"It’s truly unexpected," Lian Zhizhi sighed, "As the saying goes, a thousand miles of marriage is tied by a single thread. It seems it’s really true. Fate is destined, and Matchmaker Yue has already drawn the red thread. It’s something one would never imagine."

"This match is good too. Sixth Master is someone you know, and he’s willing to lower himself to propose to you, which clearly shows he values you in his heart. These points are much better than someone introduced by a matchmaker, whom you don’t know at all. Even if they come to propose, how much can they really know about you? It’s mostly because both families’ conditions match."

Lian Manman nodded lightly. The benefits that Lian Zhizhi mentioned were also the main reasons she agreed to Shen Liu’s proposal. Instead of marrying someone she doesn’t know and understands, marrying Shen Liu is a really good choice.

Moreover, although she didn’t say it, she held quite a bit of admiration and affection for Shen Liu in her heart.

Lian Manman’s marriage was now settled, and since the other party was Shen Liu, Lian Zhizhi was very happy for Lian Manman.

"... but in the future, you’ll probably have to live in the Prefecture City often, and we’ll be far apart," Lian Zhizhi thought for a while and added.

"Why be afraid of distance when there are carriages and horses, and the roads are easy to travel. Even if we can’t see each other every day, when we want to meet, it will still be easy... Even if I can’t come back to live, you can come to the Prefecture City. There are plenty of empty houses. Moreover, buying a house in the Prefecture City is something you can easily do, right?" Lian Manman said.

Lian Zhizhi nodded and smiled without a word.

"Sister, how is our house construction going?" Lian Manman suddenly remembered the matter of building new houses for Wu Lang and Xiao Qi, and asked Lian Zhizhi.

"It’s almost done," Lian Zhizhi replied. "The villagers came to help, we hired many people, and materials were readily available. Your brother-in-law and the others watch over it day and night, working in shifts without stopping, so it’s progressing fast. We focused on building Wu Lang’s courtyard first. By the time Wu Lang gets married, the house and the courtyard will surely be all tidied up and ready to live in right away."

"Then I’ll go take a look now." Lian Manman said.

"I’ll go with you." Lian Zhizhi said.

The two sisters put on their coats, called in two maids to look after Dabao, and went to the East room to inform Lady Zhang, Lady Li, and Lady Wu Wang.

Lady Zhang was pleased to hear that Lian Manman wanted to see the house. This time she returned, one of the major things she wanted to do was see how the houses for Wu Lang and Xiao Qi were coming along.

"I’ll go with you to take a look." Lady Zhang said, getting up to put on her shoes.

Lady Wu Wang also got up to put on her shoes, wanting to accompany them.

"Grandma, you’d better not go, it’s cold outside. Why not lie down for a while?" Lian Manman saw that Lady Li looked a bit weary and said.

Lady Li, after all, was older and had been both happy and busy these days. After lunch, with the room warm, she felt a bit drowsy and nodded at Lian Manman’s suggestion.

"Then I won’t go. I get to see the house daily anyway. You all go ahead." Lady Li said, "Dabao is in Manman’s room, right? I’ll go there too and take Dabao to sleep."

Everyone first escorted Lady Li to rest in Lian Manman’s room, then went out to the East courtyard to look at Wu Lang’s house. Upon exiting the Moon Gate, they saw Lian Shouxin, Wu Lang, and Young Master Qi standing with Wu Yugui and Wu Jiaxing in the courtyard, intently examining the nearly completed new house.

Both Wu Lang’s and Xiao Qi’s courtyards had three-room structures, with three main rooms, each having three side rooms. The main rooms and side rooms were connected by a veranda, and the courtyard was planted with flowers and trees.

This was the main structure of the two courtyards. Additionally, considering that once they got married, they might have many people to assist them, there were also three rear rooms and three forward-facing rooms built. Thus, the courtyards for Wu Lang and Xiao Qi differed from Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin’s main courtyard. Once the gate was closed, they would become independent households.

This arrangement was made for the convenience of the young couples’ future living.

In Wu Lang’s courtyard, all rooms had been constructed, only the final detailing, painting, etc., were left. The blueprints were well-made, the craftsmen were top-notch, and with excellent supervision and dedication, the house was built very gracefully, looking elegant and aesthetically pleasing everywhere.

Lian Manman nodded to herself, and Lian Shouxin, Lady Zhang, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi were also very satisfied.

After inspecting Wu Lang’s Eastern courtyard, the family moved to the Western courtyard to see the preparations for Xiao Qi’s house. Both courtyards had the same layout, but as Wu Lang’s needed to be rushed, Xiao Qi’s work lagged a bit behind.

"The exterior is done, but we’ll pause work for New Year’s and continue detailing inside afterward," Lian Shouxin said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After reviewing the houses, the family headed back.

"Where are my grandpa and uncle?" Lian Manman asked.

"... At lunch, they were happy and had a few extra drinks, so they went to rest," Lian Shouxin said. He saw Lady Zhang also turning to look at him and added, "We arranged for a servant to watch over them, then came here."

Zhang Qingshan was also getting on in years, so the younger generation naturally took careful care of him.

"You all rushed back, so you should rest well too. We’ll take our leave now," Wu Yugui and Lady Wu Wang said as they bid farewell.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang naturally tried to keep them.

"We’ll be back in the evening." Wu Jiaxing said.

"Yes, I brought some good wine back from the Prefecture City. We’ll have a great drink together then." Lian Shouxin laughed.

After sending off the Wu Yugui family, Lian Shouli, Lady Zhao, and Lian Yeye arrived.

...

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