Chapter 12 Outrageous
Granny Rong dismissed the servants, took the fan, and personally fanned the aunt and niece.
Grandma Zhou patted Lu Yanyan's back affectionately: "Didn't you notice at all?"
Lu Yanyan twisted her handkerchief, unwilling to admit it: "She just has a foxy face."
Grandma Zhou laughed: "Both plump and slender women have their own beauty. Her figure and appearance are indeed impeccable, but we can't say that our Yan Yan is inferior to her."
Rong Mama smiled and said, "Today, all the masters of the second branch are here to support Aunt Li and plead for her."
Lu Yanyan retorted, "My second cousin-in-law and Aunt Hu are, after all, from the second branch of the family. They are on good terms with that Li woman because they have no conflict of interest with her."
"If Auntie lets Li Shi become Second Cousin's concubine, then just look at Second Cousin's wife's face."
The old lady disagreed: "Your second cousin's wife is a virtuous and kind woman. She is not competitive or jealous and manages the Zhou family in Hezhou very well. You have underestimated your second cousin's wife."
Lu Yanyan realized she had spoken out of turn and bit her lip, remaining silent.
Grandma Zhou lovingly stroked Lu Yanyan's hair: "Not everyone is as virtuous as your second cousin-in-law. If it were your eldest cousin-in-law, what you said would be the truth."
Lu Yanyan dared not speak ill of her cousin-in-law any further: "She is indeed a little better than me."
She can do double-sided embroidery, knows how to care for her skin, and is good at socializing.
Heaven knows she came from a poor background; where did she learn these ways of currying favor?
There are always some lucky people in the world.
Granny Rong also spoke up: "Perhaps it's fate that I taught Aunt Li these things so that she could serve the Third Master."
Seeing that neither Old Madam Zhou nor Granny Rong questioned Li Qu's innocence, Lu Yanyan did not bring it up further.
"Oh, right," Grandma Zhou tilted her head to look at Lu Yanyan, "didn't she bring you anything?"
"She reeks of a vixen; I told you long ago I didn't want anything from her."
Lu Yanyan and Li Qu had a deep-seated grudge because Lu Yanyan followed behind Li Qu on the day he entered the city.
The person the old lady was waiting for was originally supposed to be Lu Yanyan.
At that time, the servants of the Zhou family waiting at the city gate had already surrounded Lu Yanyan, wanting to invite her to get into the sedan chair. Unexpectedly, Li Rong, for a piece of dragon beard candy, shouted at the top of her lungs: "My third sister is also a woman. My third sister goes into the city gate first. Give us another piece of dragon beard candy!"
Then, the Zhou family servants, who had surrounded Lu Yanyan, instantly shifted their target and surrounded Li Qu.
Leading the group was Aunt Li, whose face was solemn.
Li Qu and Lu Yanyan entered the mansion on the same day. One was the destined person the old lady had been waiting for, and the other was the apple of the eye of the old lady's younger brother.
She was said to be the apple of her eye, but the Lu family had already fallen on hard times.
Otherwise, given her kinship with Old Madam Zhou, Lu Yanyan wouldn't have offered herself up to Zhou Jin as a concubine.
Of course, even if she was a concubine, she was after the extraordinary status of a noble concubine.
Grandma Zhou smiled as she looked at Lu Yanyan: "Your third cousin is precocious, but he has shallow romantic relationships and doesn't confide in anyone."
The room had been empty for so many years, and it was rare to find a woman who caught my eye.
There must be something about this woman that he likes.
Yan Yan, your father passed away unexpectedly, and your brothers are also useless. Your mother sent you to the Zhou family at this critical moment, and her purpose is self-evident.
If the third son agrees, his aunt might be willing to swallow her pride and plead for him to be given the title of legal wife.
Lu Yanyan looked at Old Mrs. Zhou in a daze, as if she had been hit by a lottery.
"But this matter can only be done with your third cousin's approval."
Lu Yanyan immediately knelt down before Old Madam Zhou: "If you can grant Yanyan's wish, Yanyan will never fail your loving care."
As Lu Yanyan and Old Madam Zhou completed their resource exchange agreement, Li Qu left Shou'an Hall only to be stopped by the three concubines of the second branch of the family.
Aunt Hu smiled and said, "Come on, let's all have lunch at my place. I've ordered a feast."
“That’s right, that’s right. Anyway, she’s rich. Her family sent her a lot of things a few days ago. Let’s go and see what she’s made of.” Aunt Xun stepped forward and took Li Qu’s arm.
Aunt Zheng pushed Li Qu toward Aunt Hu's courtyard: "Ever since Third Master took you, we haven't played mahjong together in a long time."
"I think you heard that I got an ivory mahjong set and want to try it out."
"Yes, yes, I have no family to rely on, so I envy Sister Hu's family for being so generous, sending her nice things every day."
"Ah Zheng, please, just call me sister, but please don't use that fancy nickname." Aunt Xun was furious when she thought about how the Second Master had given her the name Xun.
Still playing the xun?
Anyone who didn't know better would think it was suffocating!
If you don't have a musical talent, why bother with fancy nicknames!
Li Qu couldn't refuse, and was forcibly dragged to Aunt Hu's courtyard by Aunt Hu and her entourage.
The group entered the main house, and Aunt Hu waved away the maids, saying, "It's too hot with so many people. Bring out all the chilled fruits and vegetables from before and treat my sisters well."
Li Qu relaxed after entering the room.
Unexpectedly, a groping hand fell from the sky.
"Let me see. I heard that Third Master dotes on you so much that he even called a doctor." Aunt Zheng chuckled mischievously, her palm just touching the soft jade that she couldn't hold in one hand, when Li Qu jumped up to dodge it.
Aunt Hu, who was about to take a sip of tea, immediately put down her teacup: "Yes, yes, our Third Master is a gentleman of integrity. So many young ladies from Hezhou have written letters and embroidered sachets for him, but he has remained unmoved. Now, he has asked you, my sister, to pick such a high-class flower."
As he spoke, he also reached out his claws towards Li Qu.
Seeing that her sisters had all stepped forward, Aunt Xun was not to be outdone: "Let me see how slender her waist is."
Faced with the three women's advances, Li Qu quickly backed down, saying, "If you ladies continue to be so rude, I will stop sending you nice things from now on."
Aunt Zheng was the first to back down: "They're just taking advantage of my poverty, saying I can't afford the genuine rouge from Xianbaozhai."
Aunt Hu was afraid of really angering Li Qu, so she stopped applying the freckle removal treatment to her daughter and lazily sat down in the main seat: "What are you afraid of? Go ahead and go ahead. I'll give you ten or eight rouges from Xianbaozhai."
“I don’t want the new ones. You can give me the ones you’ve used in your dressing case, and the ones Sister Li gave me a few days ago.”
"No, that was a gift from Sister Li."
"So, all you have are the gifts from Sister Li?"
"The rest are all my old ones, I can't give them to you."
Aunt Zheng touched the gold hairpin in her hair, rolled her eyes, and complained, "When will Xianbaozhai from Yan open a branch in our Hezhou?"
Aunt Hu picked up her teacup and chimed in, "It's just a pity that Xianbaozhai isn't owned by the Second Master, otherwise I wouldn't have asked someone to buy it from Yan at several times the original price."
Xianbaozhai's rouge and face powder are considered exquisite products, and the prices are reasonable.
But the person who sold rouge and face powder at Xianbaozhai was mentally unstable and came up with a rule limiting purchases.
Not only can each person only purchase one product at a time, but repeat purchases are only allowed after the expected usage period stipulated by Xianbaozhai.
That's right, you need to register with your real name to buy this thing!
That's outrageous!
Aunt Xun also found it outrageous.
She compared her waist to Li Qu's waist, which she had just measured, and then compared it to her own, clicking her tongue in amazement: "Don't even mention it, Lao Zheng, among the three of us, only your waist can rival Li Qu's."
Aunt Zheng looked at Aunt Xun's hand, then glanced at Li Qu's bosom, and exclaimed in her heart: Heaven is unjust!
He picked up the teacup beside him: "It's still a bit short."
Who is worse than whom?
"Get lost!" Aunt Zheng rolled her eyes, ending the conversation.
Seeing that the three had really calmed down, Li Qu was still a little scared and chose to sit down in a seat furthest away from them.
You really can't judge a book by its cover.
The older sisters are all incredibly reckless.
Li Qu picked up the tea on the table, but before she could even take a sip, she heard Aunt Zheng say in a serious tone, "I never imagined that Third Master would be so promiscuous, even resorting to kidnapping women."
Li Qu spat out a mouthful of tea and quickly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, coughing.
No one paid her any attention. All that could be heard was Aunt Zheng's serious explanation: "In our building, young masters often play this game. They tie a woman's hands with a belt and either hang her from the rafters, tie her to the headboard, or simply tie her hands."
"The process also involves screaming, cursing, and struggling. I've heard that the more realistic it is, the more excited men get."
Aunt Hu asked with a gossipy look, "How did you know?"
“You didn’t see the marks on her wrist just now, I’d guess it’s been there for six or seven days.”
Li Qu tugged at her sleeve, looked up, and met Aunt Xun's greasy, half-smiling face.
Li Qu: "..."
At this moment, she wondered if Zhou Jin really had some kind of perverted hobby!
"If you three sisters don't act inappropriately again, I'm leaving."
The three of them then became serious.
Aunt Hu spoke up: "Sister Li, you have the most ideas. Let's see how we can express our feelings for Madam's birthday."
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