Chapter 481
Zeng Lian, a twelve-year-old girl, was the first to find Yuan Jing. She also had dark circles under her eyes, and when she came, she brought Yuan Jing a purse she had embroidered herself, which was something she had never done before. Of course, in addition to giving him storybooks, he also bought some small toys from outside and gave them to his sisters to play with.
"Fourth brother!" Zeng Lian's eyes sparkled. She had thought that the storybook that Fourth brother had given her was the type of story about a talented scholar and a beautiful woman. This was something that her mother and aunt did not allow them to read. She liked to read the storybooks secretly, but after flipping through them, she could not take her eyes away. After finishing them in one go, she could not wait to find Fourth brother. "Where did Fourth brother get this storybook from? Are there any stories like this? How many stories has that scholar named Si Yao written?"
Yuan Jing laughed in his heart, look, this is how he got a fan girl.
"You finished reading it so quickly? This is something my friend asked me to do. This is the first storybook written by the author Si Yao. If there is another storybook written by Si Yao in the future, I will be the first one to bring back to show my third sister."
Zeng Lian felt a little regretful that there was only one copy, but she said happily, "Okay, thank you, Fourth Brother, for thinking of me. I have never read a book like this before..."
As soon as she heard the words, she cursed in her heart and stuck out her tongue, secretly glancing at her fourth brother. Yuan Jing laughed in his heart but pretended not to hear it. Zeng Lian put down her purse and quickly slipped out, hoping that her fourth brother didn't hear anything wrong.
Halfway through the slide, she stopped again and turned around to see her fourth brother standing there, smiling at her. She immediately blushed and blurted out, "Fourth brother, you are so good-looking. Don't get fat like before. Really, what my sister said is true!"
Yuan Jing burst into laughter. He originally had no impression of this cousin. He seldom saw her throughout the year in this big house. But now, Yuan Jing felt that this cousin was quite lively and straightforward by nature, and she was probably hiding it in front of others.
"Haha, Fourth Brother, I will definitely not get any fatter. My future fourth brother-in-law cannot be too ugly."
"Fourth brother, what nonsense are you talking about?" Zeng Lian stamped her feet in embarrassment and ran away without looking back.
But she felt that her future husband would definitely not be as good-looking as the fourth brother. How many people could be as good-looking as the fourth brother? In the past, people said that the second brother was elegant and graceful, but the fourth brother she saw today was much more handsome than the second brother.
Even the fourth brother's temper is better than the second brother's. The second brother never pays attention to them, his half-sisters, and never remembers to bring them small gifts.
Zeng Lian read the book "Repaying Gratitude" several times and could almost recite it by heart. When she met other sisters, she strongly recommended it to them. In the mansion of Marquis Yongyi, except Zeng Jingshu who did not take it seriously and threw it aside, all the other concubines and many literate maids were fascinated by it, and this circle was still expanding.
The same situation also happened in the other two households, especially in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, where the spread was even faster.
One day when Yu Yaoyao and Zeng Jingshu met, they both talked about "The Story of Repaying Gratitude". It was recommended to her by her younger sister, and she was fascinated by it as soon as she read it. She really treated Zeng Jingshu as her future sister-in-law, so she wanted to share good things with her.
"It sounds familiar. It seems like a lot of people are talking about this story of gratitude recently. Is it really that good? My mother doesn't allow me to read these stories."
"This book is different. You will understand it once you read it. Not only did I read it, but my mother also read it and discussed the stories in the book with me." Another little sister said enthusiastically.
So on her way back home, Zeng Jingshu made a special detour to the bookstore that someone told her about and bought a copy of "Repaying a Kindness". She had no idea that the book had already been put in her boudoir and put away. It was not until she was reading it with great concentration in her room that the maid beside her told her that the storybook that the fourth young master had given her was "Repaying a Kindness" and she even found the storybook.
Zeng Jingshu's face twisted at that moment, and she wanted to throw away the book in her hand, but she was already immersed in it. After hesitating for a few times, she finally picked up the book. Anyway, that fat pig didn't know what she was doing, and he asked the maid beside him not to tell anyone, as if he was trying to cover up his crime.
"Haha, fourth brother, we made money. We made money this time. I didn't expect that we could really sell "Repaying Gratitude". I went to print another thousand copies today, and they will definitely sell out." Xia Zhou was very happy while counting the silver. He didn't expect that the method Yuan Jing suggested would actually open up the sales, and many people asked when Si Yao's next book would be published.
"By the way, fourth brother, have you started writing the next book? How much have you written? Can I have a sneak peek first?" Well, Xia Zhou also joined the team urging manuscripts to be published, wanting to be the first person to read the manuscripts.
Jing Lie on the side looked at him as if he was a fool. Given his relationship with Yuan Jing, there was no way Xia Zhou, a fool, would get the first place.
Yuan Jing shook his head: "I'm still sorting out the outline. By the way, what do you think of my idea of finding a troupe to rehearse the play?"
"Sure, brother." Xia Zhou was in high spirits as he had something to do. "Brother, just leave this to me. I promise you will make this a wonderful show."
"good."
Even Li Yan and Zhao Yu got involved in this matter. After all, the dandies had nothing to do all day long, and they often went to watch operas. They knew exactly which opera troupes were popular, so they would be able to do a better job than others.
Yuan Jing was so busy that he completely forgot about Xie Boli. Anyway, he didn't think his life would be easy and he would just wait and see how he got along after a while. But Xie Boli's life was indeed very difficult. The debt alone was enough to make him and Xie's mother feel overwhelmed.
The people who originally lent the money to his family thought that since his family was going to marry into the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion, they would have no chance of repaying the debt and that the Xie family would also owe them a favor. But now, the girl from the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion has been carried into the Fifth Prince's Mansion in a sedan chair. Not only did they fail to marry into the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion, but they also didn't know if they could get the money back.
So debt collectors came to his door one after another. Originally, Xie Boli should have studied quietly and prepared for the next imperial examination, but in the current environment, how could he concentrate on studying?
Xie's mother blamed everything on Han Miao of the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion, but she didn't have the courage to fight against the Fifth Prince's Mansion and the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion, so she could only feel depressed. However, Xie Boli was still in the mood to worry about Han Miao's situation in the Fifth Prince's Mansion. A concubine is also a concubine. In his opinion, the pure and innocent Han Miao would never accept the situation of becoming a concubine. It's a pity that he couldn't help his beloved woman.
But no matter how worried she was, there was no way to forgive the debts. Mother Xie thought of a way. She regarded her son as a treasure. If she lost the girl from the Yicheng Marquis's mansion, there would be girls from other mansions who would be interested in her son. As long as they brought a dowry, the debts would be nothing.
Therefore, Xie's mother went around looking for a good marriage for her son. Xie Boli wanted to remain a virgin for the woman he loved, but he had to admit that his mother's words made sense. He compromised after getting drunk. In his opinion, this was a sacrifice he had to make. Even if he married another woman, his heart would always belong to Miao'er.
If Yuan Jing knew what he was thinking, he would definitely scold him.
With Xie Boli's appearance and his talent, it was not difficult to find a marriage. However, Xie's mother had already been raised by the family status of Yicheng Marquis, and she did not like those girls from small families. How much dowry could they bring? But the families of high status did not like Xie Boli, so she was neither high nor low. Later, someone gave Xie's mother an idea to find a merchant family for marriage. When the girl came into the family, wouldn't Xie's mother control the girl and the dowry?
Although Xie's mother felt that the daughters of merchants were not worthy of her outstanding son, what others said made sense. She had to marry her daughter-in-law first to solve the current predicament of the Xie family. Then she would be able to enjoy the service of her daughter-in-law.
So Xie's mother began to look for candidates outside. In the eyes of some merchants, Xie Boli, who was currently a juren and was preparing to take the jinshi examination, was indeed a very good candidate. Therefore, some merchants took the initiative to approach Xie's mother. Since both parties were interested, Xie's mother quickly finalized a marriage for her son.
Xie Boli was very unhappy that he married a merchant girl, but after his mother's explanation, Xie Boli had to endure it. He thought that if he could endure his anger for a while, he would have a bright future.
At this time, all kinds of things about Zeng Yuanjing kept coming to his ears. People who disliked him thought he was pretending to be noble. They didn't take Zeng Yuanjing seriously in the past, and Zeng Yuanjing didn't bother to chase after him. Now he was even more generous to another man.
At first, Xie Boli didn't quite believe that Zeng Yuanjing would give up on him so quickly. He knew best how much Zeng Yuanjing had tried to please him in the past. Zeng Yuanjing had wanted to put everything in front of him. How could a person change so quickly?
Especially since the property he had just asked for was given to another man the next moment. Even though this was someone he extremely disliked, Xie Boli felt humiliated, so he decided to go and take a look in person.
There was a teahouse opposite Jinlie's cloth shop, so he sat in the teahouse and watched the situation opposite. At first, Yuan Jing and Jinglie had no idea of his existence, but when they walked out of the cloth shop side by side and talked intimately, he noticed an angry gaze. He released his soul power to sweep it, and Yuan Jing was immediately happy.
Jing Lie expressed his displeasure: "What is this guy doing here?"
Yuan Jing took his hand and said happily, "Why bother with him? Didn't we agree to go to Zhao's shop to drink mutton soup today? Li Yan said that his mutton comes from the grassland and doesn't have much fishy smell. Let's go."
Jing Lie smiled: "Okay, I'll listen to you." Anyway, they just found various ways to find various delicious foods in the capital. They would eat all over the capital first, and then go outside the capital to look for delicious food.
Xie Boli watched the two of them walk away affectionately, his eyes spitting fire. In his opinion, Zeng Yuanjing was a bitch.
However, he did not expect that the thin Zeng Yuanjing looked completely different from the obese him before. If he had not heard from others that he was the fourth young master of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion, he would have almost failed to recognize that the handsome young man opposite him who was just a little chubby was the ugly fat pig that chased after him and could not be driven away.
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