“Miss Li, you should be more mindful of your behavior in public,” Zhao Lanshan said angrily. “As a woman, you should abide by the Three Obediences and Six Virtues.”

Zhao Lanshan hadn't expected Li Youran to be so open, engaging in such intimate behavior with Liu Zhiyuan in public.

"Miss Zhao, you've misunderstood, I..."

“Miss Li, you may not know this, but Young Master Liu is my fiancé.” After saying this, Zhao Lanshan looked at Liu Zhiyuan and said, “Seduce a married father, and you’ll be in for a world of trouble!”

Li Youran was embarrassed and didn't know how to explain for a moment.

“Miss Zhao, please be careful with your words. We are not engaged.” Liu Zhiyuan frowned and said, “Miss Li and I are mutually attracted to each other.”

Zhao Lanshan was stunned; she couldn't believe Liu Zhiyuan was talking to her like that.

At the same time, Li Youran was also stunned. This... this is nowhere!

“Young Master Liu, aren’t you going too far with your words? Although you and my young lady are not engaged, both families know that you were betrothed since childhood. Moreover, my young lady has often brought you food and drink.”

"All the food and drinks that your young lady sent, I've given to you, Liu Er."

Seeing his young master being rebuked, Liu Er raised his head and retorted back.

"Besides, our young master didn't beg your young lady to give him things. It was your young lady who went out of her way to give him things."

"Liu Er, stop being so rude." Although Liu Zhiyuan had no interest in Zhao Lanshan, he was not an uncouth person.

“Miss Zhao, this matter was not handled well by our Liu family.” Liu Zhiyuan cupped his hands and said, “I will personally visit your residence to apologize.”

If Zhao Lanshan hadn't spoken so arrogantly to Li Youran, Liu Zhiyuan wouldn't have spoken so bluntly.

"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, you two please don't act rashly!"

Li Youran hadn't expected that the two of them had this kind of relationship. Now that they'd misunderstood each other because of Li Youran, how could she possibly feel at ease...?

"Miss Zhao, Mr. Liu and I really have nothing going on, it's all a misunderstanding!" Li Youran hurriedly explained what had just happened, saying, "It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage."

Zhao Lanshan was already filled with regret, regretting her earlier rudeness due to her excessive excitement. Now that things had escalated to this point, it seemed unlikely that she could repair her relationship with Liu Zhiyuan.

“You Ran, this has nothing to do with you. There were misunderstandings between Miss Zhao and me, and it was my own fault for not resolving them properly.”

Liu Zhiyuan felt sorry for Li Youran. Even though Zhao Lanshan scolded her without knowing the facts, she was still thinking of Zhao Lanshan.

Liu Zhiyuan believed that marrying a woman who was easygoing was far more important than adhering to the hypocritical traditional virtues of obedience, submission, and chastity. Zhao Lanshan was a lady from a prominent family, but she couldn't compare to even a toe of Li Youran.

Upon hearing Liu Zhiyuan's words, Zhao Lanshan's eyes immediately welled up with tears. No longer caring about etiquette, she ran away.

Li Youran stood awkwardly to the side, scratching out the three-bedroom, one-living-room layout with her toes.

"Mother, let's put the wedding on hold for now. The most important thing right now is to prepare for the imperial examination," Lu Chuan said, frowning.

Since getting engaged to Wang Xiangyu, Old Mrs. Lu has been urging her son to marry Wang Xiangyu as soon as possible so that she can hold her grandson soon.

However, Lu Chuan was quite disgusted by this matter, after all, Wang Xiangyu was just an accident, and he still cared about Li Youran.

“Son, getting married and taking the imperial examination don’t conflict.” Old Mrs. Lu said seriously, “I specifically consulted a fortune teller, and Xiangyu’s birth chart is excellent. She’s a good wife who will bring good fortune to her husband. You two should get married soon; maybe you’ll do even better on the exam.”

Whether she actually consulted a fortune teller is unknown, but what is certain is that Old Lady Lu was eager to hold her chubby grandson.

Although there was a scholar in the family and they ran a jewelry shop, they didn't have a single grandson. Wherever they went, people would talk behind their backs and gossip.

Old Mrs. Lu had been a strong-willed woman her whole life; how could she tolerate such a thing happening? So, ever since Lu Chuan and Wang Xiangyu got engaged, Old Mrs. Lu couldn't wait for her son to marry Wang Xiangyu and bring her home immediately, hoping she would give birth to a big, healthy son the very next day.

Unable to resist the pull of fate, and ultimately bound by filial piety, Lu Chuan soon had no choice but to agree to marry Wang Xiangyu before the New Year.

"Your shopkeeper hasn't been in the shop for the past few days. Has he said what he's been busy with?" Tang Lei hadn't seen Li Youran for three days in a row, and he felt inexplicably irritated. He couldn't help but ask Hua Ruyu.

Hua Ruyu sensed the concern and worry in Tang Lei's words, and a pang of jealousy rose in her heart.

"Why worry about so much? I'll have someone to keep me company anyway."

"Someone is with you?" Tang Lei frowned, completely bewildered, not understanding what Hua Ruyu meant.

"Young Master Liu, who is a regular customer of the shop, is a teacher at the Mountain Academy. He has been helping Li Youran these past few days. There is no danger between the two of them together, so you don't need to worry too much."

As Hua Ruyu spoke, she didn't forget to describe how dashing and generous Liu Zhiyuan was.

"Where are you going? The dock is over there..."

"I have something to do today, so I won't be going to the dock." Tang Lei left without looking back.

Tang Lei didn't know where the anger in his heart came from, as if he had nowhere to release it.

He slowly drove his donkey cart to the academy and saw a bookstore that was not yet open for business in the distance.

The bookstore is extremely large, with six storefronts on each floor, and it looks very grand.

Tang Lei thought to himself, "This woman is really capable. In just a few months, she went from selling fish soup at a stall to owning such a large bookstore, and her steamed buns and cooked food businesses are doing very well."

This woman is so capable, she must have high expectations of others.

Thinking of this, Tang Lei thought of the Second Prince again, thinking that once he captured Liu Wei, he would go to the Second Prince's military camp and work hard, otherwise that woman would look down on him.

Strange, why is he so concerned about that woman...?

"Young Master Liu, we owe you a great debt of gratitude today. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to discover so many problems in such a short time, and things would have been chaotic after the opening." Li Youran said gratefully as he saw Liu Zhiyuan off at the entrance of the academy.

The day before the opening, Liu Zhiyuan came to the bookstore again and told Li Youran all the problems he had summarized, urging her to make adjustments as soon as possible.

"You Ran, you're too kind. We're friends, there's no need for this." Liu Zhiyuan looked at Li Youran with affection and said, "Don't move, there's something dirty on your face."

As Liu Zhiyuan spoke, he reached out and removed the dirt from Li Youran's face.

Tang Lei's gaze turned icy as he witnessed this scene...