Chapter 511: 511. Let’s set off
After attending Qiao Jing and Min Rou’s wedding, Su Liang and Gu Ling found that a few days later, Nangong Qian also got married and formed a marriage with Qi Yan.
Feng Ming and Peng Wu’s wedding were set three months later, Cheng Yun and Wen Ran’s at the end of the year. Qiao Cong and Cen Man, on the other hand, were set to get married in half a month, mainly because they were worried that if it were later, Gu Ling and Su Liang would have left. As witnesses and promoters of the major turning points in their lives, others could skip their wedding wine, but Gu Ling and Su Liang had to be there.
Originally, Su Liang and Gu Ling planned to leave the capital city after Nangong Qian and Qi Yanformed their marriage. But now, they have to wait another half a month to watch Qiao Cong and Cen Man get married with their own eyes. After all, it was the elder’s happy event, and Su Liang was the matchmaker.
That day, when Su Liang saw Yan Shiba again, she casually asked her, “When are you and Sheng Yue planning on getting married?” The two had already slept together but never mentioned the matter of marriage.
Yan Shiba was stunned for a moment, “Ah? Marriage? That’s... not so important, right?”
Su Liang nodded, “Indeed, it’s fine as long as you both are happy. I was just asking. If you don’t plan on getting married, that’s even better, we’ll save a gift.”
The moment Yan Shiba heard that, she was not happy at all, “That won’t work! I want everything others have! Marriage! We’ll get married tomorrow!”
Su Liang was speechless, “There’s not enough time to prepare!”
“Oh, no need to make it so complicated, just a table of wine and dishes at home will do! But you and Gu have to cook it personally. After all, it’s my big day, and I won’t eat anything made by others! We don’t have any elders... No, his dead monk father seems to be alive, but let’s just treat him as dead!” Yan Shiba shook her head, “That’s it! We’ll get married tomorrow!”
“Won’t you choose an auspicious day based on your birth chart?” Su Liang asked.
Yan Shiba shook her head indifferently, “I never believed in that stuff! It doesn’t matter if he believes it or not! If he dares to disagree, we’ll break up!”
As it happened, Sheng Yue came to see Su Liang about something, and when he reached the door, he heard Yan Shiba’s words. His face unchanged, he came in directly.
“You came at just the right time.” Yan Shiba looked at Sheng Yue, “Originally, I thought getting married was not important, and I would wait until I got pregnant first. In case I couldn’t get pregnant, then it would be your fault, and I’d find a capable man... ”
Sheng Yue nodded, “That’s fine.”
Yan Shiba choked for a moment and stared at Sheng Yue, “Don’t interrupt! I haven’t finished! Liang Meimei wants to see us get married, so instead of choosing a date, let’s bump into one – tomorrow! Are you up for it? If not, get lost!”
Upon hearing this, Sheng Yue shook his head, “Tomorrow is not possible.”
Yan Shiba snorted lightly, “Break up! It’s not like anyone’s dying to marry you!”
Su Liang asked Sheng Yue, “You came to see me, is there something?”
Sheng Yue nodded, “My mother’s death anniversary is coming up, and I want to take Cheng Yun with me to pay our respects.”
Yan Shiba frowned, “Have you asked Cheng Yun? Could he agree?”
“I asked him, he said he wanted to go, but not with me. He will go with Wen Ran.” Sheng Yue said. It had just happened, so Cheng Yun and Wen Ran hadn’t come to find Su Liang yet.
Yan Shiba asked, “Where is your mother buried?”
“In Feng City.” Sheng Yue said. It was a city in the central part of Qian Country. Their family had once lived there, and after his mother died, the household scattered. But he had gone back to visit her grave every year on her death anniversary. That was also the fixed day for him to meet with Pu Cheng every year, but Pu Cheng had never taken Cheng Yun there.
“Since Cheng Yun already said he wants to go, I won’t have to persuade him.” Su Liang said, “Leave today?”
Sheng Yue nodded, “I want to leave today.” He looked at Yan Shiba, “Why don’t you come with me, and we can get married when we get back.”
Yan Shiba’s eyes flickered, “Why should I go with you?”
“There’s nothing for you at home anyway. Gu Ling and Su Liang are leaving in half a month, and they won’t take you with them.” Sheng Yue said.
Yan Shiba kicked Sheng Yue, “Just because I have nothing to do, I should go with you? Do you think you’re charming?”
Sheng Yue nodded, “I am charming.”
Yan Shiba:...
Su Liang waved his hand, “You guys go back and fight.”
However, neither of them had any intention of leaving. Yan Shiba snorted, “I can go, I’m just idle anyway. But I want to go with Little Ranran!”
Sheng Yue shook his head, “Cheng Yun doesn’t want to go with me, you shouldn’t bother them either.”
Yan Shiba grabbed Sheng Yue’s ear, stood up with a tug, and said, “Have I been too gentle with you recently?”
“Su Liang, mediate.” Sheng Yue said.
Su Liang looked amused, “You guys are too noisy. If you want to fight, hurry up and do it. I like to watch, so stop saying all these nonsense.”
Hearing this, Yan Shiba directly jumped onto Sheng Yue, who subconsciously held her up.
Yan Shiba leaned in and kissed Sheng Yue, “You little devil, you like to watch, huh? We’ll fight for you to see!”
“Great God, throw them out. The farther, the better.” Su Liang said in a faint tone.
“Haha! Little Tree is such a good boy!” Qiao Cong laughed heartily and rubbed Ji Xiaoshu’s head. Qiao Jing, who was following behind, took out the prepared red envelopes and gave one to each of the four children.
Gu Ling also reached out, and Qiao Jing’s mouth twitched a little. He reluctantly took out another red envelope and gave it to Gu Ling.
As soon as Cen Man put on the red wedding veil, she heard footsteps outside.
Gu Xiaonuan stood at the door, her smile brilliant as she saluted, “Congratulations, Uncle Qiao!”
Qiao Cong laughed so hard his grin almost touched his ears, and he picked up Gu Xiaonuan and kissed her cheek. “Little Nuan is such a good girl!”
Su Liang took Gu Xiaonuan back, and Qiao Cong looked at the bride approaching slowly, his eyes bright, “Ah Man, I’ve come to get you!”
As soon as Cen Man approached, Qiao Cong bent down and picked her up horizontally, walking out briskly amidst everyone’s laughter.
Su Liang and Gu Ling took the children and followed the wedding procession to Qiao Mansion.
The master of ceremonies was, as expected, Old Duke Qin. He had the best relationship with everyone, and Qiao Cong specifically asked for him to come.
There were many guests, almost all of them being friends and acquaintances of Su Liang and Gu Ling.
After the lively ceremony, it was time for the feast.
Gu Ling, holding Nian Jincheng and Yang Yu’s son, looked at him for a while and said to Su Liang, “Luckily, this kid doesn’t look like his uncle, or it would be so worrisome.”
Su Liang had almost completely forgotten about Yang Yu’s mischievous older brother, Yang Feng. It is said that nephews often resemble their uncles, but it is not always true. The child of Nian Jincheng looked very much like his father. Of course, this child was also one of Gu Ling’s disciples. He was very open to accepting apprentices.
Su Liang asked Gu Ling what he would do if he ended up having too many disciples to teach.
Gu Ling calmly replied that the disciples were all about the same age, so he could just hold classes or have Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu, his two closest disciples, serve as teaching assistants. As for why he accepted all the children of his friends and family as disciples, he had a reason: these children would grow up to be Gu Xiaonuan’s friends. He wanted them to grow strong and upright to avoid Gu Xiaonuan getting constantly involved in solving her friends’ problems like Su Liang, which would be too exhausting.
Su Liang agreed with this reasoning. However, she knew that Gu Ling also liked children very much and wouldn’t refuse to accept his friends’ children as his disciples since they had agreed not to have more children of their own.
After the feast, Gu Ling and Su Liang decided to go home, while Axin and Ale asked Ji Xiaoshu and Zhengzheng to come to their house for a little fun.
Gu Ling leaned down and whispered something to Zhengzheng. After hesitating for a moment, Zhengzheng told Axin and Ale that he wanted to go back to his own house to see his younger brother and would visit Peng Mansion another day.
Gu Ling, Su Liang, and Gu Xiaonuan returned to their home, while Zhengzheng took Ji Xiaoshu to visit the Wan Family.
“Big Brother, what did Master whisper to you?” Ji Xiaoshu asked.
Upon seeing Zhu Zan, the escort who was smiling, Zhengzheng replied, “I know.”
Zhengzheng then said, “Little Shu, Master told us to set off today!”
It was previously decided that they would leave in three days. Everyone who was staying at Su Mansion would return to Su Family Village together.
Ji Xiaoshu grinned mischievously, “I originally thought Master and Mistress would sneak off with their daughter and leave us behind! If that happened, I would have cried! But do you think Master will be mad when he finds out?”
Actually, grandmaster himself knew... at least old Muru knew about it. But he didn’t mind. Weng Ming had plans to open a Medical Hall, and old Bai would definitely miss his children the most, but by then old Muru would find something for him to do.
Zhengzheng went home to say goodbye to his parents. Although he had been living at Su Mansion, he often returned home. Now that he was going on a long journey, it would be at least several months before he could come back.
Wan Hui and Lu Yu were reluctant to part with their son but supported him in going out to see the world with Su Liang and Gu Ling. They would also return to their old hometown to handle some business, so they wouldn’t be too far apart.
As for Ji Xiaoshu, his father Ji Yuebai was even more fond of traveling than he was. Ji Yuebai was not in the capital city, but it was possible that they would run into each other in the north. Ji Xiaoshu planned to visit his father’s farmland when he got there.
When the two children returned to Su Mansion, the carriage had already been prepared. This carriage had been designed by Gu Ling and Su Liang, with Gu Ling and old Muru making it by hand. It was very spacious, with everything needed for travel inside.
Gu Ling, Su Liang, and Gu Xiaonuan’s luggage had already been prepared, and Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu quickly emerged with their bags.
With just Gu Ling, Su Liang, and the three children, Gu Ling drove the carriage, while Su Liang and the children sat inside.
Master, here I come! Ji Xiaoshu exclaimed excitedly, sitting next to Gu Ling and taking the horse whip, “Let’s go!”
Gu Ling carefully taught Ji Xiaoshu how to drive the carriage. Ji Xiaoshu asked, “Master, you are not going to let a kid like me drive the carriage, right?”
Gu Ling nodded, “I believe you can do it.”
Ji Xiaoshu grinned, “As long as you don’t worry about me driving the carriage into a ditch.”
As the carriage left the capital city, the scenery instantly became more wide-open.
The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was gentle, Zhengzheng and Gu Xiaonuan were singing a children’s rhyme taught by Su Liang, and Ji Xiaoshu was gently swaying the horse whip in time with the rhythm outside. He looked at the fluffy white clouds in the distance against the blue sky, then suddenly slumped on Gu Ling, saying, “Master, I’m tired!”
With an indifferent expression, Gu Ling responded, “If you’re so weak, go home and rest.”
Ji Xiaoshu immediately sat up straight, I’ll go back to the car and rest. Mistress, how long will it take for us to arrive at Su Family Village?”
A laughing voice came from inside the carriage, “About half a month, I guess. No hurry, let’s take our time, enjoy the scenery.”