With his second sister's words on his mind, Song Zhenping couldn't sleep all night.

After waiting until dawn to fetch water for the village head's wife, Xiao An and I returned to the Song family compound.

He didn't dare go in, so the two brothers could only squat outside the courtyard wall of someone else's house, staring longingly at their own tightly closed gate.

Previously, Song Zhenping only cared about his younger brother.

Now that his younger brother is by his side, he is worried about his second sister.

I wonder how Yun'er fared last night?

However, he didn't stay outside the door for long before the village head's wife found him and brought him back.

If the two brothers were seen here by Granny Gu and her daughter-in-law, they would probably get a beating and scolding again.

Before noon, Song Lao Er returned happily.

Accompanying him was a flamboyant matchmaker and two men in blue robes carrying a gift box.

The gift box was placed in the courtyard. Granny Gu and Madam Gu couldn't stop smiling as they looked at the two bolts of peach-colored fine cloth, a piece of ten-pound meat, ten pounds of white rice, ten pounds of white flour, and a pair of silver bracelets on it. They repeatedly invited them into the house for a drink of water.

The matchmaker didn't go inside. Instead, she looked at the villagers who had gathered outside to watch the commotion, waved her handkerchief, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Our Master Xue is very fond of your daughter. He asked me to quickly send her gifts, and he also has some things to tell the future mother-in-law."

Granny Gu smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared: "Oh dear, Master Xue, you're too kind. It's her good fortune to have taken a liking to that girl."

With dark circles under her eyes, Madam Gu forced a smile and stepped forward to join in the fun: "Master Xue, please just give your orders!"

The matchmaker smiled without saying a word, only gesturing with her chin that the courtyard gate could be closed.

The two men in blue neatly closed the courtyard gate, and the matchmaker's face turned cold: "Grandma Gu, I've delivered the gifts today, and your daughter is now Master Xue's woman. Please don't beat or scold her anymore. Even if she gets a scratch, Master Xue will not tolerate it."

Granny Gu's smile froze, and she muttered, "The person hasn't even left the house yet, and they think they can get rid of him with just a little something!"

The matchmaker slapped her with her handkerchief and sneered, "Old sister, what are you saying? Our Master Xue has already given Master Song twenty taels of silver. The rest will be paid after the girl enters the family. How much more do you want?"

Upon hearing that she had received twenty taels of silver, Madam Gu was overjoyed: "Don't worry, Aunt He, we will take good care of the girl, make sure she is well-fed and well-rested. As soon as she enters the house, Master Xue will surely see a beautiful and lovely bride."

Matchmaker He chuckled: "Sister-in-law Gu is a sensible person. I won't waste any more time talking to you two in-laws. Let's take a look at the young lady first, so we can quickly report back to Master Xue."

Upon hearing this, Madam Gu eagerly led the way, then stammered, "Aunt He, this way, but... my young lady is quick-tempered, and we need to keep her in the room to make her wedding veil, so..."

The Song family courtyard consisted of only a few rooms. Turning around, one arrived at the door of the side room. Before Madam Gu could finish speaking, Matchmaker He noticed the door latch on the side room that was tightly bound together.

Seeing this, she didn't even frown.

Having worked as a matchmaker for so long, she's seen it all. Some girls cause trouble before getting married, either running away or pretending to be crazy, making things difficult for their families.

Moreover, the Song family's situation is even more special; they are safer staying indoors.

She didn't ask anyone to open the door; instead, she reached out and poked at the window next to her.

With a flick of her finger, the already worn-out window paper broke open, and Matchmaker He bent down to look inside through the hole.

The light in the side room was poor, and through the blurry light, one could see a slender girl sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her back to him.

Her shoulders were flat and her braids were jet black. Her head was slightly lowered, revealing a long, fair neck.

She had a slender waist, no skirt, and wore slightly worn light blue thin pants that accentuated her round buttocks.

Matchmaker He nodded secretly. Although she couldn't see the face clearly, with her years of experience in judging people, she could tell that the woman had a good figure.

For a man like Master Xue, whether his face is good-looking or not is no longer important; once the light is off, beauty and ugliness are the same.

As long as the woman in bed is sensible and understands his preferences, she's much more interesting than a pretty but wooden woman.

Since Miss Song is willing to serve Master Xue and has such a good physique, I won't make this trip for nothing.

Matchmaker He turned around and said to Song Lao Er, who had been standing at the door of the main house, "Master Song, Master Xue said that he will come to pick up the young lady tomorrow night at 5 pm, and will also send the remaining thirty taels of silver at that time."

Song Lao Er's face was already beaming with joy. Hearing He the matchmaker's words, he nodded repeatedly and stuffed a small money pouch into her hand: "Please trouble Aunt He to put in a good word for me when you get back. The hour of You (5-7 PM) is the perfect time for chickens to go into their coops and people to return home. I, Song, am just waiting for Master Xue's arrival."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Matchmaker He didn't refuse Song Lao Er's money pouch. She casually stuffed it into her sleeve, waved her handkerchief, and then said to the two men in blue, "Now that things are done here, we'll go back to the Xue residence to report." Immediately afterward, she and her men left like the wind!

Inside the house, Song Liyun turned around with a disdainful look: she said that according to the rules, she would "marry" into the Xue family, and even if she was in a hurry, it would take at least three to five days to go through the procedures.

As it turns out, my second uncle arranged to pick him up tomorrow night. He's such a good second uncle, so eager to get the money.

I wonder what kind of face my second uncle will have when the Xue family comes tomorrow night!

However, by then it won't be up to me to decide; my second uncle will take care of it.

Upon hearing that the Xue family had sent a gift box, Song Zhangping, who was hiding in the village head's house, became restless. It was the village head who persuaded him with a single sentence: "If you go back now, Granny Gu will cause a scene and you won't be able to perform your corvée labor. This might ruin Yun'er's plans, and then all three of you siblings will be in trouble."

The three of them discussed and agreed on a way out last night.

He even risked his life to go back to Song Lao Er's house with Song Liyun to finalize the matter of Song Zhangping taking Xiao An to perform corvée labor, and also agreed that Song Liyun would "marry" into the Xue family.

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