Chapter 135 Lu Zhaoruo, go and become a second wife.
Two weeks later.
Lu Ji Embroidery Building's doors were tightly closed, and it remained closed.
Zhou, the owner of Zhou's Diary across the street, stood at his door with his hands in his pockets, looking at the dilapidated scene across the street. A smirk appeared on his face: "The other day, when Madam Li led the officials to smash things up like that, I thought it was going to be something big..."
He deliberately dragged out his words, "And what happened? All talk and no action! She herself ended up penniless!"
"Fortunately, Lu's Embroidery Pavilion has completely collapsed and can't hold on any longer!"
He squinted, calculating, "Maybe I'll just wait for the day it's put up for sale, and then I'll buy it at a low price!"
Inside the embroidered tower, the light was dim.
Lu Zhaoruo sat behind the counter, her face calm, her fingers moving rapidly across the abacus beads.
Wan Wanning picked up a feather duster and listlessly brushed the dust off the shelf, muttering in a low voice, "The embroidery shop is in such a dilapidated state... It's been closed for half a month, and we haven't made a single penny..."
"My elder sister entrusted me to her back then. If I follow her... will I really be able to live a life of comfort and security from now on?"
Before she could finish speaking—
Dongrou walked in quickly and whispered, "Madam, the old lady has arrived...she's in the front hall."
She paused slightly, then lowered her voice even further, "A young man I don't recognize is following behind me."
Lu Zhaoruo paused slightly as she manipulated the abacus, already understanding seven or eight parts of the situation.
She stood up calmly: "I'll go take a look."
Guest room.
Madam Tu sat upright in the main seat, her hair neatly combed and glossy.
She glanced around the rather deserted lobby, curled her lip, and snorted, "What a fine boudoir, she's ruined it into this mess! Tsk, I told you long ago, women aren't cut out for business, they should stay quietly in the backyard! But she insisted on showing off and losing everything!"
Having said that, she leaned back comfortably, striking a pose befitting an old lady, and glared at Greenie beside her: "What are you standing there for? Don't you have any sense? Come here and give me a shoulder massage, the journey has been so bumpy, my shoulders are sore!"
Greenie was startled and quickly lowered her head, timidly stepping forward to massage her shoulders.
Tu then turned her head and looked at the man beside her, who was wearing a worn blue robe and looked to be more than ten years older than Lu Zhaoruo.
It was Gu Yun, the nephew of her sister-in-law's family.
Gu Yun was thin and his face was sallow.
At this moment, he was stiffening his neck, trying hard to put on a refined demeanor, but his eyes were uncontrollably wandering around.
He quickly calculated in his mind: "Although there is no business right now, just occupying such a spacious building in such a good location, if I were to sell it, it would be worth at least several hundred or a thousand taels of silver, right?"
Madam Tu smiled warmly: "Yun-ge'er, look at this! You be the judge!"
"If you had listened to me back then and let you help your aunt manage this embroidery shop, with your abilities, would it have ended up like this?"
"Her..."
She tilted her chin dismissively in Lu Zhaoruo's direction, "She's just a useless money-loser, she can't hold her own at all!"
"Thankfully..."
She looked at Gu Yun with great interest, "You don't mind the mess she's made of, and you're even willing to use our family ties to arrange a marriage for her. She's truly blessed!"
Seeing Lu Zhaoruo enter, she didn't even lift her eyelids, and snorted coldly: "Oh, our busy boss Lu has finally shown up?"
"Look at your boudoir! It's quite the grand display! The most dilapidated place in Jizhou City!"
"If you had listened to me back then and let your two cousins handle things for you, you wouldn't have ended up in this ruined state thanks to Li Nian'er and her men! You just had to show off!"
She grew angrier as she spoke, her voice rising to a shrill high: "You have so much hard-earned money, yet you don't use it to support your parents. Instead, you donate it to some completely unrelated navy to save face! And look what's happened now?"
"Your boudoir has been smashed to pieces, and you haven't made a single penny! You expect that distant navy to save you? It's been a month, and you haven't even seen a ripple! I'm afraid it's not..."
She choked abruptly, coughed twice guiltily, and swallowed back the disrespectful speculation that followed.
Following behind Lu Zhaoruo, Dongrou couldn't help but frown and whisper, "Madam, the old lady's words... are too harsh."
Lu Zhaoruo seemed not to hear, and walked straight to the seat below Tu Shi, sitting calmly opposite Gu Yun.
Her gaze swept over Lü'er, who was massaging Tu's shoulders, and she said, "Lü'er, the embroiderer is urgently looking for you. Go quickly."
Greenie felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly bowed her head, replying, "Yes, Master."
Tu Shi was immediately displeased when she felt a weight lifted from her shoulder. She glared at Lu Zhaoruo with narrowed eyes and said, "What's going on? Can't I even ask a maid to do something? My old bones are about to fall apart!"
Lu Zhaoruo didn't respond to her words. Her gaze calmly fell on Gu Yun opposite her, taking in his wandering eyes. She said indifferently, "Mother, let's get straight to the point."
Slightly taken aback by this blunt rebuke, Madam Tu reluctantly withdrew her stance, cleared her throat, and put on her usual warm smile again, pointing to Gu Yun beside her: "This gentleman is your aunt's nephew, surnamed Gu, given name Yun. You should recognize him; he studied at your father's school for a few months in his younger days."
"Now he's a stable clerk in the government office of the neighboring county! His future is bright!"
Tu's tone rose as if bestowing favor: "In your current state, with your reputation and business ruined, you are absolutely unworthy of him."
"Fortunately, we're relatives, and Young Master Gu is sentimental and doesn't mind your public appearances..."
"I'll arrange this marriage for you today. Pack your things and go back with him soon. Be a good wife and mother, and save yourself from making a fool of yourself here!"
Gu Yun awkwardly looked away, not daring to look directly at Lu Zhaoruo.
Dong Rou, observing Gu Yun's shifty eyes and thin figure, couldn't help but speak up: "Madam! Look at this young man in front of you. He looks more than ten years older than my wife. Besides, how is my wife not good enough for him?"
She grew angrier and angrier as she spoke, thinking to herself: This man's appearance and demeanor are not even as good as Mudfish San!
Upon hearing this, Madam Tu slammed her hand on the tea table: "How dare you, a mere maid, interrupt me like this?"
She turned to look at Lu Zhaoruo, her tone rising again: "Yun-ge'er is now a trusted clerk to the new magistrate! So many young ladies from prominent families are vying to marry him!"
Lu Zhaoruo looked calmly at Gu Yun and said in a nonchalant tone, "Oh? A clerk? I wonder if you are on duty in the Revenue Department, the Criminal Department, or the Tax Collection Department? Do you usually copy old files from the archives or assist in managing this year's summer tax registers?"
Gu Yun was speechless for a moment, his eyes darting around in a panic, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: "Uh... this... I..."
Madam Tu quickly interrupted, looking embarrassed: "Oh dear! Why are you asking about these things in the government office! In short, Yun-ge is a respectable person working in the government office!"
Lu Zhaoruo turned to look at Madam Tu, a pang of sorrow rising in her heart, but her voice remained steady: "In Mother's eyes, is your daughter so worthless? First you belittled your daughter to nothing, and now you want to marry her off to a second wife who is over thirty, has lost two wives, and has five children?"
A flash of anger crossed Gu Yun's face, but when he looked up and met Lu Zhaoruo's clear gaze, he was so frightened that he lowered his head again.
Madam Tu coughed a few times, her face growing increasingly unnatural, and then she raised her voice even louder: "So what? Even so, Yun-ge is more than a match for you."
Lu Zhaoruo didn't even lift her eyelids, her voice cold and clear: "My daughter thinks he's not good enough for me."
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