CHAPTER 833: CHAPTER 831: BLESSED LIFE

Zhou Biyao wouldn’t give up, dodging Ye Xinyan’s reaching hand, and giggled, "Oh, I never thought there would be such a husband in the world, who would actually instruct his fiancée not to memorize the wedding procedures. It’s really funny, hahaha..."

"..." Ye Xinyan was left speechless by Zhou Biyao’s laughter, this unpredictable troublemaker, just wait until the work starts next year, let’s see how she’ll deal with this cheeky girl!

Zhou Biyao probably didn’t understand farming business, having no clue about settling accounts after harvest, and continued to dodge Ye Xinyan, laughing uncontrollably, "...and there’s more, it’s actually telling big sister not to be nervous. Speaking of which, Sister Qi, haven’t you two already been married once? Do you need such meticulous instructions?"

The blush on Ye Xinyan’s face hadn’t faded when her gaze turned gloomy, staring coldly at Zhou Biyao with resentment.

Is this fool stupid or what? She’s about to get married, yet she dares to bring up her previous marriage, is there a need to expose people like this!

Qian Yue saw the look in Ye Xinyan’s eyes and couldn’t help shivering, quickly followed Zhou Biyao and tugged on her sleeve, calling softly, "Second Miss.".

...no response.

Qian Yue called out twice more, "Second Miss, Second Miss."

Zhou Biyao finally noticed the look Qian Yue was giving her, then looked at the note in her hand, and Ye Xinyan’s sharp eyes, oh well, she’d already read it anyway.

She struggled to hold back her laughter, hurriedly returned the note to Ye Xinyan.

"Uh, um, Sister Qi, here you go, haha... cough cough, no, actually I’m envious of you having such a considerate husband, really."

The contents of the note had long been fully read, Ye Xinyan was no longer in a hurry, she slowly took the note, folded it, and calmly said, "Biyao, if your smile was more restrained, your words might come off a bit more sincere."

Zhou Biyao quickly rubbed her cheeks, "Cough cough cough, well, actually I..."

Ye Xinyan glared at her, stopping her from babbling further.

Zhou Biyao’s wedding was scheduled ten days after Ye Xinyan’s.

She had a good relationship with Ye Xinyan, and Zhou Bingyi had just received an appointment from the Ministry of Personnel, a bona fide fourth-rank official in the capital: Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a solid promotion.

Zhou Bingyi knew that neither his daughter’s marriage nor his appointment could have happened without Ye Xinyan. So even though Zhou Biyao’s wedding was approaching, when his daughter said she wanted to check on Miss Ye’s wedding preparations, Zhou Bingyi and Madam Liang not only did not stop her but fully supported it.

In the past five days, she had come twice, which is how she was able to walk in unimpeded and nab Jiang Yifan’s note.

Zhou Biyao laughed for a while, satisfied, and then sat cautiously by Ye Xinyan’s side, looking at the peach pit bracelet in her hand, said sincerely, "Maybe because you were already husband and wife before, you can talk so casually, and Lord Jiang doesn’t bother with those formalities? Sister Qi, having such a husband is indeed enviable." This time, her tone genuinely carried a note of envy.

Ye Xinyan didn’t appreciate it at all, giving her a cool sidelong glance, said, "You’re looking at the mountain from the valley; Wong Qiao is good, too. Jiang Yifan mentioned the other day that to manage the wedding properly, he, as a man, besides working in the workshop, had to coordinate with various people to ensure the wedding is arranged well. All this is to prevent you from being wronged."

Zhou Biyao showed a hint of sweetness, awkwardly twisting for a while, then murmured, "Third brother is certainly good, but I’m worried about serving a mother-in-law who doesn’t like me in the future."

"What do you mean by ’serving’? Why should you serve her? People say if the mother is kind, the son will be filial. She should treat you well to earn your kindness in return. Even if you step back, you should treat her well first, and she should reciprocate by not making things difficult for you." Ye Xinyan corrected Zhou Biyao’s mindset.

Then she advised her, "Don’t be so useless; you’re marrying with His Majesty’s decree. No matter how particular Wong Qiao’s mother is, can she outdo the emperor? Just with your Zhou family’s status, you can make her bow her head."

But Zhou Biyao still looked worried, "I understand what Sister Qi is saying, it’s not that I’m afraid of her; I’m worried about Third Brother being caught in the middle."

Ye Xinyan was speechless hearing this, "...that’s true, Wong Qiao’s mom..."

She didn’t continue; if anyone was to feel aggrieved, it was Wong Qiao. His mother, young and widowed, without support, raising a child while making a living... it’s an unavoidable situation; nobody can choose their mom, right?

Hopefully, after the wedding, Wong Qiao could handle Lady Zhao and provide Zhou Biyao with a relaxed living environment. Women in this era have it hard; who could be as fortunate as she is, with the foundation previously established by Miss Ye? No matter what she does, it wouldn’t seem overstepping.

......

Speaking of which, Ye Xinyan really didn’t have many friends. Since coming here, she’d been on the run with Nanny Jin, traveling a long way to Clear Water Village in Yuyuan Prefecture.

After that, it was all about struggling to make ends meet. Due to the age and ideological differences, she hardly interacted with the young women and wives in Clear Water Village.

She hadn’t been back in the capital long, spending several months working outside. With the bad reputation of the original Miss Ye, and her own refusal to quietly suffer as a miserable divorcee but instead maintaining an active public presence, she drew much criticism.

At the banquet in General Huwei’s Mansion, she once again displayed her off-putting persona, almost offending all the young ladies in the capital.

While other brides often have many girlfriends celebrating, such a scene didn’t appear at Duke An’s Mansion. Even a few who did come to offer congratulations mostly did so for Duke An’s sake, simply to maintain appearances.

The ones truly supporting her were only Zhou Biyao and several cousins from Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion.

Thus, for these few days before the wedding, things at Duke An’s Mansion were quite peaceful.

This situation continued until the wedding day when the already restless Ye Xinyan was awakened in the middle of the night.

Then came all kinds of fuss from all sorts of people. Ye Xinyan heeded Jiang Yifan’s advice, keeping her mind clear of any concerns, completely blanking out, just doing whatever people around her asked, being uncharacteristically obedient and docile.

Once everything was finally sorted, even before dawn, as Ye Xinyan, who had kept her eyes closed drowsily, sensed the calm around her, she opened her eyes. Was the bridal makeup done?

"Nanny, may I rest leaning against this for a while?" Ye Xinyan instructed the maids to prop up the cushions while symbolically asking Nanny Jin.

The new dress was already on, the wedding dress was neatly placed beside her, and make-up was done, just waiting to put on the wedding dress and crown when leaving.