Su Zheyu chose the White Rabbit candy, and Song Yifan chose the Polar Bear candy, which was exactly what Fang Xiyue had in mind.
Su Zheyu stayed until the afternoon before Fang Xiyue sent him back to the government office. He was still holding the huge plush rabbit that Fang Xiyue had given him.
Song Yifan, holding a large polar bear in his arms, waved goodbye to Su Zheyu while Fang Xiyue drove the carriage back to the inn.
When Fang Xiyue returned to her room, Song Yifan followed her in, still carrying a large polar bear.
"Isn't Young Master Song going back to his room?" He should be sleeping by now. It's really not a good idea for him to go to her room. She's afraid she might do something wrong.
"Lady Fang, I... I want to ask you, if I return to the Prime Minister's residence, will you come to my mother to propose marriage?"
Song Yifan didn't like guessing. He wanted to find out the truth, otherwise he would feel uneasy. He wanted a clear promise, otherwise what he was doing now would be too outrageous.
"Yes, I will propose to you if I love you. Trust me." Fang Xiyue smiled. Now that Song Yifan had made the promise, she no longer needed to hide it.
Although they had only known each other for two days, she had truly fallen for him.
"Good, I'm relieved to hear that. I expect Prefect Su will be back tomorrow, but I don't know if my mother will come with him."
"If I'm taken away tomorrow, you must come to the Prime Minister's residence to propose marriage. I'll be waiting for you."
Song Yifan bit his lower lip, and then did something he never thought he would do: he threw himself into Fang Xiyue's arms.
Fang Xiyue hugged him tightly. "Wait for me, I will definitely come." Fang Xiyue took out the ring that Yuanbao had recommended earlier and put it on Su Zheyu's left index finger.
"This ring signifies that we are married. From now on, you will be my husband, Fang Xiyue's husband. I promise you will never regret it."
Although the two are not yet married, she wants to tie him down first, and she is wearing the same ring on her own hand.
"Hmm." Song Yifan was even happier looking at the ring on his hand.
After sending Song Yifan back to his room, Fang Xiyue lay on the bed in deep thought, hoping that the banquet would be a success.
——
The next day, Prefect Su returned as expected, but Prime Minister Song did not come, nor did he send anyone to pick up Song Yifan.
"Young Master Song, Prime Minister Song said he would use the evidence of your aunt's family's crimes to send them all to prison, and that you should stay at the Su residence for a while."
Don't worry, young master, from now on you will live in the same courtyard as my youngest son, so you'll have each other's company.
Since Prefect Su had promised the Prime Minister, he couldn't just ignore it, and he certainly couldn't let Song Yifan go with Fang Xiyue. It wasn't good for an unmarried young man to always be with a lady.
"Okay, thank you for your help, Prefect Su." Song Yifan was undoubtedly happy to be able to stay a little longer, and Su Zheyu was even happier, because this way they could play together.
Su Zheyu took Song Yifan out to play, while Fang Xiyue stayed behind to talk with Prefect Su. Soon after, Su Yurong also came in.
"It seems the Lady is fond of Xiao Yue and Young Master Song." Prefect Su's personality was quite straightforward; he had sensed something was off about the way she looked at him, his son, and Young Master Song.
"Yes, I am fond of both young gentlemen, but I know that I cannot get past Prefect Su and Prime Minister Song right now. I hope Prefect Su can give me some time."
Fang Xiyue felt that since Prefect Su had brought it up, denying it would be suicidal, so she might as well just admit it.
“Very good. In that case, when you can produce ten thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift, I will agree to marry Yu’er to you.”
Prefect Su knew that Fang Xiyue was from the village and probably didn't have much money. A dowry of ten thousand taels of silver was neither a lot nor a small amount, and it was a difficult task for the villagers to complete.
Fang Xiyue and Su Yuerong were both stunned when they heard that it was 10,000 taels of silver. Su Yuerong, who was drinking tea, almost spat it out.
Her mother only wanted 10,000 taels? She could make that much by selling a few full-length mirrors! She really regretted not telling her mother about the mirrors before. 10,000 taels was far too little.
Fang Xiyue also felt that 10,000 taels was not much. She estimated that she could take it out after the banquet, but she didn't know what Prefect Su's expression would be when he saw it.
"What do you two mean by thinking I'm asking for too much? My youngest son isn't just any ordinary young man in the village; ten thousand taels of silver isn't a lot."
Seeing the two women's strange expressions, Prefect Su realized they thought she was asking for too much.
"No, I will definitely raise ten thousand taels as soon as possible to present the betrothal gifts at the government office."
Fang Xiyue quickly said that she didn't mean it that way. Su Yuerong looked at her mother and hesitated, but in the end, she didn't say anything for the sake of her younger brother.
——
The day of the banquet finally arrived, and Fang Xiyue arrived early to make preparations. When Prefect Su saw Fang Xiyue, he was itching to get her attention. He had actually asked for 10,000 taels of silver because he was afraid of making things difficult for her.
If Yue Rong hadn't told her about the mirror later, she wouldn't have known that Fang Xiyue was actually a hidden wealthy merchant. Having access to purchasing mirrors meant she was definitely not an ordinary person.
"Prefect Su, please consider yesterday's words as a joke. I will prepare a betrothal gift of 100,000 taels for Young Master Su. I hope that Your Excellency will show leniency and agree to our marriage."
Fang Xiyue noticed that Prefect Su's expression was off, and knew that he must have found out.
"That's more like it. I'll take this money back with me when Yu'er gets married. I just hope Yu'er can have a grand and glorious wedding."
Prefect Su was not greedy for money at all; what she hoped for more was that Yu'er could find a good husband.
"Yes, I will never let the Prefect down," Fang Xiyue assured him repeatedly.
As an official, Prefect Su was not allowed to be there, so she returned to the prefectural office. Their banquet was held at Su Yuerong's restaurant.
The banquet soon began, and Su Yuerong hosted it. Everyone present brought their families, as Su Yuerong had requested when sending out the invitations.
Everyone was wearing masks, and no one knew who was sitting next to them. Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the auction banquet officially began.
"Today we're going to introduce you to mirrors. These mirrors are very difficult to make, and we were lucky enough to get three. Now we'll show you the first one."
After Su Yuerong finished talking about mirrors, the people below lost interest. Who doesn't have a mirror at home? Why do we need to hold such a grand auction?
Is this a disguised way of getting them to donate? They created such a big buzz that many people came all the way from Beijing, but now they feel it wasn't worth it at all.
But when they saw the washroom mirror in the servant's hand, they immediately sat up straight, especially those sitting in the front, who saw themselves directly in the mirror.
"This is a washbasin mirror, starting bid is two hundred taels!" Su Yuerong immediately began bidding for the first item.
"How can this be so clear? I'll take this mirror for five hundred taels!"
"Five hundred taels isn't enough, I'll offer eight hundred taels!"
"One thousand taels!"
"Two thousand taels!"
"Three thousand taels! That's the most I can give. It's just a mirror!"
Everyone agreed, saying that three thousand taels was a very high price for a mirror, and the washroom mirror was eventually sold for the high price of three thousand taels.
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