An Dalin laughed heartily, satisfied. "That's good."

Qiao Zhiqin stuck out her tongue and started eating some of her favorite sweets. She was lightly slapped by Li, the second daughter-in-law of the Qiao family, who scolded her.

"Zhiqin, is this whole table of food made just for you? You picked and ate it all, what are we supposed to eat?"

Qiao Zhiqin withdrew her hand and lowered her head.

"Oh, I understand, Mother."

"Second sister-in-law, how can you hit your child like that? Let them eat if they want, they're not strangers." Qiao Qiuniang happily served several small sweets to Qiao Zhiyi and Qiao Zhiqin.

"Girls all love sweets, and so do my kids. They really crave these little desserts. You can't get these sweets outside, but you can get them at your aunt's house. Aren't you going to eat as much as you want?"

Qiao Zhiqin grinned, showing off her little tiger teeth.

"My aunt is the best. I also think these desserts are different from the ones we usually eat. They taste so good."

"These are some of the pastries that the shop originally sold. The young ladies and wives of wealthy families all loved them and really liked what our shop made."

"Auntie, I heard it back in the fishing village. Your shop is really popular, it's even become popular in our village."

I saw people from the neighboring town coming to this town to buy these pastries.

Actually, Yujia Village also belongs to Linghe Town, but it is located on the outskirts of Linghe Town and is quite far away from the town.

However, it is actually closer to the neighboring town of Luohe.

Therefore, the Qiao family rarely comes here on weekdays, because it is close to the neighboring town of Luohe. If they need to buy anything, it is more convenient to go to the neighboring town.

Compared to Linghe Town, this fishing village is located in a remote area, about 40 miles away on foot.

Linghe Town is a relatively large town in Jincheng compared to other towns, with many villages, more than thirty in total.

**

Anle slept soundly and felt refreshed. Knowing that she was resting, no one came to disturb her, and she slept for two days.

Stretching, glancing at her watch, Anle got out of bed and opened the window to let in some fresh air; it was already past lunchtime.

It was only three o'clock, and there were still two or three hours until dinner. Anle rubbed her stomach, changed her clothes, finally went to the outhouse, and then went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

As soon as they entered the neighboring courtyard, they saw Anjing sitting in the pavilion not far away with two girls who looked a little older than Anjing.

Anle lowered his eyes and scratched his head, his blank mind finally returning to normal.

Oh, right, she remembered now, her maternal grandparents' entire family had come to stay.

These two girls are her cousins.

Anjing, who was not far away, also saw Anle and waved to her, calling her over.

Anle walked into the pavilion with a smile. When she saw two portions of pastries on the table, her eyes lit up. She sat down on the stone bench and picked up a jujube cake to eat.

“Big sister and cousins, what are you doing—” Anle glanced at the embroidery cloth and needles going in and out of the three people’s hands, “You’re embroidering.”

Qiao Zhiyi nodded, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Well, I just embroider for fun when I have nothing else to do."

"Little cousin, let me tell you something," Qiao Zhiqin said with a smile, leaning closer to whisper something in Anle's ear.

Anle's eyes widened instantly as she stared at the large red embroidered cloth veil in Zhiyi's hand, which featured a half-embroidered picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water.

"What? A wedding dress? How old is my older cousin? She's already embroidering a wedding dress?"

“She’s already a young woman of sixteen, so naturally she should embroider her own wedding dress. Besides, Sister Zhiyi is already betrothed and will be marrying into the family next year, so the wedding dress should be prepared in advance.”

Qiao Zhiyi glared at Qiao Zhiqin, "Zhiqin, what nonsense are you and your little cousin talking about? Your little cousin is still so young."

"Where did I lie? Sister Zhiyi, you were clearly engaged to the Duan family when you were a child. Didn't our two families agree long ago that you would marry into their family when you turned seventeen?"

Qiao Zhiqin turned to An Le with a grin and said.

"Little cousin, let me tell you, the family that Sister Zhiyi found is a very wealthy family. I heard they've become very successful now, and their standards are even higher than our Qiao family."

He's in Baicheng, which is very close to the capital.

The future husband who is betrothed to Sister Zhiyi is said to have made his fortune in the military.

He made a name for himself in the army as soon as he left. He was very skilled and caught the eye of the deputy general. Now he has been promoted to be the right-hand man and I heard that he has a lot of soldiers under his command.

Speaking of which, this status is quite prestigious.

"Sister Zhiyi has already arranged a wonderful marriage for us when we were young."

Anle nodded with a smile, and listened to the amusement along with it.

"This is still unfounded, Zhiqin, don't talk nonsense."

"Where did I say anything wrong? Does the Duan family intend to disown this marriage? To deny it altogether?"

Qiao Zhiyi bit her lip, her eyes dimmed, and she murmured uncertainly.

"From what my mother said, Duan Jia seems to have changed his mind. He feels that I am not good enough for him and that a family like ours cannot provide him with a good future."

If she were to marry, she should marry a girl from a wealthy and prominent family, as that would be beneficial to her future career.

Therefore, even if this wedding dress were embroidered, it probably wouldn't be suitable for her to enter the Duan family.

My grandfather would never allow me to settle for being someone's concubine.

Although the Duan family backed out, they relented, saying we should each compromise and that she would be carried in a sedan chair as a concubine. I heard she could only enter the house after the main wife, carried in by eight bearers in a grand sedan chair; breaking the rules was not allowed.

Qiao Zhiqin was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red with anger. She slammed her hand on the stone table and stood up abruptly.

"Become a concubine? What right does the Duan family have? This was arranged sixteen years ago, how can they go back on their word?"

"Zhiyi, what do you mean? Do you want to marry into this family as a concubine?"

Qiao Zhiyi smiled bitterly, "What can I do? My mother's hopes are pinned on me. She hopes I can marry into a high-ranking family, and she would be happy even if I were a concubine."

Moreover, Duan Qi is a very good person, and my mother is very satisfied with him. She said that even if I were to marry into the Duan family as a concubine, Duan Qi would not mistreat me.

After all, there's a bond between me and Brother Duan Qi. Before he joined the army, he treated me very well.

"But things might be a bit difficult with Grandpa. Grandma is already trying to persuade him."

Qiao Zhiqin stood with her hands on her hips, fuming and glaring.

"What kind of people are the Duan family? They don't sound like a good family at all. Zhiyi, it's fine if you don't marry into that family. It's not like you can't find a good family. Someone as good-looking, good-tempered, and talented as you, why are you afraid of not finding a good family?"