Sun Yaya asked this question and looked at Ji Yuan with expectant eyes.
Who is Ji Yuan? After hearing this, how could he not know what kind of weird little plan Sun Yaya was thinking? However, he did not reveal it. When it came to Sun Yaya's matter, he still tended to believe that she had made her own choice.
So Ji Yuan pretended to think about it for a moment, then nodded and said to Sun Yaya.
"Well, after eating the braised noodles and offal for so many years at the Sun family, and the Sun family even reserved a portion for me all year long, I should go and pay them a visit."
Of course Sun Yaya really hopes that Ji Yuan will go to her house to help her out, even if it's just for today. But in fact, she feels that she knows Mr. Ji well and thinks that he will probably not do anything. Unexpectedly, Mr. Ji agrees right away.
"real!?"
Sun Yaya sat up straight and looked at Ji Yuan with surprise.
"How could it be false? Could it be that you were just joking with me, Mr. Ji, and you didn't actually intend to invite me?"
Sun Yaya stood up suddenly.
"How can that be possible! Sir, I'm so happy that you can come to my house. My grandfather will also be happy. No, our whole family will be very happy. Then Sir, let's go quickly. If we knew you were going, our family would definitely prepare everything. You have to go back quickly!"
Ji Yuan sat at the table, drank the tea in the cup in his hand, put the cup down and stood up.
"Okay, come this way."
After saying that, when Ji Yuan was about to reach out to tidy up the tea set on the table, Sun Yaya had already done it.
"Just wait sir, let Yaya come!"
Sun Yaya swiftly helped Ji Yuan pack up the tea set, then took the tray to the kitchen. After coming out, she left Ju'an Pavilion with Ji Yuan who was waiting there.
Compared with her listlessness when she came, Sun Yaya was much more energetic when she returned home. She even seemed unusually excited. She kept talking and kept telling Ji Yuan about what had happened over the years.
From the transition to the private school to studying in Chunhui Mansion, there were trivial matters as well as some interesting incidents.
"Sir, you don't know, when we were writing inscriptions at the Chunmujiang Shrine, there was a literary contest between two academies, and they couldn't beat me. They were told that they were not as good as a woman, and their faces were very bad, hahahahahaha..."
Sun Yaya thought of what happened in the Jiangshen Temple, and laughed heartily in front of Ji Yuan without any burden as she walked. Her laughter was also heard by people passing by Tianniufang, and people from far and near looked at her sideways.
A father and son were looking at Sun Yaya in red and Ji Yuan in gray from afar, whispering to each other.
"Who is that girl? She's so pretty..."
"You don't even recognize this girl from the Sun family. She's the granddaughter of Mr. Sun who runs a noodle stall outside the market. She's a well-known talented woman. Don't be a lazy toad and want to eat swan meat."
"What about the ones at the back?"
The older father squinted his eyes.
"The one behind, hiss, could this be Mr. Ji?"
While muttering this, the father shouted from afar.
"Is Mr. Ji back?"
Ji Yuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw two blurry figures at the distant alley entrance. He bowed from afar as a sign of agreement, then walked into the narrow alley with Sun Yaya and headed towards the outside of the alley.
"Oh, it really is Mr. Ji!"
The father sounded a little excited. In his memory, Mr. Ji's Tianniufang was always more mysterious than other places in the county. The son next to him was a little surprised and obviously had some impression of Ji Yuan.
Tianniufang is located in the south of Ning'an County, while Tongshufang is located in the west. The two are like two special villages in the city. Although they are in the same city, they are separated by streets of different sizes. Sun Yaya took Ji Yuan to walk through the streets and bought some cooked food and cakes on the street to entertain Ji Yuan at home.
After walking through a small street full of vegetable vendors, Tongshufang is right in front of you. There is an old sycamore tree behind the gate, which is the origin of the name Tongshufang.
"Mr. Ji, you have never been to Tongshufang before?"
Ji Yuan glanced at the paulownia tree from a distance and nodded.
"I have indeed never been in there. At most I just passed by there before."
The two of them walked straight into Tongshufang without stopping. When they got here, Sun Yaya suddenly had more acquaintances. Many of them greeted her and looked at Ji Yuan curiously.
"Yaya, are you back? Who is that person next to you? Is he from some academy?"
I thought the woman carrying the basket ran into Sun Yaya. At first I thought Ji Yuan next to her might be someone who came to propose marriage, but when I took a closer look, I felt that it was not the case.
"Um, Aunt Li, this is Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji from Ning'an County!"
After saying this, Sun Yaya and Ji Yuan did not stop and continued to walk deeper into Tongshufang. The woman surnamed Li frowned and thought for a while. The name Ji Yuan sounded familiar, but she just couldn't remember where she had heard it.
Ji Yuan felt that Tongshufang was more lively than Tianniufang. Of course, it might also be because Sun Yaya was too eye-catching and too famous. People kept greeting her, so there were always people talking to her. The Sun family was located in the west of Tongshufang. The closer he got to her home, the more he could hear Sun Yaya taking deep breaths.
Sun Yaya's parents only had this one daughter and no other children. Although Sun Fu had more than one son and other grandsons, he only had Yaya as his granddaughter. Everyone in the family doted on Sun Yaya, but marriage was still a headache for her.
"Mr. Ji, that's my home. Look, there are two horses tied outside and a sedan chair. The matchmaker hasn't left yet. How annoying! I'll go and inform my family first."
Having said that, Sun Yaya took the lead and trotted back home.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, Mr. Ji is here, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Mr. Ji is here!"
Sun Yaya trotted all the way home. When she arrived at the yard, she saw four sedan bearers drinking tea and eating melon seeds. She walked into the living room of the house. Because the Sun family was more well-off than others, the furnishings in the living room appeared very decent.
The matchmaker with a rosy face was still there, and there were two other middle-aged men sitting in front of the tea table. Sun's parents were pouring tea for them, and grandfather Sun Fu was sitting at the top.
"Yaya, you're finally back! You said you wanted to go out for a walk, why were you away for so long?!"
When Sun Yaya came into the room, her mother immediately went over, took her hand and led her over. Sun Fu, who was sitting at the upper seat, quickly excused his granddaughter.
"Hey Yulan, our Yaya is different from other girls. Maybe she is out thinking about something."
The matchmaker next to her also kept smiling and looked Sun Yaya up and down as she did when she came.
"It's okay, it's okay. Miss Sun has always been talented in literature. It's good for her to go out and learn about women's virtues. Oh, by the way, Miss Sun, we were just talking about how the young master of the Feng family admires your talent and said that you are both talented and beautiful. He also hopes to invite you to take a boat trip on the Chunmu River to discuss calligraphy and painting, hehe..."
Sun Yaya forced a smile, said "thank you for the compliment", and then quickly said to her grandfather who was sitting in the hall.
"Grandpa, didn't you hear me just now? Mr. Ji is here!"
"ah?"
Sun Fu was stunned for a moment. Sun Yaya thought he didn't hear clearly, so she took a step closer and spoke loudly.
"Mr. Ji is here, Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji from Ju'an Xiaoge, he's coming to our house soon!"
Sun Fu was cheered up and stood up from his seat.
"What!? Mr. Ji is back?"
"Yes, Mr. Ji is back, and he has come to our house. I told him to have dinner at home. Grandpa, and Mom and Dad, you wouldn't disagree, right?"
Sun Yaya's parents also looked obviously more excited.
"How can I not agree? How can I not agree? Mr. Ji will be here soon, let's go and greet him!"
Sun Fu took a few steps forward with a little excitement, then went back to put down the teacup in his hand. Seeing the matchmaker and the two gentlemen who came with them looking puzzled, he also explained.
"Please take a seat first. An old friend of my Sun family is here to visit us. We have to go and greet him."
With that, Sun Fu went out with the help of Sun Yaya. Sun Yaya's parents also apologized to the matchmaker and the other two, and followed them out. The respect that the Sun family has shown for Ji Yuan has never diminished over the generations.
The matchmaker and the two gentlemen who came with her looked at each other, and the latter two stood up first and planned to go out and take a look.
When the four members of the Sun family left the house together, Ji Yuan, dressed in light gray clothes, had already arrived outside the yard. Sun Fu quickly took the lead and saluted Ji Yuan.
"Meet Mr. Ji!"
Ji Yuan also returned the greeting, walked into the courtyard and helped Sun Fu, who looked even older, to sit up straight.
"No need to be so polite."
"Hey, sir, your presence here brings honor to our Sun family. Please come in, please come in!"
Sun Fu extended his hand to invite Ji Yuan, who nodded and did not refuse. It would be inappropriate to be overly polite in the Sun family. He glanced at the four sedan bearers in the yard, then at the three people at the door of the living room, and then entered the living room with the Sun family.
"Mr. Ji, please take a seat! Yulan, serve the tea!"
Sun Fu gave up his seat and spoke to Sun's father after seeing Ji Yuan sit down.
"Hurry up, go call your two brothers. Oh, and your second uncle, third uncle, and aunt. Invite them all over. Tell them that Mr. Ji is here. Come and greet him!"
Ji Yuan's eyebrows jumped when he heard this. Such a big family of Sun was coming.
"Mr. Ji, please don't blame me for being nosy. It's a rare visit for you, so I think we should all come and greet you!"
Old Man Sun had four sons in the beginning, and Sun Fu was the youngest. They are all old now. His eldest brother passed away a few years ago, and Sun Fu became even more sentimental. Today, Ji Yuan came, and he felt that all the members of the Sun family should come to pay him a visit.
"Uh-huh, no problem!"
Ji Yuan replied with a smile, he could already imagine the grand scene of several families coming together in a while.
Before the matchmaker could speak, one of the men with a short beard bowed to Ji Yuan and asked both Ji Yuan and the Sun family.
"I wonder who this gentleman is and where he came from?"
Ji Yuan stood up and returned the greeting.
"I am a humble man in the county, and I have no chance to achieve anything high."
Sun Yaya opened her mouth but did not speak. Instead, she moved closer to Sun Fu and whispered.
"Grandpa, Mr. Ji is here. Today is not the time for matchmaking, right?"
"this… "
Before Sun Fu could speak, the matchmaker smiled and spoke.
"That's perfect. Today the Sun family is very busy and several relatives have returned. It's perfect. We can tell everyone about Miss Sun's happy event that has made others envious!"
When Ji Yuan saw Sun Yaya looking at him for help, he pretended to be ignorant and asked the Sun family.
"Yaya, what's the good news?"
"Well, to answer your question, Yaya is also at the age of marriage. Someone has come to propose marriage to her. The other party has a good family background and good family tradition. It is a good match."
The matchmaker also interrupted with a smile, speaking very naturally.
"This is a great honor for the Sun family. They have such a beautiful and talented girl. If the marriage goes through, the Sun family will be able to climb up the social ladder, haha!"
"Climbing the ladder?"
Ji Yuan raised his eyebrows. He didn't like what he heard. He glanced at the matchmaker, the Sun family and the two men, and saw Sun Yaya, whose face was obviously filled with disgust. He spoke lightly.
"Gentlemen and nobles, princes and nobles, if Yaya wants to marry, no one has the right to say that she is marrying up!"
Sun Yaya, who was standing behind Sun Fu, clapped her hands secretly. Mr. Ji still listened to what he said!