Chapter 405 Double Happiness
Let me explain this on two sides.
Wu Ma gave Hong Jiu a few more steamed buns and turned back to the courtyard. She saw the door curtain of the main hall raised. Third Sister You poked her head out curiously and asked, "Wu Ma, what's going on outside? Why is there so much noise?"
"Nothing, a few beacons got into a fight."
As Aunt Wu spoke, she could not help but complain again: "These lowly fellows really rebelled. I went out to scold them, but they even started scolding me. If I hadn't announced Lord Sun's name, I might not have been able to drive them away!"
When Third Sister You heard that it was a few beggars causing trouble, she immediately lost interest, lowered the bamboo curtain, turned around and went back to the inner room.
At this time, You Erjie had already changed into a pink wedding dress and was fixing her makeup in front of the mirror.
Seeing her hair full of pearls and jade, which would cost at least a hundred taels of silver, Third Sister You couldn't help but feel jealous. She came closer and rubbed her face, saying, "Sister, don't forget to lend me these jewels in a few days."
"go!"
You Erjie half-seriously pushed her aside and teased, "I don't know who said that if you have a sword given by your lover, you will not even look down upon it even if it is a mountain of gold or silver. Why do you want my head ornaments now?"
A few days ago, Liu Xianglian came to the house and dropped off an ancestral sword, saying that it was a pair of male and female swords, perfect as a token of love.
Third Sister You felt as if she had found a treasure when she got the sword. She said, "It is easy to find priceless treasures, but it is hard to find a lover." Even if she took out mountains of gold and silver, they would not be as valuable as the sword given by her lover.
Now that her sister was using this to silence her, Third Sister You raised her eyebrows, plucked out her sword from the wall, held it in her hand and sang: "Ah~hey! What a savage little girl! Now that I have the sword in my hand, I ask you if you will lend it to me?!"
"Be careful not to scratch my clothes!"
You Erjie quickly hid back and scolded, "You are about to get married, how can you still be so ignorant of the seriousness of the matter?"
Third Sister You curled her lips when she heard this, thinking to herself, what's so precious about a pink wedding dress? When she gets married, she will change into a bright red wedding dress, which will be really prosperous and festive!
But putting aside the auspicious clothes that are only worn by concubines, the gold, jade, pearls and jade on my sister's head are really eye-catching.
Therefore, Third Sister You put down her sword and went forward to pester him for a while.
After much difficulty, she finally got her elder sister's promise to lend her the headdress and jewelry on the day of her wedding. Third Sister You was overjoyed and was about to make another effort. She simply asked for a few of her precious jewelry so that she wouldn't be too shabby after marriage.
Unexpectedly, You's mother came in from outside. Seeing this, she hurried forward and poked her forehead, scolding: "You heartless person, get out of the way quickly, don't mess up your sister's makeup!"
As he spoke, he scanned You Erjie's body again and repaired all the tiny flaws. Then he smiled and said, "My dear daughter, from now on, we mother and daughter can be considered to have someone to rely on. After you get married, you must work hard and give birth to a son. Only then can it be considered a safe place!"
Without waiting for You Erjie to blush, she hurriedly urged, "The auspicious time is almost here, you should take inventory again and see if there is anything you haven't brought yet."
As they spoke, the mother and daughter counted the peach branches wrapped in red thread, the gifts for the sedan chair bearers and matchmakers, and so on.
After confirming that nothing was missing, Mother You just breathed a sigh of relief, but then she saw Third Sister You pull out a handkerchief from under her pillow and said with a giggle, "Sister, don't forget, there's something very important hidden here!"
Seeing the bloodstains on the handkerchief, You Erjie's face immediately turned red. She jumped up and snatched it in her hand, saying angrily, "What are you rummaging around in, you little kid?!"
Third Sister You curled her lips and sneered, "Sister, you just said I was going to get married soon, why are you talking about children now?"
You Erjie had never been able to win an argument with her, so she simply put the handkerchief away in silence and did not argue with her.
Mother You was fidgeting again and said, "You sisters wait here. I'll go outside and see if the bridal sedan is coming soon."
Having said that, he hurried out again.
Third Sister You saw her mother running around like this, and her attitude was completely different from when Liu Lang came to visit. She couldn't help but feel jealous. She sat heavily on the bed and sneered, "A proper mother-in-law doesn't want to be a good one, but she insists on rushing to someone else's house to be a slave!"
This remark included You Erjie as an insult, but You Erjie was too lazy to pay attention to her. She silently held the peach branch wrapped with red thread in her hand. No one knew what she was thinking about, but two blushes appeared on her face.
Third Sister You complained several times, but when she saw that her elder sister's pretty face was red and she was not affected at all, she changed her face and walked forward to ask curiously, "Sister, what is it like to have sex? I heard you going through life and death in there that day, and I really didn't know whether it was comfort or torture."
"You're going to die!"
You Erjie was also thinking about the situation on that day. When she heard her sister say something like "life and death", she felt so embarrassed that her hands and feet were shaking, and she couldn't help but start playing with her.
At this moment, Wu Ma suddenly called out in the yard, "Here it comes! Here it comes! The Sun family's bridal sedan has arrived!"
You Erjie didn't care about anything else and hurriedly took the veil and covered her head.
Not long after, You's mother came in with two maids and happily helped You Erjie out.
Because it was a concubine, all the ceremonies such as crying in the sedan chair and bidding farewell to parents were omitted. Zhao Zhongji, who was in charge of welcoming the bride, only stuffed a heavy red envelope to Yu's mother, ordered firecrackers to be lit, and carried the sedan chair carried by four people back home.
No conversation along the way.
When they arrived at the Sun Mansion, the sedan chair entered from the corner gate, but did not go to the small courtyard where Sun Shaozong was, but went straight to the main courtyard at the back of the house.
However, it turned out that according to the current rules, a concubine must get the approval of the eldest wife before entering the house. Although Sun Shaozong has not yet married, he has an eldest sister-in-law at home. Therefore, You Erjie needs to pay a visit to Jia Yingchun first before she can be sent to the bridal chamber to wait for Sun Shaozong's favor.
When the sedan chair stopped in the yard, two maids helped You Erjie down. Si Qi immediately rushed out from the side and without saying a word, she tore off the veil and hung it on the treetop.
This is also the difference between taking a concubine and marrying a wife.
When marrying a wife, the veil can only be lifted by the groom in the bridal chamber; but when taking a concubine, the veil must be lifted as soon as she gets out of the sedan chair and hung on a nearby tree. This is euphemistically called "a step higher", but in fact it is a show of power to warn the new concubine not to forget the hierarchy.
You Erjie had known this rule for a long time, so she didn't think it was a big deal. She let the two maids help her to the door, and pretended to dust off the dust. Then she went in alone, knelt timidly in the middle, and said respectfully, "I am You Erjie, your servant, and I greet the eldest lady."
Jia Yingchun did not answer, and Xiu Ju, who was beside her, brought her a cup of hot tea.
You Erjie held it in both hands, knelt a few steps to Jia Yingchun, and said respectfully: "This servant invites the eldest lady to have tea."
Jia Yingchun then said "hmm" and reached out to take the cup of hot tea. She was about to take a sip just to pretend that she had taken a sip, but just as she brought the cup to her lips, she suddenly felt her stomach churning. She quickly put down the cup, covered her mouth and retched a few times.
Upon seeing this, You Erjie's face suddenly changed color. She was shocked and angry, and she almost cried out of grievance.
Jia Yingchun knew this was inappropriate, but she couldn't help but vomit a few more times. She was about to explain with a red face when she heard Ruan Rong ask, "Excuse me, Madam, when did you start retching?"
"I……"
Jia Yingchun covered her mouth and said awkwardly, "When I got up this morning, I didn't feel anything, but now I don't know... Ugh..."
Halfway through his speech, he couldn't help but retching.
You Erjie realized that she was not disgusted with herself just now. She was just relieved when she heard Ruan Rong say happily, "The eldest lady looks like me when I have morning sickness. Xiangling, do you think they look alike?"
Xiangling also nodded vigorously and said, "What we say doesn't count. Let's ask a doctor to come and take a look."
Jia Yingchun couldn't tell whether she was happy or worried. Being pregnant was naturally a good thing, but how should she deal with her relationship with Sun Shaozong in the future?
She was preoccupied with many things, and Siqi and Xiu Ju were rushing to go to the front yard to pass on the message, so for a moment everyone completely forgot about You Erjie.
Ruan Rong saw that she had been kneeling on the ground, and she thought it was not a good idea, so she helped Jia Yingchun to sit back down, and said with a smile: "Madam, since she has brought you good news, you can't leave her here alone, can you ?"
Jia Yingchun finally came to her senses, smiled apologetically at You Erjie, and said, "I am not feeling well at the moment, and I am sorry to have neglected you - get up quickly."
When You Erjie stood up, she pointed at Ruan Rong and Xiangling and said, "Hello, your two sisters."
Shi Liu rushed forward and handed the tea that Xiu Ju had left over to You Erjie.
You Erjie held the tea and bowed, first to Ruan Rong and then to Xiangling. After both of them had drunk the tea, Jia Yingchun called out at the right time: "Come here, hurry up and take the bride to the bridal chamber."
The two maids outside then came forward and helped You Erjie to Sun Shaozong's courtyard.
The new house arranged for her was also in the west wing, next to Xiangling's house, and also had three rooms inside and outside. However, its decoration was slightly better than Xiangling's house - this was because Xiangling was given as a gift, and in terms of social status, she was not as good as someone who was carried in a sedan chair.
But You Erjie was sitting on the bed covered with dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds. She was nervous and dared not move. She didn't know how long she had been waiting. Suddenly, she heard faint firecrackers in front of her, which was a hundred times more lively than the noise when she went out.
I was just wondering, could it be that the eldest wife is really pregnant?
Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps outside, and then Sun Shaozong pushed the door open and walked in. He came up to her drunkenly, looked her up and down, and said with a chuckle, "You are lucky. Here, this is a reward from my elder brother!"
As he spoke, he flicked his sleeves, and there was a series of crisp tinkling sounds, and six golden objects fell down.
Seeing the six gold bars weighing heavily on the bed, each bar was worth at least ten taels, which would be worth at least six hundred taels of silver. You Erjie was stunned and said in a trembling voice after a long while, "How...how can this be possible?!"
"Why not? Since you happened to catch up, it's your luck!"
Since he had already checked her from head to toe, Sun Shaozong would not be polite. Taking advantage of the alcohol, he started by ravaging her vital parts.
Who would have thought that after fiddling with it for a while, she was still staring at the six gold bars in a daze.
Sun Shaozong simply grabbed two of them and stuffed them into her collar. The cold and hard things slowly slid down her delicate and smooth skin, making You Erjie shiver several times.
But after the shiver, feeling the heavy weight of the gold bar, You Erjie's heart felt like a burning charcoal, and her breathing became heavy.
