The Xiao family also received the news soon, and Xiao Yao's marriage was officially put on the agenda from that moment on.
The auspicious date for the engagement was also chosen by Master Guangci himself, just one month later.
"You guys take care of the rest of the things! I'm going to accompany Ping'an and Ruyi. I'll take them around Kyoto and come back before the New Year." He let the family take care of the engagement. Anyway, he had made up his mind not to let his granddaughter show up.
"It's not a good idea to do this!" Qin knew that her husband was unhappy. If it were up to him, he would not be willing to arrange this marriage for his granddaughter. But now that the marriage has been arranged, why do something so annoying!
"I've said before that there's no need for a big announcement about the engagement. It's enough for both families to know. What the Jing Palace does is their business. I won't let Ping An show up. It wasn't me who made the rule that it's best for the couple not to see each other between the time of engagement and the wedding." The old man defended himself confidently. For the next year, he would only do one thing, and that was to accompany his granddaughter. Wherever she wanted to go, whatever she wanted to do, he would just accompany her.
The old man kept his word. Early the next morning, he took the selected guards, some spare clothes for his granddaughters, and enough money to live comfortably for a year, and set off without looking back.
"You mean, the old man went to the villa and took my junior sister and my cousin out for fun?" Yun Yichen asked the secret guard in disbelief. He thought he would be able to see his sweetheart often after getting engaged! The old man actually kidnapped her. How cruel!
Prince Jing and his wife shook their heads and smiled bitterly. They had done everything they could think of, but still couldn't dispel the old man's wariness. It seemed that if it weren't for the birthday banquet incident, and if it weren't for the concern about the Xie family and Beijin, this stubborn old man really might not have agreed to this marriage.
After sympathizing with her son for a while, Yin Qianhua informed him about the rules after engagement, which included the rule that engaged couples could not meet each other before getting married.
After being stunned for a long time, Yun Yichen stared at Prince Jing and asked, "After you and my mother got engaged, you never met her before the wedding?"
"Ahem." King Jing had just wanted to hint to his son: rules are fixed, but people are dynamic, and one must learn to adapt. He hadn't expected his son to set his sights on him so quickly. Would he tell him about scaling a courtyard wall in the middle of the night to see his beloved? Would he tell him about using his power to arrange a meeting? These actions seemed unsavory. Should he tell him or not?
"A year will pass quickly. If you want to be safe, I will stay with you alone in the future instead of with the Xiao family. Think about it more positively!" Yin Qianhua patted her son's shoulder and persuaded him.
"Since the old man is unreasonable, I don't have to abide by any rules. When the engagement is made and the betrothal gifts are delivered, I will let everyone in Kyoto know that Xiao Yao is my, Yun Yichen's, fiancée." Yun Yichen stood up and walked around the room, then said angrily. Why can the old man do whatever he wants while he can only endure it?
"There's no telling when the three of them will come back from playing. If you're not afraid of someone attacking your young wife, or causing them trouble, just be willful." King Jing glanced at his son and said lightly. Once the news of their engagement spread, who could guarantee that the Queen Mother and the Han family wouldn't take action, or that Northern Jin wouldn't come to snatch her away?
"Hmph!" Yun Yichen was filled with anger and had no place to vent. He felt that if he didn't do something, he would go crazy, so he changed into a training suit and went to find someone to fight.
Although Yun Yichen was somewhat dissatisfied with the old man's actions, he had to treat Prince Jing's words with caution. He quietly dispatched a team of Silver Dragon Guards to secretly protect the old man and his companions. The time for delivering the betrothal gifts was deliberately chosen early in the morning. A number of carriages tied with red silk, escorted by newly dressed guards, pulled up outside the Loyal and Brave Marquis's residence early in the morning. Prince Jing sent two stewards, unknown to outsiders, to knock on the door.
The doorman had never seen such a scene before, so he ran in to report. Tong Mingyu and others, who had not even had breakfast, hurried to the front hall. They were also very curious, who would come to give gifts so early in the morning!
"I am Huang Jian, the chief secretary of Prince Jing's Palace. I am here to deliver the betrothal gifts on the orders of our Prince Jing, Princess Jing and the Crown Prince." The leader of the Prince Jing's Palace presented the gift list with both hands.
Seeing the thick gift list and the words "Prince Jing's Mansion" on it, Tong Mingyu had no doubts. Who in Tianyu would dare to pretend to be from Prince Jing's Mansion and cheat people?
"Then there's no need to block my door so early in the morning!" Xiao Jun muttered dissatisfiedly. Yun Yichen came to cause trouble for him so early in the morning. He had bad intentions and was a mean person.
"Our prince said that in order to avoid causing trouble for the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion and to allow the guests to have fun outside, the less noticeable the betrothal gifts from our palace should be, the better. The old man and the two young ladies are not in Kyoto now, so even if he wanted to protect them, he would be unable to do so. He could only come up with this stupid method to protect them. The prince said that the Marquis and his wife would definitely approve of his approach."
It seems that the son-in-law is also very dissatisfied with the old man's behavior! Come to think of it, they are about to get engaged, but the person is taken away. I'm afraid no one would be happy about this.
"The person is still part of our Xiao family! Isn't your prince meddling too much?" Xiao Jun said disdainfully.
"Jun, shut up." Xiao Yi had recently devoted most of his energy to persuading his younger brother. He had tried everything from reasoning, sweet talk, and even threats, but nothing had changed his mind. If it weren't for the pressure from the elders in the family, this guy would have run off to find his sister long ago.
"Fifth uncle is right. I didn't know how to speak and made you unhappy. I will be more careful next time." Manager Huang was warned before he came that he should not refute whatever the Xiao family said. As long as he delivered the betrothal gifts today and they accepted them, his group's mission would be accomplished.
"Manager Huang, please don't bother with a kid like him. You all have been working hard since early this morning. We have prepared several tables of wine and food at home. Please don't be mean. Have some before you leave. Xiao will send someone to collect the betrothal gifts." Xiao Jingkang was helpless with his youngest son. He couldn't beat him every day because of this matter! He didn't think about the fact that if he offended Yun Yichen too much, who would suffer in the future? Wouldn't it be his sister?
This marriage has come to this point, and there is no turning back. We can only move forward. Since it is already a foregone conclusion, why bother to offend the Jing Palace and upset Yun Yichen? Why can't this stupid son understand and refuse to listen? With this old man and young man causing trouble, it is not easy to marry my daughter into the Jing Palace smoothly.
The guards went downstairs to drink, while the two stewards, Housekeeper Feng, and Aunt Zhang began to review the gift list. Tong Mingyu and the others were astounded by the list. There were dozens of property deeds and land deeds alone, along with rare antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, and the jewelry was of superb quality. Every box was crammed to the brim with genuine treasures.
"Everything in here was packed into boxes only after being personally reviewed by our princess and prince." Steward Huang reported truthfully to Tong Mingyu. The prince had become thinner from exhaustion in order to prepare these betrothal gifts. The princes and princesses had asked for help but were rejected. He had to review everything personally. If he was not too busy and afraid of omissions, Steward Huang believed that the prince would not let the princess get involved.
"Your princess and prince are thoughtful." Tong Mingyu believed that what Huang Guanshi said was true. One look at these things and you could tell that they were carefully selected. It seems that this prince is not as cold as he appears to be. He really has his daughter in his heart.
After having a good meal and a good drink, and with generous rewards in hand, the people from Prince Jing's Mansion quietly evacuated while there were not too many people on the street.
When Manager Huang returned to Prince Jing's Mansion to report, his report was very detailed, even repeating every word Xiao Jun said without missing a word.
"Son, your uncle seems very dissatisfied with you!" King Jing had already packed up and was about to leave. After hearing the words of the chief secretary, he couldn't help but tease his son. An old man has already made his son run around, and now he has an uncle who is so stubborn... Son, your luck is really not good!
"I don't take him seriously at all." Now that the betrothal gifts have been successfully delivered to the Xiao family's door, Yun Yichen has the confidence to speak. He told himself to be patient for another year, and he will be able to marry his sweetheart in a year.
As for Xiao Jun? There are plenty of ways to deal with him, but for the sake of the little girl, I won't argue with him.
On the day of engagement, Yun Yichen specially changed into a dark red robe, dressing himself up from head to toe, with only his waist being bare.
My mother-in-law will surely remember something when she sees that I don’t even have a purse! I can wear clothes later, but it’s best if I get the purse today.
He touched the pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants in his arms. These were the tokens of love that he would send to the Xiao family today. In the future, the dragon-shaped jade pendant would be hung around his waist, and the phoenix-shaped jade pendant would be worn by the little girl. Just thinking about it made Yun Yichen want to laugh out loud.
Today, not only the matchmaker will be present, but King Jing and his wife and Yun Yichen will also be present. After the formal exchange of engagement letters and tokens of love, the two families can prepare for the marriage.
Yun Yichen greeted the elders of the Xiao family one by one and changed their addresses. Yuan Yutong wanted to liven up the atmosphere and asked Yun Yichen to call her Third Aunt. Yun Yichen smiled faintly and followed suit.
"Don't bully our Ping'an in the future. Be kind to her and take good care of her. Otherwise, I will be the first one to disagree." Yuan Yutong put on the attitude of a member of the Xiao family.
"I was counting on you to say a few good words for Achen! It seems I can't count on you anymore." Yin Qianhua followed her cousin's words and joked. She could see that the two relatives-in-law had been forcing themselves to smile and would be distracted from time to time. If her daughter was going to get engaged one day, her performance would not be much better than theirs!
No matter what is said now, they will not feel at ease. Only after Ping An enters their home, treats her well, and continues to pamper her, will the Xiao family feel at ease after a long time.
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