Aunt Lin went off gleefully.
Soon, Aunt Lin returned, holding a delicate wooden box. Even the box itself was valuable, let alone the item inside, which was priceless.
Zhuang Xiyue opened the box and saw a Dark Jade Pendant lying inside, the size of a baby’s fist, with a warm and lustrous sheen, deep as ink, clearly very valuable. In the center of the dark jade, an opening was carved with the words "A century of perfect harmony," looking quite beautiful and exquisite.
"When I got married, my family gave a piece of dark jade. Later, I split it into two and had two Dark Jade Pendants made, planning to use them as betrothal gifts for my two sons. Although it’s inappropriate to talk to you about this at your young age, and you are without elders, Aunt Zhuang can only personally hand this to you."
Zhuang Xiyue closed the lid and stuffed it into Yun Ya’s hand, "This is a token of engagent. After you both co of age, we will formally arrange your engagent. What do you think?"
"This is too valuable; I can’t accept this..." Yun Ya shook her head.
Zhuang Xiyue laughed. "You child, you’re so sincere. This is a token of engagent. After you marry into our Yan Family, you will be one of us. Is there anything wrong with giving you sothing ahead of ti?"
Yun Ya pursed her lips, feeling that sothing was amiss, but she was so imrsed in the joy of marrying Brother Yan that she automatically ignored this discomfort.
Zhuang Xiyue stretched out her hand to her, "Yun Ya, you should also give a token, otherwise, what if you back out later?"
How could she possibly back out?
"But... I don’t have anything valuable..." Yun Ya frowned.
Zhuang Xiyue smiled, "It just needs to represent you." Zhuang Xiyue gestured toward her pearl earrings, "These will do."
Yun Ya shook her head, "How can that be?"
She took off the pendant from around her neck to show a fan-shaped erald jade, neatly cut, strung on a silver chain, looking sowhat odd as if it was a fragnt of sothing...
Yun Ya stuffed the jade into Zhuang Xiyue’s hand, "This ans a lot to , and now I’m giving it to you."
As soon as it was in her hand, Zhuang Xiyue felt sothing different. Born into the Family of Scholars and with a father who could be considered an antique connoisseur, she had been exposed to such things from a young age and was quite adept in appraising gems. The mont she touched the jade, she knew sothing was off: its quality was exceptional, and it was even more priceless than her piece of Dark Jade.
She looked at Yun Ya in astonishnt. It truly seed to be sothing very important to her, and Yun Ya’s sincerity once again made her smile with delight, "Good, good, what a bride-to-be, the more I look, the happier I am."
Feeling shy, Yun Ya lowered her gaze, sowhat dazedly thinking, was she really giving herself away just like that? A bit lancholic, yet filled with joy.
In this way, her heart settled.
Aunt Lin, joining in the fun, said, "Miss Ji and our young master are truly well matched. Congratulations, madam, for gaining such a perfect daughter-in-law."
Yun Ya paused, lifting her eyes to look at Aunt Lin.
What young master?
Zhuang Xiyue laughed, "Exactly, instead of a daughter, having a daughter-in-law isn’t bad either. Daughters will eventually marry out, but a daughter-in-law can stay by my side for life. It’s hard to find such a good girl even with a lantern; Gege is lucky."
Gege... wasn’t it Brother Yan?
Suddenly, Yun Ya turned pale, wishing she could spit blood for being so foolish... so foolish... How could she have forgotten? Aunt Zhuang had joked so many tis about her and Yan Ke; she assud Aunt Zhuang was only joking, never taking it seriously. Just now, when she ntioned becoming a daughter-in-law, she subconsciously thought of Brother Yan and agreed without hesitation.
So, Aunt Zhuang was thinking of her and Yan Ke...
A pain so raw it felt like her heart was bleeding, Yun Ya opened her mouth, "Aunt Zhuang... I..."
The box in her hand suddenly felt incredibly hot; she wished she could throw it away imdiately.
Looking at Zhuang Xiyue’s face brimming with happiness, which was genuinely filled with excitent, if she spoke out now, Aunt Zhuang would surely be disappointed and sad; she might even beco angry with her... What should she do...
But if she didn’t speak up, how would she explain it to Brother Yan? Yun Ya really wanted to slap herself. What had she been thinking just now?
"Look at how happy this child is, she doesn’t know what to say. You and Gege grew up together, childhood sweethearts. Don’t worry, if Gege ever dares to bully you, I’ll see how I deal with him." Zhuang Xiyue suddenly seed to have fully embraced the role, treating Yun Ya like her future daughter-in-law.
"You’ll be sixteen soon, right?" Zhuang Xiyue asked.
Seeing Yun Ya lost in thought, Zhuang Xiyue repeated, "Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so pale?"
Yun Ya suddenly snapped back to reality, "I... I’m fine, what did you say just now, Aunt Zhuang?"
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