As he previously mentioned, Li Zhongjue proposed to return to Yuanzhou the next day after having a meal at the Lu family’s place that night. Lu Chengxiao felt apologetic for not being able to entertain him properly. Despite trying to persuade him to stay for a while, it was in vain. Early the next morning, Li’s siblings came to bid farewell, and Li Yunbi also came out to meet the Lu family before leaving with Li Zhongjue.
When the Li family’s carriage was about to leave, Zhou Qiongying grabbed Lu Chengzhang and asked softly in his ear, “Did you notice the red eyes of that Miss Li just now? It seems like she cried.”
Lu Chengzhang thought, indeed her eyes were red. He had vaguely overheard the conversation between the Li siblings at the inn yesterday, including Li Yunbi’s crying. At this moment, he couldn’t help but look at Lu Chengxiao. Seeing his ordinary expression, he couldn’t help but feel regretful. If the Li family’s marriage alliance was established, it would undoubtedly benefit the Lu family.
Unfortunately, his third brother never cared much about such matters. He had heard his eldest brother praise the girl from the Liu family, but Lu Chengzhang had never seen what she looked like. In his opinion, no matter how good-looking she was, it couldn’t compare to the advantage of a good family background. Moreover, the girl from the Li family was exceptionally beautiful. How much more attractive could a village girl be?
Since then, he could only feel regret. His parents wouldn’t interfere in such matters, so what could he do? It was just a pity to miss out on the benefits that a marriage alliance with the Li family could bring. He didn’t say much to Zhou Qiongying in front of his father and brothers, only mentioning it quietly at night. Zhou Qiongying was stunned to hear it, but thinking of his youngest uncle’s appearance, she understood.
“If the third brother doesn’t like the girl from the Li family, how beautiful must the girl from the Liu family be? I’m curious.” She thought about going back to see the excitement when the Liu family came to visit the Lu family in a couple of days. However, she quickly dismissed the idea, realizing that if she left now, her mother-in-law would be left in Changfeng Town. Thinking about what Lu Chengxiao had said, that they would wait for the Liu family near the cloth shop in two days, she murmured, “I wonder if I’ll see that Miss Liu the day after tomorrow.”
Lu Chengzhang wasn’t interested in seeing Liu Yu. He extinguished the candle and urged Zhou Qiongying to rest.
Unlike Lu Chengzhang’s indifference, Lu Xun paid more attention to this matter. Anticipating the visit from the Liu family, he personally selected some good fabrics that were not available in the town and, along with Babao, returned to Changfeng Town a day earlier.
By now, Chen Shi had already received the letter brought back by the shop assistant. After anxiously waiting for two days, she finally got the chance to ask Lu Xun about the reason. Learning that the girl had returned to her family, she felt relieved. Seeing that Lu Xun had brought back some good fabrics from the county, she teased him half-jokingly, “You seem quite concerned about Chengxiao’s marriage.”
Lu Xun smiled and said, “How can I not be concerned? Do you know how much trouble your precious son has caused this time?”
He explained the matter of first finding Grandpa Wang and then chasing after Yuanzhou, saying, “He didn’t close his eyes for four days and three nights. He sought out old classmates from his learning days, claiming to be a friend of the Yuanzhou magistrate’s son. He stirred up the local authorities in Yuanzhou, even took Yang Magistrate’s letter of introduction and visited our county magistrate. Even when Jue’er and his sister came over, he didn’t bother to pay much attention. I’m just glad that the girl is fine. If anything had happened, it would have been a disaster on Chengxiao’s side.”
Lu Xun, who had lived for many years with a steady and routine life, found himself in the midst of an extraordinary event, and he couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.
Chen Shi only knew that the girl had been sold to the Lu family, then rescued by her birth family, and recognized by them. She had no idea that her youngest son had caused such a sensational uproar. Hearing about it now left her astonished. The hesitation she felt earlier about the Liu family’s situation in the village had completely vanished. There was no way they could leave now. This was undoubtedly a marriage they must proceed with, even if it might bring some trouble. Not marrying her would mean risking her son’s life.
Immediately, she decided to personally visit Yuzhi Pavilion, the tea shop they used to frequent, to order several boxes of premium pastries for the guests. She planned to pick them up early the next morning, half for entertaining guests and half as a return gift.
After taking a couple of steps, she remembered Lu Xun’s words and stopped, turning around. “You said Jue’er and his sister came? Yunbi?”
Lu Xun nodded, “They arrived the day we went to find the Liu family girl. Chengxiao hurriedly went to Yuanzhou and hasn’t had time to talk to them. Even when he came back, he met the Liu family girl on the street but didn’t have the chance to talk to them. Only Zhongjie stayed for a meal at our house before leaving.”
Chen Shi nodded thoughtfully and asked, “That Yunbi girl, if I remember correctly, she’s also fifteen years old this year, right?”
“Three years younger than Chengxiao. She’s fifteen this year. Why?”
Chen Shi shook her head, “Nothing, just asking. I’ll go out and order fish and meat pastries for tomorrow’s entertainment.”
Men tended to overlook details, not realizing the potential issues of a girl from the Li family coming all the way from Yuanzhou City to Anyi County. Chen Shi, on the other hand, was not as carefree and hoped that she was just overthinking things.
The Lu family’s side were busy preparing to host the Liu family the next day. On the other hand, Liu Yanqing led two subordinates to search around Changfeng Town. Just as they were about to head to the Liu family village, they were intercepted halfway by a messenger who rushed over. “Captain Liu, the magistrate has a message for you. You can withdraw; the person has already been found.”
At the Anyi County government office, just as they were about to leave, they ran into the waiting Li Shiyeh. After dismissing others, Li Shiyeh kept Liu Yanqing behind and asked casually, “Yanqing is looking for your cousin?”
This question caught Liu Yanqing off guard. While he had sought help from Li Shiyeh before to find his cousin, this time he had only informed the captain and head of the guards when they took leave, right before receiving the mission. How did Li Shiyeh know about it?
Seeing Liu Yanqing’s expression, Li Shiyeh chuckled and said, “I heard you’re negotiating a marriage with the third son of Lufeng Cloth Shop?”
This was the second time Liu Yanqing had heard about Lufeng Cloth Shop. The first time was when his sister asked him to deliver a message. However, for a small business like that, it might have some reputation among ordinary people, but how did Li Shiyeh know about it? Liu Yanqing thought to himself but didn’t show it on his face. He replied, “Yes, I just found my cousin a few days ago. Before I could say anything, I received a missing person mission. The matter of marriage hasn’t been discussed yet. We just found my sister, and my mother probably wants to keep her for a couple more years.”
Li Shiyeh patted Liu Yanqing on the shoulder with a smile and said, “The Lu family’s third son is not bad. Initially, he thought your sister was sold, and so he went all the way to Yuanzhou to find her. Later, I heard that he brought back several guards and also brought a letter from Yang Magistrate to find our magistrate. The magistrate was wondering who these guards were. Today, the third son of Lu came with gifts, saying it was a misunderstanding, and the person has been found. Turns out it was your sister. Don’t miss this opportunity.”
Liu Yanqing listened with a bewildered expression. Li Shiyeh used his folding fan to pat his forehead and continued, “By the way, the one you were looking for was found by the Third Master Lu and the second son of Magistrate Yang. He was found with a trafficker that day. They accidentally solved a big case while searching for your sister in Yuanzhou. It took some time for the child to wake up and confirm his identity, and the news just came down today. Anyway, the search has been called off. Take a break for a couple of days, and don’t bother searching anymore. Go and rest.”
It was only after Liu Yanqing passed through the county government gate that he finally understood. Due to his last-minute mission, he couldn’t inform the Lu family in time. As a result, the Lu family had caused such a commotion. Instead of rushing to report to Yangshan Village, he decided to first go to Lufeng Cloth Shop to apologize.
At this moment, Liu Yanqing truly saw the man who almost became his brother-in-law, Lu Sanlang. Despite Liu Yanqing being quite critical when it came to assessing potential brothers-in-law, he was somewhat surprised upon seeing Lu Sanlang. Although he didn’t know about his character, Lu Sanlang’s appearance was exceptional—handsome, with a heroic spirit and compelling demeanor, giving the impression of a refined and noble young man.
Lu Chengxiao, who had been brought out by his older brother Lu Chengzong, figured out the situation when he saw Liu Yanqing in official attire. He approached and greeted, “Is it Brother Yanqing?”
Liu Yanqing nodded and said, “I came to apologize to Brother Lu and your family. A few days ago, I was entrusted by my younger sister to deliver a message. Unexpectedly, I was called away urgently at the city gate due to an emergency mission. It resulted in a big misunderstanding, causing concerns for Brother Lu and his parents. I feel ashamed.” With that, he bowed respectfully.
As the future elder brother-in-law, Lu Chengxiao didn’t dare to accept such formalities and quickly extended a hand to support him, saying, “Brother Yanqing, you were just attending to important matters. Besides, considering the intended marriage between me and Miss Liu, it’s only natural for you to be involved. I heard from the county magistrate that Brother Yanqing has been away on official duties for several days. It’s better to return home and rest soon. My mother and I have made an appointment, and she will be visiting our home tomorrow. If Brother Yanqing can spare some time, please join us tomorrow. We can catch up then.”
Originally, it was about discussing marriage, and Liu Yanqing was surprised to hear this. Moreover, he found it headache-inducing that it had escalated to the point where his mother was planning to visit the Lu family. But considering that he might have caused inconvenience to the Lu family due to his delayed message delivery, he nodded and said, “Alright, let’s talk more tomorrow.”
Without saying much, he bid farewell to Lu Chengxiao.
After seeing Liu Yanqing off, Lu Chengxiao, lost in thought, was approached by Lu Chengzong, who asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Lu Chengxiao was contemplating Liu Yanqing’s reaction when he mentioned the marriage with Liu Yu. However, he chose not to say too much about it. He shook his head and replied, “Nothing.”
~
As for Zhou Qiongying, she still couldn’t meet Liu Yu. Lu Chengxiao had been waiting at the entrance of Lu Feng Cloth Shop since early morning, and the Liu family also arrived. They came in a rented blue-clothed mule cart, with Liu Yanqing driving. Inside the cart, Madam Wei lifted the curtain and exchanged greetings with Lu Chengxiao, acknowledging the Lu family members at the shop’s entrance. However, Liu Yu, still remembering the embarrassing incident where Lu Chengxiao publicly embraced her on this street, didn’t step out of the cart. Zhou Qiongying stretched her neck, but she couldn’t catch a glimpse of Liu Yu, who had been praised by her elder brother-in-law as if she were a celestial being.
In the cart, along with the anticipation for Liu Yu, there was also the lingering affection for Liu Chengxiao, who had been on her mind for the past few days. Unfortunately, in front of Liu Yanqing outside and Madam Wei inside the cart, Lu Chengxiao didn’t even have the chance to speak to Liu Yu.
After bidding farewell to his brother and sister-in-law, Lu Chengxiao rode ahead, leading the way on his horse. He maintained a steady pace, always keeping the same speed as the mule cart, only occasionally slowing down to wait for Liu Yanqing. During those moments, he dared to cast a seemingly casual glance over the slightly opened curtain of the cart.
Liu Yu sat upright, and from Lu Chengxiao’s angle, catching a glimpse of her profile required a bit of luck. Lu Chengxiao found himself entangled in such thoughts, wishing for time to pass quickly so that he could see her sooner, yet also hoping for time to slow down so that he could accompany her for a longer period. Most importantly, he looked forward to finalizing the marriage, so that thinking, cherishing, and seeing her would be entirely legitimate.
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