Chapter 323 Qi Shuyan intends to propose marriage
Mrs. Chen flipped to the end of the account book and took a look. "Thirty taels of silver."
She didn't think it was expensive. After all, scar removal cream was a luxury item that was hard to buy even with money.
But Chen Ruoyun was shocked by the price.
"Mom, this scar removal cream is too expensive. I don't need it. You can return it to Madam Qi later."
Ye Chutang, who had just entered the room, heard this and responded with a smile.
"Can."
Madam Chen immediately objected, "Madam Qi, no, the scar removal cream has already been used by my daughter and cannot be sold to others. How can you return it to Madam Qi!"
Chen Ruoyun was anxious just now and didn't think of this.
She quickly apologized to Ye Chutang.
"Madam Qi, please don't take my words to heart. I will not return this scar removal cream."
Ye Chutang did not respond. Instead, he handed the abacus to Mrs. Chen, took out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote down the prescription for the scar removal cream.
She handed the prescription to Mrs. Chen and said, "Madam, you can take it to the pharmacy and ask the price. You will know whether it is expensive or not once you ask."
This made Mrs. Chen feel a little embarrassed, and she quickly refused.
"Don't get me wrong, Madam Qi. I don't think you're overselling it. It's just that she doesn't know how expensive scar cream is."
After saying that, she held Ye Chutang's hand tightly.
"Madam Qi, this prescription is precious, please keep it quickly. I'll take the account book and abacus first, and I'll come back to you after I've calculated the total bill."
Ye Chutang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam Chen, take your time."
The Chen family's mother and daughter returned to the guest house and spent half the night thinking about it, and finally got a result.
Because the medicines Ye Chutang used for Chen Ruoyun were all of the best, he spent more than three hundred taels.
Adding on the fact that the Qi family also provided the mother and daughter with good food, clothing and other expenses, the calculated amount was nearly five hundred taels.
Mrs. Chen's eyes went dark as she watched.
"I'm afraid the Chen family can't afford such a large sum of money."
She is the head of the Chen family, and she knows better than anyone how much silver is in the treasury.
One thousand two hundred taels had already drained out all of the Chen family's assets.
Chen Ruoyun looked worried, "Mom, what should we do now?"
I had agreed with Ye Chutang to settle the accounts and give him the money, but now the banknotes I have are not enough to cover this month's expenses.
Now the roads are blocked by heavy snow, and I don’t know when I can return to Linzhou City.
Every day I stay at the Qi family, there will be one more entry in the account book.
Thinking of this, Madam Chen took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and said, "This bracelet is still worth some silver. I'll give it to Madam Qi to pay off her debt first. When the snow melts and the roads are clear, I'll write a letter to your father and ask him to find a solution."
Chen Ruoyun quickly put the bracelet back on her mother's wrist.
"Mom, this is an heirloom of the Chen family. It cannot be used as collateral. Tell Madam Qi directly and pay part of it first. Then let Dad pay the rest. Madam Qi will not make things difficult for us."
Mrs. Chen felt that it was inappropriate, but she couldn't persuade her daughter, so she had to agree.
The next day was the Lantern Festival.
Mrs. Chen went to find Ye Chutang, explained the situation, and handed her two silver notes with a face value of one hundred taels.
"Mrs. Qi, I'm really sorry. I can only give you this much for now, but don't worry, the Chen family never owes money, and we will definitely make it up in the future."
Ye Chutang took the banknote and said with a smile, "I naturally trust Madam Chen's character. You can give me the rest anytime."
After saying that, she added.
"General Chen cares about his soldiers, and most of his salary is spent on the Chen family army. If the Chen family is in trouble, the remaining money will be waived."
Mrs. Chen quickly waved her hand and rejected Ye Chutang's kindness.
"These are two different things and cannot be confused. The debt must be paid. That is... can Yun'er and I reduce our daily expenses? The Chen family is not a wealthy family. We cannot afford the daily expenses of nearly three taels of silver."
Ye Chutang shook his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Miss Chen is still recovering and needs to take supplements. No matter how much we reduce our expenses, they won't go down much."
Otherwise, the daily food for the mother and daughter of the Chen family might cost three taels of silver.
You have to know that the annual expenses of a poor family are only two or three taels.
As soon as Chen Ruoyun was mentioned, Mrs. Chen agreed.
She only has this one daughter, who just got rescued from the brink of death, so naturally she wants to give her the best.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Madam Qi."
She added one more sentence before leaving.
"Madam Qi, my daughter and I have different ideas from your husband. Yun'er said that if the Qi family needs her one day, she will never refuse."
This surprised Ye Chutang a little.
She nodded, "I understand. I will tell my husband about this."
"Thank you!"
Not long after Mrs. Chen left, Qi Yanzhou returned to Tangzhou Courtyard.
He has been leaving home early and coming back late recently to prepare for the upcoming wedding, and he even has less time to spend with his children.
I come home early today because it is the Lantern Festival, a day for family reunion.
Ye Chutang told Qi Yanzhou what Chen Ruoyun said.
"Now, with Chen Ruoyun as our insider, it will be easier to take down the Chen family army."
Qi Yanzhou took off his snow-covered cloak and hung it on the clothes rack.
"Now the snow is still falling and all the roads are blocked. Even if the emperor allocates food and thick clothes, they can't be delivered to the Chen family army. It won't be long before Chen Kui writes me a letter for help."
Moreover, given the emperor's temper, even if he gave the Chen army food and thick clothes, there would still be a shortage of weight and not enough.
In the past, Chen Kui had to pay out of his own pocket to get through the most difficult times.
But Chen Ruoyun was seriously injured and critically ill, and had spent all the Chen family's savings. Even if he wanted to help the Chen family army overcome the difficulties, he was powerless.
Ye Chutang poured Qi Yanzhou a cup of hot tea.
"Once you defeat the Chen family army, you will have conquered the entire northwest. The emperor will no longer be able to shake the Qi family in the slightest. From now on, you only need to wait for the Emperor Star to appear and overthrow the tyranny."
After saying that, she asked Qi Yanzhou.
"Your brother is really not interested in becoming emperor?"
Qi Yanzhou shook his head affirmatively, "No, if brother had ambition, he would not have left the capital and gone to Qinghe County to be the hard-working county magistrate."
After that, he turned around and asked Ye Chutang.
"Since your brother wants to be the most powerful official, why doesn't he just become the superior?"
Under the manipulation of the two brothers of the Qi family, Song Jingning has become the governor of Tianshan County.
This question stumped Ye Chutang.
"Wait until my brother comes to dinner, and I'll ask him."
Today is the Lantern Festival, and the first and second wives are going to have a reunion dinner together.
He also called Sun Chu, Song Jingning, the Cui brothers and sisters, A'man, and the Chen mother and daughter.
There were so many people that we set up three tables.
There are two tables in the dining room and one table in the side hall.
Concubines and illegitimate sons and daughters sat in the side hall, and everyone else sat in the dining room.
After the ancestor said a few polite words, the banquet began.
After three rounds of drinks, Qi Shuyan talked about going to the Xia family to propose marriage.
He originally wanted to propose to the Xia family after the spring.
But he also thought that on the day of his brother's wedding banquet, many people would ask about his marriage.
So I thought about settling it down as soon as possible.
On the day of the wedding banquet, not only will Xia Shu be able to come with a legitimate reason, but it will also stop many people from trying to act as a matchmaker.
Besides, he and Xia Shu are both not young anymore, and getting engaged sooner would make her feel at ease sooner.
Therefore, Qi Shuyan planned to go to the Xia family to propose marriage in two days.
The two elders of the Qi family agreed very much.
"Yan'er, Shu'er left her hometown with her father for you and came to Tianshan County. You must be nice to them in the future."
After the Qi family got into trouble, Qi Shuyan wanted to leave Qinghe County to find a way out for the Qi family.
He took advantage of the Qi family's difficulties to establish a relationship with Xia Shu.
Then the father and daughter sold their medicine shop and land, followed him around, and finally settled down in Tianshan County.
Today, Xia's father still runs a clinic, but the location is a bit remote.
He often worked as a traveling doctor, while Xia Shu worked in the clinic.
Although the father and daughter did not earn much, they lived better than ordinary people.
After hearing what his mother said, Qi Shuyan assured her, "Don't worry, mother. I'm not an ungrateful person."
The old ancestor didn't like Xia Shu, and when he saw Qi Shuyan moved up the date of the proposal, the smile on his face disappeared.
But she knew that Qi Shuyan was stubborn and would not listen to advice. Opposition would only make the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren worse.
"Shuyan, it is indeed time for you to get married. Choose an auspicious day and have your parents go to the Xia family to propose marriage and discuss your marriage with Xia Shu."
Since she can't convince her grandson, she will start with the Xia family!
Qi Shuyan had no idea what the old ancestor was thinking, so he nodded.
"My grandson has already chosen a date, the eighteenth day of the first lunar month."
The old ancestor frowned slightly, "There are only three days left, time is a bit rushed, is there enough time to prepare the gift? Don't let people think that our Qi family is perfunctory."
Madam Qi quickly replied, "Mother, your daughter-in-law has prepared a gift for you. I will give you the gift list later."
After arriving in Tianshan County, she began preparing for the marriage of Qi Shuyan and Xia Shu.
Not to mention the marriage gift, she had also prepared the betrothal gift for the marriage.
The ancestor had no reason to stop it and nodded in agreement.
The banquet continued and was still lively.
Only Guo Tingting, who was interested in Qi Shuyan, lost her smile.
She knew that Qi Shuyan was not easy to deal with, but she was unwilling to lose to a divorced and vulgar woman.
Xia Shu, as long as I'm here, you can't even think about entering the Qi family!
After Qi Shuyan proposed to go to the Xia family to propose marriage, Ye Chutang's eyes were fixed on Guo Tingting.
At this moment, he could see the sinister expression that flashed across her face.
Want to die? Come on then.
As for Qiuhua, who was thinking about Qi Yanzhou, she was very well behaved today and served the old ancestor quietly without causing any trouble.
At the end of the reunion dinner, Qi Yanzhou drank a little too much because he was happy to have twins, a boy and a girl.
Sun Chu was also drunk and clamored to be An An and Le Le's godfather.
"It's definitely the right thing to do to recognize me as your godfather. I can make money and give them endless money to spend."
Ye Chutang looked at the tongue-tied Sun Chu and reminded him, "I'm not short of money."
"Then my Sun family..."
Seeing that Sun Chu was about to reveal his identity, Qi Yanzhou quickly interrupted him.
"It's late, let's go back quickly, the snow is getting heavier."
As he spoke, he patted Sun Chu's shoulder and squeezed it hard.
The pain made Sun Chu sober up a lot.
He quickly stood up and said goodbye.
The foreign guests left one after another, and Ye Chutang kept Song Jingning on the pretext of opening a branch of Huating Academy.
As it was night, it was not convenient for Song Jingning to enter the inner courtyard, so the two of them talked in the main hall.
The servants had all been sent away, so there would be no one eavesdropping.
Song Jingning also drank a lot tonight, his cheeks were flushed, and he looked very romantic.
While rubbing his somewhat annoyed temples, he asked, "Chu'er, did you ask me to come here? Is there something important you want to talk to me about?"
Ye Chutang nodded and lowered his voice by two points.
"Brother, are you interested in that supreme position?"
These words sobered Song Jingning up completely.
He didn't answer but asked, "What do you mean? If I want it, the Qi family will push me up?"
Ye Chutang nodded affirmatively.
"Yes, so would you like to take that seat?"
"No."
Ye Chutang: “…”
This is the position that everyone is flocking to, so why do all the men around her avoid her?
"Brother, may I know the reason?"
"I have the ability to teach people, but I don't have the talent to govern the world."
The most important thing is that he has no military power and no disciples.
If you sit in that position, you will be suspicious of the people around you and live a lonely life.
Therefore, his goal is to push Qi Yanzhou to the top!
When Ye Chutang met Song Jingning's serious eyes, he knew that he was really not interested in the throne.
"Okay, I respect your choice."
Song Jingning touched Ye Chutang's head with a charming smile.
"Brother will fight for what he wants. Just do what you want to do and don't worry about anything else."
After that, he asked about the two children and left.
***
Second bedroom.
While massaging the old lady's shoulders, Guo Tingting asked tentatively, "Grandma, Brother Qi is so outstanding, are you really going to let him marry a divorced woman?"
How could the ancestor not know what Guo Tingting was thinking?
She said calmly, "Tingting, you were raised by your grandmother, so just say whatever you want to say."
"Grandma, you know what I'm thinking. If I can't marry Brother Qi, I might as well die."
The old man turned around and poked Guo Tingting's forehead unhappily.
"The New Year isn't over yet, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Guo Tingting knelt down in front of the old ancestor, rested her head on her knees, and acted coquettishly.
"Grandma, you must help me."
Although the old ancestor loves Guo Tingting, she cares about herself more.
She was unwilling to risk angering her grandson and making Guo Tingting the beneficiary.
She would only let Guo Tingting come forward to fight for what she wanted.
If successful, everyone is happy.
If it fails, it won't implicate her.
"Tingting, some things cannot be begged for, you have to fight for them yourself. My great aunt knows very well that you are not stupid, you must have a plan, tell me about it."
Seeing that it was useless to act coquettishly, Guo Tingting straightened her head and looked at the ancestor.
After hesitating for a long time, she decided to speak out what was in her mind.
Because she knew very well that the old ancestor did not want Qi Shuyan to marry Xia Shu, but wanted him to marry someone she could control.
For example, she who lives under someone else's roof!
"Grandma, there are some things I want to talk to you alone."
The old ancestor waved his hand and said, "Everyone, go down."
Qiuhua led the servants away and closed the door considerately.
The old man helped Guo Tingting up and scratched her nose in a pretended doting manner.
"Little clever boy, there's no one around now, just say whatever you want to say."
To be on the safe side, Guo Tingting opened the door and took a look.
After making sure that no one was around, she closed the door and came back to express her thoughts bluntly.
"Grandma, Brother Qi must marry Xia Shu, but if she is gone, Brother Qi will naturally not be able to marry her."
Hearing this, the old ancestor was a little surprised.
She thought Guo Tingting would propose to force Xia Shu away, but she didn't expect that she wanted to cut the roots!
But she pretended not to understand and asked even though she knew the answer.
"Gone, what do you mean?"
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