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“This time when I returned home, Ziqian and Ziran started to criticize me, saying I’m too slow for not marrying their Sister-in-law after all this time,” Lin Zixun expressed with a hint of amusement.
Qiu Chan chuckled at Lin Zixun’s playful remarks. How could someone be so entertaining?
“Did they really say that?” she inquired.
“Yes, not only my siblings but even my mother is starting to doubt me. She said, ‘You have such a good girl. If you don’t hurry and bring her home, what if someone else snatches her away? Then I’ll be the one crying,'” Lin Zixun felt more and more aggrieved as he thought about it.
It was his own mother, speaking such words. Unbelievable.
Qiu Chan couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling some anticipation about their future together.
“I have no objections to getting married whenever. Go ask Miss,” she replied.
Lin Zixun had mentally prepared himself for Qiu Chan’s possible rejection, but to his surprise, she agreed. The thought filled him with joy.
“Great, I’ll go ask her right now,” he exclaimed before rushing off. Watching Lin Zixun’s excited and restless demeanor, Qiu Chan smiled.
Looking up at the sky, she thought, “Mother, father, me and my sister will soon have our happiness too. May you all rest in peace.”
When Lin Zixun found Wang Jinhe, he excitedly announced, “Madam, Qiu Chan agreed to marry me. She asked me to seek your opinion.”
“That’s wonderful. Go discuss with your parents,” Wang Jinhe replied.
“Ah,” Lin Zixun hurried back home, eager to bring Qiu Chan into the family.
Upon returning home and sharing the news with his parents, both of them were elated. “This is wonderful, Zixun, you’re finally getting married. Let’s prepare and choose a good day to go propose.”
“Alright, I’ll leave these preparations to you. I have other matters to attend to,” Lin Zixun replied.
“Go ahead.”
With a daughter-in-law on the way, his mother no longer showed much interest in her son.
Seeing his mother’s slightly disdainful expression, Lin Zixun realized he had fallen out of favor. Nonetheless, it didn’t matter as long as his mother treated his future wife well.
In the evening, Wang Jinhe discussed Lin Zixun and Qiu Chan’s situation with Su Yu.
“I asked Qiu Yi’s opinion today, and she’s fine with it. You should also ask Yuan Bao how he feels about it,” Wang Jinhe suggested.
“I already asked before. He mentioned that Qiu Yi wants to get married alongside her sister. Since Lin Zixun and Qiu Chan are preparing for marriage, Yuan Bao and Qiu Yi will naturally start preparing too,” Su Yu explained.
“Alright, I’ll have preparations begin,” Wang Jinhe decided.
“After Qiu Chan marries, I plan to return her contract to her.” Lin Zixun wasn’t a servant in their household, so subjecting Qiu Chan to marriage under the terms of a contract wouldn’t reflect well on their family reputation.
“Handle it as you see fit.” Su Yu didn’t involve himself much in these matters; his focus remained on issues related to Wang Jinhe.
“Alright.”
“As for Nan Qiao and the others, their interactions with the Ming family’s girls have been brief. When we return this year, let’s handle their matter as well,” Wang Jinhe suggested to Su Yu.
“I’ll follow your lead. Nan Qiao and the others do seem to have a fondness for the young ladies of the Ming family,” Su Yu replied.
Upon hearing that Qiu Chan had agreed to marry Lin Zixun, his parents started selecting an auspicious wedding date. They even invited a well-known matchmaker from the county to accompany them to Wang Jinhe’s residence for the proposal.
Wang Jinhe smiled upon hearing the news, realizing that Lin Zixun’s family seemed to really like Qiu Chan.
The day before the proposal at Lin’s residence, Wang Jinhe called Qiu Chan into the room and handed her the contract.
Qiu Chan looked at the contract in astonishment, “Miss…”
“The family you are marrying into is just an ordinary farming family. I can’t let you marry as a slave. Keep the contract safe, as you will need it for your duties after marriage,” Wang Jinhe explained to Qiu Chan.
Qiu Chan felt a mix of emotions as she looked at Wang Jinhe, filled with gratitude, and knelt down, saying, “Thank you, Miss, for considering everything for me.”
“You should also take your sister’s contract to her. Yuan Bao’s contract is with him. Although he and Su Yu are master and servant in name, they are truly brothers,” Wang Jinhe explained with a smile.
Nodding heavily, Qiu Chan expressed her gratitude, “Thank you, Miss.”
“No need to thank me. Go and rest,” Wang Jinhe replied.
Qiu Chan didn’t recall how she left Wang Jinhe’s room, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Upon returning to her room, Qiu Chan handed Qiu Yi her contract, saying, “Sister, this is from the Miss. Keep it safe.”
Looking at the contract handed to her by Qiu Chan, Qiu Yi’s eyes were filled with gratitude. “Our Miss is truly kind.”
Some things were just too good to put into words.
“Yes.”
The next day, the Lin family arrived for the proposal, presenting a generous betrothal gift.
Watching Qiu Chan’s bashful demeanor, Wang Jinhe couldn’t help but smile. After exchanging marriage vows on her behalf, their engagement was sealed.
Together with Su Yu, Wang Jinhe discussed the wedding date with the Lin family. Once the date was set, Wang Jinhe gave Qiu Yi and Qiu Chan a substantial amount of fabric to make clothes and dowry items for themselves.
After bidding farewell to the Lin family and the matchmaker, Wang Jinhe privately gave the Qiu Yi sisters two thousand taels of silver as a hidden dowry.
“Miss, you have already been so kind to us. We cannot accept any more money from you,” Qiu Yi hastily refused, waving her hands to decline.
“Take it,” Wang Jinhe insisted, stern-faced, as he handed them the money.
“Why be so polite with me? Once the preparations are done, you don’t need to come and serve here. Start getting your dowry and wedding attire ready; you’ll have to embroider them yourselves. Let me know if you need anything,” Wang Jinhe instructed.
“Okay.”
After a few more reminders, Wang Jinhe left.
In the study, Su Yu handed Yuan Bao a hundred thousand taels of silver.
“Is the betrothal gift ready?”
“It’s all set.”
“Alright, let’s pick the same time as Lin Zixun’s family for the wedding?”
“Okay.” It was a simple and efficient approach.
Su Yu couldn’t help but shake his head in resignation upon hearing Yuan Bao’s response, knowing him well enough. “You can be lazy, then.”
Yuan Bao remained silent. Why bother exerting effort if you can be lazy?
The following day, Yuan Bao also, with the matchmaker, proposed to Qiu Yi. Knowing that both Qiu Yi and Qiu Chan were getting married to Yuan Bao and Lin Zixun respectively, the family members were thrilled for them.
The household became lively and cheerful. Feeling happy, Wang Jinhe distributed two hundred wen of money to each family member and worker to share in the joy.
While Qiu Yi and Qiu Chan were preparing their dowry, Wang Jinhe took Nan Qiao and the others to visit another fiefdom first, intending to assess the situation before making any decisions.
Qiu Yi and Qiu Chan had initially wanted to go along but were refused by Wang Jinhe. As brides-to-be, they couldn’t be allowed to wander around.
Su Yu had wanted all of them, including Luo Hou and the others, to go together, but Wang Jinhe rejected the idea, considering it unnecessary. In the end, only Nan Qiao, Bai Qi, and Qi Feng accompanied Wang Jinhe.
Additionally, Su Yu had covert guards sent to keep watch from the shadows, which finally put his mind at ease to let Wang Jinhe depart.