Chapter 151 Promise
"Why are you here?" Song Yushu saw a familiar figure as soon as he returned to his residence.
"I've taken care of everything in the county town, so I can stay with you for a few more days," Xue Huai'an said. In fact, he had come over because he was worried that Song Yushu's restaurant had been burned down and she was afraid that she was in danger in the prefectural city.
“Sure, since the restaurant burned down, there are some people who don’t have much to do these days, so I can go with you to have some fun,” Song Yushu was naturally happy that he could come. Although he had encountered some bad luck, at least he didn’t have to have an online romance with his partner anymore.
Seeing that she looked normal and was not greatly affected by the burning of the restaurant, Xue Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on, let me take you to Bichunlou for a good meal to welcome you back!" Song Yushu rarely had time, so he decided to take people out to eat.
“We won’t go, but Mother, please pack some snacks for us to bring back,” Zhou Chengzhu said, showing her good judgment.
Song Yushu knew that she and Xiong Erni wanted to create some space for her and Xue Huai'an to be alone, so she could only let them be.
"I've heard that Bichunlou is quite different now. Is that partly your doing?"
"You're so well-informed?"
"It's hard not to be well-informed. And those low-priced papers, Boss Wei has been making quite a splash lately. I admire him!" Xue Huai'an looked at Song Yushu with a smile in his eyes.
"So-so. If it weren't for the Xu family forcing me, I really wouldn't have done these things," Song Yushu actually didn't like to cause trouble and only wanted to take care of her own little corner of the world. If it weren't for the Xu family provoking her, she really wouldn't have bothered to do anything.
"We're 80% certain the Xu family was responsible for the fire, but it will take some time to gather evidence," Xue Huai'an said, revealing the information he'd received from Prefect Liu when she mentioned the Xu family.
"I know that going against the Xu family means there will be a day of mutual destruction, but I was lucky this time. I just don't know what will happen next time. If I really..."
"You'll be fine, don't worry," Xue Huai'an interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
Seeing that he didn't want to hear about these things, Song Yushu had no choice but to change the subject and talk about the plum grove on the outskirts of the prefectural city.
"I have been to that plum grove. The owner of the plum grove was a wealthy merchant surnamed Wei. His wife loved plum blossoms, so she spent a lot of money to buy plum blossoms from various places and planted them into a plum grove."
"I didn't know there was such a touching story; I just thought the plum grove was quite beautiful."
"It is quite beautiful, but people's hearts are fickle. Before this plum grove was even built, the wealthy merchant brought two concubines into his mansion, and his wife died in sorrow. After the wealthy merchant moved away from the city, only this plum grove remained," Xue Huai'an said, ladling her a bowl of soup as he saw that she enjoyed listening.
"Tsk, you really can't trust a man's words," Song Yushu sighed as he took the soup the man offered.
"We can't generalize and condemn everyone, can we?" Xue Huai'an didn't expect that his words would backfire. He shouldn't have brought up the topic if he had known this would happen.
Seeing that he was at a loss, Song Yushu couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, I'll leave you out of it for now."
“Yushu, now that I’ve made up my mind about you, I will not waver,” Xue Huai’an explained earnestly.
It would be a lie for Song Yushu not to be moved. She has always been a rather pragmatic woman. Once she came into this world, she plunged headlong into the path of earning money to support her family and never looked back. She felt that no one was more reliable than the money in her own hands.
But she also knew that Xue Huai'an had always been sincere towards her. He supported her decisions, and even though they lived apart, he was accommodating to her and would even protect her when she was in danger. Even though people's hearts can change, at least it was real for her now.
“After Chengyu finishes his imperial examination, shall we go back to the county town to get married? They will have their own paths to follow, and we will have our own lives to live.”
Is this really true?
“Of course it’s true, but Chengyu won’t be taking the exam until August next year. I wonder if Master Xue will still be sincere then?” Song Yushu asked with a smile.
"There's no point in saying more. You'll understand when the time comes," Xue Huai'an said, unable to contain his emotions, as he grabbed Song Yushu's hand and pulled it up, his face flushing.
Xue Huai'an spent five days with Song Yushu, so he naturally got to know the people who had helped her in the city. He had also met Old Master Liu and Doctor Wu.
"I didn't expect Madam Wei to be so secretive, only bringing her here now. I thought she was only interested in making money!" Doctor Wu was quite satisfied with Xue Huai'an. He was pleased to see that this scholar did not look down on merchants and did not interfere with Song Yushu's decision. He had a good impression of him.
As for Old Master Liu, he was initially quite grumpy, but seeing that Xue Huai'an was patient enough to play chess with him, he finally gave him a better look.
Two days later, the arsonist was found, and Song Yushu and Xue Huai'an were soon summoned to the government office.
The arsonist was a petty hoodlum in the city named Qian Si.
Qian Si has now confessed that he was bribed by a servant of the Xu family to set the fire, and Prefect Liu has arrested the servant based on his description of the servant's appearance.
Xu Mingchuan reappeared in the imperial court, but this time, the prefect did not give the Xu family any chance to react, and directly forced Xu Mingchuan to confess on the spot. Even after the old master Xu came to plead for him many times, he could not get him out.
"Father! Please plead for me! My child and I can't live without Xu Mingchuan!" When Liu Yue appeared in front of Grandpa Liu, she looked haggard and was nowhere to be seen as the arrogant person she used to be.
"Xu Mingchuan has a wicked mind and has done so many wrong things. He deserves to be exiled! You, however, are unable to distinguish right from wrong and collude with such a person. How dare you come here to plead for him?" Old Master Liu looked at the unreasonable Liu Yue with an icy expression, unmoved.
"No matter what, he's still my man! Do you expect me to be a widow? How can my child be happy without a father?" Liu Yue cried, her face streaked with tears, as she confronted Old Master Liu.
"No one is asking you to remain a widow. As for the children, does the Xu family think they'll starve?" Old Master Liu ignored her and focused on his woodworking.
Apart from Old Master Xu, who looks a bit older, no one in the Xu family is saddened by Xu Mingchuan's exile.
Grandma Xu was playing with her grandson in the house, and her expression brightened even more after learning that Xu Mingchuan had been sentenced to exile in Lingnan.
"Madam, the master has had little appetite for several days now, would you please..."
"Don't come to me with these things anymore. If you're sick, go see a doctor. What's the use of calling me? This is probably a mental illness, but it's also his own fault. Xu Mingchuan's current predicament is his own doing, so he can't blame anyone else."
When Madam Xu recalled how, when Xu Qingyan was diagnosed with difficulty conceiving, that old man had taken back the property that had been allocated to him and given it to Xu Mingchuan, that good-for-nothing, to manage temporarily, she thought that this was retribution.
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