Chapter 200: Chapter 186: Moving to the Capital, Husband and Wife Reunited (3 Updates)

Before leaving, Wen Wan made a special trip to the county town with Jinbao.

Father Wen ran a grocery store on the busiest main street in the county town.

Besides having Wen Shun follow him around to learn and gain experience, the family also hired a helper.

The store’s layout was a front shop with a backyard, where items were sold up front and people lived in the back.

Upon seeing Wen Wan with her grandson, Father Wen was overjoyed, handed the shop duties to the helper, and took them to the living room in the backyard to sit. He then asked Mrs. Zhou to quickly buy a plump chicken to stew for his daughter’s meal.

Wen Wan originally intended to say it wasn’t necessary, but thinking that once she left, she wouldn’t know when she would see her father again, she swallowed the refusal that had risen to her tongue.

Father Wen took Jinbao from her arms and glanced at Wen Shun, who was looking down and picking his nails, “You see your sister and don’t even greet her, what’s the matter, gone mute?”

Wen Shun didn’t look up, barely mumbling, “Sis.”

Hardly audible if not paying attention.

Father Wen’s face darkened a bit, “Louder!”

Startled, Wen Shun lifted his head and shouted towards Wen Wan, “Sis!”

Somehow there was a reluctant tone in it.

Wen Wan smiled, “Dad, don’t scare him.”

Wen Shun wasn’t so much frightened by his father but rather stumbled off his stool as Wen Wan spoke, landing on the ground, staring at her as if seeing a ghost, eyes wide open.

Earlier, when his mother returned from serving the month with the newborn, she casually mentioned that his “mute” sister could speak now. Wen Shun dismissed it like just another piece of gossip and forgot all about it.

Now witnessing her speak with his own eyes and hearing her voice, it was as if he had been struck by lightning several times.

Wen Shun swallowed his saliva, and after a good while, he could finally move his gaze from Wen Wan back to his father, “Dad…”

Father Wen saw his cowardly appearance and was somewhat disappointed, “Didn’t your mother tell you your sister can talk now?”

Wen Shun realized his reaction was cowardly and slowly climbed back onto the stool, “She, she did, but I’ve been busy these days, I forgot.”

Father Wen didn’t scold Wen Shun further, instead looking at Wen Wan.

This girl he raised himself, even though she wasn’t his biological daughter, he always treated her like one. For many years, he had hoped to hear her call him ’dad’ again, but her voice was too broken, and no doctor could help.

Who would have thought, that having a baby and nearly facing a difficult childbirth would lead to such an unexpected blessing?

Father Wen looked at his daughter with indescribable relief in his eyes.

Wen Wan felt her father’s gaze today was exceptionally warm, which improved her mood significantly.

“Dad, my mother-in-law has already chosen the date. In a few days, we’ll be moving to the Capital,” Wen Wan said, “Once settled there, I might rarely have the chance to return. Please take care of your health.”

Father Wen was very touched hearing this and nodded repeatedly, “Daughter, you also must take care of yourself and your child wherever you are, don’t let me worry.”

Wen Wan felt her heart soften, her lips curved with a smile.

Mrs. Zhou bought a speckled chicken and came over asking Wen Shun to help slaughter it.

Sitting with this father and daughter, Wen Shun felt like an outsider, not able to insert a word, feeling out of place. He ran outside eagerly as soon as his mother called.

Father Wen feared his daughter might mind, sighed and said, “He’s wild, not really listening to anything at the moment.”

Wen Wan knew her stepbrother wasn’t good at studying, but had some interest in following his father in business, so she advised, “I heard from my husband before that Shunzi has a knack for business. Dad, why not nurture him while he’s young, maybe he can make a name for himself in the future.”

That’s what Father Wen thought too.

This son of his, getting him to study is a headache, he’s simply not cut out for it, but when it comes to business, he has some talent. That’s why he would follow him far away to stock goods, not complaining about eating just buns and pickles along the journey.

Startled by the little one babbling, Father Wen looked down as the small hands tugged his beard, causing him to laugh heartily, filled with affection.

With Wen Shun’s help, Mrs. Zhou quickly prepared the meal, personally serving Wen Wan a bowl of chicken soup, telling her to drink while it’s hot.

Wen Wan accepted it and thanked her.

In the years before she got married, although her stepmother didn’t point at her nose and scold or beat her with a stick, she never showed a pleasant face, let alone personally serving her meals.

But after serving her postpartum confinement, Wen Wan noticed her stepmother had changed a lot.

Initially, she thought her father forced Mrs. Zhou to do it and even advised her stepmother that her mother-in-law was taking care of her, so there’s no need for family members to stay all day. The family had such a big shop to manage back in the county town, suggesting she return early to take care of business.

At the time, Mrs. Zhou simply smiled, saying that having married into the Wen family for so many years without a daughter, now her stepdaughter had a baby, and as her stepmother, it was right for her to serve personally.

Regardless of whether it was genuine or not, during that period, Mrs. Zhou hand-washed Jinbao’s diapers, and when her mother-in-law was too busy, Mrs. Zhou also handled the kitchen chores.

With both of them taking care of her so well, Wen Wan felt she had gained quite a few pounds after her postpartum confinement, her small face almost turning round.

After the meal, Wen Wan voluntarily went to the kitchen to help Mrs. Zhou tidy up.

Mrs. Zhou didn’t refuse; she asked her to go back to her room and hold the child.

Wen Wan couldn’t argue, so she lifted her foot to leave. Mrs. Zhou suddenly remembered something and asked her if the Xie family was also going to Beijing.

Wen Wan said yes, as the day her mother-in-law had someone choose seemed quite good, the Xie family had been busy these days dealing with the farmland and livestock at home, planning to go to the capital together with the Song family.

Mrs. Zhou then asked, “Is Xie Tao’s family also going along?”

Wen Wan nodded.

The Xie family was headed by Aunt Xie, who has always kept the family united without splitting. When Xie Zheng was studying, Xie Tao and his wife invested a lot in him.

Now that Xie Zheng has made something of himself, it wouldn’t be right to just bring his parents to enjoy life in the capital and leave his brother’s family behind.

After digging the fishpond, Aunt Xie was responsible for raising the fish, while Xie Tao and his wife were responsible for selling them. Over the year, they earned quite a bit and learned a lot.

Xie Zheng mentioned in his letter that after his second brother’s family moved to the capital, he would figure out a way to help them open a storefront for business.

Mrs. Zhou swallowed her saliva. “So, what do they plan to do with Xie’s fishpond?”

Upon hearing her stepmother ask such a question, Wen Wan roughly guessed her thoughts.

Actually, if it weren’t for her second sister-in-law’s family getting involved, she had considered stepping in to make a statement, asking Aunt Xie to transfer the fishpond to her father. Unfortunately, the second sister-in-law’s family got ahead and begged her mother-in-law to step in. Aunt Xie, to save face, had already agreed to transfer it to Song Erlang’s family.

Hearing from her stepdaughter that the fishpond had already changed hands, Mrs. Zhou felt some regret. “I thought Erlang’s family would go along with you.”

“That’s not possible,” Wen Wan said. “The second house originally insisted on splitting the family because of the bad luck attributed to the Third Son. Now that the Third Son has passed the exam and become an official, whether the third house fares well or not has nothing to do with them.”

In this matter, Wen Wan’s attitude was very firm.

They were about to move, and if the second house felt that any furniture here was suitable for their home, that would be fine, but as for going to Beijing together, even if her mother-in-law agreed, she couldn’t agree.

——When someone is having a tough time, you treat them like a plague, and once they’ve turned their luck around and succeeded, you want to cling on?

There’s a saying that rings true: one person cannot have all the good things under heaven.

Back then, they insisted on splitting the family no matter what, and now, behaving meekly without mentioning going to the capital, Wen Wan would respect that couple for having some backbone. But if they dared bring it up, they couldn’t blame her for showing a lack of kindness.

——

Returning from the county town, discussions about going to the capital began to take priority.

Most of what could be moved from home was ready, and they hired open-air carriages specifically for loading goods. What couldn’t be transported was left to the second house.

In a rush, the Xie family finally managed to settle all the miscellaneous affairs before departure, and they completed the handover of the fishpond to Song Erlang’s family. Knowing that Song Erlang and his wife didn’t have money, Aunt Xie generously said there was no hurry to pay, they could do so in the future when able.

They gathered for a reunion meal during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and on August 18th, the Song and Xie families relocated to the capital.

With the carriages of both families gathered together, the momentum was particularly impressive, attracting countless glances along the way.

The children from the Xie family found it quite novel at first, but after munching on dry rations for a few days on the road, they all seemed like frost-stricken plants, unable to muster any enthusiasm.

Considering Jinbao was still young, the journey couldn’t be rushed, and they slowed down the overall pace, reaching the capital by late September.

Counting the delays from stopping and starting along the way, it took about a month overall.

Wen Wan had previously told Song Yuanbao not to write to inform Song Wei of their arrival date, wanting to surprise her husband, so no one came to meet them on the day they entered the capital.

Song Yuanbao directly led everyone to the courtyard in the alley, planning to wait for Uncle Xie to return in the evening to discuss specific arrangements.

Wen Wan asked Song Yuanbao for directions to the Hanlin Academy, entrusted Jinbao to her mother-in-law, and went to meet her husband at the right time.

By this time, the capital had already begun to cool.

Since she was still nursing and couldn’t afford to catch a cold and fall ill, Wen Wan specially changed into a refreshingly colored but thick outfit, and her appearance was deliberately groomed as well.

It wasn’t time for the Lower Court to dismiss yet; she waited under the blue brick wall opposite the Hanlin Academy.

When Song Wei came out, someone passed by outside.

He unintentionally raised his head, his gaze cutting through the crowd, and saw the person opposite.

Her hands rubbed together as if she were a bit nervous, her gaze lowered to the ground, watching the elongated shadows cast by the setting sun, as if using them to estimate the time.

A simple yet elegant jacket skirt delicately outlined her graceful and curvaceous figure.

The autumn breeze gently blew, disheveling a lock of hair by her temple.

Across the wide street, Song Wei seemed to catch a faint whiff of her fragrance.

Feeling something, Wen Wan lifted her head and met the man’s eyes.

She smiled gently, disregarding the presence of others around her, and said “husband” without hesitating.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep