Chapter 388 Forced

As Lin Yuesha left Hongtao's courtyard, she sighed deeply.

Hongtao knew that becoming sworn siblings was Big Beard's way of making amends to her, but she happily accepted it. However, deep down, Hongtao still harbored deep feelings for Big Beard.

What if it happened to me?

Lin Yuesha pondered repeatedly, using the pockmarked face as a comparison. What kind of siblings are they? She had already given a very good answer. Not only did she promptly clear her name, but she also blessed the pockmarked face with a large number of wives and concubines.

Pockmarked face is no wonder Big Beard's friend, they're birds of a feather!

The next day, before dawn, Lin Yuesha finished washing up, sat down to calm her mind, and practiced calligraphy for half an hour.

Recently, she has been copying slightly complicated Buddhist scriptures, chanting and praying as she goes, hoping that Buddha will bless her elder brother's journey to the capital with a smooth trip.

Before the appointed time, Bai Youran arrived early, accompanied by Doctor Yan. The three of them headed to the Li family's villa together.

Before this, Lin Yuesha had visited once and swindled the Li sisters out of 20,000 taels of silver. When they met again, Li Ruoshuang had already disappeared without a trace.

Lin Yuesha felt no pity or sympathy. These two sisters had only themselves to blame. They always thought they had gotten away with their actions without anyone noticing, but little did they know that there were clever people everywhere.

"Sister Bai, you don't look very happy."

Lin Yuesha was surprised. Granny Fang taught the young ladies manners that in such a situation, no matter how unhappy they were, they should not show it, lest they be criticized for being inappropriate.

Furthermore, Bai Youran couldn't change the fate of the marriage alliance between the two families, so she could only accept it.

"Then I'll adjust it."

Bai Youran took out the bronze mirror she always carried with her and tried to pull at the corner of her mouth with her hand, but her face was so tense that her smile looked forced and awkward.

Yesterday, she talked to her mother and overheard her parents arguing. Her father revealed that the woman who married into the family was Li Ruoxue. The Li family was so biased that the second daughter was willing to die for the eldest daughter. Even if her mother was unhappy, she had to put on a show. Her only plan now was to make more money from the Li family.

As for Li Ruoxue, now that she's married into the Bai family, do you think they won't have a chance to deal with her?

Her father managed to appease her mother, but Bai Youran was shocked to discover a startling truth that she had been kept in the dark about.

Her family kept it a secret from her alone.

What Bai Youran found even more unacceptable was that her father, whom she considered upright and not opportunistic, would say such things. Even though he was considering things from his own family's perspective, it was still quite insidious.

Bai Youran disliked both of the Li sisters, but if she had to rank them, she would despise Li Ruoxue even more. If it weren't for Li Ruoxue's shameless scheming against her elder brother, none of this trouble would have arisen.

Bai Youran couldn't bear the thought of having her face made up for the person she hated most.

The three remained silent the whole way, and soon arrived at the Li residence.

As soon as Lin Yuesha arrived at the front courtyard of the Li residence, she ran into an acquaintance. Seeing that the person was in the backyard, she hurriedly greeted him, "Doctor Liao, you're here too."

The two had met before when Chen Xiaohua got married, and it was at the time that Liao, the doctor from Jishetang, was there.

"Miss Lin."

Liao Jianghan politely exchanged pleasantries with Lin Yuesha, then turned and saw Doctor Yan, his eyes lighting up immediately.

Bai Youran stood opposite him and saw him greet Lin Yuesha first, then pay his respects to his cousin, without ever glancing at her. Bai Youran immediately felt jealous.

Liao Langzhong is the young master of Shennong Baicaotang, so he is naturally different from ordinary doctors. However, his status is not high, at least not comparable to that of the Yan family.

Since the last medical contest, Bai Youran has taken a liking to Doctor Liao, but knowing that there is almost no chance between them, Bai Youran has been suppressing her feelings.

Upon seeing Li at the Li family's villa again, Bai Youran couldn't contain herself, especially since just a few days ago, her parents had almost married her off to the poor scholar Xiao Qi. Compared to that, Doctor Liao was far superior.

What if her parents agreed? Bai Youran suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

Bai Youran never mentioned that she had wandered around Jishetang with her maidservant many times just to catch a glimpse of Doctor Liao. Doctor Liao had an ordinary appearance, but he had a reassuring and comforting medicinal fragrance.

"Dr. Liao, don't you remember me?"

Bai Youran quickly stepped forward to make her presence felt.

Lin Yuesha and Doctor Yan exchanged a glance, both of them understanding each other perfectly. They hadn't expected Bai Youran to take the initiative to speak to them.

"This young lady is..."

Liao Langzhong greeted him, but couldn't remember who was in front of him. He suddenly blushed and was very embarrassed.

"This is Miss Bai, my cousin."

The female doctor had no choice but to step forward and introduce herself. She wasn't going to fight with the traditional Chinese medicine doctor Liao, and she was too lazy to waste words.

"So it's Miss Bai. I'm sorry for my rudeness."

Upon hearing that she was Dr. Yan's cousin, Physician Liao looked at Dr. Yan and hesitantly greeted Bai Youran.

That look seemed to make Bai Youran understand something. Liao Lang's heart was set on her cousin. How could that be? Her cousin was a widow who would bring misfortune to her husband. He must not know that.

Bai Youran looked very uncomfortable. She reminded herself to maintain her composure and nodded gracefully.

Doctor Liao came to the Li family to treat patients, which is why he appeared in the backyard of the Li residence. The maid found a room for him to rest for a while, and Doctor Liao agreed without thinking. He was thinking of finding an opportunity to say a few words to Doctor Yan.

He wanted to exchange medical knowledge with her, but he couldn't find an opportunity to express his thoughts.

"Sister Yue Sha, are you very familiar with Doctor Liao?"

Bai Youran asked casually, and Lin Yuesha understood immediately.

Lin Yuesha already had experience dealing with daughters of officials; she only needed to remember that the other party didn't waste words and that every word she said had a deeper meaning.

Now, if we substitute Bai Youran's casual question into the scenario, it shows that Bai Youran cares a lot about Doctor Liao.

"Not familiar with it."

Lin Yuesha clarified that jealousy makes people ugly, she didn't want to take the blame, and she really wasn't familiar with Doctor Liao.

"That's quite a coincidence."

Bai Youran learned the whole story, but deliberately glossed over it.

The more you understand someone, the more you see through their pretense. Lin Yuesha realized that she and Bai Youran were not on the same path, so it was better to stay away.

Ahead, Zhao Jingya arrived and was talking to her female classmates.

Lin Yuesha remained outwardly calm, but inwardly sighed that relationships based on mutual interests were the most stable. Zhao Fendie was stabbed to death by Li Ruoxue, but her cousin Zhao Jingya also came to add to the dowry for the Li family's daughter, representing the Zhao family's stance that the matter was now completely over.

"Sister Yue Sha, you must be surprised that I came."

Zhao Jingya stood behind Lin Yuesha, expressionless.

"Sister Zhao, you don't look well."

Lin Yuesha pointed to the dark circles under Zhao Jingya's eyes. Zhao Jingya was the most distressed here. She and Zhao Fendie were sisters, but she was forced to come here to add makeup to her enemy.

"I hadn't eaten for three days and fainted. I thought I could escape it, but who knew..."

Zhao Jingya shook her head. The Li family had given the Zhao family a lot of benefits, so she was forced to come and contribute to the dowry. If she didn't come, the clan would take back all the dowry originally given to her. Marrying empty-handed meant being abandoned by her own family, and she wouldn't be able to explain this to her husband's family.