Li Rusong and Yuan Jinqiu's colleagues in the military, as well as some neighbors.
Grandpa Li the Third arrived early. He was sitting at a large round table in the second row with the Li family's relatives, chatting and sipping tea.
Yuan Jinqiu stepped forward to greet him. "My mother - in - law is a junior. How could she dare to trouble you to come and wish her a happy birthday? Come, Fourth Aunt, help Grandpa sit in the front..."
"Don't be in a hurry."
Grandpa Li the Third stopped her.
"I know that on this occasion today, you and Xiaosongzi have a lot of people to attend to. The front seats are for high - ranking officials. We won't go forward... I can't help with official matters. How could I add to your troubles?"
Saying this, he took a small package from someone beside him. Inside was a small mahogany box. When he opened it, there was a jeweled hairpin in the shape of two flying butterflies.
"I didn't know Third Miss was already married last time, so I didn't have time to prepare. I'll make it up this time... Don't think it's shabby. Consider it a gift for her."
Yuan Jinqiu quickly declined, saying repeatedly, "It's not appropriate."
Grandpa Li the Third frowned. "This is for Third Miss, not for you! If you don't accept it, you're looking down on us poor relatives!"
Only then did Yuan Jinqiu accept it and thank him repeatedly.
Throughout the whole process, Mother Li sat reservedly in the room, watching her son and daughter - in - law bustling about, not even coming out to greet the guests.
Humph, so what if he has a higher seniority?
She was the birthday star today!
It was only natural that everyone should come to pay their respects to her. How could she go out to greet them?
Moreover, since the incident of the son - in - law last time, Mother Li had always had a grudge against Grandpa Li the Third. She thought he was over - interfering, meddling too much, and stealing her limelight.
If it weren't for Li Rusong's insistence, she wouldn't even have wanted to invite him today.
An old man who relies on his seniority. Does he really think he's the head of the Li family?
Seeing Mother Li's expression, Mrs. He knew that she was angry with Grandpa Li the Third.
Great. The worse the relationship between Mother Li and the Li family clan, the more likely it was that her grandson would be adopted.
Thinking of this, Mrs. He flattered her sweetly. "Sister, your dress is so beautiful. It's so bright and delicate, making your complexion look so good. You're almost as elegant as the noble ladies in the royal palaces!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Have you ever seen those noble ladies in the royal palaces?"
Mother Li's expression finally softened a bit. She began to show off her gold pendant proudly. "Look at this. It's made of natural gold nugget. It weighs three and a half taels!"
"Wow, it's so heavy!"
Mrs. He's expression became even more exaggerated. "I've never seen such a heavy gold pendant in my life! Only a lucky person like you can wear it. If it were me, I'm afraid I couldn't carry it!"
Mother Li was even more pleased, looking extremely happy.
Sun Miaoqing wasn't in the hall. At this moment, she was sitting alone under the corridor by the pond, fishing.
Actually, she didn't like fishing at all.
Sitting there for a long time with a stupid fishing rod was so boring!
However, a young girl fishing in the pond, with the green willows providing shade on the shore and the fish shadows in the water, would make a beautiful picture.
Today was Mother Li's birthday banquet. All of Li Rusong's official colleagues would come, making it an excellent social occasion.
She had to show off her advantages to the maximum and gain as much attention as possible!
Unfortunately, she couldn't do any of the things popular among the noble ladies in the capital, such as playing the piano, painting, making perfume, or arranging flowers. So she had to sit by the pond in a heavily embroidered red dress, straightening her back and showing off her "beauty" as much as possible.
There was no way. The Guo family hadn't come to propose marriage yet, and she was getting extremely anxious!
...
At the si hour in the morning, Li Wanming brought the Xiao Jingnan family over.
"Mother!"
As soon as she entered the door, she called out crisply.
Seeing that her complexion was good, Yuan Jinqiu finally felt relieved.
It seemed that the information passed back by Aunt Song was true. Although her life in the Cheng family had its ups and downs, she hadn't been mistreated.
On the contrary, Li Rusong's eyes welled up with tears. He choked with sobs.
"My daughter, you're finally back!"
"You got married in such a hurry that you didn't even have time to return to your natal home. Your father missed you so much!"
"How's it going? Did that young man bully you? Did your in - laws make things difficult for you? If so, you must tell your father. Your father will support you!"
...
Yuan Jinqiu gave her husband a glare. The girl's in - laws were standing right behind. What was he talking about? Wasn't he embarrassing them in public?
She pulled her husband aside and greeted them. "Thank you for coming all the way here, in - laws. Please come in and sit down." Then she said to Li Wanming, "Your grandmother is in the inner room. Go and pay your respects to her first. It's the proper etiquette."
"Okay..."
Li Wanming replied reluctantly and walked inside.
Although she had prepared generous gifts, she didn't really want to see Mother Li.
She knew that even if she brought a mountain of gold for her grandmother, she wouldn't even give her a second look.
Sure enough, when Mother Li saw the gold bracelet, her eyes lit up for a moment, then she turned her head away. She let out a soft "hmm" and said sarcastically, "It doesn't look like it's of very good quality. Just put it there."
Li Wanming threw down the bracelet and turned around to leave.
The gift was delivered, and the etiquette was fulfilled.
The reputation of the Li family's daughter giving a valuable gift to her grandmother was already established. She didn't want to stay in this room for a single second longer.
"Wanming!"
As soon as she reached the yard, she saw Liu Yiyi standing at the door, waving at her.
"Hurry up! Let me see your husband!"
"You don't know. I've heard nothing but stories about you in the capital these days!"
"They said that you caught a husband right after the imperial examination, but the husband you caught was poor, stupid, lazy, and weak. The only thing decent about him was his looks... If it weren't for the fact that our family business has been so busy recently, I would have rushed over to take a look..."
Li Wanming twitched the corner of her mouth and led Xiao Jingnan over. "Here, this is him."
...
"This Is Considered Decent Looking?!"
Liu Yiyi opened her mouth in surprise.
She walked around Xiao Jingnan and clicked her tongue.
"You really can't believe what those women say. If this is considered decent looking, then their husbands must be the celestial beings in the world... No! Even the celestial beings in the sky aren't this good - looking!"
She patted Li Wanming on the shoulder and exclaimed, "You're amazing! You found such a good - looking husband. You'll be able to eat two more bowls of rice in the future!"
Xiao Jingnan always maintained a polite smile and didn't say a word.
This was Liu Yiyi's first time seeing him, but he had seen her before.
— He still remembered that this girl had said he was impotent in Hongbinlou last time!