The bride and her husband returned to her parental home, and they were accompanied by her brothers and male relatives. The Cheng family had few members; Father Cheng only had one younger brother in his generation. Before him, there was an elder sister who was mentally disabled and had died young after falling into the river as a child.
In Cheng Suâs generation, there was only her and her brother in the family. Her third uncle had a pair of twin brothers, not much younger than Cheng Zhi.
Now, they had all been called to the Cheng family home, and Third Aunt also came over to help make lunch.
The women were busy talking and working in the kitchen, while the men gathered in the main room. Mother Cheng first pulled Cheng Su aside to have a private conversation, even asking about the marital affairs, causing Cheng Su, who lived in an open era herself, to blush with embarrassment.
"Mom, youâre asking too many questions," she said in annoyance.
Seeing her daughterâs red face, Mother Cheng pinched her teasingly and mocked, "Oh, youâre blushing? Werenât you the one who was so eager to get married? Why are you embarrassed now? What were you doing earlier?"
Uh...
How was Cheng Su supposed to respond to that? Could she say she wasnât really her daughter? But looking at Mother Chengâs face, she couldnât bring herself to say it.
In her previous life, Cheng Su was an orphan and didnât even know what her biological mother looked like. Now she had Mother Cheng, who wasnât her real mother, but the bodyâs mother. Seeing the ladyâs teasing smile, she felt an unusual sense of affection.
It was as though her mother was supposed to be just like that.
So now, hearing her mother tease her, she couldnât bring herself to get angry.
Thankfully, Third Aunt came to her rescue, saying, "Sister-in-law, stop teasing her. A newlywed young lady is still shy!"
Mother Cheng snorted lightly, then asked, "Is Taiguo going back to the army this afternoon?"
Cheng Su nodded.
"And you? Have you packed your things?" In Mother Chengâs eyes, it was natural for a daughter to follow her husband and live with the army after getting married.
"Iâm not going just yet!"
Mother Cheng was taken aback, "Why not? Is it Taiguo who doesnât want you to go? Iâll talk to him." She was aware that her son-in-law was somewhat reluctant about the marriage.
"No, itâs not that. I just donât want to go for the time being, Iâd like to stay at my in-lawsâ house for a while before deciding," Cheng Su hurriedly explained.
"Are you silly? If you donât go to the army, how are you going to take care of his daily life? How are you supposed to have children? How can you nurture affections?" Mother Cheng strongly disagreed, saying, "Once youâre married, you should prioritize your husband. As a wife, itâs only right to follow and attend to his needs. Living together will strengthen your bond. Otherwise, when will he have time to come back? Can children just spring out of stones?"
After a momentâs thought, she felt something was amiss and asked, "Itâs not your mother-in-lawâs idea, is it? Keeping you deliberately at your in-lawsâ house?"
Her barrage of questions left Cheng Su both amused and moved. This was how a mother was, always thinking of her daughterâs well-being, and she couldnât help feeling a closeness.
"Listen to me, once youâre married, you should live together. Now that Taiguo has tasted the joys of a woman, how can it be okay not to have his wife by his side? What if some âFox Spiritâ catches his eye and lures him away? If that happens, youâll have something to cry about!" Mother Cheng continued, "Life in the army is good; you wouldnât have to deal with your mother-in-lawâs nagging. Are you being foolish?"
Well, that really took a turn.
Cheng Su quickly said, "Mom, youâre overthinking it. Qi Taiguo is a soldier; he wouldnât mess around. I just donât want to go yet. Iâm thinking of getting to know the Qi family a bit better first, to avoid people saying I left to enjoy my husbandâs company as soon as I got married without having done any housework for the in-laws."
She certainly couldnât say that she was afraid of sharing a room with Qi Taiguo and that was why she didnât want to go!