Chapter 783
Li Qingshi's Doubts
The masked man who had been directing the others saw that they had escaped and that he couldn't do anything on his own, so he also quickly fled the scene.
Xu Bo'an realized that Li Qingshi's wedding was scheduled for a short time, so he ignored the group.
After everyone had scattered and fled, Xu Bo'an pulled his transparent card out of the bonsai world.
As a devout follower of the Mountain God, Li Qingshi knew perfectly well that this whole affair was orchestrated by the Mountain God.
Li Qingshi quickly knelt down and said, "Little Stone thanks Grandpa Mountain God for his help!"
Upon hearing Li Qingshi's words, the wedding procession led by Li Qingshi immediately reacted and knelt on the ground, saying in unison, "Thank you, Grandpa Mountain God!"
Xu Bo'an said, "You're quite clever, kid. You even guessed that this was my doing?"
Hearing that it was indeed the voice of the Mountain God, Li Qingshi was very happy and said, "Of course, only you, the Mountain God, can use such a powerful trick."
It has to be said that Li Qingshi has really honed his tongue since he started working in the government office; his words have become increasingly pleasing to the ear.
Xu Bo'an reached into the void and handed the money bag that he had just retrieved from the masked leader, which originally belonged to Li Qingshi, to Li Qingshi. Then, he transformed the gold jewelry he had bought into the size of a bonsai world and placed it one by one in front of Li Qingshi, saying, "These boxes contain pure gold jewelry. I am now giving them all to you as a gift from me, the Mountain God, to you two newlyweds! Consider it your betrothal gift."
After hearing what the Mountain God Grandfather said, Li Qingshi opened the exquisite boxes in front of him and indeed saw all the gold jewelry, including the phoenix crown.
Fearing that the bandits might see and covet the box again, Li Qingshi only glanced at it before quickly closing it. He then said to the Mountain God, "Mountain God, these gifts are far too precious for this humble person to bear!"
Xu Bo'an said, "Little Stone, you are my most loyal follower. You are of great significance to me. I am giving you these things today because I believe you deserve them. It's getting late, so don't delay any longer! Take these things and hurry on your way! It wouldn't be good if you missed this auspicious day. I will go to Kaoshan Village to attend your wedding after you return from your wedding!"
Upon hearing the words of the Mountain God, Li Qingshi knew that the Mountain God sincerely wanted to give him these gifts, so he did not refuse any longer. He knelt down and thanked the Mountain God properly before getting up and continuing on his way.
Along the way, Li Qingshi hid the valuable items given to him by the Mountain God in places where they would not be easily discovered, fearing that such valuable items would be coveted by thieves again.
By delivering the gift to Li Qingshi before his wedding, Xu Bo'an no longer needed to worry.
After seeing Li Qingshi and the others leave, Xu Bo'an turned his attention away from the bonsai world.
Li Qingshi was delayed for a while on the road, but then he quickened his pace and headed towards Shanyang County without stopping.
After arriving in Shanyang County, he went to the place where he rented the bridal sedan chair, picked it up from the musicians who were making a lively scene, changed into the groom's clothes, put a big red flower on his chest, and then headed towards Sun Weiwei's house.
The groom's procession instantly attracted the attention of the people of Shanyang County. At this time, the roadside was crowded with people who came to watch the excitement, and Li Qingshi and his group walked towards Sun Weiwei's house under the gaze of the crowd.
Li Qingshi was incredibly excited to be marrying the girl he loved so soon, and the closer he got to Sun Weiwei's house, the more excited he became.
When they arrived at Sun Weiwei's house, Li Qingshi dismounted to prepare to greet the bride. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a person dressed in black hurriedly run into the courtyard through the side gate. The person then quickly ran into a room, peered around, and closed the door after making sure no one was around.
Seeing that this person was acting suspiciously, and most importantly, this person's clothes, build, and even eyes were exactly the same as the person who commanded the bandits that Li Qingshi had encountered on the way, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
As the person dressed entirely in black closed the door, the gust of wind that slammed the two doors shut lifted the black mask covering the person's face, allowing Li Qingshi to see the person's face clearly. Wasn't that Weiwei's half-brother?
This older brother of Sun Weiwei is the son of Sun Weiwei's father's first wife.
Could it be that he was the one who directed those masked men in black earlier?
But that's probably unlikely. Although I've heard Weiwei mention before that her older brother is a good-for-nothing spendthrift who gambles and goes to restaurants, and he's not kind to Sun Weiwei either. He even used to bully and beat her when they were kids.
But even the most heinous person wouldn't disguise themselves as a bandit on the way to kidnap the husband who was supposed to marry their sister!
Such despicable acts are not something an ordinary person would do.
Could it be that my eyes were playing tricks on me because I didn't sleep well last night?
Just as Li Qingshi was wondering about this, a very enthusiastic voice suddenly interrupted him.
Li Qingshi turned his head and saw that the person who came was Sun Weiwei's mother.
Sun Weiwei's mother is the daughter of Li Laosan from Kaoshan Village. She watched Li Qingshi grow up from childhood, so she knows him very well and knows that he is a person she can entrust her life to. She is quite satisfied with her daughter's marriage, so she was very enthusiastic when she saw Li Qingshi, her prospective son-in-law.
Li Qingshi greeted Sun Weiwei's mother very politely, and then handed over all the pure gold jewelry that the Mountain God had given him to Sun Weiwei's mother.
During the time Li Qingshi spent with Sun Weiwei, he realized that in Sun Weiwei's family, only Sun Weiwei's mother was truly sincere towards her; the others were unreliable.
He felt more at ease only by handing over these precious gold jewelry pieces to Weiwei's mother, and instructed Weiwei's mother to let Sun Weiwei wear these pieces when she was getting ready, as they would not only make her look beautiful but also ward off evil spirits.
These jewels were given to Li Qingshi by the Mountain God as a betrothal gift. Firstly, Li Qingshi could show how much he valued Weiwei by handing them over to his mother-in-law. Secondly, given Li Qingshi's faith in the Mountain God, he genuinely believed that the items given by the Mountain God had the power to ward off evil.
After Sun Weiwei's mother took the things from Li Qingshi, she said to him, "Qingshi, why don't you go back to the main room and wait? I'll give these things to Weiwei. She should be done washing and getting ready soon and will be out in a bit." Li Qingshi nodded and said, "Okay!"
Then Sun Weiwei's mother turned and left, but after taking a few steps, she turned back and called out, "Qingshi, there's something else I need to tell you. General Lu will be in the main hall today. When you go, you'd better be careful and not offend him."
General Lu, also known as Lu Zhenyuan, the current and feared commander of Qingyun Dao, adopted Sun Weiwei as his goddaughter after she saved his only daughter, Lu Wan'er.
Li Qingshi was aware of this. A couple of days ago, Sun Weiwei had sent him a message by carrier pigeon, informing him that Lu Zhenyuan's wife and Lu Wan'er and her father were coming.
Li Qingshi knew that Weiwei's mother was saying this to him for the sake of his and Weiwei's future, fearing that if he didn't know proper etiquette and offended her, things would get complicated.
After all, given General Lu's current high status and position, Sun Weiwei is his goddaughter, and Li Qingshi is his godson-in-law. As long as the two of them don't do anything too outrageous and offend General Lu, their relationship with him will ensure that their two children will become outstanding individuals under his care.
That's why Sun Weiwei's mother returned to settle Li Qingshi.
Li Qingshi replied very politely, "Understood, Auntie!"
Sun Weiwei's mother said, "You silly child, why are you still calling me 'Auntie' at a time like this? You should change how you address me!"
Hearing Weiwei's mother say that, Li Qingshi felt a little shy and said, "I understand, Mother!"
Sun Weiwei's mother was overjoyed to hear Li Qingshi, this good boy, call her "Mom," and exclaimed loudly, "Oh..."
Then he turned and left with a grin.
After seeing that Sun Weiwei's mother had left, Li Qingshi walked towards the main hall.
Upon arriving at the main hall, they indeed saw Lu Zhenyuan and his daughter Lu Wan'er. The two were sitting in the main seats of the Sun family's main hall, and Sun Weiwei's father, Sun Dafu, was beaming with joy as he personally served them tea!
After Li Qingshi went inside, Sun Dafu had just finished serving tea to Lu Zhenyuan and the others. Seeing Li Qingshi arrive, he quickly greeted him with a beaming smile, "Is my son-in-law here? You must be tired from your journey. Please sit down and have a few cups of tea!"
Sun Dafu is a businessman, a cold-hearted person by nature, who only cares about money and profit.
Previously, due to the war in Shanyang County, the Sun family's business was greatly affected. Recently, their business has plummeted, and they can't make much money at all.
He has three wives and several children to support, and he also has to pay the wages of the employees he hires in the jewelry store. The pressure is immense!
When Sun Weiwei returned to the Sun family a while ago, Sun Dafu, who didn't particularly like his daughter Sun Weiwei, was even more unhappy about her arrival, feeling that there was another mouth to feed in the family and that she was just putting pressure on him.
Wanting to kick this unfilial son out, Sun Weiwei's mother had no choice but to tell Sun Dafu that Sun Weiwei was now Lu Zhenyuan's adopted daughter. Sun Dafu was initially incredulous upon hearing this, completely disbelieving what his youngest concubine was saying, assuming she was only saying it to protect her daughter.
He tried to force Sun Weiwei out the door, but Sun Weiwei, who was now quite strong, would not allow Sun Dafu to treat her like that. She pushed Sun Dafu aside and went into the Sun family's courtyard to reunite with her mother.
Under his mother's repeated persuasion, Sun Dafu also knew that Sun Weiwei had come back to get married and that after the wedding she would belong to someone else's family and would no longer need to waste his family's food. He knew she would leave this family in a few days, so he agreed to let her stay here for a while.
However, she was required to pay for her own food during this period.
Although Sun Weiwei knew that her father had never liked her, she was about to get married and wouldn't be able to stay in this house for more than a few days. Moreover, the father and daughter hadn't seen each other for a long time, and to be treated like this after their long separation made her heart turn cold instantly.
If it weren't for her mother's insistence on not leaving this home, Sun Weiwei would never have wanted to stay here for a moment, much less choose to marry into this home she had hated since childhood.
Since she was getting married soon anyway, Sun Weiwei couldn't be bothered to argue with them. She thought it was nothing to suffer a few days of grievances just to stay with her mother.
However, after Lu Zhenyuan arrived at the Sun family yesterday, Sun Dafu finally believed that his daughter Sun Weiwei, whom he usually disliked, had really climbed the social ladder and become Lu Zhenyuan's goddaughter.
It was also evident that Lu Zhenyuan cared deeply for his adopted daughter, Sun Weiwei. As the general of Qingyun Dao, he was usually very busy with official duties, yet he personally made time to come to Shanyang County just to attend Sun Weiwei's wedding. Not only that, he also prepared a lot of dowry for her. For a godfather in such a high position to do this much, it was clear how much he valued Sun Weiwei.
Not only that, Sun Dafu saw that Lu Zhenyuan's daughter, Lu Wan'er, addressed Sun Weiwei as "sister" repeatedly, just like real sisters, even closer than real sisters, with no distinction between their social statuses.
Sun Dafu saw all of this, and so after Lu Zhenyuan entered the house yesterday, everyone in the Sun family, including Sun Dafu, made a complete 360-degree turn in their attitude towards Sun Weiwei.
Sun Weiwei felt quite uncomfortable with this, but she knew that these people were just putting on an act and only wanted to use her connection to climb up to the prestigious Lu family.
Sun Weiwei couldn't be bothered with them. She only hoped that after the Sun family learned about her current identity, they would treat her mother well in the future and not let her suffer any more grievances while staying in the Sun family.
After Sun Dafu changed his attitude towards Sun Weiwei, his attitude towards Li Qingshi also underwent a complete reversal.
Upon entering and seeing Sun Dafu's enthusiastic welcome, Li Qingshi momentarily wondered if he had entered the wrong room. (End of Chapter)