Free Web NovelChapter 648: Chapter 648: Step by Step Toward Happiness
"You’re about to set off for Shengjing. Is your mother staying with the Lian Family or going with you to Shengjing?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
As a business partner of Aunt Tang, Tong Huaqiong quite admired this ancient pure version of an aunt who never succumbed to fate.
The mother and daughter stood united against the Lian Family. The daughter went to Shengjing, leaving Aunt Tang at the Lian Family. It would be tough on any mother.
"I’ll go first. Once I settle down in Shengjing, I will come to take Aunt," Lian Hengruo suddenly laughed, "My mother has been scheming for so long, putting all her effort into raising me, hoping that I would take her away from the Lian Family one day."
"How could I not fulfill her wish?"
Tong Huaqiong nodded, "Your mother’s wish is about to come true."
With Magistrate Yao backing them, Mr. Lian probably won’t dare to obstruct.
Even though Aunt Tang now manages the house, she’s still a concubine of the Lian Family. Whether her business or herself, she belongs to the Lian Family.
When she gets to Shengjing, she will be free from the Lian Family, able to soar freely and gain true freedom.
For Lian Hengruo’s legitimate mother, Mrs. Hua, and the three legitimate sons she bore, they couldn’t wait for Aunt Tang to disappear from the Lian Family. Not only wouldn’t they stop her going to Shengjing, they’d even encourage her to leave sooner.
This is exactly what Aunt Tang and Lian Hengruo wished for.
Lian Hengruo looked at Tong Huaqiong with a smile; everything was understood without words.
"Aunt Tong, who knows when we’ll meet again after this?"
After arranging things for Aunt Tang, Lian Hengruo revealed her reluctance to leave Ning City for Shengjing.
To be honest, what she couldn’t bear to leave were Tong Huaqiong, Gu Taohua, and others.
Tong Huaqiong said with a smile, "I’m also planning to go to Shengjing this year."
Lian Hengruo said with surprise and joy, "That’s great, we’ll be able to mix together again in Shengjing."
...
This time, Tong Huaqiong only stayed in the provincial city for two days.
The wedding date for Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao was set, and preparations had to start at home.
Lu Zhaozhao, as the granddaughter of an imperial merchant and sister of a champion scholar, was considered marrying beneath her status regarding Tong Huaqiong’s family.
Therefore, Tong Huaqiong wanted to host a grand wedding to welcome Lu Zhaozhao for her son.
Looking at the two months’ time left, without wedding companies of that era, everything had to be prepared by themselves, so the time was just right.
After learning that Tong Pandi and Mr. Su were getting married on the sixteenth day of the first month, Lu Zhaozhao sent a set of expensive jewelry through Tong Huaqiong as a gift to Tong Pandi.
After arriving home, Tong Huaqiong gave Lu Zhaozhao’s gift to Tong Pandi. Tong Pandi opened the box and was moved to tears by the dazzling sight.
In the previous life, when Tong Pandi was tortured to the point of lifelessness by the Wu Family, Tong Dajiao had brought Lu Zhaozhao to her family to show off the daughter-in-law. Lu Zhaozhao sympathized with Tong Pandi and gave her such an expensive set of jewelry.
In this life, this set of jewelry again reached Tong Pandi’s hands.
But this time, it was a wedding gift for her new marriage.
Compared to the previous life, Tong Pandi was no longer the same person.
Lu Zhaozhao was also no longer the Lu Zhaozhao of the past.
"Aunt, please make sure cousin treats Miss Zhao Zhao well," Tong Pandi said, fondling the jewelry.
In the previous life, this set of jewelry was seized by Wu Musheng and given to his new wife.
This life, nobody would dare to take anything that belonged to Tong Pandi.
Tong Huaqiong didn’t know why Tong Pandi was crying, but she vaguely guessed it was related to the Lu Zhaozhao of the past life.
Judging by Lu Zhaozhao’s character, Tong Huaqiong was sure that in the past, she had reached out a helping hand to Tong Pandi.
Lu Zhaozhao was such a wonderful person, consistent, life after life.
Thinking about this, Tong Huaqiong felt an impulse to hit Gu Jingzhe again.
Before they knew it, the sixteenth day of the first month arrived, the wedding day for Tong Pandi and Mr. Su.
In Qinghe Bay, a wedding was a community event.
Especially since Mr. Su was a respected teacher, many parents whose children studied with him had been helping with his wedding preparations for days.
Shopping, cleaning the yard, arranging the new room, putting up celebratory decorations, setting tables and chairs...
Mr. Su had been living alone, and he had never bought a house. While teaching in town, he stayed in the private school, and in Qinghe Bay, he stayed in a side room at Tong Huaqiong’s house.
He originally planned to buy a house in town to marry Tong Pandi, but during the big New Year, everywhere was closed, so he gave all his savings to Tong Pandi.
Hence, Mr. Su and Tong Pandi were temporarily living in Tong Huaqiong’s old house.
Though the old house was old, it wasn’t shabby. Ever since Tong Pandi moved in, it underwent major renovations. The roof and walls were repaired in the summer, and the interior and exterior were meticulously cleaned, making it look better than most other village houses.
Four main rooms, a kitchen, two storage rooms, enough for a family of four to live in.
Village Chief Liu hired a suona band, which began playing the night before.
Mr. Qian paid extra to bring the chef and clerks from Fengle Building to the village for the feast.
Even though the fifteenth of the first month had passed, this wedding on the sixteenth kept the entire village immersed in festive celebration.
Tong Huaqiong planned to have Tong Pandi marry from her home.
The village women voluntarily came ahead of time to help Tong Pandi with preparations.
Making the wedding bed, sewing clothes, threading and trimming...
Several times, Tong Pandi wanted to cry; this was more grand than her first marriage.
She recalled when she married Wu Musheng. When he came to pick her up, Tong Fusheng temporarily raised the price, asking Wu Musheng for an extra fifty taels of silver to open the door. Wu Musheng sat on his horse, swearing about the Tong Family selling their daughter, threatening to annul the marriage.
After much persuasion, she finally got into the bridal sedan chair. Upon reaching the Wu Family, after the ceremonial bow, Wu Musheng slapped her.
In that marriage, nobody ever considered her feelings, or paid attention to her thoughts.
She was merely a tool in the eyes of the Wu and Tong Families, marked with a price by Tong Fusheng, and taken away by the Wu Family who paid for her.
"Pandie, you’re the bride; you mustn’t cry."
Mrs. Zhao gently wiped the tears off Tong Pandi’s face with a handkerchief.
As the village’s big winner with living parents and children and grandchildren, Mrs. Zhao was invited by Tong Huaqiong to do the makeup and cover the veil for Tong Pandi.
"Mr. Su is a good man. He treats your daughters as his own and is good to you. Your days ahead will definitely be harmonious and beautiful," Mrs. Zhao said.
Tong Pandi wiped her tears and smiled.
This was her second marriage, but she wasn’t counting on the marriage.
Now she had daughters, and skills to make money, things far more important than marrying a good man.
Hua Er and Duo Er, in bright red dresses, were dressed like dragon girls in a painting.
Duo Er led Hua Er by the hand to the room from which Tong Pandi would leave.
"Mother, you’re so beautiful," Duo Er said, looking up at Tong Pandi.
"Mother is so bweautiful," Hua Er echoed in her speech-mimicking phase, repeating her sister’s words.
Tong Pandi stroked her daughters’ heads.
With a smile on her small face, Duo Er told Tong Pandi, "Mother, Hua Er and I will always stay with you."
Tong Pandi choked up.
Mrs. Hong, holding Hua Er, said to Tong Pandi, "Just enjoy your wedding today. I’ll take care of the children."
Outside, the sound of firecrackers could be heard; it was time for the auspicious departure.
Mrs. Zhao raised the veil.
Tong Huaqiong had a few words to say.
She held Tong Pandi’s hand and said, "Pandi, be brave and move forward. Rest assured, Aunt will always be behind you, just where you can see when you look back."
Tong Pandi grasped Tong Huaqiong’s hand in return and nodded.
She was afraid to speak, lest she ruined her makeup with tears.
Mrs. Zhao happily placed the red veil over Tong Pandi’s head.
Chen Sufen and Liu Yueer took Tong Pandi by the arms and led her out.
Tong Pandi, with the veil covering her face, walked steadily, step by step towards her happiness.
