White-robed Minister

Chapter 160, Episode 0158: [The Wedding Night]

Xu Lai didn't know how other people's wedding nights were, but he found his tonight quite relaxing and fun.

The couple took off their cumbersome wedding robes and moved the small table containing the suckling pig and wine cups to the footstool in front of the bed.

The footstool, usually used for resting feet or storing shoes, was covered with a layer of red cloth for the wedding, so it was perfect for sitting on without getting clothes dirty. Since there was no brazier inside, it felt a little cold in the winter, so everyone wrapped their upper bodies in quilts.

Their position and posture made them look like two petty thieves sneaking into a wealthy family's house to steal food.

"You don't like crispy skin?" Xu Lai asked.

Pianpian said, "Hmm, it feels too greasy."

In ancient times, people never complained about oiliness. They only complained that there wasn't enough oil. This girl must have had a very comfortable life before.

Xu Lai broke off all the crispy skin of the suckling pig and tore off the tenderest meat, placing it next to Pianpian: "From now on, you'll have to suffer with me."

"Hehe." Pianpian didn't say anything, just ate her meat and laughed.

Xu Lai tore off another small piece of meat: "Open your mouth."

"Ah." Pianpian leaned forward and opened her mouth to catch it.

She disliked not only pork skin, but also the meat itself. However, the suckling pig tonight was especially fragrant, and it was deboned and skinned by Xu Lai, which Pianpian enjoyed immensely.

Pianpian asked, "Do you know what I thought when I first saw you?"

Xu Lai laughed and said, "So dashing and debonair, I will marry no one but you in this life."

"No, not at all," Pianpian said. "You were dark-skinned and thin back then, but you were quite tall. How come you've gotten even darker this time?"

Xu Lai explained, "During the summer, the fields in the countryside are cleared for several months, and people are exposed to the sun almost every day. After autumn arrives, they go to various counties to conduct spot checks to see if the summer taxes are being levied improperly. Those who were tanned have already regained much of their fair skin by then."

Pianpian stared at his face and examined it carefully: "Being a little dark-skinned isn't necessarily bad-looking. Now that you're more robust, you look quite masculine."

As she spoke, she opened her mouth: Ah~~~

Xu Lai then fed her a small piece of meat, while eating the crispy roasted suckling pig skin himself: "When I was in Yingtian Prefecture, I often thought of you, and I looked forward to the day I would come back to get married."

Pianpian blushed, her heart filled with sweetness, and said, "Me too. I want to write letters every day, but I'm afraid of writing too much and not being reserved enough. I've also written a lot of poems; I'll show them to you tomorrow, and remember to help me correct and revise them."

The two drank, ate meat, and chatted for a long time, and Pianpian quickly finished eating. Xu took over the rest of the suckling pig, while Pianpian helped add wine and tear the meat.

They used to see each other very rarely, and had even fewer opportunities to be alone, with Yu Ji usually sitting nearby. Today, finally it was just the two of them, as if they had endless things to say.

Especially Pianpian, who kept talking about all the interesting things she had encountered in the past two years, as well as all the thoughts in her mind.

After chatting for an unknown amount of time, Pianpian exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, the leak has stopped."

The smallest water clock is called a "kelou," which runs out in 15 minutes, or 14.4 minutes. The largest composite water clock is called a "rilou," which can last for 24 hours.

The water clock in their bridal chamber was a ten-quarter water clock, which started dripping when they entered the bridal chamber and didn't know when it stopped, but it was at least nine o'clock in the evening now.

Xu Lai went over and opened the door, only to find the room empty. Even Yu'er had run away because she was hungry.

Xu Lai continued walking outside and finally found a servant from the Huanghua Pavilion on duty: "Could you please bring some hot water so I can wash my hands and face?"

Before long, the servant brought hot water.

Xu Lai called Pianpian over, washed the oil off her hands and face, and then found a toothbrush and tooth powder.

After washing up, Xu Lai sat on the edge of the bed waiting. Pianpian returned and walked around him, shyly slipping into the quilt, deliberately turning her back to her husband.

Xu Lai also crawled into the quilt and hugged her from behind, clearly feeling Pianpian's body tense up.

"Don't be nervous," Xu Lai whispered in her ear.

Pianpian, trying to make conversation, asked, "I've never seen snow before. Does it snow every year in the North?"

Xu Lai said, "I'll take you to the North next year, and we'll build a snowman together."

"Um.

""

Pianpian blushed and closed her eyes, because her husband was undressing her, and the content of a comic book suddenly popped into her mind.

Her body was turned back to lie down, and in her dazed state, it seemed like they started kissing.

Just then, Yu'er's voice came from outside the door: "My lord, my wife, I'm back after eating. If you need hot water, just call me. It's so cold outside, I've gone next door to get some fire."

The two on the bed stopped what they were doing, and after Yu'er finished speaking, they became passionate again.

The next day, before dawn.

Yu'er yawned as she came to the door, leaning weakly against the doorframe. She knocked and called out, "Wife, it's time to get up and pay respects—"

Haha—we've paid our respects to the maternal uncle and aunt! Haha~~~ I'm still half asleep—wife, it's time to get up!

"Here you are!"

Pianpian rubbed her sleepy eyes and got up, opening the door in a daze.

Yu'er went inside to help her find her coat.

Pianpian herself sat in front of the dressing table, not doing her makeup in front of the bronze mirror, sitting there in a daze, half asleep and half awake.

"My lady, it's time to get dressed and do your hair!" Yu'er reminded her again.

Pianpian felt something was missing, and turned around speechlessly, saying, "I haven't washed up yet."

Yu'er slapped her forehead and quickly went out to fetch hot water.

Xu Lai finally got up and dressed. Last night, out of pity for Pianpian's virginity, they made love once and then she washed up and went to sleep. But Pianpian couldn't sleep at all, and kept talking to Xu Lai until the middle of the night before finally falling asleep.

Damn it, I slept for at most two hours, and now I'm yawning all the time.

After washing up, Pianpian asked, "Sanlang, do you know how to draw eyebrows?"

Xu Lai said, "I'll learn."

Yu'er urged, "The time is almost up, it's not too late to learn another day. My lady, you hurry up and draw yourself, I'll help you do your hair, and we can do other things after we've paid our respects to your parents-in-law."

They dawdled until dawn, and the newlyweds went hand in hand to pay their respects to their parents.

Xu Yongnian and Bu Erniang, both dressed in new clothes, seemed somewhat awkward sitting in the hall. When Pianpian bowed to them, the two elders quickly stood up, as if they felt it was too presumptuous to receive the greeting while seated.

After the wedding ceremony, Xu Lai had breakfast with Pianpian before going to see Yuan Jiang and the others off.

The officials who were passing through Shaozhou all stayed a few extra days to attend Xu Lai's wedding banquet. Today, as they were leaving together, Xu Lai naturally had to see them off.

Pianpian and Yu'er were checking the gift list.

Many people came to give gifts, and the gifts were quite valuable. However, Xu Lai returned all the expensive gifts and only accepted a reasonable amount of money from each family.

There's still money to be made.

Not to mention the various gifts, there were several hundred strings of cash, more than enough to pay for the banquet.

"Shouldn't the money be accepted by the parents-in-law?" Pianpian asked.

Yu'er nodded: "They should accept it. But there's too much money, and they seem a little scared, so they gave the gift list to Madam."

Pianpian said, "I can't make that decision. Let my husband handle it when he returns."

The two put the gift list away and went back to their bedrooms to catch up on sleep.

Xu Lai, who had been busy all day yesterday and slept for less than two hours, forced himself to see the officials off on the ship one by one, and even racked his brains to write several farewell poems.

Back at the Imperial Palace, Xu Lai didn't even bother to eat lunch; he crawled into bed and slept with Pianpian in broad daylight.

I'm so sleepy.

On the third day of the wedding, Xu Lai accompanied Pianpian back to her parents' home.

Madam Lin warmly received them, holding Pianpian's hand the whole time and chatting with the young couple incessantly.

During the homecoming banquet, Xu Lai officially changed his address, calling Old Madam Lin "Mother".

Despite the old woman's repeated instructions, the couple returned to Huanghua Inn in the afternoon and took a boat to Qingyuan County the next day.

Inside the cabin, Dou Niang nestled in Pian Pian's arms: "Auntie, can I still call you Auntie from now on? I've gotten used to calling you that."

She smiled and said, "Sure."

The damselfly whispered, "I actually want to call you Mom. Mom remarried, but you were the best to me. You played with me and taught me to read and write."

Pianpian felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this and hugged Dou Niang tightly. She said to Xu Lai, "After the New Year, bring Dou Niang along too—"

Let's go.

"6

"Okay," Xu Lai said with a smile.

The damselfly quickly replied, "I can do the laundry!"

"Hahaha!"

The couple laughed heartily, and Yu'er laughed along with them.

They traveled downstream by boat and arrived in Qingyuan in no time. The moment they disembarked at Yinsha Wharf, it caused quite a stir.

"The top scholar has returned home!"

The local residents, shop owners, employees, and merchants all flocked to see the top scholar's achievements.

The locals had seen Xu Lai before, but this time was different because Xu Lai's identity was different.

People seemed to have nothing better to do, and actually followed along on their own initiative, laughing and chatting all the way until they escorted Xu Lai to the entrance of the valley.

Xu Lai asked Uncle Zhang, "Is life better in Qingyuan County?"

Uncle Zhang said, "This magistrate isn't so corrupt now, and he can keep the clerks in check. The salt bandits have also quieted down and aren't as arrogant as before. Everyone says that Qingyuan has produced a top scholar, and the feng shui has improved."

Xu Lai was both amused and exasperated. He hadn't done anything, yet the people thought he was the one who brought them good days.

The salt banditry was quelled thanks to the brothers Cai Kang and Cai Ting. There are still salt smugglers today, but they have become small, unarmed groups and now pay taxes to the government.

Legally smuggled salt!

This situation could last for at least 20 or 30 years, until the salt laws established by Cai Kang and Cai Ting were destroyed, at which point some major salt smugglers would reappear.

Pianpian and Yu'er lifted their skirts and walked with difficulty along the mountain path, curiously observing the scenery along the way.

Xu Lai, supporting Pianpian, said in a low voice, "It's even harder to walk ahead. How about I carry you across?"

"No, there are so many people watching," Pianpian said, blushing.

After walking for a while, Xu Lai was surprised to find that the "Top Scholar's Award Archway" actually stood at the entrance of the village.

With this thing in charge, the village's miscellaneous taxes and corvée labor won't be too heavy, and everyone from the county magistrate to the village head will have to give face to the top scholar.

"Sanlang, that's our newly acquired mountain land. We even have a cow here," said Xu An, the second brother, proudly.

Xu said, "That ox should also be lent to the villagers for tilling the land."

Xu Yongnian laughed and said, "I'll lend it to them. I won't charge rent; just make sure they feed the cattle well. When they're plowing the fields, the cattle eat better than people. They're fed only concentrated feed and eggs."

At this moment, villagers have come to greet him, and the mountain guard dogs are circling around Xu Lai, sniffing around Pianpian and Yu'er.

Xu Lai saw several tiled houses on the mountainside, which were much more spacious than the old thatched houses.

Pianpian said, "The scenery here is really beautiful."

Xu Lai laughed heartily upon hearing this, realizing that his wife truly had no idea about the hardships of ordinary people.

They're treating living in the mountains as a leisure vacation.

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