Zhang's hands were being held, like a bird with its hands and feet bound, unable to escape. She didn't want to face it, so she mumbled:
"Not as good as what?"
Mrs. Lu was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and said with a smile:
"Why don't we let them get married? Our whole family likes Ling'er very much and can't wait for her to come to our home. Whether she likes doing business or not, whether she likes living with us or not, I'll let her have her way."
"You don't know how much effort our Brother Huai put into seeing Sister Ling. He tried every means to get into your Yun family's door, and even traveled all the way to Qingcheng just to get that big lantern. He also went to the trading company every day at dawn, hoping to find an opportunity to bump into Sister Ling."
“I’ve never seen him like this before. I’ve told him before not to do impulsive things because of a momentary interest, and not to abandon someone after winning them over. But he said he wouldn’t, that he’s only ever been committed to Ling’er.”
"Don't let his refined appearance fool you. When he gets angry, not even ten oxen could pull him back. Even I, as his mother, can't persuade him."
Zhang already had a good impression of Lu Yinghuai; he was refined, elegant, and polite. Hearing Lu's mother say this, her impression improved even more.
“Madam Lu, as I just said, Ling’er is quite stubborn. When it comes to marriage, we have to listen to her. No matter how much we talk, it’s not as good as her nod.”
Mother Lu also thought it made sense. Logically speaking, their Huai-ge'er was perfect in every way, and no one could find fault with him. Ling-jie'er would naturally like him. However, there was still Lin-ge'er between the two of them.
According to what Uncle Cao said before, Lin Ge'er and Ling Jie'er have a very good relationship, like childhood sweethearts. When Lin Ge'er is unhappy, Ling Jie'er will comfort him. The two even went to see the lanterns together during the Lantern Festival.
It seems that Huai-ge'er still has some stumbling blocks on his path to winning over the young lady. I wonder if he can achieve his goal in Bianjing through his interactions with Ling-jie'er...
Lu's mother was thinking about this question, and so was Lu Yinghuai. However, the more he thought about it, the more he strayed from the topic, almost to the point of thinking about what to name Pei Lin and Yun Ling's child. As a result, after daybreak, he had no interest in accompanying Yun Ling and the others to the street to join in the fun.
Pei Lin also didn't go out on the street, but it wasn't out of spite. He just wanted to rehearse and prepare what he wanted to say so that he wouldn't mess up at the tense moment of expressing his feelings.
He also thought that keeping some distance from Yunling for now would create some novelty, making his confession seem even more unexpected.
Since Lu Yinghuai wasn't going, Zifu naturally stayed at the house to wait. Pei Lin also wasn't going, so only Yunling, Gangzi, and Tangling went to the street to join in the fun.
Yunling didn't suspect anything. Perhaps it was because they stayed up too late last night to get up today, or perhaps they were used to exploring Bianjing and were too lazy to join in the fun. That wouldn't be surprising.
But for Yunling and Gangzi, who had only come to Bianjing once in a long time, it was incredibly attractive. They first bought some New Year's special brown sugar sesame cakes from a cake stall, and then bought three cups of freshly boiled hot soybean milk from a beverage stall next to the cake stall. They enjoyed the brown sugar sesame cake and the soybean milk immensely.
After a satisfying meal, the three headed towards Panlou Street. Panlou Street was quite different from usual today; colorful tents had been erected on both sides of the street, and inside the tents were all sorts of stalls selling a wide variety of things.
There were vendors selling hats, combs, silk flowers, scarves, and forehead bands; vendors selling pearls, jade jewelry, fake flowers, and fake fur; vendors selling clothes, blouses, boots, and shoes. Yunling wondered if it was because it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, but she felt that everything was especially beautiful today.
"Hey boss, did you forget to wear women's clothes?"
Yunling then looked down at her own clothes. She hadn't paid any attention to her appearance; she'd just put on a padded jacket as soon as she got up and that was it. She'd forgotten that it was New Year's Day and she should wear new clothes. Oh well, oh well.
"Whatever, I think it looks fine dressed like this."
Gangzi smiled and put down the beaded flower he had picked up. He had just seen a young woman passing by wearing a beaded flower in her hair and thought it looked nice, so he wanted to buy one for Yunling as well. But since Yunling was dressed as a man, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to wear a beaded flower right now, so he would wait until next time to buy one.
"Brother, don't you want to play poker? All the stalls up ahead are for poker games, and look how crowded they are."
Yunling rubbed her hands together, eager to try her luck, thinking about how she could exchange something small for something big, or less for more.
"Let's go, let's join in the fun."
The three walked forward, and the street became crowded and noisy as a new wave of people poured in. The stalls were filled with various trinkets related to the game of Guanpu, as well as seasonal foods such as flatbread, fried dough sticks, fried dough twists, sticky rice cakes, and Tusu wine.
These can all be bought for just one copper coin, which is quite affordable, but Yunling and the others had just had breakfast, so they naturally didn't think much of them.
The three of them then looked at other stalls, and finally spotted some unique trinkets at one stall, including the glass light bulb that Yunling had been longing for. She immediately stopped and asked:
"Stadium owner, can this glass bulb lamp be sold at a discounted price?"
"Of course, of course. We sell these glass bulb lamps for 500 coins each. Now, we're converting them at a 10:1 ratio. You can place a bet for 50 coins. If you hit the dragon on this Bagua plate, the glass bulb lamp will naturally belong to you."
Yunling was really envious of the glass bulb lamp. It was crystal clear and had quite a few patterns. Not to mention Xia Jie'er, even she herself liked it very much. It was a pity that there was only one in this stall. If there were two, she would be overjoyed.
"Stadium owner, is this the only one left?"
"This is the only rare item left. If it weren't for the festive atmosphere, I wouldn't have bothered to bring it out."
Yunling was a little disappointed, but then she thought she'd try other stalls later; maybe she could find something else. This made her happier.
"Okay, I'll go for it."
Yunling pulled out a string of copper coins from her sleeve, broke off fifty of them, and handed them to the stall owner.
The stall owner readily accepted, smiled broadly, and handed the dart to Yun Ling, saying:
"Brother, wishing you a happy and healthy new year, and may you have a lucky start to the year."
"Thank you for your kind words, stall owner."
As soon as Yunling finished speaking, before she could even clearly see the position of the zodiac dragon on the Bagua plate, the plate began to spin rapidly under the stall owner's hand. This speed was much faster than when Pei Lin spun it last night, and her eyes immediately became blurry.
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