Chapter Sixty-Nine [V] When the time comes, a lone man and woman, let's...
Li Shangping claimed that his daughter broke into his house and stole the dowry list. Li Yan, however, said that her mother personally handed the dowry list to her before she passed away.
The father and daughter each held their own version of events and argued incessantly.
However, the document bearing the official seal was indeed in Li Yan's hands, and Li Shangping could not find any evidence to prove that his daughter had broken into his home to steal.
Finally, seeing that everything was going against him, Li Shangping became anxious and attempted to physically assault someone in court.
The magistrate was furious and sentenced Li Shangping to be flogged.
Although Li Yan argued vehemently in the county court, she knew in her heart that the original owner's father was not lying. Before her mother passed away, she did not know that her husband would change his mind so quickly, and since the original owner was still young at that time, she handed over the dowry list and all the dowry to her husband to manage.
Li Yan was able to obtain this because she completed a system task and received a reward.
She accumulated 100 merit points from doing good deeds, and the system gave her this reward.
With the system's help, one could effortlessly retrieve other people's belongings remotely. This sounds somewhat mystical. But upon closer reflection, it's simply a matter of setting things right.
The dowry list of the original owner's mother should have belonged to the original owner, not left for the scumbag and the woman he married later to squander.
Everything was preordained, or perhaps it was her mother in heaven who helped her out.
Regardless, now that she has received this money, she will naturally do more good deeds and accumulate merit.
After returning home, Li Yan carefully calculated the total. The silver ingots, plus some loose silver, amounted to approximately seventy or eighty taels. As for the gold, silver, and jade jewelry, she couldn't yet estimate their true value.
But Li Yan had no intention of selling or pawning these pieces of jewelry. She wasn't short of money now, so keeping them was a meaningful thing.
After receiving the silver, Li Yan immediately went to the carriage shop.
But after going to see it, I realized that horses are also divided into different grades. Just like in later generations, there are cars worth tens of thousands of dollars and cars worth millions of dollars.
Li Yan naturally couldn't afford a car worth millions, but she didn't want to buy one worth tens of thousands either. In later generations, cars had brand names that could be recognized, so she would buy according to the brand. Even if the price differed slightly, the difference wouldn't be too great.
In ancient times, however, one needed to be knowledgeable to buy horses.
What if you spend tens of taels of silver but only get a sick horse worth a dozen taels, or even just a few taels? Wouldn't that be a loss?
So after going around in circles, Li Yan decided to postpone the purchase for the time being.
Of all the people she knows now, Xue Yi is probably the most knowledgeable. Perhaps she should wait a while, and after arriving in Jiangning Prefecture, ask Xue Yi for help in making a selection.
Having made this decision, Li Yan began packing her bags.
From now on, everything here will be managed by Ye Wangxiang.
Li Yan gave Qingniang a choice, asking her whether she wanted to follow her to Jiangning Prefecture or stay in Huating County to help Ye Wangxiang.
After hesitating all night, Qingniang finally told her that she still preferred to stay by her master's side.
Li Yan actually wanted Qingniang to follow her, since Qingniang was quite skilled. If she stayed by her side in the future, she could fight the enemy for a few rounds if they encountered danger, instead of being captured immediately.
But thinking that she was from a village near Huating County, it would be more convenient for her to visit her parents' graves to pay her respects during Qingming Festival or Lunar New Year's Eve.
Therefore, she let Qingniang choose for herself.
Seeing that Qingniang was more willing to follow her, Li Yan felt a warm glow in her heart, but she also asked her, "Have you made up your mind? Actually, if you stay here and work for Wangxiang, you can live a comfortable life, and she will treat you well. That way, you can go back to visit your parents' graves every year on the anniversary of their death. Although Jiangning Prefecture is not too far from Huating County, it is still more than two hours' drive away."
Qingniang shook her head like a rattle-drum and said seriously, "I've made up my mind." After thinking for a moment, she added, "Actually, I am a little hesitant, but last night my parents appeared to me in a dream and said that you are a good person and that I should follow you. If I can stay by your side, they will be more at ease in heaven."
Li Yan laughed: "Stop calling me 'you' so formally. I'm only a few years older than you. It's not like I'm that old."
Qingniang smiled shyly and replied, "Okay."
Li Yan added, "But if you regret it later and want to go back to your hometown, just tell me anytime."
Qingniang immediately reassured herself, shaking her head vigorously, "I've made my decision, and I won't regret it." Then, somewhat cautiously and worriedly, she asked, "Master, you won't dislike me and won't want me to come along, will you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Li Yan raised her hand and tapped her head with a light laugh. "Go pack your things."
Qingniang readily agreed, "Okay," and then quickly ran off to continue packing.
On the day of her departure, all the aunties and sisters-in-law in the alley came to see her off. Li Yan also took out the snacks she had bought in advance and shared them with everyone.
The carriage company rented two carriages, one for luggage and one for passengers.
Having previously had several pieces of furniture made at a carpentry shop, Li Yan naturally took them with her when she left.
In addition, there were some clothes and bedding.
Two days before their departure, Li Yan had Xu Ge'er send a letter to his uncle in Jiangning Prefecture. So, when their carriage arrived at the foot of the city wall of Jiangning Prefecture, Xue Yi was already waiting there.
Upon seeing people in the distance, Xu Ge'er waved vigorously to his uncle below the city wall: "Second Uncle!"
Upon seeing this, Xue Yi, who possessed excellent hearing and eyesight, immediately spurred his horse to meet them.
Xue Yi had clearly come from the camp, and he hadn't had time to change out of his armor. He had just finished training in the military camp, which was already physically demanding, and because of the hot weather, he was covered in sweat.
Her hair, which had been tied up high, was now disheveled, especially the hair in front of her forehead, where a few strands had fallen down after getting wet with sweat.
Li Yan also lifted the carriage curtain to look, and the moment she saw the man in front of her, her eyes lit up.
This Xue Erlang was undoubtedly a womanizer, but this Xue Erlang was even more dashing and handsome.
Nobody dislikes looking at handsome men, and Li Yan is no exception.
Thinking about it, even if we don't become a real couple, it would be really pleasing to the eye to spend every day with someone like that in the future.
If they were to become husband and wife, spending her life with such a man, she wouldn't be at a loss.
The thought flashed through her mind, and after realizing it, Li Yan suddenly found it amusing.
She seems to be overthinking things.
When Xue Yi arrived, the carriage had already stopped.
With his mother still inside the carriage, Xue Yi dismounted and first greeted her. Then, his gaze naturally fell on his "wife," Li, standing to the side.
Li Yan was also sizing him up, so their eyes met. After exchanging a glance, they nodded slightly as a greeting, and then looked away simultaneously.
Aunt Xue noticed the sweat on her son's forehead and felt sorry for him: "Why did you have to come to pick him up in person? Yan Niang knows where you live, we can just go to your door."
Xue Yi smiled and said, "I happened to get off work early, so I had time to come and greet you."
"Let's hurry up, it's still very hot right now," Aunt Xue urged.
Afterwards, Xue Yi rode a horse, while the others rode in carriages, heading into the city.
Because Xue Yi was there, the city gate guards didn't check the travel permits required to enter the city and let them through directly.
Yuejie slept the whole way, and woke up rubbing her eyes when they entered the city.
The brother and sister, one on each side, leaned against the car windows to look at the street scenery outside.
As the carriage curtain was lifted, Li Yan occasionally peeked out. Coincidentally, every time she looked out, she could see Xue Yi sitting high on his horse.
Since he had his back to her and no eyes on the back of his head, Li Yan took the opportunity to boldly look him over.
But somehow Xue Yi noticed that she was propping her chin up and staring intently at his back when, out of the blue, he turned around and his gaze met hers perfectly.
Caught off guard, Li Yan was caught red-handed and utterly embarrassed, not even having time to dodge. She thought to herself, "Is Xue Yi a dog? Did he sniff out this place?"
But since she had been caught, there was no need to be cowardly and evasive, so Li Yan smiled at him openly.
Xue Yi was slightly taken aback, and felt a little uneasy.
He turned around and focused his attention on the road ahead.
After that, Li Yan didn't look at him so boldly again, but she still glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. After that, Xue Yi never looked back at her again.
Li Yan couldn't help but think that this was quite interesting.
They soon arrived at the general's mansion, where the words "Liu Mansion" on the plaque had been replaced with "Xue Mansion".
Xue Yi's situation was reported directly to his superiors on the very day he returned to Jiangning Prefecture by fast horse.
Upon learning of the situation, the superior was both shocked and serious. After much deliberation, he said, "Even I, the general, cannot make up my mind about this matter. We must report it up the chain of command." Ultimately, it must reach the Emperor's ears so that he may be informed.
Xue Yi's title of commander of a thousand households was bestowed by the emperor, and his household registration still used the name Liu Erzhuang. If he wanted to change it back to his original status, he would naturally have to let the emperor decide.
While household registration is difficult to change, one can decide for oneself to change the nameplate of the residence to "Xue Mansion".
After getting off the car, Aunt Xue looked at the two characters "Xue Mansion" on the plaque and couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.
For the Xue family, this can be considered the end of their suffering and the beginning of happiness, right?
If his father and eldest son were alive, they would surely be happy to know that his second son has now been promoted and become wealthy.
The thought that the whole family would be reunited and never be separated again made Aunt Xue even happier.
"Mother, I've had the servants prepare your room. Let me lead you in."
Where I live is not important; what matters is where my son and daughter-in-law live.
"Where do you usually live?" Aunt Xue asked.
This general's mansion is a three-courtyard residence. It can easily accommodate more than a dozen people, let alone a few. Moreover, it is spacious and comfortable.
However, Xue Yi was a bachelor before, and he didn't care much about appearances, so he just slept in the study with a single quilt.
But now that he has a wife... After a moment of silence, Xue Yi truthfully said, "My son has been staying in the study due to work."
Aunt Xue said, "We could make do before, but now that you have a wife, we can't make do anymore." She then asked her son, "Which courtyard is the biggest and best in this mansion? That will be your wedding room."
Xue Yi originally wanted to say that it might not be a good idea, but seeing that Li Shi did not argue, he remained silent.
His silence was taken as a tacit agreement by Aunt Xue, which made her even happier.
As long as the young couple can sleep together, why worry that they won't consummate their marriage?
The man is handsome, the woman is beautiful, and they are both young. When the time comes, they will be alone together, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, and sooner or later they will become a real couple.
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