I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Lianhua never expected that Su Banxia would be so understanding and thoughtful, even preparing a dowry for her. She already felt ashamed that her parents hadn't prepared a single penny of dowry for her after she married into the second branch of the Su family. Now that Su Banxia had done this, Lianhua truly didn't know how to repay the people of the second branch of the Su family.

So Lotus quickly pushed the silver back.

“Brother Shiyan, this is unacceptable. I know you and my sister are doing this for my own good, and you are being too considerate. These two taels of silver are not something I should have taken. My mother's appearance today has really made you all lose face.”

Su Shiyan refused the silver, instead pushing it further into Lianhua's arms.

"Lotus, after we get married, we'll live our own lives. My mother said that after paying the monthly household expenses, any extra money I earn will be given to you to keep. Just keep the money, and after we have a child, we'll send him to school so he can have a good future and won't have to be a farmer anymore."

Lianhua hadn't expected Su Shiyan to be so far ahead, even considering the future of their children. Since Su Shiyan had made his point so clear, Lianhua naturally couldn't refuse anymore, as that would seem too distant. But now that she was married into the family, she would live a down-to-earth life with Su Shiyan. Money was the same no matter who had it; they would both be contributing to their little family in the future.

Since Su Shiyan trusted her, she would manage the household well for him. With that thought, Lianhua wrapped the silver in a handkerchief.

"Brother Shiyan, since you trust me so much, I will definitely take good care of our family's money. Don't worry, now that I've married you, I'm yours. Whether things go well or badly, I'll stay with you. As for my parents, I..."

Su Shiyan knew that Lianhua had just married into the family and naturally couldn't cut off contact with her relatives. If word got out, people would say they were ungrateful wretches, neglecting their wife's family after marriage. That was a harsh word to say.

So Su Shiyan directly took Lianhua's hand and said with a smile:

"We'll treat your relatives on your mother's side the same as always. We'll still visit them with gifts during holidays to show our respect. That's what we should do. As for anything else..."

Although Su Shiyan was embarrassed to be too direct, seeing Lianhua's pitiful state, he couldn't bear to cause any future conflict with her because of her family's affairs. So, he gritted his teeth and said:

"As for the rest, I think Lianhua knows what to do. Now that we're married and have our own little family, even though we haven't separated from our parents yet, you're already a daughter-in-law of the Su family, so it's not appropriate for you to give everything to your parents' family."

Su Shiyan observed Lianhua's expression as he spoke, then carefully explained:

"I know it may sound harsh, but I can't bear to see you being bullied by your parents and brother. In short, let's just do everything with a clear conscience."

Lianhua looked at Su Shiyan and nodded heavily.

“Brother Shiyan, I understand what you’re saying. My parents have already broken my heart. I know what kind of life I had at my parents’ home. I know how I was treated like a pig or a dog. Now that your family is willing to marry me, I am grateful and will naturally not use my in-laws’ money to support my parents’ home. You can rest assured.”

Seeing Lianhua's red eyes, Su Shiyan felt sorry for her and couldn't bear to say too much. He simply put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her.

"Don't worry, Lotus, I will definitely treat you well in the future."

Hearing Su Shiyan's words, Lianhua felt incredibly secure. She leaned against his strong chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat, and felt that she had a place to settle down for the future...

After finishing their meals, the guests in the courtyard all got up to say goodbye, leaving only a few close relatives to help wash the dishes, pots, and clean up the leftovers.

Lin and Qin were not in a hurry to leave. They thought that since the second branch of the family had left so much food after entertaining the guests, they should pack some of it to take home so that they could have meat and vegetables for several days. So they worked hard and helped clean up the leftovers.

Su Songchuan rode in Lou Wangyue's carriage back to the city.

After seeing the guests off, Su Banxia went back to the backyard to help wash the dishes, while Erzhuzi was in charge of boiling water and washing the pots.

Tie Niu and Uncle Niu drove their oxcart, taking Su Hanzhang from house to house to return the tables and chairs. Su Banxia even specially prepared a portion of candy and melon seeds for each family that had borrowed tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks as a token of gratitude.

They all lived in the same village, and it was common for people to borrow bowls, chopsticks, tables, and chairs when someone had a wedding or funeral. Nobody took it seriously; everyone just helped each other out. But Su Banxia not only returned the things but also prepared extra gifts as a token of her gratitude. This made everyone look at the Su family's second branch with new respect, since even a few pieces of wedding candy were quite expensive in those days.

After finishing all the work in the yard, Su Banxia distributed the remaining food to the people who had helped. Everyone was happy to receive the treats and went home.

Thus, Su Shiyan and Lianhua's marriage was successfully completed. Although there was a minor hiccup, the people of Su Family Village felt that it was Lianhua's mother who was confused and had nothing to do with the second branch of the Su family. On the contrary, the second branch of the Su family was also a victim, so they all felt sorry for the second branch of the Su family who had such a troublesome mother as their daughter-in-law.

After finishing all that, Su Banxia was finally able to lie down in bed and rest. But as soon as she lay down, she thought about the inappropriate things Fu Bao had done to her during the day, and felt utterly disgusted.

Although she reprimanded Fu Bao at the time, she had to be more wary of Fu Bao and Aunt Luo afterward. After all, they had made such a fool of themselves at Lianhua and her elder brother's wedding today, and they would definitely try to make up for it in the future.

Su Banxia was so tired that her whole body ached and she couldn't move. She was too lazy to think about those trivial matters anymore. She could only deal with things as they came. With that thought, Su Banxia drifted off to sleep.

Su Banxia had just fallen asleep when suddenly dark clouds gathered outside, and soon large raindrops began to fall.

A bolt of lightning flashed, and a figure in black was seen standing on the courtyard wall. As the lightning subsided, the figure in black leaped into the courtyard...

While still asleep, Su Banxia heard a "crash" sound in the courtyard, as if something had fallen over.

But she was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, and she didn't care about the noise outside. She simply reached out and hugged the little black dog in her arms and fell into a deep sleep again.