Lu Yu's betrothal gifts became a hot topic of conversation in Wangjia Village and Lijiaba. "What kind of amazing person is that Lu family girl that she would ask for twenty taels of silver to marry? The matchmaker said there was also a silver bracelet, a silver hairpin, and some cloth and wild ginseng. If all of that were converted into silver, it would be more than thirty taels."
“You think thirty taels of silver is a lot, but in the eyes of the Lu family it’s nothing. My niece recently became a weaver in the embroidery workshop. She said that the workshop’s warehouse is full of fabrics, and the good clothes have been transported to Yujing by a big merchant in the county. A piece of clothing costs more than ten taels of silver, and the most expensive piece costs more than a hundred taels.”
“I know, I know. That merchant’s surname is Zhu. All the boats at the dock in the county town belong to her. I also saw the second son of the Lu family take a boat with her and go north out of the county town.”
"Incredible! The Lu family is so rich! Doctor Li's family will surely become rich too."
"That's right. Li Ji from the west end of the village has been doing business with the Lu family for half a year. Look at him now, Li Qiuyue is wearing a three-ringed bracelet on her wrist. It looks really nice. I asked around and it costs two taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Li Guizhi slammed down her chopsticks. "Pah! That woman is shameless! You just backed out, and now she's already offering betrothal gifts. Who knows, maybe they're trying to arrange marriages for both sides. If things don't work out with you, they still have Li Changpu as their next suitor. She's a two-faced woman."
"Hmph, I'm going to Dr. Li's house to have a word with him." Li Guizhi became angrier the more she thought about it, and got up and ran out.
Li Yang was dejected, staring blankly at the empty bowl. He realized that he liked Lu Yu. The girl was slender and delicate, and spoke and acted in a gentle and refined manner. He had never seen such a girl in the village before. She was so lovable. He had fallen for her. However, he did not expect Qin Xiaozhou to say such hurtful things. He was too embarrassed to ask for reconciliation.
He had thought that a woman's reputation was the most important thing. Since Lu Yu had already been introduced to him and they were about to get married, she would definitely marry him. He never expected that the Lu family would be so ruthless in the end, disregarding the woman's reputation and breaking off the engagement with him.
It's all Mother's fault for saying she wanted to give the Lu family a hard time; now look what happened.
Li Yang's sister-in-law chased after her and stopped Li Guizhi at the door, saying, "Mother-in-law, there's only one doctor in the whole Lijiaba area. It's not worth offending him."
Every family has someone who has a fever and cough. Why should her two sons, who are only three or five years old, suffer from this? Smallpox and chickenpox can be fatal. Offending a doctor is like losing half your life. She can't let her mother-in-law cause trouble with Doctor Li right now.
Li Guizhi spat again, "There are plenty of doctors in the world."
Sister-in-law Li Yang's eyes darted around, and she quickly grasped the crux of the matter. "Third brother's marriage is already causing gossip because it keeps going wrong. If you go to Doctor Li's house to make a scene again, I'm afraid the marriage will be even more difficult. Mother-in-law, it's not our place to be the bad guys. As long as we quietly let more people know that the girl from the Lu family once proposed to third brother and exchanged betrothal gifts, those aunties in the village will gossip about her behind her back."
Li Guizhi snorted, somewhat convinced, "You're quite the schemer. Go visit your aunt tonight."
The women in the village would visit each other during the off-season, and gossip about this family and that family would become the subject of laughter after meals. As long as the whole village knew that Lu Yu had once been betrothed to Li Yang and then married Li Changpu, Lu Yu would live with gossip for the rest of her life.
Li Yang's sister-in-law wasn't annoyed by her mother-in-law's teasing. "If these words are spread too much, they will eventually reach Li Changpu's ears. Think about it, what man in this world can tolerate his wife having been betrothed to someone else and even exchanging marriage certificates, especially in the same village? If my third brother goes to Dr. Li's house more often in the future, seeing him all the time, even the most magnanimous man wouldn't be able to stand it, and it's not impossible for him to resort to physical violence."
"Good, good, good." Li Guizhi was in a good mood and ran back to comfort Li Yang. "San'er, did you hear that? After Lu Yu gets married, you should go to Doctor Li's house more often and see if that whore can still eat and drink well at Doctor Li's house. It would be best to torment her to death."
Li Yang didn't move, but he overheard someone saying to walk around outside Doctor Li's house more often. Perhaps Li Changpu wasn't treating Lu Yu well, and Lu Yu might regret it. So Li Yang decided to make Lu Yu regret not marrying him.
The Lu family had no idea how lively Li Family Village was. Wang Lan was now well-received wherever she went and was happy to go out. She was cheerful every day, which even improved Lu Yu's mood.
Wang Lan oversaw the preparations for the dowry, so Qin Xiaozhou didn't get involved much. She continued to spend her days in the county town drawing blueprints, designing clothes, or doing accounting.
By the end of September, the autumn wind was already carrying a chill. The gate of the government office was crowded with people. Today was the day the county examination results were being released. Qin Xiaozhou, Lu Yunfeng, and Lu Yan waited at the gate early. As soon as the results were posted, the three of them squeezed in to take a look.
Lu Yunfeng, tall and strong with excellent skills, quickly turned around and shouted to the two people outside the crowd, "You passed the exam!"
There is no ranking for those who pass the preliminary examinations; as long as they are on the list, that is enough.
Qin Xiaozhou grabbed the person who squeezed out of the crowd, beaming, "Today is a good day, we should celebrate properly. It's a pity Eryun isn't here, but as long as we're happy, we can celebrate as many times as we want. Come on, let's go home and share the good news."
She has a very impulsive personality and leaves whenever she wants, leaving Lu Yan helpless. While Qin Xiaozhou went to the street to buy wine, she managed to arrange things at the shop.
Lu Yan is now in charge of the shop. A few days ago, she bought a woman from Zhang Yazi. She was a 23-year-old woman from Suzhou. She was originally the daughter of a small merchant family in Suzhou, but her family's fortunes declined. Because of her good looks, she was taken as a concubine by the county magistrate. The county magistrate's wife was a formidable woman. In just four years, she caused the woman to miscarry twice and fall ill. As a result, she lost the county magistrate's favor, and the wife took the opportunity to sell her off.
After several transfers, she ended up in Fenggu County. Lu Yan felt sorry for her background and discovered that the woman was literate and numerate. She had also managed a shop when she was a girl at home. There was no reason not to use such talents.
After Lu Yan bought her, she had a female doctor treat her and named her Jing Shu. In just half a month, the cake shop was managed very well by Jing Shu.
After Lu Yan finished giving her instructions, she suddenly felt relieved and instantly understood why Qin Xiaozhou had arranged for Granny Qian and Granny Zheng to be in charge of things. On the boat home, Lu Yunfeng was rowing, and Lu Yan's eyes lit up. "Sister-in-law, it's really tiring to manage things yourself. It's much more comfortable to just give orders. From now on, I'll tell Jing Shu how to do things and how to manage, and I'll just be a hands-off manager."
Not everyone can understand this principle, but Lu Yan saw it clearly at such a young age, which shows her intelligence.
"Oh my!" Qin Xiaozhou raised an eyebrow. "This is incredible! Lu Yan is going to become our family's first young lady!"
"Sister-in-law, you're making fun of me." Lu Yan stood up and hit him, causing the small boat to rock. Lu Yunfeng scolded, "Sit properly. It rained heavily a few days ago, and the river is deep."
Lu Yan snorted, her little upturned nose twitching. "I knew my brother was just protecting you indirectly."
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