She came today for two reasons: first, to test Jiang Youran's true strength, and second, to curry favor with the Yun family. She didn't dare to be presumptuous.

However, she achieved both of her goals. Seeing her awkward situation, she quickly got up to say goodbye and left with great satisfaction.

She brought a pair of jade bracelets to add to Yun Manwan's dowry. These were precious gifts that even a villager in the countryside couldn't afford in a lifetime, and they were sure to please Yun Manwan and Zhou Shi.

Although she didn't know what had happened in this life that made Yun Manwan not marry a fool, that didn't matter. What mattered was that in this life, she would marry into the Yun family and become the matriarch! She would never again be a lowly concubine!

No sooner had Shi Wenxia left than Xiao You arrived at the manor and found Wen Yuanbai.

"Senior Brother Da Bai! I know who the mastermind behind the murder of Stone and Fourth Brother is!"

Wen Yuanbai placed a note in front of her. "My secret guards have also found out that the person who wants to buy Sanyang Mountain is a woman surnamed Shi."

"Her surname is Shi, and her given name is Wenxia!" Xiao Youran said through gritted teeth. "She knows there are coal mines on Sanyang Mountain!"

How did you know that?

"She came over for drinks just now and subtly inquired about Sanyang Mountain, which gave her away!" Xiao Youran said indignantly.

Wen Yuanbai raised an eyelid and asked, "She's here?"

"Yes, they just left again." Xiao Youran took out a handful of wedding candies from her sleeve. "Senior Brother Dabai, I thank you for your dowry on behalf of my elder sister."

Then they skipped and hopped back home.

A moment later, Wen Yuanbai tapped his index finger on the armrest of his wheelchair and then called out, "Shadow."

A bodyguard suddenly appeared in the room. "Master."

Wen Yuanbai said, "Shi Wenxia's carriage just left not long ago. Have two people catch up with it and teach her a lesson."

"yes!"

It took Xiao Youran several days to learn that the protagonist who caused the two of them, master and servant, to fall into a cesspool next to a paddy field due to a broken axle in a carriage not far from Sanyang Village, and who ended up being suffocated in the cesspool for an entire night because it was dark and no one was around, was actually Shi Wenxia.

It really does match her surname!

From now on, every time I call out "Sister Shi," I'll think of "Shit," which is truly fitting, hahaha.

However, that's a story for another time.

...

Meanwhile, on Yun Manwan's side, when the auspicious time arrived, she was carried out by Yun Tiankuang and sat in a bridal sedan chair. They symbolically circled the village once before being sent into the new house in the newly built courtyard next to the old house amidst the lively sound of firecrackers.

Zhao Huai entered, and under the matchmaker's guidance, the two drank the nuptial wine, tied their hair, and weighed each other. Only then, urged by the matchmaker, did Zhao Huai reluctantly leave the bridal chamber to go out and offer toasts.

A moment later, Hongyu brought in a bowl of steaming hot wontons. "Miss, the young master specially asked Young Master Tiankuang to find me, saying that he was worried you might be hungry and wanted to give you something to eat first. He also asked me to help you lie down and rest."

Yun Manyan laughed and scolded, "He's just a rough man, how would he know so many rules and manners! Your mother must have taught you to talk like that, right?"

Hongyu shook her head. "It really isn't that. Granny Wang said yesterday that the groom pulled her aside and asked him a lot of questions about what the bride is supposed to do on the wedding day. At first, Granny Wang thought that a grown man like him was asking about... what the bridal chamber was... too much to handle. But then she realized that the groom was just worried that you would have too much to do today and that you would get tired or hungry!"

A sweet feeling welled up in Yun Manyan's heart, and even the wontons tasted much better.

Sure enough, by the time everything was ready, it was already dark.

Zhao Huai pushed the door open and came in, swaying slightly.

Yun Manyan got up to greet him, "Have you had too much to drink?"

Zhao Huai shook his head, his eyes glazed over, "I...I didn't drink much...I was afraid...afraid of bothering you..."

Yun Manyan's eyes welled up with tears. At a time like this, he was still considerate of her feelings; it was truly...

She supported him, and said coquettishly, "You didn't drink much, how could you get this drunk?"

He chuckled, "I... I really didn't drink that much... it's just... my alcohol tolerance is a bit low..."

That's the truth.

He has never drunk alcohol, so his alcohol tolerance is naturally extremely low.

He forced himself to the table, gulped down a large glass of water, and then whispered in Yun Manwan's ear, "My wife... actually... I was already drunk when we drank the nuptial wine..."

Yun Manyan never expected him to say such sweet words. Her face immediately turned red, and she stamped her foot and turned to walk inside.

He caught up with her, then put his arm around her shoulder and said earnestly, "My wife... I... although I have nothing of value, I will try my best... to give you a good life. I... know... that this is your choice out of necessity! But... I will never let you regret it!"

Yun Manyan's heart pounded.

It turns out he knew everything, knew about the lingering helplessness and resentment he felt, and also knew about... his past inner conflicts.

But... none of that matters anymore...

The important thing is that the man in front of her has already approached her, "Wife..."

She felt dizzy and fell onto the soft wedding quilt.

Once the curtains are drawn, one can't help but wish to stay there forever!

...

Soon after the officials from the Ministry of Works who had come to explore returned, they brought a large number of Ministry of Works personnel and soldiers to begin preparations for formal mining.

It also brought with it the imperial court's bestowal of honors.

The Yun family directly received a three-courtyard mansion in Wufeng County, as well as thirty acres of fertile land in the eastern suburbs, a thousand taels of gold, and a quantity of cloth and jade artifacts.

The main reason for granting the house as a reward was that once the coal mine was started, it would generate a lot of smoke and dust, making the old house at the foot of the mountain no longer suitable for living.

Fortunately, due to a mudslide last year, there were no other villagers living at the foot of Sanyang Mountain except for the old house.

At the same time, the imperial court also issued a relocation order, declaring that the entire Sanyang Village was no longer suitable for living. The villagers' houses would be converted into temporary residences for the mining soldiers, and all villagers could relocate to a place west of Zhaojia Village. A thousand acres of land were set aside for Sanyang Village there, and each household would receive twenty taels of silver as a subsidy for building a new house.

This caused an uproar not only among Tian Kuang's family, but throughout the entire San Yang Village.

Originally, the total farmland of the entire Sanyang Village was only five or six hundred mu. Several families had their houses destroyed by mudslides and had not yet had time to rebuild. Now, by moving to a new place, not only has the farmland doubled, but they also have money to build a new house.

Twenty taels of silver can build a large mud-brick house, enough for a family of fifteen or sixteen; even a brick house can be built, enough for seven or eight people to live comfortably!

Some households have a large population? Then they'll build a mud-brick house. The key is that fertile land is distributed according to the number of males! The entire Sanyang Village originally had only a little over a hundred households, with four or five hundred people. This time, on average, each male has at least three mu of land. Good heavens, even in a famine year, it would cost seven or eight taels of silver per mu! In a good harvest year, it would be at least twelve taels of silver per mu!