Qiu Hong was a prostitute kept by Xiao Yuanhang.
Having just experienced a two-year drought, most families had lost their money, and very few people could afford to visit brothels. With the attitude that earning a little is better than nothing, the price in brothels was reduced from 500 copper coins a night to 200 copper coins a night.
Although it was Qiu Hong's first time, she only asked for 500 copper coins. After that, she only asked for 200 copper coins each time.
So these libertines each booked a girl. Because there were few customers and many girls, there were only a handful of people, and whoever wanted to book a girl could book her as long as they paid.
Xiao Yuanhang had nine days off a month, and he booked the place for nine days. Before two months were up, he had spent the remaining five taels of silver. To make matters worse, Qiu Hong was pregnant. The madam of the brothel gave Xiao Yuanhang two options: either redeem her or pay for an abortion.
Qiu Hong is beautiful, gentle, and talented in singing and dancing. Most importantly, she knows how to please people, which has captured Xiao Yuanhang's heart. He has long wanted to redeem Qiu Hong and keep her by his side. Now that she is pregnant, he is even more determined to redeem her.
But he had no money. Even though the price was low, the madam still asked for twenty taels of silver!
Twenty taels of silver was undoubtedly a huge sum for Xiao Yuanhang, but he couldn't let go of Qiu Hong, so he said a few words to Cao Chengan while drinking.
At this time, the Cao family was looking for a scholar to affiliate their shop in town, which would save them some taxes and allow them to make friends with the scholar. If he passed the imperial examination and became an official, the Cao family would have a powerful backer. So Cao Cheng'an thought of Xiao Yuanhang, who often played with him.
The social hierarchy is: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Nowadays, merchants have a low social status and pay high taxes, with a 40% tax rate. That is, if you earn 100 taels of silver, you have to pay 40 taels of tax. However, if you have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the county level), you can reduce your tax rate by 10%. But Xiucai cannot own more than three shops and 100 mu of land. If you own more than that, Xiucai cannot continue to take the imperial examination and will instead be registered as a merchant.
To prevent the abuse of power for personal gain, this is why children of merchants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations and become officials.
The Cao family happens to own three shops, while Xiao Yuanhang happens to own none!
So they invited Xiao Yuanhang to their home, explained the situation to him, and promised to give him thirty taels of silver as a kickback every year.
Xiao Yuanhang was worried about not having the money to redeem the person, and now it was like someone had delivered a pillow to his head when he was dozing off, so he immediately agreed!
The Cao family also wanted to treat Xiao Yuanhang as an investment, so they came up with the idea of ​​arranging a marriage between them. After all, in the eyes of a student who had completed his studies, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations was also a very remarkable person!
If they can pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination), the Cao family will definitely make a profit!
Thus, Cao Cheng'an wanted to marry Xiao Yan as his second wife.
Xiao Yuanhang also knew his parents' temperaments, so he left after saying that and went back to the city to enjoy himself!
Having received thirty taels of silver from the Cao family, Xiao Yuanhang had just redeemed Qiu Hong and was now settling her in a courtyard he shared with Cao Cheng'an and another student, Liu Youyi, who was hanging out with them.
The courtyard was a medium-sized siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). Cao Chengan was the richest of the three, so he paid the majority of the bill, spending ten taels of silver to rent three main rooms and two side rooms. Xiao Yuanhang and Liu Youyi each spent five taels of silver to rent three rooms in the east and west wings.
Besides Qiu Hong, Cao Cheng'an also kept one of his concubines here. Now, with Xiao Yuanhang's incident, Liu Youyi has also redeemed one of his lovers.
The courtyard that the family had originally rented for their studies was turned into a chaotic mess by these women. Once they went to the school, the three women huddled together, plotting how to climb the social ladder and capture the men's hearts.
It's true what they say: fish find fish, shrimp find shrimp; even a few rotten fish and shrimp can be found in one nest!
When Qiu Hong saw Xiao Yuanhang return, she immediately greeted him with a gentle smile and asked him repeatedly.
"My lord, you must be tired after walking such a long way! Come inside and rest! I was worried you'd get too hot, so I prepared some refreshing mung bean soup that's chilled. Wait here, I'll go get it right away!"
This show of concern and care made Xiao Yuanhang feel very comfortable, and he immediately turned around and helped Qiu Hong up.
"My dear wife, you don't need to worry. I'll go get it. Take care of yourself and give me a healthy baby boy soon!"
Qiu Hong smiled shyly upon hearing this and snuggled into Xiao Yuanhang's arms.
"My dear husband, you're so naughty! You've made me so embarrassed!"
"Oh, by the way, my dear husband, I just made you a long robe. It's the latest style, just arrived from the city. You'll look absolutely stunning in it. Try it on later, and if anything doesn't fit, I can make some alterations!"
Xiao Yuanhang happily gave Qiu Hong a kiss.
"My wife's cooking is excellent; she can make anything!"
In comparison, Xie Yujiao's foolish behavior of either acting coquettishly and being domineering or trying to gain an advantage puts her at a disadvantage.
It's fair to say that Qiu Hong's cultivation level far surpasses Xie Yujiao's, which explains why Xiao Yuanhang rushed out in such a hurry.
As expected, Xiao Yuanhang was right about the old man and his companions' character. After Xiao Yuanhang finished speaking and left, the old couple felt uneasy, as if a cat was scratching at their hearts.
Think about the matchmakers who came to Xiao Yan's door to propose marriage in the past two months. They all said they were peasants from the countryside, with fifty acres of land at home, and that they were willing to give three taels of silver, which was considered the best offer!
Two other families couldn't afford the betrothal gifts at all and wanted to exchange them for two bags of grain, which angered Old Mrs. Xiao so much that she chased the matchmaker away!
Looking around, the Cao family is undoubtedly the best choice. Marrying into the Cao family is not just a matter of a hundred taels of silver as a betrothal gift. In the future, when the fourth son goes to school, will there be any worry about money?
Moreover, the Cao family was wealthy, and with their daughter married into the Cao family, how could they possibly neglect their own family? Therefore, it didn't take long for Old Man Xiao to tell Old Lady Xiao...
"I think this will work. Yanzi is young and doesn't understand many things. Go and persuade her!"
These words were exactly what Old Mrs. Xiao wanted to hear. Without wasting a moment, she went to Xiao Yan's room.
Xiao Yan was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), sulking. She imagined herself as a young mistress, dressed in gold and silver, with servants at her beck and call, the envy of everyone. At the same time, she was angry at Cao Cheng'an for making such a good thing as a concubine and even having a son born out of wedlock!
Remarrying is bad enough, but to become a stepmother is even worse! Who knows what people will say about her!
In truth, Xiao Yan was also reluctant to give up such good conditions, but she was unwilling to accept the loss of remarrying!
Her ideal husband was Cao Cheng'an, who was seventeen or eighteen years old, had no other women, and loved only her. Of course, this was every woman's ideal husband, but she could choose not to marry him. However, she really liked the life of a young mistress!
That's why I was angry and troubled. The more I thought about it, the more upset I became, and I started crying.
As soon as Grandma Xiao entered the room, she saw Xiao Yan crying her eyes out. She reached out and tapped Xiao Yan's head.
"You spineless coward! What's there to cry about!"
"Such a good marriage! Every girl in the village wants it, but you're so lucky to have a scholar brother. That's why they chose you. Aren't you secretly thrilled? If you don't believe me, go out into the streets and ask around. With the Cao family's conditions, which family wouldn't be overjoyed if they married their daughter?"
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