Chapter 214: Xu’er Returns To Her Maiden Home

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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The next day. 

Shi Cheng and Liu Xu’er got up very early that morning. After greeting Shi Cheng’s parents, they got on the carriage to return to the Liu family home. When they got there, the main gate was already flung open, waiting for their return. 

Both of them were pretty much crowded into the main house. After chatting for a while together, the male and female groups separated from each other. He shi dragged Liu Xu’er and the rest of the women folk to the side room to talk.

Liu Gao shi smiled as she examined Liu Xu’er, “Xu’er has really grown very beautiful these past two years. With you all dressed up like this, I can barely recognise you.”

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At noon, Liu Xu’er stayed with the womenfolk to have their lunch. She very much wanted to head over to the other side for a look, but knew that she would definitely be laughed at if she went over. She could only resist the urge, but she knew that Shi Cheng was definitely being plied with a lot of drink. 

In order to find an excuse to go out, Liu Xu’er insisted on another bowl of soup after a heavy meal, so that she could leave the room to fill her bowl. Then she headed to the main house for a look. 

Liu Sen sat at the doorway. He wasn’t allowed to drink, and because he had eaten earlier, he just sat outside and watched as his elder brothers poured his jiefu cup after cup. After a while of watching, he turned and saw his sister standing in the courtyard, trying to glance in. He immediately smiled and ran out, “Jie!”

Liu Xu’er pulled him to ask, “How is your jiefu? Are they… really getting him drunk?”

Liu Sen’s face was somewhat stern. Poking fun at her, he nodded solemnly, “En, Jie, you’d best prepare him lots of sobering soup!”

Liu Xu’er’s face was bitter. She said, “Couldn’t you give him less to drink? It’s so uncomfortable drinking so much. Tomorrow, his head will surely hurt…. What benefit is there in doing this?”

Liu Sen giggled and said, “The benefit is it’s fun watching him get drunk!”

Liu Xu’er stretched her hand out, wanting to bop him on the head. But when her hand reached his head, she started to pat him, “Senzi, when your uncle and aunt Shi have returned to Hanzhong city, come and stay with us! It’s such a large house, it’s so empty with just the two of us staying!”

Liu Sen shook his head, “It seems like it’s not possible….”

“What?” Liu Xu’er asked blankly, “You don’t want to come?”

Liu Sen nodded his head, “That’s right. There are another two more months before the autumn exams. I need to study.”

Liu Xu’er was delighted. She smiled and said, “That’s just perfect…. Our place is quiet – there are so many people here, it’s bound to be too noisy. You can come over and study in peace.”

Liu Sen smiled and said, “Let me think about it… Jie, does jiefu want to continue with the exams this time?”

Liu Xu’er was caught off guard. She had never asked Shi Cheng this question. After becoming a xiucai, most people would continue to take the exams to become a juren and eventually a palace graduate. Then they would walk the route of officialdom. But her family was not the same. Her two elder brothers, Liu Shu and Liu Lin, had no intention of continuing to take the exams. With a xiucai identity, they could handle most matters that came their way. If they were to continue to take the exams and progress upwards, it would take them too much time and energy. After all, they’d already built the business up to this point – they couldn’t just let go of it completely. 

She shook her head, “I’m not sure either. I’ve never asked… When I’ve the time, I will ask. If he wants to continue, you can study together.”

Liu Sen smiled and nodded his head, “Great.”

The two of them stayed in the courtyard chatting for a while when the side room suddenly had a minor commotion. Everyone seemed to be shouting some instructions. Liu Xu’er and Liu Sen rushed back to the room to see what was happening. 

Before they had even entered, Song Yao had already rushed out. Liu Xu’er quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Song Yao was about to run into the main house. When she saw Liu Sen, she quickly instructed, “Senzi, quickly go and invite a doctor over!” When Liu Sen agreed and rushed off, she turned to Liu Xu’er and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just saozi. She suddenly fainted when she got up….”

Liu Xu’er hurried into the room. When she entered, she saw that Shao Rong had already been carried by the crowd of people onto the kang. But looking at Liu Gao shi and He shi’s facial expression, the situation didn’t seem to be too urgent? Oddly, they all seemed to be somewhat pleased?

Liu Xu’er blinked before understanding dawned. 

Liu Shu had already come over. The entire room was filled with his elders and other women, so he stood awkwardly there, trying to hide his anxiety. He kept pacing round the kang. Shao Rong was already awake, but her face was red. He shi sat at the side of the kang, asking her some questions softly. 

After a while, the doctor came and took Shao Rong’s pulse. He smiled as he stood, offering his congratulations. She had indeed gotten pregnant. She was less than two months along at this point. 

Everyone was overjoyed! Immediately, both rooms were filled with noise. Children were the most excited when everything was lively; even though they didn’t understand what was going on, they joined in the clamour, and for a while, the entire courtyard was filled with sound. 

At the side, Liu Shu had a silly grin on his face. Everyone was pulling him to the side to offer their congratulations. Because of this little commotion, Shi Cheng was rescued from his situation. He snuck out of the room, and in the chaos went forward to offer Liu Shu his congratulations. Then he ran to Senzi’s room to sleep. 

Liu Xu’er spotted Shi Cheng in the crowd. She watched as he went to the side room and hurried over with a bowl of sobering soup. When she entered the room, she saw Shi Cheng lying on the kang. 

Liu Xu’er couldn’t resist a laugh. She went over and called, “Shi Cheng?”

Shi Cheng wasn’t yet unconscious. The instant he heard her voice, he immediately turned. Seeing her, he gave a big smile, “Xu’er, I’ve really drunk a lot.”

Liu Xu’er covered her mouth. She went over to sit at the side of the kang and supported him up. “This is sobering soup. Drink it.” Then she asked, “How are my yeye and dad? Did they also drink a lot?”

“No, your three brothers are enough to drink me under the table. Do those two elders still need to personally intervene?”

Liu Xu’er giggled. Seeing that he had finished the soup, she helped him lay back down, “Sleep a while. No one is paying you any attention now. When they remember, you should be asleep, and no one should try to wake you up to continue.”

Shi Cheng gave an “En”, but kept holding tight to her hand, refusing to let go. With a mischievous smile, he said, “Xu’er, stay with me a while.”

Liu Xu’er immediately whipped her hand back. Eyes round, she glared at him and softly scolded. “This is my home, you’d better be on your best behaviour!” Then she urged him to close his eyes, before bringing the empty bowl back out of the room. 

Liu Changgeng was speaking with the doctor. After listening a while, he called for He shi, “Their mother! Come over and listen… Listen to what needs to be done!”

He shi was also keen to know why she had suddenly fainted. She hurried over along with Liu Shu, to have a listen. The doctor smiled and said, “It’s just that your wife’s body is a little weak and hasn’t been well cared for previously.. Now that she’s pregnant, so long as you take good care, it should be alright. In a while, she might start to vomit. Her morning sickness might be more severe than usual.”

He shi was a bit worried when she heard. Her joy slightly dampened, she asked, “How should we take care of her?”

“For the first few months, don’t let her do any heavy work. Be careful also of what she eats. Of course, she shouldn’t just eat rich foods, like chicken and meat for every meal, but for the first few months, she should get good food, delicate, refined foods. She should have a little of everything, like fish, meat and eggs, but not a lot of it…. If she keeps vomiting, see if she can bear it. If she really can’t, let me know. I will give her a prescription then.”

Everyone had at first been overjoyed, but listening to the doctor’s words, everyone quickly calmed down. They nodded their heads. He shi again asked more detail about her food before thanking the doctor. 

Liu Lin sent the doctor away. He pressed the doctor’s fees as well as the thank you gifts into his hands. 

He shi told Liu Shu to support Shao Rong back to their courtyard, and not to come back out. The couple should be allowed their own private moment to chat, and this way, Shao Rong would be given the chance to rest. 

At the side, Liu Changgeng asked He shi – during the meal, did Shao Rong drink any wine? He shi shook her head. 

After the commotion died down and Liu Shu had ushered his wife back into their rooms, everyone started to relax and joke. Then they went back to continue with their meal. At this time, they finally discovered that Shi Cheng was missing. 

Liu Changgeng instructed Liu Sen to search the courtyard for him. Liu Xu’er smiled and said, “Don’t bother. He’s already crashed to sleep.”

When Liu Sen heard, he smiled and was about to wake Shi Cheng up. Then he twisted around, glanced at Liu Xu’er and saw that his sister was looking very meaningfully at him. Liu Sen paused before smiling and heading back to report to the main house. 

Liu Xu’er finally relaxed before re-entering the side room and heard He shi recounting what the doctor had just explained to Liu Gao shi. She then said, “Shao Rong has had a hard life since young. Her body is weak probably because she hasn’t had good nutrition growing up. From now on, we will definitely prepare good food for her.”

Liu Gao shi nodded heavily in agreement. “That’s right! Nowadays, our family doesn’t lack for anything. We can buy her all kinds of good things to eat. Chicken, duck, fish, meat! We should make sure she has a nonstop supply of these!”

Liu Xu’er smiled before hurriedly saying, “Mum, nai, didn’t the doctor say that she needed more delicate foods. She shouldn’t just eat all these rich foods. Instead, our family should prepare some bird’s nest, sea cucumber and the like. Then we should also buy a good cook! That way, her meals should be more refined.”

He shi nodded her head, “That’s right, the doctor did say that….”

He Ruyu had even fewer people in her household. These past few years, their main problem was that even though they wanted to be able to live a more refined and delicate lifestyle, they had no idea how to go about achieving it. The few women continued to discuss this, contributing ideas as they went along. 

The noon meal took well over two hours before finally concluding. It was only then that Liu Sen went to wake Shi Cheng up. Relax! The meal was over, and everyone was just chatting. No one was trying to make him drink anymore….