Shiyun also said, “That’s true. It’s almost winter now. Not to mention live geese, but all the birds are flying to the south. The end of autumn this year is very cold too. Everyone says Shizi is reall ypowerful and someone must have slandered him when they call him a dandy.
“I heard that everyone who saw him would follow him for a little bit to see which fmaily’s daughter is so blessed that she caught his eye. This matter will probably spread throughout the capital in less than two days. Shizi is now the ideal match for a lot of girls right now.”
The Naji Ceremony was when the female’s side was informed of the divination results and gold, silver, jewelry, and other things were delivered as betrothal gifts. Both the male and female would get an engagement letter and this engagement would be officially set.
And two live geese would be presented as a gift during the Naji Ceremony because geese symbolized a pair. The geese must also be live greese for it to be auspicious. But a goose was a seasonal bird. It was almost the wintertime, so let’s not mention live geese. Even dead geese would be hard to find. Therefore, most people would use a pair of ducks or chickes in replacement during the Naji Ceremony in the wintertime. Zi You didn’t expect Shangguan LingRan would actually expend the effort to get a pair of live geese. No wonder the General’s Manor was filled with joy and laughter.
Nee Liu came over just as it was getting lively. She originally pampered Zi You. Now that Zi You stood up for her, vented her anger for her, and dealt with Mu YingRui and Wang Yiping, Nee Liu loved Zi You even more.
But she didn’t know about Zi You and Shangguan LingRan. She didn’t even know that Shangguan LingRan had impersonated Old General Mu. So, when the Empress Dowager had bestowed a marriage between Zi You and Shangguan LingRan, she had been a little reluctant.
Fortunately, she had followed Mu YingYi’s advice: “No matter what happens at the celebration banquet, don’t speak.”
Thus, she hadn’t stood out and told the Empress Dowager, “No matter how you dote on your grandson, you can’t let a dandy ruin our You’er.”
Now that Nee Liu saw how steady and mature Shangguan LingRan acted, as opposed to the dandy impression she had of him, and the pair of live geese, she was very happy for Zi You.
She went over and held Zi You’s hand. “Shizi looks really reliable, so those rumors might be false. Don’t mind them too much. After you marry him, we won’t let him bully you.”
Although Shiyun and Moyun didn’t know what happened between Zi You and Shangguan LingRan, they had seen Shangguan LingRan’s heartbroken expression on the night that Zi You was injured and “died.”
So, Moyun immediately said to Nee Liu, “Don’t worry, Second Furen. Nubi dares to guarantee that Shizi is wholehearted towards Xiaojie because where is there a girl as beautiful and talented aslike our Xiaojie? Shizi’s eyes are very good!”
Nanny Lou and Nee Liu smiled. They saw how Zi You blush and didn’t speak. The rocks in their hearts finally fell. It was a happy event, so they stood aside and watched Haiyun, Shiyun, and the other maidservants tease Zi You. They smiled happily when they saw Zi You blush and couldn’t retort.
After a while, Nee Liu sent the maidservants away after she told them to prepare bags of loose silvers. There was a happy event going on today, so handing out rewards was inevitable. Nee Liu pulled Zi You into the room and smiled. “An Wang fu’s servants left already. You’re an engaged girl now. You can’t cause trouble anymore. There’s only a month left until the wedding. You should settle down and embroider your wedding dress.
“Aiyo! I was so anxious that I forgot. Shizi said he will send people over to help us with the wedding clothing. But how can we accept? I have to make preparations. Nanny Lou and Steward Zhou will come see me about this matter tomorrow.
“Don’t worry about the dowry. Just focus on making your wedding dress. There isn’t much time left. You shouldn’t do anything else. I’ll inspect it when you’re done!”
