It's already April, and the originally planned wedding date has been postponed.

Lu's mother made a special trip to Nanshan Temple to ask a master to choose an auspicious date.

When Lu Xiaomei heard that her brother and sister-in-law had returned and were getting married, she quickly asked the nun for leave and returned with her mother.

Lu Xiaomei was still as talkative as ever, but she had lost a lot of weight and her skin had darkened.

Gu Nanjiao gave Lu Xiaomei the gifts she brought from the capital. Lu Xiaomei happily accepted them, but her previous excitement was gone.

Gu Nanjiao then realized that the gift she bought was a bit childish.

Lu Xiaomei looked dashing and spirited, her hair simply tied up with a hairband into a small bun, making her look like a little Taoist nun.

The silk flower jewelry she bought was indeed unsuitable for Lu Xiaomei, who practiced martial arts.

"Little sister, tell your sister-in-law what you like, and she'll buy it for you."

Lu Xiaomei swallowed hard: "Sister-in-law, I want to eat meat! Lots and lots of meat."

Heaven knows how greedy she was. If she had known she wouldn't be able to eat meat at Nanshan Temple, she wouldn't have gone.

However, she cannot give up halfway. Now, even the abbess praises her as having the potential to learn kung fu, saying that given time, she will surely achieve great things.

If she doesn't want to eat meat, then so be it, but she'll definitely eat a lot of meat when she gets home.

Although she was a disciple of Abbess Nanshan, she practiced Buddhism in her daily life.

But she cultivated her mind but not her speech.

Gu Nanjiao laughed and said, "That's easy! I'll cook more meat for you tonight. I've come up with something delicious, and I need you to taste it for me."

Lu Xiaomei exclaimed excitedly, "What good stuff is this? I want to try it! I want to try it!"

Gu Nanjiao brought over a basin of live eggs, and Lu Xiaomei quickly covered her nose, looking disgusted: "Sister-in-law, it's not fair of you to give me rotten eggs."

"These aren't rotten eggs, they're live eggs, and they smell amazing." Gu Nanjiao picked up a live egg, broke it open, and a rich broth overflowed, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Lu Xiaomei's scalp tingled: "Take it away, take it away! My hair is standing on end. I'd rather die than eat it."

In no time, Lu Xiaomei was eating them one after another, enjoying them more than anyone else.

She loved the live pearls; they looked disgusting, but tasted surprisingly good.

Her sister-in-law is a genius; she invented all the delicious food she loves.

After dinner, Lu Xiaomei demonstrated what she had learned to everyone. And you have to admit, the little girl did a pretty good job, showing off her skills quite well.

...

The day for the marriage proposal arrived, and early in the morning, the members of the Cabbage Gang arrived at the Gu family with eight cartloads of betrothal gifts.

Mr. Gu was checking the students' homework when he heard Lü Siniang's shout and was startled.

The scene outside was spectacular, with eight horse-drawn carriages occupying the entire alley. The members of the Cabbage Gang stood beside the carriages. Gone were their usual fierce and menacing appearances; they were now dressed in refined and scholarly manners.

According to Lu Yanzhao, his father-in-law was always refined and cultured, so he couldn't scare him on the day of the marriage proposal.

Zhang Hu and Zhang Ergou were dressed in long gowns and were very polite; anyone who didn't know them would mistake them for scholars from an academy.

Lu Yanzhao stepped down from the carriage and knelt before Gu's father, saying, "Father-in-law, I have come today to earnestly request that you marry Jiaojiao to me. I promise to never leave Jiaojiao and to be with her through thick and thin."

Mr. Gu was bewildered: "Weren't you two already married? What are you up to today?"

“Father-in-law, Yanzhao’s family was poor before, and he could not marry Jiaojiao with the proper betrothal gifts and wedding ceremony. Yanzhao felt sorry for her, so he specially held a wedding ceremony to remarry Gu Nanjiao.”

Father Gu was overjoyed; this son-in-law was indeed good to his daughter. Realizing that Lu Yanzhao was still kneeling, Gu Qingyan quickly helped him up with both hands: "My dear son-in-law, please come inside and sit down."

"Quickly, prepare tea," Father Gu instructed Lü Siniang.

Lü Siniang then instructed Wenzhang: "Go to Jiaoniang Pavilion and call your sister."

Lu Yanzhao told his mother the auspicious date: the sixth day of the fifth month, which was suitable for marriage.

They came to propose marriage today, and plan to hold the wedding in the capital.

When Gu Nanjiao arrived, she was also completely bewildered. Lu Yanzhao had previously told her that they were going back to the capital to hold the wedding, so why had he brought eight cartloads of betrothal gifts?

Lu Yanzhao explained to him that this was not a betrothal gift, but a thank-you gift for his father-in-law.

The main reason for this was to express gratitude to Gu's father for raising Gu Nanjiao, and to express her willingness to marry her beloved daughter to him.

Once we return to the capital, we will receive all the proper formalities and gifts.

Gu Nanjiao felt that he was going to unnecessary trouble, sending so many gifts to her father, which he wouldn't be able to take back to the capital.

What Gu Nanjiao didn't know was that Lu Yanzhao's gift had just hit the nail on the head for Gu Qingyan.

Under the guise of proposing marriage, Lu Yanzhao brought eight cartloads of wedding gifts.

However, Gu's father has been spending a lot of time with his friends and classmates lately, and he doesn't want to spend Lü Siniang's money, otherwise he would be living off her for the rest of his life.

With the gifts from Lu Yanzhao, Gu Qingyan felt less hesitant in his interactions with his classmates. He was very generous, thinking that since it wouldn't be appropriate to bring his son-in-law's gifts back to the capital, he might as well give more to his friends to strengthen their relationships.

...

Lu Yanzhao wanted his mother and younger sister to go with him on this trip back to the capital.

However, Lu Xiaomei refused, saying she wanted to return to Nanshan Temple and couldn't give up halfway.

After much deliberation, Lu Yanzhao finally agreed.

Nanshan Temple is full of experts, making it very difficult for Chu Luoxun's people to get in.

Before sending Lu Xiaomei to Nanshan Temple, Lu Yanzhao talked with her for a long time, analyzing the pros and cons of the matter for her.

He specifically instructed that Lu Xiaomei must not go down the mountain unless he came to pick her up in person, otherwise she would be in danger.

Although Lu Xiaomei is usually carefree, she saw Lu Yanzhao's serious expression and earnestly promised that she would never go down the mountain.

After Gu Nanjiao returned to the capital, she bought a two-courtyard house for her father to live in through a slave trader.

Now that the article has come over, it's a bit inconvenient for the family of three to squeeze into one room.

Besides, the article is getting big; it should have its own room.

Lu Siniang refused to let Gu Nanjiao pay, and after some arguing, they each paid half, with Gu Nanjiao's share going to Gu Qingyan.

Lu Siniang bought several more guards who were good at running and fighting. She said she didn't need maids; the guards could do everything.

Gu Qingyan said, "You're always busy with business and not at home. Wen Zhang and I need to eat. Let's hire a few women."

After everything was arranged, the day arrived for Lu Yanzhao and Gu Nanjiao to get married.

The Gu residence is a vibrant, bright red as far as the eye can see.

Just after dawn, Gu Nanjiao was woken up by Lü Siniang to put on a phoenix coronet and wedding robes, and had the official matchmaker do her hair and makeup.

Huang Qingqing excitedly carried a basket of hairpins, saying it was a wedding gift for Gu Nanjiao.

"It's all made of jade. Although it's not very precious jade, it's still my personal treasure. I hope you won't find it offensive."

Gu Nanjiao waved her hand: "You're being too polite. Your shop is just starting out, and you've already given me so many valuable things. I feel really bad about it."

"Oh, there's no need to feel bad about it. You'll earn even more in the future, so you have to accept it no matter what."

Gu Nanjiao smiled and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After dressing up, Gu Nanjiao looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a gold crown and jade hairpin, her face was fair and delicate, she had applied lip rouge, drawn her eyebrows with snail-shell ink, her jade earrings swayed, and golden tassels hung down her shoulders. Her red silk wedding dress was exquisitely made and looked nothing like her.

She thought she was already beautiful without makeup, but she never expected that with makeup, she would be so beautiful that she didn't even recognize herself.

Gu Nanjiao could not contain her excitement; she was going to marry Lu Yanzhao.