But Zhao's face remained impassive. She greeted Shen Yuan with a smile, "Yuan girl, you just got back and you're already rushing to my house. Is there something you need to give your aunt? Come on in! Chunhua and Qiuyue have been waiting for you to come back since they heard you were going to the city to see Brother Yu. They didn't even eat breakfast this morning, they've been eagerly waiting for you!"
"Auntie, I really brought you something good this time." Shen Yuan pretended not to see the greed in Zhao's eyes and smiled gently and obediently.
"Open it and let me see!"
As Zhao spoke, she made a move to take the wooden box from Shen Yuan's arms, but Shen Yuan nimbly dodged it.
"Auntie, don't worry, let's go inside first."
"Yes, yes, you must be tired from walking back from the city. Hurry up and rest at Auntie's house!" Zhao warmly welcomed Shen Yuan into the courtyard, but her eyes were fixed on the wooden box in Shen Yuan's hand.
This box doesn't look very big, so what good stuff is inside?
Is it the silver bracelet she's been talking about to Shen Yuan lately, or the red rouge she's been wanting to buy in town these past few days?
Zhao wanted to open the box immediately, but Shen Yuan deliberately kept her in suspense and didn't say anything, so she couldn't ask directly out of politeness.
Upon seeing Shen Yuan, Chu Chunhua and Chu Qiuyue, who were playing house under the courtyard wall, immediately put down their bowls and plates and ran towards Shen Yuan, calling out, "Sister Yuan! Sister Yuan!"
The two of them kept calling her "Sister Yuan," each one sweeter than the other.
But Shen Yuan remained unmoved.
In her previous life, she was demoted to a princess's mansion as a slave, while the two Chu sisters were brought to the capital by Zhao and lived in the house that the emperor had bestowed upon Chu Yuning.
On Xiao Yunyan's birthday, Zhao brought Chu Chunhua and Chu Qiuyue to offer their congratulations. When the two Chu sisters entered the princess's residence and saw her, they immediately put on airs and ordered her around, even making her kneel on the ground to serve as a human cushion for them when they got off their sedan chairs.
She still remembers Chu Qiuyue's face back then.
"Your Highness, this vile woman is utterly despicable. How could she be my brother's childhood sweetheart? She's not even from the same hometown! My brother doesn't know her at all!"
"She's just a refugee from our village, of unknown origin. She's learned some pharmacology from somewhere and thinks she's a doctor. Her hands have touched countless men's wrists; I find them filthy even to look at. Your Highness, please don't believe her nonsense!"
"Sister Yuan, what are you thinking about? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you too tired? Sit down and rest! This box looks quite heavy, let me help you carry it!"
Two voices overlapped in Shen Yuan's mind. Shen Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Chu Qiuyue in front of her. Seeing that Chu Qiuyue wanted to take her wooden box, Shen Yuan pushed her away.
Chu Qiuyue didn't expect Shen Yuan to push her, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
"Yueyue, are you alright!" Madam Zhao quickly helped her youngest daughter up, her gaze towards Shen Yuan carrying a hint of resentment: "Why did you push Yueyue?"
"Mother, don't blame Sister Yuan, she definitely didn't do it on purpose."
Chu Qiuyue smiled at Shen Yuan without any hesitation. She had her hair styled in a double bun with two pink ribbons tied around it. When she smiled, she had a pair of dimples on her chubby little face, which made her especially adorable.
Shen Yuan was initially completely charmed by Chu Qiuyue's innocent and adorable appearance, and treated her like his own younger sister.
But the person who ultimately stabbed her in the heart was her younger sister, whom she had cherished for decades.
Shen Yuan ignored Chu Qiuyue and found a rattan chair to sit down. "Which of you can go next door and invite Uncle Village Head over? I'll open this box when he gets here."
Why are you looking for the village head?
Zhao found it strange, but she didn't stop Chu Chunhua from calling for help.
Before long, Chu Chunhua invited the village head over.
The village head entered the courtyard, first glancing at Zhao Shi, who immediately lowered her head and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Only then did the village head approach Shen Yuan and ask, "Yuan girl, why did you call me here?"
Because he usually got his medicine from Shen Yuan's house, which was half the price of what he got in town, the village head was very friendly towards Shen Yuan.
Before Shen Yuan could speak, Zhao Shi interjected, "Yuan'er went to the city to see Yu'er yesterday. She must have bought some good things there to give to you, the village head!"
After saying that, Zhao turned to Shen Yuan and said, "What exactly did you bring back this time? Open it up and let everyone see!"
"good!"
Shen Yuan smiled and opened the wooden box. Zhao Shi immediately craned her neck to look. Chunhua and Qiuyue squeezed to the front, their eyes wide open. After seeing that the box contained only a few pieces of paper, Zhao Shi frowned.
"What are these things?" Where are her silver bracelet and rouge?
Shen Yuan chuckled: "This is the marriage certificate and IOU that your son wrote for me himself!"
Zhao's expression changed. "What do you mean by bringing this out now? Could it be... could it be that you're trying to force me into marriage? Didn't I tell you that my son would marry you after passing the imperial examination? There's still a year until the autumn examination, what's the rush?"
"And this IOU? What IOU? Our family has never owed you any money! That money was all given to my son voluntarily by you, it can't be considered a loan!"
Shen Yuan had long anticipated that Zhao would not acknowledge these IOUs, which is why she invited the village head to uphold justice.
"I've come here today for two reasons: first, to annul my engagement with Chu Yuning; and second, to collect a debt from your Chu family!"
"Break off the engagement? You mean...you want to break off the engagement?" Zhao was stunned. She never expected that Shen Yuan would take the initiative to propose to dissolve the engagement.
Although she looked down on Shen Yuan, she had to admit that Shen Yuan was very capable. Every time she went into the mountains, she could gather extremely valuable medicinal herbs, and she also knew medicine and how to make money. At least for now, their Yu'er couldn't do without Shen Yuan; they needed the money she earned! They couldn't break off the engagement!
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