The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

The man said, "The person behind this dares to do this, which shows they have big ambitions. If necessary, we should find a pretext to put them in jail."

Woman: "The situation is unclear. We need to investigate further. We also need to respect the wishes of the person inside."

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang were unaware of the situation here. After they returned home, Ling Silang continued to recuperate, while Du Mingxian prepared for the New Year, stocking up on New Year's goods and also preparing New Year's goods for the workshop workers.

On the 24th of the lunar year, when the workshop was on holiday, a reunion dinner was prepared, and each person was given two catties of pork, two feet of cloth, and two catties of wheat flour.

The foreman in the workshop would give an extra hundred coins, but everyone else would get the same amount.

After the meal, the workshop closed for the holiday, and everyone except the old gatekeeper left.

Ling's father asked the old man for his opinion, but the old man did not want to eat at Ling's house. In the end, Du Mingxian brought a lot of meat, rice, noodles and other things, as well as a small stove and a small pot, so the old man could cook for himself.

On the 25th of the year, we received return gifts from the Wang family, the prefectural magistrate, and the Ma family. The Wang family prepared the most, the prefectural magistrate's family also prepared quite a lot, and the Ma family's return gift was the most practical.

Chen Ming was on holiday at the workshop, and the day the master returned home, he also packed his things and went home, leaving only Wang Qi as a temporary guest in the entire Ling family.

After being depressed all day, Wang Qi told Du Mingxian that he wanted to go home. Ling Dalang took him directly to the county and found a carriage there to take him back.

New Year's Eve arrived quickly, and the ancestral worship ceremony was a large gathering of people, all with the surname Ling. The atmosphere was instantly electric. This was Du Mingxian's first time participating in such an event, and she found it very novel.

All the men were in front and the women were behind. Outside the ancestral hall, when they knelt and worshipped, everyone knelt and worshipped together. It was a very solemn and complicated process.

We all ate lunch at Uncle Ling's house. Father Ling led everyone from his branch of the family to Uncle Ling's house, and everyone brought some food and dishes beforehand.

The five families gathered together, which was quite a lot of people. Seven tables were set up, but everyone still squeezed in and made do with what they could. After the meal, all of Ling Silang's wives went to clean up, including Du Mingxian, who naturally went along with them.

There wasn't enough room in the kitchen, so we washed the clothes in the yard.

After washing up, everyone sat for a short while before dispersing.

Of the five branches of Ling's father's family, only Ling's father's branch has separated from the family so far; the others have not.

Ling's father and mother went home, and Ling Dalang and the others returned to Ling's father's courtyard together to celebrate the New Year.

Ling's father chatted with the men in Ling Silang's room, while Ling's mother chatted with her daughters-in-law in her own room, talking about the past and the future.

The children were playing wildly in the yard. This year, Du Mingxian even bought some firecrackers for them, and the children had a blast. This attracted many other children from the village to come and play as well.

Outside, children's laughter and chatter filled the air, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

In the afternoon, Ling's mother took several daughters-in-law to the kitchen to prepare food. They made dumplings and prepared a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

After the meal, Ling's father took Ling Dalang and the other men out to pay New Year's visits. Here, the main custom was to kowtow and offer New Year's greetings, while the women stayed at home eating, drinking tea, and chatting.

Some children from the village also came to wish her a Happy New Year. Du Mingxian generously prepared red envelopes for them, each containing one coin, and gave them all to Ling's mother, who then distributed them.

Although Ling's mother felt the pinch, she still followed Du Mingxian's instructions and gave one to each child she saw, including all the children under fifteen.

Two hours later, Ling's father and the others returned. Soon after, a group of Ling Dalang's peers arrived with their younger relatives. The courtyard was quite large, but it was filled with so many people that it felt crowded in no time.

The New Year's Eve celebration was lively, with firecrackers set off in the early morning, and after eating glutinous rice balls, everyone went to sleep.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is customary to go out and pay New Year's visits. People also go out to visit each other's homes, but this time women can also go with men.

In the first year after Du Mingxian married into the family, Ling Silang took her to his uncle Ling's house.

Everyone else in Uncle Ling's family had gone out, leaving only Uncle Ling. When he saw Ling Silang arrive, Uncle Ling was very happy, but after the initial joy, he remembered that Ling Silang would be twenty in a year and a half after the New Year, and his mood immediately soured.

"Come and sit down, time flies."

Ling Silang pulled Du Mingxian to sit down. He was always a man of propriety, but this time he insisted on holding Du Mingxian's hand. Du Mingxian felt a little embarrassed when she saw that someone was watching and tried to pull her hand back, but Ling Silang wouldn't let her.

Du Mingxian was a little confused about what was wrong with Ling Silang today.

Uncle Ling glanced at Ling Silang and Du Mingxian's clasped hands, but said nothing.

After everyone sat down, Ling Silang spoke first, "Time flies. In another year and a half, I'll be twenty years old."

Uncle Ling didn't know how to respond. It was the New Year, and he didn't want to bring up anything bad.

“Mingxian didn’t have a good life with me after she came into the family. She was the one who took care of everything at home. Fortunately, I feel much better now.”

Uncle Ling immediately understood what his nephew meant, "Yes, yes, you married a good wife."

“Yes, so I hope that no matter whether my health improves in the future, I…” Before Ling Silang could finish speaking, Du Mingxian tightly gripped his hand.

He turned around, and she shook her head.

He chuckled softly, giving her a reassuring look, "It's alright."

“But I don’t want to hear it.” Du Mingxian found herself particularly resistant to hearing these words now.

He smiled calmly, "That day will come eventually."

Du Mingxian remained silent, thinking to herself that she would never let him die.

Ling Silang looked at his uncle Ling and continued, "No matter what happens to me in the future, I hope that our clansmen can treat my wife well."

Uncle Ling knew that Ling Silang had come to tell him this on purpose. "Okay, don't worry, as long as I live, I will remember your arrangements. Even before I die, I will make the corresponding arrangements."

Having said all that, Uncle Ling said, "Actually... if possible, you'd be better off having a child."

Ling Silang chuckled and lowered his eyes, "We'll talk about this later."

Uncle Ling could only smile and say, "It's good that you have made arrangements."

"I don't have any plans. I just came to wish my uncle a Happy New Year today and thought I'd mention it."

"Uncle will remember this."

The two stayed at Uncle Ling's house for a while longer. Then, Ling Silang brought Du Mingxian out. Du Mingxian was very unhappy. "Are you so sure you can't live past twenty?"

"It would be best if you could survive. I want to spend more time with you, but... it's good to make arrangements in advance, in case... accidents happen and tomorrow comes at any time."

Du Mingxian didn't like hearing this. Her eyes were serious and focused. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Okay, it's up to you."

"Don't you believe I'm a fairy? So this fairy will definitely protect you."