Chapter 385: After Finding the Long Banquet Left

Chapter 385

When the wedding hour approached at the treetop,

The bridal carriage set off right at noon.

The banquet was prepared after dusk,

Everyone was busy until midnight.

Hosting the wedding banquet at home, even if it was just three to five tables, was still tiring until the sky turned dark, seeing off all the guests, then cleaning up the leftover food and bowls and chopsticks, and neatly arranging the furniture and utensils of You Ran House for someone to collect tomorrow.

Even with helpers, Jiang Sheng felt like collapsing on the bed after mopping the bluestone floor.

"It's said the bride is most tired on her wedding day, so Auntie must be much more exhausted," she wondered aloud, sitting curled up in a small wicker chair.

No one answered.

The only elder, Zhang Xianglian, had married into the Kong family, leaving behind just some youngsters and naive girls.

"Rest early if you're tired," Xu Mo said, rubbing his sore fingers.

His job was the easiest, just collecting money and keeping records, yet he still felt sore in his neck and shoulders, and was slow on his feet.

"Do we need to tally today's silver?" Zheng Ruqian looked at the big bag of copper coins. For the first time, he wasn't eager to count money. "Should we give it to Auntie?"

According to rural wedding customs, the gold and silver recorded in the wedding ledger belonged to the bride's family, because it needed to be returned by the bride's family.

But this dowry was given by Zhang Xianglian herself, so it should be returned to her.

"Let's take it to Auntie tomorrow, or keep it and give it to her when she visits?" Fang Heng was the only one still energetic. To him, these were trivial tasks.

"When she visits. Let Auntie rest these few days," Xu Mo decided.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

No one knew when, but Wen Zhiyun had come over with Little Bamboo, one holding a lidded bowl, one holding an empty bowl. "Everyone worked hard today. Have this Eight Treasure Soup to invigorate you. It also has a calming effect."

It was so nice to have a doctor at home. No need to worry about minor injuries or tonics for health.

Eight Treasure Soup sounded wonderful.

Jiang Sheng immediately sat up and drained the big bowl.

Zheng Ruqian, Fang Heng and Xu Mo also accepted without declining. The eight Jiang siblings and the Wang siblings each drank a bowl too.

One empty, two empty, three also empty.

Until Zheng Ruqian cried out in alarm.

Everyone crowded around to see six small wooden figurines placed neatly on the wide desk, weighing down a sheet of smooth paper that bore a few large characters in Chang Yan's handwriting.

"I've been away for too long, it's time to go home. Don't be sad, your Little Five forever," Xu Mo read aloud.

Silence fell after he finished.

After five years of brotherhood, they'd never heard him mention any family or that it was time to go home. What family called back a child they'd fostered out for five years?

"And didn't Fifth Brother say he lost his memory?" Jiang Sheng said, tones vaguely aggrieved.

Did he regain his memories?

"Little Five never said he lost his memory. You assumed, and he didn't refute," Xu Mo said, picking up the six figurines.

Since last year, Chang Yan had taken up carving.

He was diligent. With no foundation, he slowly honed his skills, wasting batches after batches of wood. His fingertips were calloused, but he finally carved lifelike miniatures of the siblings.

Eldest brother forever reading. Second brother counting money. Third brother wielding a staff. Fourth brother with a medicine box on his back. Little sister holding a candied haws.

And him, hands clasped behind his back, calm as still water.

They were a family. Even in hardship, they would unite and rely on each other, just like how the carvings stood side by side, helping each other survive.

But now, Chang Yan had gone home.

"We never said he couldn't go home. Why didn't he bid farewell to his brothers' faces, why not say where his home was." Zheng Ruqian sat on the bedside, aggrieved. "Why did he sneak away, even on the happiest day of Auntie's life?"

"I think it was to delay our discovery of his disappearance," Xu Mo said softly. His fingertips holding the figurine had turned white from force.

He had planned everything, truly cunning for their clever Little Five. But had he calculated their disappointment, their sister's choked sobs?

"Could Little Five have been threatened?" Fang Heng remembered his own past, gripping his blade tightly. "Then I must find him. I'll rescue my brother."

Everyone fell silent again. These were just guesses. No one knew the real reason Chang Yan left or where he went.

In the dead silence, a lone frail figure curled up tightly, face drenched in tears.

"Little Five, are you leaving me? How could you...leave me."