Crossing Over to Yamada Love

After seeing off the relatives, the Mo family returned to peace. Every day, they would accompany the old Marquis on outings, cook some good dishes, and chat.

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. The old Marquis was getting restless. A letter arrived from the capital, and there were still many things to deal with. So he discussed with Wang about taking her back to the capital with him.

"Brother, Mei'er is getting married soon. How can I go to the capital now? Let's wait until Erlang finishes his exams before I go. Then I won't have much to do and I can stay a few more days." After thinking for a while, Wang decided against going now. It was already June, and Mo Mei's wedding day was just around the corner. How could she leave?

"Very well, I originally planned to take you all back to the capital after Mei'er got married, but a letter came from the capital saying there's an urgent matter that requires my return. I can't stay, so I have to go ahead. I'll send someone to pick you up later." The old Marquis nodded after hearing this and no longer insisted. He agreed to Wang's words.

"By the way, sister, what are your plans for Lan'er? Are you willing...?" The old Marquis suddenly brought up Mo Lan.

Wang's eyes flickered; she understood her brother's meaning. He loved her so much that he wanted to make amends to her.

“Brother, no. Although I am your own sister, I am married into a peasant family and have no power or influence. Mo Lan’s status is low, and she won’t be able to stand firm in the Marquis’s mansion. Even though Lan is clever, there are too many intricacies in the Marquis’s mansion, and that girl has no sense of caution. I’m afraid she will be harmed. I’ve said that everyone will not make things difficult for her out of respect for you, but brother, Lan is not suited to that kind of life. Let’s just forget about it.” Madam Wang had obviously thought about these things and, after careful consideration, still did not want Mo Lan to enter the Marquis’s mansion.

“What you say isn’t unreasonable. We haven’t been able to find you for so many years. Apart from your second brother and me, there are probably very few people in the manor who genuinely want you to appear. Your eldest sister-in-law still has some affection for you, but you’ve never even met your second sister-in-law. As for the younger nephews and nieces… sigh. But sister, we are blood relatives. I think Lan’er is a good girl, and Da’er is a good man. He’s not the kind of child who doesn’t care about family ties. I think he also has feelings for Lan’er, so I’m thinking of having him marry her. Sister, if this doesn’t work out, then so be it. Lanlan, have you made up your mind? What are the Xue family’s plans?” The old Marquis didn’t hold back with his sister, speaking his mind honestly.

"Both of them are interested in Lan'er. Originally, Lingyun's mother was a daughter of our Prince's Mansion, so she should have been closer to us. But Lan'er's heart belongs to Lingfeng. Lingfeng is also a good boy, and he is sincere towards Lan'er. He has helped our family a lot. He said he would marry Lan'er, but Lan'er feels uncomfortable if she doesn't enter the Xue Mansion. After the marriage, they will live in a separate courtyard. Lingfeng also promised Lan'er that he would never take a concubine or a secondary wife. Lan'er is quite fortunate." Madam Wang told her brother about Xue Lingfeng and Mo Lan.

"Really? Feng'er actually agreed to all that? That's quite impressive. Even Da'er wouldn't have done that. Well, Feng'er is a sentimental person, and I think highly of him. It would be a good match for Lan'er to marry him. When you return from your trip to the capital this time, bring back all the dowry. I see you're completely devoted to Lan'er, so pick out plenty for her dowry. I guarantee the Xue family will be envious." The old Marquis joked with his sister.

"Brother, let's forget about the dowry. If I go and bring it back, there will be gossip in the household. People will say that I only went there for the dowry." Madam Wang hesitated. Actually, she just wanted to find her relatives. She didn't care about the dowry. It was only because it was left by her mother that she was reluctant to part with it.

"They wouldn't dare! Your dowry was all left by your mother; no one dares to touch it. They can only watch with envy. I told your sister-in-law that your dowry will remain; no one should covet it, so you don't need to worry." The old marquis glared at him, speaking authoritatively.

"Yes." Madam Wang said no more, responding with tears in her eyes.

The next morning, after breakfast, the old Marquis and his entourage prepared to depart. He took some local specialties, ginger candy that Mo Lan had prepared for him, and a folk remedy for his stomach ailment. He left amidst Wang's tears and the Mo family's reluctance to part.

After the old Marquis and his entourage left, the Mo family thought they had returned to peace, but it turned out to be even more lively. People kept coming to visit, one group after another, all just to chat idly.

There were constant matchmakers and suitors, not only for the younger generation like Erlang, Sanlang, Mo Changhai, and Mo Changhe, but also for many others, and quite a few were willing to marry into the family as concubines.

The Mo family refused all offers, focusing solely on preparing for Mo Mei's wedding, ignoring all other matters except for their shop business. For the past two weeks, Mo Lan had been taking care of Mo Mei's skin, which involved applying cucumber slices and egg whites to her face, followed by a paste made from pearl powder. She had obtained the pearls from Xue Lingfeng; even if she had the money, she might not be able to buy them, or at least not the real ones.

Seeing this, Qiu scolded her for being wasteful, but since it was all for her daughter, she didn't say much. And surprisingly, the results were quite good. Mo Mei had excellent skin and was also quite pretty, so it was easy for her to maintain a rosy, fair complexion. She looked very charming.

The Chen family's new house was ready, and it looked spacious and bright. After airing it out for a few days to get rid of any smells and cleaning it inside and out, the Mo family moved in all the large pieces of furniture. The large bed and cabinets had been moved in and placed there a day earlier.

The bed was made the day before, and a child was found to sleep on it overnight, so that Mo Mei could get pregnant quickly after entering the house.

The Mo family's relatives had all come to contribute gifts the day before, and the gifts were quite generous. They all smiled and blessed Mo Mei, and Mo Mei thanked them one by one. Then, the Qiu family arranged for everyone to stay in their own rooms, as they would all be attending a banquet the next day.

With only one night left until the actual day, the women of the Mo family barely slept, spending most of their time chatting with Mo Mei in her room. Around midnight, they all huddled together on Mo Mei's kang (heated brick bed) for a short nap.

They got up before dawn, and after washing up, a special matchmaker combed Mo Mei's hair and performed a facial massage. The matchmaker was also going to apply makeup to Mo Mei, but Mo Lan stopped her. The matchmaker's makeup was too heavy, and Mo Lan couldn't stand it. Since she had something to offer, Mo Lan decided to do her sister's makeup herself. Makeup isn't necessarily better the heavier it is; Mo Lan's makeup wasn't particularly impressive compared to modern makeup, as she hadn't worn much makeup before, but it was still considered quite good here.

With a light touch, Mo Lan sharpened her eyebrow pencil and gently drew eyeliner for her sister, making her eyes appear brighter. She was thankful that the family's financial situation had improved; otherwise, she would have had to use a fire poker to draw her sister's eyebrows—those were just too dark and frightening. Using rouge as eyeshadow, she evenly blended it around her eyes. Mo Lan applied the rouge very lightly, because her sister's cheeks were rosy and beautiful even without rouge. She also colored her lips, and paired with her bright red wedding dress, Mo Mei looked radiant and beautiful.

“My Mei’er is so beautiful. Dressed up, she’s no less beautiful than the ladies in paintings. Sigh, in the blink of an eye, she’s grown up so much and is about to become someone’s wife.” Looking at her beautiful daughter, Qiu was initially very proud, but as she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Mother. Your daughter is unfilial. I have made you sad." Mo Mei's eyes also welled up with tears, and she held Qiu Shi's hand, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, everyone! Your faces will be all smudged and you won't look good later," Mo Lan hurriedly comforted them. She had worked so hard to draw her eyeliner, and now it was all messed up.

“Yes, today is Mei’s big day. We should be happy and not cry,” Wang said, but her eyes still welled up with tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry, Mei'er, don't cry. Look how dark her eyes are. Lan'er, come quickly and redraw your sister's picture. How can she face people like this?" Qiu Shi hurriedly stopped her sobbing and wiped away her daughter's tears.

"Yes." Mo Lan responded, washed her sister's face again, put on makeup, looked at her, and nodded in satisfaction.

Before long, it became lively outside. People from the same village had probably come to see what was going on.

When Chen Xuan arrived to fetch his bride, the gate was filled with Sanlang's classmates, who were posing riddles to the groom. Erlang stood by and watched, while Sanlang joined in the teasing and jeering from his classmates.

Mo Lan stood by the window and looked around. In the blink of an eye, they had all grown up. Her older sister was getting married, and Erlang would be getting married soon too. Time really flies.

Chen Xuan finally managed to enter the house and was escorted by the crowd towards the main room. Mo Lan saw that he was beaming with joy, wearing a red hat and a bright red brocade robe. He looked exceptionally handsome and was truly riding high.

As Chen Xuan stepped forward and knocked on the door, the people outside started to cheer. The matchmaker hurriedly gave Mo Mei an apple, telling her to hold it carefully and not to drop it. Then she covered her head with a bright red veil and helped her kowtow to Wang Shi, Liu Shi, and Qiu Shi as a farewell.

"Girl, cry a little. You're leaving your parents' home soon. You won't be this family's daughter anymore. Cry a little for your mother," the matchmaker said to Mo Mei.

Mo Mei started to sob. When she cried, Qiu couldn't help but go forward and hug her daughter, and she also burst into tears. Wang and Liu also wiped their tears with handkerchiefs.

"Alright, sister-in-law, this is just a little crying before marriage. A few sobs are enough. Marrying off your daughter is a happy occasion, so please don't cry too much. If the groom's family finds out, they might think we don't want to marry off our daughter," the matchmaker said hastily, seeing that it was enough.

The crowd stopped wailing, and the matchmaker helped Mo Mei out. At that moment, someone handed Qiu a basin of clean water.

Qiu took the basin, her hands trembled slightly, but she didn't spill it. She returned the basin, crying, "I won't spill it. Mei'er will always be my daughter."

Mo Lan knew that once a daughter was married, she was like water spilled from a cup; once the water was spilled, it meant that the daughter was no longer a member of this family. No wonder her mother refused to spill the water.

“Sister-in-law, you have to splash this water. It’s bad luck if you don’t. If you don’t splash it, you’re still thinking about your daughter coming back. Wouldn’t that make it difficult for her to live in her husband’s family? That’s bad luck,” the person carrying the water advised Qiu.