The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

Due to the large number of people in the team, it was inconvenient to take a boat across the Qiao River. They had to take a long detour and take the stone bridge at the narrowest part of the river. As a result, the journey became longer and the bride-picking team did not return to Shanghuai until noon. They hurried back to Xu Mansion before the auspicious time. At this time, the entire Xu Mansion was decorated with lights and gongs and drums. Not only were the plaques and stone lions at the gate of the mansion covered with red silk, but even the trees and flowers in the courtyard were decorated with festive red.

Mrs. Xie, dressed in gorgeous clothes, sat in the main hall, smiling as she watched the newlyweds pay their respects to her. After the ceremony and tea, the bride was led to the courtyard where the newlyweds lived, while the groom stayed to entertain the guests. The Xu family, from the master to the servants, from top to bottom, was in a festive atmosphere, busy entertaining the relatives and guests from all over the world who came in like a stream, and the whole courtyard was noisy with toasts.

Mrs. Xie was full of energy and radiant. She was chatting with Mrs. Wang, the eldest wife of the eldest son's family. Mrs. Wang congratulated her and said, "Qu'er's marriage is finally settled. It's a relief for you."

Xie responded, "Sister-in-law is right. The bride comes from a scholarly family, and they are destined to be together. This marriage can be considered a good thing. I finally have an explanation to Qu'er and Xiangyue's father."

Madam Wang advised, "We have seen how much you have cared about Qu'er Xiangyue's food, clothing, and education over the years. You don't have to dwell on the past and cause yourself trouble."

The two ladies were talking among themselves, while Xu Qu, who was walking back and forth among the tables, was already feeling a little tipsy. Only Xu Xiangyue was still watching it all silently and coolly.

In the newlyweds' small courtyard, Huan Huan was sitting alone on the bed in the inner room. She was curiously observing the house where she was about to live.

This is a three-room suite. As soon as you enter the door, you will see a main room. Facing the door is a huanghuali eight-immortals table, accompanied by five huanghuali eight-immortals stools. At this moment, there are red candles and red tea sets on the table. Behind the round table, against the wall, there is a Luohan bed, on which is a small square table.

On the left side of the main hall is a bedroom. Huanhuan is sitting on the bed in the bedroom. She can see a whole wall of huanghuali wardrobes from the couch to the bedside. On the wall where the door is, there is a washing rack near the window, with a washbasin and a red square towel on it. On the right side of the main hall is a wall with a door. Huanhuan guessed that the door should be the location of the study. Next to the door of the study stands a mother-of-pearl chest of drawers, reflecting the candlelight and flickering with a low-key and luxurious light.

Time passed slowly without him noticing, and soon the sun was setting in the west, and the moon was above the willow branches. The light in the room dimmed, and a little maid came in and lit the red candle on the eight-immortal table. After a while, the sound of playfulness and hurried footsteps came from outside the house. It turned out that a group of servants followed Xu Qu back to the courtyard where he lived. It sounded like they were about to reach the door, and he slowly became a little nervous.

She heard a group of people coming to the door. Someone dismissed the laughing servants, and someone gently pushed open the door. The footsteps were a little staggering. Huanhuan hurriedly covered her face with a round fan. Through the slightly transparent fan cloth, she saw a person in gorgeous clothes sitting at the table. There was no movement for a long time. Huanhuan thought: That person should be her husband, right? At this time, Huanhuan felt her heart beating in her chest, and her throat began to dry. She wanted to cough, but she was embarrassed to cough.

Looking at Xu Qu, he was sitting there, holding the teapot on the table with one hand and a teacup with the other, his arms resting on the table, his head resting on his arms, as if he was asleep.

After a while, the matchmaker entered the room, followed by a maid holding a jade wine pot and two jade wine glasses. The matchmaker gently pushed Xu Qu, and Xu Qu raised his head, his eyes hazy, saw the bride sitting on the bed, and then looked at his own groom's clothes. He stood up and walked to the bed, and the two of them bowed to each other one by one according to the matchmaker's words.

Huanhuan followed the matchmaker's instructions and put down her fan to see her husband for the first time. The two newlyweds looked at each other silently, Huanhuan's cheeks slightly flushed due to shyness, while Xu Qu's face was flushed probably because of drinking.

Huanhuan looked at Xu Qu shyly. He had fair skin, sharp eyebrows, a pair of handsome eyes, thick eyelashes with slightly upturned ends, a gentle and drunken look, a high nose bridge, and beautiful lips. He was a handsome young man. "He looks like someone who is easy to get along with," Huanhuan thought silently.

Xu Qu looked at Huan Huan, who was a little shy. He saw her pair of handsome eyebrows, which were very clear without any description, her pair of beautiful eyes, which were full of light, her small nose was just right, and her red lips were slightly parted. Her whole body was very symmetrical and elegant. Thinking of her nonchalant look at the outing party and the way she dressed as a man that night, Xu Qu couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips slightly, with a slight smile.

They just stared at each other for a while, and it was the matchmaker who broke the silence. She took the hands of the two newlyweds, and the two newlyweds looked at her. She said, "Sir and Madam, it's time to drink the wedding wine." Xu Qu replied, "Okay," his voice was steady and mellow, and sounded joyful. The matchmaker turned around and picked up the wine pot held by the little maid beside her and poured wine into the two wine glasses. The two newlyweds took the wine glasses and drank the wine in the cups, and then threw the cups under the bed as the matchmaker asked.

When the matchmaker saw the two cups, one upside down and the other closed, she was overjoyed and muttered to herself, "The sky is covered and the earth is supported, the yin and yang are in harmony, which means good luck! The couple's marriage is predestined by heaven, and they will live happily together for a hundred years and have a son soon--" After that, she took the maid out.

After Xu Qu watched the matchmaker leave, he turned around and walked back to the main room, leaning on the couch, and soon he began to breathe steadily and evenly. Asleep? She slowly walked closer and took a look, guessing that her husband was probably tired today, so she took the quilt from the bed and gently covered Xu Qu with it. She was also tired from traveling all day, so she also lay down on the bed and fell asleep soon.

When Huan Huan woke up at dawn the next day, she found that Xu Qu had already gone out. She also hurriedly washed and dressed, thinking that she would go to pay her respects to her mother-in-law later. When she opened the door, she found an old maid and Xiaoyu waiting outside the door. Xiaoyu hurriedly said, "Miss, this is Aunt Zhang who is beside the old lady." Before Huan Huan could answer, Aunt Zhang said to Huan Huan, "Good morning, young lady. I will take you to see the lady." Then she turned to Xiaoyu and said, "Miss Xiaoyu, you should not call her Miss now, but the young lady. And we don't call her the old lady, we can call her the lady, after all, the lady is not very old yet." Xiaoyu quickly agreed.

Huanhuan knew that she should be polite to the old nanny beside her mother-in-law, so she immediately said, "Thank you for leading the way, nanny Zhang."

Then Huanhuan and his party of three left the courtyard where Huanhuan and his wife lived. It was still a little chilly in the early spring morning. The winter jasmine flowers on the roadside had already blossomed in brilliant golden yellow. The peach and pear trees also had pink and white buds. Two or three birds were singing happily on the branches. Along the way, they met many servants who were on duty early in the morning. They all took the initiative to greet Aunt Zhang and bowed their heads to greet Huanhuan, "How are you, Madam?" Some of them secretly raised their eyes to look at Huanhuan, wanting to look at her but not daring to do so. Their expressions were also very interesting.

In Mrs. Xie's garden, Mrs. Xie had already been waiting for her new bride to come to visit her in the main hall. On the wall facing the door of her main hall was a painting of a welcoming pine tree. In front of the painting, facing the door, were two red sandalwood chairs. On both sides of the chairs were two rows of chairs of the same style. Mrs. Xie was sitting upright on the chair facing the door, while her daughter Xu Xiangyue, dressed pretty in a lotus purple dress, was sitting on the chair on the left.

The conversation between the two people could be heard faintly in the room. Mrs. Xie said, "Xiangyue, now that your brother is married, it's time to give up your vows. I have wrapped up the invitation that the matchmaker sent to the outing party last time. Take it back and take a closer look."

Xu Xiangyue showed little interest and said word by word, "My daughter doesn't want to watch it."

Mrs. Xie did not back down because of her daughter's words, but insisted on continuing, "This time, your second uncle's nephew sent another invitation. I think this child is sincere enough. The child is also a good child. It is a good match and a close match..."

Before Mrs. Xie finished speaking, Xu Xiangyue said, "I have been annoyed with him since I was a child. No matter how many times he sends me a letter, it will be useless."

"Don't be rude," Mrs. Xie said sternly and firmly, "It's just a child's joke. What do you know as a little kid?"

Xu Xiangyue was even more dissatisfied after hearing this. She raised her eyebrows and said, "I understand that you have agreed with the sister-in-law chosen by your brother. This marriage is not suitable for each other. Why should I choose someone who is suitable for me but I don't like her?"

Mrs. Xie was about to say something when a group of people slowly entered the main room.

Huanhuan walked into the hall and bowed to Mrs. Xie. Mrs. Xie stood up from her seat and helped Huanhuan up. She asked with a smile if Huanhuan had a good rest and if she was used to living here. Then she led Huanhuan to sit on the chair on the left and introduced her daughter Xu Xiangyue to Huanhuan.

"Hurry up, this is your sister Xiangyue, she is over sixteen, almost seventeen."

At this time, Miss Xu Xiangyue, who was known for her coldness, was sitting on a chair across a square table from Huanhuan. She looked a little angry. She stood up, lowered her head gently and said, "Hello, sister-in-law."

I saw that her face was as white as powder, her face was pretty, her forehead was full, she had a pair of slender eyebrows, a pair of big eyes with clear black and white, long eyelashes with curled eyelashes at the ends, her eyes were clear like water waves, her nose was slightly retracted, her lips were as rosy as petals, her temperament was noble and reserved, she was really a beauty.

He slowly stood up and replied "Hello, sister", and then they both sat back in their chairs.

After looking around slowly, she did not see Xu Qu. However, Miss Xu Xiangyue was very considerate and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you looking for brother? Brother goes to the back mountain to practice martial arts and sword every morning. I guess he will be back soon."

She let out a slow "Oh" and then heard Xu Xiangyue say again, "Did sister-in-law talk to brother yesterday? Did you find anything..." Before Xu Xiangyue finished her words, she was interrupted by Mrs. Xie, who hurriedly said, "Xiangyue!" She knew that her daughter was angry and wanted to embarrass her.

Afterwards, Mrs. Xie quickly told Aunt Zhang to take Huanhuan to various gardens in the mansion, and then sent Huanhuan out. Before leaving, Huanhuan heard Xu Xiangyue's voice coming from the house, "She will know sooner or later..."

Along the way, I was wondering what my sister-in-law meant. What did my mother-in-law want to hide? Was there any unspeakable secret here?

Nanny Zhang took Huanhuan and Xiaoyu, the master and servant, on a tour of the Xu Mansion. As they walked, she introduced, "Young Madam, the residence of the lady who just came out is the largest courtyard in the mansion, called Jingyuan. The courtyard where the young master and the young madam live is the second largest courtyard, called Xinyuan. The courtyard where Miss Xiangyue lives is between Jingyuan and Xinyuan, called Fangyuan. The Xu Mansion has two or three empty courtyards on the west side of the mansion, which are now used as warehouses and where servants live. ..."

As she walked slowly, she sighed in her heart. This Xu Mansion was several times larger than her home. Two of her homes would barely be the size of Xin Garden. Moreover, the landscape of each courtyard in this mansion was different. For example, in Xin Garden where they lived, there was a rockery with bamboo planted in front of the rock and a small pond behind the rock. Jing Garden where her mother-in-law lived had a small pond as soon as she entered the garden. There were lotus flowers planted in the pond, but now there were only yellow lotus leaves floating on the water, and koi fish were swimming under the lotus leaves.

Before I could see my sister-in-law's garden, I saw a little maid running over and saying something to Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang then said to Huanhuan, "Young Madam, I have some things to deal with now. I will arrange someone to take you to visit the garden later." Huanhuan said hurriedly, "Madam, don't bother. We can go around by ourselves." Aunt Zhang said, "Okay, then I'll take my leave first."

After Nanny Zhang left, Huanhuan and Xiaoyu began to stroll around slowly. Xiaoyu came close to Huanhuan and whispered, "Miss, the Xu Mansion is so big." "Yes," Huanhuan also sighed softly, and then remembered something, "By the way, Xiaoyu, where do you live now?" Xiaoyu said, "Miss, Butler Li arranged for me to live in the backyard of your Xinyuan. There is also an old Nanny, a maid and two maids living in the backyard. There is also the son-in-law's servant named Youcheng who lives in the backyard." Huanhuan and the other one walked and chatted, and unknowingly came to a side courtyard, where two middle-aged maids were working and chatting.

"The young master finally got married. I thought he would never get married again because of Miss Bihua."

"Who says it's not true? We watched him grow up, so he's like our own child. When he gets married, we're all happy for him from the bottom of our hearts."

"I heard that although our young lady comes from a poor and remote village and has an ordinary family background, she is a beauty."

"Really? Well, if you didn't have an ear disease, your appearance, character, and family background would make you a perfect match for any beautiful young lady."

"That's right. Do you think the new young lady knows about the young master's hidden illness?"

"I'm afraid they don't know. Madam never lets us reveal any information. Outsiders probably don't know about this."

Huanhuan and the other two were listening to this conversation, and they were both very surprised. Ear disease? What ear disease?