Whether it was because Qiu Yan was rushing the carriage too fast or because Qiu Xu wasn't sitting properly, he suddenly slid to the bottom of the carriage and unfortunately hit his head on the edge, causing him to gasp in pain. "Sister Tian Xiu, please don't joke around."

Tian Xiu smiled through her tears, but when she thought of her mother's vicious face, her eyes filled with tears again.

Parents of this era mostly favored sons over daughters, and Tian Xiuniang was no exception.

Her mother gave birth to six daughters before finally having a son.

Her younger brother was the little darling of their family; they treated him like a precious gem, afraid of losing him or melting him in their mouths.

Tian Xiu was the sixth child; her older sisters had all been sold off by her mother.

Tian Xiu didn't want to suffer the same fate as her sisters, so she went out to work on her own.

She thought that as long as she paid some copper coins to her family every month, her mother wouldn't sell her off so hastily.

Unexpectedly, Lady Guan found her mother and said she wanted to introduce her to a marriage.

She said that Tian Xiu and their cousin should go to the Zhang family to be sisters.

Of course, she didn't become a matchmaker for nothing.

Tian Xiuniang was attracted by the generous betrothal gift, which led to yesterday's scene.

Tian Xiu lifted the carriage curtain, sat down in front of the carriage, and cautiously asked Qiu Yan, "Boss, can I still work at the shop?"

After what happened, she was afraid that Qiu Yan would no longer need her.

But apart from the wonton shop, she had nowhere else to go.

"Have you thought about how to resolve this?" Qiu Yan hates people who are really difficult to deal with.

"I..." Tian Xiu stammered, looking down and clenching her fingers, not knowing what to do.

Seeing that Tian Xiu stopped speaking and didn't ask any more questions, Qiu Yan continued speaking to Qiu Xu:

“Ah Xu, don’t act impulsively again in the future.”

My younger brother's martial arts skills have improved, but he is not proficient.

After all, he had only been learning martial arts for less than half a year.

Qiu Yan spoke seriously, and Qiu Xu nodded after hearing this, "I understand, sister."

"Remember what you said, your sister doesn't want to see you get hurt."

Qiu Xu obediently replied, "I won't do it again." He had acted too impulsively just now.

The three fell into a brief silence, and soon they arrived at the Bihu Inn.

Because Tian Xiu was covered in wounds and ashamed to see anyone, she hid in the carriage and did not come out.

The shop assistant at the door already remembered Qiu Yan. Seeing her arrive, he hurried forward to greet her, "Miss, here to deliver goods again?"

As he spoke, he helped Qiu Yan lead the carriage into the courtyard.

Qiu Yan nodded and smiled, "Yes, is Mr. Qi here?"

"Our boss is enjoying the view on the lake ahead. You wait here while I go call him."

After saying that, the guy jogged off to the lakeside.

Inside a private room on the second floor of the inn, a man in black was admiring the distant scenery when he looked down at Qiu Yan below. His deep-set eyes flickered.

This girl has a cold and stubborn appearance, and even her temperament is quite similar to mine.

Since Qi Tiansheng bought mushrooms from Qiu Yan last time, the customer feedback has been quite good, so he thought he would buy some more from Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan hadn't seen anyone for a long time.

For this reason, he even made a special trip to Xingyue Tower.

Upon discovering that Xingyue Tower was packed with customers, and especially after hearing Zhou Zifang say that Qiu Yan was his great benefactor, Qi Tiansheng became somewhat interested in Qiu Yan.

Today, he was finally able to wait for Qiu Yan to come again, and she brought so many mountain products. He immediately had someone weigh them and settle the bill.

During the settlement process, Qiu Yan said to Qi Tiansheng, "Boss Qi, if you think our mountain products are good, we can cooperate for a long time."

Although delivering mountain produce doesn't earn much money, Qiu Yan wants to build more connections.

Qi Tiansheng smiled and said, "I also think so. But if we're going to do business together in the long run, you'll have to give me a reasonable price."

A businessman is a businessman; he's always thinking about his own profit.

"That's natural."

After selling her mountain produce, Qiu Yan began negotiating prices with Qi Tiansheng.

Because Qi Tiansheng had many inns outside and needed a lot of goods, Qiu Yan agreed to give him a discount of five coins each for wood ear fungus and dried mushrooms. He didn't need many fresh mushrooms, so the price remained the same.

Then, she took her younger brother and prepared to leave.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the inn, he noticed an unidentified object falling straight at him from above.

She dodged to the side, and a purse landed vertically on the ground.

Qiu Yan looked up and saw that the man in the second-floor guest room had one hand frozen in mid-air, staring at her.

Qiu Xu stood silently in front of his sister, a hint of anger on his face.

"Shu'er, I'm sorry."

As the man spoke, he went downstairs to the second floor.

By this time, Qiu Yan and Qiu Xu had already disappeared, leaving only a series of tire tracks.

He Lin picked up the purse from the ground; it was embroidered with mandarin ducks whose shapes were indistinct.

On their way home, Qiu Yan and her brother were surrounded by whispers and gossip about the Zhang family's scandalous affairs.

"Have you heard? Master Zhang returned from his wedding procession today with an empty sedan chair."

"Where did the concubine go? Did she break off the engagement at the last minute?"

"Who knows..."

Listening to the voices on the street, Tian Xiu huddled in the corner of the carriage, her head bowed low, her heart filled with extreme fear.

She knew that whether the Zhang family found her or her own family took her back, she would be in serious trouble.

Qiu Yan didn't take it seriously and led the two straight back to the backyard of the shop.

She told Tian Xiu to tidy herself up and Qiu Xu to rest for a while, then went to the front to help.

Seeing that his sister was busy, Qiu Xu went to help her.

When the number of customers dwindled, Qiu Yan casually ate a bowl of wontons. Thinking about the lack of seasonings in this era, she decided to research some flavor-enhancing condiments and sat down at the front of the shop to ponder them.

Only then did Qiu Yumei and the others realize that Tian Xiu had returned.

I was quite surprised to find that she was covered in wounds.

Qiu Yumei, Zhu Juan, and Cao Shi surrounded Tian Xiu, asking her about her various deeds during this period.

Tian Xiu did not hide anything and recounted her experience in detail.

When she spoke of her painful experiences, she broke down in tears.

Zhu Juan looked at her own mother, Cao Shi, and thought, "They're both mothers, so why is there such a big difference between them?"

Cao felt sorry for Zhu Juan, and her eyes reddened.

Compared to Tian Xiu, their family was much luckier.

Fortunately, they met Qiu Yan, who gave them hope to live.

Qiu Yumei sighed, "Xiuer, there are plenty of good young men in our village. I'll introduce you to one if you want to change your name."

Tian Xiu glanced at Qiu Xu, who was reading a book inside the room, and said, "Aunt Qiu, I want to marry him."

Qiu Xu and Tian Xiu looked at each other, their expressions suddenly stiffening, and they lowered their heads to continue reading.

He's only ten years old; does this older sister think she can cling to him?

After Tian Xiu finished speaking, the people around her burst into laughter.

Zhu Juan hugged Gu Xiaoran, beaming from ear to ear.

Gu Xiaoran didn't know what she was laughing at, but she laughed along with her.

As he laughed, he stuffed a peanut of indistinct color into Zhu Juan's mouth, causing her to cough violently, tears welling in her eyes. "Young Master, what did you give me to eat?"

Madam Cao shook her head. "Xiuer, it won't work. The master's younger brother is going to take the imperial examinations in the future."

Once Qiu Xu passes the imperial examinations, what beautiful women won't he have? Cao Shi only thought this last sentence to herself and didn't say it aloud.