However, when the topic of bestowing a marriage came up, everyone turned to look at Yu Honghua. Wasn't she already married? Why did she need to get married again?

Lord Liu sensed something was off, but he continued reading anyway.

The villagers already knew what was to come; Young Master Meng had told them beforehand.

After Lord Liu finished reading, Yu Honghua raised her hand and said, "This humble subject accepts the decree. Long live the Emperor!"

"Yu Honghua, the Emperor has treated you very well, marrying you off to the richest man in the land. You must not let His Majesty down," said Lord Liu.

"Rest assured, sir, I am by no means ignorant."

"That's good. I'll go back and report to the Emperor first. Here, I wish Miss Yu and Young Master Meng a long and happy marriage and many children," Lord Liu said with a smile.

Yu Honghua was surprised that an official could be so easygoing. She paused for a moment, then smiled and said to Lord Liu, "Thank you, Lord Liu. Honghua respectfully sees you off."

Lord Liu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Please wait."

Yu Honghua did not send any more flowers; she simply watched the honor guard depart.

The second and third brothers standing behind her tiptoed and, seeing that the honor guard had completely disappeared from sight, immediately scrambled to the front of several large boxes.

Among these boxes, six contained Yu Honghua's dowry, and one contained appeasement funds for the villagers, reportedly five taels of silver per person.

This made them extremely happy. Normally, no matter how much silver they robbed, they would misappropriate it for public use. But now, this was completely their own private stash.

"Third brother, how much silver is left from what your husband gave you last time?" Yu Honghua asked.

"We bought a lot last time, food, supplies, more than a dozen quilts, and clothes. We've already used them all up," the third brother replied. After all, there were too many people in the family, and the fabric and cotton alone cost five or six hundred taels of silver.

"Then..." Yu Honghua was in a dilemma. She wanted to give them her dowry as well, but it was a dowry bestowed by the Emperor. Would it be inappropriate for her to give it away?

"safflower."

A magnetic voice came from behind. Yu Honghua's eyes lit up, her heart started pounding, her ears turned red uncontrollably, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. A feeling of happiness welled up inside her.

"My husband!"

Yu Honghua turned around in surprise. The man she had been thinking about day and night was standing not far from her. He was dressed in a dark blue robe, tall and slender, with an elegant demeanor like a hermit in the forest. He had lost his usual businessman air. A familiar mask covered his entire face, but it only added to his mysterious aura.

This one glance felt as if they had been separated by vast oceans and changing times before finally reuniting.

Yu Honghua dared not move, afraid that she would not be able to resist throwing herself into his arms.

Now that they're in public, she has to save face for him.

Qiao Qiu walked over, naturally put his arm around her shoulder, and faced the villagers, "How have you all been lately?"

The group exchanged glances, then suddenly all knelt down before Qiao Qiu, crying, "Our benefactor!"

"You're kneeling to me again?!" Qiao Qiu raised an eyebrow. Last time they knelt to her, they arranged a wife for her. What are they trying to do this time?

The incident last time was quite embarrassing for everyone, but they were genuinely grateful to Meng Yuanqing. If it weren't for him, they would probably all be starving to death by now, and how could they have received the imperial edict of amnesty?

"Don't try to force another wife on me. I'll only marry one in my life. Get up, all of you. You'll all be working for me from now on anyway, so don't thank me. Just do your job well."

Upon hearing this, Yu Honghua's eyes almost reddened. In ancient times, which wealthy and powerful man didn't have multiple wives and concubines? But he wasn't like that.

The second brother chuckled and blurted out, "What would you do if we got any funny ideas?"

"Whoever you send here, I'll kill them," Qiao Qiu said with a half-smile.

The second son felt as if a cold wind had blown up the back of his neck, making him shiver.

"You should be glad you brought safflower, otherwise you would have taken back a corpse," Qiao Qiu said half-jokingly.

"Young Master Meng, according to you, you've had your eye on our eldest son for a long time?" the third son asked.

"You could say that," Qiao Qiu nodded.

The second and third brothers exchanged a glance, as if some conspiracy had already surfaced.

Could it be that Meng Yuanqing deliberately gave them a thousand taels of silver to trick the leader away?

That's not right. How could Meng Yuanqing have predicted that they would marry their eldest son to him?

This is too mysterious.

The second and third brothers became increasingly suspicious. No matter how they looked at it, they felt that Meng Yuanqing was only after their eldest son. Otherwise, how could they explain that he gave them so much silver as soon as he arrived?

"Your own money should be divided up as it is. Don't touch Honghua's dowry. I'll take stock of everything inside later. If I find out who stole anything... I'll chop off a finger of theirs." Qiao Qiu said this, and some people were reflexively frightened and put their hands behind their backs.

"You carry the dowry up the mountain, Lu Ying. Go back up the mountain and check the dowry against the list, then put it away in the warehouse."

"Yes." A handsome young man in black suddenly appeared in front of the group and responded.

Qiao Qiu put her arm around Yu Honghua's shoulder and led her to the other side.

The second brother was about to ask them where they were going when the third brother grabbed him and covered his mouth. Did he want to disturb Young Master Meng and the eldest brother being alone at this time?

Qiao Qiu took Yu Honghua to the nearest place with a pool of water. The mountain water rushed down, and although the surrounding area was not large, it was very quiet, and fish could be seen swimming around in the water.

It was a beautiful place, but Yu Honghua's mind wasn't on the scenery. When they reached this spot, she turned around and hugged Qiao Qiu, burying her head in his chest and taking a deep breath.

Qiao Qiu hugged her back; had she been holding back her longing?

"My love, I miss you."

"I miss you as well."

Qiao Qiu grasped her shoulders, pushed her away slightly, lifted her chin with his slender fingers, and kissed her.

Yu Honghua placed her palms on Qiao Qiu's chest and responded to the kiss with her eyes closed.

Qiao Qiu hugged her, pressed her head down, and deepened the kiss.

After a long while, Qiao Qiu pecked at Yu Honghua's rosy lips before pulling away slightly.

Yu Honghua, her legs weak, leaned against Qiao Qiu's chest, her face as red as an apple.

Sensing her reaction, Yu Honghua's face turned as red as if it were dripping blood, and she let out a soft moan.

Qiao Qiu's urge to 'commit a crime' intensified. She looked around and found that this was an extremely secluded place, surrounded by mountains on three sides, almost all of which were moss-covered cliffs, about seven or eight meters high. The only exit was the place where they had come in, and there was only one.

With a wave of her hand, Qiao Qiu sent her men scurrying out of sight to guard the area, ensuring that no one would come within three miles.