Chapter 397: Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Engagement Gifts
"Chengxi!"
Yun Ran snorted lightly, "I just told you not to be rude."
Ye Jingzhen raised his hand and touched Yun Chengxi's head: "It's okay."
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Why did you ask that just now?"
If he saw it right, this little guy seemed even more excited than Ran Ran?
Yun Chengxi was actually quite excited by his question and said, "Your Highness Prince Jing'an, the teacher at the academy told us to set an example for ourselves, but I've been thinking for a long time and can't think of anyone suitable."
"Now that I've met you, I feel like I've finally found my role model!"
Seeing his little face full of admiration and worship, Yun Ran teased him deliberately: "Why, are your elder and second brothers not good enough?"
"That's not the case." Yun Chengxi scratched his head a little embarrassedly.
My eldest brother Yun Chengfu was a top scholar in the imperial examination and now serves as a Hanlin scholar. Many of the emperor's edicts have to be drafted by him.
He is also quite favored by the old prime minister of the dynasty, and it is estimated that he will take over the position of prime minister in the future.
The second elder brother won the first place in martial arts and also fought in the battlefield with the mighty general and made many military achievements. Now he is also the most outstanding deputy general under General Zhao, and it is just a matter of time before he becomes a general in the future.
However, he felt that his eldest brother and second brother were more literary and martial respectively, and it would be great if the two could be combined. Only when they were both civil and martial, they would be invincible.
The gentleman said that there are very few such people in the whole of Dakang, and King Jing'an, who is good at fighting and has extraordinary strategies, was able to pacify the small countries and tribes in the northwest in just a few years and expanded his troops from 20,000 to 50,000. He can be regarded as one of them.
"My eldest brother is knowledgeable and my second brother is skilled in martial arts, but His Royal Highness Prince Jing'an is still more powerful. He is proficient in both civil and military strategies!" Yun Chengxi grinned.
When he turned around, Yun Chenglu saw his parents and second brother coming out of the yard, and his face turned dark.
The little fellow stuck out his tongue and quickly added, "It was our academy teacher who said that! I'm just learning to speak. Children's words are innocuous, children's words are innocuous!"
As he spoke, he hid behind Yun Ran, fearing that Yun Chenglu would hit him.
Yun Chenglu's fists stiffened.
Yin Qianlan was helpless: "My children are naughty, I am sorry to have made you laugh, Your Highness."
"Nothing," Ye Jingzhen said, "It's just these gentlemen bragging. I'm not that great."
"Your Highness, you must have come so early on your journey. You must have had a hard time on your way here," said Yun Sanlang, trying to smooth things over. "Let's go inside and talk. I'll have someone bring all the things in later."
Ye Jingzhen nodded, and everyone went into the house together and went to the living room to talk.
Yin Qianlan asked the maid to serve tea, and the few of them sat down and chatted about family matters. Since they were all familiar with each other, they didn't feel restrained.
As they were chatting, a servant came over to report: "Master, Madam, His Royal Highness Prince Jing'an brought a total of 888 engagement gifts. This is the gift list, please review it, Master and Madam."
"Eight... eight hundred and eighty-eight?" Yin Qianlan was a little confused.
Yun Sanlang was also stunned.
Yun Ran frowned and said, "Just now I saw that the team carrying the engagement gift was so long that there was no end in sight."
"Choose an auspicious number." Ye Jingzhen said, "If my father-in-law and mother-in-law don't think it's appropriate, I can add more."
"Absolutely! Absolutely!" Yun Sanlang's hands were shaking as he held the gift list, and so was Yin Qianlan.
They can’t afford so many gifts just for the engagement!
"Golden basin, rosewood money box, phoenix crown and head ornaments, gilded bucket, ebony hair comb, golden abacus, golden scissors, silver-inlaid crystal mirror..." Yin Qianlan recited softly.
These are the eight essential gifts for an engagement ceremony, but there are many more gifts besides these.
Custom-made kitchenware sets in gold and silver, a pair of cat's-eye hairpins carved with golden swallowtail butterflies, a pair of nine-color iridescent jade hairpins, cloud-shaped gold filigree hairpins inlaid with gemstones, a jade-inlaid jade conch and coral brocade, and a set of golden headpieces carved with a dancing phoenix...
There are also snow mink fur cloaks, thousand-year-old snow lotus, snow ginseng, cold deer antlers, and so on, which are special products of the northwestern tribes...
Yun Sanlang and Yin Qianlan were dazzled by the long gift list, which took them a long time to finish.
Yun Ran sat next to Ye Jingzhen and whispered to him.
"Brother Xiaojing, why did you bring so many things?"
Ye Jingzhen raised his eyebrows: "Don't like it?"
"I like it..." She likes everything that is given by Brother Xiaojing.
"But this is too much," Yun Ran frowned, "I'm afraid you'll empty out your Jing'an Palace."
Ye Jingzhen pursed his lips and smiled faintly: "No, with this little stuff, the Jing'an Palace won't be completely emptied."
"That's good," Yun Ran breathed a sigh of relief, "otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get over it."
Ye Jingzhen: ...
However, many of these things were prepared by him since he was stationed at the northwest border seven years ago.
The purpose is to be able to offer the largest and best engagement gift to ask Ranran to marry him one day.
After sitting for a while, Ye Jingzhen got up and returned to the capital. Before leaving, he told Yun Ran a good news.
"The Emperor has already issued an edict. Now that the northwest border is at peace, I can lead my troops back to the capital by the end of this year."
"Really?" Yun Ran's eyes lit up, and she didn't even notice the excitement in her heart.
Ye Jingzhen nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Then we can celebrate the New Year together."
"Okay." Yun Ran chuckled. It had indeed been a long time since they had celebrated the New Year together.
"When will Brother Xiaojing leave this time?" She asked again, as if she had thought of something.
"I can probably stay here for another ten days or so." Ye Jingzhen calculated in his mind.
When he spoke again, a smile appeared on his lips: "Why, you can't bear to leave me?"
Yun Ran nodded, then shook his head: "Uncle Zhu wrote to me and gave me several recipes. I've been trying new dishes recently. If you were here, I'd like you to help me taste them."
"Okay, I haven't eaten your cooking for a long time." Ye Jingzhen agreed and then got on the horse.
The black horse raised its hooves, neighed loudly, and instantly disappeared at the end of the street. The team following him also set off.
Yin Qianlan and Yun Sanlang huddled together, and she sighed with some emotion, "Sanlang, time flies so fast! Ranran is already engaged."
"You're a grown-up girl now." Yun Sanlang also said, looking at Yun Ran with a look of relief.
Yun Chengxi, who was standing next to them, suddenly had his eyes light up and said, "Sis is engaged now, so she should be the future princess, right?!"
After he finished speaking, Yun Chenglu knocked him on the forehead.
"You are so smart!" Yun Chenglu's face turned black.
"Ouch! Second brother, why did you hit me?" Yun Chengxi rubbed his forehead which was hurt by the beating, looking aggrieved.
Suddenly, his pair of bright black eyes turned and he smiled, "Could it be that Second Brother is reluctant to leave his sister?"
Yun Chenglu was choked by his words and rolled his eyes at him: "If Ranran married someone else, I would be reluctant to let her go. But Prince Jing'an, we grew up together!"
That being said, he was actually a little reluctant.
In recent years, he has been fighting outside all year round and rarely comes back to reunite with his family.
When I finally had some free time, I suddenly discovered that both of my sisters were engaged.
Yun Ran came back to his senses and saw Yun Chenglu and Yun Chengxi quarreling. He chuckled and pinched Yun Chengxi's soft little face.
"It's just an engagement. I'm still two or three years away from coming of age."
After pinching Yun Chengxi's little face, she looked up and smiled at Yun Chenglu: "Second brother, my fourth sister and I are engaged now, what about you, second brother?"
Yun Chenglu's face flushed, and he stammered, "A man... a man should focus on building achievements for his country. There's no rush for love."
"But the teacher clearly taught us to start a family and build a career?" Yun Chengxi tilted his head, looking innocent: "It's obvious that you should start with a family and then build a career, right?"
Yun Chenglu was annoyed: "Why do you talk so much at such a young age?!"
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