Fortunately, he was someone who cherished her.
When this thought surfaced, Shen Qi’s face flushed red once more.
After inspecting her, Xie Yuduo wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looking quite satisfied.
“There, you look lovely.”
Shen Qi felt a wave of shyness but still smiled.
Xie Yuduo studied her expression and asked softly,
“Are you really not in pain anymore?”
Shen Qi’s face reddened further, and she instead reached for his sleeve.
Last night, the two of them had tried for a long time before truly beginning… At the most painful moment, Xie Yuduo had let her bite his forearm. The pain had been so piercing that she hadn’t held back, sinking her teeth in at once…
Afterward, their blood had mingled together, staining the inner garment he had laid out beforehand…
The tooth marks remained, the scabs just dried.
“Then, does your arm still hurt?”
Xie Yuduo smiled tenderly, full of affection.
“Surely not as much as you hurt.”
“I… I’m alright.”
In truth, it had been excruciating.
Still overwhelmed with shyness, Shen Qi pretended nonchalance and turned toward the dressing table by the window.
She lightly brushed her brows, applied a touch of powder, and opened the jewelry box.
However, when choosing her accessories, she hesitated again.
Shen Qi’s valuable jewelry was all in the box: besides the two gold-inlaid gemstone rings, two engraved gold bracelets, and two filigreed silver necklaces given by the Xie family, there was also a cloud-patterned gold hairpin and a pair of gold hibiscus earrings from her dowry.
She thought to herself that today was her first meeting with the elders, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to appear too ostentatious. So she selected a gold-inlaid greenish-white jade ring, put on the delicate gold hibiscus earrings, and prepared to stand up.
At that moment, Xie Yuduo, who had been standing beside her watching her dress, gently pressed her back down.
He picked up the cloud-patterned gold hairpin and tucked it into Shen Qi’s hair, then placed one of the engraved gold bracelets on her wrist, making her fair skin appear as white as snow, like jade lotus roots.
Shen Qi hesitated for a moment but spoke up.
“Today is my first time meeting the family elders. I’m afraid people might say I’m being presumptuous.”
Xie Yuduo lowered his gaze to admire his wife’s beauty and shook his head.
“There are plenty of presumptuous people in this family, but you are not one of them. In our merchant household, there’s a type of person who judges by appearances. If you don’t look down on them, they’ll look down on you. It’s better to dress well from the start—overwhelm everyone this once, and they won’t dare look down on you ever again.”
Hearing this, Shen Qi followed his advice.
Xie Yuduo then went to the window, clipped a sprig of pale purple hosta flower, and tucked it into her hair by her temple. It truly made her look even more charming and lovely.
The night before, Old Lady Wu had summoned her eldest son and the second son and his wife.
“Tomorrow, the new bride enters the household for the first time. Don’t lose face—I’ve prepared gifts for the meeting. Now I’m asking all of you, don’t forget about this.”
As she spoke, the Old Madam showed everyone a rather aged-looking gold ring she held.
Seeing it, Xie Yan quickly stood up.
“Matters concerning the younger generation shouldn’t trouble Mother to spend too much. This gold ring is something Mother has worn for many years—you should keep it for yourself.”
Old Lady Wu waved her hand.
“It’s no trouble. I’ve taken a liking to this granddaughter-in-law and am happy to give it.”
Hearing this, Lady Feng thought of the treatment her own daughter-in-law had received and felt a pang of discomfort. But seeing that the ring was merely an old piece, she didn’t argue.
“Eldest, you have no one in your household—what have you prepared for tomorrow?”
Xie Yan had lost his wife early and was an honest man by nature, not one to prepare anything new or fancy.
"Just like with Ming'er back then, I prepared a red envelope with five taels of silver."
Old Lady Wu nodded. "What about the second son?"
"I also have a red envelope."
"How much?"
"Two taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, the Old Madam thought it too little. When her eldest grandson Ming'er got married, his uncle Xie Yan had given the same amount—five taels of silver.
Before the Old Madam could speak, Lady Feng hurriedly interjected.
"Even numbers bring good fortune, it's an auspicious sign."
Old Lady Wu ultimately said nothing, knowing that Lady Feng was habitually stingy. Instead, she asked her, "Then what have you prepared?"
Lady Feng was taken aback and stammered slightly.
"Eldest Sister-in-law passed away long ago, so naturally, she didn't give Ming'er's wife anything when he married. So, my share can just be combined with Eldest Brother's—one gift from the two of us… I won't give separately."
Hearing this, the Old Madam angrily tapped her cane on the ground.
Although Eldest Sister-in-law is gone, when Eldest Sister Yu Zhong returned to her maiden home that year and met Ming'er's wife for the first time, she still gifted two bolts of fine fabric. Have you forgotten that already? Or are you waiting for your own Yujin to give her fabric?"
Seeing that Old Lady Wu was genuinely angry, Lady Feng quickly replied.
"Mother, please don't be upset. My cousin sent over several fine handkerchiefs a few days ago. I'll pick out a good one today and properly gift it to my niece-in-law tomorrow."
The Old Madam glanced at her and snorted.
"Since you just said even numbers are auspicious, at least give two."
Lady Feng reluctantly agreed.
When the two went together to the rear courtyard to serve tea to the elders, Shen Qi realized who Xie Yuduo had referred to as the kind of person who judges by appearances.
Old Lady Wu was very pleased with this gentle and sensible granddaughter-in-law. After the tea-serving ceremony, she first sent Father-in-law, Second Uncle, and Xie Yuduo out, then took Shen Qi aside for a few heartfelt words.
"Now that Yuduo is married, this old woman can rest easy even if I close my eyes forever. It's a pity your mother-in-law passed away early, leaving the children behind when she fell ill ten years ago. At that time, Yujing was only two years old, Yuduo was just thirteen or fourteen, and your Eldest Sister Yu Zhong had just married. Your courtyard had no one to manage the household…"
Old Lady Wu wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"But now everything is better. Yuduo has grown up, Yujing is no longer young, and now we have you. The East Courtyard will rely on you to hold things together. You may not know, but Yuduo has always been a man of few words at home. Yet I know he is someone with a clear mind in his heart. If others treat him sincerely, he will treat them sincerely in return—genuine feelings exchanged for genuine feelings…"
Second Aunt slowly sipped half a cup of tea nearby, her eyes scrutinizing Shen Qi's clothing and jewelry from head to toe. Finally finding an opening, she interjected with a smile.
"They say the Old Madam dotes most on her grandchildren's generation—just look how much she cares for Second Daughter-in-law! Not to mention anything else, just this gold hairpin on her head—we've never even seen it before. It must weigh two or three taels. I've rarely seen anything like it even in Pingshan County. Second Daughter-in-law, people from your Baihe Town probably haven't seen such things either, have they?"
There were layers of meaning in these words.
On the surface, she was saying the Old Madam doted on her granddaughter-in-law, but in reality, she was implying two things: first, that Old Lady Wu was biased, giving only to the second granddaughter-in-law and not the first; second, that Shen Qi came from a small place and lacked worldly experience—such a fine gold hairpin was probably something she had never even seen before.
Hearing this, the Old Madam looked carefully and indeed saw a gold hairpin of excellent quality adorning her second granddaughter-in-law's hair.
"That's quite true, I cherish my granddaughters-in-law just as I do my own grandsons. But as for this gold hairpin, not to mention I haven't shown it to you, I've never even seen it myself."
Shen Qi smoothed her hair at the temples, her face beaming with a smile.
"Old Madam cherishes us, and this granddaughter-in-law knows it well in her heart. It's no wonder no one has seen this hairpin before—it originally came from my dowry, and today is the first time I've worn it."
Hearing this, both women indeed looked at her with newfound respect.
In rural towns, it was rare for people to wear gold and silver; most young women and wives adorned themselves with a few silk flowers. Yet the Shen Family had actually given such a valuable gold hairpin as part of their daughter's dowry.
Though it was partly due to the generous betrothal gifts from the Xie Family, it was still uncommon, suggesting a family that truly knew how to cherish their daughters.
After exchanging a few more words, they all went together to the hall for breakfast.
Shen Qi helped Old Madam out the door, and after walking a few steps, she sensed someone behind her. Glancing back discreetly, she saw Xie Yuduo, hands clasped behind his back, following a few paces behind.
Taking advantage of Old Madam and Second Aunt being engrossed in conversation, Shen Qi deliberately slowed her pace and whispered to him.
"Why are you here?"
Xie Yuduo strode forward to catch up, lowering his voice as he replied.
"I was afraid you might be bullied by those who judge by appearances, so I waited on purpose."
Seeing his earnest expression, Shen Qi couldn't help but press her lips together in a smile.