Old Lady Xie returned to the mansion and immediately sent someone to invite the most famous matchmaker in Beijing. The next day, the matchmaker visited, and the following day she brought gifts to the Qin family's other residence to propose a marriage, exchanging the birth dates of Qin Miao and Xie Xiang.

  The Xie family invited a high-ranking monk from the Fahua Temple to combine the eight characters of the two, and three days later, the Fahua Temple sent a letter saying that Qin Miao and Xie Lin were a match made in heaven. Old Lady Xie was overjoyed when she heard this and immediately ordered someone to tell Xie Lin the result of the combined eight characters.

  Inside the Listening Rain Pavilion.

  Xie Yunli was standing behind his desk practicing calligraphy with a brush, while Zhang Suifeng stood in front of the desk carefully reporting to him about the engagement.

  "Oh, a match made in heaven?"

  Xie Xuan took a small step back, as if carefully reviewing the words he had just written. He casually put down his brush, wiped his hands and threw the handkerchief aside. "Is this what the monk from Fahua Temple said?"

  "That's right. Old lady took your and Qin's eight characters, specially asked Master Guiyuan of Fahua Temple to combine them, can't be wrong." Baofeng has been following Xie Yun since he was a child, knowing that Xie Yun had some reservations about this marriage. Although he didn't understand why his master was so indifferent to the wedding, after all, it was a matter of welcoming a legitimate wife, and at least going to the other family's house to take a look, just to have a mental preparation. But the master, except for occasionally sitting in that mansion, has been locking himself in the Listening Rain Pavilion recently, leaving them, the servants, bewildered.

  "What else did grandma say?" Xie Yan changed the paper again, picked up her pen and wrote a big "endure" character.

  Baofeng saw the situation and knew that his master was in a bad mood, but he didn't dare not to tell the truth: "In a few days, it will be time to pay respects. You have to go to the Qin family in person, and the betrothal gifts are all ready. If you want to add some more, Old Lady said it's up to you."

  Xie Xuan heard this, her face remained calm, but she furrowed her brow and crumpled the paper on her face, throwing it to the ground. Her mouth still spoke lightly: "I know, no need to trouble you, just bring whatever grandmother asks."

  The next day, the servants of the Xie family started bustling about before dawn. Old Mrs. Xie sat early in the main hall, smiling as she watched the servants hurry back and forth, feeling an indescribable warmth in her heart.

  The matchmaker checked the gifts one by one according to the list in the main hall, and after confirming that there were no errors, she let the servants carry them to the horse-drawn carriage at the front door. It took a whole hour to check everything before loading all the betrothal gifts onto the horse.

  "Thank you, Old Lady. You are truly blessed with good fortune. The eight characters of your birth date and his are a match made in heaven, a good marriage that even begging the Bodhisattva every day may not necessarily achieve." The matchmaker finished her tasks and, seeing that there was still some time left, tried to curry favor with Old Lady Xie in various ways.

  The old lady was overjoyed, her mouth curved upwards in a smile that couldn't be contained. Fahua Temple hadn't received such an auspicious eight-character phrase in a long time, how could she not be delighted? Old Duke Hou had passed away early, and the imperial favor had gradually diminished with the passing of the military duke's generation. The second and third branches were not capable of holding up the family gate, only the eldest branch's grandson, Xie Lin, was somewhat promising, having taken on the position of Deputy Minister of War at a young age.

  Mrs. Xie had also considered finding a suitable marriage for Xie Yun, and had looked at several girls with him, but her grandson had politely declined each time. As she watched her grandson grow older day by day, she knew that if he passed the age of twenty without marrying, it would be even harder to find a suitable match. So she thought of An Nuan, the little girl she had secretly liked for a long time. If not for the fact that they were from different social classes, she would have arranged their marriage long ago. Fortunately, it was not too late now, and more importantly, the two were surprisingly well-matched!

  The time of departure has arrived, and Old Lady Xie is accompanied by everyone to stand at the gate of the Hou Mansion, watching her grandson wear auspicious clothes, proudly carrying betrothal gifts and slowly leaving, with a hint of moisture in her eyes.

  On this side, the Qin family's separate courtyard, Old Lady Qin had already brought Qin Shu-ren, Qin Yu and others to wait at the gate. From a distance, they saw the Xie family's majestic red procession turn from the street corner, with pedestrians stopping to watch as the gifts were unloaded from the carriages and sent into the Qin house one by one.

  Xie Xuan was surrounded by the crowd and walked into the front hall, which was already packed with people. The masters and servants of the Qin family's other courtyard were all gathered together, curiously "surrounding" this future son-in-law.

  Qin Shu and Qin Yu saw Xie Yan for the first time, having long heard their ancestors praise him to the skies. Now that he was standing in front of them, they found him to be truly extraordinary. Xie Yan's appearance resembled that of the late old marquis, with a refined and handsome face that exuded a heroic air, and his scholarly demeanor could not conceal the boldness in his eyes. With such a noble family background and appearance, why did he choose their daughter?

  It's not that Old Master Qin intentionally spoiled his own daughter. In terms of intelligence, Qin Miao is one of the smartest girls in Hangzhou. However, a clever girl at home isn't necessarily a good thing. Thinking about his own daughter who can do arithmetic calculations quickly and accurately, Old Master Qin's head hurts more and more. Other people's daughters are all good at poetry, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; even if they're not, they excel in embroidery skills. But his own daughter is good at climbing trees, digging holes, doing great math, and plotting strategies. Fortunately, the ancestors taught her well, and An Nuan has excellent management skills, earning herself a reputation as a "wealthy girl", but unfortunately... it's not the "talent" of a talented girl.

  At this time, Qin Miao didn't know that her father was "disapproving" of her in his heart. Today was the day when the Xie family would send a betrothal gift, and Xie Yan, as the groom, would come with the ceremonial procession. As the bride-to-be, she shouldn't go out to take a look, but she couldn't help sneaking behind the screen in the front hall early on, taking advantage of the crowd's chaos to peek around the hall.

  The beautiful young master wore a purple brocade robe, with a golden jade crown holding his hair in place, exuding an air of nobility. Qin Miao's heart skipped a beat as that unreal feeling washed over her again, and she couldn't believe that in such a short time, she had actually become engaged to him. Thinking about how in the future she would be sleeping with him, eating with him, Qin Miao's heart was filled with uncontainable joy and excitement, and the smile on her lips grew thicker and thicker.

  Bang!

  Her forehead was lightly tapped, and she was already annoyed, wanting to turn her head to see who the scoundrel was.

  "Brother Lang!" Qin Miao exclaimed in surprise, fortunately the front hall was crowded with people today, and no one except Qin Lang heard her exclamation.

  Qin Lang had just walked from the backyard to the front hall, and when he passed by the screen, he saw a figure swaying back and forth on one side. He took a look, who else could it be but that clever ghost?

  "What? Never seen a man before?" Qin Lang leaned against the pillar on one side, looking over the crowd at Xie Yan who was standing in the hall and talking to Qin Yu. He indeed looked good, with red lips and white teeth. He couldn't help but snicker.

  Qin Miao hadn't seen Qin Lang for a long time, the last time they met was in Hangzhou city. She noticed that he had lost some weight and his skin had darkened, but he looked even more spirited than before. She habitually nudged Qin Lang's arm and smiled at him, saying: "How come you came back without making a sound?"

  "Oh, and by the way, the mulberries you had someone bring last time were really delicious!" Her eyes rolled around in circles, and without any shame, she asked again: "Hehe, are there any more?"

  Qin Lang was taken aback, originally thinking that she would not get close to him after getting engaged. Although they had grown up together since childhood, it was still necessary to avoid suspicion after getting engaged. He gazed at Qin Miao with some confusion, and she was still the same as before, carelessly clinging to him like nothing was wrong.

  He was more than willing to be entwined with her like this. If possible, being entwined for a lifetime would also be worth it...

  He let out a soft sigh, composed himself and prepared to answer her about the mulberries. However, Qin Lang heard Qin Miao stifling a giggle, her small hands covering her mouth in an effort to hold back her laughter.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Can't even handle a simple task outside for a month, and yet you're acting like a grown-up." She bumped into him again, and without being prepared, he was actually pushed off balance. "What's with the pretentious act?"

  Cough cough... This girl is already 14, how can she still be so... mouth not shutting? What's the point of him pretending to be profound? He was originally more profound than her!

  Qin Lang shook his head helplessly, pushing her away through their clothes, and said with a pretentious tone of disgust: "I don't know how the Xie family came to like you, this little thing. You don't have any feminine charm at all." Suddenly, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear: "Want to eat mulberries? Buy them yourself!"

  Qin Miao had been joking with him since childhood and knew he was a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted person, yet on the day of the betrothal gift from the Xie family, he actually said she was a little runt. She looked at herself with great reluctance, from head to toe, not letting go of any detail.

  "Hmm... my gaze is fixed on my own legs, thinking of Shen's daughter's long legs, it seems that mine are a bit short. Looking up again, my gaze slightly sweeps over the chest, thinking of sister-in-law's surging waves, it seems to be mediocre."

  Hey... she suddenly somewhat understood why the handsome guy from that day ignored her at the Moonful Building.

  She let out a soft sigh and floated back to the backyard.