With the Qingming Festival now past, it was nearly time for Wang Qinghua and Luo Qing to be married.

Thanks to the help of Mrs. Wu, Mrs. Zhang, and Aunt Gui, the necessities for the wedding were largely prepared by Mrs. Yang. According to local custom, on the night before the wedding, the groom’s family, represented by Wang Qinghua, had to invite an elderly couple blessed with both sons and daughters to prepare the bridal bed. Wang Youfu and Mrs. Yang followed the example of the main household and asked the Old Madam to undertake this duty.

The Old Madam was delighted, as this was considered a form of honor. Once the bed was made, someone was required to "press the bed." Of course, the person chosen for this had strict requirements; not just anyone was suitable. First, the bed-presser had to be a young man younger than the groom, usually a younger full brother, a younger paternal cousin, or a younger maternal cousin. If no such relative was available, the groom could choose a close friend from the same village. The second requirement was that the bed-presser must be unmarried. For the marrying couple, pressing the bed was an auspicious act. Similarly, for the person chosen after such rigorous screening, it was an honor in itself.

The Wang Youfu household had decided to task Wang Qingchen with this honorable duty.

Upon hearing the news, Wang Qingchen was thoroughly enthusiastic. He had always been fascinated by ancient customs surrounding marriage ceremonies. Moreover, during Wang Qingyun’s wedding, he hadn't even known about the custom of pressing the bed. Now that he knew, and had even been selected for the task, he couldn't have been more eager. As for who had pressed the bed before Wang Qingyun’s wedding, Wang Qingchen guessed it must have been Wang Qing-tong.

Thus, on the night before Wang Qinghua’s wedding, Wang Qingchen came over to sleep with him. Wang Qingchen inwardly chuckled at what Mrs. Yang had told him—something about the bride's bed possessing a spiritual energy that could cure all ailments just by sleeping on it. If that were true, why would doctors even be necessary?

Lying on the **, neither of them seemed sleepy. Wang Qingchen was amused and entertained, while Wang Qinghua was simply too agitated. Thinking that tomorrow he would finally marry the woman he loved, his excitement was unrestrainable; he wished the dawn would arrive immediately.

Wang Qingchen knew Wang Qinghua was awake, so he decided to try talking with him. He reflected that after Wang Qinghua married, he might not be as close to him anymore; his primary confidants would likely become his wife and, eventually, his children. This thought brought a touch of melancholy to Wang Qingchen. However, he soon let it go. This was human nature, after all. He supposed the same would happen to him once he took a wife, so what right did he have to blame Wang Qinghua?

“Big Brother, who will accompany you to fetch the bride tomorrow?” Wang Qingchen asked.

“Hm?” Wang Qinghua, clearly taken aback by Wang Qingchen’s sudden conversation, needed a moment to react. Once he did, he replied, “Tomorrow, Eldest Cousin and Second Cousin will accompany me to the Luo family to bring the bride back.”

“Big Brother, I want to go along to welcome the bride too,” Wang Qingchen admitted sheepishly, his main objective being to see the excitement.

Wang Qinghua smiled upon hearing this. “You’re still young.”

Hearing this, Wang Qingchen glanced down at his own small frame and sighed—forget it. If he went along, standing among all those older boys as a little sprout would look quite ridiculous. Furthermore, this was his elder brother's significant day; he shouldn't make a fuss.

“Then, Big Brother, have you thought about what I mentioned before, regarding how you’ll manage the relationship between your wife and Mother once Sister-in-law moves in?” Wang Qingchen suddenly asked.

Wang Qinghua hadn't expected Wang Qingchen’s topic to pivot so drastically, but he had given it some thought after the previous conversation. “After you mentioned it last time, I thought about it carefully. But I still haven't figured out the best way to ensure both my wife and Mother are happy.”

Wang Qingchen nodded silently. It was normal that he couldn't figure it out; in his past life, this was a monumental problem. If Wang Qinghua had solved it, he would truly have had to praise him, "Big Brother is mighty."

Wang Qinghua pondered for a moment, then continued, “However, my thought is that even after my wife enters the household, Mother will still be my Mother, and I will continue to show her filial piety. Besides, once Luo Qing joins our family, she will be a member of the Wang family, and she will certainly respect Mother. After all, which daughter-in-law doesn't respect her in-laws, right?”

Uh, Wang Qingchen suddenly recalled a crucial difference between this era and his previous life. In ancient times, if a woman failed to show respect to her in-laws after marrying into their home, the label of ‘unfilial’ would invite the scorn of society to drown her. Moreover, the very first of the Seven Grounds for Divorce was “disobedience to parents”—and here, ‘parents’ referred not to her own, but to her husband’s. A family could legally repudiate a wife for such disrespect, illustrating how grave a transgression disobedience was in this age. In his past life, women were not constrained by such rigid societal structures; being unfilial to in-laws generally only resulted in a few words of moral condemnation, causing them no significant harm. Consequently, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships were often harder to navigate then than now.

After all, in this time, the daughter-in-law was positioned as the subordinate to the mother-in-law. This meant that as long as the mother-in-law wasn't exceptionally cruel, the relationship stood a much better chance of being smoother than in his previous life. What Wang Qinghua needed to do was strike a balance between his wife and his mother.

“Big Brother, what you say sounds right too,” Wang Qingchen conceded after a moment's thought, deciding to offer one more warning. “But you cannot treat your wife too well in front of Mother, or she will get jealous. Like last time, speaking highly of your wife in front of Mother only made her angrier.”

“Jealous? No way, what is there to be jealous of?” Wang Qinghua sounded unconvinced.

“Oh, Big Brother, it’s just like that. You must believe me, all this experience comes from…” Wang Qingchen halted himself just before saying, ‘from the summarized wisdom of so many people in my past life.’

“Even if that’s the case, how do you know this?” Wang Qinghua, considering Wang Qingchen’s young age, looked at him with suspicion.

“Uh… Th-this… Haha, it’s actually quite simple, Big Brother. Think about it: if you have a little dog that constantly fawns over you, and suddenly a stranger appears, and your dog starts fawning over that stranger instead—would you feel good about that?” Wang Qingchen fabricated a scenario.

“Hmm… What you’re saying seems to have some logic to it,” Wang Qinghua conceded.

“Of course, it does,” Wang Qingchen replied smugly.

Wang Qinghua smiled. “I understand. You don’t need to worry.”

Seeing that his brother had agreed, Wang Qingchen nodded in satisfaction. Then, realizing it was night and Wang Qinghua couldn't see the nod, he said, “That’s good then.”

The next day, the Wang Youfu household rose very early, as there was much to do. Wang Qingchen initially felt it was too early, still groggy from staying up late last night. But upon learning that the bride had to wake up even before dawn, he immediately felt balanced again. After this thought, Wang Qingchen chastised himself—such a mindset was unacceptable!

Wang Qingchen had requested leave from his tutor the day before, so he helped Mrs. Yang with anything within his capabilities. Mrs. Wu arrived early as well. The hired cook and his two assistants arrived early too, heading straight to the kitchen to begin work, as all the day’s meals depended on them.

The families of the First and Third Branches also arrived early. Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. He came over intending to lend a hand, but Mrs. Tian simply sat around eating candies. The household had prepared a large amount of candy to treat arriving guests for Wang Qinghua’s wedding.

Mrs. He immediately took on the task of stoking the fire. Mrs. Zhang, washing vegetables outside, muttered to Mrs. Yang, “Arriving this early, just so she can grab a few more candies. The guests haven't even arrived to eat them, and there she is, indulging herself first. I really don't know what to say about her.”

“Forget it. Today is Qinghua’s big day. If we try to scold her now, it might cause an unpleasant scene,” Mrs. Yang replied, feeling a flicker of annoyance but choosing not to explode. She absolutely did not want any incidents today.

“I know your concerns. If even you can tolerate it, what more can I say?” Mrs. Zhang replied, then gasped when she saw Mrs. Yang carrying a stack of plates, hurrying over. “Heavens, you absolutely must not! Put those down quickly, let me take them. You’re nearly five months along, how can you be so careless?”

Mrs. Yang reluctantly handed the plates to Mrs. Zhang. “It’s almost five months; it’s not as fragile as you make it sound.”

“Ah, you’re mistaken. It’s always better to be cautious,” Mrs. Zhang insisted.

Mrs. Yang paused. “Qingyun’s wife must be over eight months along now, right?”

“Yes. Last time Doctor Li came, he said it’s almost certainly a boy, which made the Old Madam and Eldest Sister-in-law overjoyed. I heard they haven't let her go out at all now, afraid she might be bumped,” Mrs. Zhang said, pursing her lips.

“That’s understandable. The Old Madam and Eldest Sister-in-law have been hoping for this child for years; it’s no wonder they’re being so cautious now,” Mrs. Yang agreed.

“True. And that child is so capable,” Mrs. Yang added in agreement.

“Oh, but your daughter-in-law is joining the family today, and here I am, envying other people’s fortunes! How am I supposed to manage with my son still so young!” Mrs. Zhang laughed.

Mrs. Yang realized the truth in that statement—her daughter-in-law was indeed marrying in today! She burst out laughing as well.

As the two women chatted, the Old Master and Old Madam approached. The Old Master saw Mrs. Tian not helping, but eating candy, and instantly looked displeased. If not for the occasion, he would have scolded her soundly. Even without speaking, he shot her a severe glare. Upon seeing the Old Master’s stern look, Mrs. Tian immediately stopped eating candy and hurried off to the kitchen to pretend to help.

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