Tiger Owl

Chapter 181 Lunar New Year's Day
As night fell, Da Qiao lay in her husband's arms and whispered, "You're right, A Yu really isn't ready yet, but how did you figure that out, husband?"

Gan Ning laughed and said, "You call yourself her sister? You don't even know what kind of person she is?"

"How could I not know? I know exactly what she's thinking."

"You don't actually know!"

Gan Ning slowly said, "She will be fifteen tomorrow, but her real mental age is at most twelve or thirteen. She is afraid that others will laugh at her, so she pretends to be very mature. She knows a lot about relationships between men and women, but it's all an act. If you really let her get close to them, she will be terrified."

Da Qiao sighed, "I really didn't realize she was faking it. I thought she was really looking forward to it!"

Da Qiao then asked, "How did your husband discover that she is not psychologically mature?"

“Some things are called being true to oneself. Whatever thoughts she has in her heart will be reflected in her body. Look at Ayu, although she is tall, her body is still like a bamboo pole. Her female parts have not yet started to develop. When her female aspects start to develop, she will naturally look forward to matters between men and women. Only then can she be said to be mentally prepared.”

Da Qiao thought about it and realized it was true. Her breasts had grown bigger and bigger, which was why she suddenly had those embarrassing thoughts. So this is what it means to be mentally prepared.

"I understand, I'll be careful. Yunqing should be ready by now! Her..."

Gan Ning interrupted her, "I already told you during the day that Xu Wei is facing a choice between me and her father. I want her to be more mature before making a decision."

"Oh! I almost forgot if my husband hadn't mentioned it."

"Go to sleep! We have to get up early tomorrow! There's a ton of things to do."

Gan Ning felt a headache coming on just thinking about tomorrow.

Xu Wei got up very early. She felt a little disappointed. She had been looking forward to it for a year, and finally it was New Year's Eve. She was waiting for the opportunity to share a room with Gan Lang, but the night passed by so peacefully.

Does he still think he's not ready?

Xu Wei felt a surge of grievance and couldn't help but cry out inwardly, "Gan Lang, I was already prepared, how come you didn't know!"

"What are you thinking about?" Gan Ning's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Xu Wei looked up and found Gan Lang standing at the door, looking at her with a half-smile.

Her pretty face flushed instantly. She hurriedly stood up, lowered her head, and whispered, "No, I wasn't thinking about anything?"

Gan Ning walked in and handed her an envelope. "This is my annual bonus for you. You get the same as Xiao Qiao, but Da Qiao gets a little more."

"I don't spend much money; my monthly allowance is usually enough."

"This is actually for your dowry, save it up!"

Xu Wei nodded gently, "Thank you, Gan Lang!"

"Why aren't you lively today? Is something on your mind?" Gan Ning gently pulled her into his arms and asked.

Xu Wei buried her head in his chest shyly and said, "I left the door open for you last night, but you didn't come!"

"You silly little thing, why didn't you give me a hint?"

"How should I hint at it?"

"Yesterday afternoon, your older sister asked you to take a bath together, but you refused. You don't even want to show me your body, how am I supposed to know what you're thinking!"

"No, I'm just embarrassed to bathe with so many people. I'd be willing to bathe with only Gan Lang."

Gan Ning thought for a moment and said, "Write another letter to your father! Express your attitude. Your father still refuses to agree, which is a big obstacle between us. I am worried that you and your father will turn against each other and become strangers."

"I do not mind!"

Xu Wei shook her head and said, "I have already made up my mind. I will pursue my own happiness. I don't care if he doesn't acknowledge me as his daughter!"

Gan Ning kissed her, and after a while, he gently stroked Xu Wei's hair and said, "Listen to me, write another letter to your father. If he still disagrees, then I will give you a choice when you turn sixteen. If you still choose me that day, then we will hold a ceremony and officially take you into my household."

"Do I have to wait another year?" "A year goes by in the blink of an eye. It feels like just yesterday that the first day of the Lunar New Year last year was here, but a year has already passed."

Xu Wei nodded gently, "I will wait patiently!"

"Alright, later you'll go with your older sister to distribute year-end bonuses to the servants."

"Ok!"

Gan Ning kissed her on the pretty face again before turning and leaving.

As soon as Gan Ning left, Xiao Qiao slipped into Xu Wei's room. "Yunqing, how much did Gan Lang give you?"

"I haven't seen it yet!"

"Quick, open it and take a look!"

Xu Wei picked up the envelope from the table, opened it, and found two pieces of silk cloth inside. One piece said "300 taels of gold" and the other said "500 taels of gold." Gan Ning had signed it below. They could use these to collect the gold from the accounting office, but of course they wouldn't take it; instead, they would keep it in their small storeroom.

"Huh! How come you have two portions?"

"I don't know either!"

Xu Wei also found it strange. She looked at it carefully and then smiled sheepishly, saying, "These three hundred taels are from last year, and the five hundred taels are from this year."

Xiao Qiao then remembered, "Oh right, you came back on the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year last year. You weren't there when the New Year's bonus was distributed in the morning, so Gan Lang gave it to you this year. We got the same bonus!"

"So much gold, far too much."

Xiao Qiao rolled her eyes at her, "There are still people who complain that they don't have enough money. This is our dowry. No matter who we marry in the future, we will have confidence."

Xu Wei said irritably, "Who else do you want to marry?"

"Hehe! Just kidding! But what if Gan Lang really doesn't want us? I thought we'd end up in a room last night."

Xu Wei sighed and said, "Ayu, have you ever seen any prince or nobleman who cares about the age of the girl? Some men like girls the younger they are. Gan Lang is doing this for our own good, worrying that consummating the marriage too early will harm our bodies. You can't find a husband like that even with a lantern. You still want to find someone else?"

"I was just joking, I never thought about finding someone else." Xiao Qiao suddenly glared fiercely at Xu Wei like an angry little wildcat.

Xu Wei smiled, put his arm around her shoulder and said, "I know you're joking. Let's go! Let's go have breakfast."

Xiao Qiao pleaded softly, "Sister Xu, I was just joking. Please don't tell Gan Lang, he'll be angry."

"Look at your cowardly courage, I promise I won't tell."

Xiao Qiao was relieved and went to the cafeteria for breakfast, chatting and laughing with Xu Wei.

In the afternoon, Da Qiao prepared hot water and waited for her husband to come back drunk. Every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, her husband would get completely drunk, which had become a tradition.

Just then, a maid called out loudly, "Master is back!"

Da Qiao hurriedly went to greet him, and was stunned. She saw that although her husband's face was flushed from drinking, he was full of energy and showed no signs of being drunk.

"Husband, how come you're not drunk?"

Gan Ning smiled and waved his hand, saying, "The rules have changed this year. Every time the soldiers toast me, I only need to drink one cup from a small cup. I don't have to drink a big bowl every time like before, and end up getting completely drunk."

Da Qiao breathed a long sigh of relief, "That's great!"

"I'm going to the study to rest. Prepare a pot of hot tea for me; I'm very thirsty."

Although Gan Ning wasn't drunk, he still staggered towards the backyard. Xiao Qiao and Xu Wei quickly supported him on either side, while Da Qiao prepared hot tea.

Gan Ning watched the three women serving him back and forth, and sighed with delight, "Having three wives is wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)