Wind is truly a magical thing.
Overnight, the image of the third young lady of the Zhou family and the young master of the Bai family of Yuzhou embracing and rolling around together in the street spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.
Zhou Yu's maternal grandfather, surnamed Liu, was known as Master Liu. Upon learning of this, he couldn't stop smiling.
Having lost the Minister's family as a potential in-law, Heaven has presented him with the Bai family as a marriage opportunity, which he certainly cannot miss.
Besides, the Bai family of Yuzhou are also merchants. Merchants paired with merchants is a match made in heaven.
Bai Luochen is showing signs of building his fortune in the capital. As the Crown Prince, if he were to rise to a high position in the future, the Bai family's status would be at its zenith.
It must be said that Master Liu has a keen eye for people, and his determination to get close to powerful families is also very clear.
Having secured the position of president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce by virtue of his wealth, even the downfall of the Zhou family had no impact on Master Liu's status.
Not two days later, Master Liu led a group of people to the Bai family to cause trouble, claiming that Bai Luochen had ruined his granddaughter's reputation. He said that if they did not give him an explanation, he would go to the Dali Temple to make a scene and let everyone know about it.
The head of the Bai family was so angry at Master Liu's shameless behavior that his chest heaved: "You use this trick twice in a row, don't you find it annoying!"
Why would the Bai family head say that? The fact that Zhou Yu's mother was able to marry the son of a high-ranking official as a concubine shows that Master Liu's determination to climb the social ladder by marrying into a high-ranking official family was too strong, and he used this method to force his daughter into the Zhou family as a concubine.
With the Minister's Mansion as his backing, Master Liu's business flourished, leading to his position as the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
After the Zhou family fell into ruin, out of kindness and righteousness, he helped them build a house and supported all the servants and concubines of the Zhou family. However, the eldest lady of the family still bullied his daughter and even wanted to marry his granddaughter to a fool.
Now that his family is large and prosperous, no longer the small business owner he once was, he is determined to secure a bright future for his granddaughter.
Master Liu squatted at the entrance of the Bai family's house and refused to leave, threatening to stay there until he received an explanation.
Left with no other choice, the head of the Bai family had to invite Bai Luochen over and send a letter to the Bai family in Yuzhou.
Bai Luochen was already aware of the rumors circulating in the capital. When he rushed over, his beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with malice.
He underestimated Zhou Yu. After the Zhou family's downfall, they couldn't wait to find a powerful backer.
It's likely that the scene where he was tackled to the ground on the street was a staged performance by Zhou Yu himself!
Just as vicious as when they were kids!
Master Liu grabbed Bai Luochen's hand, his heart pounding with excitement: "What a handsome young man! He's more than a match for my granddaughter."
Bai Luochen disgustedly pulled his arm away and rubbed his hands on his body: "Despicable tactics, actually using this to blackmail me into marrying your granddaughter, dream on!"
"Hey!" Master Liu was furious and began to accuse, "Everyone says the Bai family is a family of upright officials, yet they have ruined my granddaughter's reputation and are not taking responsibility. Even if I have to take this to the Dali Temple or to the Emperor, I will demand an explanation."
Seeing the stalemate between the two sides, the head of the Bai family tried to smooth things over: "Master Liu, what do you think of this? The Zhou family has already fallen into ruin, and the Third Miss is unfit to be a principal wife. How about she marry into the Bai family as a concubine..."
"Pah!" Before the Bai family patriarch could finish speaking, Master Liu jumped three feet high and spat fiercely, "What does this have to do with the Zhou family? Yu'er is a young lady of the Liu family, the direct granddaughter of Chairman Liu. In terms of status, how is she not worthy of your nephew?"
Concubine? What a joke! She's already ruined her daughter's future. She's been manipulated and suppressed by the First Madam her whole life. He doesn't know how much money he's spent to keep his daughter living in the mansion.
Now that the Zhou family has fallen on hard times, his daughter is still being exploited and oppressed by the First Madam. Master Liu does not want his granddaughter to follow in his daughter's footsteps.
Seeing that Master Liu was using his position as the president of the Chamber of Commerce to intimidate others, the head of the Bai family frowned and leaned closer to Bai Luochen, whispering, "If things really escalate, this matter will be difficult to resolve. Perhaps you should reluctantly marry that third young lady, nephew!"
Bai Luochen subconsciously took a few steps back. Although he looked unwilling, he still insisted on the Bai family head's principle: "A concubine is acceptable, but the principal wife is not!"
Zhou Yu, who had been eavesdropping from the side, broke free from Lü Fu's hand and rushed over immediately: "I don't want to be a concubine. Even if I can't get married and become a nun in this life, I don't want to be someone's concubine."
She didn't know why the news about her and Bai Luochen spread overnight. When her grandfather said he was coming to demand an explanation, she felt uneasy and secretly followed behind with Lv Fu.
Unexpectedly, her grandfather acted like a liar at the door, saying that if the Bai family did not marry her, he would make a scene at the Dali Temple and even in front of the emperor. She tried to stop him, but was held down by Lü Fu.
When she first saw Bai Luochen, she felt a strange sense of anticipation, wondering whether he would refuse her or marry her.
Zhou Yu kept staring at Bai Luochen from beginning to end, his face showing disgust and impatience. When he said that she should be his concubine, it was as if he were doing her a great favor.
She couldn't take it anymore and rushed out. Zhou Yu didn't miss the fleeting look of disgust in Bai Luochen's eyes. He must think that she had planned everything.
Zhou Yuchong, the head of the Bai family, curtsied repeatedly, saying, "I am truly sorry. I have come to disturb you without asking my daughter's opinion. I am deeply sorry."
After saying that, she turned to Master Liu and said, “Grandfather, I know you are anxious because you are afraid that Father will marry me off to the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue, so you rushed over to force Young Master Bai to marry me. Besides, forced marriages are never sweet. Xiaoyu does not need anyone else to take responsibility. Moreover, I already have someone I admire. He will not care about the gossip in the capital. Please go back, Grandfather.”
Bai Luochen scoffed lightly: "It's better not to have to take responsibility."
He hated being schemed against, and regardless of whether Zhou Yu did it intentionally or unintentionally that day, he would not marry a daughter of the Zhou family as his principal wife.
For some reason, when Bai Luochen heard that Zhou Yu already had someone she admired, a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes!
Zhou Yu curtsied, not daring to look at Bai Luochen, and immediately pulled Master Liu away.
Old Master Liu shouted reluctantly, "If we just leave like this, wouldn't that be letting that Bai family brat get away with it? My beautiful granddaughter was taken advantage of by him, and I can't swallow this insult."
Looking up at the sky, Zhou Yu forced back the tears welling up in her eyes and forced a smile as she looked at Master Liu: "Grandpa, I admit that Young Master Bai is very handsome, and I was once captivated by his looks. But a forced marriage is never sweet. If I were forced to marry him, I'm afraid my life would be worse than that of a concubine."
"But your reputation..." In Master Liu's heart, reputation is more important than anything else. Just because that person saw and touched you, you want to marry him, let alone the fact that the two of you rolled around together in the street.
“Grandpa, reputation isn’t important. What’s important is money. Those rumors will fade away in a while, so we don’t need to worry about them. The key is to do a good job in business. In a few years, we can find a son-in-law to live with us, and all the children he has will take the surname Liu. This will not only continue the Liu family line, but also ensure that our granddaughter won’t be bullied. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
Master Liu nodded thoughtfully: "What you said makes sense."
Since the Bai family is arrogant and unwilling to take responsibility for their granddaughter, he doesn't care about her at all.
Anyway, by his generation, the Liu family line had almost died out.
He had originally planned to adopt a child from a collateral branch, but to his surprise, his beloved granddaughter was willing to take a son-in-law. Thinking that the Liu family bloodline could continue, Old Master Liu's brows relaxed: "Come on, Grandpa will find you a few handsome scholars."
Zhou Yu quickly added, "Don't go to a prestigious family, just a lower-middle-class family will do, otherwise they'll be unruly..."
"knew…"
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