A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

After struggling internally, Gu Xixi finally chose to be honest and recounted in detail the things she had heard from Aunt Zhang over the years.

Then she calmly said, "The exact same silver lock is with my Aunt Zhang."

"I heard that I was still an infant at the time, and my father did indeed meet someone and get engaged on his way out to buy livestock."

"If there really isn't a third one for this silver lock, then perhaps I am the person Uncle Jiang is looking for."

The Jiang family looked at Gu Xixi in surprise.

Jiang Mingyuan's expression was more complex than surprised, reflecting his current mood.

If it is said that he and Gu Xixi were not destined to be together, it is ironic that they were destined to be together since childhood.

If it's fate...

Jiang Mingyuan looked up at Gu Xixi and the man beside her.

I sighed in my heart.

If we were destined to meet, why did we meet and get to know each other so late, that being a step late meant falling behind at every step?

Jiang's father was the first to recover from his shock, and said with delight, "So the time, place, and your father's speech and appearance all match up, and there's the silver lock as proof!"

Jiang's father slapped his thigh with joy, "This marriage is absolutely secure!"

As he laughed heartily, no one around him joined in.

At this moment, it was the woman's thoughtfulness that led Jiang's mother to pinch her husband twice from below, signaling him to look across the room.

Mu Nanzhao lowered his eyes and ate in silence.

Jiang's father looked at Mu Nanzhao, then glanced at Gu Xixi, his smile freezing on his face and gradually fading.

Yes, look at his brain, he forgets that Xixi already has a fiancé when he's happy.

Although it was bought with money, it was still issued by the imperial court and was a valid marriage.

The atmosphere at the table became somewhat awkward.

Jiang's father and mother looked at each other in bewilderment.

This is actually quite a difficult matter.

Jiang's mother looked at Jiang Mingyuan again. How could a mother not be completely unaware of her son's thoughts?

She had long suspected that her son had feelings for Gu Xixi.

Unfortunately, Xixi had a husband she had bought, and Jiang Mingyuan never openly expressed his feelings, so Jiang's mother pretended not to understand and didn't expose him.

But now they have the advantage of getting engaged earlier.

According to the laws of the Daye Dynasty, a woman could not be married to two different men.

In other words, given the current stalemate, the engagement should proceed as planned, and the engagement of the later party should be automatically nullified.

Jiang's father was extremely satisfied with his future daughter-in-law.

Considering that their generous and kind in-laws from back then have passed away, and that their prospective daughter-in-law, an orphan, must have suffered a lot these past two years, the Jiang family also bears some responsibility for not finding her sooner.

Fortunately, Mingyuan is a capable man, so remarrying wouldn't be a disgrace to his in-laws.

Jiang's father's expression turned serious. He cleared his throat and decided to make a decision as the head of the family and as the elder of the two children.

Jiang Mingyuan saw what his father was about to do and spoke first.

"Father, Xixi must have something to say. Why don't you let her speak first?"

He looked at Gu Xixi with a smile, his eyes filled with both melancholy and relief.

It was as if a fisherman had released the most beautiful fish in the world.

Gu Xixi and Jiang Mingyuan looked at each other for a moment, then returned a grateful smile.

She truly couldn't reciprocate Jiang Mingyuan's feelings.

She didn't rush to speak just now because she had already made up her mind that she would not change her mind under any circumstances.

So this matter was quite simple for her.

Gu Xixi bowed respectfully to Jiang's parents, saying, "We are deeply grateful for your kindness and support."

"However, Xixi made this clear today only to annul the engagement."

"I will return the silver lock and token tomorrow. I hope you will grant my request."

Jiang Mingyuan smiled and agreed, "Since the person I'm engaged to is me, then I'll say that I agree."

Jiang's father was shocked to learn that his fiancée, whom he had finally found, had vanished again. "Zichu, what's wrong with you?!"

Jiang Mingyuan gently gestured to his father to calm down, and then said, "With only tokens and verbal agreements, and no marriage certificate as proof, this marriage alliance is invalid."

"After the woman's family returns the tokens on a chosen day, the man and woman will have no further contact with each other after marriage."

Gu Xixi stared at Jiang Mingyuan for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

Jiang Mingyuan was open and gentle, and it would be a lie to say that Gu Xixi was not moved at all.

However, being moved is ultimately different from being touched.

Gu Xixi was always clear about what she wanted.

As Gu Xixi was about to get into the car after leaving the Jiang family, she saw Mu Nanzhao standing there motionless.

She turned her head in confusion, "Where are you going? Get in the car."

Mu Nanzhao looked at her calmly, his expression inscrutable, making it impossible to discern his true feelings.

"I have some official business to attend to, so I won't be going back with you."

After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Gu Xixi's reaction.

Only Gu Xixi and Lü Jing drove back.

Gu Xixi simply hung up the carriage curtain and leaned against Lü Jing to make it easier to talk.

Lu Jing said with lingering fear, "When I suddenly found out that your fiancé, whom you've never met, is Magistrate Jiang, I thought you would cover it up, but you admitted it yourself."

"It scared me half to death."

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Anyway, I can't marry Brother Zichu, so what's there to be afraid of?"

Lu Jing nodded, "The magistrate of Jiang County helped you out of that predicament, so he must know that you can't marry anyone else because of the Regent."

Gu Xixi said, "No, he knows that even without Mu Nanzhao, it would still be impossible for him and me."

After a while, Lü Jing suddenly exclaimed in alarm, "The Regent didn't mention he had official business when we arrived."

"But he suddenly wanted to leave just now. Could it be that he was making an excuse and was actually angry?"

Gu Xixi smiled and waved her hand, "Impossible."

“I took the initiative to break off the engagement, and the matter was resolved smoothly. He wouldn’t be so petty.”

"Besides, I know what he looks like when he's really angry; he must have some official business to attend to."

However, Mu Nanzhao was gone for half a month without any news.

During these two weeks, Gu Xixi was extremely busy and had no time for anything else.

The Pinpo fruit in Huachidu Village is in full bloom.

Gu Xixi led everyone in pruning, fertilizing, and thinning the flowers, keeping them extremely busy.

Yesterday, Matchmaker Zhao led Guoziwang and his entourage to the village for inspection and has reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Gu Xixi.

The next step is to see how well the fruit is borne this year.

Gu Xixi was teaching Lao Qian how to thin flowers in his orchard when Lü Jing ran in from outside, her face beaming with joy.

"Boss! The land dispute over the tea plantation has been resolved!"

"The message that Magistrate Jiang sent through someone said that Magistrate Li wanted to come to the village to apologize to you, but Magistrate Jiang refused, saying that it would be fine once the ownership of the tea garden was clarified."

Gu Xixi cut off a cluster of flowers, saying, "It's better to refuse, so as to avoid wasting time and energy entertaining them."

Just a few days ago, the tea plantation sold its first batch of loose tea, labeled as official tea.

Perhaps out of envy, the officials of the neighboring county government jumped out and said that part of the tea garden land originally belonged to their county.

Therefore, the county government should have a share in the ownership of the tea garden.

In fact, most of that wasteland is within Qingtian County, and although the remaining small area is located at the border of the two counties, there has never been a clear demarcation.

Jiang Mingyuan and Gu Xixi went to a neighboring county to discuss the matter, and he had no intention of making any concessions.

Linxian then threatened to reclaim some of the tea plantation land.

Gu Xixi was already feeling a bit irritable because of Mu Nanzhao's inexplicable disappearance.

This time, they directly brought out the gold medal bestowed by the emperor.

It turns out to be simple, straightforward, and effortless.

Not only was the dispute resolved, but the arrogant magistrate even had to come to apologize.

After finishing her work in the orchard, Gu Xixi noticed something was off about Aunt Zhang's expression when she got home in the evening.