"Wait a minute."
Lu Xiuyuan rushed into the courtyard and squeezed in front of Pei Zhi to protect her.
"You mustn't touch her."
When Aunt Wang saw Lu Xiuyuan, she was furious. "Xiuyuan, let me tell you, today's matter has nothing to do with you. If you dare to stop me, I'll teach you a lesson too."
Lu Xiuyuan, however, spread his arms wide, blocking Pei Zhi's path.
"Liu Ya is my fiancée, and I will not allow anyone to take her away today!"
Pei Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly. Fiancée?
Pei Zhi dropped the clothesline pole, pretended her legs were weak, and grabbed Lu Xiuyuan's arm, "Brother Xiuyuan, you're finally here, I was so scared."
Aunt Wang stared at Pei Zhi in shock. Who was that imposing man with the pole just now?
Lu Xiuyuan comforted Pei Zhi: "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."
Aunt Wang said to Master Gao, "Master Gao, don't worry about it. Lu Xiuyuan is powerless. We can just kidnap him."
Upon hearing this, Master Gao nodded, and was just about to order his men to take action.
Lu Xiuyuan shouted, "I am a scholar. If any of you dare to lay a hand on me today, you will be sentenced to death."
Master Gao looked at Aunt Wang and asked, "Is he a scholar?"
Although Aunt Wang didn't understand the mystery, she nodded, "Yes, but it was several years ago that he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar."
Master Gao spat, "You beat up a scholar? Do you think I have many lives?"
The imperial court had explicit regulations that if a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations had committed a crime, even the yamen runners could not punish him; they could only report it to their superiors and wait for them to handle the matter.
Master Gao waved his sleeves and led his men away in a dejected manner.
Once Master Gao left, Aunt Wang dared not challenge Pei Zhi any longer. She quickly slunk away as well.
"Aya, are you alright?"
Pei Zhi shook her head, feigning distress, "It's nothing, I was just a little scared."
Lu Xiuyuan gently patted Pei Zhi's shoulder, and Pei Zhi took the opportunity to throw herself into Lu Xiuyuan's arms.
“Brother Xiuyuan, Aunt Wang said that I am an orphan, and even if I am beaten to death today, no one will speak up for me.”
Pei Zhi sobbed twice, "Hearing these words really hurts me."
Lu Xiuyuan opened his arms but dared not hug Pei Zhi.
But when Lu Xiuyuan heard Pei Zhi's words, his eyes were filled with heartache.
After all, Pei Zhi was telling the truth; she was an orphan with no one to rely on.
Unlike him, at least he has an elderly mother.
"Brother Xiuyuan, thank you so much for today. I really don't know what I would have done without you."
"Don't worry, just call me if anything happens in the future."
Pei Zhi nodded gently, "I'm just afraid that if they take advantage of your absence and forcibly kidnap me, it will be too late when you come back, Brother Xiuyuan."
Lu Xiuyuan couldn't possibly stay home all day and never go out just to protect Pei Zhi.
Putting everything else aside, Lu Xiuyuan also had to frequently go to town to copy books, to the pharmacy to get medicine, and to the mountains to collect herbs.
Lu Xiuyuan had too many things to do every day, so it was impossible for him to just stay by Pei Zhi's side.
Pei Zhi pretended to observe Lu Xiuyuan's expression, wiping away her tears with her sleeve, "Never mind, this is my fate."
Pei Zhi said fiercely, "If they dare to come again next time, I'll smash my head against a wall and die. I won't let them have their way."
"Aya, marry me."
Pei Zhi feigned shock: "What?"
Lu Xiuyuan quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand me. You marry me first, so outsiders will think we are husband and wife, but we won't consummate our marriage."
Getting married but not consummating the marriage is like taking off your pants to fart – it's pointless!
"If you marry me, then Aunt Wang and Master Gao won't be able to steal the scholar's wife."
"We don't consummate the marriage because we're worried you might regret it later, so you'll have a way out."
Pei Zhi sighed inwardly. Lu Xiuyuan was really...stubborn.
"Actually, Brother Xiuyuan, I was married before, but after my parents passed away, my husband's family divorced me."
Pei Zhi wanted Lu Xiuyuan to know that she was not a virgin.
Therefore, whether or not the marriage is consummated is truly irrelevant.
"Such a thing actually happened?"
Pei Zhi feigned concern: "Brother Xiu Yuan, you won't dislike me, will you?"
“Aya, I don’t think so.”
Lu Xiuyuan looked at him with heartache: "I just feel sorry for the bad people you encountered before. You just experienced the death of your parents and then you were abandoned by your husband's family."
Lu Xiuyuan squeezed Pei Zhi's hand, "Aya, you are really amazing. You, a young woman, have managed to get through all of this."
"But we will not consummate our marriage within a year of our marriage."
Pei Zhi didn't understand why Lu Xiuyuan was still insisting, even after all this: "Why?"
"If you are still willing to stay with me a year from now, we will live a good life together and become a real couple."
In the end, Lu Xiuyuan still gave Pei Zhi a choice.
Pei Zhi couldn't persuade him otherwise, and besides, they should get married first.
After that, taking down Lu Xiuyuan will be a piece of cake.
Pei Zhi married Lu Xiuyuan, and Lu Xiuyuan specially went to town to buy a piece of red cloth to make Pei Zhi's wedding dress.
After the two got married, they opened up the courtyard, and Lu's mother still slept at Lu's house on weekdays.
Lu Xiuyuan and Pei Zhi slept in Pei Zhi's room, while Lu Xiuyuan slept in the main room every day, with the two separated by a wall.
Given Lu Xiuyuan's high moral character, Pei Zhi felt too embarrassed to be too proactive, fearing she might scare him away.
The two of them continued living like that.
Lu Xiuyuan continued to go outside to copy books, while Pei Zhi took care of Lu's mother.
Of course, Pei Zhi would also go to the neighboring villages to slaughter pigs to earn money and meat to improve his life.
The two of them lived like this for half a year, and surprisingly, they had saved up a sum of money.
Lu Xiuyuan went to gather herbs, and Pei Zhi followed him.
The two of them were really lucky; they were able to gather quite a few medicinal herbs each time.
Most of the money they saved came from trading medicinal herbs.
Moreover, Lu's mother's health has improved considerably.
Pei Zhi would exercise with Lu's mother every day at home, instead of keeping Lu's mother at home all the time and preventing her from going out.
If people don't go out and stay indoors all day without seeing the sun, they'll get sick from all the stress.
Moreover, Pei Zhi knows how to cook a balanced meal of meat and vegetables.
As Lu's mother ate more and started exercising, her health naturally improved considerably.
After dinner, Lu Xiuyuan washed the dishes and was pulled aside by his mother.
"Xiuyuan, the biennial imperial examination is just around the corner. What are your thoughts?"
"Thoughts? What thoughts could a son possibly have?" Lu Xiuyuan was quite satisfied with his current life.
"There's some money saved at home. You're still young, so take this money and go take the imperial examination."
Lu Xiuyuan immediately refused, saying, "No way! The family has finally saved up some money; how can I spend it all?"
Are you afraid that Aya won't agree, so you don't dare to ask?
“Son, once you pass the exam and become a Juren, it will be a good thing for both me and Aya.”
Lu's mother gripped Lu Xiuyuan's hand tightly, "Don't you want Aya to have a good life?"
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