allonlinenovel Chapter 159 Engagement (Part 1)
Chapter 159 Engagement (Part 1)
Seeing that the topic was about to go astray, Xie Junfei quickly interrupted Huo's mother:
"No, Mom, I'm getting engaged?"
"Why so suddenly? Did Huo Shen agree as well?"
Mrs. Huo affectionately took her arm:
"What's the point of taking that brat's opinion into account? Let's ignore him."
"But why did you say that, baby? Don't you want to be part of the family with Mommy?"
As Mrs. Huo spoke, she covered her chest with her jade-adorned hand, feigning sadness.
Xie Junfei took the bait and quickly comforted Huo's mother:
"No, no, of course I'd love to be part of a family with my mom."
"I'm just a little surprised. After all, I have a lot on my plate right now, and there's the Shen family too. I'm also afraid of dragging you all down with me..."
Before Xie Junfei could finish speaking, Huo's mother quickly stopped her:
"Since you've agreed, we're family now."
"We're all family, what's there to be implicated or not?"
"It's just the Shen family, what's there to be afraid of? With Mom here, I guarantee I can handle this for you, don't worry."
As she spoke, Huo's mother put her arm around Xie Junfei. Before Xie Junfei could think about it, Huo's mother beckoned, and the florist pushed a large bucket of flowers into the living room, relaying them over like a relay race.
Although Mrs. Huo said that the engagement banquet should be kept simple, the Huo family is a large family after all, and Huo Shen is the only son of the main branch of the Huo family and the future head of the Huo family. No matter how simple it is, the rules cannot be broken.
Mrs. Huo and the engaged couple spent the entire day arranging the basic details of the engagement banquet.
The day after they decided to get engaged, Huo Shen took Robert to work, while Xie Wenzhou took his younger sister and Huo's mother to the Wanxiang Mansion to check out the venue.
That garden villa was formerly the home of Ms. Tang Lingyi, a famous architect in China. After Ms. Tang Lingyi passed away, her descendants moved to Shanghai and sold the house in Wanxiang Mansion to Mrs. Huo's father.
The old man adored his youngest daughter, and on the day she came of age, he gifted her the Wanxiang Mansion, which he had already renovated, as a coming-of-age present.
Huo's mother lived here for five years, and at the age of twenty-three, she held her engagement banquet with Huo Mingqian here.
The feng shui of the Wanxiang Mansion was excellent. During the war in Beiping, Tang Lingyi was able to draw blueprints safely in the Wanxiang Mansion and lived to the ripe old age of ninety-three. She passed away peacefully in her sleep, which was considered a happy death.
Meanwhile, Huo's mother got engaged to Huo Mingqian at the Wanxiang Mansion. In recent years, the market has been unpredictable, and very few families have been able to emerge unscathed from the tides of the times. However, Huo Mingqian has protected Huo's mother very well, allowing her to remain as innocent as a young girl even in her forties.
After getting married, Mrs. Huo rarely came to the Wanxiang Mansion, but fortunately, the house was always well taken care of. Xie Junfei took one look inside and fell in love with the house at first sight.
The black walnut flooring is understated yet not oppressive, the room is well-lit, the vintage furniture is full of charm, and the several oil paintings by famous artists hanging on the wall further reflect the homeowner's taste.
Mrs. Huo placed the coffee cup on the small walnut wood sideboard and smiled:
"The furniture here was all handpicked by me when I was young."
"Back then, I was young and full of energy. Sometimes I would even fly to Paris for a vase."
Xie Junfei looked at the elegant decorations in the room and her eyes crinkled into a smile:
"It's always worth paying for things you like."
Mrs. Huo liked this daughter-in-law who shared her interests very much, and walked over to pat her on the shoulder:
"And you, do you like it here?"
Xie Junfei smiled:
"No one would dislike this place."
Mrs. Huo nodded in thought, then took a bunch of keys out of her pocket and handed them to her:
"If you like it, then it's yours now."
Suddenly presented with a set of keys, Xie Junfei's eyes widened immediately, and she quickly declined.
"This is your coming-of-age ceremony, I can't accept it!"
Mrs. Huo's movements were gentle yet firm as she held down her daughter's hand.
"Good child, this is just a lucky charm. Keep it safe and consider it your mother's wedding gift to you."
“The Wanxiang Mansion brings good luck to each of its owners. Mom knows you suffered injustice in your first eighteen years, so I hope you will be as lucky as Mom in the future.”
The bronze keys seemed to possess a magical power, radiating the warmth of maternal love.
Xie Junfei looked up and met Huo's mother's gaze, and saw a maternal love in Huo's mother's eyes that she had never seen before.
Her eyes slowly reddened, and her heart softened. As she lowered her eyes and put the keys in her pocket, she whispered her thanks to Mrs. Huo.
"Mom, thank you."
Mrs. Huo smiled gently and patted her shoulder tenderly:
"Good child, we are all family, there's no need to be so polite."
"Let's go upstairs and take a look. The bitter orange blossoms are in bloom. We can smell them from the bedroom on the second floor. Sleeping with the fragrance of the flowers every day is so calming."
"Orange blossoms also symbolize happiness and loyalty; you can wear a few in your hair at the engagement party."
As she spoke, Mrs. Huo led Xie Junfei upstairs to the second floor.
The engagement date was chosen a week after Xie Junfei finished her college entrance exams.
The preparations were so sudden that Mrs. Huo originally thought she wouldn't be able to choose a good date.
Who knew that after consulting a master, it turned out that there was indeed such a day, auspicious for betrothal, engagement, moving, and marriage.
On the day of the engagement, the sky over Beijing was cloudless and the weather was unusually warm and pleasant. In addition to the families with whom they had a good relationship, Huo's mother also specially invited two media outlets with whom she had a good relationship, hoping to use them to spread the news of Huo Shen and Xie Junfei's marriage.
The powerful and influential people of Beijing gathered at the Anhui-Hunan Mansion.
Before the newlyweds even appeared, elegantly dressed gentlemen and ladies chatted amongst themselves, their cups of bubbling champagne reflecting the glittering jewels on their bodies in the sunlight.
Everyone is talking about the couple who are getting married today.
Especially the hostess of the engagement banquet, who was only eighteen years old but had already received many honors. Not only was she a force to be reckoned with in the business world, but she also managed to win over Huo Shen, a bigwig in Beijing's business circle, and even gained the favor and approval of her mother-in-law. The fact that the Huo family even gave her the Wanxiang Mansion as a gift for her coming-of-age ceremony shows how much they valued her.
While everyone was talking about Xie Junfei's background, Zhu Lili, dressed in a satin dress, arrived with her sister-in-law, Miss Chi.
Looking at the pink peonies that could be seen everywhere in the Wanxiang Mansion, Zhu Lili sighed:
"I never imagined that at this time last year we were still struggling with the worries of getting into Tiancheng Private School, and now my best friend is getting married."
Miss Chi patted her sister-in-law's hand, comforting her:
"What's the big deal? If you're envious, I'll ask your brother to find you one too."
Hearing her sister-in-law say that, Zhu Lili shivered despite the 20-degree Celsius weather.
"Forget it, forget it. I haven't had enough fun yet. I don't want to enter the walled city of marriage."
Miss Chi understood the young girl's feelings very well:
"That's fine too. At worst, you can stay in the Zhu family for the rest of your life. Your sister-in-law will keep you company. You can do whatever you want in your own home. It's great!"
"The most important thing for a girl is to live her own life. Getting married or not is not a must."
Zhu Lili nodded vigorously, but looking at the peonies that filled the room, symbolizing her deep affection, she couldn't help but murmur:
"But if you really meet the right person, you can still give it a try."
Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Zhu Lili snapped out of her reverie, walking with Miss Chi toward the onlookers.