I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

That morning, Xiangxi was woken up early and asked to clean the yard and the house.

Finally, he went back inside to change into his clean new clothes and sat in his room waiting.

My brother and sister-in-law didn't set up their stall today; they were anxiously waiting at the door with their baby in their arms.

Xiangxi stayed indoors, as if none of this concerned her.

Soon, Xiangxi heard the commotion in the courtyard.

People from the Yang family have arrived.

Xiangxi waited in the house until his sister-in-law came over and told him to serve some snacks to the Yang family.

Xiangxi rubbed his face, forced a smile, and carried the snacks his sister-in-law had prepared to the east room.

Yang's mother, along with Yang Tongchuan, followed the matchmaker Chen, and was dissatisfied from the moment they entered the alley.

The environment here is too dirty. Look at the people living around here, not one of them is decent.

When they entered the Xiang family's courtyard, it was so dilapidated that it looked like a dangerous building. The only redeeming quality was that it was relatively clean.

The eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Xiang family were fairly good-looking. After welcoming them into the east room, they exchanged a few polite words, and then the eldest sister-in-law went to call Xiang Xi.

When Yang's mother saw Xiangxi, her first reaction was that this boy was definitely not easy to raise. His small, thin frame didn't look like that of an eighteen-year-old boy; people would believe he was sixteen.

His finger joints were thick, which showed that he had done a lot of manual labor. Fortunately, his face was quite regular and his features were acceptable; he didn't have a pointed mouth and monkey-like face.

Xiangxi placed the pastries on the kang table, lowered her head, and dared not speak.

"Is this Xige'er? Let me see him." Mother Yang thought to herself, "He's definitely from a poor family; he's not generous at all."

When I first met Ming Le, she was the epitome of a well-bred young lady.

Xiangxi slowly raised her head, met Yang's mother's scrutinizing gaze, and then lowered her head shyly.

Xiangxi felt very uncomfortable because he could sense that the man standing next to Yang's mother was staring at him.

He was terrifying, even more terrifying than the day Xiangxi thought she had encountered a ghost.

Yang Tongchuan hadn't seen Xiangxi for a long time. He had deliberately gone to eat sesame cakes a few times during his patrols, but he hadn't run into Xiangxi.

Seeing him again, this guy doesn't seem like a wildcat anymore; he looks more like a quail.

Yang Tongchuan didn't understand what Xiangxi was afraid of.

However, quails have their advantages; they are not delicate and do not need to be coaxed.

He watched his older brother coax his sister-in-law every day, and he felt exhausted just watching him.

He was quite satisfied with someone as obedient and capable as Xiangxi.

Yang's mother looked at her son, Yang Tongchuan, who nodded slightly.

Yang's mother sighed inwardly.

Oh well, it's all fate.

Yang's mother took Xiangxi's hand.

"I like this child. I'll give you this bracelet as a gift." Mother Yang took a white jade bracelet with a green hue off her own hand and put it on Xiangxi's wrist.

Xiangxi had never seen anything so valuable before, and her first reaction was that she dared not accept it.

"Silly boy, how can you not accept the gift from your future mother-in-law?" Matchmaker Chen teased from the side, helping to put the bracelet on Xiangxi's wrist.

The bracelet was too large for Xiangxi to wear. She could only support her left hand with her right hand to bow and express her gratitude to Yang's mother.

The rest of the conversation was not suitable for Xiangxi to hear, so his sister-in-law led him back to the west room.

"So, do you like it?"

"I didn't dare to look, I was scared."

"Oh, my Xi'er, why are you shy now? When they leave, quietly open this window a little and take a good look at Constable Yang. If you're satisfied, you can marry him; if not, we'll return all these things." The sister-in-law was in a hurry to return to the east room and didn't have time to say much more to Xiangxi.

The talks were quickly concluded. The Yang family members walked out.

Xiangxi listened to her sister-in-law and secretly opened the window a crack to peek at Yang Tongchuan walking behind her.

Yang Tongchuan was a constable. He noticed someone spying on him immediately and turned around to see Xiangxi watching him.

Xiangxi realized she had been caught peeping at men and immediately slammed the window shut.

The loud bang startled Yang's mother.

What was that sound?

"It's nothing, a stray cat just ran past," Yang Tongchuan said, covering for Xiangxi.

Xiang Qiang and his sister-in-law stood to the side, smiling awkwardly.

After the Yang family left, the elder brother and sister-in-law returned and asked about Xiangxi's intentions.

"Did you see it clearly? Do you like it?" My sister-in-law asked bluntly.

"I'm willing to marry him." Xiangxi was still a little afraid of Yang Tongchuan, but seeing how satisfied her brother and sister-in-law were, she thought it would be good for her to marry him.

"The Yang family just said that the betrothal gift is fifteen taels, according to the girl's standard. If you are willing, they will go and calculate the date." The sister-in-law's voice trembled with excitement as she spoke.

It's already the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. By the time the wedding date is set, it will be after the Lunar New Year and the beginning of spring.

My sister-in-law secretly hoped that she could wait until after giving birth to this child, completing her postpartum confinement, and then get married.

That way, not only will Xiangxi be able to lend a hand during my postpartum period, but I will also have the energy to properly help Xiangxi with the arrangements.

The Yang family acted quickly, sending the betrothal gifts and list the next day, along with the auspicious date they had chosen.

There are three days in total.

February 8th

March 15

May 10th.

The matchmaker, Chen, brought a message that the Yang family hoped it would be done as soon as possible.

"Aunt Chen, look at me, I'm heavily pregnant right now, and I still have to run my stall and take care of the baby. I really don't have that much energy. How about we set it for the 10th of May? It won't make a difference if we do it a few more days."

"The Yang family said they know our situation here. If time is tight, they can hire a wedding officiant to help you." Matchmaker Chen knew what the eldest sister-in-law of the Xiang family was thinking.

It's simply a matter of: the marriage is already a done deal, the betrothal gifts have been received, so we might as well use Xiangxi for a few more days.

"The sooner the marriage is arranged, the sooner we can have peace of mind. I think the eighth day of the second lunar month would be a good day." Since the matchmaker had received the betrothal money from the Yang family, she naturally spoke in favor of the Yang family.

"This one?" The eldest sister-in-law hesitated.

"Let's make it the eighth day of the second month." Xiang Qiang rarely acted so forcefully; he had made the decision.

The Yang family is better off than us. Xiangxi would have been enjoying a life of luxury there. Why suffer here for another day when she could enjoy that luxury even a little longer?

"Brother Xiang is so straightforward. I'll go and deliver the message right away." Matchmaker Chen left happily.

And so, the auspicious day for their marriage was set for the eighth day of the second lunar month.

Xiangxi's first reaction upon learning of this was: So fast?

Once there were no outsiders present, the Xiang family members began to count the betrothal gifts from the Yang family.

In addition to the agreed-upon fifteen taels of silver, the Yang family also sent several batches of cloth, wine, and meat. Most importantly, they sent a silver bracelet, which was much smaller than the one given by Yang's mother, and it fit Xiangxi perfectly.

Xiang Qiang was well aware of his family's situation.

He planned to add all the betrothal gifts to Xiangxi's dowry, and then find a carpenter to make a nice camphor wood chest for Xiangxi to store her things, and then buy two quilts.

As for the rest, the older brother really couldn't offer anything else.

The eldest sister-in-law originally wanted to keep some fabric and money, but since Xiang Qiang had spoken, she decided to let it go.