Chapter 682: November 10th of the Lunar Calendar
Chapter 682: November 10th of the Lunar Calendar
Nie Zhan first went to register for their marriage appointment, and then sought out a master to calculate an auspicious date for the wedding. The Feng Shui master calculated three lucky days, and Lu Jiaxin chose the 10th of November on the lunar calendar.
Once the wedding date was set, Nie Zhan excitedly said to Lu Jiaxin, "Let's go back to the old mansion together tomorrow and share this good news with Grandpa."
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to go to the old mansion with him, and her expression turned a little cold as she said, "You go back and tell Grandpa and the others yourself!"
"What's wrong?" Nie Zhan asked.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiaxin realized that she had misunderstood him. "Didn't your mother come back this morning? Didn't Grandpa and Nie Jingwen tell you?"
Nie Zhan was taken aback, as he indeed didn't know about this. "Since you don't want to go, then don't. Leave me some dinner tomorrow night."
Without a doubt, with his mother at the old mansion, the visit tomorrow would definitely not be a pleasant one.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and agreed. It could be said that the two of them shared a similar predicament. Just as she had lost her appetite because of Lu Hongjun, Nie Zhan was in the same situation.
The next day, Lu Jiaxin first called Zong Shimen to inform her of the news. "Yes, the 10th of November on the lunar calendar. There's half a year to prepare, so there shouldn't be any problems."
It was customary to first inform by phone and then send out the wedding invitations. However, designing and producing the invitations would take some time. If all went well, it could be done in a week, but if there were any delays, it might even take a month.
Zong Shimen laughed and said, "Jiaxin, if there's anything you need, just let me know, don't be shy."
Lu Jiaxin smiled and replied, "Of course I won't be shy if I need something. Sister Shimen, are you free on Saturday? If you are, let's have afternoon tea together."
Zong Shimen indicated that Yu Meotong was feeling bored staying at home alone. "Let's go find Meotong on Saturday and keep her company."
Pregnant women often suffered from morning sickness, and this was when they were at their most vulnerable. Yu Meotong's situation was relatively better; she just couldn't stand any strange smells, and as long as they didn't cook at home, she could get by with plain rice porridge. When she was pregnant with her eldest son, she couldn't stand any fishy smells, and would throw up as soon as she caught a whiff. Having gone through it herself, she deeply empathized with others who suffered through difficult pregnancies.
"Sure," Yu Meotong replied.
Upon hearing that the wedding date was the 26th of December on the solar calendar, Yu Meotong was flabbergasted. "What? The 26th of December? My due date is the 20th of December! Your wedding date falls right in the middle of my confinement period!"
Lu Jiaxin hadn't thought of that. "It's alright, I know your intentions."
Yu Meotong grumbled, "Who chose this date? Why did you have to pick the end of the year? If it were a bit earlier or later, I could have attended!"
Lu Jiaxin smiled mischievously and said, "The master gave us three auspicious dates, and I chose this one."
If Nie Zhan had chosen the date, Yu Meotong might have scolded him, but since it was Jiaxin's choice, she had nothing to say. "I hope I haven't given birth by then."
Lu Jiaxin laughed delightedly. "I've made plans with Sister Shimen to visit you on Saturday. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I can bring it for you."
Yu Meotong replied with disdain, "No, don't bring anything. I can only eat plain vegetable porridge now; I can't touch anything else. Tao Yong was worried that I wasn't getting enough nutrition, so he steamed me a bowl of egg custard, but as soon as I smelled it, I threw up bile."
The egg custard had only caused her suffering, and after she finished vomiting, she scolded Tao Yong. "Can't you even stand the smell of flowers?"
Yu Meotong replied glumly, "No, I can't stand any smells at all. The man who lives upstairs from me likes to grow flowers, and a few days ago, when he brought them out to the balcony to sunbathe, I smelled the fragrance and threw up."
Worried that the scent of flowers would continue to waft down, she had asked Tao Yong to go upstairs and talk to her neighbor.
Nie Zhan felt uncomfortable hearing these words, but he knew he couldn't compromise. If he did, it would never end. "I'm marrying Jiaxin on December 26th," he said, his voice firm.
Nie Zhan's words only served to anger Old Master Nie further. "Now that you've become arrogant, you no longer show respect to your elders," he said coldly.
Nie Zhan understood the source of his anger. "Grandfather, what would you have me do? Follow in your footsteps and be an enabler? You talk of punishment, but in reality, you've never followed through."
"She is your mother," Nie Elder said angrily. "I may choose to tolerate and indulge her, but you don't have to endlessly clean up her messes."
"She's your daughter," Nie Zhan countered. "If you want to enable her, that's your business. But I won't endlessly pick up the pieces of her mess."
Elder Nie's anger intensified. "She's your mother, Nie Zhan."
Nie Zhan had often bitten his tongue to avoid upsetting his grandfather in the past, but he could no longer bring himself to do so. "My father is a workaholic," he said. "Despite that, he made time to accompany me to important events, from my first day of elementary school to my university graduation. And he gives me half of his annual salary. As for my mother, before I started working and earning money, I saw her a mere four times, and that was only when she came back to ask you for money. A mother like that is better off not existing."
He had never blamed his father, understanding his dedication to his work. But even with his workaholic tendencies, his father had always made an effort to be present for significant occasions in Nie Zhan's life. In contrast, his mother's absence had been keenly felt.
Nie Patriarch paused, his beliefs rooted in the old-fashioned notion that parents could do no wrong. "Your mother has that kind of temperament, and she won't change in this lifetime. Don't hold it against her."
Nie Zhan's response was resolute. "Grandfather, there's no need to say more. From now on, unless it's a matter of illness, I won't involve myself in her affairs."
(End of Chapter)
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