Once outside Canghe Town, Li Xiang'an dared to look at Mu Xi and whispered, "Why are you here?"

Mu Xi replied expressionlessly, "Naturally, I am acting on the orders of the Madam to protect the young master and young lady."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang'an laughed like a fool, thinking to himself that Yan Qingqing was truly on the same page as his son, and this arrangement was exactly what he wanted.

Li Xiang'an never imagined that Yan Qingqing had been eavesdropping yesterday.

Meanwhile, on Yan Qingqing's side, Li Xiangping and the others had already gone quite a distance, but Madam Xu was still gazing longingly in the direction they had left.

Just as Yan Qingqing was about to step forward to comfort her, Xu Shi wiped her eyes and looked at Yan Qingqing with a smile, saying, "There's nothing much going on at the embroidery shop today, so I'll go have a cup of tea with my second sister-in-law."

Yan Qingqing: ……

What happened to being heartbroken? Li Xiangbao is Xu's only son, and it's only natural that she wouldn't want him to leave.

But Yan Qingqing was somewhat puzzled by Xu's sudden change of mood.

But it's better to ask at home if there's anything wrong; it's not convenient to stand at the front door.

Back in the courtyard, Yan Qingqing had Ruyi brew some rose tea. Xu Shi loved this tea and would often come to Yan Qingqing for some after she finished drinking it.

Madam Xu held the flower tea in her hand, smelled the aroma carefully, then took a sip and smiled, "Second sister-in-law understands me best."

Yan Qingqing snorted coldly and said, "Tell me, what are you up to now, acting all lovey-dovey just now?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu laughed and said, "Oh dear, Second Sister-in-law saw through it all. It seems nothing can be hidden from Second Sister-in-law's eyes."

Yan Qingqing ignored her flattery.

Madam Xu continued, unconcerned, "Second sister-in-law, you should know that I've recently been secretly showing Xiang Baoxiang a few girls."

Yan Qingqing knew about this; she heard it from Yuan Huiniang during their family meeting that day.

Li Xiang'an was forced into marriage by Yuan Hui's mother because of this, and she was also scolded by her daughter-in-law.

Yan Qingqing gestured for Xu to continue speaking.

Xu coughed and continued, "I thought Xiang Bao would agree, but when I mentioned it to him, he actually said that Xiang An and Xiang Jian are not married yet, and he, as the younger brother, is not in a hurry."

He even told me that a good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown and should establish a career before starting a family.

I got angry as soon as I heard that. Second sister-in-law, you know Xiang Bao. He used to be obsessed with wives.

He has been determined since childhood to marry a beautiful wife.

I fully expected that I could easily resolve this by simply mentioning it to him, but who knew the child would be so resistant.

Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "If you ask me, you are indeed a bit too hasty. Xiang Bao is only fourteen years old this year. He is still a child himself. How can he get married and raise children?"

To say that Yan Qingqing has been assimilated by this era is an understatement. She can accept early marriage for her children, but they should at least be sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old.

Yan Qingqing, who is thirteen or fourteen years old, really cannot accept this.

Xu disagreed with Yan Qingqing's words, saying, "Second sister-in-law, it is said that poor children learn to be independent early, even though our family is not poor now."

But you know what I'm thinking, sister-in-law. I'm single-mindedly focused on having a grandson.

I know I was a bit too hasty, but in the end I let him go.

Originally, Li Xiangbao had planned to stay in Chengyang County to manage the shop, but after being pressured into marriage by Xu, he went to discuss it with Wang Dong. The two then changed jobs, with Li Xiangbao going to the prefectural city with Li Xiang'an and the others to develop the market.

However, Madam Xu had already discussed it with Li Xiangbao, and they agreed that they would definitely go to see him when he returned from the prefectural city.

Otherwise, Madam Xu would not agree to let him go to the prefectural city, and Li Xiangbao could not persuade Madam Xu otherwise, so he had to agree.

Yan Qingqing found Xu's story somewhat amusing; the mother and son had actually started a battle of wits.

Xu changed the subject and looked at Yan Qingqing, asking, "Second sister-in-law, I'm not trying to criticize you, but Xiang Jian is far away on the border, out of our reach. Xiang An is not young anymore, you should also pay attention to his marriage."

Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing suddenly remembered what she had overheard from the corner of the wall that night.

There's nothing her mother can do about it.

Seeing that Yan Qingqing didn't speak, Xu thought that she had high standards, so she continued, "Second sister-in-law, it is said that one should hold one's head high when marrying off a daughter, and lower one's head when taking a wife."

Although your status is unmatched in Chengyang County, or even in the prefectural city.

But don't be too picky, just find one that's decent enough.

What kind of woman are you looking for? Do you expect to marry a princess?

Seeing that Xu was talking more and more outrageous, Yan Qingqing interrupted her, saying, "Sister-in-law, where are you going with this?"

I have never thought that way. As long as the girl comes from a respectable family and has good character, I have no requirements regarding social status.

But the prerequisite is that Xiang An has to like it.

You can't force a cow to drink water; you can't force a melon to ripen.

Xu thought it made some sense, but still said, "Although what Second Sister-in-law said makes sense, you still need to think about it for him."

Look at Xiang Ping and Hui Niang, aren't they doing just fine?

I've already found several families' daughters for Xiang Bao.

They're just waiting to speak with the matchmaker, and if the woman's family agrees, they'll arrange for the two children to meet.

Yan Qingqing: ……

It turns out that Xu was only enthusiastic about this one thing; before anything was even started, she had already scared Li Xiangbao away.

Yan Qingqing casually asked, "Which family's daughters have you taken a fancy to? As long as Xiang Bao agrees, I will personally go to their homes to propose marriage to the children."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu beamed with joy. She knew that Yan Qingqing doted on Xiang Bao, and with Yan Qingqing personally proposing marriage, nothing would fail.

Leaving aside Chengyang County, even looking at the entire prefectural city, how many people would dare to disrespect Yan Qingqing?

However, Xu was also a person who knew what was going on.

She was aware of her own identity and wouldn't indulge in unrealistic dreams just because of Yan Qingqing's influence.

Among the girls she had her eye on were the daughter of Yang, the head constable of the county town; the youngest daughter of the wealthy Jin family; and the daughter of Ding, the second wife of a rich man.

Yan Qingqing was somewhat surprised to hear this; there was actually a daughter of the Ding family.

To be fair, the girls that Madam Xu had her eye on were all of fairly high social standing.

They were all girls from modest families; if it were in the past, people would have said that Xu was delusional.

After all, before that, Yan Qingqing had to rack her brains to go to the Ding family to wish Old Madam Ding a happy birthday for ten taels of silver.

But things are different now. Although the Xu family is still somewhat behind others, Li Sanniu owns 10% of the food processing workshop, which means he can receive a dividend of 20,000 taels a year.

Let's not even talk about Xu Shi and Li Xiangbao; one is the manager of the embroidery workshop, and the other is the head manager of the shop.

Moreover, their family backgrounds are simple, so no girl from any family would suffer if she married into their family.

In addition, he has Yan Qingqing, a famous scholar, as his backer.

It's not impossible to reconcile if we talk things out properly.