Chapter 75: Chapter 54: The Wedding
Translator: 549690339
May 14th came quickly.
On this day, Lu Yuan arrived in the city as promised to attend Zhou Qing’s wedding.
“Bow to Heaven and Earth.”
“Bow to the parents.”
“The couple bows to each other.”
A resounding voice echoed in the hall, and as the last announcement fell, a wave of congratulations rose.
Crackle! Snap!
Firecrackers appeared outside right on time, pushing the festive atmosphere to the extreme.
Lu Yuan stood in the crowd applauding. He couldn’t help but smile at Zhou Qing who led the bride in the center of the hall.
The once naive and innocent child had now grown into a man who could marry and start a family.
“Doctor Zhou, it won’t be long before you can hold your eldest grandson. Let me congratulate you in advance.”
With the arrival of guests, Lu Yuan sent out his blessings.
“Thank you, thank you.” Zhou Ze looked very happy, his face full of smiles.
As there were many guests to entertain, Lu Yuan didn’t say much to Doctor Zhou. After exchanging pleasantries, he walked to the prepared seat in the courtyard and began to eat.
The table was an Eight Immortals Table, and several people were already seated, some of which had started eating.
Lu Yuan looked around, and seeing he didn’t recognize anyone at the table, he assumed they were friends and family of the bride and groom. Not interested in getting to Imow them, he started eating on his own.
However, he still maintained some restraint.
With Lu Yuan’s appetite now, let alone sharing with several people, the dishes on this table would barely be enough to fill him seven or eight-tenths full.
So after taking a few bites, he found the meal somewhat uninteresting, and stopped eating much. He poured himself a glass of wine, picked up a peanut, and leisurely savored the drink in his mouth.
He secretly thought that after the wedding was over, he’d definitely go to the city’s finest restaurant and enjoy a hearty feast.
The wedding festivities continued.
The bride had already been sent to the bridal chamber, but the groom couldn’t remove himself from the banquet, going from table to table to toast the relatives and friends.
After a while, when Zhou Qing arrived at Lu Yuan’s table, he was already red-faced and drunk, his eyes glazed over. It seemed he was quite intoxicated.
Seeing him in this state, Lu Yuan wondered if the groom would be able to stand up when it came time for the bridal chamber that night, in more ways than one.
“Brother Lu, let me toast you. Over the years, thank you for taking care of our Medical Clinic’s business.” With a slur, Zhou Qing excitedly raised his glass to
Lu Yuan.
“Haha, I should also thank you for your care.”
Lu Yuan stood up, laughed, and then reminded the excited Zhou Qing, “Groom, you should drink less and save some strength for tonight. The bride just entered your home, don’t let her complain that you neglected her.”
The people around were all grown men and understood what he was implying. They chuckled and teased Zhou Qing upon hearing this.
As expected, the groom was thin-skinned. Even under the influence of alcohol, he struggled to handle the situation, and quickly fled to the next table in a fluster.
As mentioned earlier, the groom’s time was reserved for the bride.
After toasting, Zhou Qing retreated to the backyard to rest and prepare for the “battle” that night.
Not long after, seeing the banquet coming to an end, Lu Yuan took his leave from Zhou Ze and went straight to the city’s restaurant.
Just now, in order to not shock everyone, he had forcefully suppressed his hunger. Now, it was time to comfort his own stomach.
Time passed, and before he Imew it, more time had elapsed.
After attending Zhou Qing’s wedding, Lu Yuan returned to his recluse life, practicing martial arts diligently in Yangmei Town every day, rarely leaving home.
Under this perseverance, he had opened up three acupoints in his third meridian and practiced five more moves in the Cloud Palm skill, getting a few steps closer to mastering it.
Aside from being satisfied with his progress, Lu Yuan naturally became more diligent and practiced his martial arts even harder.
In July, he went to the county town again to look for Doctor Zhou to replenish his herbs.
During this visit, he heard some good news. After two months of Zhou Qing’s unwavering efforts, his wife was pregnant.
Doctor Zhou personally checked her pulse and confirmed that she was already one month pregnant. Zhou Qing would become a father in April next year.
Similarly, Doctor Zhou would also be promoted to a grandpa.
Naturally, Zhou Ze was overjoyed, and his face was full of smiles and laughter with everyone he met.
“In my opinion, Lu kid, you’re already twenty and older than my son Zhou Qing. Now that Zhou Qing is about to become a father, you’re still a bachelor. How can that be acceptable?
You’re not short of money, and now you’ve made a name for yourself in martial arts, which can be said as an accomplishment.
I think it’s time for you to start planning for your marriage and to establish your career as soon as possible.”
Upon seeing Lu Yuan, Doctor Zhou couldn’t help but babble: “Is it because you don’t have a suitable match? If that’s the case, I know several good families with daughters to marry off, and I can introduce you to them.”
Hearing Zhou Ze’s nagging like an old mother, Lu Yuan felt overwhelmed and hurriedly waved his hands: “Stop, stop. Haven’t I told you? I only want to practice martial arts in this life and have no great interest in romantic affairs.
Doctor Zhou, you don’t need to persuade me anymore.”
Zhou Ze knew his old friend’s character well, and seeing that he still hadn’t changed his mind, he backed off but still shook his head, saying, “I don’t know what’s so good about practicing martial arts that could make you so obsessed.
As far as I can see, other people who practice martial arts also get married and have children.
Nevermind, Xiaoqing, bring the prepared herbs to Brother Lu.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Qing replied from inside the medicine hall and ran to the backyard. In a short while, he brought a big basket and handed it to Lu Yuan: “Brother Lu, here.”
After getting married, especially knowing that he was about to become a father, Zhou Qing seemed to have changed entirely.
He appeared less impulsive and naive, but more mature and responsible. ‘This young man has truly grown up.’
Looking at Zhou Qing’s calm face, Lu Yuan sighed in his heart, took the basket with a smile, and left.
No wonder there was a saying in his previous life that women can make a man mature, and marriage is an accelerator.
Looking at the current situation, it was indeed true.
Upon returning home, Lu Yuan received another letter from Sun Siwen.
He opened it and read it.
After working for two years, our Grand Tutor Sun had finally adapted to his job and no longer complained as much as he did at the beginning.
In the letter, Sun Siwen happily mentioned something.
After taking office, his diligent efforts over two years had increased the number of students in the County Academy by dozens and produced several scholars. Consequently, the prefecture government assessed his performance and was very satisfied, leading to his promotion.
He continued to hold the position of xueyu (education official) with the ranking of Regular Ninth Grade.
In addition to the promotion, Sun Siwen also mentioned that he found a talented student, who, at only sixteen, had already become a scholar.
With this momentum, after a few more years of cultivation, this talent might take the juren (imperial examination title).
If his County Academy could indeed produce a juren, it would undoubtedly be a significant achievement.
According to Sun Siwen, with this merit, he could even be directly promoted and rise one or two ranks without any issue.
Grand Tutor Sun was full of enthusiasm.
He had his sights set on the position of education official in the county, which was a Regular Eighth Grade official. Whether he could take it or not depended on nurturing a juren.
His friend was full of confidence, looking forward with great anticipation.
“Everything is moving in a positive direction.”
After reading the letter, Lu Yuan took great care to put it away. His mood was quite pleasant.
Both of his good friends, Zhou Ze and Sun Siwen, had good news — Zhou Ze was about to become a grandpa, and Sun Siwen had been promoted.
As a friend, he was naturally happy for them..
