And that was indeed the case. Yunling had already anticipated that the people in this large house would be dishonest before she went to the city, so she gave them some benefits while the villagers were building the house for them.

Some were given chickens, some ducks, some silk, some tea, and some copper coins. In short, she rewarded those who were capable of fighting and willing to stand up for them, so Yun Da was destined to benefit from it.

The eldest branch of the Yun family was disappointed and felt as resentful as a castrated chicken. Yun Ling, however, was very happy. Tonight, they had a reunion dinner at a grand restaurant in the city, where they once again enjoyed authentic poached chicken and many other local delicacies, satisfying their cravings to the fullest.

Moreover, as night deepened, there were still dragon dances and iron flower performances to watch on the street. Yunling couldn't stay still, so she grabbed Tangling and Gangzi and ran downstairs. When Lu Yinghuai saw this, he didn't care about discussing business with Wen Siqing and set off to find Yunling.

Tang Ling and Gangzi were also perceptive. As soon as they saw Lu Yinghuai coming, they consciously stepped back and even kept a distance, for fear of being bothered by his affection.

Why didn't you wait for me?

"Am I breaking the law by not waiting for you? Are you going to arrest me and put me in jail, Your Honor?"

Lu Yinghuai really couldn't do anything with this person. Seeing the iron wire flying towards him, he raised his sleeve to block it, and then took Yunling's hand, smiling as he said:

"Yeah, he'll sit in jail next to me for the rest of his life."

"Greasy".

"I think I should be able to get a date with you this year for the Lantern Festival."

Yunling was somewhat puzzled, and simply said:

"You've never asked me out either?"

"Really? Think about it again."

Yunling's thoughts drifted back to her days in Pingcheng. She carefully recalled the moments she had spent with Lu Yinghuai, and realized that she had never actually been invited. She shook her head earnestly.

Lu Yinghuai gently flicked Yun Ling's forehead, then said:

"After that encounter on the carriage, every year on the Lantern Festival I would go to the fifth floor of Shengfu Restaurant to see the view downstairs, hoping to see if that unique young lady would come out to admire the lanterns."

"But I waited for several years without seeing her. By chance, on the Dragon Boat Festival, she was playing with Xiaobai on the shore when Song Xiaoliulang saw her. I rowed desperately and saw her back."

“I asked her if she would go to see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival this year. There are big lanterns in the city. She was very excited and said she would go. But in the end, she did go, but she was kidnapped by another man.”

“My mother said that she and that man were childhood sweethearts and told me to give up, but I told my mother that I only want her in this life. Fortunately, my dream came true.”

Yunling met Lu Yinghuai's burning gaze and was moved. She grabbed his hand and ran towards the golden dragon. It is said that touching the dragon's head and tail will bring a year of peace and good fortune, and passing through the dragon's body will bring everything you want and fulfill your wishes.

She wanted to grow old with this big fool.

**

After the first month of the lunar calendar, on the second day of the second month, the Lu family presented their betrothal gifts.

The grand procession of betrothal gifts departed from the Lu family mansion. There were baskets carrying festival gifts, maids with pretty features, plump women, spirited young men, and a blessed old woman who lived with three generations under one roof.

The procession carrying the betrothal gifts consisted of a large group of people, carrying them on their shoulders or in their hands, heading towards Kengkou Village with joyful expressions.

The city dwellers hadn't seen such a lively scene and such a grand spectacle in a long time, so they all came out from the streets and alleys. On a whim, they even followed the procession down to the village. The crowd was so dense that even the donkey carts and horse-drawn carriages behind couldn't pass.

Upon entering Kengkou Village, the matchmaker in charge of delivering the gifts called out loudly:

"The Lu family has given the Yun family a dowry of 108,888 strings of cash, five manors outside the city, and three shops inside the city."

Upon hearing this, especially the phrase "one hundred and eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight strings of cash," everyone's eyes widened. The eldest and second sons of the Yun family even stumbled over their words and twisted their waists.

They hurriedly opened their door and saw six loads of betrothal cakes, a pair of betrothal geese, two pairs each of yellow chickens and black chickens, ten pieces of pork, two baskets of live fish, and various seafood such as black moss, abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish maw.

They couldn't take it all in the blink of an eye. One jar after another of fine wines and spirits passed before their eyes, and then loads of fresh fruit, tea cakes, and sacks of sesame seeds were carried up the mountain as if they were free.

Following closely behind were exquisitely crafted gift boxes, stacked one on top of the other, along with dazzling gold and jade ornaments that were almost too much to handle—dragon and phoenix bracelets, earrings, chains, jade thumb rings, and even bowls and chopsticks were made of gold.

After that, there were more beautiful jade carvings, such as jade Guanyin, jade Buddha, jade bracelets, jade pots, and so on, dazzling and astonishing the audience. The procession of betrothal gifts ended with hundreds of bolts of silk and countless elegant tea sets, screens, and calligraphy and paintings.

As the group of people happily headed up the mountain, the eldest and second sons of the Yun family felt immense regret. If they had been able to get along harmoniously with the third son's family back then, they would be the ones enjoying the good fortune now, instead of the Fan family, who had no blood relation to them.

Yun Er and Meng Shi also felt resentful. Although they knew the Lu family was wealthy, they were not that wealthy and yet they were willing to spend so much money on betrothal gifts.

They resented their fear at the time for not letting Yun Ci take down Lu Yinghuai, and they also resented that he didn't agree when Old Man Yun came to Yuecheng to call him. If he had been more open-minded back then, he could have benefited from the situation and might have been able to return to the city to do some small business.

"Hey, now you all know what a real dowry is, right? Some people are just like sour grapes, they can't have what they want but they still say it. Now look what happened, their faces are all swollen."

"You're the kind of troublemakers who can only stir up trouble forever."

"You're incompetent and yet you're blaming Ling-jie. Others deserve to have their husbands offer 108,888 strings of cash and estates and shops to propose marriage. That proves they're worth it. Unlike you, all of you sour grapes."

Both families felt their faces burning with embarrassment, and the eldest son immediately spoke up for Yun Da:

"Dad, let's just apologize to the third branch of the family. I'll kowtow and kneel down for them. They're so rich now that even the money slipping from their fingernails is enough for us to eat and drink well. What reason do we have not to go and freeload off them?"

“Yes, Dad, I don’t think Uncle San is a heartless man. After all, you and he are blood relatives. Uncle San wouldn’t be so cruel as to watch you die. Let’s give it a try. I never want to live a hard life again.”

Yunnan University never wanted to live a hard life, but...