On March 12th, Cui Qingyan invited Madam Zhu to present her betrothal gifts.
Lu Yunfeng invited Madam Zhu, who was in charge, into the house. Eighty-eight boxes of betrothal gifts tied with large red silk flowers were unloaded from the carriage behind them.
Madam Zhu never expected that her return to Fenggu County after so many years would be to propose marriage to her distant nephew.
Cui Yun smiled and was very polite to the Lu family.
More than two years later, Qin Xiaozhou saw Zhu Xian again, but her belly looked like she was already seven or eight months pregnant!
She hurried forward, "With such a big belly, why did you come all this way in person?"
Even after becoming a mother, Zhu Xian still retains her carefree nature. "I've come to see my future cousin's wife and also to check the dock's accounts."
She walked into the mansion where she had lived many years ago and asked in confusion, "Why are there so few servants?"
Such a large mansion had only five servants in total, plus Granny Guo and the pageboy Zhao Qianxun.
Qin Xiaozhou didn't feel the room was empty at all, and said with a smile, "We have a lot of family members, and everyone can do the work, so it doesn't matter how many people serve us."
There's only one gatehouse in this large courtyard, which was only set up because there were so many visiting merchants.
There were three young girls in the backyard who did laundry, cooked, and took care of the backyard, as well as a servant named Qiushi who followed Lu Yunfeng outside.
At first, Lu Yunfeng wasn't used to having someone follow him. But later, he was too busy to be in two places at once, so he had Qiushi follow him and do errands for him.
If it weren't for the fact that the courtyard was so large that sweeping it every day would take several hours, and that even the backyard wouldn't need three maids, Zhao Fang would be most willing to do these chores.
But one person still can't finish it.
The group entered the main hall. The young maid had worked under Zhu Xian before, so she was quite adept at boiling water and making tea.
Zhu Xian, however, was unusually relaxed. She was forced to marry due to her family's orders and was confined to the deep courtyard of the mansion. There were several maids serving her, and there were rules about who would take care of her.
Every word and action is constantly being watched; the slightest carelessness could lead to utter ruin.
This was the first time Zhao Fang had received such a wealthy lady as Madam Cui. She had heard that Madam Zhu's husband was the highest-ranking official in Wanzhou.
And the betrothal gift chests were piled up all over the courtyard. He nervously rubbed the hem of his clothes and said, "Please sit down, please sit down."
Lu Yunxing is now acting steadily and professionally, and he also holds the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). He accompanied Cui Yanqing as they talked.
It was rare for Madam Cui to hold Qin Xiaozhou's hand and ask about her well-being. "I heard you injured your foot a few years ago, so I had someone bring you some ointment."
Qin Xiaozhou quickly thanked him.
Injured bones are hard to heal. Even though I took good care of them at the time, I still feel the pain on rainy days, especially after giving birth a few days ago. My legs haven't had a moment's rest during the holidays.
Madam Cui sincerely replied, "From now on, we'll be in-laws, so there's no need for such formalities."
She beckoned, and a maidservant carrying a tray stood beside her.
Madam Cui took out the gift list and said, "This is the list of today's betrothal gifts. Please take a look. If there is anything lacking, please let us know and we will do our best to make up for it."
She picked up her teacup, lowered her head and took a sip, concealing the shrewdness in her eyes. Those words she had just spoken were merely polite formalities and a test.
She had personally inspected these betrothal gifts; they were more than enough to marry not only a merchant's daughter but also the daughter of a fifth-rank official.
Zhao Fang opened the gift list and was surprised to find a long list of discounts of 100%, as well as gold, silver and jade items on the list. She was so overwhelmed by the sight that she began to doubt whether the characters she had learned over the years were genuine.
He quickly handed it to his eldest son next to him, then put his hand down and covered it with his sleeve to avoid being seen as having trembling hands and becoming a laughing stock.
Lu Yunfeng's heart pounded when he saw it.
Even though the Lu family is now the richest family in the surrounding counties, they still lack sufficient foundation. Only after seeing the betrothal gifts did they realize the gap between them.
A family with a distinguished reputation and a life of luxury is far beyond the reach of a nouveau riche like the Lu family.
Lu Yan's dowry needs to be prepared properly; we can't let people look down on her.
However, most of the Lu family's current assets were acquired by Qin Xiaozhou. If the dowry is prepared according to the betrothal gifts, then at least half of the Lu family's assets will have to be distributed.
This is unfair to Qin Xiaozhou!
He handed the gift list to Qin Xiaozhou, suppressing his inner thoughts, "These betrothal gifts are very valuable. Thank you, Madam, for valuing Third Sister."
Cui raised an eyebrow slightly. The Lu family acted neither servilely nor arrogantly. They neither refused to accept the excessive dowry nor demanded an extra dowry.
He cleverly attributed everything to his high regard for Lu Yan.
She suppressed her initial disdain and began to carefully examine the Lu family members in the room.
Zhao Fang still retained some of the shortsightedness and timidity of a village woman, but she tried her best not to embarrass the children or act like an elder in front of them.
Lu Yunfeng lacked the mercenary nature of a merchant, and Qin Xiaozhou lacked the calculating nature of a merchant's wife.
The scholar from the Lu family was a gentle and refined man, neither hypocritical nor sycophantic, with an upright demeanor.
There were also two girls around fifteen or sixteen years old. Lu Yan was bright and lively but not arrogant or domineering, while Qin Jinxiu was dignified and polite, and her every word and action was well-behaved.
Although this family was poor, they were simple and not greedy. Although there were few people in the courtyard, they kept it in good order and it was a pleasant place to look at.
Madam Cui smiled sincerely, "Sincerely seeking it, it is certainly something to value. My nephew has excellent judgment."
He then beckoned, "Yanqing, why don't you come and formally meet your future mother-in-law!"
The marriage is done?!
Cui Yanqing stepped forward, standing three steps away from Zhao Fang, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your son-in-law greets your mother-in-law."
Zhao Fang's hands trembled even more violently as she suppressed her nervousness. "No need, no need to be so polite. Please sit down and have some tea."
She remembered she needed to give a gift, but when she looked at her hands, she realized she had nothing prepared and felt even more helpless. In desperation, she took off the only jade bracelet she had and handed it over.
"Here, take this."
Lu Yunfeng hurriedly stepped forward, took the bracelet from his mother's hand, and said to Cui Yanqing, "I haven't had time to prepare a gift today, but I will make it up to you on behalf of my mother tomorrow."
Zhao Fang's bracelet was made of jade that Lu Yunxing won with Zhu Xian in Yujing, so it has extraordinary significance.
It's only in the last two years that Zhao Fang has stopped chopping wood and cooking, and only takes care of her child, so she's been willing to wear it. She treasures it dearly.
Cui Yanqing was a little embarrassed and touched. He felt a long-lost sincerity from Zhao Fang. Now that Lu Yunfeng was helping him out, he didn't object. "It was my sudden visit. It was my fault."
Zhu Xian naturally knew the origin of Zhao Fang's bracelet; it was originally made by the jade craftsmen in her household.
Mrs. Cui smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "As long as everyone is happy, nothing else matters."
After saying that, he took out three red invitation cards from the plate. "We should have asked a matchmaker to make the trip so that we could visit, but since the two families live far apart, we'll just do it all at once."
"These are three dates that have been calculated. Please take a look and choose a date. If you feel that the time is too tight, we can have another one calculated. We can get engaged first, and it's fine to wait a couple of years."
The dates listed above are early autumn this year, early spring next year, and early autumn of next year.
After Zhao Fang read it, she showed it to Lu Yunfeng.
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