Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 85: Mandarin Ducks Weave Together to Fly

This stinky girl!
Old Man Song stood in the main room with his eyebrows raised, trying his luck.

After trying for a long time, he suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He shook his head and turned back to the backyard silently.

Originally, he planned not to tell his neighbors about the engagement ceremony and just hold a simple ceremony at home.

But this engagement gift is obviously very important to my daughter.

Forget it, forget about her. I’m afraid she won’t be able to hang up the closing sign for a while.

Old Man Song returned to the room and continued to count.

Five live fish have been placed in the tank, and wine and meat for entertaining the guests have also been prepared.

The dowry list of the woman also listed jewelry, daily necessities, beds, curtains... one by one.

Although Father Song was only from a small family and could not afford to give his daughter land and garden as a dowry,
He couldn't even prepare a "ten-mile red wedding" to cover his daughter's lifetime expenses after marriage, including funeral clothes and coffin, but he really tried his best.

Just as he was checking the situation again out of concern, word spread quickly and many enthusiastic neighbors came rushing over in the rain.

Some went to help the Yang brothers next door, and some came to help Old Man Song. The whole courtyard suddenly became lively.

When Luxi returned to the backyard and wanted to help his father with something, he was driven away by his aunt, elder sister and uncle.

Luxi is the person who will be engaged tomorrow, so it doesn't make sense for a girl to take care of all these things on her own.

Luxi had nothing to do and was teased by a group of aunts and sisters, which made her blush and her heart beat fast, so she simply ran upstairs.

Luxi wanted to open the window to see what was happening on the other side, but she felt shy and was afraid of being seen by Brother Yang.

While he was hesitating, the eldest sister-in-law of the Feng family came upstairs with a smile on her face, holding a box in her hand.

Lu Xi hurried forward to greet her: "Mrs. Feng, please sit down quickly, and be careful with your head, don't bump it."

Mrs. Feng sat down beside the couch and said with a smile, "Luxi, your mother passed away early, and there is no elder around to teach you.

"Everyone, after all this discussion, we nominated me to come up and teach you. It's because your sister-in-law is so fertile that I gave birth to three children in five years. Hahaha..."

Lu Xi was a little confused: "Mrs. Feng, what do you want to teach me?"

Mrs. Feng placed the box on the couch, beckoned to her, and said mysteriously, "Come here and take a look. This is your sister-in-law's 'dowry painting' and 'treasured treasure' when she got married. Come and have a look. I'll tell you about it while you look at it."

The "dowry paintings" consist of twelve paintings in one scroll.

The "bottom of the box" is made of porcelain in the shape of gourds, pumpkins, pomegranates, etc., each of which is the size of a fist.

Mrs. Feng picked up one at random and twisted it gently. The upper half of the porcelain was actually a lid, which was easily opened.

Inside there were two small porcelain figures, a man and a woman, posing in an indescribable posture.

Luxi didn't understand, so he opened his eyes wide and looked very carefully.

As she watched, an indescribable blush appeared on her face, and she stammered, "Mrs. Feng, what...what is this?"

Mrs. Feng said with great joy: "You don't understand? Look! There are twelve paintings, eight of which are hidden in the bottom of the box. Come, let me explain them to you one by one. You have to study hard..."

……

The two brothers of the Yang family are also busy preparing for their engagement tomorrow.

The "Xukoujiu" should be covered with a colorful net and eight big red flowers should be tied on it.

The silk must be tied neatly, the silver must match the number, the carrying pole must be tied with red flowers, and the three golds must be packed one by one.

Others include dresses, tea, cakes...

None of these "bags" are indispensable.

Yang Che, the scout officer of the Imperial City Bureau, took the gift list given to him by Liu the Matchmaker and checked it one by one as if he were facing a powerful enemy.

Fortunately, the neighbors got the news quickly and rushed to celebrate and help.

The two brothers then breathed a sigh of relief.

Yang Che lost his father at a young age and had no guidance or help from his family elders, so how could he have any experience in this area?

He is the eldest brother and the oldest person in the Yang family, so he is particularly careful about the etiquette and rules of engagement.

Now that he has the guidance and help of many elders, he finally feels relieved.

In the evening, the two families got together and invited the neighbors to have a meal. After returning to the room, Yang Yuan collapsed on the couch.

"It's terrible that planning a wedding is so troublesome!"

Yang Yuan lamented, "Fortunately, this only happens once in a lifetime. I'm really going to collapse from exhaustion."

"Don't be so ungrateful, little brat."

Yang Che couldn't help but laugh and curse, then he lay down on the couch and breathed a sigh of relief.

Tired, but satisfying!
Past, present, future...

My former home, my current home, my future home...

All kinds of thoughts lingered in their minds, and before they knew it, the two brothers, exhausted, fell asleep with their clothes on.

Outside, the rain keeps falling.

……

In the evening, Luxi listened to Mrs. Feng telling her some strange things, which were things she had never encountered or even imagined in her sixteen years of life.

A mysterious door opened the door to a new world for her. She never knew that life... life, there are such strange things.

So she was worried about all sorts of things at night and didn't fall asleep until very late.

When he woke up early in the morning, Luxi was confused for a while, and suddenly realized that there was no sound of rain outside the window.

She got up happily and pushed open the window.

The fresh air with the scent of apricot blossoms rushed in all at once.

Luxi greedily took a breath of the fresh air and looked outside.

The bent branches of the camphor tree on the roof hung in front of the window, and crystal dewdrops sparkled on the emerald green leaves.

Just as Luxi was about to reach out to catch the dew, the door opposite suddenly creaked open.

Luxi hurriedly closed the window, his heart beating like a lively little dove.

Is it Brother Yang who comes out or... him?
Luxi couldn't guess, but couldn't help wanting to guess.

……

Mother Liu came to Qingshi Lane happily early in the morning, wearing new clothes and a big red flower in her hair.

There was a closed sign hanging in front of the door of Song's Snack Shop, but the backyard was very lively.

All the neighbors came, including Mr. Qu, Lao Ji, and Xiao Gouzi.

The house, the yard and the main hall were all filled with people.

Matchmaker Liu went to sit with Old Man Song first, and with a few jokes she made Luxi blush, and she went back to the attic in shame.

Then, Matchmaker Liu went to the Yang brothers.

After staying for a while, amid the cheers and watching of the neighbors, Matchmaker Liu walked happily in front, followed by the two Yang Che brothers. Several young men from the neighboring families carried the "engagement wine" and betrothal gifts to Old Man Song.

Old Man Song had already prepared the return gift. He first put a pair of chopsticks into a large wine jar containing five live fish and handed it to Yang Yuan.

This is called "returning fish chopsticks". Sending this pair of chopsticks over means that after getting married, his daughter will have meals at Old Yang's house.

Although this was just a ceremony, and although Yang Yuan lived just opposite and the two houses were only separated by a patio, Old Man Song still felt a lump in his throat when he handed over the "returning fish chopsticks".

How could someone who has never married off her daughter understand his reluctance?

Yang Yuan stretched out his hands to take the "fish chopsticks", but didn't take them...

Yang Yuan secretly exerted some strength and struggled hard to snatch the "Hui Yu Chopsticks" from his father-in-law's hand.

Old Man Song glared at Yang Yuan, but Yang Yuan had a good attitude, showing his eight big teeth and smiling brightly.

When Old Man Song saw this, he became even angrier.

The two families already lived in the same yard, so many steps were saved and they could just exchange the deposit directly.

This engagement letter is also called a detailed one. The man has to write his name, ranking in the family, date of birth, the names and identities of his three generations of ancestors, and the man’s assets when he gets married...

These things should also be written down in the woman's column, and the woman's accompanying dowry, such as jewelry, money, supplies, and bedding, should also be noted.

The bride's dowry did not include the house deed that Old Man Song had originally intended to give away, because Yang Che did not agree.

If your brother gets married and still lives in the woman's house, what's the difference between that and marrying into the woman's family?
It's renting, even if the landlord is the girl's family, but he paid for it.

The man wanted to live in the house as a dowry for the bride, but Yang Che was determined not to do that.

Brother Yang is a man who cares about his reputation.

The Song Dynasty attached great importance to spy detection, and anyone who solved a major case would be rewarded generously.

The last time Yang Che cracked the case of Jin spy Wei Hanqiang, he was promoted to an officer in the class of soldier and officer, so naturally he did not receive any material rewards.

If the case he is investigating now can be solved and it is impossible for him to be promoted in a short period of time, he will be able to get a large reward.

When the time comes, he wants to go to Zhaoxianfang to build a house for his brother, and he has already looked at the location.

Although that place belongs to Renhe County, it is quite far from here.

But after all, it is the Yang family’s own property, so they can feel proud living there.

Seeing that the house could not be given away, Old Man Song gave a much larger dowry. He did not have that much money at the moment, so he borrowed from Old Qu.

He had the same idea as Yang Che. He was also worried that the dowry was too little and his daughter would not be strong enough in her husband's family.

Although Yang Yuan's parents are no longer around and there is no aunt to bother her, and Yang Yuan doesn't seem like the kind of person who would bully his daughter, he must give his daughter the protection she deserves!
The two parties exchanged engagement letters, and the engagement was considered complete.

Mother Liu smiled and said upstairs, "Luxi, the engagement letter has been sent. From now on, you are the daughter-in-law of the Yang family. Do you want to come down and meet Erlang?"

Luxi was squatting at the stairs listening to the noise downstairs. Hearing what Liu the matchmaker said, he felt so ashamed that he had to play ostrich.

Matchmaker Liu would never let her go easily. Seeing that she didn't answer, she raised her voice and said, "Luxi, come down quickly and take a look.

"If you don't like it, your father will definitely help you break off the engagement and will never let you down, right, Father Song?"

Old Man Song glanced at the silly-smiling Yang Yuan, gritted his teeth and chuckled twice.

Upstairs, Lu Xi's timid voice came down: "Don't worry, I...I'll just let Daddy make the decision!"

Hearing the exaggerated and playful laughter of Liu the matchmaker and the neighbors downstairs, Lu Xi cried out "Aiya" and fell onto the couch.

She pulled a quilt over her hot face.

(End of this chapter)