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Zhao Father and Madam Hu sat restlessly in the room, having waited for a long while.
As soon as they saw Zhao Ruhua finally return, Madam Hu quickly asked, “How did it go? Did you two come to an agreement?”
Zhao Ruhua smiled at her. “Mother, everything’s settled. I’m going to marry him.”
Zhao Father, worried she might be forcing herself, looked at her anxiously and asked, “Daughter, what made you suddenly change your mind? If you feel wronged or don’t want to go through with it, we can still—”
“Father, I really do want to marry him,” Zhao Ruhua replied.
Zhao Father’s eyes remained filled with concern. “Daughter, you must think this through carefully. Yun Shiyue, he…”
At that moment, Yun Shiyue walked in, and Zhao Father quickly changed his words. “What made you suddenly want to marry him?”
Zhao Ruhua thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “I think he looks good. So I want to marry him.”
Everyone in the Zhao family visibly twitched at her words.
Zhao Ruhua thinks Yun Shiyue looks good?
Just… where exactly does he look good?
She hadn’t spoken loudly, but Yun Shiyue, who had just taken a seat, clearly heard her.
He lifted his eyelids and looked at Zhao Ruhua. His eyes were deep and dark, like an unfathomable pool.
Zhao Ruhua wasn’t afraid of him. She met his gaze directly and even straightened her back a little.
Zhao Father’s heart was a mess of anxiety.
The two of them had only gone out for a short while, and now Zhao Ruhua was suddenly willing to marry Yun Shiyue. Could Yun Shiyue have used some underhanded means to force her?
But then he looked closely at Zhao Ruhua’s face. Her gaze was calm, and there was even a faint smile in her eyes. She didn’t look like someone being coerced. That reassured him somewhat.
No matter the reason, as long as Zhao Ruhua was willing, as her father, he wouldn’t interfere too much.
Choosing a husband for Zhao Ruhua was about finding someone who would truly please her, wasn’t it?
This man standing before them might be a little ugly, but since Zhao Ruhua was satisfied with him, that was enough.
Zhao Father had a head full of thoughts, but in the end, he chose to respect Zhao Ruhua’s decision.
Madam Hu, however, stood to the side quietly sobbing, appearing as though she felt it was a great injustice for Zhao Ruhua.
Zhao Ruhua was originally meant to marry into a wealthy family, and now she was suddenly turning around to marry a man with such an unsightly appearance. Madam Hu felt unwilling and bitter inside.
“What are you crying for? On such a joyful day, you’re here sniveling—what is that supposed to mean? Are you saying this old woman has wronged your daughter? That I found her a poor match?”
Old Madam Lin spoke up, her face stern.
Scolded by Old Madam Lin, Madam Hu quickly wiped the tears from her face. “Mother, this daughter-in-law wouldn’t dare.”
Old Madam Lin gave a heavy snort and ignored her. Instead, she turned to Yun Shiyue to discuss the wedding arrangements.
She brought out the almanac and flipped through it for quite a while before saying to Yun Shiyue, “Let’s set the wedding date for the eighth day of the tenth month. What do you think?”
It was currently the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, giving them just over ten days to prepare.
Zhao Father had no objections.
Yun Shiyue also agreed, saying it was a good time.
When they asked Madam Hu for her opinion, she too said that the eighth day of the tenth month was an auspicious day. And so, the wedding date was set.
Once the wedding matters were mostly settled, Yun Shiyue took his leave.
After seeing the guest out, Old Madam Lin glanced at the small bundle of items Yun Shiyue had brought. Thinking there probably wasn’t anything valuable in it, she said she had other matters to attend to at home and left as well.
The betrothal gifts Yun Shiyue brought weren’t many in quantity, but the Zhao family gathered around and began opening them one by one.
Inside were pearl necklaces, several jade bangles, hairpins, tobacco and wine, silver, and clothing.
“Heavens, how did he prepare so many things? Wasn’t Yun Shiyue someone who fled from famine and ended up in our village? How does he have so much silver?”
The Zhao family members were stunned as they unwrapped the items and saw the wealth laid out before them.
These were all luxuries they wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
In the village, a man preparing three or four taels of silver for marriage was already considered generous. Yet Yun Shiyue had brought fifty taels of silver.
And those jade bangles—just by the look of them, they were clearly valuable. If sold, they could probably fetch dozens of taels on their own.
Adding up all the odds and ends, Yun Shiyue had spent no less than a hundred taels of silver this time.
Zhao Father felt dizzy with disbelief.
Just a moment ago, he was still thinking Yun Shiyue was ugly and intimidating, and that Zhao Ruhua would be wronged if she married him.
Who could have imagined that this man was actually so wealthy? The betrothal gifts he brought were hundreds of times more generous than anyone else’s.
To casually take out fifty taels of silver—what family could manage that? Yet a man from a hunter’s household like Yun Shiyue had done it.
At this point, even Zhao Ruhua was shocked.
When Yun Shiyue had promised her that after two years of marriage, they would separate, and he would compensate her with twenty mu of farmland and a hundred taels of gold, she hadn’t quite believed him.
But now, seeing all this, Zhao Ruhua was one hundred percent convinced—Yun Shiyue was a big shot.
If he weren’t sitting on a fortune, how could he possibly produce so many valuable things?
After the initial shock faded, Zhao Ruhua felt completely at ease.
Her original plan was to pair up with Yun Shiyue for a temporary partnership, live out the two years, and then part ways.
As for the compensation Yun Shiyue had promised, she hadn’t really taken it to heart.
But now, seeing that he might truly be able to pay her what he promised, Zhao Ruhua couldn’t be more satisfied.
She began dividing up the items.
Madam Li and Madam Yang felt a bit embarrassed, saying these were Yun Shiyue’s betrothal gifts for Zhao Ruhua—how could they wear them? What would people think?
Zhao Ruhua smiled and said, “He gave them to me, so they’re mine. I can do whatever I want with them.”
Madam Hu, on the other hand, had no such reservations. She took the jewelry without hesitation and divided it between her two daughters-in-law.
Receiving such valuable pieces, the women were all overjoyed.
Madam Hu even slipped a jade bangle onto her own wrist.
“Look at that—Shiyue really is a sensible child. Far more thoughtful than Li Hongyun. Thank goodness our Ruhua didn’t end up marrying Li Hongyun. Otherwise, who knows how much she would’ve suffered in the future.”
The Zhao family was in high spirits. Judging by how things were going, it seemed they had stumbled into good fortune.
So what if the man was a bit ugly? With how generous he was, a little ugliness didn’t matter at all.
As long as Zhao Ruhua could marry over and live a stable, worry-free life, with enough food and clothes and a good future ahead, then as her parents and older siblings, they were satisfied.
Zhao Father was especially pleased at this point. He stuffed some tobacco into his pipe and lit it with a fire striker.
“This is good stuff. Even the smoke feels different,” he said, taking a couple of slow puffs, looking completely content.
With Zhao Ruhua’s marriage now settled, the next step was preparing for the wedding.
When word spread through the village that Zhao Ruhua was going to marry Yun Shiyue, everyone mocked her, saying no one else would take her, so she had no choice but to marry such an ugly man.
The Li family, upon hearing the news, were utterly delighted.
Zhao Ruhua, having left Li Hongyun, was only worthy of marrying someone like Yun Shiyue.
Li Hongyun, in particular, was eager to see what kind of life Zhao Ruhua would live after being rejected by him and then turning around to marry Yun Shiyue.
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