Yuan Doudou couldn't stand Li Tianlang staring straight at her; she felt that if he looked at her for another second, she would get pregnant on the spot.
"Not good-looking?" she asked knowingly.
Li Tianlang nodded and then shook his head. "It looks good. Check, please."
A set of clothes and styling cost five taels of silver.
"So expensive!" Yuan Doudou exclaimed.
Li Tianlang paid the money without the slightest hesitation.
"Actually, we can haggle over the price," Yuan Doudou muttered as she boarded the carriage.
Fortunately, she didn't have to pay.
A smile flickered across Li Tianlang's eyes.
The carriage moved slowly forward, and after a short while, it stopped in front of a house.
The two striking gold-plated characters, "Li Mansion," came into view. Yuan Doudou imagined that one day she would have a large mansion with "Yuan Mansion" engraved on the plaque.
"Help me up." Li Tianlang got out of the car first, extending his left hand, displaying his gentlemanly manners.
"Huh?" Yuan Doudou looked at him in surprise, a blush flashing across her cheeks.
She hesitated for a moment, then reached out her slender hand and placed it in his palm. It was warm and made her feel very safe.
There was no stool under the carriage, no wonder Yuan Doudou bent her knees and jumped down lightly.
"Thank you." Yuan Doudou withdrew her hand.
Li Tianlang's hand froze in mid-air, his palm feeling empty, and his heart felt empty as well.
"Let's go." Isn't this his house? Why are you still hesitant?
Li Tianlang concealed the disappointment in his eyes and followed her brisk steps.
Upon entering the main gate, there is a large front yard with a lotus pond in the middle, filled with lotus flowers of all colors, creating a unique and charming scene.
Passing through the front yard, you reach the main hall, where guests drink tea and chat.
Mrs. Li sat in the seat of honor, constantly looking out the door, her heart filled with anxiety, wondering if her son had brought Dou Dou with him.
She was filled with anticipation when she saw Li Tianlang's tall and strong figure.
Besides Madam Li, Yang Mengxue was the one who had been eagerly waiting. She was wearing a flowing gold-embroidered ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), which shimmered and highlighted her small, charming face. She held a round fan in her hand and fanned herself idly. When she saw the person she had been longing for enter, she quickly covered her mouth and nose with the fan to hide her grin.
"Tianlang is back." Madam Li's face lit up with joy as she saw the familiar figure behind her son.
"Huh? Who is this girl?" Li Su'e sat to the left of Madam Li, and with her sharp eyes, her gaze locked onto the unfamiliar Yuan Doudou.
Madam Li smiled and said, "Dou Dou, come to my side."
Yuan Doudou had a feeling that this was no ordinary family dinner, but rather something to resolve Li Tianlang's personal problems. But what could a widow like her possibly do?
She dispelled her worries and stepped forward with a smile: "DouDou greets Madam."
She only learned the basics of ancient etiquette; greeting each other was the most basic courtesy.
Madam Li affectionately took Yuan Doudou's hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Sister, let me introduce you. This is my savior, Yuan Doudou."
Li Su'e feigned surprise: "When did this happen, sister-in-law? I've never heard you mention it before?"
She glanced at her daughter, Yang Mengxue, whose eyes were downcast and seemed unhappy. She felt secretly displeased, wondering what her sister-in-law was up to.
It was agreed that today's family dinner was for the two children to meet and prepare for their engagement.
The Yang family were wealthy merchants in the town, mainly engaged in the dyeing of cloth.
The Li family is a family of doctors, with pharmacies and medicine shops that have expanded as far as Kyoto.
"Well, it's a long story. Tianlang, please have DouDou sit down."
Yuan Doudou scanned the area and found only one empty seat.
Yang Mengxue pointed to the empty seat next to her and said to Li Tianlang, "Cousin, please sit down."
Li Tianlang frowned. He was a man; how could he sit with a woman?
"Tian Qi, please have a seat," he said in a deep voice.
Tian Qi worked quickly and added two more chairs on the other side.
Yuan Doudou was confused. She glanced at the empty seat next to Yang Mengxue, wondering if she should go and sit with the female guest.
"Sit down." Li Tianlang sat down first, gesturing for her to sit next to him.
Oh? That's not a good idea.
Mrs. Li covered her mouth and chuckled, "Dou Dou, it's alright, sit down." Her son had finally figured it out, and she was delighted.
The moment Yuan Doudou turned around and sat down, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as two resentful gazes shot coldly at her.
“Mengxue, didn’t you just want to stroll around the garden? It’s fine to have your cousin take you; I feel more at ease with that.” Li Su’e kept winking at him.
Yang Mengxue raised her round fan to cover her flushed cheeks, thinking that her mother's directness had only made her a laughingstock for her cousin.
"Cousin, if it's inconvenient for you, I can go by myself." She parted her red lips slightly, her voice flowing like a mountain stream.
Li Tianlang didn't respond directly, but instead looked at Yuan Doudou: "Would you like to come along?"
Oh, is there something else about her? Even with her poor eyesight, she could tell that this cousin named Mengxue liked Li Tianlang. So the theme of today's banquet is to bring the two of them together.
She's a bit too much of a third wheel.
Before she could even say "I'll stay here for tea," Madam Li interrupted her.
"DouDou, this is your first time visiting my home, so let YuanLang show you around and help you get familiar with it beforehand."
The implication in those words was quite obvious.
Li Su'e's expression changed. What exactly did her sister-in-law mean?
Looking at her own daughter, who was filled with sorrow and tears welling up in her eyes, made her feel even more aggrieved.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Li." Yuan Doudou gritted her teeth and went ahead; she was determined to be the errand girl today.
As the group walked along the path in the backyard, they couldn't help but marvel at how large a doctor's residence was, and how many precious flowers and plants were grown there.
"Cousin, slow down," Yang Mengxue said breathlessly.
They walked faster, leaving Yang Mengxue behind.
Yuan Doudou felt a little embarrassed and stopped walking. Looking at Li Tianlang, however, his eyes were indifferent, and he didn't seem to be waiting for her.
"Miss Yuan, you're such a kind person." Yang Mengxue smiled sweetly, her eyebrows curving upwards.
Yuan Doudou twitched the corner of her mouth. It couldn't be that bad. Just waiting for her for a moment would show that she was a good person.
"Can I call you Sister Dou Dou?" Yang Mengxue held up a round fan, covering her mouth and nose, her big eyes blinking.
Does she look old? Yuan Doudou subconsciously touched her face; it was smooth and felt very nice.
“She’s younger than you, you should call her your sister,” Li Tianlang suddenly said after being silent.
These words were spoken to Yang Mengxue.
Yuan Doudou was also surprised. Yang Mengxue had a baby face and looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, but she was already over twenty.
"It's alright, I'm a mother now, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to be a younger sister," she said modestly.
Yang Mengxue covered her face with a round fan, her big eyes wide open like copper bells, revealing a look of surprise.
"What? You have a child?" She was extremely excited. At first, when she saw her cousin bring a woman back, she had wild thoughts and thought that she was her cousin's lover.
To everyone's surprise, this woman with fair skin and beautiful features already had a family.
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