Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Your children are already in primary school, and I’m even a year older than you. Shouldn’t I hurry up and solve this personal problem of mine?”

  “So, are you saying that you’re getting married to Zhu Baoguo?” Qiao Nan’s eyes widened and her tone was filled with surprise. “Oh, how did you two finally get through to it?” This was probably the only piece of news that made Qiao Nan rejoice after the passing of the two elders.

  “What do you mean how we got through to it? Since we’re of that age now, we just decided to get married.” Shi Qing smirked proudly. “He asked for help from people in the army and proposed to me. He knelt down in the presence of so many people. How could I not agree? If I refused, he would not be able to lift up his head in the army anymore. I only agreed because he looked rather sincere.”

  No matter how tough a woman appeared to be, there was always a soft and romantic heart within.

  Before, Shi Qing had been waiting for Zhu Baoguo to make the move to propose. This time, when Zhu Baoguo had performed so well, how could Shi Qing not agree?

  “Have the reports been completed?”

  “Your husband approved them.”

  “When?!”

  \r \r \r

  “The 19th of February.”

  “I’ll lend you my children to be flower boys!” This time, Qiao Nan was smiling out of true joy. A few years after the three children were born, Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing had started dating. They had survived even the seven-year itch but still made no mention of marriage. They were in no hurry, but that was not the case for all the old and young ‘eunuchs’ around them.

  Now that these two young ones were finally going to get married, Qiao Nan knew how elated the Zhu family and the Shi family would be.

  “That’s a must.” If Qiao Nan dared to disallow her children from being flower boys, she would force her to hand the children over.

  “You’re already going to be a bride. What are you doing in my house? Shouldn’t you be making preparations? It’s been too easy for you two to come to this decision. Do your families have enough time to prepare?” From the decision to get married to the wedding itself, there was only about a month in between them. Was there really enough time?

  She thought about Li Dawei, who was also going to get married in a month, but he had already been preparing for it for two to three months. Qiao Nan was truly worried for Shi Qing and Zhu Baoguo and whether they would be able to make sufficient preparations. After all, it would become their lifetime regret if they did not do this once-in-a-lifetime event well.

  But Shi Qing was as calm as ever. “Don’t worry. I’m my parents’ only daughter. Besides, I am already engaged to Zhu Baoguo, so it’s not as if the two families haven’t been preparing for marriage. In fact, they’ve been preparing for it for more than a year. So what could we possibly be lacking? Our parents were so afraid that we wouldn’t make it in time that they’ve already finished preparing the wedding invitations for us! I’ll come again in a few days’ time to pass yours to you.”

  “.……” Okay, she had forgotten about that. “Are you sure that your dad and my godfather wrote the invitations because they were afraid you wouldn’t be able to make it? Or was it that they were annoyed that you two have been holding guns for too many years and have forgotten how to hold a pen? They may have been afraid that your illegible handwriting would cause their relatives to be mistaken that the standards of your two families are as low as your poor handwriting.”

  “Hah, haha.” Shi Qing’s expression hardened. “Qiao Nan, your joke is really funny…… Qiao Nan, you’re already a mom. Why can’t you show me some love and change that evil mouth of yours? Can you at least give me some respect as a godmother in front of the three children?”

  While she was still studying, Shi Qing’s handwriting had been pretty good. But perhaps because she handled guns too often that she lost all chances of practicing her handwriting. When she registered for her marriage certificate with Zhu Baoguo, she had filled in the form herself and her handwriting had been so ugly that Shi Qing was unwilling to admit that she had written it.

  It was only after Shi Qing saw that Zhu Baoguo’s handwriting was even ‘wilder’ and ‘unrestrained’ than hers did she gain some comfort.

  Shi Qing had spent more time in the capital. The moment Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing finished writing their names, they went to collect their certificates. The next moment, Shi Peng immediately received a multimedia message. He stared at it and his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. He could hardly believe that those scrawls were his own daughter’s.

  Then, he looked at his son-in-law’s. His lips quivered.

  To say the least, his daughter had been a merit scholar in the sciences while she was still studying. He had been a civil servant himself, but why had his daughter regressed as she grew up? And as for his son-in-law’s scribbles, he really had to close both eyes.

  Shi Peng worried that if he were to have a grandchild, the grandchild might inherit their genes and have ugly handwriting. It would be depressing to go to school with such ugly handwriting.

  Because of this matter, Shi Peng berated Shi Qing for a long while. Even Feng Cheng did not try to step in to help Shi Qing.

  After this bloody lesson, Shi Peng discussed it with Zhu Baoguo and decided that it would be best for the adults to write the wedding invites, even if it was going to be more troublesome. Otherwise, he would lose all dignity.

  Zhu Chengqi was in the same state as Zhai Yaohui. He had toiled through the busiest period of his youth. At the age of a grandfather, he could finally rest easy. Now that he had free time, Zhu Chengqi was naturally unwilling to let Zhu Baoguo ruin the family name.

  Wang Yang had gotten married early. Now, Zhu Baoguo was the only one in the family who had not gotten married. In his generation, Zhu Baoguo was probably going to be the last one to hold a wedding. How would Zhu Chengqi be willing to let Zhu Baoguo ruin the family name? So he agreed with Shi Peng.

  This matter was too humiliating. The two parties involved, Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing, refused to mention it to anyone and tried to hide it. On the other hand, Shi Peng and Zhu Chengqi felt that it was too embarrassing to talk about it outside of their families. No matter what, the two children were already going to get married. Because of that, they could not let other people mock their children at such a crucial moment. As such, they decided to help the children hide the fact of the matter.

  Unexpectedly, Shi Qing had not even mentioned it but the moment Qiao Nan opened her mouth, the game was over.

  Qiao Nan laughed. “Come, Da Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, bring your exercise books over and let your godmother check through them. Let her check if there are any incorrect characters.”

  The eyes of the three children sparkled. Even the most matured Da Bao pursed his lips and curled them into a smile. The three children were bright and completely understood the conversation between Qiao Nan and Shi Qing. They knew that Qiao Nan intended to compare their handwritings with Shi Qing’s.

  The thought of their own handwriting being better than their godmother’s put them in a very good mood indeed.

  There was a ruckus as the three children hurriedly placed their exercise books in front of Shi Qing. Afraid that Shi Qing’s eyesight was poor, Er Bao specially put his exercise book right in front of Shi Qing. “Godmother, help me take a look at it.”