Chapter 177: Chapter 129: Bridal Chamber Candle Night (End of Volume 1)_2

Compared to her heavily made-up look from earlier, she was less glamorous and dignified now, but imbued with a much stronger sense of youthful charm, radiating vitality.

“My lady, you truly are a beauty.”

Liu Ruolan blushed slightly. She had been sneaking glances at Wang Shouzhe the whole time and murmured, “My lord, too, is quite handsome and extraordinary.”

It was clear that she was very satisfied with Wang Shouzhe’s appearance.

Although it was an arranged marriage and she had no say in the choice of her spouse.

If said spouse happened to be a handsome and heroic youth, it would naturally make her happier. Moreover, this lord was very gentle and thoughtful.

There was a small table beside the bed, with some delicate pastries on it and a small charcoal heater warming a pot of wine.

Wang Shouzhe, knowing she probably hadn’t had anything to eat all day, quickly brought her a plate of pastries, saying tenderly, “You must be hungry, my lady. Would you like to eat something?”

Liu Ruolan nodded gently and thanked her lord.

Then, she delicately picked up a piece of pastry and slightly turned her body, covering her mouth as she chewed slowly and gracefully.

She certainly was the daughter of a prominent family, Wang Shouzhe thought to himself.

Compared to his niece Wang Licui, who ate food as if she were a bandit and could starve you to death if you didn’t grab quickly enough.

Just as he was thinking about Wang Licui, suddenly!

Noisy sounds came from outside the courtyard.

“Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle, are you there?”

To his surprise, there was Wang Licui’s voice. Then she started knocking on the door vigorously, “Fourth Uncle, why did you lock the door?”

Wang Shouzhe broke out in a cold sweat: what rotten luck, the person he was thinking about was at the door.

Didn’t this niece realize that it was his wedding night?

As if he would leave the door unlocked for a random intrusion.

Liu Ruolan looked puzzled.

On seeing her expression, Wang Shouzhe said helplessly, “I apologize, my lady. It’s just my niece Wang Licui. She’s a notorious chatterbox without a delicate bone in her body.” “She’s one of the little devils in the family.”

“I’ve heard about this kid,” Liu Ruolan said, lightly covering her mouth with laughter, “It’s no big deal. Which household doesn’t have a few little devils?” The Liu family also had its fair share of eccentric young people.

Knowing the character of Wang Licui, Wang Shouzhe knew there was no avoiding it.

She might even break the door down if it wasn’t opened.

After getting Liu Ruolan’s consent, Wang Shouzhe went forward to open the door, preparing to scold her with a straight face.

But upon seeing him, Wang Licui complained, “Fourth Uncle, what were you doing that took so long?”

Then she barged into the room with a large wooden basin. Followed by a big gang of people.

Wang Luoqiu, Wang Luo Jing, and even the little ones, Wang Luomiao and Wang Luolan, all followed her in.

Furthermore, there were also his second niece Wang Liwan, nephew Wang Zong Chang, and the youngest brother Wang Shouye.

This scene left Wang Shouzhe dumbstruck. What on earth had just happened? Was this a mini-rebellion?

“Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle, what’s with that expression? I noticed that Fourth Auntie didn’t eat much, and you were too busy drinking and not eating, so I thought I’d bring you something to eat.”

Wang Licui pouted, putting on a show of being hurt for doing a kindness.

“And what about the rest of you?” Wang Shouzhe looked at the others.

“We came to see the sister-in-law.” Wang Luoqiu was straightforward, “We didn’t get to see her during the day because of the red bridal veil.” Apart from Luo Qiu’s path to becoming empress, there was little else she was curious or concerned about.

Seeing that Liu Ruolan was smiling, and seemed okay with it, Wang Shouzhe said to Wang Licui, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and present any good food you’ve brought to your auntie.”

Suddenly, there was a lot of hustle and bustle as the younger generation of Wangs came in, some bearing gifts, others pitching in to set up a hot pot station.

Liu Ruolan, on the other hand, was very generous and had already prepared red envelopes, distributing them one by one.

“Fourth Auntie, this is Fourth Uncle’s favorite clear broth hot pot. I had it prepared especially for your late-night supper,” came Wang Licui’s voice.

Always known for her sycophancy, she seemed to have quickly realized who would be calling the shots in the family from now on.

On her very wedding night, she’d come to win Fourth Aunt’s favor.

The girls were efficient.

Soon, a clear-water hot pot was ready, the water boiling inside the copper pot.

Wang Shouzhe and Liu Ruolan, accompanied by the youngsters, gathered around the table and cheerfully started eating the clear-broth hot pot.

Although the eating hot pot made him happy, Wang Shouzhe felt a bit awkward. This was his wedding night. Surely these kids weren’t here to cause mischief?

Liu Ruolan seemed to have never tasted clear broth hot pot before. She was very gracious in front of the children and seemed to enjoy the meal a lot.

Moreover, her nervousness seemed to have dissipated significantly.

Gradually, she became familiar with her brothers and sisters-in-law. Especially Wang Luomiao, who used to write to her a lot. The two were quite close.

The hot pot meal turned out to be fun for everyone.

Wang Shouzhe quietly observed that Ruolan was nearly full and stopped using her chopsticks.

He then cleared his throat and said, “It’s getting late. You all should be getting on with whatever you should be doing.” He began shooing people away.

It was a joke. Every moment of the wedding night was precious, it being his first, he certainly couldn’t spend it eating hot pot till daybreak, could he?

“Fourth Uncle, aren’t you being ungrateful? I’m not full yet,” grumbled Wang Licui.

“You never get full. Take it away and eat it slowly,” he replied.

Without any hesitation, Wang Shouzhe kicked all the youngsters out and locked the door quickly.