As he watched Jun Yexuan leave, Mu Jinghang rubbed his chin and smirked like a thief.
Qin Yongmei on the other hand, grinned proudly at the situation that she managed to control.
She turned to look at Qiao Zhizhuo, "Dad, isn't it time for the guests to gift their Pearls of Fortune and Marriage?"
Qiao Zhizhuo nodded and smiled, "Go ahead."
To gift the Pearl of Marriage and Fortunate was a ceremonial act that was just as important as hair brushing.
The combing of the hair was a metaphor for the girl's future while the pearl represented the girl's fortune in marriage.
On this day, all the families with a single son can gift the coming of age girl a Pearl of Fortune and Marriage.
It indicates that they have the will to marry the girl and also indicates that they wish the girl to have a happy marriage. It was a tradition that was passed on from ancient times when it was said that hundreds of families serve to please the one family with a daughter.
The girl who receives the pearls were said to be able to have her pick at the men and choose the one she loves the most. If she didn't like any of the men, she could ignore them.
Also on this day, if the boys from the families were not picked, they had no right to get angry.
Because the Pearl of Fortune and Marriage indicates the boys' desire to marry the girl, it obviously meant they couldn't gift one pearl to each girl.
Plus, the Pearls of Fortune and Marriage needed to be specially made, as they were made out of high-quality pearls. One pearl cost approximately $10,000RMB.
Though everyone who was invited today had the money, nobody would be willing to spend more than they needed to.
So, it was obvious that if the family gave one to Qiao Qing, they couldn't give another one to Qiao Nian and vice versa.
When everyone received the invitation that the two girls were having the coming of age party together, everyone knew right away the originator of this idea wanted to stir the pot.
Though they knew this was going to be offensive, they had to make a choice.
Which was why when Qi Yusen showed up to brush Qiao Qing's hair, everyone reconsidered their choices.
But now that they thought those two families have no ties, and remembered how high Qiao Nian scored on the exam, they stopped doubting themselves.
Jiang Huailu placed the pearl on Jiang Yi's hand and pushed him forward, "Go give it to Niannian! Work hard today to make sure Niannian is going to be my daughter-in-law!"
Jiang Yi was pushed hard and tripped on his way up. Though he was walking towards Qiao Nian, his gaze was stuck on Qiao Qing.
To put it more accurately, ever since Qiao Qing showed up, his gaze never left her.
Seeing how out of it Jiang Yi was, Jiang Huailu pursed his lips and whispered, "Jiang Yi!"
Jiang Yi recollected himself. As if terrified that he will soon regret this decision, he quickly dropped the Pearl of Fortune and Marriage into the giant jewelry box before Qiao Nian.
His dad was right. Qiao Nian was the better choice.
Jiang Huailu sighed in relief.
Now that someone had made the first move, Qi Rui's parents shoved the pearl into Qi Rui's hand as fast as a bullet.
"Go give it to Niannian too. You scored higher than the boy from the Jiang family. You're also better looking. Our family is higher ranked than the Jiang family. It's more likely Niannian will pick you!"
Qi Rui pushed away the pearl and his gaze landed on Lin Xiyan, who sat close to Qiao Qing.
"I have a girl I like. Plus, I'm so young still! You don't need to worry about my marriage!"
"You bastard! The best girl in the entire city is Niannian! Who do you dare to like?! Whatever! If you won't go, I'll go!"
Then, Qi Rui's mom personally went to give the pearl to Qiao Nian.
After that, one after one, adult men or their parents all went to drop off their Pearl of Fortune and Marriage. Without exceptions, they all gave their pearl to Qiao Nian.
Qin Yongmei watched as the pearls in her daughter's jewelry box piled up while Qiao Qing's box remained empty. She couldn't even describe how satisfied she felt at that moment.