Xia Qingru stared at Hu Lihua, puzzled. Her niece hadn't spoken a word and was only staring at her gifts with sparkling eyes. Then, who had just spoken? But she was sure that it was Hu Lihua's voice.
Song Xiuyan observed Xia Qingru looking confused as she gazed at Hu Lihua. He guessed something but didn't dare to say anything.
Xia Qingru slowly shook her head, trying to shake off the hallucination. After a moment, she said to Hu Lihua, "Hua'er, come to our house. You know, your grandparents, and the whole family, miss you. Even your Second Uncle made a garden and raised some cute, fat rabbits!"
Hu Lihua's eyes brightened. "First Aunt, is that true?"
Xia Qingru nodded. "Of course. Your older cousins even raced to see who could gather more rabbits for you. Oh, those naughty boys! Do they want to exhaust you to death taking care of all those rabbits?"
"Aunt, it's fine! I don't mind at all!" Hu Lihua replied quickly.
[Spicy rabbit head! Honey roasted rabbit! Herbal rabbit soup! Aaaahhh! So many rabbits, I can make all kinds of delicious dishes!]
Song Xiuyan almost laughed when she saw the greedy look on his daughter's face. she could even see the drool nearly dripping from the corner of her mouth. Ah… poor cousins. They competed to give cute pets to Hu Lihua, but the pampered child thought of the rabbits as a food supply!
Xia Qingru was stunned again. She had been paying close attention to Hu Lihua. This time, she could hear Hu Lihua mentioning the names of rabbit dishes without even moving her lips. She turned to Song Xiuyan with a confused look.
Song Xiuyan put his finger to his lips, signaling Xia Qingru to stay quiet.
Seeing Song Xiuyan's gesture, Xia Qingru was startled. But her quick mind immediately realized something strange was going on. Wasn't she the only one who could hear Hu Lihua's thoughts?
Once she calmed herself down, she nodded and turned her attention back to Hu Lihua.
As the daughter of the number one merchant family in the Zhang Empire, Xia Qingru had traveled around the country with her father since she was young. She had witnessed many strange and unique things during her travels. But this was the most miraculous thing she had ever witnessed in her life.
Song Xiuyan leaned toward Xia Qingru and whispered, "Don't say anything to anyone."
"Xiuyan, I understand," Xia Qingru whispered back.
The two of them then picked up their teacups and pretended nothing had happened.
[Ah! Ah! So much gold jewelry! I love gold!]
Xia Qingru smiled when she heard Hu Lihua's voice. Her niece was so adorable, even though she was greedy. She whispered to a servant beside her, who then left.
The three of them chatted until it was time for lunch. Song Xiuyan insisted that Xia Qingru stay for lunch, and Xia Qingru didn't refuse. Their relationship was so good that she wasn't going to pretend to be shy.
After they finished lunch, the servant Xia Qingru had sent earlier, now returned with a large box. The servant walked over to Hu Lihua and opened the box.
"Hua'er, this is a little pocket money from First Aunt. Use it for whatever you need," Xia Qingru said softly.
Hu Lihua was stunned. She could even fit an entire egg inside it.
[Amazing! Gold! Gold bars! Aaaahhhh!!!! One, two, three... ten! Ten gold bars! My First Aunt is a Goddess! Her face and heart are as beautiful as a Goddess!]
Xia Qingru blushed when she heard this. She was very pleased to hear the praise from her niece, especially since it was so sincere.
"Sister-in-law, you spoil her too much," Song Xiuyan sighed helplessly.
Xia Qingru smiled and replied, "What's wrong with spoiling Hua'er? You know, our house is filled with boys. Hua'er is our only niece. Of course, she should be spoiled."
The Song family had two sons, Song Mubai and Song Junlin, and only one daughter, Song Xiuyan.
Song Mubai and Xia Qingru had two sons, while Song Junlin and Xu Lingyu had three sons. Not to mention Hu Rui'an, Hu Lihua was the only granddaughter from the Song family.
Generally, in these times, a man could have three wives and four concubines. However, the Song family only allowed their descendants to have one wife and no concubines or mistresses.
When the Hu family proposed to marry Song Xiuyan, Old Master Song set this condition for his son-in-law. And Hu Zhangwei himself was a straight-laced man who only cared about war and martial arts. If his mother hadn't forced him into marriage, he might have stayed single for the rest of his life. That's why Hu Zhangwei immediately agreed without a second thought.
When Hu Lihua heard her mother's words, she hurriedly took the box of gold and placed it on her lap, then giggled, "He! He! He! Mother … this is the First Aunt's good intention. Don't refuse it, it'll make her heart uncomfortable."
Song Xiuyan and Xia Qingru laughed when they saw Hu Lihua's antics. But their laughter stopped immediately, and their faces darkened when they heard what Hu Lihua said next.
[With so much gold, how many handsome men can I get at the Nanguan Pavilion? Is this enough to hire all the handsome men there?]
Song Xiuyan's face darkened to the point it looked like ink might drip from it. Shee immediately stood up, took the box from Hu Lihua, and said, "Let Mother keep it for your dowry."
Hu Lihua was taken aback and stunned when the box was suddenly taken away from her lap. She whined playfully to Song Xiuyan, "Mother…"
"Alright, I'll give you some. You must save it," said Song Xiuyan. She took out three gold bars, placed them on the table in front of Hu Lihua, and instructed Tao'er to store the box in her private vault.
Hu Lihua's heart bled as she watched the box get farther from her sight.
[Boohoo! How can I meet those handsome brothers at the Nanguan Pavilion now? Three gold bars are just enough to start a business! Handsome brothers, forgive me! For now, I can't meet you!]
Seeing Hu Lihua deflate like a deflated balloon, Song Xiuyan felt a little comforted. It seemed she needed to find a husband for his daughter soon. But before that… she needed to deal with something first.
Xia Qingru chatted with her brother-in-law and niece for a while longer. She had also just visited Old Lady Hu and brought some health supplements when she arrived. So, her visit today was coming to an end.
"Hua'er, First Aunt must go home now. Remember to visit your mother's family," Xia Qingru said.
Hu Lihua nodded, "Alright, First Aunt. I'll visit soon!"
"Good girl," said Xia Qingru, gently ruffling Hu Lihua's hair. Then, she left.