Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Third Aunt Si Gives Herself Away
When Li Xiaobing returned with a load of fruit, he happened to hear one of the senior men say they would hold the engagement party next Sunday.
’Isn’t next week a bit too soon?’ he wondered.
He thought his parents would object, but to his surprise, his father said with a chuckle, "Great! We’ll have the wedding banquet next week."
Everyone in the Li family’s living room: ...
This father of the bride was being a bit too hasty!
The matchmaker had mentioned an engagement party, but he was already thinking of a wedding banquet.
"Haha... Let’s do the engagement party next Sunday first. Then we’ll pick the next auspicious date and hold the wedding for the young ones."
Old Mu boomed, immediately thinking that his own grandson should also marry the young lady from the Xiao Family.
"Alright, we’ll do as Old Mu says. Are there any other young couples who’ve taken a liking to each other? If so, we can hold the banquet for all of them together."
With the marriage settled, Second Brother Gu headed back to the restaurant to get busy. At the adults’ request, Li Xiulan went with him.
Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu, however, stayed behind to discuss the details of the engagement party and wedding with Mr. and Mrs. Li.
So Gu Jiaojiao also stayed at the Li residence, cracking melon seeds, and the old gentlemen didn’t want to leave either.
But in front of regular people, they wouldn’t call Gu Jiaojiao "sister," and she wouldn’t call them "big brother."
"Little Su, Little Gu, you two must be preparing a big red envelope for your second brother’s wedding, right?"
"Of course! When Ziquan and Ji Yan get married, we’ll prepare a big red envelope for them too," Gu Jiaojiao said, her face wreathed in smiles.
She was genuinely happy. She and her second brother’s restaurant would surely spread to every corner of the Imperial City one day.
Therefore, her second brother needed a woman with knowledge and good looks, someone who could accompany him to the pinnacle of success.
Not some delicate, clinging vine. Coincidentally, Li Xiulan was highly educated, bold, and beautiful.
She wasn’t like those overly dramatic girls she’d seen. If her second brother had fallen for a girl like that, she wouldn’t have known what to do.
Seeing Gu Jiaojiao beam with joy, the old gentlemen also laughed and joked freely, shedding all of their usual imposing dignity.
The bonds between people are, in fact, mostly maintained by the desire to share.
Whether it’s lovers or sworn siblings, when they first meet, they don’t have a strong urge to share with each other.
But after they get familiar, they develop a special desire to share everything about themselves with the other person.
They tell each other whatever happens to them, sharing every little detail of their lives.
That’s why Grandma Si held Gu Jiaojiao’s hand and chattered away nonstop, just like a young girl who had run into her best friend.
Grandma Si grew more and more animated as she spoke, and Gu Jiaojiao listened, captivated. Meanwhile, Su Shuochi dotingly shelled melon seeds and poured tea for them.
Old Sir Si would occasionally chime in with a few words, and the other old gentlemen would add a line or two as well.
Su Shuochi, on the other hand, remained silent from beginning to end, quietly pouring tea and passing fruit for everyone.
Eldest Sister-in-law Li used to think she had married well. Her husband was handsome, young, and promising.
He treated her well, too. But looking at it now, it was merely "well." He wasn’t as handsome as that man.
He wasn’t as considerate toward her as that man was to his wife. Especially the way he looked at his wife—it was so sweet it was practically tangible.
The more she watched, the more envious she became. Eldest Sister-in-law Li shot her husband a harsh glare.
Li Xiaobing: ...
’What did I do wrong?’
His wife had always loved him to the bone, saying that his very scent had seeped deep into her body.
No matter where he went, threads of affection were always wrapped around her heart.
So she always looked at him with tender affection, no matter the occasion. When had she ever glared at him? What was going on?
Although he didn’t understand, he refused to back down and glared harshly back at her.
He was used to being dominant and couldn’t tolerate his wife looking at him with anything less than tender affection.
Eldest Sister-in-law Li: ...
’I shouldn’t have expected any tenderness from my husband. Great. Forget about being pampered by him; now I’m going to have to be the one to coax him later!’
Relatively speaking, her family background wasn’t bad, and her education wasn’t bad either, but her husband was even more outstanding. Her cousins on her mother’s side were still trying to steal him away!
Her husband had a flamboyant personality. He was brave and decisive, swift and resolute in his actions, and full of an adventurous spirit.
He had a strong, charismatic personality. And even though he wasn’t particularly gentle, those young girls still adored him.
Plus, his extraordinary talent for solving cases had won him the favor of his superiors.
He was promoted quickly, reaching the position of captain and deputy director at a young age.
At the same time, this had also fostered his style of facing challenges head-on and never compromising.
As her husband’s star shone brighter and brighter, she was increasingly fawned over by her own family.
She became the object of her cousins’ envy, jealousy, and hate, which gave her more and more face, greatly satisfying her vanity.
’Oh well, I’ll just have to coax him properly tonight.’
The silent battle between the young couple ended in Eldest Sister-in-law Li’s complete defeat. Once again, she pathetically looked at Li Xiaobing with tender affection.
Li Xiaobing saw his wife glare at him one moment and then gaze at him with affection the next.
He mouthed to her, ’What’s wrong with you? You must be bored. A shame all that food didn’t make you burst.’
Eldest Sister-in-law Li mouthed back, her eyes full of affection, ’I didn’t eat much. I was too embarrassed to with so many people around.’
Gu Jiaojiao listened to Grandma Si talk while sweetly enjoying Su Shuochi’s attentive care.
Watching the antics of Li Xiaobing and his wife, she felt that the day had been very fulfilling.
Once Mr. Gu and Mr. Li had finalized all the arrangements, everyone went to Yuetai Restaurant for dinner together.
Mr. Li, Mrs. Li, and Li Xiaobing with his wife and child also went along.
The sons and grandsons of the various families had already gone home at noon to attend to their own business.
When the Si Family Master returned home, he sent his eldest son to check on the ancestral hall while he himself sat in the living room, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.
Si Jinghao took a few of his restless cousins to the Si Family Ancestral Hall, but only their third aunt was there, kneeling obediently.
"Third Aunt, where is Eighth Sister?"
"Third Aunt, where is our Eighth Sister?" Si Jinghao and his cousins asked in unison.
Third Aunt Si panicked for a second, but quickly calmed down and said, "Yanyan fainted from kneeling, so her maternal grandfather came and picked her up."
’Either Doctor Ye has someone inside the Si Family, or Third Aunt bribed one of the Si Family servants.’
His expression suddenly changed, and he asked sternly, "Doctor Ye came to the Si Residence? How did he know Si Yan was being punished by kneeling?"
"No... no, I was the one who called my dad." No matter how shrewd Third Aunt Si was, she was startled into telling the truth by Si Jinghao’s sudden severity.
"Didn’t my father tell you not to leave the ancestral hall?"
"I... I... Yanyan fainted. It was a special situation, I was worried... I’ll kneel for an extra night, then."
Si Jinghao said no more and turned to leave. As the young men of the Si Family left, they made faces at their third aunt.
They didn’t yet understand the gravity of the situation, but Si Jinghao was different. He was a criminal investigator.
From this incident, it was clear that their third aunt was very likely up to something.
