Chapter 62

When Zhang Weixin and his companions were sound asleep in their warm beds, Wang Xiaojun, who was equally cheerful, was not so fortunate. It was the 20th of December, the day he and Zhong Yuwai had agreed to hold the engagement ceremony and send the gifts. So he got up early in the morning, accompanied by Yuxu Zi, and together with Wang Feng and the various gifts required for the engagement, set off under the protection of Wu Peng. Along with twelve穿越众 (time travelers) who were going to watch the festivities and act as gift bearers, they sat in six newly purchased carriages, driven by several young Taoist boys from Yuxu Palace, heading for Zhong Yuwai's residence to complete the engagement.

By noon, the large group from Yuxu Palace arrived at the Zhong residence. Zhong Youpeng and his family warmly welcomed them inside, and both sides took their seats according to the host and guest arrangement. Then, following the procedures taught by Yuxu Zi, they completed all the engagement rituals. The wedding date was set for the 18th of the first month, and the wedding venue would naturally be the residence that the time travelers had bought in Liangxiang City. Zhong Youpeng then set up a banquet to entertain the guests from Yuxu Palace.

Since everyone was old acquaintances, except for Wang Feng, who was slightly more reserved in front of his future father-in-law and brother-in-law, the rest were quite relaxed, and the group drank and chatted merrily.

During the banquet, after exchanging a few cups of wine with Wang Xiaojun, Zhong Youpeng said to him, "A few days ago, Chief Wang informed Zhong that the move had to be postponed due to the Five Tigers Gang at Xiayun Ridge. I wonder if the matter with the Five Tigers Gang has been resolved, and when Chief Wang and the Taoist masters plan to move to Liangxiang City?"

Wang Xiaojun knew he was worried that the matter with the Five Tigers Gang might delay the wedding. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Mr. Zhong, there's no need to worry. The matter with the Five Tigers Gang is almost resolved, and in a day or two, Xia and I will no longer need to be involved. I estimate that in three days at most, we will start moving. Although the Five Tigers Gang has caused some changes, I can assure you that Wang Feng's residence will definitely be arranged in Liangxiang City. I will set aside a separate courtyard in the original Qi residence for the newlyweds to live in. You can rest assured about this."

Zhong Youpeng felt much relieved to see that Wang Xiaojun took the matter seriously and promised to provide a separate courtyard for his daughter and son-in-law. Although he would have preferred Wang Feng to set up his own household and buy a small courtyard in Liangxiang or Fanyang City, he understood that the "returnees" were currently unwilling to let any member live separately from the group. Moreover, he knew that although the "returnees" had obtained a large sum of money through an auction, this money belonged to everyone, not just one person. According to what his son had learned from the returnees, they had not divided the money equally, but only distributed a small portion. The rest was to be used as a collective investment fund to be invested in different fields to earn more money, for greater benefits.

Although his future son-in-law nominally owned several thousand strings of cash, he had only received five or six hundred strings in hand. This amount was enough to buy a residence, but considering the long-term expenses and the need to find a way to earn money, it was probably best for him to earn money with his companions for now.

With the new house issue resolved, Zhong Youpeng began to discuss the wedding banquet with Wang Xiaojun. According to the time travelers' ideals, the best way would be to find a large restaurant, like Tianfu Building, to hold the ceremony, set up a dozen or more tables, and have both sides' relatives and friends gather for a lively celebration. However, this method was not feasible in this era. The wedding would definitely be held at the groom's home, and the related ceremonies would also take place there. Therefore, Wang Xiaojun told Zhong Youpeng that the ceremony would be held at the residence in Liangxiang City, and a grand banquet would be held, with the chefs from Tianfu Building providing the service.

Since the topic of the wedding banquet had been brought up, Wang Xiaojun also asked Zhong Youpeng how many relatives and friends from the bride's side would attend, to prepare in advance. However, this simple and ordinary question made Zhong Youpeng fall silent, and he remained speechless for a long time. Zhong Shiweng, standing beside him, looked at his father, who seemed hesitant to speak, and did not dare to speak directly.

Although Wang Xiaojun found it strange, he did not urge Zhong Youpeng. He thought that Zhong's reaction was probably due to some private matter that he was hesitant to reveal. Fortunately, after some thought, Zhong Youpeng finally made up his mind. He changed his joyful expression to a serious one and said to Wang Xiaojun, "Before answering Chief Wang's question, Zhong needs to apologize to Chief Wang and all your companions. Zhong has kept something from you all, and I hope you can forgive me."

After saying this, Zhong Youpeng got up and bowed to Wang Xiaojun and all the time travelers present. This frightened everyone, and they quickly got up to avoid the bow, saying they were not worthy. Wang Xiaojun even held Zhong Youpeng to prevent him from bowing. Zhong Youpeng did not insist and, with the help of Wang Xiaojun and his son, returned to his seat. He then began to explain his true identity to the time travelers with a look of sorrow and anger.

It turned out that Zhong Youpeng's real name was Lu Zupeng, a distant relative of the Lu family of Fanyang, and a distant cousin of the current head of the Lu family, Lu Zuchang. Although they were distant relatives, they still belonged to the same clan, so they had some mutual support. During holidays, Lu Zupeng would visit his distant cousin.

Lu Zupeng had always loved reading and had passed the imperial examinations, serving as a school official in Liangxiang County. However, disaster struck when Lu Zuchang's son offended the concubine of the留守 (governor) of Nanjing, Xiao Siwen, and his vast wealth was coveted by Xiao Siwen. Lu Zuchang was accused of treason, and the entire clan was imprisoned, including the distant relative Lu Zupeng.

Fortunately, Lu Zupeng's wife's brother was a推官 (magistrate) in the留守府 (governor's office) of Nanjing. Seeing his brother-in-law wrongfully imprisoned, he could not stand by and decided to rescue him. Although it was impossible to overturn the case against the Lu family, he could use his connections and money to save the insignificant distant relative, Lu Zupeng.

After much effort and spending a considerable amount of money, Lu Zupeng was finally released from prison. However, after this ordeal, he could no longer serve as a school official in Liangxiang—Xiao Siwen had spared his life and not confiscated his property, which was already a great favor. The idea of serving as an official again was a delusion. To avoid further trouble, Lu Zupeng changed his name to Zhong Youpeng and lived as a wealthy man.

Of course, the other members of the Lu family were not so fortunate. Apart from the entire family of Lu Zuchang being executed, the other clan members were either executed or exiled, leaving very few survivors.

After hearing Zhong Youpeng's story, the time travelers were greatly surprised. Some members even began to criticize him in their hearts, wondering why he had not spoken up earlier. If he had a grudge against Xiao Siwen, what if it involved them? Now that the engagement was already set, it was too late to back out.

Although Wang Xiaojun was also surprised, he did not blame Zhong Youpeng for keeping the secret. On one hand, he understood that it was reasonable for Zhong to have kept it secret when they did not know each other well. Now that their children were engaged, they were practically family, and it was normal for him to reveal the truth. Moreover, Zhong Youpeng had been a great help to the time travelers since they arrived in this time, providing a foundation for their survival. They were grateful to him, not resentful.

On the other hand, through conversations with Zhang Weixin, Wang Xiaojun had some understanding of the history of this era or the previous one, and he knew that Xiao Siwen, the governor of Nanjing, was not a capable person, only skilled at flattering the emperor of the Liao Dynasty. Even if he were to cause trouble for them in the future, the team's current capabilities would allow them to protect themselves, even if they could not defeat him.

Therefore, after Zhong Youpeng finished his story, Wang Xiaojun sincerely said, "For Mr. Zhong to reveal such a secret to me, it shows that you trust me and my companions greatly. We are grateful for your trust. Although I am just a commoner, I have a strong sense of justice and am equally indignant about people like Xiao Siwen."

He then looked around at all the time travelers and continued, "Not only me, but I believe my companions share the same feelings."

At this, the other time travelers immediately echoed his words, even those who had some reservations. It was not that they were insincere, but rather a matter of human nature. Although they were unhappy with Zhong Youpeng's secrecy, they also remembered his kindness. This balance made their dissatisfaction disappear.

After this interlude, the conversation returned to the wedding. With an understanding of Zhong Youpeng's background, it was natural that the number of relatives from the bride's side attending the wedding would be few. These few relatives were mainly from Zhong's wife's family, primarily her brother and sister, and a couple of more distant relatives. These few people might not even fill two tables, and if it were not for Zhong Youpeng's many good friends, the number of guests from the bride's side would be much smaller than that of the groom's side.

After calculating the number of guests for the wedding banquet, Wang Xiaojun expressed to Zhong Youpeng that the time travelers were not familiar with many of the customs of the Central Plains and hoped that the Zhong family could send someone to help with the preparations to avoid any mistakes. The reason for asking the Zhong family for help was that Yuxu Zi, who had been helping them, could not leave Yuxu Palace for a long time to oversee the preparations in Liangxiang City.

Zhong Youpeng naturally did not refuse Wang Xiaojun's request, as he also hoped for a grand wedding for his daughter. He immediately agreed to send his old steward, Zhong Fu, to Liangxiang City with Wang Xiaojun and his companions to help prepare for the wedding. Wang Xiaojun expressed his gratitude repeatedly, saying he was grateful for the trouble.

After lunch, the time travelers chatted for a while at the Zhong residence. Seeing that it was getting late, they bid farewell to Zhong Youpeng and drove to Xiayun Ridge to prepare for the reorganization ceremony the next day.