Fang's previous consent to marriage expressed in cooperation with other parties can only be regarded as the consent to the establishment of an engagement, rather than the consent to the establishment of a marriage with legal effect. According to the provisions of the law, Article 10 of Interpretation II of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "If a party requests to return the betrothal gifts paid according to custom, the people's court shall support it if it is found that the following circumstances exist:
（1） Where the two parties have not gone through the formalities of marriage registration, (2) where the two parties have gone through the formalities of marriage registration but have not yet lived together, (3) where the pre marital payment has resulted in living difficulties for the payer. The application of the provisions of sub paragraphs (2) and (3) of the preceding paragraph shall be conditional on the divorce of both parties. "
