"The wedding is set for seven days from now, what do you think?" Xie Zhuo looked away and suddenly changed the subject.

"Ah," Xu Yan responded unconsciously, then her eyes widened in surprise, "Huh?"

“Although the time is indeed a bit tight,” Xie Zhuo said, amused by her dazed look, “there’s only one good day at the end of the month.”

Suitable for marriage.

Xie Zhuo didn't say those words aloud.

The crackdown on feudal superstition is still very strong, and it would be troublesome if someone with ulterior motives reported it.

“Or,” Xie Zhuo continued, seeing that Xu Yan didn’t speak, “I’ll have Yang…”

"Okay, in seven days."

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Yan nodded.

The noise in the courtyard continued for a while before everyone gathered around Xie Zhuo and Yang Shulan and went outside.

They arrived in a large group, but left with even more people than they had arrived.

Some who arrived late and missed the main event ended up eating secondhand gossip from others.

Xu Yan and the others left without paying attention to what the other educated youth were doing. Before it got completely dark, they fetched water, washed up, and went into the dormitory.

She had slipped those banknotes to Yang Shulan during the chaos, asking her to return them to Xie Zhuo.

Although Yang Shulan also found Xie Zhuo's actions somewhat unacceptable, she was never one to be unreasonable.

This is ultimately a family matter for the Xie family. Although she is close to Xie Zhuo, she has no intention of interfering in his family affairs.

Besides, Xie Zhuo has always been a shrewd businessman; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come up with so much money all at once.

She pushed Xu Yan's hand away, refusing to take it.

“Auntie, listen to me,” Xu Yan said in a low voice, close to Yang Shulan, “It’s not that I don’t want the money, it’s just that it’s not safe for me to keep it.”

Fearing that Yang Shulan might refuse, Xu Yan added, "Tell him to give it to me on our wedding day."