Zhao Wu walked up to Xu Lanyin, pulled her into his arms, and gently rubbed his face against her hair and cheeks. He said, "Sister, I miss you so much. Especially when it's cold, as long as I think of you, I don't feel cold anymore."

Xu Lanyin buried her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of bath beans with the fragrance of plum blossoms. The familiar embrace and the familiar smell made her heart even more tender and sweet. She nuzzled his neck again and said with a smile, "I am your little charcoal stove."

Zhao Wu smiled, his breath spraying into her ears, making her ears tingle and numb. He said, "No, you are my hot water bottle."

They both laughed muffledly. Then, their two moist lips pressed together, their breathing becoming heavier...

After an unknown amount of time, a series of scattered footsteps sounded in the yard, followed by Xu Lanting's voice, "Brother Zhao, you're finally back."

Zhao Wu and Xu Lanyin quickly separated.

Zhao Wu smiled as he picked up Xu Lanting and tossed him up. He said, "Good boy, you've grown heavier and taller again."

Xu Lanting liked to hear this the most. He stood up straight and compared his height with Zhao Wubi, pouting and saying, "It only reaches Brother Zhao's chest."

The little boy was now almost a young boy. He was nearly 1.3 meters tall, fair-skinned, handsome, healthy and lively, completely different from the short, thin and frail child Xu Lanyin had seen when she first arrived. At the time, everyone thought he wouldn't live long.

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "You are only eight years old, and you are already considered tall."

Xu Lanting's eyes curved with joy. He said, "Brother Zhao, please teach me martial arts. Daddy has been so busy with my sister since he came back that he has no time to teach me."

Several people went to Xu's house with umbrellas. When they passed by He Dong's room, Xu Lanyin stopped and called him out, rewarded him with ten taels of silver, and asked him to come over there for a drink in the evening.

Xu Lanyin went to help in the kitchen, and Zhao Wu taught Xu Lanting martial arts in the corridor.

Qin Che, Li Luo, and Min Hu arrived at the Xu family one after another. After hearing Zhao Wu say that he had found Cui Yi and obtained what he deserved, they all concluded that Wang Yi would definitely compromise.

After hearing this, Qin felt much more relieved.

On February 24th, the Zhao family sent the betrothal gifts. This was agreed upon before Zhao Wu left; no matter whether he could make it back in time or not, the betrothal gifts would be sent on this day.

Thank goodness, it didn’t rain today. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and it was much warmer than the previous day.

Brother-in-law Xu Lanting took a day off specifically, wearing a festive little red robe, and stood at the door with Xu Dashi to welcome the wedding party.

The Xu family also had many guests to watch the ceremony: Madam Qin, Qin Hongyu, Grandmother Qin, Xiaoxiang'er, Madam Min, Min Nan, Grandmother Min and her son, Madam Hu, Hu Yi, Xu's mother and son, Xu Dashi's family, and Hong Zhen's family. Hong Zhen was a guest of the Zhao family, accompanying Zhao Wu to send the betrothal gifts, while the three Hu family members and their son were guests of the Xu family.

In fact, the Min family only invited Min Nan, and Mrs. Min and Grandma Min wanted to use their connections to get in.

Since the two families lived next door to each other, the betrothal procession came out of the Zhao family with music and dance, walked to the right, went around a street, and then came to the Xu family from the left.

The dowry consisted of twenty-four loads, betrothal cakes, seafood, three kinds of meat, various gift boxes, incense, firecrackers, bracelets, and gold, plus five hundred taels of betrothal silver, for a total of two thousand taels of silver.

Zhao Wu had wanted to spend five thousand taels of silver on it before, but Xu Lanyin disagreed. Even two thousand taels of silver was a staggering sum for a small, parentless inspector.

The betrothal gifts were spread out in the yard. The guests and neighbors who came to watch the fun were amazed and said that Mr. Zhao was capable and had such a generous fortune.

Mrs. Lu, who was standing by, listened and explained with a smile, "My son-in-law has made two remarkable achievements for the country. Not only was he rewarded by the emperor and the court, but also by the host family who helped him..."

Zhao Wu, dressed in festive clothes, smiled brightly and entered the Xu family accompanied by Li Luo and Hong Zhen.

Everyone laughed and praised the groom-to-be for his handsome appearance and sweet smile. The laughter made Zhao Wu's face even redder.

He kowtowed to Qin and called her "mother-in-law", then clasped his fists and bowed to the people watching the fun around him before returning to the Zhao family.

Xu Lanyin sat in her bedroom and was too embarrassed to go out. She listened to the praise and teasing of Zhao Wu outside, and envied the bride's good fortune.

Xu Lanyin knew that Qin, who loved quietness, invited so many people to her home to watch the wedding because she wanted to make her daughter's wedding a lively one, unlike her own wedding which was lonely and hasty, with no one even offering blessings.

Today was the first time that so many guests came to the Xu family. Except for a few little boys, they were all women.

After lunch, everyone drank tea and chatted in the corridor, and some people played checkers and flying chess when they had nothing to do.

Mrs. Min and Grandmother Min were visiting the Xu family for the first time today. Mrs. Min noticed that Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Xu were very close, even closer than she was to herself. Mrs. Xu looked a bit like Qin Hongyu, and Xu Lanyin also looked a bit like Qin Hongyu. It seemed like Mrs. Xu's last name was Qin... She became suspicious.

Madam Qin noticed this and smiled, "Madam Min might have noticed it already. Hongyu looks a bit like Madam Xu, and Madam Xu's last name is Qin. My master said it was fate. Maybe our two families were relatives a hundred years ago."

It's hard for others to say anything when you say it so openly.

Madam Min smiled and said, "Yes, that's not entirely certain."

After a lively day of fun, we sent the guests away in the evening and started to prepare the betrothal gifts.

In addition to food, Qin put all the real things and 500 taels of silver as a deposit into the dowry.

On February 28th, the Xu family went to the Zhao family to set up the bed.

Seeing the furniture being carried to the Zhao family one by one, Qin, Xu Lanting and Xu Lanyue all had tears in their eyes, knowing that Xu Lanyin's wedding day was approaching.

Qin, Xu Lanting, and Xu Lanyin had endured hardships together, especially in recent years. Xu Lanyin had been the pillar of the family, their backbone. Even with the return of the head of the family, Xu Qingyan, in Qin and Xu Lanting's hearts, her dual identities remained unchanged. Now that she was getting married and becoming part of another family, they felt not only pain but also anxiety and uncertainty. Qin, in particular, hoped her daughter would marry into a good family, but she was also unaccustomed to not having her daughter at home.

Xu Lanyue, needless to say, had secretly cried several times since the Zhao family's betrothal gifts arrived. In this family, her eldest aunt and second brother were very kind and had never treated her harshly. But she also knew that her eldest aunt's biggest resentment towards her father was not only because of her grandfather's unreasonableness, but also because of her own mother.

Apart from her father, she felt most at ease staying with her eldest sister, but her eldest sister was getting married.

Xu Lanyin pulled Xu Lanting and Xu Lanyue to lean against her legs and said with a smile, "I live next door. We still eat and play together. It's still the same as before. We are all a family..."

After giving the two children some words of advice and sending them away, she went to Qin's side, put her arm around her, and rested her head on her shoulder.

The two of them stayed like this quietly, neither of them speaking.