Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Page 235

Her uncle and aunt were waiting in front of the door, and her cousins were also dressed in new clothes and standing guard at the door.

Yunling's mind wasn't on them; she was looking elsewhere.

She heard footsteps, the door was pushed open, and several people walked in. Her eyes searched through the crowd until she found that familiar face, and her heart finally settled down.

She closed the window, returned to her dressing table, and sat down, looking down at the ram's horn comb on the table.

A pool of spring water rippled in the mirror, and a smile first spread from the depths of her eyes.

She suddenly felt that today was a great day, probably the best day in recent years.

Because this is the day that the person who has been with her for many days, the person she has wanted to spend many days with, is coming to propose marriage to her.

...

Inside the main room, Zhuang Xing's parents sat facing Yun Ling's uncle and aunt.

Both sides are very familiar with each other, having interacted for over ten years, so there's not much formality involved.

Zhuang Xing sat properly. Even when he was on the mountain, he had already made a promise to go to Yunling's house to propose marriage in February of the following year. He had also informed his elders of this matter. The two sides wanted to become Daoist partners. However, in this era, marriage was usually arranged by parents and matchmakers.

If the bride is not married through the traditional three letters and six rites, the law will not be recognized. Therefore, even the poorest families will complete the three rites of "betrothal, gift exchange, and wedding ceremony". However, the gentry use gold and jade as betrothal gifts, while ordinary people set aside and send geese, wine and grain, and some money.

Nowadays, the Zhuang family is certainly not a poor family, but they are not aristocratic families either, and they do not follow those formalities.

That being said, the betrothal gifts that should be given would certainly not be taken lightly.

Zhuang Xing went to the market in Yidu with his parents to select the finest gold bracelets, gold bangles, and gold pendants. Last year, he also asked the prefect for help to buy a piece of unpolished jade. He spent a year carving a jade goose out of the jade by hand, and only then did he prepare the betrothal gifts and go to propose marriage.

While the elders chatted and laughed, the younger sister Zhuang Ming couldn't sit still any longer. She looked around and said, "Why isn't Sister Yunling coming out yet?"

Actually, Zhuang Xing was also itching to try it, thinking to himself, "Little sister, that's a good question. I'll buy you candy when we get back."

Upon hearing their daughter's words, Zhuang Liangqing and Zhu He smiled knowingly and stood up to present the betrothal gifts.

According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, once the betrothal gifts meet the agreed amount, the marriage contract is considered to be established. Once the woman has accepted the betrothal gifts, she is prohibited from "reneging on the engagement," and those who violate this rule will be punished with sixty strokes of the cane.

Yunling's uncle and aunt quickly reached out and accepted the betrothal gifts. In reality, it was just a formality. Both families knew perfectly well that Zhuang Xing and Yunling were childhood sweethearts, in love with each other, and had even cultivated together on Qingxuan Mountain.

Since both parties are of one mind and want to get married, the elders should go along with it.

The aunt placed the gift box on the table and said, "I'll go and call my daughter out right now."

She went into the inner room, and soon after, she came in, leading Yunling, whose skirt was fluttering.

There were many people in the main room. Yunling rarely dressed up, and with so many people watching, she couldn't help but look away.

She remembered when she was little, she only dared to let her hair down and walk with her head down. People in the village avoided her. When they saw her, they would leave quickly. Those with children would take their children away, and those who were chatting would immediately fall silent.

She hadn't forgotten that feeling. Today was different from the past. She was no longer as fragile as before, but she still worried about whether her hair was combed properly or whether her makeup was done well enough.

Only when her eyes met Zhuang Xing's did she muster the courage to step forward, cover her face, and bow.

"Sister, you look so beautiful today!" the younger sister exclaimed.

Zhuang Xing was also stunned. He had seen this face countless times, but even after seeing it countless times, he still thought she was so beautiful.

Most seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls are quite pretty if they dress up a bit, and Yunling was already very beautiful.

She wore a light green dress, her figure was slender and graceful, her waist was as thin as a willow, and her light makeup made her features look like a painting. In particular, her eyes were clear and bright, and her slightly timid gaze was like autumn water, which made people feel pity for her.

Zhuang Xing suddenly felt a sense of estrangement. It wasn't that he felt Yunling had become distant from him, but rather that he had never imagined that a girl he had been watching for almost ten years would suddenly make him feel a surge of romantic feelings and want to hold her hand right now.

Notice of resumption of updates

Updates will resume today.

I apologize for the three-month hiatus. As compensation, all future updates will be free chapters.

I still can't guarantee daily updates at the moment, but I will make sure to finish the story.

The reason I couldn't write for so long was because I had a constant fear that what I wrote would be unsatisfactory, failing to satisfy readers or even myself. So I wrote and deleted, unable to shake off the thought that "this will definitely mess things up," and thus I stopped for a long time.

In the end, I decided to finish writing the ending that was supposed to be written. One of the reasons was the emergence of Deepseek. I tried to use it to make up for my most lacking knowledge and experience, and found it to be quite useful. Some major problems that I had previously found difficult to solve were resolved by it, which made me marvel at the progress of the times.

I can ask it questions like how people in ancient times proposed marriage, what kind of betrothal gifts were given, whether people would inform the woman's family before proposing, how people in ancient times addressed their nieces, and describe the scene of a man proposing to a woman's family. I can get detailed answers to these kinds of questions instead of spending a lot of time searching on Baidu and getting a bunch of ambiguous answers.

If I had had its help when I started writing this book, I believe it would have been much smoother. I wouldn't have had to spend so much energy conceiving the world and then writing a bunch of vague and strange worldviews. It could have done a much better job.

I can also ask it to help me set up villains, monsters, unexpected events, sect elders, and so on. I can also ask it to create multiple character designs, select some of them for comparison and modification, and use them to provide inspiration for myself.

Unfortunately, you were born before I was born, and I was born after you had grown old. So all I can do is let it help this incompetent person clean up my mess.

The second opportunity came when I reread several stories I had written before and discovered that I had written them in this way before, which rekindled some of my feelings and desire to express myself.

I'm sorry again; you've been gone for so long without even a reply.

I won't ask for forgiveness until I've honestly finished my job.

Typing more words is meaningless; only actions speak louder than words.

Finally, I would like to say that I will now focus on "stories".

During these three months, I deeply reflected on the problems I encountered when writing the first three hundred chapters of this book. One of the biggest problems was that I paid too much attention to the "atmosphere," which made the "storytelling" of the novel itself very shallow.

This next volume will be the last one. I will try my best to tell my story well and bring it to a close.

They may not be perfect, but those who live on in my heart should get moving and move forward.

dream

The two families were drinking tea inside the house, making quite a grand display, but they were only talking about everyday matters.

They simply discussed the matter and set the wedding date for late autumn of that year.

Normally, a hundred days must pass after the marriage proposal before the wedding can take place. Today, the Zhuang family has come, but they are only presenting the "betrothal letter" from the three documents. According to custom, after the bride accepts the betrothal gifts and the wedding date is set, the groom's family should go back and prepare the "gift book," which details the etiquette and items for the wedding day.

When it's time to welcome the bride, a "welcoming letter" must be presented, signifying that the bride has officially been brought into the husband's family.

Yunling secretly hoped that today would be the day of her wedding, but unfortunately it wasn't; she would have to wait another six months.

However, the wedding date was finally set, and she and Zhuang Xing were officially engaged.

Looking at the employment certificate, she felt overjoyed, as if she had eaten a piece of honey.

The two families ate together in the courtyard. The dishes were plentiful, and they drank quite a bit of wine. It was a lively and festive occasion, just like celebrating the New Year.

Zhuang Liangqing had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and by the end of the meal he was reeking of it and was even a little unsteady on his feet.

He's happy today because his son is getting married and starting a family, and he might soon be holding his grandson.

Zhu He helped her husband up, saying she would take him home to rest, and before leaving, she grabbed her daughter's collar.

Xiao Zhuangming puffed out her cheeks, looking defiant, but under her mother's gaze, she obediently took her mother's hand.

Meanwhile, Yunling's uncles, aunts, and distant and close relatives and neighbors also started clearing the table. They had been chatting casually just now, but suddenly everyone became very busy, each with their own things to do.

For a moment, only Yunling and Zhuang Xing remained in the courtyard.

The sun is shining brightly today, and spring is in full bloom.

Zhuang Xing said, "Shall we go for a walk?"

"Mmm." Yunling took a step to the side, took his hand, and looked down at her toes.

The two strolled towards a secluded spot, and Zhuang Xing could smell the fragrance emanating from Yun Ling.

The warm afternoon sun and a refreshing breeze blew in their faces as the two walked side by side, their pace slowing down.

They arrived at the riverbank, where the water gurgled and lapped against the riverbed. This was another branch of the canal, and in the past, the villagers would draw water from this nameless river. Now that the government had developed a wider canal, no one traveled a long way to come here anymore.

Walking along the reeds and cattails, they came to a familiar place.

There was an upside-down stone pot there, its bottom covered with moss. When they were children, they used this pot to cook fish soup and stew radishes.

No one else comes here anymore. The village has expanded a lot now, and the old waterwheel and this pot are abandoned here.

Perhaps some mischievous children might accidentally wander into the river and come to this secret place, but they will not know that many years ago, two children about their age sat here together, gazing at the distant sky and watching the sunset.

Today, they stayed together until evening, watching the sunset.

As it was getting dark, they decided to go home.

At the crossroads, Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling looked at each other in silence.

Zhuang Xing moved closer to Yunling's face. She blinked but didn't flinch, so Zhuang Xing took a step forward and kissed her lips.

The touch was soft, the breath warm, and a strand of hair brushed against Zhuang Xing's forehead.

...

"See you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Zhuang Xing escorted Yunling to her doorstep and waved goodbye.

That night, Zhuang Xing lay on his bed with his eyes closed, suddenly looking forward to the sunrise the next day.

...

In the darkness, the cold was biting.