Chapter 60
60.
Rui Xi clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention before saying, "We are all here today to witness and congratulate the newlyweds. From this day forward, they will be of one heart and one mind, sharing joys and sorrows."
Rui Xi took out the prepared birth dates and times, exchanged them with Liu Niangzi, and then Liu Niangzi wrote down the engagement certificate. Cheng Lingjun and Guan Yue's names were written together closely. At this point, most of the ceremony was completed.
In this remote village, the exchange of birth dates by the elders was considered an engagement. There were no elaborate formalities, no flowers or applause. The marriage between the two young people was settled simply and solemnly.
Cheng Lingjun took the newly written document, along with a cloth bundle wrapped in red silk and two bolts of bright cloth.
"This is……"
Cheng Lingjun looked up at Guan Yue and Rui Xi. Guan Yue scratched her head and said, "This is your betrothal gift. It should have been given a long time ago..."
"You—" Cheng Lingjun suddenly fell silent, suddenly remembering what Guan Yue had said to him on the day they decided on their engagement date. She said she was going to visit his family, which meant that she originally wanted to give the betrothal gifts to the Cheng family at that time, but she hadn't had the chance until today.
“Actually, there’s no need…” Cheng Lingjun gently lifted a corner of the red cloth bag, revealing two plain bracelets that gleamed with silver light.
Guan Yue stared intently at his expression, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that he seemed startled but did not show any disappointment or disgust.
Guan Yue said, "It should have been more generous, but you know... um..."
This was the limit of what she could offer, and these were gifts she received after asking Rui Xi for help; otherwise, she feared she would have married Cheng Lingjun empty-handed.
Guan Yue gave Rui Xi a grateful look, and the latter waved her hand and said, "Guan Yue has also gone to great lengths, but she spent too much on other things. Xiao Cheng, you should know what she's been doing these days. If you want to blame her, just let her make it up to you later."
Guan Yue was truly short of money. Even if she hadn't spent any money elsewhere, she didn't have much to her name. She couldn't very well sell all her livestock and land, could she? Apart from that, there really wasn't much else she could get from her family. She did want to give Cheng Lingjun a larger dowry, but the problem was that she couldn't afford it.
You only realize how little money you have when you need it. I used to think it was unnecessary to have money, but now I realize that money is still somewhat necessary, at least when it comes to getting married.
Cheng Lingjun sighed, "Even if you didn't have these things, I would still marry you."
"But it just doesn't feel quite respectable..." Guan Yue muttered to herself.
"Um?"
"No, no, I meant... uh... I meant..."
Guan Yue keenly sensed that, to be honest, Cheng Lingjun wouldn't be happy. However, she felt that her idea was correct. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. She should take the initiative to prepare all of this for Cheng Lingjun, instead of being oblivious to his indulgence.
Rui Xi helped her solve this problem. She laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I asked her to prepare all these things. In any case, you'll need them for your wedding. Wearing your wedding dress and these two bracelets, won't you look beautiful?"
Hearing Rui Xi say this, Cheng Lingjun dared not blame Guan Yue anymore, otherwise wouldn't it be turning into blaming Rui Xi?
“The village chief is right, little brother, just accept it. It’s what you deserve anyway,” Cheng Yajun chimed in from the other side.
Cheng Lingjun was completely speechless. Seeing that he accepted the gifts, Guan Yue smiled as well. The group continued chatting until noon, when they had a simple meal at the village chief's house before leaving.
As they left, Guan Yue stood at the very back, expressing her deepest gratitude to Rui Xi.
"Alright, alright, if you're going to be more ambitious and pay all this back sooner, it will be more effective than saying a hundred or a thousand nice things to me."
Seeing that Rui Xi seemed about to kick her butt, Guan Yue quickly stepped back. "Of course, of course, Village Chief, I will always remember your kindness. Don't worry, I..."
The village chief took out a broom from the corner, and Guan Yue stretched out her hand in front of her as if to block it. The two struggled for a while before they finally finished talking, and Rui Xi watched them leave.
Guan Yue and Cheng Lingjun did not go home, but instead saw Cheng Yajun off at the village entrance.
Upon arriving at the village entrance, Guan Yue tactfully stopped and took Li Guang's hand, inviting him to wait there as well.
Cheng Yajun led the horse, and the two of them walked slowly forward.
The two siblings had never stood so close together, nor had they ever spoken so much.
"Actually, after I left home last time, I ran into Li Guifang." Cheng Lingjun mentioned this as if it were a trivial matter.
Cheng Yajun raised an eyebrow, expressing her surprise, but her expression remained very calm.
This former wife, this former sister-in-law, is now just an outsider in their eyes. Cheng Yajun asked, "What did she say?"
"She told me to go back."
"Oh?" Cheng Yajun chuckled. "You're shameless."
“Hmm,” Cheng Lingjun did not refute, “She’s probably living too well and has forgotten the disagreements we had in the past.”
“You’re mistaken,” Cheng Yajun said. “Her new husband is no pushover. He’s turned their house upside down. If you’re interested, I can tell you about it, but I don’t think you’re really interested.”
Cheng Lingjun smiled and said, "If I still lived in the town, I could listen to you talk about it, but I don't live there anymore, so these things are a bit far removed from my life. I can listen to you when I have time in the future."
"Don't you feel happy to hear that she's not doing well these days?"
Cheng Lingjun laughed: "Maybe it would have been true before, but it doesn't matter now."
“You’ve really changed,” Cheng Yajun said, glancing at the two people standing at the village entrance behind Cheng Lingjun. This was clearly the reason why her younger brother didn’t care.
Cheng Lingjun shrugged. "If you can't let it go now, aren't you just asking for trouble?"
As they talked, they had already passed the big locust tree. Cheng Yajun leaped onto his horse, waved, and said, "Goodbye, little brother, and... Guan Yue, Li Guang!"
Guan Yue waved from afar, "Second Sister, you must come on our wedding day!"
"You changed your tune so quickly," Cheng Yajun smiled, responded, and rode off.
Cheng Lingjun watched her figure leave before slowly returning home with Guan Yue and Li Guang.
After the engagement, Guan Yue seemed to have a sense of security. Although she was still busy, she had more free time to visit Cheng Lingjun. She sold most of the chickens she had raised, keeping only the ones that could lay eggs. The rabbits grew quickly, and she easily raised several litters. She also asked someone to send them to Guping Town to sell for money.
It's time to plant rice.
Guan Yue devoted most of her time to her fields, carefully cultivating rice seedlings before planting them. She enjoyed fetching water and fertilizing them every day.
Cheng Lingjun will prepare the meal and wait for her to come back so they can eat together.
Guan Yue already felt that they were living a so-called married life. Except for not living together, everything else was completely seamless.
January flew by, and the wedding day was just around the corner.
This time, Guan Yue and the others didn't have to go to the village chief's house; they stayed at their own home.
Bright red lanterns and candles have been lit, and red "double happiness" characters have already been pasted on the doors and windows.
Everything was ready, and all the invited guests had arrived.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Lingjun's parents and eldest sister also appeared.
Cheng Xiu's face was stern, as if Guan Yue owed her a lot of money.
Cheng Lingjun leaned closer to her second sister and said, "Did you invite them, second sister?"
Cheng Yajun stood motionless, only her lips moved slightly, revealing her voice: "I have no intention of asking Mother for help, and of course, I wouldn't be able to persuade her anyway."
"That?"
Cheng Lingjun pouted, "Of course it's Dad."
Cheng Lingjun was stunned and looked at Wen Lin standing behind Cheng Xiu. It was actually his father. Wasn't he also against him being with Guan Yue?
Wen Lin gently nudged Cheng Xiu and whispered something in her ear. Cheng Xiu pouted and said something, then glared at Wen Lin, seemingly a little angry. But when she walked up to Cheng Lingjun, Cheng Lingjun felt that she didn't seem as angry as she appeared.
Despite her obvious reluctance.
Cheng Xiu coughed twice and said, "It was your father and your two older sisters who wanted to come. I just came along, and I'm not... uh..."
Wen Lin elbowed her from behind. Cheng Xiu glared at him angrily, but he seemed not to see it and smiled at Cheng Lingjun, saying, "Your mother is all bark and no bite. Don't pay any attention to her. Lingjun, quickly let your father see if there's anything else we need to prepare."
"It's nothing..."
Before Cheng Lingjun could finish speaking, Wen Lin had already helped him look through the materials. With an experienced father, his wedding dress was put on much more smoothly, and he didn't need to do anything else. He just needed to sit quietly in the house and wait for the bride to arrive.
When Guan Yue opened his door and was surprised to see Cheng Xiu's displeased face, she almost kicked him out again.
"What are you doing?"
Cheng Xiu's question left Guan Yue at a loss, completely losing her ability to think.
"I...I...I came to pick up Cheng Lingjun. Sorry, I went to the wrong place..."
Just as Guan Yue was about to say that she had come to the wrong house, Cheng Xiu slammed her hand on the door and said, "You—you didn't come to the wrong house, this is Cheng Lingjun's house."
"ah?"
Despite being blocked, Guan Yue continued walking forward and indeed saw Cheng Yajun and Wen Lin.
The groom beside Wen Lin had already covered his face with a veil, so his face could not be seen, but Guan Yue knew that it was Cheng Lingjun.
"I...can I...take him out? I mean..."
Guan Yue gestured with both hands, like someone who had just learned to speak. Cheng Xiu seemed to want to scold her, just like she would her student, but Wen Lin stopped her in time before she could speak.
Wen Lin said, "Of course, now that you're married, as Ling Jun's father, his mother, and his other family members, I sincerely congratulate you."
As soon as Wen Lin finished speaking, he felt the person next to him suddenly tremble. He turned to look at his son, whose face was covered, and said softly, "Ling Jun, congratulations."
This congratulations came too late, but thankfully, it wasn't completely missed, my...son.
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