After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 75 A Joyous Day (Part 1)

After Bai Wanqing brought all her betrothal gifts back to the courtyard last time, the Bai family had a period of relative peace and quiet.

The main reason was that with the wedding days of her three daughters getting closer and closer, Chen Shi became very busy. Just preparing the dowry and decorating for the wedding day kept her extremely busy.

Furong was the first to get married. She was busy finishing up her wedding dress. It is said that Bai Qinglian used to occasionally go to Furong to show off what she had acquired as part of her dowry. However, every time she went there, she saw Furong embroidering her wedding dress. The bright red color made her feel uncomfortable. After two or three times, she stopped going there so often.

But Furong didn't care, because Bai Wanqing would visit her in her courtyard every day after returning from the clinic.

"Tomorrow is your wedding day, why are you still getting ready for your wedding dress?" Bai Wanqing asked as soon as she entered the room, noticing Furong intently examining her wedding dress.

Furong was a little shy, but she always spoke her mind to Bai Wanqing. "Big sister, they all say that once you get married, you're an adult, but Furong doesn't know how to be an adult!"

"Furong is afraid that she won't do well and will be disliked by Young Master Du. What should Furong do if he stops liking her one day?"

Bai Wanqing never expected her usually simple-minded second sister to think this way. "Furong, do you want to hear the truth from your eldest sister, or do you want her to comfort you?"

Furong wanted her older sister to comfort her because she was really scared, but after thinking for a moment, she said, "Furong wants to hear the truth."

Bai Wanqing paused, considered her words, and said, "Furong, in this world, although many people like you and many people don't, it doesn't matter."

"unimportant?"

"Hmm! You could say it's not that important!"

"Big sister, Furong doesn't understand. Furong still hopes that big sister likes Furong. If big sister doesn't like Furong anymore, Furong will be very sad." Furong blinked, her eyes reddening as if she was thinking about this sad thing.

Bai Wanqing said, "If possible, eldest sister will naturally always like Furong. Young Master Du said it's possible, and he also wants to always like Furong. But Furong, you must understand, people's hearts can change!"

Furong was even more heartbroken now, "Will my older sister ever stop liking me?"

"I was just saying maybe! Right now, Big Sister likes Furong the most." Bai Wanqing took Furong's hand. "But our liking is not as important as you liking yourself. Whether I like Furong or not, whether Young Master Du likes Furong or not, we Furongs have to like ourselves, okay?"

Furong understood now. "Furong will like herself. No matter what, Furong will take good care of herself."

“Even if Young Master Du stops liking Furong one day, Furong will still like herself.”

Bai Wanqing was very pleased to see that Furong understood. She then checked everything Furong would use for her wedding the next day with her. After confirming that everything was in order, she told Furong to go to bed early.

Before dawn the next day, the servants of the Bai family began to prepare. Madam Chen arrived early at Furong's courtyard to watch her wash and put on makeup, just in case something went wrong.

Bai Wanqing and Bai Qinglian arrived at Furong's courtyard early after hearing the commotion, wanting to keep Furong company. After all, once Furong marries into the Du family, their opportunities to meet will not be as convenient as they are now.

Bai Qinglian's expression turned sour when she saw Bai Wanqing. She said, "You're all divorced people, so unlucky. Why do you have to come and join in the fun at this time? I'm afraid you don't want Second Sister to have a good time after she marries into the family!"

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Bai Wanqing, who originally did not want to pay attention to Bai Qinglian, paused in her steps.

Ruixin was a little angry and was about to argue when Bai Wanqing stopped her, saying, "Ruixin, today is Second Sister's big day, don't cause trouble."

Seeing this, Bai Qinglian was naturally pleased. She turned around and glared at Bai Wanqing before entering Furong's room.

Ruixin stood behind her young mistress, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"Miss, shall we go in?" Ruixin asked.

Before Ruixin could finish speaking, Baoyue, who was busy in the room, spotted them. "Miss, why are you so late? Miss has been talking about you!"

Bai Wanqing then led Ruixin into Furong's room and saw that Furong's hair was already styled and she was now applying powder to her face.

Seeing Bai Wanqing and the others arrive, her smile widened. "Big sister, would you like to go to the Du family with Furong later? Furong is still a little scared."

Furong's words amused Madam Chen and the busy maids in the room. "My dear daughter," Madam Chen said to Furong, "who brings their sister-in-law to their husband's family when they marry? People will laugh at you if they hear that. Don't gossip outside."

Bai Wanqing walked to Furong's side and said, "Furong, don't be afraid. Do you still remember what your elder sister told you last night?"

Furong thought for a moment and nodded, "Furong remembers, Furong understands."

When everything was ready, a bustling sound came from outside the door. The Du family had come to pick up the bride. Furong was helped by the matchmaker to the front hall to bid farewell to her parents. The Bai family also went to join in the fun.

Du Huan was surrounded by everyone and brought to the front hall. When he saw Furong, who was wearing a wedding dress, he was too shy to speak even before he could see her face.

It was only when Bai Chenming, the father-in-law, coughed lightly that Du Huan came to his senses.

After serving tea to Bai's parents, the newlyweds were escorted out of Bai's house by the guests, boarded the bridal sedan chair, and went to Du's banquet.

Bai Chenming watched Furong leave with longing in his eyes, his eyes full of reluctance. Bai Wanqing stood beside her father and supported him to prevent him from fainting again. "Qing'er, do you think that Du Huan will bully your second sister?"

Of all the children, Bai Chenming was most worried about Furong. He had carefully selected the second young master of the Zhang family, but he hadn't expected him to be someone whose face was not what it seemed. He wondered if this young master Du would continue to treat Furong so well. Bai Chenming's worries were written all over his face, and he showed no joy at the thought of marrying off his daughter.

Bai Wanqing told Bai Chenming what she had said the night before, and Bai's father felt a little relieved. "Yes! Furong's children need to learn to love themselves."

While the father and daughter were having a heart-to-heart talk, an awkward incident occurred at the Du family's banquet.

When Young Master Du got married, all the brothers and friends of the Du family came to support him. Of course, Meng Zhan, who had borrowed tens of thousands of taels of silver from Du Huan, also came from Huaizhou Prefecture with Liu Feifei to attend Young Master Du's banquet.

Before meeting Bai Wanqing, Du Huan had sided with his brother regarding the unpleasantness between Meng Zhan and Bai Wanqing. However, the more time he spent with Bai Wanqing, the more he actually admired her.

So Du Huan felt a little awkward when Meng Zhan came to his wedding banquet, especially since Meng Zhan brought his new wife Liu Feifei with him, which made Du Huan's face look somewhat embarrassed.

However, Meng Zhan and Liu Feifei were completely unaware that Meng Zhan was now the Assistant Prefect of Huaizhou Prefecture, and his special trip back to his hometown to attend the Du family's wedding banquet was a great honor for the Du family.

They themselves didn't realize it, but many guests did, especially Madam Hu, who was on good terms with the Bai family, who stared at Liu Feifei for a long time.

Seeing Madam Hu looking at her so eagerly, Liu Feifei assumed that Madam Hu wanted to curry favor with her. After all, Old Master Hu was just a minor county magistrate. Although the Hu family could not be promoted, it was still necessary to win a good reputation with the higher-ups. Otherwise, it would be a shame to ruin their reputation in their later years. Therefore, Liu Feifei not only did not feel awkward, but was also somewhat smug.

Madam Hu, unaware of Liu Feifei's inner thoughts, glanced at Liu Feifei's belly a few more times and asked, "I never imagined Lord Meng would be so fortunate! You've only been married a short time, and you're already pregnant again. Madam Meng, judging by your belly, you must be quite far along!"

As soon as Madam Hu finished speaking, Liu Feifei looked a little embarrassed. The others then realized what was happening and all looked at her belly. Since most of the people attending the banquet were women, they could naturally tell that Liu Feifei's belly was already quite far along.

Immediately, everyone began to speculate. Liu Feifei quickly explained, "It's only been four months, it's just grown a bit big."

"It seems that Lord Meng has taken good care of you. Otherwise, how could your belly, which is only four months along, look like you're six or seven months pregnant?" The one who said this was another lady. Her son and Meng Zhan were both Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) this year, but her son had not yet obtained any official position. After hearing what Madam Hu said, she immediately understood that Meng Zhan's ability to obtain such a good official position was probably due to his connection with the Liu family. Naturally, she was not happy about it.

These words made Liu Feifei feel a little embarrassed, but more than that, she felt guilty and could only laugh awkwardly.

This further solidified the others' suspicions. "I was saying, Meng Zhan only passed the imperial examination, how did he suddenly become a sub-prefect?"

"No wonder they were in such a hurry to divorce the Bai family; it turns out this was all part of the plan."

"To be honest, it's really pitiful for Miss Bai. She's excellent in every way, but her family background just can't compare."

"But we didn't realize before that Lord Meng was such a heartless man!"

The string of words made Liu Feifei's smile increasingly difficult to maintain. Not only her, but the rumors spread to the male guests' table in less than fifteen minutes.

"I heard that Madam Meng is already six or seven months pregnant. Back then, the Meng family hadn't divorced the Bai family yet!" One of the male guests, after having a few drinks, blurted out the rumor he had just heard.

Meng Zhan, who was sitting at the main table, immediately lost his composure and angrily retorted, "You're making baseless accusations."

(End of this chapter)