Chapter 633 - 233: Double Happiness
Chapter 633: Chapter 233: Double Happiness
After all, starting with Xu Shiniang, all three brothers had married late, so their children had come late as well. It typically took them three to five years after marriage to finally conceive. But it didn’t matter. Once the first child arrived, the rest followed in quick succession, popping out almost year after year.
Strictly speaking, the baby in Chen Wanqing’s belly would indeed be the old lady’s very first great-grandchild. Whether the child came from a granddaughter or a grandson, they were all her own flesh and blood, and she would love them all the same.
The old lady was beside herself with joy, quickly waving for Chen Wanqing to come sit next to her.
Mrs. Guo sensibly made room and said with a bright smile, "Mother, what you’ve been waiting for is finally here. Our very first great-grandchild! Once this little one is born, our family will be even livelier. You’ll have so much more to look forward to in the days ahead."
The women kept their voices low. Normally, Xu Yanhe wouldn’t have been able to hear them, but he wasn’t stupid. Seeing Wanqing blushing, his grandmother looking absolutely thrilled, and De’an and Zhao Jing guarding against him like he was a thief, how could he not figure it out? The young man was instantly so embarrassed he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"I really didn’t know... I didn’t mean anything by it. I just felt a connection with Wanqing... I won’t offer her wine, then. Surely offering her a cup of tea is fine?"
The old lady rebuffed him, "Wanqing isn’t in a condition for that. She needs to limit her tea intake as well."
When had Xu Yanhe ever been shut down by his grandmother like this? He had always been the apple of her eye. In the entire family, he was the only one who could reliably make her laugh; whenever he was around, everyone else had to step aside. Yet now? It was one thing for him to take a back seat when Aunt Suying arrived, but did he have to do the same for Wanqing?
Did he even have a place in this family anymore?!
With Xu Yanhe clowning around and De’an playing along, bursts of laughter continually rang out. The lively atmosphere nearly blew the roof off. However, because Chen Wanqing was in the early stages of her pregnancy, the gathering didn’t last too long. After the meal, they shared a cup of tea and then dispersed.
Xu Su Ying’s courtyard was already prepared for her. Even though she had been missing for years, everything in her quarters had been perfectly preserved. The courtyard was truly magnificent, consisting of three standard enclosures. In terms of location and scenery, it was second only to the old lady’s courtyard, far surpassing those of her brothers and their wives.
This alone was enough to show just how deeply Xu Su Ying was favored in her maiden home.
Entering her own courtyard, Xu Su Ying felt a deep wave of emotion. In any other family, such a spacious and well-located property might have been given to a daughter, but once she married, it would be divided up among her nieces and nephews. She had been unmarried when she went missing, and she had been gone for twenty whole years.
Yet her family hadn’t cleared out her space for the younger generation. Instead, they had painstakingly preserved and maintained it. Even the servants in the courtyard were the exact same ones who had attended to her during her youth. Some of the maids had taken vows of celibacy to serve the household permanently, while others had simply grown old. Upon seeing her, they fell to their knees, weeping uncontrollably as they kowtowed.
Their tearful voices overlapped.
"Ms. Suying, you’re finally back!"
"Ms. Suying, I knew you couldn’t be dead. Fortune favors the good. Heaven wouldn’t bear to take you away from us!"
"Ms. Suying, I scented the room for you with your favorite magnolia incense. Please, see if you still like it."
Xu Su Ying couldn’t recognize every single face, but looking at their emotional, tear-stained expressions, her heart ached with poignant sorrow. They were still alive, but Taohong was dead. The thought of the devoted maid who had recklessly thrown herself into the whirlpool, sacrificing her own life to save her, filled Xu Su Ying with unbearable grief.
Because the courtyard was so large, Xu Su Ying and her husband took in Zhao Jing and Chen Wanqing to stay with them. As for De’an and Yao’an, both were growing boys. Since it wasn’t appropriate for them to linger in the inner residential quarters, they simply went to stay in the front guest courtyard.
This was only their first night, so they would just make do for now. By tomorrow, once the courtyards were properly rearranged, they would be able to settle in comfortably.
One might expect to have trouble sleeping in a new place—and indeed, Xu Su Ying did not sleep well. She woke up in the middle of the night and went to the main courtyard, only to find the lights in the old lady’s room still on.
The older maid guarding the door hurried to invite her in the moment she saw her approach.
"Ms. Suying, what brings you here at this hour?"
"I couldn’t sleep, so I came to check on my mother. Why hasn’t she rested yet? Is she unable to sleep too?"
"Exactly that. The old lady has been overjoyed since you were found. From the moment she returned to her room this evening, she’s been kneeling before the Buddha. She said that Buddha has shown His mercy by bringing you back, and she must recite a few extra sutras in gratitude."
The night was quiet, amplifying every little sound. As Xu Su Ying walked into the room, she saw the old lady just stepping out of the small Buddhist shrine.
She quickened her pace and took her mother’s hands. "It’s late and chilly. You really should get some rest. If you want to show your gratitude to Buddha, we can go to the temple another day, and I will offer incense with you."