Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 531: Chapter 277: Sister-in-law

Mrs. Wang chuckled. ”Oh my! Juhua’s the one who really cares about her new sister-in-law—worried she’s hungry, so the first thing she does is ask about food. But she’s going to eat with your brother in a little while.”

Juhua felt a little awkward seeing everyone’s good-natured teasing. ’The bride might not have to do any hard labor,’ she thought, ’but she’s had to be on her best behavior and follow everyone’s directions all day long. She must be exhausted and hungry. Besides, who knows if she even ate anything before she left her home.’ That’s why she had asked.

Liu Yunlan smiled and whispered to her, ”I’m alright. Not too hungry.”

From her reply, Juhua knew she was indeed hungry. But since her grandmother had said Liu Yunlan would be eating with her brother later, Juhua decided not to press the issue.

As the two were making small talk, Juhua suddenly felt a weight on her back as a small figure clambered up. A warm, milky scent wafted by her ear. ”Sister Juhua! The bride! Bride hug!”

Juhua turned and shifted Zhao Qing, who was dressed like a little round ball, to her front. ”You want the bride to give you a hug?” she asked with a laugh. She wasn’t sure if the little one was referring to the bride being carried in on Qingmu’s back, or if she wanted the bride to hold her.

Zhao Qing snuggled into her embrace, wrapping her arms around Juhua’s neck. She stared at Liu Yunlan with wide, dark eyes, then suddenly ducked her head shyly and whispered in Juhua’s ear, ”Umm! Qing’er wants the bride to hold me.”

Liu Yunlan saw the little girl was wearing a small, bright red padded jacket, with two little pigtails sticking straight up from her head. She was so chubby and adorable that Liu Yunlan was delighted. She reached out, took the girl into her arms, and began asking her age and name. Seeing this, Laishou—who recognized Liu Yunlan—also squeezed his way over and started chattering about this and that, making everyone around them laugh.

Meizi squeezed through, holding her months-old son. She plopped him onto the bed and said with a grin, ”Go on, little one, roll around on the bride’s bed and soak up some of her good fortune! This will help the bride have a baby of her own soon, too!”

Liu Yunlan blushed crimson at her words, but one of the old grand-aunts beamed from ear to ear, praising how handsome Meizi’s baby was. Juhua, however, watched anxiously as the little one crawled across the bed picking up dates, terrified he was about to leave a puddle on the new bedding.

Meizi grinned at Juhua. ”Worried he’s going to pee? Don’t you worry, I just changed his cloth diaper. It’s an extra thick one, so even if he does, it won’t soak through to the bedding.”

Juhua let out a snort of laughter and couldn’t help but grin at Meizi. ’She’s so practiced at being a mother now,’ she thought. ’There’s no trace left of the shy, naive girl she was before she got married. Her straightforward personality, though, hasn’t changed a bit.’

As more and more people crowded into the room to see the bride, Juhua found herself squeezed to one side, where she sat on a long bench with the Second Grand-Aunt. Unlike the stern, proper First Grand-Aunt, this was a kind and gentle old woman who never put on airs with the younger generation. She gently stroked Juhua’s hand and asked, ”Hua’er, is all this noise giving you a headache? It’ll be better tomorrow. Most of the relatives will be gone, and it’ll just be our own family. Things will be much more relaxed then.”

Juhua smiled and shook her head. ”I’m alright. Second Grand-Aunt, are you hungry? Why don’t you and the First Grand-Aunt go join the current seating for the banquet?”

She was quite fond of the warmhearted Second Grand-Aunt. Over the last few evenings, the two grand-aunts had told her many old tales and stories about the Zheng Family’s past, satisfying much of her curiosity.

Before the Second Grand-Aunt could answer, someone came in from outside, calling for the guests in the bridal chamber to come out and take their seats at the banquet. With a great bustle, a large portion of the crowd departed. Juhua’s grandmother and the two old grand-aunts were escorted out as well, and the room grew much quieter. Juhua and Liu Yunlan looked at each other and shared a smile, both breathing a sigh of relief.

However, before they could have a moment to speak privately, another group of young men barged in, shouting that they wanted to see the bride. Their boisterous laughter and ruckus created a new wave of clamor that nearly blew the roof off. The troublemakers seemed to be doing it on purpose. Though they didn’t dare take the teasing too far, they sat down in the bridal chamber, cracking sunflower seeds and leaving the shells all over the floor, and simply refused to leave. It was as if they planned to spend the wedding night right there with the bride and groom.

Li Changxing, Liu Sanshun, Li Changyu, Li Changyun, and the others kept pestering the bride and groom with teasing questions, making Liu Yunlan blush profusely.

Seeing these men gawking at his new wife and making her shy and nervous, Qingmu’s heart ached for her, and he was not pleased. He wasn’t as tactless as Big Mouth Zhao, who would have openly chased everyone out of the bridal chamber, but he wasn’t about to let them torment him and Liu Yunlan either. He shot Zhang Huai a meaningful look.

Zhang Huai stepped forward and pulled Li Changxing to his feet. ”Come on, let’s go eat. The seating outside should be about done by now.”

Li Changxing asked in surprise, ”You haven’t eaten yet? We already ate during the first seating. You go on and get something to eat. We’ll wait for you here.”