Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Not only the city is bustling, Taohua Village is also bustling today.

When Aunt Zhou heard the news of Ji Nuan's engagement, she was delighted for her and immediately shared the good news with a few of her closest aunts. Soon, the news of Ji Nuan's engagement spread throughout Taohua Village, but as it spread, the focus gradually shifted away from the actual engagement and focused on the identity of her fiancé—the prefect.

Most villagers were skeptical, shaking their heads in disbelief, believing Aunt Zhou might have misinformed them. After all, in their eyes, no matter how stunning Ji Nuan's appearance, she was still just a humble peasant girl, and the chasm between her and the high-ranking officials seemed insurmountable. Some, even hearing the news, were filled with sour words, privately accusing the Ji family of being opportunistic and greedy, even willing to sacrifice their daughter's marriage for family gain.

I heard that the Ji family was going to propose marriage on the sixth day of August. The idle aunties and sisters in the village gathered in twos and threes to chat, waiting to see whether the person who would be engaged to Ji Nuan was the prefect.

The village chief's aunt also brought two women, Aunt Tian and Aunt Liu, who always liked to flatter her, and stood on the roadside leading to the Ji family.

Pretending to brush off the nonexistent dust from her dress, she curled her lips and whispered, "My husband said that the prefect governs seven counties and dozens of towns, and is the chief official of the entire Kaiyun Prefecture! If he wants to marry, he'll definitely have to find a lady from an official family of equal status, right? How could he possibly be interested in that little peasant girl from the Ji family?"

Aunt Tian quickly agreed: "That's right! Zhouzi's wife must have heard it wrong. Even if such a high-ranking official brought a concubine into the family, he might not be interested in us country folk."

Aunt Liu said with disdain, "If that man is really the prefect, he's probably an old, ugly widower whose wife has died. He's old, and none of the daughters from the wealthy families would want to marry him. He's really left with no other choice, so he'd probably fall for a wild girl like Ji Nuan who's beautiful but has no family background."

Although the village head aunt said words to stop it, her face was full of an expression of watching a good show, "Oh my, please keep your voice down, the prefect is not someone you can just make up."

"How dare I make up stories about the prefect? I'm talking about that girl from the Ji family!" Aunt Liu glanced at the village head's aunt and Aunt Tian, and continued with ill intent, "Everyone in the village knows that Ji Nuan has affairs with several men. Who knows where all the money she earns comes from?"

As she was speaking, someone hit her shoulder hard from behind, and she almost stumbled and fell.

"Who is this wicked guy who is so blind? Is he tired of living that he dares to bump into me?" Aunt Liu turned around and shouted angrily.

The village head's aunt and Aunt Tian, who were talking excitedly just now, were caught gossiping. They turned their heads away guiltily and did not dare to look at Aunt Ji San.

Aunt Ji, carrying a large basket of eggplants and beans, glared at Aunt Liu fiercely. When she saw that she had shut up awkwardly, she looked coldly at Aunt Liu, saying, "Be kinder to your words! You claim to be a family of farmers and scholars, but all you do is gossip about others. Aren't you afraid of ruining your scholar's reputation?"

After saying that, Aunt Ji and Uncle Ji, who was carrying two other baskets of vegetables, walked towards the Ji family without looking back.

"Bah!" Aunt Liu, seeing the man walk away, changed her shy expression and said angrily, "Isn't it just that I made a few bucks by currying favor with the second wife? Why are you so proud?"

"Alright, stop talking!" The village head's aunt had just been scolded by Aunt Ji San, and she felt very uncomfortable. Now she didn't dare to add fuel to the fire. After all, Meng Ran was about to take the provincial examination, and she couldn't let her son get into trouble at this juncture.

Changing the subject, she added, "It's already past midnight, and if you were going to propose, you should have come a long time ago. Did you regret it when it came time to pay the betrothal gift?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sansheng, a young boy who lived at the entrance of the village, ran along the road and shouted, "Here they come! Here they come! The betrothal gift line is really long."

He passed by the village chief and his aunt and ran all the way to the Ji family to report the news.

Those who were originally curious and waiting to watch the fun gathered towards the village entrance when they heard Sansheng's shout.

Leading the procession, two tall horses rode side by side, each bearing two imposing figures. One was a handsome, gentle, and reserved middle-aged man. The other was a handsome, imposing young man, a figure many villagers had met at the relocation feast.

The onlookers didn't know who was the man engaged to Ji Nuan. Seeing the two men walking side by side, they had a big misunderstanding. Some said it was Song Jinbai's, and some said it was Shen Songyang's.

As a scholar, Shen Songyang could not hear clearly what the crowd was talking about, but Song Jinbai could hear it clearly. He really regretted not hiding his uncle in the carriage as well, which led to misunderstandings and stole his limelight today.

In order to clarify that he was Ji Nuan's fiancé, Song Jinbai deliberately said loudly to Shen Songyang, "Thank you for coming all the way from the capital to support your nephew today. Nuan Nuan has hidden some good wine. I will ask her to bring a few jars back for you to taste."

Shen Songyang naturally understood the thoughts of this nephew who he had raised like a son. After receiving Song Jinbai's gaze, he also responded loudly: "Okay, okay, your filial piety is enough!"

This simple conversation immediately made the villagers realize that Song Jinbai was the protagonist of today's betrothal ceremony.

The village head's aunt's heart trembled, and she secretly cursed Ji Nuan for her bad luck.

As the betrothal procession slowly entered the village, more and more villagers gathered to watch. Except for those who were still lying in bed and unable to get up, almost all the villagers gathered together.

Xue Qing had already taught the Ji family the etiquette for welcoming the imperial edict. At this moment, an incense table had been set up in front of the Ji family's door, and the whole family, young and old, dressed neatly, were waiting solemnly at the gate.

Song Jinbai spotted the crowd of people waiting to greet him at the door. He couldn't wait to dismount, appearing incredibly excited. His already handsome face was now even more radiant, his eyes and eyebrows brimming with a smug smile, his joy evident beyond words.

"Nuan'er."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Song Jinbai looked at Ji Nuan without shouting out a word, but Ji Nuan seemed to have heard it from the shape of his lips, and gave him a bright smile.

The villagers who had followed along the way were puzzled as to why they stopped at the place and did not enter the house. They were all blocking the doorway, wondering what the reason was. Until Shen Songyang also got off his horse, took the bright yellow imperial edict handed to him by the attendant, and shouted loudly: "Everyone of the Ji family, please accept the edict!"

- ??(?????)Thanks to Xuanying Baoer for the gift! Thank you for reading, collecting, urging for updates, and liking!