Chapter 46 Birthday Celebration

As crops matured one after another, fruits were picked in batches. In the blink of an eye, it's October. Qi Sui also joined the autumn harvest team and was busy all day. Today in Yunyan Village, tomorrow at Zhuangzi. she's so tired that she will fall asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

Fortunately, Qi Sui handed the shop management over to Shen Yu, and asked Mother Song and the housekeeper to assist her, so she was able to find time to go to Wanbao Pavilion in her busy schedule.

Fang Chunhan had been waiting for a long time, and after carefully observing the finished product, she couldn't help but exclaim: "Madam Qi's ingenuity is truly unique." She's holding a box with two rings in it. Her words attracted the attention of Yun Chan who's checking the accounts nearby. She said nonchalantly, "What good thing could make Madam Fang of Wanbao Pavilion praise it so highly? Can it be better than the maid in your room?

"Why are you throwing a tantrum at me again?" Fang Chunhan put down the box in her hand, walked to her side, and stuck to her back, saying in an affectionate tone: "I don't have a maid in my room anymore, and the one who serves me is the wet nurse who has taken care of me since I was a child."

"What does it have to do with me?" Yunchan said coldly, but she didn't expect Fang Chunhan to pinch her waist and touch her randomly. She turned back anxiously and exclaimed: "What are you doing!"

Fang Chunhan blew in her ear and said ambiguously: "Today Come back to my room to sleep tonight."

Yunchan's legs were weak from her touch, her cheeks flushed, and she said angrily: "Let's talk about it in private! It's not good to be seen like this now."

"No one will come."

At this time , Qi Sui rushed in and shouted, "Madam Fang! I'm here to get my ring."

She still had an innocent smile on her face. When she turned around, she saw Fang Chunhan and Yunchan huddled together. The three of them froze in place, looking at each other.

"Sorry to bother you, I'll leave first." Qi Sui quickly came to her senses and wanted to run away.

"Wait a minute, young lady." Yun Chan called her and smiled: "Your ring is already made, don't you want to take a look to see if it suits your taste?"

She left Fang Chunhan's arms very naturally and she grab the box from the table then She gave it to Qi Sui and said, "If you have any requests, just tell Madam Fang. I'll go prepare some tea."

Fang Chunhan thought to herself that this isn't good. She's afraid that she would not be able to appease Yun Chan this time. She forced a smile, walked over slowly, and said, "Young lady, please take a look."

Qi Sui felt amazed that she's indeed a businessman, and could not help but stand in awe and said solemnly, "Thank you, Madam Fang." Then she opened the box, shee took out two rings from it, and her eyes gradually softened.

Fang Chunhan saw through her emotions at a glance and asked, "Are you satisfied, young lady?"

Qi Sui looked at the finished ring and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I thought Madam Fang would find it difficult, but I didn't expect that she could do it."

The two rings are made of silver with silver band wrapped around them to form petals, and nine tiny pearls embedded in them.

"I just followed what the young lady said." Fang Chunhan said modestly, "In terms of details, I am not as good as the young lady."

Qi Sui happily paid the money and jumped back to the Qi Mansion. When she pass through the brothel, she would occasionally reminisce with the madam.

Zhang Wenchi leaned against the window and looked down from the upstairs and saw her smiling. He felt it was dazzling, "Qi Sui, you are so annoying."

In addition to teaching, Shen Yu has been arranging various matters for opening the shop. Fortunately, Mother Song and the housekeeper are smart and capable, and they handle everything properly. She suddenly felt sleepy and took a short nap. When she woke up, she found herself lying on the bed. she vaguely heard a whisper. It's Qi Sui talking to Mother Song.

Shen Yu rubbed her forehead and slowly sat up, feeling that her head is heavy.

"Sister finally woke up." Qi Sui walked in with a smile, "you almost missed dinner."

Shen Yu seemed to be still unconscious and just stared at her blankly.

"Sister, don't stare at me like that."

Shen Yu lowered her head obediently and muttered, "I don't know why... I'm so sleepy..." and then closed her eyes.

"It's not good for your neck to keep your head down." Qi Sui walked to the bed and supported her head with one hand. She chuckled, leaned over, and whispered in Shen Yu's ear. "Sister, happy birthday."

Shen Yu's heart trembled, and she woke up a lot. She felt surprised and said, "Today is my birthday?"

"You must be confused because of sleep." Qi Sui held her face with both hands, rubbed it with her fingers, and smiled: "Hurry up and get up. I'll take you to see something fun."

Shen Yu's heart softened instantly, and she looked at her with a smile, her eyes moving. Qi Sui was so fascinated that she didn't let go for a long time until Shen Yu patted the back of her hand. She coughed and said, "I'll get you some clothes."

Shen Yu then realized that the coat was hanging on the rack. She immediately pulled up the quilt to cover her face. Qi Sui felt stunned, thinking that she hadn't taken off all her clothes yet.

Shen Yu buried her head in the quilt, and only stretched out one hand to take the clothes. Qi Sui suddenly wanted to tease her, so she pretended to hand it to her but then she pulled it back, Qi Sui immediately grabbed her arm forced her to turn around, her eyes filled with resentment.

"Will a rabbit bite people when it's anxious?" Qi Sui asked, staring into her eyes.

"Yes." Shen Yu replied sullenly.

Qi Sui lay on the bed, looked at her, then kissed her forehead gently and said, "Will sister bite me?"

Shen Yu shrank back into the quilt and was silent for a moment. Qi Sui heard A very weak voice came, "No."

This is the first birthday celebration in the mansion since the original owner's parents died. Although it wasn't Qi Sui's birthday, it's still lively and festive. Qi Sui covered Shen Yu's eyes with her hands and whispered, "You'll be able to see it soon."

"What is it?" Shen Yu walked forward and asked nervously.

"Three, two, one."

Qi Sui let go of her hand, and Shen Yu slowly opened her eyes. The corridor is full of paper lanterns, and each lantern had a different blessing written on it, each have different  handwritings. She looked at Qi Sui, who told her, "These are the things the children wrote to you secretly."

Qi Sui took her hand, raised her eyebrows, and said proudly, "There are more to come." The two walked through the long corridor illuminated by bright lights and came to the courtyard where they usually taught. In front of the stone road stood an arch woven with grass and branches, with many bouquets of flowers inserted on it, and a layer of red silk was spread on the ground until Pavilion. The pavilion has also been carefully maintained. Red silk flower balls are hung high in the pavilion, and the petals fall in the wind, just like wedding candles.

Qi Sui rubbed her nose gently. She didn't expect Qiu Yun to be so reliable. She did not miss any of the things she asked her to do. "This doesn't count as a marriage now."

Shen Yu's beating heart couldn't help but calm down.

"It can only be considered a proposal."

Hearing the voice, Shen Yu's eyes moved slightly and she glanced sideways at Qi Sui.

Qi Sui thought that she might not understand the meaning of proposal, and said at a loss whether to laugh or cry, "You'll know later."

The two walked to the pavilion. Qi Sui looked up at the sky, and the sun had not yet set behind the mountain ridge.

"Why are there only you and me here?" Shen Yu sat on the stone bench, looking at her back.

Qi Sui rubbed her hands nervously, silently repeated the words she had prepared several times, and then turned around in one go. But when she saw Shen Yu's face, her tongue seemed to be stuck and she couldn't finish a sentence. A hint of surprise flashed across Shen Yu's eyes, but she quickly frowned and waited quietly for her to speak.

"Sister, I want to marry you. so Will you marry me?" Qi Sui took out the ring that she had prepared long ago, and with trembling fingers, she held it in front of her.

Shen Yu's eyes flickered, and she couldn't help laughing at her cautious look.

"Yes."

Qi Sui's heart instantly fell. She knelt on one knee, raised Shen Yu's right hand, and said softly said: "I, Qi Sui, take this ring as a token of my love today. I am willing to marry Shen Yu. No matter what happens, regardless of marriage, we will stay together in poverty or humbleness, live and die together." She gently put the ring on Shen Yu's finger, and it fit perfectly.

Shen Yu stood there in a daze, not knowing how to react. Qi Sui looked up at her expectantly and handed her another ring. "Sister, please put it on me too."

Although Shen Yu didn't understand the etiquette, she imitated Qi Sui and repeated the same words and put the ring on her hand.

Qi Sui smiled with satisfaction and gently touched her face, "Why are you still looking at me?"

Shen Yu stared at the ring on her hand, which is elegant and pure. She finally felt it's real and said, "This can be considered a marriage."

As the sky set in the west, a large swath of dusk shone into the pavilion, casting the shadows of the two people approaching each other on the ground. After a few days, Qi Sui's shop finally opened successfully. She invited many storytellers to promote the business in the restaurant. Word of mouth spread and the shop was crowded with people. Qi Sui promptly asked the servant to maintain order and arrange for everyone to come in and out. She said to the guests, "We are opening today. Thank you all for your support. All fruits and vegetables in the shop will be half price."

Cheng An and Ying'er came to help early in the morning. Fortunately, everything was fine and Everything went well. The shop was bustling with activity. Qi Sui saw many familiar faces, including Liu Guanzhi, the madam of Yanchunlou, Fang Chunhan and Yunchan from Wanbao Pavilion.

At the tea stall on the corner, Zhang Wenchi was far away, staring at Qi Sui with a resentful look in his eyes.

The people around were also whispering, "That young lady doesn't seem to live on this street, why are there so many people going to support her?"

"Even people from Yanchunlou went."

"Do you know that The Qi family in Yuying Lane? That young lady is the daughter of Qi Dalang."

"There was a funeral in the Qi family... It's been almost three years."

"Are you greedy for the young lady's property?"

Zhang Wenchi walked behind the man, stared at them coldly, and said: "If you want to eat the whole family, go and grab food from wild dogs."

Several people stood up angrily and said angrily: "Why are you speaking such bad words!"

"You have dirty thoughts in your mind, and you're angry because I exposed you?" Zhang Wenchi sneered, and several servants stood up behind him and surrounded them.

Seeing this situation, they didn't dare to say anything more.

Zhang Wenchi felt annoyed and said impatiently: "Get out of here now. It's really an eyesore standing in front of me."

The few of them moved to another place and cursed him in a low voice to vent their anger.

Zhang Wenchi was in no mood, so he took the servant back to the mansion. When the steward saw him coming back, he hurriedly said, "Qi Changsheng agreed."

"Did he say it himself?"

The steward nodded, "Yes."

Zhang Wenchi finally encountered something happy, so he walked to the woodshed and saw Qi Changsheng dressed in a sloppy manner. He frowned, separated by several steps, and his face was full of disgust, "How did you become like this? Ask someone to clean it up."

After Qi Changsheng changed his clothes, Zhang Wenchi asked someone to bring him in front of him and said, "From today on, you will do whatever I tell you to do."

"Okay, but I want Qi Sui to kneel in front of me, and I want to seek justice for my son."

"As long as you do what I say, Qi Sui will not have a good ending."

After a busy day, Qi Sui suddenly felt a chill. She shivered and said to herself: "Why do I still feel a little cold?"

The mechanical voice of the system fluctuated slightly, and said: "Congratulations to the host for achieving 100,000 points! Hidden functions can be unlocked later."

"What hidden function..." Before Qi Sui asked clearly, she saw Cheng An coming over and handing her a red wedding invitation.

Cheng An said to her, "Come to the wedding banquet with Madam Shen."

"I will definitely be there!" Qi Sui said with a hearty laugh.

In the evening, Qi Sui showed the wedding invitation to Shen Yu. She couldn't hide her joy and said happily, "We have to write one when we get married." Shen Yu read it several times and agreed with her, "Of course we have to write one."

Two months later, the wedding day of Cheng An and Ying Er finally arrived. Qi Sui and Shen Yu presented many gifts. Even the taciturn Carpenter Cheng could not help but say a few words, "Too expensive, It's too expensive."

"Uncle Cheng, please accept it. Cheng An has helped me a lot. Today is his big day. These gifts are also a little gift from me and Madam Shen."

Carpenter Cheng said again. "Thank you, thank you."

Qi Sui followed the process carefully from morning to night, as if she's the one getting married. Shen Yu accompanied Cheng Bao and asked her, "Why are you more concerned than Cheng An?"

"These are the key points. I have to write them down. so when I get married to you, I won't make a mistake."

Although Shen Yu didn't fully understand what a  "key points" is, she roughly understood it. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, and said, "Mother Song is someone who has been through this, you'll know when you come back and ask her."

"You're right."

Qi Sui and Shen Yu were not able to return home until the bride was sent to the bridal chamber. In the carriage, the two of them snuggled together.

Qi Sui sighed, "Cheng An and the others haven't rested all day. I think they will be too tired."

"I feel the same way," Shen Yu agreed.

"But we have to get married. We have to be together for real." Qi Sui added, "Sister, if you are tired, just sleep in the sedan chair. Anyway, I will carry you home in the end. The wedding room will be full of your favorite food. If you get hungry, just go and have a meal. Eat, sleep when you are tired, no need to wait for me."

Chen Yu chuckled: "You are so thoughtful."

Qi Sui hugged her waist, put her face to her neck, rubbed it gently, and said: "Don't worry, sister. I won't let you suffer."

As Qi Sui's reputation in the town grew, many people came to the gate of Qi's house every day to send their children to study, but she only accept children from farmers' families, with priority given to girls. As a result, the private school in the mansion gradually became insufficient, so Shen Yu found a spacious house outside to use as a school and arranged for the children to attend classes in batches. Qi Sui would go pick up Shen Yu after finishing her work every day, even if she lived only half a block away from the Qi Mansion, she would come to pick her up in person.

Shen Yu felt sorry for her being too busy to take care of herself, so she advised her, "I can go back home by myself."

Qi Sui immediately changed to a wronged look and said, "I've been thinking about seeing my sister as soon as possible every day. So my sister doesn't want to see me?"

Shen Yu had no choice but to agree, "I want to see you too, but I'm more afraid of tiring you."

"Not tired, not tired." Qi Sui smiled innocently.

Qi Sui thought that life would go on like this, but unexpectedly, on the most ordinary day, she saw a familiar face in the shop. She asked tentatively, "Second Uncle?"

Qi Changsheng raised his face, his face is sallow, his eyes were sunken deep in his eye sockets, his pupils were cloudy, and he looked at people in a terrifying way.

He staggered forward and slowly approached Qi Sui, muttering to himself, "Why are you living a carefree life while my Cheng Ge'er is suffering in exile. I won't let you have your wish."

Qi Changsheng overturned the shop. He grabbed one of the fruits and vegetables and started to eat it, shouting loudly: "It's poisonous! These things are poisonous!" The people around him were scared away.

Qi Sui stopped him immediately and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about!" Then he was seen twitching all over, his eyes staring, and finally he died with black blood spitting out of his mouth. She was completely stunned and didn't react for a moment to what was happening. The people around her were frightened by the scene and quickly moved away, fearing that they would be involved in anything.

Qi Sui looked around in confusion and said anxiously, "Hurry up and call the doctor!" She saw fear on their faces and surrounded her, pointing at her. She vaguely heard someone shouting to report to the police.

After a while, someone in the crowd shouted, "Here they come!"

Qi Sui quickly stood up and asked, "Is it the doctor?" It turned out that the officials from the government came to arrest her, "Someone reported to the authorities that you intentionally harmed someone."

"I didn't!"

"Since you are wronged, follow us to the prison first, and wait for the county magistrate to personally interrogate you tomorrow."

Qi Sui saw that the current situation is really unfavorable, so she followed the official obediently. Before leaving, she asked the official: "Let me tell the servant at home a few words."

Qi Changsheng had just been carried away by the officials, and the ground was in a mess. She calmed down and said to the servant beside her: "Wait until Madam Shen finishes her class, send her back to the mansion safely, and then tell her about this matter."

Shen Yu watched as the children were taken home by their families, and several servants were waiting by the carriage. She did not see Qi Sui, and even Ruo Wei felt strange and asked, "Why is Madam Qi not here today?"

"The young lady only told us to come to pick up Madam Shen and send you back to the mansion, and didn't say anything else."

After returning to the Qi Mansion, Shen Yu is even more flustered when she didn't see Qi Sui, so she asked Mother Song anxiously: "Where is Qi Sui? Haven't she come back from the shop today?"

"I also think it's weird." Mother Song called the servants, and the servants panicked and hurriedly said, "It was the miss who told us to wait until Lady Shen arrived at the house safely before talking about it." Then he told Shen Yu everything.

Mother Song felt so anxious that she almost fainted. Fortunately, Shen Yu supported her in time. She cried, "What should I do now? If anything happens to the miss, I will die!"

The house was in chaos. Shen Yu forced herself to calm down, trying her best to control the fear in her heart, and comforted Mother Song first: "Don't worry, the mansion still has to rely on you to take care of it. I will try my best to find a solution for this matter."

Mother Song grabbed her hand as if she's grabbing a life-saving straw. She held Shen Yu's hand and said, "Madam Shen is loyal and righteous. Please help my miss." She's the eldest lady's dowry and had worked hard for most of her life. Now she finally saw Qi Sui living a stable life, but she doesn't want to have something to happen again, she was really afraid that Qi Sui would not be able to escape.

Shen Yu raised her finger and touched the ring on her right hand, silently praying in her heart that Qi Sui would be safe.