Upon hearing this, Yu Tang smiled at Pei Yan.

Hu Xing waved his hand, and from who knows where, two sedan chair carriers appeared.

He said attentively to Yu Tang and Pei Yan, “How about Miss Yu takes the sedan chair up?”

Both Yu Tang and Pei Yan were somewhat dumbstruck.

Pei Yan had coaxed Yu Tang to climb the mountain only wanting to know Yu Tang’s feelings. Now that he had seen some clues and discovered that climbing the mountain was indeed a burden for Yu Tang, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat anxious. Hu Xing’s sedan chair gave him a way out, and he naturally advocated for it wholeheartedly, saying to Yu Tang, “Then you should take the sedan chair up. This mountain path is indeed too difficult for you.”

How could Yu Tang take the sedan chair up the mountain alone?

She firmly refused.

Pei Yan pulled her onto the sedan chair, pressed down on her shoulders to forcibly make her sit, and instructed the two carriers to “lift the chair.”

The two carriers were found by Hu Xing and naturally listened to Pei Yan. With an effort, they lifted the sedan chair.

Yu Tang hurriedly sat properly.

The two carriers carried Yu Tang up the mountain.

Hu Xing ran obsequiously to Pei Yan’s side and said in a low voice, “Third Master, I’ve also prepared another sedan chair.”

However, the mountain path was narrow. If Pei Yan took a sedan chair, he wouldn’t be able to walk beside the chair and talk with Yu Tang.

This was also why Hu Xing hadn’t brought out two sedan chairs at once.

Pei Yan understood, made a “hmph” sound, praised him with “not bad,” and took a few steps forward to catch up to Yu Tang’s sedan chair.

Yu Tang looked at Pei Yan following beside her and felt quite embarrassed.

Pei Yan also saw this somewhat, so he simply told Yu Tang about his plans: “Just now at the mountain’s foot, I discovered that those few sea buckthorn trees are growing quite well. This shows that the soil here is still suitable for sea buckthorn tree growth. In the northwest, sea buckthorn trees are mostly used to prevent wind and sand. This also indicates that your family’s mountain forest soil quality isn’t good. From my perspective, planting more sea buckthorn trees would be good—it might improve your family’s mountain forest soil quality. As for the sea buckthorn tree fruit, in the northwest it’s used to serve guests. I’ve eaten it before. Though it’s not particularly tasty, if sold cheaply, ordinary farming families should still be willing to buy it. This time up the mountain, we’ll mainly see if your family’s mountain forest can be replanted with some peach trees.”

Yu Tang guessed in her heart—in her previous life, was it because of this that Pei Yan planted sea buckthorn trees in their family’s mountain forest, and later made the sea buckthorn fruit into preserved fruits, claiming that eating them could prevent coughs and moisten lungs or something, and they sold quite well?

She said, “Is it that kind of peach tree from Qingzhou that you mentioned before?”

Pei Yan nodded and said, “I think those peach trees are good. They bear fruit in August or September. If sold to the capital, they’ll definitely work.”

If their family’s mountain forest could also plant them, they could ship them to the capital on their family’s boats.

Yu Tang was quite convinced of Pei Yan’s capabilities.

The two chatted intermittently about fruits and snacks from various places. Before reaching the mountain peak, Yu Tang was already starting to salivate.

Pei Yan watched with slightly upturned mouth corners, instructing Hu Xing to rest on the spot for a while. He had A’Ming open the bamboo basket on his back and take out washed cherries and plums for Yu Tang to quench her thirst.

Yu Tang exclaimed quietly in delighted surprise.

Hu Xing then pulled Qing Yuan along, saying they needed to boil water and brew tea for the two.

Qing Yuan finally understood everything now.

She made eyes at Hu Xing.

Hu Xing just pretended not to understand, personally bringing folding stools for Pei Yan and Yu Tang to sit on, then went to direct the servants to work.

Qing Yuan lowered her head washing the tea cups, but her eyes couldn’t help drifting toward Yu Tang and Pei Yan.

She only saw Pei Yan smiling as he said a few words to Yu Tang, making Yu Tang burst into hearty laughter.

The clear voice carried far, melodious like an oriole—just hearing it made one feel happy.

Qing Yuan thought, if she were Pei Yan, with Miss Yu always making people feel happy like this, she would also like such a person, wouldn’t she?

It was just unknown what Old Madam Pei would think.

But Yu Tang temporarily cast her earlier worries to the back of her mind. She listened to Pei Yan tell about following Old Madam Pei to collect rent at the estate: “I felt that since we’d already decided not to demand the rent back, we might as well burn the IOUs in one go. That way everyone could start fresh, rather than becoming desperate over debts accumulated by ancestors for generations and just giving up completely. My father said that this way, everyone would count on our family burning IOUs—a measure of rice breeds gratitude, a bushel breeds enmity. If they truly had the heart to advance themselves, they should come help our family run boats, gambling their lives for a chance to rise above their station. Therefore, when harvests were poor, our family had almost no fleeing farmers. On the contrary, for our family’s shipping business, we never lacked boat runners, and business has always been good.”

Only then did she learn that the Pei family actually had a fleet of boats.

Yu Tang felt that Pei Yan seemed to be gradually revealing his cards to her, and she was also getting closer and closer to Pei Yan.

He should mean that, shouldn’t he?

Yu Tang glanced at Pei Yan and couldn’t help testing him: “No wonder the Tao family is so close with your family. But Ningbo is even closer to Lin’an—why does the Pei family go far instead of near?”

Pei Yan smiled and said, “This is also a lesson our family ancestors learned. In the previous dynasty, our Pei family was also wealthy, but when war broke out, the first to bear the brunt was our Pei family. The family’s old ancestors established the rule of not putting property in the same place.”

Moreover, if the Pei family couldn’t stay in Lin’an anymore, they could relocate to other places at any time.

Yu Tang vaguely understood why, in her previous life, even though the Li family had been so aggressive, they hadn’t been able to hurt the Pei family’s vitality.

The Pei family was much more substantial than what they saw on the surface.

With such a Pei family, was it possible for her to marry into it?

Her experiences in her previous life made Yu Tang feel that good relationships should make her better, not be obtained through her own grievances.

Yu Tang glanced at Pei Yan again.

Truly worthy of being a son of an aristocratic family—it must take several generations of bloodline to cultivate such an appearance!

She sighed inwardly.

But Pei Yan felt the atmosphere was just right. He thought briefly for a moment, then said somewhat directly, “Has your Yu family always lived in Lin’an for generations?”

Yu Tang nodded with a smile and also spoke of the Yu family history: “It wasn’t until my great-great-grandfather’s generation that we gradually emerged among the clan members, established property, and built the current Yu family ancestral home. My great-grandfather learned the craft of lacquerware and bought a shop in Lin’an city.”

Pei Yan then said, “If you were asked to go to another place and live another kind of life, would you be willing?”

What does this mean?!

Yu Tang’s intuition told her this answer was very important.

Her heart pounded like a heavy drum, beating fiercely.

But looking at Pei Yan’s earnest eyes, she still answered honestly according to her own heart: “I don’t know.”

Pei Yan was somewhat disappointed by this answer.

But he didn’t want to give up and continued, “Why?”

Yu Tang lowered her eyelids and said, “I think I can live anywhere. What’s important is the people by my side.”

Pei Yan was stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh silently.

“I can’t bear to part with my mother, my father,” Yu Tang still kept her eyelids lowered, not seeing Pei Yan’s unusual expression, “and also my eldest uncle’s family. If they’re by my side, I can go anywhere!”

Pei Yan held his breath and said, “I’m not saying you should leave your family, but rather that the people around you would all be different from the people you knew before. You might have to get to know them anew, adapt anew. Others won’t understand and might even misunderstand you and such.”

Is this what she thinks it means?!

Yu Tang felt like screaming.

How could Pei Yan… be asking her these things…

She forcibly suppressed the huge waves in her heart, trying to make her voice sound as calm as usual, smiling and saying, “When you go out to be an official, don’t you also have to make new friends and adapt to the capital’s climate?”

When young ladies marry, isn’t it the same—starting anew?

Who can win everyone’s favor immediately upon marrying in?

Some people just don’t have that fortune and can never gain their husband’s family’s favor their whole lives. Does that mean they shouldn’t live because of this? Don’t they still have to find ways to make things better for themselves?

Thinking this, Yu Tang’s gaze fell on Pei Yan.

But Pei Yan suddenly stood up, looking somewhat agitated as he paced back and forth a few times before sitting down again. He sat up straight with a serious expression and asked Yu Tang, “Would you be willing to accompany my mother?”

Yu Tang was shocked, her jaw nearly dropping.

She knew Pei Yan was bold and somewhat unconventional, but she never dreamed his courage would be this great.

He actually asked her… wait… he spoke so vaguely—what if she misunderstood?

Wouldn’t that be a huge joke?

Yu Tang also couldn’t help straightening her back and said seriously, “What do you mean by this?”

Pei Yan’s breathing seemed somewhat heavy, but he still said solemnly, “If you’re willing, I want to write your name into our family genealogy, write it beside my name.”

Yu Tang was stunned, but the little person in her heart danced and spun in circles.

Her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

Seeing her looking half-laughing, half-crying, Pei Yan was greatly startled.

Did this mean she agreed? Or did she think he was too rash and was bullying her?

Sweat broke out on Pei Yan’s forehead as he urged, “What do you think?”

Perhaps because he was too nervous, his voice was even more cold and stiff than usual.

Yu Tang’s surging emotions were suddenly like having a basin of cold water poured over them, and she calmed down.

She couldn’t help asking, “Why?”

Pei Yan didn’t understand: “What?”

Frames of all the scenes from when she and Pei Yan first met until now flashed through Yu Tang’s mind. She said, “Why me?”

Pei Yan had apparently never thought about this question. He was struck speechless, and finally, somewhat angry with embarrassment, said, “What’s there to ask about that? Why so many whys? I just think you’re quite good.”

Even so, he also began reflecting on why he wanted to marry Yu Tang.

Was it because she was beautiful?

He had seen plenty of beautiful women, yet never wanted to marry them home.

Was it because she was intelligent?

But more often she did foolish things.

Or was it because she was fairly well-behaved and sensible in front of elders?

But in front of him, he couldn’t see that at all.

Thinking of this, Pei Yan even gave a somewhat dissatisfied light “hmph.”

Only then did Yu Tang discover that she seemed to have fallen from mid-air to the ground, and her heart finally felt at ease.

She was afraid of hearing Pei Yan answer that it was because she was beautiful.

Why would this be?

Yu Tang examined herself.

She thought of those distressing matters from her previous life.

Perhaps, in her heart, she felt her previous life’s experiences had a great relationship with her appearance.

Yu Tang fell silent.

Pei Yan’s palms broke out in sweat.

He felt he was very nervous. At this time, he should coax Yu Tang with a few words, and perhaps Yu Tang would agree. But this idea made him feel extremely awkward. The result of his internal struggle was that he glared at Yu Tang unhappily and said quite discontentedly, “Do you have anything else to ask? I think we’re suitable for each other, that’s all. Life is short, like morning dew. If we still can’t live according to our own wishes, what’s the point? If you have nothing else to ask, I’ll take it that you’ve agreed. Just wait at home for a few days. Once I’ve prepared everything, I’ll come to your house to propose marriage.”