Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 1112 - 356: The Rings, the Zoo_2

Chapter 1112: Chapter 356: The Rings, the Zoo_2

In this relationship, he placed her in an equal or even higher position, instead of treating her as a dependent vine.

Watching the love of his life reveal a genuine smile on her face, Xiao Ruiyuan also smiled. He took out the smaller ring from the little wooden box and reverently slid it onto Mo Yan’s right ring finger.

The golden band, with a ruby as red as blood perfectly set in it, made Mo Yan’s delicate and fair fingers look even more beautiful.

Feeling the embrace on her ring finger, a boundless joy surged from the depths of Mo Yan’s heart. She took out the other ring from the little wooden box and was about to place it on the ring finger of Xiao Ruiyuan’s outstretched left hand when she noticed two characters engraved inside the ring. Upon closer inspection, she realized those characters were her own name.

Noticing Mo Yan’s surprise, Xiao Ruiyuan’s lips curved up, and as he caressed the ring on her finger, he said, "There’s one here as well, with my name on it."

Mo Yan’s heart stirred, she had not expected him to do this, "You had this custom-made?" she asked.

Xiao Ruiyuan cleared his throat, seemingly a bit embarrassed, "I designed the pattern, then consulted with the craftsmen at Silver Tower to create it, naturally it had to be one of a kind."

Mo Yan stared at Xiao Ruiyuan’s hands, used to wielding swords and drawing bows, finding it hard to imagine how such hands could forge such a unique pair of rings, how much effort it took, how many failures he must have overcome, to create these perfect rings.

"What are you staring at? Don’t want to put it on me?" Seeing the moist redness welling up in Mo Yan’s eyes, Xiao Ruiyuan rubbed her head and extended his left hand again.

Mo Yan blinked, pushing back the tears in her eyes, and with devotion and emotion, she slowly slid the ring onto Xiao Ruiyuan’s ring finger.

Xiao Ruiyuan lifted Mo Yan’s right hand and held it together with his own, looking at the matching rings on their fingers, his smile grew wider. He then cupped Mo Yan’s face and kissed her soft lips deeply, lingering for a long time without parting.

...

In a world draped in silver, people welcomed the new year.

Looking back over the past year, Liu Yang Village had undergone earth-shaking changes. Not only had a school been added to the village and more than twenty brick-and-tile houses erected, the village’s ethos had improved greatly, and although it was not true that no one picked up lost items on the road, there were at least no thefts occurring. The relationships among the villagers also became more harmonious, rarely did petty disputes become public knowledge anymore.

Marriage in the village had become much easier, young women no longer worried about not finding a good family to marry into, and eligible bachelors no longer feared not being able to find a bride. This winter, the sound of firecrackers over the village never ceased, as several households who had previously been too poor to take a wife found brides they liked and celebrated the New Year together.

As with previous years, the Mo Family’s New Year was warm yet uneventful, apart from visiting the homes of friendly villagers on the first day. The rest of their time was spent indoors around the brazier, chatting, or playing games and guessing riddles.

Because of the deepening snow, it was inconvenient and dangerous to go out, so on the day of sending festival gifts, the Mo Family agreed with the Liu Family, Han Family, and other friendly households not to visit each other until the snow cleared, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble.

Looking out through the half-open window at the oppressive sky, Mo Qingze sighed and said to Mo Yan, "I had Little Mo send a New Year’s letter to your Uncle Liu yesterday. He said that many old houses in the city have collapsed, causing many deaths and injuries..."

As Mo Yan listened, her expression gradually darkened, "Jing City is still better off, the Court has set up relief points to accommodate the disaster-stricken people, providing them with daily rations and medicine, but in the local areas, who knows if the local officials are acting according to The Emperor’s edict."

Corrupt officials exist everywhere, in all eras, and there is always a chance they are present. This time, although the Court allocated funds and grain to the local areas to deal with the snow disaster, the extent of the disaster was so widespread that those who took more than their share undoubtedly existed, and nobody would know just how many of the people affected actually benefited.

Previously, Mo Yan had donated ten thousand jin of grain and five thousand jin of medicinal materials. This amount was not too much or too little, and appropriate for her status, it wouldn’t attract undue attention. Since she was the first to donate grain and medicine, Emperor Huian, during the early morning court session, took the opportunity to commend her in front of all the civil and military officials.

Emperor Huian’s insinuation was clear to everyone. Donations are a hidden norm following major disasters, and Mo Yan’s initiative to donate did not provoke resentment. Many officials even thought that Mo Yan’s actions might have been instructed by Emperor Huian or the Crown Prince.