The man's words made everyone present unable to laugh. However, the elder was also good at reading people's expressions. He knew that it was about to be Chen Xiaobei's joyous day.
Therefore, he couldn't say too much. Thinking this, he chuckled, "Alright, alright. Now our Hetou Village is famous in ten miles and eight villages. Everyone knows we have a capable village chief who has led everyone to earn a lot of money. In the future, it will be perfectly normal for each person to marry several wives."
With a cheer from the crowd, the conversation ended.
After the banquet dispersed, Chen Xiaobei was already a little tipsy.
Back in his old house, Cui Hongyu quickly came forward to help him into the room.
"Husband, you've drunk quite a bit, haven't you? I've boiled hot water for you to soak your feet."
Looking at the thoughtful and busy Cui Hongyu, Chen Xiaobei felt a strange sense of gratitude. "Hongyu, you've been too tired these past few days. I can do it myself."
"No, you are the head of the household, and I am your wife. It is my duty to serve you."
As Cui Hongyu spoke, she pressed Chen Xiaobei's feet into the basin of water and meticulously washed them for him.
"Husband, you saw it today. Everyone envies you."
Cui Hongyu spoke with a hint of pride.
Chen Xiaobei sighed slightly, "But this is not necessarily a good thing, after all, so many people..."
Unexpectedly, Cui Hongyu's face lit up with excitement, "Of course it's a good thing! Isn't it good to have more people to help you spread your branches and leaves?"
Fine. Chen Xiaobei knew that people's thoughts in this era were like this, and he could not possibly change their minds.
The next morning, Liu Rumei arrived again.
Cui Hongyu smiled and invited Liu Rumei to sit down and have breakfast together. This time, Liu Rumei did not stand on ceremony.
While eating, Liu Rumei said, "Brother Xiaobei, tomorrow is the day of the wedding procession. But your house is too close to the school, so the procession might reach home before it can even be properly arranged."
Chen Xiaobei nodded slightly. That was indeed true. After all, the straight-line distance from his location to the school was only half a li.
According to local customs, a sedan chair, carriages, and musicians would require space to maneuver. If the front reached its destination, the back would not have even started yet, which would not be good.
After a moment's thought, Chen Xiaobei smiled and said, "This is simple. We can just take a walk around the village. Come out from my house, go west to Master Zhang the carpenter's, then go south, and then circle around to the school."
At this moment, Cui Hongyu beside him said with a smile, "Since we're going to circle around, why don't we just walk around the village for a longer time?"
Liu Rumei's face broke into a smile upon hearing this. "Yes, yes! Let's just circle Hetou Village once before we go home."
The phrase "before we go home" was spoken extremely naturally, without any hesitation. Chen Xiaobei felt a surge of emotion. This high-and-mighty Miss Liu had no airs about her. If this were in his past life, he would have been willing to become sworn brothers with her. But here, he knew that it was all impossible.
What surprised Chen Xiaobei even more was that at noon that day, several swift horses arrived in the village, sent by the Crown Prince.
The leader was named Zhou Yao, the younger brother of Zhou Quan and the Crown Prince's guard.
Zhou Yao came before Chen Xiaobei and solemnly cupped his fists.
"Young Master Chen, we heard you were getting married and have been ordered by the Crown Prince to deliver a congratulatory gift."
The address "Young Master Chen" sounded unfamiliar to Chen Xiaobei, as no one had ever called him that.
But how did the Crown Prince know he was getting married?
He glanced at Liu Rumei, who was looking at him expectantly, and Chen Xiaobei realized this was her doing.
Zhou Yao untied the bundle on his back and opened it.
He was carrying a jade Buddha. In this country that revered Buddhism, a jade Buddha was already considered an exceptional item.
Next was a golden incense burner.
Then, Zhou Yao took out a letter from his embrace and handed it to Chen Xiaobei.
"This is a bank note. Your Highness said to please keep it safe."
Chen Xiaobei opened it and saw a bank note for three thousand taels. This was the largest congratulatory gift he had received.
However, speaking of which, three thousand taels was nothing to the Crown Prince, and even less compared to everything Chen Xiaobei had done for the Crown Prince.
Before Chen Xiaobei could speak, Liu Rumei beside him said, "Brother Xiaobei, the Crown Prince has a kind heart. We mustn't disappoint him."
With that, she beckoned Zhou Yao to sit down for tea.
Chen Xiaobei knew that Liu Rumei was hinting for him to accept everything.
Speaking of which, why wouldn't he accept it? It was money for nothing, and this opportunity might not come again.
Liu Rumei beckoned Zhou Yao and his men to the side and asked, "Where has the Crown Prince reached, and what is the current situation?"
"The Crown Prince is leading a large army and has approached Jizhou. Along the way, many prefectures have sent troops to defect. Coupled with the surrendered troops from Qingniu County, the army now exceeds two hundred thousand."
Two hundred thousand. Liu Rumei breathed a long sigh of relief.
When Zhu Meng led his troops away from Qingniu Mountain, they had less than two hundred and fifty thousand, around two hundred and thirty thousand.
And Ge Village in Jizhou had about thirty thousand troops.
This meant that the gap in military strength between the Crown Prince and Jizhou was only about fifty to sixty thousand.
This was not an insurmountable gap.
Although the Crown Prince might not be able to achieve a swift victory, he could at least hold Zhu Meng.
As long as Zhu Meng could not link up with the Great Lin Kingdom, things would be much simpler.
After a brief explanation of the situation, Zhou Yao stood up and cupped his fists at Liu Rumei, "Miss Liu, His Highness specifically mentioned you, saying that once things here are settled, please rush to Jizhou to meet him."
Liu Rumei smiled and pointed to the bustling courtyard, "It's very busy here. Please tell the Crown Prince that once I'm done here, I will rush over immediately."
Zhou Yao stood up to take his leave. Chen Xiaobei tried to persuade them to stay for a drink, but unexpectedly, Liu Rumei spoke up for Zhou Yao this time.
"Brother Xiaobei, let him go back. The Crown Prince needs personnel."
Since Liu Rumei had said so, Chen Xiaobei didn't have much else to say and let Zhou Yao leave.
Watching Zhou Yao depart, Liu Rumei turned to Chen Xiaobei and said, "Brother Xiaobei, if he wants to go, let him go."
Chen Xiaobei was slightly surprised by Liu Rumei's attitude. He didn't know what had happened, but Liu Rumei's attitude towards the Crown Prince seemed to have changed, no longer as aggressive as before.
In the blink of an eye, another day passed. In the evening, Shen Ziyan arrived.
Shen Ziyan had not visited for the past two days because she had been acting as Huang Ying's maternal family.
Seeing her arrive, Cui Hongyu was very excited. "Ziyan, you've come at the right time! Sit down and eat."
Shen Ziyan sat down but did not eat. She looked at Cui Hongyu as if she had something to say but hesitated.
Chen Xiaobei understood what she meant and quickly put down his chopsticks.
"I happen to have something to attend to outside, so I'll be leaving for a while."
After saying that, he beckoned to Chen Qiao'er.