Both sides sat down chatting and laughing, toasting each other and mostly expressing their gratitude.

Then they talked about Kang Xiucai's upcoming studies away from home, and which academy in the prefectural city was better. He Jiuniang then asked Gou'er, "Since Mr. Kang is going to study in the prefectural city, are you going?"

The dog thought for a moment and replied, "If my brothers go, I'll go too!"

"This child has a really good relationship with his brothers!"

Mrs. Chen sighed sincerely. Her children got along well, but that was because they were brothers from the same parents. Her second son, however, was not yet married, which made her anxious.

When people praised the good relationship between the children in her family, Madam Sun was naturally the happiest. She said, "Harmony in the family brings prosperity in everything. When the children get along well, the family will become more and more prosperous! Your family is a scholarly family, and the children are all friendly and respectful to each other. In a couple of years, when Mr. Kang gets married and gives birth to a few big, healthy grandsons for Sister Kang, it will be even more lively!"

These words struck a chord with Madam Chen, who immediately said to Madam Sun, "That's right. My Zhi'er hasn't dared to get married all these years because of his poor health, for fear of delaying other girls. Now that he's much better, I hurriedly arranged a marriage for him. They just got engaged not long ago and plan to get married at the end of the year."

As Chen spoke, she glanced at He Jiuniang, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she recalled her misunderstanding about the relationship between He Jiuniang and her son. Fortunately, she hadn't brought it up back then, otherwise it would have been awkward.

Now that Lu Baichuan has returned, if she had actually asked a matchmaker to come and arrange a marriage, she would have done more harm than good.

He Jiuniang was completely unaware of this, so she didn't sense the embarrassment in Chen's gaze. She was still thinking about her relationship with Lu Baichuan and was clearly distracted.

Sun didn't notice either, and chatted with Chen with a smile: "Oh my, what a lucky girl she is! With such great talent as Mr. Kang, she will surely pass the imperial examination and have a bright future!"

Chen loved to hear this, and the two old sisters felt as if they had known each other for a long time, and they kept chatting.

The men chatted about national affairs and the current situation, drinking a glass when they were happy and another when they were troubled.

Of course, the representative of the Lu family when it comes to drinking is Old Man Lu. Since Lu Baichuan got drunk and blacked out last time, he really hasn't touched a drop of alcohol again.

I haven't thought about quitting drinking, but I feel that my relationship with my wife is a bit awkward right now. She hasn't fully accepted me yet, and it's really not good to keep letting her take care of me.

This will ruin your image.

Just as they were having a pleasant conversation, a servant came to report that someone from the Tang family had arrived.

The Tang family are from Kang Xiucai's fiancée's side. Could it be that they have some urgent business to attend to at this time?

Chen apologized to everyone at the table and got up to leave. Kang Xiucai also stood up, since it was his fiancée's family who had come, and he couldn't just ignore it.

The servant leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Sir, this person doesn't seem to have any good intentions!"

Kang Xiucai asked him, "What do you mean?"

"A large group of people came, carrying several big boxes. The younger one looked at them carefully and they seemed to be the gifts our family had sent before. Could they be bringing them here now because they want to break off the engagement?"

The servant didn't dare tell Madam Chen these words, because Madam Chen had always been very concerned about Kang Xiucai's marriage. This marriage had been arranged with great difficulty, and Madam Chen was the last person who wanted to see anything go wrong.

As Chen walked ahead, she heard them whispering behind her and couldn't help but urge them, "Hurry up, don't keep them waiting."

Kang Xiucai immediately replied, "Yes, Mother."

As he spoke, he quickened his pace and followed.

The woman who came from the Tang family was an old nanny, whom Chen Shi recognized; she was an old servant who served Madam Tang.

The Tang family's situation was similar to the Kang family's. Old Scholar Tang had been teaching in the county town for many years and still had some influence. So, the two families were considered a good match.

It was supposed to be a great marriage, and both sets of parents were very happy with it, but today they had someone return the engagement gifts they had given before.

The other party's meaning was self-evident.

When Chen saw the boxes behind Tang Mama, she immediately understood what she meant.

"Granny, what does this mean?"

Despite feeling somewhat angry, Madam Chen still managed a standard smile; as the mother of a scholar, she had to have that much skill.

Tang Mama bowed to Chen Shi with great sorrow, tears streaming down her face as she stood up.

"My dear in-laws, our Tang family has wronged you!"

"Oh dear, Granny, what happened? Tell me!"

As Tang Mama spoke, she wiped away her tears, which made Chen Shi extremely anxious.

"My master and mistress were overjoyed that our young lady was fortunate enough to marry Mr. Kang, and we were looking forward to the wedding at the end of the year. But we never expected that our young lady would fall ill a few days ago. We consulted countless doctors, all of whom said that our young lady's life was not long. My master did not want to be a burden on the Kang family, so he sent this old servant with some gifts to return the gifts and cancel the marriage between the two families."

As she spoke, Granny Tang handed over a letter with three words written on the cover: Letter of Annulment of Engagement.