The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 409: Returning Home (Part 2)

The return gift was prepared by the housekeeper and finally checked with Xu.

Xu had never heard of many of these things, but she could guess that they must be very valuable. She didn't understand much about them, so she asked the housekeeper to take care of the arrangements.

The north wind is blowing even stronger today, and it looks like it will snow in the next two days.

Qian Youyi wrapped his fox cloak tightly around himself when he went out. The fiery red fox fur around his neck made his face look even smaller.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"You must have choked on the wind. Get in quickly," Zhang Ping'an said as he went over to help his wife get on the carriage, and then he stepped in himself.

The butler prepared two carriages, one for passengers and one for the receptionist. Both were spacious and could accommodate seven or eight people.

There were thick curtains on the windows on both sides of the carriage, and there was a charcoal fire lit in the carriage, so it was not cold.

However, Qian Youyi couldn't help but bend down and cough a few times.

Is his health so bad? Zhang Pingan couldn't help but worry.

I hurriedly sat over to help pat his back and help him calm down.

When the maid Ling'er saw this, she hurriedly took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, took out a brown pill from it and handed it over, and poured a cup of warm water.

He said with concern: "Miss, take the medicine quickly, you will be fine after taking it!"

Qian Youyi took the medicine and swallowed it. After gasping for breath for a while, he finally felt better and stopped coughing.

But there was no color on her lips, and even lip balm couldn't hide it.

Zhang Pingan was puzzled: "Youyi, you looked fine the past two days, why are you so serious today? Are you feeling unwell?"

Qian Youyi held the hand warmer and smiled weakly, "It's an old problem. I brought it from my mother's womb. I've been like this since I was a child. If I hadn't been born into the Qian family, I probably wouldn't be alive today!"

"Is there no doctor who can cure it completely? This is too painful." Zhang Pingan put himself in the other person's shoes and felt painful just thinking about it.

"There are many medical families in Jinling, and there are also old imperial doctors who retired from the capital. My father has taken me to visit them more than ten times. However, no matter how good a doctor is, he is not a god. He can only alleviate the symptoms but cannot cure the disease," Qian Youyi said casually.

His tone was calm, as if he had put life and death aside at that moment.

Zhang Pingan frowned when he saw this.

"Are you worried that you will become a widower in the future?!" Qian Youyi suddenly smiled and said mischievously.

Zhang Pingan frowned:…………

After a pause, he explained, "I was thinking that your illness was too painful, and I didn't know how to cure it!"

Then he sat up straight and said solemnly, "Youyi, I know there's a huge gap between our social statuses. You're the daughter of a prominent family, a daughter of heaven, raised in luxury. You could marry into even a noble family, while I'm just a poor scholar with no connections! Although I still haven't fully understood why you chose me, now that we're married, I've made up my mind to be together for the rest of my life. No matter sickness, poverty, or wealth, I'll always be loyal to you and love you forever!"

After finishing this long paragraph, Zhang Pingan blushed a little. This was the wedding vows he had heard when he was helping out in the church.

What the pastor read was actually very long, but he kept this sentence in his heart.

At that time, he was just at the age of falling in love for the first time, and he felt in his heart that this sentence had a sacredness, which was different!

This was the first time he had the opportunity to say this in person.

"No matter you are sick, poor or rich, I will always be loyal to you and love you all my life." Qian Youyi murmured.

After he finished speaking, he seemed to have understood something and smiled brightly: "Okay! I'll remember it. Don't forget what you said today! As for why I chose you, this is a secret for now. I'll tell you in a year!"

The whole person became much more lively because of this smile.

Zhang Pingan wasn't a very curious person. He smiled helplessly upon hearing that, spread his hands and said, "It's up to you, as long as you're happy. I'm looking forward to the reveal. After all, I also want to know what makes me different!"

As soon as the words fell, the driver stopped the carriage, lifted the curtain and saluted, "Master, Madam, we're here!"

The Qian family's chief steward had already been waiting at the door with his servants.

"We're here so soon?" Ling'er couldn't help but be surprised. She hadn't even sat down yet, but it turned out that the two houses were so close!

Qian Youyi also felt that it was quite fast, so she could only quickly tell him, "Husband, please go down first. If my brothers say something unpleasant later, don't take it to heart. I'll take care of it!"

After saying this, she ordered her maid Ling'er to put a cloud-mist gauze veil on her face.

Then the housekeeper arranged five or six maids to come forward with umbrellas, blocking Qian Youyi in the middle and leading them into the mansion.

Zhang Pingan: ...Okay, he is ignorant. Is this how he will raise his daughter in the future? It seems that he will need servants!

After entering the mansion, we passed through one carved archway after another and finally arrived at the main hall.

After receiving the notification from the servants, Minister Qian and his wife were already waiting in the lobby.

The four brothers-in-law were also sitting nearby.

After the couple entered the room, they bowed politely.

Mrs. Qian hurriedly said, "Good children, get up quickly!"

Minister Qian also stroked his beard and said, "We are family, so there is no need to be polite. Please sit down!"

Several brothers-in-law asked with concern: "Second sister, you are coughing again, and you don't look well! Is it possible that your brother-in-law didn't take good care of you?"

The tone of the last sentence was not very good.

Qian Youyi felt much more relaxed at her mother's house. She defended herself in a sweet voice, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, how could that be? I've eaten a lot more these past few days and even gained a little weight. My husband treats me very well. You are not allowed to bully him! Otherwise, I won't agree!"

The second brother-in-law, Qian Jie, was quite straightforward. Upon hearing this, he said angrily, "Girls are really extroverts. They've only been married for a few days, and they're already protective!"

"Hmph, bullying him is bullying me, treating him well is treating me well, you can do whatever you want," Qian Youyi said with a smile after sitting down.

Minister Qian, who was a serious man, couldn't help but smile when he saw the siblings bickering.

Zhang Pingan just smiled without saying anything. It was best for him not to say anything at this time, otherwise it would seem like he was taking advantage of the situation.

Even if Qian Youyi didn't tell him these things, he still understood these basic social etiquette!

After everyone arrived, Minister Qian ordered the housekeeper to start serving the meal.

Everyone moved to the dining room.

At this time, several sisters-in-law came over with their children, surrounded by servants.

Everyone met each other on the day of the wedding, and Zhang Pingan even recognized him.

To be honest, the Qian family has quite a lot of children. The eldest and second brothers Qian are a few years older, and they both have more than a dozen children.

Brothers Qian San and Qian Si have only been married for three or four years. They have fewer children, but still seven or eight.

The children are very close in age and are not born to the wife alone.

Even though the Qian family had a clean and upright family tradition, having three wives and four concubines was a very common thing for an official family.

As an aunt, Qian Youyi prepared a greeting gift for the children when she returned home. Both boys and girls were given a gold locket inlaid with rubies, which was neither too fancy nor too wrong.