Chapter 017 Traitorous Minister 17
The people in the village had also heard that the two brothers of the Xiao family went to school together. After all, they were in the same village and saw each other every day. How could they not know?
In addition, although Chen Zhilan pretended to have an affair with Shan Tao, some rumors did spread that Xiao Yan agreed to be a son-in-law. In response, Chen Zhilan directly bought a fair-skinned, weak-looking young man from a human trafficking agency and announced to the public that he was her fiancé.
It is said that this young man was weak and sickly, his biological mother died of illness, and his stepmother was in charge of the family. She disliked his spending money on medicine and instigated his father to sell him, and Chen Zhilan happened to see this.
Chen Zhilan happened to like this taste and was not short of money, so she went along with it.
Xiao Chen, who learned about this: "..."
Well, although the plot has deviated a bit from the previous life, this weak young man is still the young man that Chen Zhilan bought after she was "heartbroken" in the previous life. It has to be said that the fate between them is indeed very deep.
Chen Zhilan was attracted by the woman's beauty, and the young man was also seeking to prolong his life and cure his illness. The two hit it off immediately, and one was willing to fight and the other was willing to be beaten, so neither of them could say anything.
I don't know if Chen Zhilan will have multiple male lovers in this life. At present, it seems quite possible, because when Chen Zhilan occasionally meets a man, she will talk about which young man is good-looking. It is obvious that she has not settled down yet and is still greedy for flowers.
Although it is a bit disrespectful to be a woman, there is nothing wrong as long as the genders are swapped.
As long as there is money, there will naturally be people who are willing to be nameless and without status. If this person is unwilling, then the next one will do so. They live a prosperous life, and the backyard of the town master is no better than this.
Not to mention, because Chen Zhilan was so different from others, her reputation became completely famous, both good and bad.
Some people said that Chen Zhilan, as a woman, disregarded ethical principles, while others envied Chen Zhilan for being a woman yet still free and happy. In short, there were all kinds of opinions, but Chen Zhilan and her young husband didn't care at all. When they were really annoyed, they would take a butcher knife and block people's doors and curse them. Since then, no one dared to gossip about her to her face.
The eldest master of the Sun family also sent someone to bring silver and the house deeds in the town. It seemed that he was planning to use the silver to completely buy out the favor of saving his life. Even the main family member did not show up, only the minor official came with the silver, as if you are so lucky, you should be sensible and not be too greedy. Seeing this, the other people in the village sighed.
This was a life-saving favor, but he only gave silver as a thank you. This arrogant attitude made people have a bad reputation for Master Sun. Some people even said sourly that it was good enough to have silver.
This was also within Xiao Chen's expectations.
Although they are right in this matter, it is difficult to explain it theoretically. Just know that the eldest master of the Sun family is hypocritical, the second master of the Sun family bullies others, and the whole family is not easy to get along with.
If you really get involved with a family like this, you might get into trouble.
At the end of winter, there was heavy snow.
Fine cottony snowflakes fell on the roof, layer upon layer, covering its military uniform with a fluffy quilt.
Xiao Yan was only wearing a single layer of clothing and a long cloak, half leaning on the newly built kang, feeling the warmth.
Xiao Chen was sitting at the other end of the kang, writing furiously on a small table, warming his hands in the hot water bottle from time to time.
Due to the heavy snow, classes in school were suspended, but there was a lot of homework, especially for students like them who were about to take the county exam.
Those who will die next year include Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen, two people from the same village, and three people from the neighboring village, a total of seven people.
Compared with the two Xiao Yan brothers, the other students were fifteen or sixteen years older, and some were almost seventeen or eighteen. They had been preparing for a long time and had even taken the exam before, so they were very confident about the county exam.
Students like them who have only been enrolled for a few months and are planning to drop out are almost useless. Most of them need to study for a few years before they can gain the confidence.
However, as classmates, they have all witnessed the abilities of the two brothers of the Xiao family. Compared with Xiao Yan, who may not survive the examination, Xiao Chen is their real rival.
In particular, Xiao Yan looked sick and a little lazy. He would cough and almost faint after writing a few more words. Others were reluctant to discuss issues with him, for fear that this delicate porcelain doll would be accidentally broken. Mr. Wang turned a blind eye to it, hoping that he would give up.
After finishing an article, Xiao Chen carefully placed the pen and ink on the stool next to the kang, and then shook his sore wrist.
Looking at Xiao Yan who was resting with his eyes closed, Xiao Chen paused, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.
"Brother, do you feel unwell?"
This is the sentence Xiao Chen says most often, and he almost never stops saying it. He is always worried about catching a cold if the wind is strong or catching a cold if it snows.
Xiao Yan half closed his eyes and stuffed another pillow behind his back. "No, my throat isn't itchy, my head isn't hot, and I don't feel any pain. I feel fine, warm, and comfortable."
Xiao Chen felt a little relieved, and then began to worry about the county exam again.
"The county exam is just around the corner, and you won't be able to succeed like this, big brother. How about I read it to you, and you listen?" said Xiao Chen, the good brother who was known for his filial piety.
Xiao Yan smiled slightly, "Just take care of yourself, I will take care of the outcome."
Xiao Chen: “…”
Does it count if I don’t read a few words a day?
There was a noise at the door, and Shancai knocked: "Hey! Brother Yan, is Brother Chen here?"
Xiao Chen got out of bed, put on thick clothes, and ran outside to open the door.
Shancai was standing under the snow, his nose red from the cold. He shook off the snow on his body, picked up the hot water bottle without hesitation, held it in his arms, shook himself, and sat on the kang, "It's really cold today!"
Then he looked at the books on the kang and asked, "Brother Chen, are you still doing your homework?"
Xiao Chen avoided answering, took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang.
Finally, he looked at Shancai and said, "You came here today to tell us that the weather is really cold?"
Shancai rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "Why, can't I come over if there's nothing wrong?"
"Brother Yan, you better take good care of your brother. He's becoming more and more unreasonable. I'm your elder brother!"
Xiao Chen also curled his lips: "Brother! My brother is Brother Yan, what kind of brother are you!?"
Shancai sighed a few times: "Brother Yan, look, look, he's saying vulgar words!"
Xiao Yan: “…”
What kind of bickering scene is this?
Xiao Yan was not afraid of trouble and started a commotion: "Why don't you go outside and fight with your clothes on? Whoever loses will cry."
Xiao Chen & Shancai: "..."
"It's an idea that even children would disdain, but it's a good thing you can bring yourself to say it, brother Yan." Shancai put his hands on the kang, and only then did he feel warm.
Xiao Chen was unhappy when he heard this. "How can you say that? It's my eldest brother's idea, so just praise him. Why are you making so much trouble? You're the only one who's making too much trouble!"
The two chattered and bickered for a while before Shancai explained his purpose.
"Your uncle, oh no, Xiao Dashi brought a young lady home. He looks gentle and polite, but he has a very evil heart! I heard from my mother that these days she has been trying to persuade Xiao Dashi to reconcile with your family."
"My mother asked me to come over and talk to you two brothers. Don't let their family get involved."
Xiao Chen's heart moved: "But should I call her Little Li?"
Shancai's eyes widened slightly. "You heard about it too? No, you haven't even left the house, how could you have heard about it? Did the gossip get to you? Don't listen to those gossipers, everyone knows what's going on."
"Who doesn't know about the bad things Xiao Dashi did back then? Don't worry, if you have any problems, just call me brother. Brother Cai will support you!"
Xiao Chen's eyes darkened.
This little Li is Xiao Dashi's old lover, and also the matchmaker in the brothel.
In his previous life, Xiao Li did not come so quickly, and after he came, he had already become a scholar.
At that time, Xiao Li was also encouraging Xiao Dashi to reconcile with him behind his back, but because of his reputation as a scholar, he did not dare to pester him. Although things happened earlier in this life, even if Xiao Li was encouraging him behind his back, he still had a way to punish her!
Shancai waved his hand in front of Xiao Chen, "Hey, don't you keep silent? My mother said that as long as your family doesn't give in, no matter what bad things they do, they will never succeed."
"Besides, your family has already severed ties. I'm only saying this to remind you not to act rashly. The county exam is just around the corner, so it's okay to be patient. No matter what crap they say, who wouldn't flatter you after the exam?"
Xiao Yan sat up straight, his long black hair flowing over his shoulders, "Brother Cai, don't worry. We can handle this matter on our own."
Seeing Xiao Chen's uncertain expression, he changed the subject: "I heard you're getting married?"
Shancai nodded happily: "The girl has asked around and found out they are from Shangshui Village."
Xiao Yan & Xiao Chen: "..."
Speaking of Shancai's marriage, in his previous life, Shancai did propose to a family in Shangshui Village, but the girl had a lover and the two families disagreed. In the end, the two of them agreed to jump into the river.
The person was rescued and was fine, and in the end the girl's family had no choice but to agree.
The main reason is that the family was not honest. They knew that their daughter did not agree, but they still concealed the marriage. In the end, in order to protect their daughter's reputation, they threw dirty water on Shancai.
The two families met in private and said that Shancai had harassed their daughter behind their backs. Their daughter refused to obey and finally jumped into the river. Shancai ran away out of guilt, but fortunately someone rescued her, and the two of them formed a bond because of this.
Later, Shancai's reputation was ruined. He was still not able to get married when he was old because of this incident. Aunt Zhao's family's reputation was also ruined.
Xiao Yan hesitated to speak: "You two families have met, have you made a decision?"
Shancai had a silly and sweet look on his face and shook his head: "It hasn't been decided yet, but my mother told me that the family is interested and we plan to find a time to make the decision."
Xiao Chen looked at him with pity: "Does that family plan to hire an embroiderer?"
Shancai didn't understand what was going on. "That's what I meant, but by then we'll be a family. We'll all be spending money to hire people, so we shouldn't worry too much about it."
Xiao Yan: “…”
Xiao Yan looked at him as if he were a fool, "Don't you understand now?"
Shancai: "???"
"Understand what? No, why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Xiao Yan took a deep breath: "Didn't you realize that the other party is coming for your family's wealth?"
Xiao Chen looked at Shancai, who was bewildered, and was shocked beyond belief. "Think about it carefully. Just as she said she wanted to do the embroidery work, she's now talking about marriage. Don't you think there's something wrong?"
Shancai thought about it, then suddenly realized, and then was hit hard: "You mean they came here for embroidery work, not for real marriage?"
Xiao Yan sighed and said, "The embroidery is real, and the marriage proposal is also real."
Xiao Chen's eyes flashed. "If she's of marriageable age, she should be from that family. I heard there are some twists and turns in the story. Why don't you ask your aunt to find out more?"
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