Chapter 97: Carry the Flowery Sedan Chair
The four nannies politely set down the betrothal gifts and then took their leave.
As Li Xiaonan saw the four nannies out of the courtyard gate, she spotted A Wu and Wang Yuting.
A Wu was holding the reins of two horses, and sweat dripped from Wang Yuting’s temples.
“You two?” Li Xiaonan sized them up.
“We’re here~ Ha, haha.” A Wu gave a dry laugh.
“Yesterday, the Young Lord went to Linhai Town to pick out betrothal gifts for your Third Sister and asked A Wu to come along to offer congratulations. We didn’t expect them to arrive so early,” Wang Yuting said with an awkward smile.
With the little money they had, she and A Wu couldn’t afford to buy betrothal gifts. After discussing it, they could only come along with the Young Lord’s betrothal gifts and try to muddle through.
They hadn’t expected the procession delivering betrothal gifts from the Prince’s Estate to arrive so early and so quickly. They rushed as fast as they could, but even as they saw the tail end of the procession, they still missed it by a little.
This was rather awkward.
“Tie the horses over there and come in to talk,” Li Xiaonan pointed to a tree nearby.
Wang Yuting followed Li Xiaonan into the small courtyard. A Wu tied up the horses and followed them in.
In the courtyard, Li Jinzhu, Li Yuzhu, Li Yin Zhu, and Sister-in-law Cao were gathered around four carved and lacquered carrying boxes, looking them over.
“A Nan!” Li Jinzhu called out as Li Xiaonan entered. Upon seeing Wang Yuting following closely behind, she quickly swallowed the rest of her words.
“This is Wang Yuting, Sister Wang. This is her husband, Yao Wu.” Li Xiaonan introduced Wang Yuting and A Wu first.
Li Jinzhu looked at Wang Yuting, then at A Wu, her confusion tinged with worry.
This couple clearly looked like they were from the traveling performers’ circuit. Judging by A Nan’s demeanor, she seemed quite familiar with them. When had she met these people from the martial world?
“Is it the Young Lord?” Sister-in-law Cao, being well-traveled, quickly asked with a smile.
“No, they’re my friends, here to watch the excitement,” Li Xiaonan answered before A Wu could.
“A Nan…” Li Jinzhu looked at Li Xiaonan with concern. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she realized now was not the time to ask.
“We need to rearrange Yin Zhu’s dowry procession. Let’s pick a few reliable people to carry these over,” Sister-in-law Cao quickly got down to business.
The Li family’s courtyard was small, so Li Yin Zhu’s dowry was displayed in a temporary shed set up on the other side of the ancestral hall.
“Right, right! Ai Ye, quickly have your father bring a few reliable people over!” Sister-in-law Guo ran to the courtyard entrance, waving to Ai Ye.
Li Shikuan, the clan elders, and other influential figures from the clan had already gathered by the dowry shed, craning their necks to watch the impressively noble procession as people boarded carriages and horses. Before the procession had gone far, Ai Ye, holding up her skirt, ran over, relaying her mother’s message.
“Wenhua, Wenping, Lao Wu, and you, you, you all go carry these. You’re not steady, you don’t go!” Li Shikuan hastily selected a few young men known for their steadiness. Seeing his second son, Li Wenru, about to rush forward, he grabbed him and pushed him back.
A few steady individuals followed Li Wenliang and hurried to the small courtyard to carry the betrothal gifts. Li Shikuan, not entirely at ease, followed them. The clan elders and others also followed.
The four carrying boxes of betrothal gifts were brought into the dowry shed and placed in the center. Li Shikuan and a few clan elders formed the innermost circle, Li Wenliang and the others formed a circle outside them, and the rest stood behind, each craning their necks and holding their breath as they looked at the four betrothal gifts.
“These are all good things! Good things!” A clan elder stroked his beard, his excitement palpable.
These were betrothal gifts from Prince Rui’s Mansion!
The Heir of Prince Rui!
“Look at what you’re saying! These came from Prince Rui’s Mansion, of course they’re good things!” Another clan elder’s face was flushed with joy.
“They say the Young Lord personally picked them out,” Li Wenliang added with a smile from behind.
“We need to assign someone to watch over this dowry shed! These betrothal gifts should be carried in one load!” A clan elder stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
“One load won’t be enough! It needs four loads! That coral tree should be the first load, how beautiful! How festive!”
…
Li Shikuan pushed his eldest son, Li Wenliang, back a couple of steps and quietly instructed, “You need to go to the county immediately and inform Old Master Hong. This is a major event, the Hong family needs to know.”
“Alright!” Li Wenliang suppressed his excitement and responded crisply. With a sharp turn, he hurried off.
Li Shikuan watched Li Wenliang leave after his reply, then turned to the clan elders, “Stop looking, we need to discuss this quickly…”
“Excuse me: where is the shopkeeper of the Yuantong Business Firm, Master Li?”
Li Shikuan’s words were interrupted by a loud inquiry from outside.
Li Wenru stood outside Li Shikuan and stepped forward first, “I am… the Young Shopkeeper! Father!”
Li Shikuan hurried a few steps and rushed out of the shed.
Outside the shed, He Ruiming dismounted, tossed the reins to a servant, and bowed deeply to Li Shikuan, “This junior pays his respects to Uncle Li.”
“You are too kind, too kind!” Li Shikuan was a little flustered.
Li Wenru quickly stepped forward to meet He Ruiming and bowed deeply, “Young Shopkeeper, I hope you are well.”
“I cannot possibly accept such a grand gift from my uncle,” He Ruiming quickly helped Li Wenru up, bowed to Li Wenru, and then turned to Li Shikuan with a smile, “I asked Shi Gun, and Shi Gun mentioned that your Fourth Mistress is friends with our Young Lord. I wouldn’t dare presume.”
“You are too polite, Young Shopkeeper,” Li Shikuan was slightly bewildered.
“The Young Lord bestowed a courtesy name upon me, Xiang Sheng. Uncle may call me Xiang Sheng,” He Ruiming said with a slight bow and a smile.
“Xiang Sheng, that is a good name. Xiang Sheng will surely have great fortune,” Li Shikuan regained his composure. “Did Xiang Sheng come from Linhai Town? Please have a cup of tea at our home.”
He Ruiming walked half a step behind Li Shikuan, had a cup of tea at Li Shikuan’s home, set down the betrothal gifts, and took his leave.
Li Shikuan stood with his hands behind his back, watching He Ruiming depart, then turned back to his second son.
“Father, A Nan and the Young Lord?” Li Wenru walked over, stood beside Li Shikuan, and asked in a low voice.
He knew the least about the affairs of the Xiucai Scholar’s family.
“It’s not what you think,” Li Shikuan looked at the betrothal gifts sent by He Ruiming. “At first, I thought the same as you. But looking at it now, it’s definitely not like that.”
“Oh? Because of these betrothal gifts?”
“Yes. If the Young Lord truly fancied A Nan and wanted to take her as a concubine, he would have done so long ago. If he wanted to marry her, it’s not that A Nan isn’t worthy, but that our Li family isn’t worthy. Besides, it doesn’t seem like it. I think the Young Lord simply regards A Nan as a friend, and that’s excellent!”
Li Shikuan’s voice was very low.
“What’s so special about A Nan? This is the second time I’ve seen her, and I don’t see what’s so special about her,” Li Wenru frowned.
“A Nan is extraordinary. As for how exactly she is extraordinary, if we could see it, then we would also be extraordinary,” Li Shikuan started walking out. “Call Wenhua over, have him carry these over as well. Pick two people, prepare paper and ink, and specifically record which load was sent by which family. We’re going to be busy.”
“Alright,” Li Wenru agreed and quickly sent someone to fetch Li Wenhua.
The He family looked to Prince Rui’s Mansion, and the entire Linhai Town looked to the He family. After the He family’s Young Shopkeeper’s trip to deliver betrothal gifts, the families sending betrothal gifts would likely be as numerous as fish in a river, flocking to their Li Family Market.
