Chapter 830: The Baby Is a Girl
With just twenty days left until Zhiqiu and Muqiu’s wedding, the Liu courtyard was already crowded every day with guests coming to offer congratulations and gifts.
These were all local gentry, celebrities, and powerful figures from towns, counties, and even the state capital.
Not only in the city of Yunzhou, but even from abroad and throughout the entire high society of Nanling, anyone who had the chance would try to find a way to please the Liu family, seeking to form connections and alliances.
A small rural household, yet it had produced a prefectural magistrate, a Princess Consort to a King, and was a partner to the wealthiest family in Nanling, the Qian family, as well as a partner with the royal merchant.
There were even rumors that the Liu family had ties with mysterious doctors from the Jianghu and the royal family of Beicang.
The current emperor was said to be very protective of the Liu family. Who wouldn’t want to befriend such a family?
Zhiqiu’s courtyard was stacked high with various gifts, making him smile from ear to ear.
It was all money!
If only he could sell these items for cash, but then Grandma would break his legs.
He called over Muqiu to help sort through the gifts, and together they carried a pile of them into the main hall.
“Grandma, how big is this night pearl? It’s especially bright at night. You could place it in your room, so you don’t have to worry about bumping into things when you get up at night,” Zhiqiu said, handing the fist-sized night pearl to his grandmother.
Although the family wasn’t short on money, the two elders had been frugal for years and never bothered to light a lamp at night, feeling their way around in the dark.
They often bumped into tables and chairs.
Grandma Liu compared the night pearl with her own fist and clicked her tongue. “Oh my, this big of a night pearl, how was it made?”
“Pfft!” Zhiqiu almost choked on his laughter. “Grandma, you’re really something. This is a stone, not something from a clam shell. It’s just big, but there are even bigger ones!”
The old lady had clearly mistaken the night pearl for a regular pearl.
The family chuckled inwardly.
But the old lady wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about making a mistake. “So what if this old woman hasn’t seen much and doesn’t know the difference? Look at you all acting like you know everything!”
“Blue comes from the indigo plant, but it’s bluer than the plant itself. Grandma, the fact that we know things you don’t just proves how excellent your bloodline is!” Liu Muqiu flattered with a grin.
The grandma felt quite pleased. “That’s true. Just look at Zhixia and Nannan, both so accomplished. Only Zhiqiu’s like a bamboo shoot that grew crooked.”
Everyone had to hold in their laughter, afraid of upsetting her.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhiqiu continued distributing the gifts. “This red coral screen should go in Aunt’s room; it’ll look nice next to her dressing table. This black nanmu nine-compartment box is for my mom. She loves hiding stuff, and if she puts it in there, my dad definitely won’t be able to find it. This fine painting goes to big brother; he’s the only one who can appreciate it. This piece of northern deer hide is for Uncle Lan and Aunt Hong, they can make wrist guards out of it. And this jar of fresh foreign wine is for Elder Jiu. It’ll keep him happy for days…”
He managed to identify and assign all the gifts, and seeing the amazed looks on his family’s faces made Liu Zhiqiu feel proud and triumphant.
Elder Jiu was sitting to the side, having already clutched that jar of new wine to his chest. His small eyes narrowed in satisfaction, a soft warmth flowing through them.
This—this was why he couldn’t bring himself to leave the Liu family courtyard.
Everyone here seemed to carry a gentle light with them, and just being near it made a person feel warm.
After most of the gifts had been distributed, what remained were several bundles of valuable medicinal herbs.
“These are all for Nannan,” Liu Zhiqiu said. “We’ll store them in the medicine cabinet at the clinic, so when she returns, she can find them easily whenever she needs them.”
At the mention of Liu Yusheng, Grandma Liu lit up again. “I wonder when our Nannan will be back. She’s carrying a baby now. By the time Zhixiu and Muqiu get married, she’ll be five months along, right?”
Chen Xiulan smiled softly. “She should be around five months by then. For Zhixiu’s wedding, I reckon she and Axiu will definitely come back a bit earlier, so we’ll get to see her then.”
“She’ll be traveling with such a big belly. What if she gets exhausted on the way?” Liu Dalin rubbed his hands together and cautiously suggested to the family, “How about I travel to the capital and bring her back?”
There were still more than twenty days left, just enough time for a round trip before the wedding feast.
If he went to the capital, he’d even get to see his precious daughter a few days earlier.
Grandpa Liu chuckled and said, “If you want to go pick up Nannan, go ahead. But if she comes back early and ends up missing you on the boat, then you’ll be the one left chasing after her on the way back.”
“…” He could’ve just said no—why hit him with that kind of blow?
The eldest brother wilted like a beaten dog. Liu Erlin, unimpressed, gave him a light kick.
“Nannan’s got Axiu to look after her—what are you so worried about? And anyway, Xiao Jinzi and Xianrou will be coming back with her too. Do you think she’ll really be short on care just because you’re not there? Stay home and wait. When Zhiqiu gets married, I won’t be able to handle it all on my own. You’re my big brother, aren’t you supposed to help me out?”
Dalin shot him a sideways look. “What the hell do you know? Do you even have a daughter?”
If their parents and wives weren’t right there watching, Liu Erlin would’ve wrestled him on the spot. Opening with a jab to the heart—was this what a brother was supposed to do?
“Zhiqiu, Muqiu, once you’re married, make an effort and aim for two kids in three years, four in five—and may every pregnancy be a baby girl!” Liu Erlin said through gritted teeth.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he got a kick to the butt from his wife.
This idiot.
The elders pretended not to notice the kick and carried on as if it was due. “Once they’re all married with kids, the family will be complete. The only one missing is Qinglian—who knows where he’s off wandering, or if we’ll ever see him again.”
“You mean Honglian, right? Qinglian’s that wimp who always got beaten up by Honglian. I doubt he’s ever going to turn things around.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Qinglian and Honglian are brothers. Honglian definitely wouldn’t bully Qinglian to death.”
With the topic turning to Qinglian and Honglian, the main hall filled with lively chatter.
Squatting on the side, Liu Zhiqiu’s mouth twitched. Whether it’s Qinglian or Honglian… aren’t they both just different sides of the same lian?
Have you all forgotten? Qinglian and Honglian are the same person.
……
Meanwhile, in a dark, hidden chamber—
The inner wall was lined with ancestral memorial tablets.
Two dim oil lamps flickered at the corners of the altar table, their faint glow unable to dispel the darkness of the secret chamber.
In front of the tablets, Xue Honglian knelt upright. His upper body was bare, his chest wrapped in bandages, blood seeping through at the center.
The sound of a whip cracking filled the narrow space.
For a full half hour, it was nothing but the relentless crack of the whip, until the man behind him grew exhausted and finally stopped, slumping into a wheelchair, panting heavily.
Under the dim light, the man’s back was torn and mangled—his flesh a mess of blood, with several wounds so deep the bone was visible.
“Couldn’t beat him? Your martial arts may not be the best in the world, but you can count your rivals on one hand! You had the ten top elites of Cangying Pavilion with you—and you tell me you couldn’t win? That he got away?” Xue Zhong’s face twisted, his eyes cold and vicious. “Honglian, you even dare to lie to your uncle now?”
“Honglian wouldn’t dare,” Xue Honglian replied quietly, loosening his lips, which had been bitten bloody.
“Hahaha! Wouldn’t dare? Then lift your head and look—look at the over three hundred spirit tablets before you! Tell them! Swear on your heart that you didn’t let him go on purpose! Can you face them?!”
The wheelchair creaked as it rolled forward to his side, and Xue Zhong’s cold, piercing gaze locked onto him. “You took a half-hour whipping and nearly lost your life without making a sound. Do you even remember where that stubborn, unyielding nature of yours came from? It was when Qinglian witnessed the massacre of your clan and couldn’t bear the trauma—that’s when you, Xue Honglian, were born! And now you’ve even forgotten your hatred!”
TL Corner: Poor Honglian, I can’t wait to see his ending, but patience….
Peek-Aboo 
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