Chapter 23
Zhao Guangming's words made both Xu Gandang and Xu Kaixuan frown simultaneously. With similar expressions and looks, they were presumably worried about the same thing. The elders on the Marquis of Jing'an's side had all passed away. The ancestral home was far away in Longzhong—even by fast horse, a one-way trip took half a month, let alone trying to invite other clan elders within eight days.
By the time the people arrived, their souls might arrive first.
As for Xu Kaixuan's maternal family...
Back then, the betrothal gifts the Xu family had given Wei Cai'e were all withheld by her family, and they hadn't even given much of a dowry. Perhaps that was also why Wei Cai'e thought betrothal gifts were meant for the bride's family—fearing that all forty thousand taels worth of goods would go to the Song family, she withheld them.
After all these years in the capital, she hadn't gained any manners, breeding, or worldly knowledge. Naturally, she didn't know that in normal families, betrothal gifts and dowries both belong to the woman, and after marriage, she brings them to her husband's family.
Although they remained the woman's personal property, when it came to how they were used, the husband's family's opinion carried significant weight.
And thinking again about how a mere forty thousand taels had caused things to escalate to this point, Xu Gandang and Xu Kaixuan grew even angrier.
An ignorant woman who could only see the tip of her own nose.
Xu Kaixuan's expression was grim, but bound by filial piety, he could not say anything openly.
Though Xu Gandang was less scrupulous, a man who was a genius at military strategy on the battlefield could not, for the moment, think of any better solution to this household matter.
The two exchanged a glance and both understood that the pressing priority was to salvage the reputation of the Marquis of Jing'an household.
The Xu family elders were out of the question, and the maternal uncle's side was even less reliable. Xu Kaixuan raised his head and looked toward the West Courtyard. Xu Gandang followed his gaze. The two exchanged another glance and both understood what the other was thinking.
"You go call the Second Branch's wife over. Let her hold things up for now." Xu Gandang waved a hand.
Zhao Guangming was briefly stunned, then understood the two men's plan.
He said nothing more, walked to the door, and called for Zhou Qi to relay the message. He himself did not leave.
Xu Gandang had already calmed down. A bedchamber was certainly not the place to receive a daughter-in-law. He paced at the front, with Xu Kaixuan following behind. The three of them entered the study one after another, the doors left wide open, facing directly toward the courtyard gate.
Yang Wanhe, having received the urgent assignment, began handling Xu Kaixuan's marriage arrangements. Wei Cai'e naturally threw a huge fit, but once Xu Gandang stood before her, she did not dare say another word.
When Xu Kaicheng received the news, it was only about half an hour after Yang Wanhe did. One could even say that the moment Yang Wanhe was summoned to Juxian Courtyard, he already had a vague idea of what was coming.
After all, he had gone to such great lengths to expose the betrothal gift matter precisely to pave the way for Yang Wanhe to step forward.
This move was both a test and a cooperation.
A test to tell Zhao Guangming that he was no innocent little rabbit. A silent cooperation, to see whether everyone's efforts could move in the same direction.
Xu Kaicheng was quite satisfied with this outcome—it had helped Yang Wanhe take her first step. The Xu grandfather and grandson may not have truly intended to let Yang Wanhe manage the household affairs or anything of the sort; at the very beginning, they might have simply wanted to use Yang Wanhe's name.
But what happened next would not necessarily unfold according to the grandfather and grandson's plans.
As for this mother, Xu Kaicheng still had some confidence in her.
That same afternoon, the Marquis of Jing'an household grandly sent the betrothal gifts in full to the Song family. They also arranged for word to spread in the capital that the First Madam had fallen ill from exhaustion while keeping vigil at the sickbed of the Marquis household's Old Madam.
Anyone with eyes could see this was an excuse—after all, Wei Cai'e's earlier high-profile behavior had provided no small amount of gossip for the capital. But this fig leaf had at least covered things over.
With six days left until the wedding, Xu Kaicheng had two meat buns tucked into his clothes, along with a bit of braised beef. Ever since the Marquis household had sent betrothal gifts to the Song family the day before — a procession that stretched for ten li — the Song household had only grown busier.
From long observation, Xu Kaicheng had confirmed that the Song family had no more than twenty servants in total. Song Yangfan had two book boys attending him, and Madam Song had four maidservants. There were three gatekeepers for the front and back gates, three laundry women, and the remaining three each attended to the three concubines.
Of the rest, two attended to Song Yue, and a few served the young master Song Yaozu, who had never once appeared in the back courtyard.
The Song residence was truly too small—there was simply no way to bring horses in, so after making an appearance at the gate, they had been sent to the marquis household's horse ranch in the suburbs. But the remaining items were enough to fill the Song residence to the brim.
An open-air storage area had been hastily built in the back courtyard, and enormous redwood chests were piled up like mountains.
A girl's dowry was basically accumulated from childhood, and the Song family was naturally no exception. It was just that Song Yangfan had not previously held office in the capital, so when the family moved, Song Yue's dowry had been transported to the capital from elsewhere bit by bit.
As a result, the usable open space in the Song residence was even more stretched.
When Xu Kaicheng saw the courtyard full of redwood chests, he began to worry about Song Yao's situation. When he saw the door of that small dark room wide open, also filled with things, he knew his worry had not been unfounded.
After lying on the wall searching for a long time, he finally found a bedroll in the gap between the firewood shed and the back courtyard wall.
Song Yao, hidden behind the mountain of enormous chests, looked as though he were locked away in that tiny space.
A nameless fury instantly surged through Xu Kaicheng's entire body. He climbed over from the other side of the wall, his expression extremely grim.
"Song Yao, Song Yao!" He called in a suppressed voice for quite a while, but even though the two of them were only a meter or two apart, he could not wake the person. Xu Kaicheng's heart skipped a beat. Nervously, he broke off a wooden stick and leaned over to poke at the bundle below.
Song Yao was curled into a ball, wrapped in a worn-out blanket so threadbare that where it was torn, not even a hint of cotton wadding showed between the two layers.
After being poked, Song Yao finally stirred. His head slowly emerged from the blanket, and he looked up with a flushed face.
Xu Kaicheng was startled again. He quickly looked around, confirmed there was enough space behind the mountain of chests and not even a ghost in the back courtyard, and jumped down directly.
He scooped the person up, blanket and all, and was immediately shocked by Song Yao's body heat. "Why do you have a fever? Don't tell me you slept here last night?"
Song Yao, dazed, slowly reached his hands out from the blanket and tentatively wrapped them around Xu Kaicheng's waist. After confirming the other did not find him disgusting, it was as though he used all the strength in his body to desperately burrow into the other's embrace.
Xu Kaicheng quickly knelt down and held him in a more comfortable position. When his arms wrapped around the whole person, he found he could lift both the person and the blanket together without any effort at all—only then did he realize that this person was even smaller and thinner than he appeared.
Song Yao's cheek pressed against Xu Kaicheng's neck. It was unclear whether he was clinging to that bit of coolness or to this person's scent.
Xu Kaicheng didn't think much of it. He touched his own forehead to Song Yao's — burning hot.
Song Yao could not say a single word; he was completely muddled. There was no other way, so Xu Kaicheng could only hold him sitting on his lap and take out a meat bun, feeding it to Song Yao bite by bite.
For someone delirious with fever, even swallowing was extremely difficult. Although it was clear Song Yao was trying very hard to eat, every swallow required him to stretch his neck, struggling to the point of rolling his eyes before he could get it down.
The beef was out of the question. Fortunately, he had also brought some honey water. He fed him only one bun, and the entire waterskin of honey water went down with it.
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