The Second Prince's wife's meaning was quite clear: she did not want to marry Li Youran off and was rejecting the marriage proposal.

The old woman who came was not angry. She smiled and took out something wrapped in a handkerchief from her bosom.

"Your Highness, this is the bracelet that our ancestor kept hidden away. It was part of his dowry."

The Second Prince's wife was slightly surprised to see this; she hadn't expected the Zhou family to value this marriage so much.

"The Zhou family, from top to bottom, genuinely likes Miss Li."

As she spoke, the old woman tried to get closer to Zhou Caidie by talking about her.

"There's no rush for the wedding. Why don't we let the two young ladies go on a trip together, and let Miss Li catch a glimpse of Mr. Zhou from afar before making a decision?"

Seeing that the nanny had already put it this way, the Second Prince's Consort couldn't be too harsh in her refusal, since she did intend to win over the Zhou family, so she agreed.

"You Ran, I know I shouldn't make decisions on my own, but it would be good to meet her first. What if we really hit it off?"

Having learned her lesson from last time, the Second Prince's Consort was afraid that You Ran would become estranged from her because of this matter, so after the nanny left, she hurriedly looked behind the screen.

"I'll do whatever my sister says."

As the weather gets hotter, Li Youran has started wearing thin dresses, with a plain dress as a base layer and a light green gauze over it, giving her a misty, ethereal look.

Li Youran could understand the difficulties the Second Prince's wife had faced, so she didn't say much. For her, the meeting wasn't so awkward.

Besides, she and Zhou Caidie were already good friends, so it would be nice for them to go out and have fun together.

"Sister, come and try these snacks, they taste delicious."

As Li Youran spoke, she opened the pastries that the nanny had brought. The pastries were very exquisite and looked very appetizing.

"You've been in the capital for so long, and I haven't even bought you a proper Beijing specialty yet. If you like it, eat as much as you like."

Seeing Li Youran eating the snacks with gusto, the Second Prince's wife felt extremely warm inside.

The Eight Treasures of Beijing are the most distinctive traditional products among Beijing-style pastries. During the Qing Dynasty, they were always the offerings for the royal family and royal clan in sacrifices and ceremonies, as well as indispensable gifts and display items for weddings, funerals, and even daily life.

"Beijing Eight Delicacies" was not originally the name of a type of pastry. It came to be known as Beijing Eight Delicacies because the pastries, which were originally engraved with auspicious words such as "fortune", "longevity", "prosperity", "happiness" and "everything goes well", were placed on eight plates and arranged in various patterns.

"Didn't you say you were sure you could make Li Youran's reputation in the capital worse and worse? How come all the good things about Youran have happened these past few days?"

Hongxiu leaned against the soft couch, speaking without raising her head.

"Sister, don't worry. As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Anyway, Li Youran's ex-husband, Lu Chuan, is in cahoots with us. If he wants to smear Li Youran, it's a piece of cake."

As Hongxiu's brother spoke, he gestured for money, but Hongxiu responded with an impatient expression.

All they ever do is ask for money.

Hongxiu said, waving to the little maid beside her. Then, Xiaoya took out a stack of silver notes from the bottom of Hongxiu's jewelry box.

"I heard that the Zhou family went to the Second Prince's residence to propose marriage. I'll give you seven more days. If you can't ruin this matter, don't blame me for turning my back on you later."

"Okay, I know. Don't worry about what I'm doing, brother."

As Hongxiu's elder brother spoke, he snatched the silver note, stuffed it into his pocket without counting it, and left looking very happy.

Hongxiu remained lying on the soft couch, letting her maid massage her back and shoulders.

Ever since the Prime Minister forced her to give Li Youran money as an apology, Hongxiu had been unable to swallow her anger. So she secretly asked her elder brother to cause trouble for Li Youran. Unfortunately, her elder brother was extremely unreliable and could do nothing but ask for money.

If things don't work out this time, Hongxiu plans to find another expert.

"The Zhou family just came to propose marriage, and you've already chased after me here. Are you that afraid of losing me?"

While watching the workers purify the salt, Li Youran joked with Tang Lei.

You're overthinking it.

Tang Leijian felt embarrassed after Li Youran said that, as if he were being petty, so he stubbornly refused to admit it.

After hearing Tang Lei's words, Li Youran raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Tang Lei with an expression of disbelief, and continued.

"Since you don't care about me, then I'll agree to this marriage?"

Li Youran said this to see if Tang Lei would get angry.

However, Tang Lei mistakenly believed that what Li Youran said was true.

"As long as you're happy."

As it turns out, it's best not to make these kinds of jokes with a straight-laced guy, Tang Lei said to Li Youran in a serious tone.

"You're heartless!" Li Youran said with a frown, then left without looking back.

Are you going shopping again?

Tang Lei frowned slightly. He didn't know why Li Youran was suddenly angry, so he shouted at her loudly.

But Li Youran didn't turn around and didn't respond to her at all.

But when Tang Lei came to find Li Youran the next morning, he saw that she had actually gone out to meet the people from the Zhou family, and realized that Li Youran was not just talking.

He stayed up for three consecutive nights so that the two of them could be together, just to complete the task ahead of schedule.

But Li Youran actually went to meet with the Zhou family. Does he mean that little to Li Youran?

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