Chapter 41 Ingratitude (September 24th, Early) Li Yang learns...

Even though we were going to the banquet hall, we always had to stop by Fang's Tea House first.

Firstly, it had been a while since she had visited Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang. Secondly, Fang Yuan was in charge of all the accounts and supplies, so she couldn't go to the back mountain to pick mushrooms every day.

Li Yang gave Fang Yuan a portion of the income as payment for her help in preparing the mountain delicacies and delivering them.

When Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang saw that this young girl had married into a good family, they not only did not look down on their own family, but even their own daughter had more opportunities to make money. When they saw Li Yang again, they were all smiles, each one more impressive than the last.

The three young ladies stood in a row at the entrance of the banquet hall, attracting a lot of attention. Manager Zhou saw them and came running over from inside the shop, clutching his belly, "Oh, Xiao Liyang, you're here!"

Seeing his enthusiasm, Li Yang knew that the wontons must be selling well. "Uncle Zhou, let's have a bowl of wontons. Do you have any seats?"

"Yes, yes!" Manager Zhou greeted them with a beaming smile, leading them to their seats and ordering three bowls of wontons from the waiter before taking his own seat.

Seeing Fang Yuan's bright eyes darting around the store, Li Yang understood immediately and quickly asked, "Uncle Zhou, where's Chengli? Isn't Bailu Academy closed today?"

Shopkeeper Zhou: "Chengli has been preparing for the provincial examination these days. I specially spent money to ask the academy's teacher to come to my house on his day off to help him. You can see how much I can do for him today."

In the past, if Fang Yuan were present, Manager Zhou would be extremely rude and displeased. Today, however, he was unusually beaming... Either he had really made a lot of money, or Chengli was likely to pass the provincial examination this time; either way, it was a good thing.

Li Yang pondered to himself, his eyes meeting Fang Yuan's several times, and the two of them exchanged a stolen smile.

The group chatted casually, exchanging a few words about everyday life, which made them seem especially close.

Shopkeeper Zhou: "You mean the East Market Flower Bureau is now under your management?"

Li Yang nodded helplessly, "Uncle Zhou, if you need to buy some flowers, seedlings, or rocks, remember to come find me."

Manager Zhou chuckled and said, "Oh dear, my banquet hall is a place for eating, what use are these trinkets!"

He rolled his eyes and said, "I told you that once you entered the Chen family, it would be a place of wealth and fortune! Last time, Young Master Chen even sent someone to inquire about your contract with Tongyanlou. He must have learned from this that you have exceptional talent, and thus entrusted the family business to you one by one."

This was strange, so Li Yang quickly asked, "He sent someone to the banquet hall to inquire about the contract? When did this happen?"

Manager Zhou nodded and said, "Yes, just a while ago, a lady came looking for us. She said she was asked by Young Master Chen to find out what contract the young mistress of the Chen family had with Yanlou... At first, I thought it was Young Master Chen's... Hehe, but this lady saw it and said it was a brilliant idea, so she took the contract back to the Chen family and sent it back to us after many days."

"You mean, this contract was picked up by a woman and brought back to the Chen family?" Li Yang asked in surprise. "Uncle Zhou, please tell me, what kind of woman was she?"

Could it be that Mo Lian or Cai Qing came on their mother-in-law's orders? But if those two had obtained the contract, why would they return it to the banquet hall? He hurriedly asked, "What else did that person say?"

Under her persistent and urgent questioning, Manager Zhou realized that things were not as he had expected. He had originally wanted to tell her the truth to gain a favor, but now he was in a bind... He frowned and pondered, "That lady was dressed in fine clothes and was extremely beautiful, even more so than the most beautiful courtesan on the Qinhuai River."

Then it wasn't Mo Lian, Cai Qing, or Granny Sun... Having ruled out his mother-in-law's side, Li Yang secretly had a guess in his heart.

Manager Zhou continued, "After reading the contract and hearing about your proposed method of joining the business, the lady just smiled and said, 'You truly deserve to be the young mistress of the Chen family.'"

Li Yang understood, but why did Zi Yan want to help her?

Fang Yuan listened to their conversation and, seeing that Li Yang had fallen silent, quickly reached out and placed her hand on the back of Li Yang's hand. "Zhao Zhao, do you know what's going on?"

She was both happy and worried about her best friend marrying into a wealthy and influential family. She knew her friend was kind and gentle, but it was not easy to enter such a prestigious and wealthy family.

Now, hearing Manager Zhou's words, I was very worried, fearing that my friend had been taken advantage of by the Chen family.

Li Yang nodded and said, "It should be Miss Ziyan. She's the guest that Chen Junbai personally picked up from the tea house last time. She's currently staying in the west wing of Lanxin Pavilion."

Then, she looked at Xiao Lu, "The matter I asked you to do in the woodshed that day, did you go to the Fang family to get the contract and give it to Chen Junbai?"

Fang Yuan: "What? Little Lu, you took a contract from the Fang family in the future? What exactly happened?!"

The little deer's initial cheerful excitement vanished instantly, replaced by a pitiful expression. "That morning, I originally planned to go to the Fang family's house first. Later, Brother Bi Fang called me to the west wing to help tidy up some things..." Her voice gradually turned to tears. "Later, just as we were about to finish tidying up, the young master sent word that everyone should go to the woodshed..."

Li Yang's heart skipped a beat, and he muttered to himself, "So you didn't go. Miss Ziyan came to the banquet hall to retrieve the contract, and it was Miss Ziyan who gave it to Chen Junbai. That's why he came to the woodshed to let me out..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan shrieked, "Little Deer! How could you be so ungrateful! Zhao Zhao is locked in the woodshed, and you still have the nerve to help clean up someone else's room?!"

Especially that west wing, do you even need to clean it? Doesn't the Chen family have any maids? Do you even remember who spent fifty taels of silver to rescue you from that wolf's den?

The shout was so sharp that Manager Zhou frowned, made an excuse to slip away, and said he was going to greet the guests.

Xiao Lu: "Young Madam, I was wrong, I won't do it again next time... I had no choice, Brother Bi Fang stopped me, he is the Chen family's steward, I dare not..." As she spoke, she seemed to have lost her backbone, sliding off the stool and about to kneel.

Seeing her like this, Fang Yuan rolled her eyes and muttered, "Brother Bi Fang, Brother Bi Fang, how interesting. Where did you get your brother from?" Then she turned her head away and ignored her.

With a soft thud, Li Yang snapped out of his daze and quickly helped her up. "It's alright, get up. I'm fine now. I'm not blaming you."

Though she said she wasn't surprised, she felt a pang of disappointment. With a slight frown, she turned to Fang Yuan and asked, "Yuan Yuan, what is the relationship between this Ziyan girl and Chen Junbai?"

Chen Junbo specially welcomed her home, spending all his time with her, and showering her with bags of gold and jewels… He must like this Ziyan girl, right? Then why is Ziyan helping me? If my mother-in-law kicks me out of the Chen residence, wouldn't that make their relationship legitimate?

Ever since Chen Junbo suddenly uttered those words about "heartfelt affection," she had harbored doubts about the sincerity of his claims. These past few days, she had been avoiding him, pondering the matter day and night. The girl named Ziyan, who lived in the west wing, had become a thorn in her heart that she couldn't remove.

Today, upon learning that it was Ziyan who found evidence to clear her name, she was filled with confusion. What exactly was Ziyan's intention? She couldn't help but confide her troubles to her friend, "If she admires Chen Junbo, why would she help me? If not, then why is she living in the Chen family home..."

Fang Yuan got angry as soon as she heard "expelled from the Chen family". "What? What kind of old witch is your mother-in-law? You're already married, why would she want to expel you from the Chen family?"

Li Yang was pulled back to his senses by her. "Hey, I asked you a question, why are you saying these things..."

Fang Yuan then said awkwardly, "Oh, oh, I don't know anything about these things either... Why don't you go to the Xiahai Temple to have your fortune told? But who cares? She helped you this time, so you can go back and thank her, and maybe find out what she thinks. We can't be ungrateful..." As she spoke, her eyes darted around, glancing at Zhao Di standing to the side.

That sounds reasonable. It's been a long time since I've been to the sea temple, except this time I'm not praying for wealth...

Fortunately, the wontons had already been served, and Manager Zhou brought over his money bag and contract. The group quickly checked the accounts, pressed their deposits, ate the wontons without a word, and then dispersed.

Li Yang: "Taoist Master, tell me, what kind of luck have I had lately?" As he spoke, he handed over a tael of silver.

The old Taoist priest was munching on a pear when he saw the silver. He glanced at her, then quickly threw away half a pear, rubbed his hands together, and pretended to examine her face.

"Your daily life is filled with good thoughts and you have accumulated merits. Now, the 'Palace of Yin Virtue' on your face is shining brightly. This is a sign that a family that has accumulated good deeds will surely have abundant blessings. The person who comes to you is definitely a virtuous person, and you can support each other."

Hearing him describe such a beautiful and auspicious scene, Li Yang knew that the old Taoist was just spouting lucky words to get a reward, so he took out another tael of silver and took his leave.

As Li Yang stepped out of the temple gate, he saw a little girl with two sheep horn-shaped hairpins on her head, carrying a basket and hawking her wares by the roadside.

She glanced at the little girl's basket; it contained flower hairpins of various shapes and colors, a truly beautiful sight.

"Kid, where are your parents?"

Hearing her question, the little girl ran over with a smile and said, "Sister, I came with my older sister. She's over there... Sister, do you want to buy some flowers to wear?"

Following the direction the little girl pointed, Li Yang saw a young woman of about fifteen or sixteen years old with thick braids selling goods from a basket at the other end of the street.

She crouched down, her gaze meeting the little girl's. "This flower hairpin is so pretty, did your older sister make it?"

"It was made by my mother. She's sick at home, so my older sister and I came out to sell flowers to earn money to buy her medicine." The little girl picked out a pear blossom hairpin from the basket. "My sister is pretty, this hairpin suits her perfectly."

Seeing the little girl's serious expression, Li Yang couldn't help but smile. "Okay, then help your older sister see what else is interesting."

The little girl took out a few more flower hairpins. "Sister, there are also these, made of silk, they're pretty too. This one is crabapple, this one is peach blossom, they were all made by Mother."

Seeing that Li Yang had taken the flower hairpin, she said, "Sister, this one with fresh flowers costs three copper coins, and this one with silk costs five copper coins. You'll look good wearing both."

Li Yang handed the hairpin to Xiao Lu, then took two silk flower hairpins from the little girl's basket, comparing a fresh flower hairpin with a pair of fresh flower earrings, and casually asked, "Where is your father?"

The little girl was delighted to see that she had so many things to choose from, and answered all her questions by saying, "Father has gone out. Mother said that when Father passes the imperial examination and becomes a high-ranking official, he will come back to take us to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury."

Though the speaker meant no harm, Li Yang felt a pang of sadness upon hearing it.

She glanced at the little girl's older sister, who was hawking her wares with a flower hairpin from her own family in her hair. Her clothes were faded from washing, and the hems of her clothes and trousers were sewn with different colored fabrics, probably because she had grown taller and made her clothes longer.

As she pondered this, she took out two taels of silver from her purse and handed it to the little girl. “Here are two taels of silver. Go and call your older sister over. I want all these hairpins of yours today.”

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Author's note: Scroll down for an extra chapter!